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Chapter 60
Kreegan rose from the ground and approached Bear King's lifeless body. With a single swift motion, he beheaded the fallen foe and stashed the severed head into his item box. Turning his attention to his own gains, he opened his status screen to inspect the rewards of his recent level-up.
Two new feats awaited him. First was "Piranha Strike," a passive skill that granted him a 20% chance to add 50% more force behind his strikes, akin to a critical hit. The second feat, "Blind Strike," was another passive ability that enabled him to parry or evade stealthy or invisible attacks. Its activation chance was 10% for every four points in dexterity, and now it stood at 30%.
Having accumulated four skill points, Kreegan decided to invest them wisely. He bolstered his Persuasion, Perception, Mobility, and Athletics skills, each reaching level 5. As he did, he felt subtle but tangible improvements in his mental and physical prowess.
His arcane pool had expanded to 5, granting him the ability to imbue a single weapon with up to three enchantments simultaneously. This capability had evolved into the "Arcane Weapon" skill, allowing him to bestow elemental damage and other enhancements upon his blades. Four new arcane enchantments were at his disposal: Arcane Weapon Flaming, Arcane Weapon Frost, Arcane Weapon Shock, and Arcane Weapon Keen. The first three elemental damage enchantments were as potent as a level 1 spell and lasted for one minute, not limited to a single strike. Arcane Weapon Keen, much like its previous enchantments, enhanced a single strike by doubling the range of any sword attack.
His spellcasting prowess had grown, too. Kreegan now possessed 5 level 1 slots and 2 level 2 slots. For his level 2 spells, he chose "Scorching Ray," a fiery spell that discharged a searing ray of fire, and at the 7th and 11th character levels, he will gain another ray of fire, reaching three rays at the highest level. Additionally, he selected "Mirror Image," a spell that created illusionary duplicates of the caster, mirroring their actions, though these phantoms did not inflict damage.
...
In the aftermath of the battle, Kreegan apprehended one of Bear King's henchmen and employed a bit of persuasion to extract the location of Bear King's treasure vault. Following the trail, he found the treasury and used a set of keys retrieved from Bear King's pocket to access it. However, the treasury contained a paltry sum, a mere 150 million bellies, a profound disappointment for Kreegan.
Exiting the castle, he discovered Kuina and Lex resting beside a tranquil pond. Fatigue clung to them, particularly Lex, who appeared utterly drained. Nonetheless, they, too, had achieved progress, reaching gray level 4.
Some Time Ago
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Lex desperately attempted to hit Skunk One but found himself under relentless assault. Skunk One, a noxious adversary, darted from rooftop to rooftop, bombarding Lex with gas explosives. Although these bombs lacked the firepower to truly wound him, their detonations inflicted considerable pain when they erupted in close proximity. Skunk One maintained a calculated distance of around 10 meters, just enough to evade Lex's "Ou Resshō" (King/Big Laceration) attack.
With only a few minutes remaining in his air bubble spell, Lex faced the urgent need to end the battle. In frustration, he called out, "Ahh, you stinking coward! I give up! Whether you flee or continue your bombardment, I don't care. If you don't descend, I'll simply slay the other man. We can deal with you later."
Lex pivoted and sprinted towards Pin Joker. Observing this, Skunk One pursued Lex from a cautious distance. As Lex initiated an attack on Pin Joker, Skunk One executed a surprise aerial assault from behind, seeking to ambush him. In a last-minute maneuver, Lex pivoted to face the threat and hurled his staff with unbridled force.
Caught off guard, Skunk One couldn't react swiftly enough to evade the staff hurtling towards him. With a deafening impact, he was impaled against a building's wall. Lex, swift and unrelenting, followed up with an "Ou Resshō," cleaving Skunk One in two.
Turning his gaze toward Kuina's ongoing skirmish with Pin Joker, Lex sensed that she required no assistance. Pin Joker lunged at her, but Kuina adeptly deflected his strike and dodged it, albeit not without sustaining a painful leg wound. In response, Pin Joker gloated, "HAHAHA! Victory is mine! You're now poisoned, destined to wither away slowly. This is the price of following the wrong horse; the Great Pin Joker triumphs once more."
While struggling, Kuina corrected him with a wry grin, "You imbecile, you can't even get your idioms right. It's 'betting on the wrong horse.'"
Outraged by her remark, Pin Joker ground his teeth, then licked his lips and retorted, "It would be a great loss to kill you directly. Let's get to know each other first."
Lex, fueled by his anger at Pin Joker and his concern for Kuina, rose from his seat. He felt the urge to intervene in Kuina's battle, to protect her from further harm. However, Kuina, with a single raised hand and a subtle gesture, urged him to hold back.
Kuina's features morphed as she assumed her half-cat form, a testament to her unique abilities. Her feline attributes imbued her with increased strength and agility, though not without sacrifices. She wielded her sword with grace and purpose, acutely aware of the deadly poison coursing through her veins.
The potency of the poison had become painfully evident, and Kuina recognized the urgency of ending the battle swiftly. In her altered form, she maintained her superiority over her adversary, but poison affected her. A noticeable reduction in her speed and power, she was at half speed and power but she was still stronger than her human form.
Pin Joker, sensing an opportunity, began to retreat. Kuina declared, "Our little sparring session ends here, you repugnant third-rate swordsman."
Extracting the poison needle from her leg, Kuina charged at him with agility. She deflected his attacks and, with precision, stabbed him with the same poisoned needle. Sheathed her sword and stated, "A coward like you wouldn't use poison without the antidote."
With the poison coursing through his veins, Pin Joker grew weaker and struggled to stand. Both of them were getting weaker but Kuina's body was getting weaker slower than him. He understood that Kuina would deliver the finishing blow with her next strike unless he took the antidote. Desperately, he reached for the antidote vial.
"Shishi Sonson," Kuina intoned, her presence momentarily obscured from Pin Joker's view. He glanced at the antidote, but it was no longer in his grasp. Instead, his left arm was gone.
In agonizing pain, Pin Joker crumpled to the ground, while Kuina retrieved the antidote from the severed limb and consumed it. Within seconds, her strength began to return.
As Lex's air bubble spell concluded, his expression contorted from one of determination to one of sheer disgust. He reeked of an unbearable stench and rushed toward the nearest body of water, a pond at the town's center. Plunging into the water, he began vigorously scrubbing himself. Between his curses directed at Skunk One and Kreegan, Lex retched as the foul odor assailed his senses.
"I HATE YOU, KREEGAN! GOurgh."