Knocked up into the air, Liu Xun could feel the lactic acid build in his biceps as he deflected the previous devastating blow. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he scanned his eyes around whilst up in the air. Lizards, lizards and even more bloody lizards. There was no good spot to land at, everywhere was just filled with cold blooded scaly bipedal scallywags (or scaly wags if you wish to call it that way). There was nothing but bad news right now.
Clack.
The last movement of the wheel clicked as the floating wheel flew by his side, it seemed to hover around him in the air as he moved. The segment of it landed on a vibrant lilac region. Liu Xun blinked his eyes in surprise as he stared at the flying wheel which showed his reward.
God be damned, it is a UR!!! A ridiculous 0.5% chance odds!
This was the last stray thought that flashed in his mind as the youth focused his mind on the current situation. His feet sank into the gravel as he slammed his ax down onto the ground resisting the force that kept pushing him backward. To be honest, Liu Xun had absorbed most of the blow by throwing himself upwards into the air and allowing most of the force to dissipate as he traveled through the air. The advantage was that he received minimal damage and lost much less stamina and Qi than he expected. The disadvantage though was that he had traveled a good 50 feet away from the rest of the group. He began to look around him and saw countless slit-like eyes staring at him. It seems that he was now estranged in a giant group of lizardmen.
Perhaps the gacha reward was the only silver lining in the entire cumulonimbus of dark clouds he was in at the moment. It was the literal eye of the storm which he had landed himself into and this reward could be his saving grace. Looking at the reward, he saw the words “Heaven Piercing Gaze expansion pack”.
“LIU XUUUN!”
He could hear the cry of the fatty who he usually thought was pretty annoying. The shout was filled with concern and worry as the pudgy youth bashed lizard after lizard trying to close the gap, yet the distance between them was wide and filled with countless hostile foes. It seemed that someone was still caring for him, letting him feel mildly touched. Yet, a cold shiver traveled down his back as he could feel dozens of slit-like eyes stare right at him. Wary gazes glared at him as he was surrounded by multiple lizardmen.
The lizardmen were all surprised by the sudden appearance of this hairless monkey. At least this was the large impression of most of the young lizardmen who had yet to see any human invaders yet. The White Coyote Monkeys which were native to the White Yin Snow Forest were probably to closest and more common relatable species to these swampy water dwellers. The white-furred primates would occasionally have territorial wars with the lizardmen and they had a hostile relation as well.
The vigilant lizardmen began to take a few steps towards Liu Xun as he could feel himself getting cornered even more as the encirclement began to close around him. Liu Xun could feel the tension biting him as he gripped his ax tightly, thinking hard of his way out of this mess. It is very difficult to resolve this problem at this point since he was quite far away from his team. He could hear the struggles of the group as they attempted to close the gap, but he was already in a very precarious situation, and they were too far away to offer even the slightest bit of help at the moment. Crack. Liu Xun quickly threw a golden yellow qi burst pill into his mouth as he crunched and swallowed it. A burst of sourish sweetness dyed his mouth as he felt a faint trace of qi melt into his muscles, replenishing some of his lost energy. Yet, his current resources were like trying to quench a desert with a cup of water, it was helpful but the effect was minimal and close to redundant.
Graah.
One of the hesitant lizardman zealously charged over as it swung its wooden club with shaky hands. The wooden club flung in from an angle as it barely was able to reach its target. From Liu Xun’s point of view, the beast looked unfamiliar with using a club. An inexperienced warrior or a complete novice would be his complete impression.
Clang.
The reptile’s club slammed against Liu Xun’s ax as the young man resisted the oncoming blow. It was very weak, the dispersion of the force and its stance is in a complete mess. Liu Xun gave a good glance at the lizardman before shifting his weight to his right and directing the ax right into the reptile's chest.
Slash.
The ax slashed right through as the lizardman's scales were easily penetrated. The powerless attacker then slowly fell onto its knees before reluctantly passing away in vain. The sight of that dead lizardman dazed Liu Xun for a moment. This was the first fight that he killed humanoid-like beasts, yet it had not struck him until he fought against this inexperienced lizardman. It feels somewhat similar to killing humans that it bothered him, yet he could not afford to ponder about this any longer. He had more pressing concerns to worry about.
GRRRRRAAAAAHHH!
All the other surrounding lizardmen were enraged as they saw one of their comrades fall to the ground. However, they still vigilantly watched the black-robed human as they were observing his every move. Why have they not attacked yet? Are they afraid or are they trying to defend something?
Liu Xun's mind began to race as he thought of all possibilities. Every single move here could determine his life or death as he was nowhere near safety.
The Thousand Deceivers yawns as he tells you to activate your new reward while picking his nose.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Hmm, the Heaven Piercing Gaze? But what if I get another distracting headache, that would be the end of me!
Liu Xun argued back against The Thousand Deceivers as he continually shifted his eyes, scanning for any immediate attacks from his enemies. However, the enemies were still in a passive-aggressive phase as they slowly closed the encirclement, but did not launch any rash attacks yet. He could feel his nerves getting tenser as he cautiously watched for any changes on the battlefield. It would be great if he could get some help from anywhere at the moment.
The Thousand Deceivers states that it is a system upgrade feature. It should not cause the host any detriment.
System upgrade feature? System, is that true?
The youth thought to himself as he began to digest The Thousand Deceivers' words. It is unknown how much help this new upgrade would provide him, but any help at the moment would be much appreciated. It was unknown when he would receive any help from the seniors considering they were occupied with their own troubles.
[The system can confirm that it would benefit the host through a more optimized feature display and user interface. If you want to find out extra detailed information regarding the updates, 5 credits.]
Screw it system, I have no time for your scams. If there are no side effects, DOWNLOAD IT ALL NOW!
[Affirmative, downloading the expansion pack. Importing details from the Deceiver Detective System...]
Liu Xun had no time to banter with the chilling system as he was the one facing the predicament. He aggressively waved his ax a couple of times to force the lizardmen to take a step back as he tried to buy some extra time. Hopefully, the system's upgrade could help him in some ways and miraculously salvage this mess.
Facing against enemies at every corner, he could use any bit of extra help he could get. Another lizardman bravely approached as it stretched its claws out against Liu Xun. Swing. The head of the lizardman was lopped cleanly from its neck as its body fell to the ground.
Weird, all of these lizardmen over here seem to be rather unfamiliar with combat, all their moves are so sloppy.
The youth thought to himself as he continued to carry his imposing disposition against the large pack of reptilian beastmen. He was slowly awaiting something that could change the stalemate.
['Heaven Piercing Gaze' expansion successfully downloaded, modifying UI. Adding in intuitive qi bar...]
[Adding in Lv1 Auto appraisal status tags...]
[Adding in Lv1 Intuitive combat textboxes...]
[Adding the skill Lv1 Appraisal into skill list...]
[Adding the skill Lv1 Area Scan into skill list...]
[Adding the beginner proficiency SSR skill 'Basic Yang Divine Scorching Eyes'. Skill description: I may not be able to see through clothes, but I can burn past them!]
That is a lot of skills from one prize!
He thought as he looked at the flood of messages that came in due to the system upgrade.
[It is a system update from the Deceiver Detective System, many of the functions have to be imported over. This level of info spam is to be expected…]
Well, I cannot be talking to you at the moment…
Liu Xun continued to think out as he swung with the ax in front of him. Looking at the scene, he may have obtained a lot of new abilities, yet he lacks the opportunity to test out what had been added. He then began to concentrate on the enemies that were around him.
[Lizardman (2 years) Power: Qi Stage 2 Rating: Weak]
[Lizardman (1 year) Power: Unawakened Rating: Weak]
[Lizardman (3 years) Power: Qi Stage 3 Rating: Weak]
[Lizardman (2 years) Power: Qi Stage 1 Rating: Weak]
.
.
.
Wait, what are these?
Liu Xun was confused as he began to see yellow textboxes hovering above the heads of the beastmen.
[These are information gathered from the Auto Appraisal skill that you have obtained, you get some basic information of the enemies.]
Wow, that is actually very useful. It is similar to those qi scanning techniques I have heard of, but this is way more efficient.
[Obviously, you are using another system's chea-functions along with the current system. Your position seems to be more advantageous for now.]
You are quite right about that. It definitely helps a lot to have this. Yet, I do not see an easy way to break this stalemate.
[Well, host do your best. I will root for you.]
That is not very helpful.
Liu Xun replied to the system in his mind with a helpless smile before returning to his serious look as he scanned around. There has to be an answer somewhere. Hopefully, he could find it before all the lizardmen start to swarm upon him. He would be finished then!
-
[Lizardman (4 years) Power: Qi Stage 4 Rating: Weak]
[Lizardman (3 years) Power: Qi Stage 3 Rating: Weak]
[Lizardman Chieftess (10 years) Power: Qi Stage 9 Rating: Moderate Status: Weakened]
[Lizardman (3 years) Power: Qi Stage 3 Rating: Weak]
There it is!
Liu Xun thought to himself as he charged forward to the swarm of lizardmen. He was initially surprised by how densely packed the lizardmen were in that direction, and that was definitely the reason. Looking carefully, there was an albino white lizardman that was being guarded by dozens of lizardmen. It seems to look fatigued and could barely move around. This was definitely the key to ending off this difficult battle!
The youth thought to himself while he continued his charge.
[Lizardman (Qi Stage 4) is attacking from 12 o'clock (saber).]
[Lizardman (Qi Stage 3) is attacking from 2 o'clock (club).]
[Lizardman (Qi Stage 2) is planning to do a tailspin from 9 o'clock.]
What, is this another function?
Information keeps flooding his brain as his eyes looked around in the direction of the messages. Indeed, there were 3 lizardmen planning to attack him at the moment.
[This is the Intuitive Combat function. Lv1 allows for information to be gathered at a limited rate in your entire immediate surroundings. It is very useful for combat.]
Oh my goodness, this Deceiver Detective System is so useful. Why didn't I get such an amazing system?
The Thousand Deceivers smirks with pride as he said it is his finest creation.
[Host, the system is amazing. You just aren't smart enough to fully comprehend and utilize its functions at the moment.]
The system berated back to the youth.
Whatever, anyways it is time to fight!
Liu Xun thought out as he swung his ax forth into the group of lizardmen.