As the venomous neurotoxin seeped into his bloodstream, a chilling numbness spread from the point of impact, rendering his limbs immobile in its icy grip.
“Hahahaha!” Ziddian’s laughter boomed as he slapped his hand against his face in sheer delight. “After all that bravado you showed earlier, is this truly the best you have to offer? Pathetic!”
Daisuke’s form remained still, his head lowered, his visage hidden beneath the veil of his bangs. With a confident stride, the man approached, a smirk playing on his lips as he unsheathed a short sword from his waist.
Like countless others before, Daisuke had now fallen from favor, and Ziddian was known to dispose of his playthings once they no longer entertained him. “Can you feel it?” he mused, a hint of sadistic pleasure in his voice. “The flames raging through your veins? That’s the poison ravaging your body, corroding your nerves, and annihilating your chakra pathways.”
“…Is that right?” murmured Daisuke.
Ziddian’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
DING!
[A toxic substance has been detected within your body. Αφινίτη’s Blessing has neutralized the threat and restored your health.]
Before the rogue could move an inch, Daisuke swiftly retrieved the needle from his shoulder and stabbed it into the side of the bastard’s neck. Swallowing down a curse, Ziddian retreated in a panic, frantically rummaging through his garments for a special antidote.
Time was of the essence; Siren’s Kiss was the deadliest poison he had ever brewed, so potent that he had yet to fully develop immunity to its effects. Devoting his entire focus to the antidote, Ziddian tilted his head back, ready to down the bright green liquid in one gulp. But before he could even make a move, the glass vial vanished from his fingertips in a blur of speed, leaving him empty-handed.
The villain’s forehead creased darkly, bloodshot eyes ablaze with fury as he turned his wrathful gaze towards the silver-haired nuisance. Meanwhile, Daisuke had already shattered the vial containing the antidote onto the Lipanthyer’s Fang, allowing the thick liquid to coat the lower end of the blade.
Before Ziddian could unleash a torrent of rage, Daisuke seized the back of the bastard’s neck in a vice-like grip and yanked him closer, driving the weapon into the left side of his chest.
“Guagh,” Ziddian choked, spitting up a mouthful of blood.
With deliberate slowness, Daisuke pressed the blade a few inches deeper, drawing himself nearer to whisper into the man’s ear. “Let’s play a game,” he muttered with a devilish smirk hidden behind his mask. “Your beloved poison is busy liquefying your insides. On the lower half of this blade lies the serum that could save you.
But here’s the catch: I’ll keep pushing this dagger in slowly. Your task is to resist the strength of my arm and control the pace at which the blade enters your body. Too slow, and the poison might finish you off. But if you’re too hasty and careless, the blade could pierce your heart. And in the midst of that delicate balancing act, you’ll have to endure excruciating pain.
Good luck.”
“…Y-You sick bastard!” Ziddian spat furiously, his voice trembling even as crimson red blood began to ooze from every orifice.
Daisuke snickered, his golden eyes wide and filled with a psychopathic glint. “Funny you should mention that,” he mused. “Weren’t you just lecturing me about lacking creativity in my revenge? Don’t be a hypocrite now—or maybe you’ve just never considered being on the receiving end of such a fate?”
Ziddian menacingly bared his blood-coated teeth and hissed, “YOU!”
“Maybe it would’ve been in your best interest to invest in some protection for yourselves as well,” Daisuke mocked casually.
At the sting of those acidic words, Ziddian’s eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the ground. His body convulsed uncontrollably as he foamed at the mouth, experiencing the very fate he had mercilessly inflicted upon his subordinate.
“Well, there goes our little game,” Daisuke remarked with stoic calmness. “Seems your poison truly lived up to its reputation. What a shame.”
DING!
[Ziddian has been defeated!]
[Mana crystal has been acquired.]
[Antidote x8 has been acquired.]
[Shuriken x12 has been acquired.]
[Smokescreen Bomb x4 has been acquired.]
[Poison Bomb x3 has been acquired.]
[105 gold has been acquired.]
“BASTARD!!”
With a grating roar, Brutus overturned the table before him, sending food and wooden tableware crashing to the ground in a chaotic frenzy. With a deep grunt, the beast of a man approached the insect that had defeated his comrade using cheap tricks, his towering stature casting an eerie shadow.
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“That’s two down and two left to go,” Daisuke said unflinchingly, glaring at the ogre who had dared to hurt Zephyr.
Brutus wasted no time in reaching for his massive two-handed axe, the weapon gleaming menacingly in the dim light of the chamber. With a powerful swing, he brought the axe down in a thunderous arc, aiming to cleave the feeble human in two. But Daisuke was quicker, dodging the attack with lightning-fast reflexes as the ground beneath them cracked and splintered into jagged lines.
In a bid to gain the upper hand, Daisuke summoned golden chains that coiled around Brutus’s massive form, attempting to immobilize the giant. Then he immediately went in for the tendons at the back of the ogre’s legs, a technique that was fundamental in taking down loftier opponents.
But Brutus wasn’t your average muscle for brains. Anticipating the attack, he abandoned his weapon and leaped skyward, shattering the chains with a casual flex of his immense strength, as if they were woven from straw. The ground quaked when he landed, and time slowed to a crawl, rocks and debris suspended in the air, both warriors glaring at each other through the chaos.
Another roar erupted from the ogre’s jaws as he laced his fingers and brought his arm crashing down like a titan’s hammer. Light on his feet, Daisuke managed to narrowly escape the earth-shattering impact. But he wasn’t given a moment of reprieve.
From the fractured ground, Brutus seized loose rocks and began hurling them with unrelenting fury. But like a shadow dancing through chaos, Daisuke evaded each projectile with fluid grace, closing in with the Lipanthyer’s Fang. Yet, despite an impressive flurry of lightning-fast slashes, the blade failed to penetrate deeply enough to incapacitate the hulking ogre.
“It’s useless,” Brutus gloated with a crude grin. “Your puny attacks won’t be able to pierce my skin.”
Without a word, Daisuke sharpened his focus, and with the Eye of Verity, was able to discern a thin layer of mana cloaking the man’s body. It was likely a type of physical enhancement skill common among brawny combatants, and it became evident that Daisuke’s basic weaponry and gear wouldn’t be able to breach such a formidable defense.
But wait, he pondered, even as the vicious giant attempted to ensnare him in an iron grip, why did he brother to evade if his ankles are invulnerable to physical attacks?
To find his answer, Daisuke lunged once more for the tendons, his aura swirling with a potent cocktail of hatred and vengeance. But Brutus, once again anticipating the move, sucked in a deep breath, his belly swelling ominously. When he exhaled, a torrent of fire spilled forth from his mouth.
Daisuke looked on in stunned silence, the lapping flames dyeing his body a brilliant orange and gold. Brutus was a warrior-type with the IQ of Rock Golem, so how was he able to wield this kind of magic?
Brushing the thought aside, Daisuke darted to the left, the searing flames hot on his heels. As he circled around, the inferno trailed after him, enclosing both him and the giant in a crackling wall of fire. Brutus grinned, finally cornering his nimble prey. But Daisuke didn’t falter; he couldn’t, not in the face of such peril. His golden eyes blazed as he scrutinized the brute’s stats.
In addition to his unimpressive supply of mana that had almost bottomed out from the continuous use of his physical reinforcement skill, Brutus possessed only a basic fire-type spell named Spark. And if Daisuke had to guess, such a low-level spell didn’t pack that much firepower, which left only one plausible explanation.
Daisuke’s frown deepened as the Eye of Verity shifted to another spectrum of vision. Similar to X-ray, he discerned shapes and outlines through various shades and intensities of blue. What caught his attention was a pouch made of sturdy monster hide concealed within Brutus’s stomach, likely containing highly flammable oil.
This oil would be expelled by contracting his stomach, thus applying pressure to the pouch. A tube then funneled the oil up into his mouth. Upon activating the Spark skill, he would ignite the oil spewed from his mouth, mimicking a high-tiered fire spell.
It was an impressive piece of engineering to compensate for a lack of magical aptitude—and a clever tactic that likely caught many of the man’s adversaries off guard, but Daisuke had absolutely no intention of falling into that unfortunate category.
As Brutus retrieved his double-headed axe and closed in with deadly purpose, Daisuke took a breath and braced himself for the inevitable clash. His body slowly leaned forward in battle readiness, his focus intensifying as his stats systematically pooled into his Agility and Strength.
With calm determination, he allowed his power to surge and envelop him, unveiling the prowess of his newly acquired skill—Sixth Sense. When his golden eyes flashed open, he honed in on the ogre’s weak spot, laying the groundwork for his next move.
Swapping out the Lipanthyer’s Fang for the Crafted Bamboo Spear, he patiently waited for the opportune moment. Brutus had become noticeably more cautious as he approached, his defensive posture indicating a heightened awareness of danger.
Suddenly, the window of opportunity appeared.
With the memory of the man’s brutal treatment of Zephyr fueling his resolve, Daisuke launched himself forward like a bolt from a ballista. Brutus halted, his biceps bulging as he swung his axe in a tight arc. His eyes widened in dread when his target accelerated even further, moving at a speed far beyond what his eyes could perceive.
Before the axe could complete its crescent trajectory, Daisuke smoothly ducked beneath the blade with a grace that belied his speed. In a swift and precise motion, he drove the bamboo weapon deep into the bastard’s stomach, completely catching him off guard.
“Y-You slimy bastard!” Brutus spat furiously.
Daisuke’s features contorted into a dark scowl. “That physical reinforcement skill is definitely impressive, but you don’t have enough mana to sustain it for long.”
Driven by a maelstrom of rage, fear, and a myriad of other emotions, Brutus dropped his axe and reached in with his steely fingers, intent on ripping the insolent fly apart with his bare hands.
Daisuke’s glare dripped with disdain and mockery as he crammed a Flarial Seed into the hollow bamboo spear. The glowing orange stone followed the straight, fibrous path until it slipped into the pouch within the man’s stomach and made contact with the oil.
Brutus’s eyes bulged with a sudden realization of his impending doom. Desperate and sensing his demise, his colossal arms lunged forward, attempting to restrain his adversary and drag him along into oblivion.
Daisuke swiftly retreated, vaulting over the barricading wall of fire and defensively throwing his body over Petula. The ogre’s bellow of resignation echoed through the chamber moments before a violent blast obliterated him, scattering every fiber of his being in all directions—a fitting end for a ruthless villain.
DING!
[Brutus has been defeated!]
[Mighty Axe has been acquired.]
[Medium HP Recovery Potion x3 has been acquired.]
[Reinforcement Tablet has been acquired.]
[Mana crystal has been acquired.]
[Steel Ingot x2 has been acquired.]
[Silver Ingot x3 has been acquired.]
[84 gold has been acquired.]
“Are you okay?” asked Daisuke as he helped Petula to her feet.
“…I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” she murmured slowly.
Daisuke turned, casting her a sidelong glance. “You mean the senseless violence?”
“It’s not the violence itself,” she clarified. “It’s… the look on your face during those moments. A boy your age shouldn’t have to carry such a burden.”
Daisuke took a moment to absorb the warmth of her words before allowing them to slip away. “Let’s keep moving.”