Proofreader: Me (This chapter was fun to write iirc, have fun reading.)

Rodney’s body was battered, his uniform wrecked and in his hands was a shining hammer. His brown hair had darkened with dirt, and yet his figure was reminiscent of a Paladin.

He coughed out blood and chuckled lightly, “Heh, sorry to ruin your Hero’s Bout.”

He was resolute in his stance, facing the senior with his ruined body.

“Kill.” Carlos, the now half-human, half-monster, lost all signs of clarity. “Must KILLLLL!”

His body had been victim to what seemed like an experiment of the Demon Uprising goons. Purple veins flowed through his disproportionately large arms, muscles beating like hearts.

The situation was unlike anything the developers would have created.

“Here I thought they would do something normal,” I muttered. “Hah… Rodney let me handle this. Go find Uriel before it’s too late.”

“Are you sure?”

“Just go already,” I solidified my resolution.

He smiled and ran off in the direction of Carlos’ dorms. “Think of this as my apology for damaging your opponent, in your duel.”

I cracked my neck and lightly stretched my body. The senior stood there unmoving as if I was outside his detection range. Taking advantage of that, I searched for red spots that [Enigmatic Chance] would provide and took a peek at his status.

Shatter!

The appraisal stone shattered, letting me know this was its final use for the day. Around three uses, after this battle, I’ll be able to use that information well.

[Carlos Klaus]

[Age: 16] [Race: Human (21% Purity)]

[Attributes]

Vitality: Tier 0 (60%)

Agility: Tier 0 (60%)

Strength: Tier 0 (60%)

Mana: Tier 0 (30%)

[Skills]

* Body Enhancement (A) (100% Proficiency)

* Demonic Instincts (S-) (1% Proficiency)

“Eh…?” I was left dumbfounded. “Why isn’t there any?”

Weak spots were not present, and nor were his previous skills…

Instinctively, I looked for Rodney who had already disappeared.

“Dammit.”

The Demon Uprising guys loved to inflict despair on their victims, so he’d probably explode if left alone. No exaggeration, their radius would be at least a quarter of the school. Meaning, I had to fight now.

I took in a deep breath of air and felt the unknown calmness fill my brain. Everything was clear as I started my assault.

Carlos reacted instantly, swinging his massive arms in my direction. I shifted my core of rotation in my left leg, spinning past his mindless attack. On his side, I raised my sword and slashed at his left arm.

Chik!

Pieces of my sword’s blade had chipped off.

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I stammered, “Seriously?”

As if laughing at my predicament, he leapt into the air releasing his savage arms upon the earth. I dashed backwards, enhancing my speed in the process.

I decided to change my approach and summoned a white ball of light. Utilising my enhanced speed and strength, I once again entered his range of attack. Before he could swing, the magic missile was released into his right eye.

“Grraah!”

His right arm grasped his bleeding eye, opening a wide range of options for attack. I removed my speed enhancement, choosing both strength and the blade’s durability as I struck at his waist.

It was nothing but a light injury with how blood was barely visible.

“Diiiieeeee!”

In a fit of rage, he stomped the ground. A crater formed, and a shockwave blasted towards me.

“Ptui-“ I spat out blood as I rolled on the grass. “It’s like a fucking bull…”

He was like a beast, reacting and fighting accordingly.

“Tch.” I felt energy sapping away from my body, different from physical exhaustion. I was already losing mana at a quick pace.

I charged once again, looking for any weak points in the beast’s body. I avoided his mindless attacks, taking in every detail I possibly could.

My brown eyes pulsed, completing an imaginary body of the monster in front of me. Limbs, hairs, scratches, deformities…

All of its body had been ingrained in my head.

“This was the effect of a 2.5% increase?” My Outer Eyes’ improvement was extraordinary.

Carlos’ movements lost the recklessness I once thought they had. The image in my head told me all that it could do. My body was reacting accordingly to the mental image rather than what I was seeing.

I felt myself entering a trance. It was just me and Carlos, and my eyes saw everything. It grasped the essence of his attacks.

I was faster, reacting faster and dodging with less energy. Even if he had body enhancement completed to its limit, it wouldn’t matter if it couldn’t manage a single attack.

He swung down with both arms, and I dove closer into his chest. The enlargement of his body meant there was more space to move around in his range. I enhanced my sword and strength again and thrust it into the injury I made earlier.

“Grrrrr!” He howled like a beast with blood escaping his wound.

“Heh.” I tugged on my sword, “You’re not impenetrable after all.”

It was all thanks to Erin’s training, not only had my vitality increased, but so has my focus. My stiffness greatly decreased, allowing me to move more freely. I guess she wasn’t so bad after all.

A backhanded slap zoomed in as I attempted to pull out my sword.

Whish!

I rolled backwards with a grim expression. I had lost my only weapon.

“Hahaha! Die! Die!” It seemed even he, in such a state, realised his advantage. It was as if Hulk was my enemy, his arms swung quicker than a sword, and his body stronger than a lion.

I had to wait for him to attack me carelessly, or else my sword would be stuck there until I died. Time passed as Carlos attacked, but it only gained more accuracy and speed.

“He’s getting stronger!” I exclaimed, noticing the differences in his flailing.

I wished my stone hadn’t broken sooner. Its proficiency was most likely higher than it was before…

I was in an even more dire position than I realised. I had to force the sword out, waiting would only lead him to become stronger and quicker than the image created by my Outer Eyes.

‘[Magic Missile x 4!]’

I gathered the rest of my mana for one more assault. My breaths increased, indicating the stress my body had from using too much at once.

Four.

I launched one at his face, and he swatted it away like it was nothing. In the window of time granted by that action, I dove closer toward him.

Three.

I unleashed one at the sword and another at his face again. The sword made a clinking noise as if it was about to fall, and Carlos reacted by covering his eyes with both arms.

One.

I held onto the draping sword’s hilt with both feet planted into the ground.

Schwing!

It was free at last, and I was ready to make my final move.

“Why! Why are you still alive!?” A form of clarity returned to his eyes from rampaging for far too long.

This was also a sign that he may be used as a bomb soon; the so-called last moments of clarity before death. I had to either kill him or knock him out in the next few moments or it’d be over for me.

“Luke! Uriel’s not waking up!” A voice recalled from afar. “Her skin’s full of purple- I dunno!”

They linked her to this monster too, didn’t they? Killing him was not an option then- could really I not kill him?

Unfair...

“RAHH!” I let out my pent-up frustration. “Kill! KILLLL!”

My mind gave up on rational thinking as time began ticking.

Rodney attempted to end my rampage, “Luke wait!”

I refuse!

His head would be on a pike after I'm done.