After Valin finished speaking he immediately ran behind a tree and disappeared. It was a bit surprising, but Zane didn’t rush to chase after him. Instead, he closed his eyes, activated Warrior Awareness and tried to feel the area around him.

It was quiet. The only thing Zane heard was the wind and the occasional cry of different beasts. In silence Zane patiently waited for a minute, two minutes and then five minutes. However, he didn’t make any sudden movements or show any external reactions to the silence. Internally, Zane was focusing on his environment and listening for the slightest change in sound. He was paying attention to any changes in the flow of wind. Any change in the level of mana in the area. Only when he sensed a change in the environment would he react and after ten minutes of waiting, the change finally came.

Suddenly, Zane felt a change in the wind and felt something racing toward him from his left, but Zane didn’t open his eyes. He simply stepped forward and let it fly by him. Then there was more silence. After three more minutes Valin spoke.

“I’m surprised you’re able to remain this calm. By now most humans would have been panicking.”

Zane opened his eyes and looked to the left. “Are you finally done hiding? If not, you can continue. I don’t mind waiting, but if you ask me all your actions are pointless. I won’t fall for any of these tricks.”

“We’ll see.” Valin’s voice sounded out from Zane’s right.

The moment Valin spoke Zane sensed several objects headed in his direction. They came from the right, left, above, behind, and in front of him. The increase in speed and number of objects headed toward him increased the difficulty of dodging, but Zane was still able to dodge them without much trouble. As the objects flew by him, Zane saw that they were sharpened pieces of wood and he could sense a faint amount of mana on them. Sensing the mana allowed Zane to have more confidence toward the upcoming battle.

The Mana Zane sensed in Valin’s attacks meant that he wasn’t someone who focused purely on his physical stats. This meant Zane would have a decent chance of being a match for Valin physically. It also meant Valin would stop hiding and come out to fight him in close range soon. Each piece of wood would use up some of his mana and he would have to rely on physical attack which was beneficial for Zane.

Although Zane told Valin he didn’t mind waiting, he was actually hoping for Valin to stop hiding. Zane had his skill active for more than thirteen minutes and he used more than four hundred mana. The longer Valin hid, the more mana Zane would have to spend to observe his surroundings. He would prefer to use his mana on the close-range battle that would occur once Valin launched his sneak attack. As Zane went over what happened in the past few minutes and prepared himself for what will happen in the next few minutes, he became less focused on his surroundings.

Losing focus didn’t bring Zane any harm. In fact, there were no changes in his movements as he continued to doge the multiple pieces of wood. However, Zane’s lack of focus did decrease his awareness to danger for a short moment. It was a brief moment, but it was a moment an observant person could take advantage of.

Zane’s eyes widened in alarm as a chill flowed down his spine. He immediately dashed to the right, but he was unable to completely avoid the attack from behind. Zane felt something sharp cut into his left upper arm and an explosion of pain.

The pain was so intense that Zane was unable to focus on his surroundings. Before he knew it, Zane was struck three more time and felt three more intense waves of pain. He struggled to focus his mind and fight past the pain, but he wasn’t able to do so in time for the next attack.

Looking up, Zane saw Valin holding a knife that was aimed directly at his head. Right before the attack landed, Zane’s Final Barrier activated. Energy surged from within Zane and pushed Valin away. The barrier sat on top of Zane’s skin and made it glow like a source field would. However, Zane’s barrier had a green and blue glow while most source fields had a colorless glow.

Valin didn’t move to attack after Zane’s barrier pushed him away. Zane kept his eyes on Valin as he struggled with the intense pain coming from his four wounds. Other than the initial wound, Zane was wounded once on each of his legs and once on his right arm.

A quick glance at his health bar showed that Zane lost less than ten percent of his health. It wasn’t surprising, but the pain was. Zane felt like he received four devastating injuries rather than four minor injuries.

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“Having trouble dealing with the pain?” Valin asked.

Zane ignored Valin’s question and reached into his space bag. He wanted to take out his shield, but he hesitated. It was only for a second, but he quickly decided not to use any weapons. Zane knew he was in a dangerous situation, but it also felt like he was in a situation filled with opportunity.

“I thought you would take out a health potion. It wouldn’t have helped, but that’s what most humans before you have done.”

Zane maintained his silence and glared at Valin.

Valin smirked before speaking. “It doesn’t matter if you take a healing potion or not. The pain will exist even if your wounds heal completely. I ‘ve battled against several humans and all of them have suffered like you do now. All of their wills crumbled before the pain I brought them and they cried out in pain long after our battle ended. You can admit defeat now like a coward and save yourself from the pain, or you can continue fighting. I hope that you continue to fight. After a few more cuts I’m sure I’ll get to enjoy the look of suffering on your face.”

Zane charged forward the moment Valin finished speaking. As he approached Valin, Zane struggled not to smile. He didn’t want to alarm Valin before the battle begun.

When Zane heard Valin talk about the wills of his opponents crumbling, he decided to activate Warrior Courage. Zane felt instant relief as the intensity of pain from his wounds decreased. Now Zane’s wounds felt like a small cut rather than a severe injury. However, the usage of the skill further increased the speed at which he lost mana. The solution to this problem was to defeat his opponent as fast as possible.

The moment Zane arrived in front of Valin, Valin slashed down at him with two knives. His knives came down quickly and Zane responded by using Mana Punch while simultaneously activating Warrior Steps. Energy surged from Zane and his two fists emitted a blue glow right before they crashed into Valin’s weapons.

Skill: Mana Punch

Level: 30, 62%

Tier: 0

Effect: Covers the user’s fist with mana to strengthen it and increase punching power. Damage 60 – 90

Special effect: More power

Cost: 50 mana per punch

Zane lost the exchange and was forced two steps back. Valin pursued and slashed down with both of his knives. Without any hesitation, Zane raised his left arm and used Block. He felt pressure when the knives hit his arm and a small amount of pain. He was forced to a crouch and he could feel a significant drain in his mana. However, he withstood the attack.

Looking at Valin’s eye Zane could see the surprise he felt within himself. He was shocked that his skill was able to block Valin’s attack, but he didn’t let his feelings control him for too long. He quickly recovered and pushed Valin backwards as he stood up. Valin stumbled a few steps back and Zane followed him as he prepared to counterattack.

Skill Combo. Stab. Pierce. Zane straightened his fingers into a knife hand and aimed them at Valin’s upper abdomen. As Zane’s hand moved forward, Valin’s body started to give off a light glow. The glow caused Zane’s hand to slow down and weakened the attack of his first skill. Zane’s fingers landed on Valin’s abdomen and didn’t cause much damage. However, the attack from the second skill received less resistance and caused a lot more damage.

Blood fell on to Zane’s fingers and he smiled when he felt the heat. Valin slumped over and grunted in pain. Zane pulled back his hand and kneed Valin’s head. Valin’s head shot up and was quickly punched by two fist that were glowing blue. Valin tried to counterattack with a slash from one of his knives, but Zane easily dodged it and landed a counterattack of his own.

Smash was activated as Zane sent a punch toward Valin’s stomach. The glow from Valin’s body weakened the attack, but enough power remained to force Valin hunch over. Immediately after Zane gave Valin an uppercut with a glowing blue fist.

One punch to the face, two punches to the chest, a punch to the stomach and an easy dodge followed by another punch to the face. Zane continued to unleash a barrage of punches with the occasional attack from his knees until Valin’s body stopped glowing. After his body stopped glowing, Zane felt a few pieces of wood approaching him through his Warrior Awareness and stopped attacking. He focused on dodging the wood while Valin moved away from him.

Zane did his best to keep his eyes on Valin and Valin glared at him with eyes full of hatred. Suddenly, Valin’s figure began to disappear and Zane knew he had to act fast. He opened his mouth and used War Cry.

The pieces of wood lost power and stated to fall out of the air. Zane saw a stunned Valin reappear and immediately used Charge. He hit a few pieces of wood as he closed the distance between himself and Valin. He managed to ram into Valin and send him crashing to the ground right before Valin regained control of himself.

While pursuing Valin, Zane raised his hand and summoned his war hammer from his ring. As he swung his war hammer down, Zane activated three skills. Skill Combo. Smash. Crushing Blow. Zane saw Valin cross his knives and raise them to protect himself while he laid on the ground.

Sadly, Valin’s defense was too weak. Zane’s hammer slammed down and pushed Valin’s knives toward his throat. When Zane pulled his war hammer away, he saw Valin’ knives cutting into his own neck and blood leaking out.

However, Zane didn’t pause. A cold light flashed through his eyes as he brought his war hammer down for a second time. This time his war hammer landed directly on Valin’s skull. Zane saw fear flash through Valin’s eyes right before he felt his war hammer connect. Blood splashed, he heard a cracking sound and Zane received a system message letting him know he won.