[A/N: Hey guys, so we are 23 chapters into the story and I am thankful for all the love and support you all have given me so far. Could I ask for a small favor from you all? Would it be possible for you to leave a review of the story(I dont mean chapter comments here though I love them too). It would boost my morale and who knows, I might have a surprise for you if I get enough reviews. (wink wink)]
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A surge of strength passed through Xavier. He stumbled back as if he had been hit by an invisible fist slamming into the abdomen. He could feel the energy rippling through his muscles, forcing its way ahead through the countless nerves.
He felt restlessly alive and that he would spontaneously combust. Every cell that it touched, felt like it had been rejuvenated and his muscles began to expand. It was like an all-consuming fire.
For a second his vision blurred and he could only see dots in front of his eyes. He shook his head and his gaze sharpened to notice the tiny tears all over his skin as his muscles bulged and contracted.
Xavier was a little surprised when his skin tore. The pain that accompanied his tearing skin distracted Xavier, forcing him to pay more attention to the changes occurring to his body.
Is my body too weak to endure this much Strength? Does that mean I need more Vitality to increase my Strength? Maybe I have to increase the Star of Vitality once I want to reinforce the Star of Agility as well. The three Foundation Stars seem to depend on each other. If my body is not strong enough, I won’t be able to exhibit my full Strength or Agility. Is it the case with Perception, Energy, and Wisdom too? Are they a combo as well?
Even if Xavier wanted to find out more about the connection of the Foundation Stars, he didn’t have that much time as the Goblins and Infected around him continued to attack him.
The smell of the fresh blood oozing out of Xavier’s body attracted more Infected toward him. Soon, the entire group of Inferior Infected turned their attention to him. As a result, the Goblins took note of him as well.
They instinctively retreated upon sensing the sheer strength surging through Xavier’s body, but attacked him once the green monsters regained their senses.
Perceiving the enemies that were trying to surround and overwhelm him with their numbers, Xavier sheathed the ruby katana swiftly.
He retrieved the emerald dagger set and utilized Dash. By relying on the tremendous power that resided within his body upon increasing his Strength Foundation to 24, Xavier didn’t have to remain vigilant anymore.
His Agility, which was boosted through Dash, allowed him to move much faster than everyone in his range, while his Perception granted him the ability to pinpoint the trajectory of the enemies’ attacks.
Xavier lowered his body and kicked the ground to push forward. He slit through the throat of the nearest Goblin, twisted its wrist and used the gathered momentum to smash the dagger’s handle onto the head of the Goblin right next to its dying brethren.
Through the momentum and tremendous strength utilized in the attack, the Goblin’s skull cracked open. The Goblin cried out in pain, but Xavier didn’t pay much attention to it.
He kicked it with great force, breaking several ribs of the same Goblin. The Goblin was flung through the air and crashed into the one behind it. A mere instant later, a small ember shot out from Xavier’s pocket, hitting the heavily injured Goblin in the face.
A high-pitched wail rang out as Xavier pushed deeper into the crowd of Goblins.
His movements accelerated as he began to stab, slash and rip through the enemies. When the effect of Dash wore off, he activated it once again to maintain his high speed as he killed the remaining Goblins.
It was not until the end of the fierce battle that one of the Goblins reached him. It had already lost one of its arms and had been stabbed into the stomach.
As it was heavily injured, all the Goblin could think about was to scratch Xavier just once. To Xavier’s misfortune, the Goblin grasped his leg and scratched him where his skin was torn.
A wave of pain surged through his leg, causing him to react instinctively. He lifted his other leg and stomped it down on the Goblin’s skull, smashing through the monster’s skull and brain in one go.
All Xavier heard was a disgusting, squishy noise before a notification popped up in front of him. He then turned over to the Infected, who stumbled across the Goblin corpses with their slow and predictable movements.
Xavier took a deep breath, checked the condition of his leg and cursed in his mind.
This world is a fucking mess!
He then jumped into the battle with the remaining Inferior Infected, showing no sign of the earlier hesitation and fear he felt when he first encountered the Infected.
Xavier had not just adapted to the mess but also was quickly learning ways to survive amidst the chaos.
Now, he became part of the messed up world.
“Split the Soul Essences I’ve obtained just now and invest them into Agility and Vitality!” Xavier growled like a feral wolf before readying his fangs to jump into the battle against the Inferior Infected.
Integrate four Soul Essence into the Star of Vitality
Integrate three Soul Essence into the Star of Agility
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
The heatwave arrived instantaneously, and the searing heat didn’t die down until the last Inferior Infected had been dealt with, leaving a single bulky Goblin, and the two upgraded versions of Inferior Infected. However, neither of them looked perfectly fine either.
The three monsters took note of Xavier, but they couldn’t pay him much attention since their fight had reached the climax as well.
The bulky Goblin’s left arm was torn and shredded. Several chunks of flesh were missing in its left arm, bite marks of the Infected’s failed attempts to rip out its flesh, and scratch marks were visible everywhere.
Its back was also scratched and covered in blood. However, the bulky Goblin acted like it didn’t feel pain – as if it was something the green monster grew up with. The bulky Goblin ignored the second Infected that continued to attack it, and focused on the Infected that was stuck to its mace.
By now, the Infected’s entire body was crushed. After the bulky Goblin smashed it into the ground with the heavy mace and its tremendous strength, the Infected’s only resemblance to a human was its head. Its entire body was mangled and bones were sticking out of its body at odd angles.
It was limping on one foot, the other broken down from its knee that it was dragging around. It was hard to pick a spot on its body that was unscathed.
Yet, it somehow kept moving.
How is it not yet dead? Xavier cursed in his heart. He began to observe the fighting Infected and bulky Goblin intently to get a better understanding of the situation. The second Infected looked at him once but it diverted its attention once it finally reached the bulky Goblin’s neck.
The bulky Goblin sensed imminent danger and tried to shake the Infected from its back. However, it was already too late – for both of them.
Xavier had replaced the emerald daggers with the ruby katana while paying close attention to the enemies around him.
He ignored the pain in his leg and accelerated. Once he had gathered as much momentum as possible, Xavier arrived behind the Infected and the bulky Goblin. The ruby katana sliced through the air with far more force than Xavier unleashed until now.
The katana whizzed loudly until it connected. All of a sudden, the katana was blocked. It connected with the spine of the Infected and couldn’t cut much faster. The attack was not yet stopped, but Xavier saw from the corner of his eye that the Infected’s left hand was about to reach him.
A single scratch and it would be over!
Xavier began to panic a little. He tried to put more force into the ruby katana to behead the Infected before it could reach him, but the distance was decreasing. The fingertips of the Infected were about to graze him, but the ruby katana was also inching forward. It cut deeper and was just about to deliver the final blow to the Infected.
It was too close.
What would happen if he got scratched after the Infected died? Xavier would definitely get infected as well. He couldn’t afford that. But he couldn’t afford to let go of the ruby katana either. Gritting his teeth, Xavier continued the attack. He roared out loudly as he forcefully subdued the panic arising from deep within him.
The Infected’s fingers weren’t even a centimeter away from his arms when Xavier sensed that the resistance blocking his attack was no more. The Infected growled loudly as it sensed that its spine had been cut through, but the ruby katana didn’t stop right there.
Xavier’s attack was not yet over. Exerting tremendous momentum and strength fueled by sheer willpower, Xavier decided to keep going. The ruby attack pierced deep into the neck of the bulky Goblin, slitting its throat, nerves, and flesh in one go.
It didn’t die on the spot but a fountain of blood spurted through the surroundings. In the same instance, the Infected’s fingers were only millimeters away from Xavier’s arm.
But right before the Infected could reach him, Xavier sensed something searing hot pass by. Glut conjured an ember and released it at the Infected’s hand.
The ember exploded, and some fiery sparks splattered on Xavier’s arm, but he did not ignore the pain. Instead, he welcomed it. Getting burned was much better than turning into an Infected, after all!
Insightful Infected has been slain. +4 Soul Essence +2 Common Card Shards
Xavier grit his teeth as the ember’s heat scorched his skin and he retreated quickly. His heart skipped a beat as he looked at his burned arm.
I wasn’t scratched…that was way too close.
He realized that he escaped death by a hair’s breadth. His own actions shocked him and he had to pull himself out of the game to reorganize the mess in his mind.
A single mistake was all it took to kill someone. It was even easier to die. A single scratch was all it took to kill him. Xavier naturally considered a mace as a dangerous weapon. If struck, he would die. That was obvious. However, it seemed like he had yet to improve his natural responses when faced with Infected.
Once he was far enough from the battlefield, Xavier watched the dying Goblin face the disfigured Insightful Infected.
The bulky Goblin was slowly dying due to blood loss from the huge gash in its neck. It was bleeding to death slowly but steadily. Meanwhile, the Insightful Infected was thrown through the surroundings like a ragdoll.
Not even its head looked human anymore at this point. The bulky Goblin used its remaining strength to crush the Insightful Infected, while watching Xavier vigilantly.
It wanted to attack Xavier, but the Insightful Infected’s tenacity and its never-ending movements distracted it too much. Even after getting crushed and disfigured, the Insightful Infected continued to move, trying to kill and devour the bulky Goblin.
This prevented the bulky Goblin from focusing solely on Xavier. However, they were sorely mistaken if either of them expected to get away alive…or unalive, given that the Infected was like an Undead, who couldn’t feel pain. At least, that was what Xavier expected given that the Infected didn’t react to injuries like the living.
As the fight was about to reach its end with the bulky Goblin towering above the miserable figure of the Insightful Infected, Xavier made his move. The Goblin’s fist smashed down onto the Infected’s head further expanding the crack in its skull as Xavier arrived.
All it took was one attack; one final blow. Everything happened in an instant. A red flash brushed past the bulky Goblin’s neck, and a second deep gash tore it apart. The bulky Goblin, already weakened, required the Soul Essences of the Insightful Infected to increase its Foundation to stop the bleeding and recuperate from its heavy injuries.
But Xavier was not willing to allow that to happen. The ruby katana moved smoothly through the air. It cut the bulky Goblin right before moving onto the disfigured Infected.
Xavier thrust forward, drilling the tip of the ruby katana through the Infected’s cracked skull. The skull flew wide-open, the bloody blade piercing its brain.
Insightful Infected has been slain. +3 Soul Essence +1 Common Card Shard
Goblin Warrior has been slain. +7 Soul Essence +1 Uncommon Card Shard
The Goblin Warrior dropped dead in front of Xavier, whose eyes fell onto a small bronze-colored piece that manifested out of thin air.