You have critically injured your target
For a moment, both Hazinarr’s ignominious departure from the terrace and Jeff’s impromptu catchphrase were greeted with shocked silence.
Then, Sharkey, finally roused from his recumbent position, stood and bellowed in rage across the terrace.
“Guards! Kill him!”
Meanwhile, Jeff hadn’t stood idle. The moment Hazinarr was dispatched, he turned and sprinted towards the stunned soldiers gathered along the ramparts. Amidst the chaos that had engulfed the terrace, he saw an opportunity—a chance to regain what was rightfully his.
His target, the Wolfen, stood gaping at him, dumbfounded alongside his comrades.
Time seemed to slow down.
Jeff concentrated on his Dao, empowering his progress across the terrace, slicing past the assembled soldiery towards Uiro-ku, who by now had his sword half-drawn from its sheath. Not giving him a chance to react, Jeff closed the remaining distance and barreled into the wolf-man, the force of his impact knocking both of them to the ground.
Spurning the need of a Skill, Jeff pulled his right arm back and drove his clenched fist directly into Uiro-ku’s face, smashing his snout to a bloody pulp and instantly knocking him unconscious.
Acutely aware of the now roused soldiers approaching him on all sides, Jeff quickly rifled through the Wolfen’s pockets. Right pant’s pocket…right pant’s pocket… but the ring wasn't there. He continued searching feverishly for what felt like an age before his frantically questing fingers closed over the Storage Ring, which had inexplicably moved to Uiro-ku’s left pants pocket.
Slipping the ring onto his finger, Jeff rolled away from the Wolfen’s prostrate form and the onrushing wave of soldiers. Despite his quick movement, he couldn’t completely avoid a sword thrust aimed at his shoulder.
The point of the blade struck the very top of his shoulder blade, but the toughened blue-tinged bone absorbed most of the impact resulting in minimal tissue damage.
Rolling further along the edge of the terrace, Jeff gained enough distance from the disorganized scrum of soldiers to get back on his feet. He quickly equipped himself with a light cuirass, his steel bladed gauntlets, and Leech. He opted to forgo head protection or greaves, prioritizing instead his full range of vision and unrestricted movement. Despite the throbbing pain from the newly acquired flesh wound in his shoulder, his confidence was boosted significantly by the comforting weight of his sword in his hand.
Letting loose with [Infinite Sword] at close proximity to the mob of approaching soldiers, Jeff unleashed a flurry of invisible blades that inflicted multiple cuts and lacerations on the front rank. The unexpected Skill-based attack elicited screams and yells of surprise, their advance faltering under the unexpected onslaught. Baring his teeth he shouted aggressively at the onrushing soldiers.
“Eat a bag of dicks, shitheads…”
A strikingly attractive, leather-clad woman with bright red hair and glowing green eyes let loose with a fire-based offensive Skill, sending a sheet of orange flames gusting towards Jeff. The blast of roasting, incandescent gas billowed around him, igniting his clothes and scorching his skin and hair.
Fortuitously, at that very moment, another approaching caster unleashed a Skill harnessing Ice mana, enveloping Jeff in a subzero cloud of frozen air—the two Skills mostly countering each other out, the chilling blast quenching the scorching flames, extinguishing the fire on his clothes and cooling his burnt skin. Jeff laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all.
This obviously frustrated a more senior soldier standing at the back, who furiously yelled orders, trying to marshal his fellows’ uncoordinated attack.
Jeff strode forward and delivering a gauntlet strengthened uppercut to the redhead’s chin. The force of the blow launched her backwards, crashing into and knocking over two more of her comrades. They struggled desperately to disentangle themselves from the unconscious woman, their movements frantic.
You have critically injured your target
Jeff stood over the three, stomping and axe-kicking the twitching enemy pile into oblivion.
Achievement!
You have inflicted heavy damage on three Grade J Contestants
Your Offense Attribute has risen by 1
Congratulations!
Your Combat Proficiency Skill has now reached Level 9
You have been awarded a new Sub-Skill: [Fight Pattern-Mapping] Level 1
Play your enemies like a game of nine-dimensional chess…You are able to predict your opponent’s moves in advance
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 922
Whirling around, Jeff raised Leech just in time, parrying a Skill-empowered spear thrust from a heavyset dwarf-like humanoid, clearly a denizen of a high-gravity planet judging by his large muscle mass. The black metallic tip of the dwarf’s ash spear glowed with a baleful light, indicating the weapon was imbued with some type of curse.
Stepping inside the dwarf’s reach, Jeff used Leech for the first time on a real living creature, thrusting the length of the sword through a gap in his opponent’s armor, straight into his armpit, the blade’s point exiting messily from the side of the dwarf’s neck.
You have Successfully Killed a World Champion, Grade J
Reward: 25 Omega Energy Points
Leech signaled its approval, humming happily in his grip. Jeff felt the sword extracting a portion of the dying man’s life force, a glowing thread of mana siphoning back up through their symbiotic connection, replenishing his dwindling MP reserves slightly. He was surprised and pleased to see that his HP also ticked up several points.
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 923
Tournament Reward: 270 Coins
Out of the corner of his eye, Jeff glimpsed more soldiers rushing onto the terrace, their numbers bolstering the already formidable forces gathering against him.
An arrow shot down from a window set in one of the spindly steeples overlooking the terrace, forcefully striking his cuirass and knocking him backwards from the impact. Jeff reacted instinctively, channeling a concentrated [Mana Burst] fireball straight back at the archer. His target practice in the Dungeon paid off as the condensed bolt of energy hit the figure squarely in the face, neutralizing them from the fight.
By now, Jeff was in the thick of it, parrying sword and spear thrusts from all directions, and being progressively boxed in by the onrushing soldiers. Another sword lunge got through his defenses, the Skill-empowered blade punching through his steel cuirass and penetrating his lower right abdomen, narrowly missing his liver and any major blood vessels. Although technically just a flesh wound, the hit threatened to take the wind out of his sails, but he gritted his teeth and powered through the pain.
The blow had caused Jeff to drop Leech, the sword kicked some distance away by the boots of surrounding enemy soldiers. Now, Jeff found himself facing an enemy martial artist—his fists and feet a blur as they landed rapid strikes on Jeff before he could react. The man was so limber it was as though his bones didn’t exist—when Jeff managed to lock him in a clinch, the “rubber man” effortlessly slipped from his grasp.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Focusing on the flow of energy through the man’s body, Jeff concentrated on his exposed pressure points, landing a series of precise acupressure strikes that disrupted the fighter’s pathways. The man staggered back, blinking in confusion, struggling to summon the strength for another attack.
“Don’t bother, you are already dead,” Jeff said somberly, watching with [Mana Essence] as the disrupted pathways finally released their pent-up energy in the only way they could—through the man’s head. The loud bang as his cranium exploded echoed across the terrace, causing several of the onrushing soldiers to hesitate, rethinking their attack.
You have killed an I Grade World Champion
Reward: Two Omega Energy Points
Tournament Reward: 370 Coins
Jeff was suddenly engulfed in a noisome, nausea-inducing purple fog, the cloying, fetid gas sweeping over him and sticking to his skin. Rendered blind by the attack, he toggled [Mana Essence] and saw he was at the epicenter of a thick plume of pure Poison mana, emanating from a grey-cloaked mage standing to the side of Sharkey’s forces, a large leather-bound tome in hand.
The mage intoned rhythmically, uttering a guttural series of alien sounds.
“Haba ‘alak, Makblax, Rengii, Nu…”
He, or she, was clearly chanting, reading from the foul book in their hands, summoning an indigo-colored rune that hovered malignantly in the air above them. This loathsome rune was the source of the poisonous stream billowing relentlessly towards Jeff.
Warning! You have been poisoned.
Warning! Your HP is low.
Congratulations!
Your Poison Resistance Skill has now reached Level 2
Jeff swiftly pulled Shadar’s Tooth from his ring, activating the ranged weapon with the required ten MP. For good measure, he imbued it with [Cutting Edge], then with a fluid movement, he flung the glowing shuriken across the terrace, aiming directly at the grey-cloaked enchanter.
You have critically injured your target
Jeff couldn’t wait around to observe the outcome of his throw because he sensed a hostile presence overhead. He ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding a lethal talon-strike aimed at his neck. The steel-tipped talons, instead, left a vicious gash on his unprotected forehead. Blood dripping down from the cut colored his vision with a reddish tinge.
The cloaked avian he had previously encountered at the portal wheeled overhead, large brown wings spread as it circled for another attack. At that moment, Shadar’s Tooth, having successfully slit the throat of the enchanter, returned to Jeff. On its return trajectory, it made a slight detour, clipping the wing of the avian. The creature tumbled, squawking in surprise, past the terrace and off into the night, spiraling out of control.
You have critically injured your target
Jeff snatched the slowly spinning shuriken out of the air and deftly stowed it back in his Storage Ring. Spying Leech on the floor nearby he bent to pick it up.
A familiar voice rang out across the terrace, causing Jeff to jerk around in surprise. Inexplicably, there, facing him across the battlefield, was his Aunt Zara, a frumpy late middle-aged woman dressed in knitwear and sensible shoes, glowering at him.
Aunt Zara had ruled over his nieces and nephews with an iron fist during family vacations and gatherings. Jeff had often been the recipient of her strict methods of discipline during his childhood. Jeff felt his thought processes slow down, a mental fog of subservience and obedience creeping over him.
“Now listen to me! Listen to me…”
Jeff faltered, stunned at the bizarre sight. His sword loosened in his grip.
“Jeffrey Nostro. Now cease this nonsense immediately. You’ve been extremely disobedient…” his aunt ordered, slowly approaching to stand before him.
“Drop the sword, and everything will be alright. I’ve got a glass of milk and a plate of your favorite cookies in my purse.”
Without fully comprehending why, he felt an urge to reach into his Storage Ring and equip himself with his Cloak of Distraction. The protective robe tightening around his shoulders immediately.
The mental confusion lifted to reveal none other than the sweaty features of the dark elf, Bonifak standing before him, the yellow halo of a mental Skill sputtering and winking out above him.
Achievement!
You have successfully evaded a psi-attack!
A hostile entity has failed to control your will!
Your Cognition Attribute has risen by 1
“Fool me once…” Jeff murmured, running the surprised-looking elf through before he had a chance to lift his own weapon, and earning a respectable 50 Omega Energy Points in the process. Leech drank greedily from the wellspring, transferring ten MP and a much-needed 5 HP back to its owner.
Jeff felt the blood flowing from his abdominal wound slow to a trickle.
You have killed an Grade I World Champion
Reward: Two Omega Energy Points
Tournament Reward: 390 Coins
Facing the onrushing forces, Jeff decided to employ a shock and awe approach. He unleashed a cascading stream of blue fire, Lightning Storm coruscating between seven soldiers simultaneously. The fierce attack halted their advance, but didn't completely incapacitate them. Their high-Grade armor somehow mitigated the impact, allowing them to withstand the brunt of his assault and recover more quickly than he had hoped.
Cursing under his breath, Jeff realized that he was down to the wire with his mana reserves, there simply wasn’t enough MP left to fuel another full-scale attack.
He switched tactics. Channeling the Dao of Sundering, Jeff focused on sheer physical lethality to counter the masses of soldiers attacking him. With Leech in hand, he sliced through his enemies, stabbing, hacking and cleaving, his sword and gauntlets rending flesh and bone. He kicked and punched relentlessly, shifting from one side of the terrace to the other, refusing to be pinned down. The air around him trembled, transforming into a zone of extreme danger, a maelstrom of violence for anyone unwise enough to cross his path. His eyes blazed with hate as he scanned for his next victim.
Congratulations!
Your Combat Proficiency Skill has now reached Level 10
Congratulations!
Your Dodge Skill has now reached Level 8
Achievement!Your Speed Attribute has risen by 1
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 924
Jeff felt his movements speed up, becoming increasingly fluid as he concentrated on his Dao. The principles of Sundering, as he understood them, aided him in his unstoppable path, usurping the reality of the battlefield around him. Causality seemed to bend to his will as he plowed a grisly furrow through the troops. Each strike felt preordained, inevitable. Almost transcending the restrictions of time, he flickered between targets, radiating an aura of intense lethality.
Impatiently, he minimized the constant stream of notifications generated by the System as his Omega Energy, Attributes and Levels were constantly boosted by the intense battle.
All the while, he was painfully aware of Fracta’s pitiful condition, still nailed to the side of the tower above him.
Despite Leech’s efforts to replenish his dwindling HP with each kill, Jeff soon found himself covered in a tapestry of wounds.
Arrows and crossbow bolts rained down around him, launched by more archers who had taken strategic positions in the overlooking towers. Some of the projectiles flew with such velocity they were practically invisible to the naked eye. Jeff grimaced as he ripped out an arrow from his calf, before hastily downing a Potion of Healing. If not for his strong Vitality and Defense attributes, he probably would’ve bled out already.
Your HP is low.
Less than half remaining.
A mage stood to one side of the terrace, manipulating a swarm of greasy black flying beetles—fanged cockroaches with pointed horns and wings—sending the cloud directly at Jeff’s face. Each one the size of a chicken nugget, the hard shelled pests were surprisingly resilient against his attacks. No matter how ferociously he swatted the buzzing roaches away, their numbers were immediately replenished.
Another Contestant used a shape-shifting Skill to transform into a massive dire-wolf, crashing into Jeff and halting his zigzagging progress across the terrace in its tracks. Jeff desperately grappled with the monstrously strong beast, its slavering jaws snapping inches from his throat.
Tearing and rending the soft underbelly of the dire-wolf with his bladed gauntlets caused the shape-shifter to lose control of her morphing Skill. She reverted back to her true form, a naked, svelte female figure with raven-black hair, rolling away from Jeff while clutching her bloodied abdomen in agony.
You have crippled a Grade I World Champion
With the lycanthrope dealt with, Jeff turned his attention to the beast-master controlling the swarm of beetles. However, the man hung back, smirking at Jeff while hiding out of reach behind an impenetrable wall of soldiers, relentlessly manipulating the insects. Their constant bites had turned Jeff’s cheeks and neck into a mass of bleeding welts. The pain was constant, each bite burrowing deep into the flesh of his face and scalp.
Jeff took a gamble.
His raw mana reserves were now completely depleted, but he still had the reservoir of Necrotic Energy stored in his Core Space. He channeled a portion of the slowly revolving ring off the circumference of his mana pool, and exerting his will, imbued the energy with hostile intent as it passed through his Pathways, before spewing it out with Lightening Storm.
The [Mana Burst] Sub-Skill had an intensely transformative effect on the Necrotic Energy—instead of the cloud of poisonous fog Jeff had expected, the Skill condensed the composite mana so densely it resembled fire, a cascade of dense, jet black flames which danced and burned across the gathered forces.
Jeff made sure to channel the flames through a gap in the soldiers ranks, targeting the beast-master controlling the bugs. The reaction was more extreme than Jeff could have possibly hoped for. The mage, ashen-faced and screaming in horror, died on the spot. With his control over the beetles severed, his bugs fell to the floor at Jeff’s feet and wandered aimlessly away.
The crowd of armored soldiers around the fallen mage received a lesser, but still effective, dose of the Necrotic Energy. They writhed and screamed in agony as the evil-smelling black flames licked at their exposed flesh, instantly causing nasty pustulant boils to erupt wherever the poisonous energy came into contact.
There was another unexpected but awesome side effect of the Necrotic Energy—judging by the soldiers rapidly dwindling stats, Jeff was happy to see that the deathly effect was self-sustaining, the poisonous energy creating a toxic chain reaction within their infected bodies. Their skin turned an unwholesome grey, the color of rancid oatmeal, and hideous black buboes erupted from their necks, groins and armpits, consuming them from the inside with dark rot.
Combo! You have killed five World Champions
Reward: Fifteen Omega Energy Points
Tournament Reward: 1190 Coins
Jeff was equal parts horrified and pleased with the effect of his little experiment.
I must use whatever ammunition I have at my disposal. I can’t afford to be squeamish. Too many lives are at stake…
He knew without a doubt that the Vogels would laugh at the concepts of honor or chivalry, and it was obvious they did not uphold the tenets of the Geneva Convention.
Well, Jeff thought to himself grimly, I can fight dirty too…
Decided, he reached into his Ring and transferred several more of the Necrotic Energy dungeon drops into his Core Space, replenishing the reservoir for future use.
He noted that Retrenka, the Sempiternal Empire emissary, had stepped down from the dais to observe the soldiers’ agonizing demise.
Her cowl was thrown back, more fully exposing her startling features. Humanoid, her chalk white skin contrasted starkly with the thick shock of glossy black spines that grew out of her well proportioned skull, reminiscent of the needle-like quills of a porcupine.
Her wide eyes, partially visible through her veil, darted from the writhing soldiers back to Jeff, as she whispered in awe, “Such power…”