Magnus here, I admit that while I am the progenitor of magic, I never truly had the talent as a warrior. In my long time living, I've never developed any form of combat skill and ever since I got tired of life, my skill in magic stagnated as well, despite being already at the top. My two sisters, Remries and Demries continued to battle, fight and develop new skills. My other siblings grew stronger... and I... I stopped growing. Back to the story.
The rough looking man with a cool mask is wounded. I've been watching him from the caravan and the big white wolf is faster than him.
Like really really fast!
"You can do it!!" I cheer him on again and I hear my mother mutter prayers to Supremas, the patron god of humanity.
Each time I cheer the man on, he somehow tenses but I believe he'll win!
He's strong and he seems more unhesitating than those mean guards.
"You can do it sir!" I don't know how to address him but I remember my father telling me that I need to call impressive people sir.
The fur man starts attacking the white wolf but his attacks can't pierce the white fur. Why is that wolf's fur so hard?
Is it magical? I heard from Elliot that magical monsters can't be killed easily.
That being... what is it called.
Oh! Are you up?
Yes... all this noise woke me up
Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.
Silence... I cannot concentrate... I'm hungry
Can we wait until we reach the new village we're assigned to?
No... I must feed now
But I don't have any food right now.
What are you talking about... There's pest in front of us now...
What are you talking about?
Those four legged monsters look delicious.
What! I've never eaten a dire wolf before.
Dire wolf? It sounds perfect for my palate.
We can't do that! We'll be caught!
... You're right... We will wait when everyone is dead.
What if we die from the wolves?
We won't...
How do you know?
That person is strong...
Yeah! He's amazing!
Yes... He is delicious...
Unfortunately, I didn't hear the voice in my head say that last part.
"Wait, why is he attacking that way?"
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I grip the iron sword tight with both of my hands.
The white wolf stares at me with extreme hatred, after all, I killed some of its kin.
"Can't we speak on more reasonable terms?"
The wolf doesn't reply to my joke but instead, it roars with powerful force as its skill activates.
[Beast Roar]!
While animals can't speak, my mind naturally translates all forms of languages, and skills are not an exception. I can't speak to animals unless I cast a spell but skills are a language created by my two stubborn sisters and they will always be translated.
I try to remember the description of the white wolf's skill and a small summary appears.
[Beast Roar] is a skill that can be learned by beasts or creatures that have lived similar lives to beasts. The user roars with beastly intent, empowering themselves and nearby beasts. Has a low cooldown.
I see, so it's a buff...
Immediately, the wolf charges with supernatural speed and the ground beneath it cracks, as its newfound strength combined with its natural strength suddenly burst with overwhelming power.
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I immediately use a skill.
[God's Stare]
The white wolf is highly resistant to fear effects due to its powerful resistance but it's not immunity. For a moment, the white wolf stops in its tracks and I immediately dodge its attack by the slimmest of margins.
The wolf lands behind me and stares at me annoyed.
In fact, I've been abusing that skill ever since the moment I fought the wolves.
While [God's Stare] can be resisted by strong willed beings, the momentary fear inflicted by this skill can paralyze even the strongest wills for a single moment and for me, that single moment is all I need.
I charge the white wolf with a prepared stance. Once I reach the wolf, it quickly moves but I quickly activate my skill, stopping the wolf's advance.
[God's Stare]
The wolf freezes in place and I swing my iron sword with all the strength I have. The wolf's eyes stare at me with the smallest amount of fear, as my sword swings accurately towards its body. The wolf doesn't try to dodge but instead it activates another skill.
[Fortify]
*Thud*
My mind registers the translated skill and my eyes widen at surprise, as I see my sword hit the fur but not even scratch it.
Goddamn Skills!
I quickly back away but the wolf charges at me with unparalleled speed.
I managed roll backward but not before getting raked in the chest.
I wince in pain, as I manage to make space in between me and the wolf.
I won't be able to do anything if I keep waiting for it but... I need a plan.
I stare at the wolf with focused determination and then move.
I attack another time and pause its movement with [God's Stare].
I hit the wolf's body head on with an attack.
*Thud*
Despite not using [Fortify], the sword barely nicks the wolf's fur.
It seems to be smiling as it swipes at me ripping a part of the bear fur.
I groan in pain, as I see my skin shredded by its steel-like claws.
[Pain Tolerance V]
I activate my skill and reduce the pain. Unfortunately, this skill only reduces the pain you feel, not the actual damage I take.
I grit my teeth and take another stance. The same stance with before.
The wolf seems confused as I've already done this stance already.
I charge again.
[God's Stare]
The wolf freezes just as earlier and I arrive at it just as earlier. I swing my sword at the same position and at the same strength.
*Thud*
A small nick appears again just like earlier.
The wolf growls and attacks me again.
Like earlier, I manage to dodge but still sustain some damage
[Pain Tolerance V (Normal) evolved into Pain Tolerance VI (Rare)]
I ignore the status bar updating my new skill.
I activate a skill and feel my eviscerated skin, feel less painful.
[Pain Tolerance VI]
I take another stance, same as earlier.
The wolf takes the initiative and attacks me. It's still keeping it's guard up but that's what I want it to do.
I rush the wolf and swing my blade once more.
*Thud*
Just like earlier, the wolf was barely damaged.
The wolf claws at me again but unlike earlier, I manage to dodge perfectly without a single wound on my already bleeding body.
*pant* *pant*
I've been losing stamina ever since the battle started and my [Equilibrium] spell already ran out.
In truth, if anyone else on my level fought this monstrous wolf they'd die.
It's speed and strength naturally trumps mine and its intelligence isn't something to laugh at either but that's where normal beings and I, differ.
My mind has been running overdrive the moment I arrived here. Each dire wolf here is more than capable of killing me but my mind has been compensating for a body that can't compare.
I've been straining my body the moment I entered the fray and my mind has been calculating the enemy's ability, skill, and movement.
The reason I've been attacking it the same way over and over is because I am developing a fighting pattern fit for this creature.
I'm finally done.
I move forward with extreme confidence and attack the wolf again.
The wolf dodges quickly and attacks me but I predicted its pattern and I easily dodge.
Once I dodge, I quickly thrust my sword and hit the part, I constantly nicked earlier.
I pull back and notice that the part I constantly attacked was already starting to bruise. A few more and I'm sure I'll be able to break its skin and deal it a dangerous blow.
I start to attack the wolf once more.
In the middle of my charge, my body pushes itself to the limit, as my muscles strain and rip to defeat this monster.
My eyes glow eerily and I shout out with all of my strength, as a skill activates.
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In the middle of a large training room, two beautiful women are fighting with so much intensity, the room is starting to quake.
Skills are being constantly activated and thrown around.
Eventually the battle ends with Elizabeth being the ultimate victor.
This is tiring... Leila's strong but... she's growing too slowly.
"Elizabeth, I've noticed something."
Yeah, I noticed something too.
"What?"
"My growth has slowed and while I'm stronger than most people of my age, will this continue?"
I hope not.
"I'm not sure..."
"I've been learning less and less skills."
I think, I know what's her problem...
"Well it's because the earlier parts of levelling up is always easy. I'm not saying it's easy to reach your level at that age but the first dozen levels are the easiest. This is according to the teachings in the royal palace."
Leila listens intently while wiping her sweat away.
"How will I deal with it then?"
I think for a while and then answer her confidently.
"There is no safe way to easily increase your level but if you're desperate enough, there are three ways to continuously increase one's level. First, you can intake powerful medicine to boost your rate of growing at the expense of slowing down in the future. Second, you can try and absorb the strength of others boosting your own but this is considered taboo."
I go quiet and think of the third way.
"What's the third?"
"Third and last... You can continuously put yourself in danger and force your body to grow."
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[Limit Break]!
My body overflows with newfound force and power, as I charge forward with great strides towards my target.
The wolf notices my speed and it seems to panic, despite my speed still being slower.
It tries to dodge.
"No! You're not going anywhere!" I scream with force and momentarily activate another skill.
[God's Stare]!
The wolf freezes in place, as the momentary apperance of fear stops it.
I raise my sword and charge.
"Go!"
In the middle of my charge, I hear the child's cheer pushing me onward and unlike before, when I was getting beaten, this time I feel excited and motivated.
The wolf must notice the grimace on my face, as my sword swings down with great force. I suddenly feel the accumulated practice and constant training condense at my sword. A small ding appears on my status.
[Gained skill Heavy Slash]
Just in time!
[Heavy Slash]!