“You know how to handle this one?” A feminine man unfurled his fan. He then proceeded to hide his face behind the fan. His clothes were quite revealing, showing off his bare chest.
“More or less,” Sammuel responded truthfully.
“Just cut off those wriggling things that escape its mouth. I’ll handle the rest.” A teenage girl wearing a large cap raised her wand and lightly tapped the space before her.
[Light Force: Spear]
A sudden barrage of spear-like forms of light appeared out of nowhere before the mage. She conjured three large spears accompanied by numerous small ones. The small light spears raged on forward, attacking the Gut Drinker. It barely left a scratch as its hide was far too tough for her to pierce through.
Numerous tentacles sprouted out from within its mouth. Sammuel held his blade and slashed away at anything that came close, even going out of his way to protect the mage from harm's way.
Sammuel wasn’t the only person who took this job, as it turns out, the feminine man finally waved his fan, causing a razor-sharp shadow to superimpose on his weapon.
[Dance of the Wind | Gain Combat Power: +32.23 | Ian: 346.88]
Gian casually sliced apart a few sneaky tentacles in half. The Gut Drinker cried out in pain as everything it spewed out from within its mouth was cut apart. At this moment, it had felt irritated at how sharp their weapons were. Reinforcements came from its side, five creatures hovered around 200 Combat Power entered in.
Before anyone could say anything else, Sammuel took this opportunity to slay them. “I’ll take them.”
“Are you sure?” A slightly middle-aged man with a scruffy beard spoke up. He had round glasses and slightly sad eyes. “Those could be pretty troublesome if you don’t know how to deal with them.”
Sammuel nodded and went off.
“Ah, kids these days. Always so eager for a fight.” The middle-aged man stood in front of the mage, protecting her in Sammuel’s stead. He took out an odd item, a single needle.
A few unruly creatures came up to attack the mage sensing the dangerous aura emanating from it. The middle-aged man sighed and moved his hand around, causing even more needles to appear.
[Pricked Coffin]
A flurry of needles sprouted from within the middle-aged man’s body, covering the entire area around him in needles. Creatures that were hit with these needles or injured by the tip turned purple, dying as their nerves were systematically broken down by poison.
Sammuel singlehandedly faced the five creatures all by himself. He was already nearing the very next level, if he killed these five then he would once again level up. This was an unbelievably impressive amount of progress.
He was no longer clawing his way out, he was finally going to show them what he was capable of.
Looking at their anatomy, it was clear that all of them were essentially only strong due to their high levels. After doing some math, Sammuel had concluded that [Ego: Runic Bear] was still his highest potential [Ego]. That is until he gets the Gut Killer’s [Ego], letting him skip a tremendous amount of work to get what he needs.
Sammuel easily defeated one by slashing it apart when it least expected it. As for the others, they were a little more difficult to deal with as they all brought up their guard. Sammuel couldn’t continue this as time was of the essence.
[Art of Killing | Gain Combat Power: +80 | Sammuel: 355.41]
This increase was abnormal for this [Skill] relied on two factors: bloodlust and atmosphere. The greater the bloodshed, the greater the effects, this was the atmosphere aspect. As for bloodlust, this was what was required for someone using it outside a situation like this. The greater and anger and will to kill, the more power the user would gain.
As for Xeril’s [Art of Killing], let’s just say that it makes Sammuel’s Combat Power gain look like a complete joke.
A red mist started to form around Sammuel made out of mana. Such a powerful spell actually required a price to pay. Although Sammuel couldn’t see it from Combat Power, he could still feel the reserves within his body. It was clear that it was unbelievably low. He could only unleash [Art of Killing] for a singular minute.
“1.” Sammuel stood in place, holding the raging power swelling inside him.
“2.” Amidst the chaos, Sammuel had actually closed his eyes as he was instructed by Jynnette.
“3.” Feeling everything about to burst, he suddenly opened his eyes. The moment he did so, he struck out, slashing apart everything within his vision into a bloody pulp. Although his weapon didn’t shoot out any aura or projectiles, his blade seemed to have become longer.
[Deactive Art of Killing | Sammuel: 275.41]
Sammuel had felt unbelievably tired. He had only slashed out a single time yet he still struggled to keep himself from continuing.
[Status: Mana Exhaustion | Lose Combat Power: -10 | Sammuel: 265.41]
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“Of course, there had to be something like that.” Sammuel put himself back together for he had succeeded.
[Leveled Up | Permanently Gain Combat Power: +19.11 | Sammuel: 284.52 (13/50)]
[Ego: Runic Bear] had reached a base Combat Power of 248.29. A ridiculously high number. Sammuel was both joyful yet at the same time, terrified. The first wave consisted of the weakest creatures that Alyur could send. The following creatures to come could only be stronger than him. What’s worse was the wave that had stronger Runic Bears, he would be completely outclassed by then.
Putting this matter at the back of his mind, he came back to the battlefield where the Gut Drinker faced five people. Two people were charging up massive and powerful attacks and the other three were protecting them. They worked well together.
Once Sammuel returned, a voice quickly yelled at him, “Help us! It’s going berserk!”
Immediately going forward, he readied himself for the actual fight. Sammuel kept his sword in front of him at all times, not daring to slack off in his stance. His decision had turned out to be wise as the Gut Drinker did something completely unexpected.
[Blessing of Moonlight | Gain Combat Power: +100 | Gut Drinker: 503.52]
The Gut Drinker’s body turned from its bloody red body into something black and white. The spikes on its body turned holy, no longer showing any aesthetic of violence. It was as if it had become serene.
Despite such an elegant look, the Gut Drink had become even more terrifying than before. The tentacles that came out of its mouth now turned into solid intertwined lashes. Something Sammuel had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to cut.
Sammuel could feel his very body yelling out to dodge. But if he did so, the mage before him would meet her demise. He stood his ground and tried to block it with his bare hands.
That was a mistake.
[Switch Ego: Hemorrhaging Bat]
He was unable to resist at all. The sensation of his arms breaking was excruciating. Yet due to this opportunity, Sammuel managed to kick the mage in the stomach, sending her flying back. Due to the amount of force Sammuel placed on her, she was knocked unconscious.
The Gut Drinker’s tongue effortlessly pierced his stomach, desiring to eat its contents. Sammuel gritted his teeth and pried himself off by cutting a large amount of flesh from his stomach. The Gut Drinker felt disgusted due to his corrosive blood, throwing him away.
Due to this one singular opportunity, Sammuel forced himself conscious.
[Switch Ego: Runic Bear]
His stomach filled back up, and everything he had lost essentially returned. It was as if he was never injured in the first place.
I just died there. Sammuel felt the burden of everything finally weigh down on him.
Looking all around him, it turns out that such an attack was so devastating that it actually claimed the lives of two other people at the party. It mercilessly took the life of the middle-aged man. His needles couldn’t pierce nor could his poison affect the Gut Drinker. His insides were quickly slurped. The other person who died was the last person who barely had any impact on the party.
Ian brushed against death. His fan swerved the incoming lashes to the side. He was actually able to divert such an attack using one of his skills.
All that was left that was still capable of fighting was him and Ian. All Sammuel and Ian could do was wait to try and survive the next attack. Of course, there was still that mage girl yet due to Sammuel’s drastic actions, she was forcefully knocked out.
“You’re actually alive? That’s… surprising. I wonder if anyone will come to our aid. The other battlefields shouldn’t have such a monstrosity within their ranks.” Ian sighed. Such an overbearing monster was actually so oppressive that he didn’t even think he could face it.
Sammuel readied himself, he could keep switching [Ego] but that was tempting death as well. If he died before he managed to switch back then he could only blame himself. It was pseudo death but it was essentially the same as actual death if played incorrectly.
Faced against a monster so powerful that he had no opportunity to fight back, Sammuel was at his wit's end. Even his strongest state couldn’t do anything against this. Even if he unleashed [Art of Killing] he still wouldn’t be able to bridge the gap.
“What do we do now?” Sammuel had thoughts of running back. But once he began thinking as such, what would the other people risking their lives do once they saw the strongest people within their ranks fall back? Fian and Marie’s faces appeared in his mind. “I’m not a hero so I don’t intend to die like one.”
“Well said. Such a state could only last for so long. How lucky are you feeling?” Ian cracked his neck, hiding his face once again. He closed one eye and looked at the Gut Drinker.
[???]
Ian’s eye showed a strange symbol before quickly returning. “If we can survive for 10 minutes then we’ll live.”
Sammuel was confused. This has never happened before. Even Vzella’s [Annihilation Nova] showed up within his system. There were three possible reasons why Sammuel couldn’t see someone’s details. Either they were so strong, far beyond him that he couldn’t grasp it or he had no right to know yet. Or lastly, it was something that was equivalent to the gift he was given.
Sammuel continued on with his exhausted expression, “Any weaknesses we can exploit?”
“Oddly enough, there is. Its body became… how do you say it, inverted. What was soft and squishy before has now become strong and rigid and those previously unpiercable is now…”
“So can my blade cut through its hide now?” Sammuel took a deep breath, this was a dangerous time to act like this but his moral sense of obligation forced him to.
“If you go all out, you can.” An ominous sentence.
Sammuel followed Ian’s words of advice. The difference between 5 Combat Power within the lower levels was enough to let one creature completely overwhelm the other. Sammuel was going to be fighting an uphill battle, facing such a formidable creature, that he would need to push himself into danger.
[Art of Killing | Gain Combat Power: +80 | Sammuel: 364.52]
The gap between Combat Power was dynamic yet at a certain point it would be rendered irrelevant. The bridge between 350 Combat Power and 500 Combat Power was one such situation where one should be essentially killed within a single strike due to the disparity.
Ian used his mysterious skill once again and grabbed Sammuel’s shoulder. “It’s not going to work. We need to approach it in another matter. If you’re willing… I have an idea.”
“Why do you sound so ominous?” Sammuel actually internally thanked Ian. He didn’t wish to mindlessly run in.
“Let me tell you my plan first. We can approach it depending on what you think.” Ian spoke about his plan. At first, it was normal, completely logical even. It was only when Ian spoke of the caveat that Sammuel narrowed his eyes.
“That’s heartless.”
“It all depends on you. You’re fighting an uphill battle.”
Sammuel knew the answer. Just as others might grow angry at his decision, he would firmly stand by his choice. “If anyone asks, I didn’t know.”
“Fine by me. I haven’t had the most reputable rumors around me going around.” Ian shrugged his shoulders and began the plan.
The Gut Drinker had been feasting on both its allies and enemies. It had turned mindless. Luckily, humans could just run away as they could just defend deeper in. As for the creatures running into siege Aganth, they had no other choice but to run beside the Gut Drinker.
Leaving it alone would’ve seemed like a good idea but it wasn’t a matter of logic, it was a matter of morale. Running away would force him to face greater punishments than death.