I used the moment’s respite while I dashed to the stage to activate Ephemeral Sense. My mana drained rapidly. This skill was definitely not supposed to be applied mid-combat, but its downside was negligible in the face of my level.
The skill revealed a bright human outline wrapping its arms around Jessie, trying to pull her off the stage. I closed the distance. The blur only noticed me when I was almost on top of it. I grabbed at its neck… and it dodged, dropping Jessie to the floor.
‘Fast Fucker.’
As it rebounded, it pulled out a set of enchanted daggers with magic so strong they were blinding.
‘Do I activate Eldritch Shield? No, If I activate any Eldritch magic, it would tie this form to Goliath. I shouldn’t connect them if I don’t need to.’
The blur lunged towards me. Too fast to dodge, I anticipated his movement and thrust my sword at where his body was headed, forcing the phantom to change his trajectory, lest he impale himself on my blade.
This should have ruined his balance. However, instead of stumbling, he stepped on the fucking air, and flipped past me. Fortunately, his acrobatics started a moment too late. My blade slashed his arm, causing a steady stream of blood to trickle out. As it left the wound, the blood could briefly be seen, before cloaking to match the rest of him.
*********************************
Creed was in shock. What was this abomination that could not only see through his invisibility but also match his speed? He was a Tiger’s Shadow, an evolution down the assassin path focused on agility and burst power. The amount of people in the Ishtarian Empire who could match him during the early stages of a fight could be counted on one hand. Yet, here was this… thing.
‘Hmm… doubtful I can win a fair fight. So I won’t fight fair.’’
Creed feigned an attack, tricking his adversary to a defensive posture. Then, as he saw his opponent tense up, he made his move. Using every ounce of skill and mana at his disposal, he kicked his feet into the air in front of him, using it as a platform to hurl himself backwards, landing right behind the demoness. Creed wasted no time, and placed his dagger against her throat.
“Stay exactly where you are!”
*********************************
Lydia moved through the mayhem, growing suspicious. People had looked directly at her, but failed to notice her. She would have thought more of it, but she had a mission to complete.
As Lydia moved closer to the cages, she saw an auction house employee opening them, ordering the slaves to move out the side door. A glowing blue bracelet adorned his wrist.
‘‘A control mechanism. Good. These are bound slaves, not contract slaves. All I need to do is take the bracelet off him.’
Something struck Lydia as odd.
‘He came in by himself to retrieve the slaves? That guy is either very concerned about their well being or very greedy.’
Lydia watched him strike a slave who was moving too slowly.
‘Greedy it is.’
She crept behind him as he unlocked cage after cage, drawing all the mana into her mace that she could. Lydia was worried about his level, but saw no clear alternative. He dropped his keys and bent over. Taking that moment, she ran forward and bashed the man in the back of his skull.
His head exploded into shards of bone and chunks of gray matter. Lydia shivered, feeling an unknown energy flee her body. The headless corpse of the employee crashed hard into the ground.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
‘...I may have gotten stronger.’’
Congratulations, You have unlocked the Ability: Skull Cracker.
Skull Cracker: Skull Cracker is a passive skill that automatically draws mana from the environment to strengthen attacks aimed at the skulls of individuals or monsters. This ability scales with the skill’s level. If additional mana is forced into the attacks, its effect is doubled . This multiplier scales with the skill’s level. (1/10).
Lydia’s lips curled into a devilish smile. She knew that she probably should have felt worse. This was the first time she killed a human. However, all she could feel was exhilaration.
Lydia bent over and slipped the bracelet off his wrist and onto hers. Then, she issued a mental command to deactivate the slaves’ collars. A loud series of crashes echoed from the hall. A moment later, heavily armed guards burst into the room, looking towards the cages.
‘Ah, he wasn’t overly brave. He had back up. Should I run?’
Lydia chuckled.
‘Nah, let’s find out just how good I’ve gotten.’
Lydia beat her mace against her shield, taunting the guards.
“BRING IT!”
*********************************
‘M!@#%!%$^ F!@#$%!@%’
Had Battle Trance not been active, I would have flown off the handle.
‘Think Noah, think. No sense in hiding my abilities if that means losing Jessie. So it's time to take the gloves off.’
I calculated rescue scenarios, but the confounding variable was always the same. ‘I don’t know if I’m fast enough to close the distance before he can slit her throat.’
I decided to try “diplomacy.”
“If you kill her, this won’t end well for you.” I said, voice steady and cold.
“Big words from a man who can barely match my speed.”
“Who said that's as fast as I can go?”
“Yes, I’m sure you weren’t trying your hardest before.” He mocked. “People always hold back when their life is on the line.”
It was at that moment that the beast returned. I could hear it barreling towards the stage.
“AAAAHHH, DURZAD WILL KILL YOU!’
The dumb animal was going to get Jessie’s throat slit.
I decided on a personality for this form and channeled my inner Escanor. “Need a lion prove its strength to an ant?”
Fortunately, my face was obscured, otherwise he’d have seen me grimace at my own cringe.
I unleashed my true speed, dashing to the beast. I stopped in front of it and, before it could muster a defense, plunged my hand into its chest.
Congratulations, You have unlocked the Skill: Go Aggro
Go Aggro: Skill governing the knowledge to inflict [Terror] in a target using words and actions. This non-magical ability gives a window into the target's psyche, allowing you to know what actions will strike fear in their hearts. (1/10).
Skill detected, “Autodidact,” would you like to transfer 100 experience points to level Go Aggro? Y/N.
‘Raise to level 5’
I knew what to do. I gulped as I looked at the demon's still beating heart. ‘Seriously? UGH. This is for Jessie. This is for Jessie. This is for Jessie.’
I bit into the demon’s heart, making a show of chewing it before throwing the remainder at my foe’s feet.
Congratulations, you are the first to have unlocked the requirements for evolution: Cosmic Demon. This evo-
‘Not now!’
I jammed my hands back into Durzad’s open chest and pulled, tearing its body in half. The resulting scream updated my personal definition of agony.
Finally, I kicked both halves, one to the left and the other to the right. Each flew through the room’s walls. A series of crashes could be heard long after they were out of view.
I turned back to the blur.
“Want to find out if I have room for seconds?”
*********************************
The men attempted to spread out and circle Lydia. She immediately recognized this tactic. A few weeks ago, she may have let that happen, but fighting a skeletal horde hundreds of times had left its mark.
‘Break their coordination at their weakest link, use the opening to throw the formation into disarray, and prevent them from ganging up on you by blocking them with their own allies.’
Even at a glance, this group’s flaw was clear: the guard furthest to her right kept trembling as he glanced at his decapitated colleague. Additionally, beyond his distracted state, his posture was all wrong, and he wasn’t even strong enough to properly hold the sword. He looked like a farm boy playing knights and princesses with his sister in the backyard… with him as the princess.
‘There’s my bitch.’
Lydia looked her prey in the eye and teased, “I have some great news for you.”
The man raised his eyebrows.
“Wha-”
Lydia lunged forward, mace raised.
“You get to die last.”