After a bit of back and forth, Blake’s group made a decision. They agreed to stay behind and attack from behind. Most of them were not confident in letting Zane led them to the wall. Instead, they would rather deal with the risk of fighting outside the walls.
Once the decision was made, Blake’s group started checking their weapons and equipment for the fight. When they were done the group changed their position, so they could attack from behind. After they were in position, Blake tried to organize a battle plan, but Zane quickly cut him off.
“Your friends will tire out quickly without the system’s help. For now, they should stay behind and wait to provide us with protection when we need to retreat. The four will attack together. Star will cast spells from behind, while I will try to make sure the majority of the attention is placed on me. The two of you can attack when you see an opening.”
Blair and Star looked at Blake to see his decision. Zane thought he came up with a decent plan, but he could see Blake wasn’t completely sold. Looking at Blake’s hesitant expression Zane decided to say a few more words.
“Let’s fight for a few minutes. If you think things aren’t going well, we can retreat and think of another plan. You still have the rest of your team waiting behind us to give support.”
Convinced by Zane’s logic Blake agreed and flowed Zane toward the see of enemies. The demonic beasts felt similar the mana creatures Zane fought, but the presence they emitted was more bloodthirsty.
Once they were in attacking range, the demonic beats at the back turned to observe them. As soon as they recognized Zane and the others as prey, they attacked. Zane smiled as he stepped forward to meet the enemy.
Initially, they were attacked by five demonic beasts. A dark scaled snake. A black bear with black bones protruding along its spine. A demonic beast that walked on two legs and was covered in scale. A quick identify showed it was a demonic fiend. Finally, there were two dark purple slimes. Basically, two large moving piles of jelly. All of them didn’t exceed level sixty.
Star said she would handle the two slimes. Out of the corner of his eye Zane saw her cast what looked like two fire bolt spells in less than two seconds. It was slow to Zane, but it was an amazing increase for Star. The other two mages could only look on in envy, hoping that they would one day be able to use the system as well.
Focusing on the three other demonic beasts, Zane saw that the demonic fiend was closest to him. Mindful of the people he was fighting with, Zane quickly came up with a plan that would let them obtain easy kills. Skill Combo. Rush. Shield Bash
Skill: Skill Combo
Level: 5, 78%
Tier: 1
Effect: Increase the effect and cost of three skills used in succession within two seconds. First skill 100% increase, 100% cost. Second skill 200% increase, 200% cost. 300/% increase 400% cost.
Cost: none
Skill: Rush
Level: 5, 81%
Tier: 1
Effect: A fusion of speed and strength that allows the user to push through or knockdown all obstacles. Damage 300 – 600 points
Cost: 200 stamina.
Skill: Shield Bash
Level: 3, 64%
Tier: 1
Effect: Allows your shield to change from a defensive weapon into an offensive weapon. A head on attack with your shield is almost guaranteed to stun your enemy. Damage 30 – 45, 3 second stun
Cost: 100 stamina
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Angling his shield, Zane slammed the demonic fiend into the bear and sent them both tumbling back. He told Blake and Blair that they could kill the two demonic beasts. Both of them immediately moved to strike so they could take advantage of the downed creatures.
Warriors of Kaleem had weaknesses to overcome like the mages. Other than the low stats, the warriors were unable to use their skills to their full potential. At least, that’s how Zane saw it. Any special attacks or techniques used without the help of the system tended to look weak.
Now, Blake and Blair had the help of the system. Their attacks did a lot more damage and they could put forth a stronger defense. Zane knew they would be able to handle the bear and the fiend, so he turned his attention to the snake.
The demonic snake used its head and tail to launch several quick strikes at Zane and he received them all with his shield. When he saw an opening, Zane used Puncture, and stabbed his spear at the snake. He attacked from underneath it and dug his spear in slightly behind its head. He then used Burst to widen the hole and safely pull his spear back.
Zane expected the snake to collapse, but he was slightly caught off guard when it seemed to get stronger. The snake unleashed two powerful physical strikes before it finally died. Zane received both attacks with his shield, but he was forced a few steps back each time.
Looking around Zane saw that Star and the others had finished off their opponents. He also saw that a few more demonic beasts were coming their way. The four of them quickly gathered together and prepared to face the next set of enemies.
Blake and the others started to gain levels as time passed. Within the first tier the amount of experience needed to level up increased by ten thousand points each level. To reach level seventy-four Zane needed two hundred and eighty thousand experience points.
After personally killing more than a hundred and fifty demonic beasts, Zane had only gained one level. One reason was because there were many demonic beasts under the first tier and Zane was unable to gain experience from them. Another reason was because Zane was not gaining the full experience for each kill.
You have killed a level fifty-four dire demonic snake. Experienced reduced due to being on another world. Total experience gained will be based on comprehension. You have gained 3,680 (5,418) experience.
Currently, Zane’s comprehension was at sixty-eight. That meant he received sixty eight percent of the total experience he would normally receive. Zane didn’t’ dwell on the decrease in experience. After all, some experience was better than no experience.
As Blake and the others gained levels, they became stronger and were able to kill demonic beast without Zane’s protection or help. They began racking up more kills and were getting closer to the wall as more demonic beats died.
Congratulations! Your Blood-Drenched Murderer title has evolved to the Born to Murderer title.
Born to Murder
A born murderer created from the blood of the sentient life forms you are drenched in.
All stats increase by 25%. Damage increased by 50% Blood Frenzy 1/10,000
Approximately after two hundred kills, Zane received the Born of Blood title. The title brought an increase to his stats and the addition of the Blood Frenzy ability. Of the two changes, Zane paid more attention to the later.
Blood Frenzy would give Zane a significant boost after he killed ten thousand sentient life forms. However, it could potentially cause him to lose control of his mind and his body as well. Whether or not he could control himself would depend on his willpower, talent, skills, and any other titles he obtained before then.
Looking at his new title made Zane think about his path. As a Martial Weapon Expert, he was destined to fight others and it was likely that many of those fights would end with someone dead. Weapons and killing seemed to go hand in hand, but Zane knew that they were two separate paths.
Wary of straying on to the wrong path, Zane made the decision to not improve the Born to Murder title. He couldn’t avoid killing but he could do things to reduce the effects that killing had on him. As Zane analyze the Born to Murder title and planned out his future, he continued to kill demonic beast.
Zane never stopped paying attention to the battlefield as he looked at his new title. It wasn’t difficult. The demonic beasts weren’t fast, strong, or dangerous enough to require Zane’s full attention.
Blake and the others weren’t weak. Therefore, Zane didn’t have to worry about them dying the moment he stopped paying attention to them. Also, Zane would occasionally glance at the people on the wall. He could see that they started to fight with greater intensity, but Zane didn’t think about that change too deeply.
As time flowed, bodies dropped. Slowly Zane and the others got closer and closer to the walls. They process was laborious, but Blake and the others managed to continue killing thanks to the multiple levels they gained. Zane gained levels as well, but he mainly relied on his large quantity of mana and stamina. Eventually, they made it to the wall and all of the demonic beasts were dead.
Looking up, Zane saw many exhausted people on top of the wall. Some of the people on the wall were leaning on their weapons on the wall, some were leaning on each other, and some simply collapsed. One man stood out though.
The man stood tall and didn’t show many signs of exhaustion. He was dressed in what looked like expensive clothing and armor. Zane could feel that he emitted the presence of a leader and he guessed he was the leader of the town.
“Father!” Star called out.
Zane could see tears starting to form in the mage’s eyes. She waved at the man on the wall, and he gave her a warm smile in return. Zane saw the man turn his head and say a few words to the people around him. A few moments later, Zane heard a rumbling sound coming from the wall and saw it start to split. Within, he saw a city full of people in various physical and mental states, but the most common state was exhaustion.