Having to think fast, Lucas made a gamble. At a record time, a fireball left his hand towards the blade that was approaching, and he dove to the ground. He heard the collision between the fireball and the axe, but he had no idea how effective his strategy to slow down the attack was until he felt the wind moving above his head.
He hit the ground without the finesse he used to have due to his rushed movement, but thankfully, even if he lost momentum, his opponent couldn’t match his speed, and soon Lucas managed to create some distance between them.
Looking at the place he was in a few moments earlier, Lucas saw parts of his hair on the floor, testimony to the sharpness of the blade and how close he had been to death.
That didn’t seem like a skill someone would get in their first skill selection, Lucas thought, remembering the weird phenomenon that happened when the man stomped the ground. That was a skill he had never seen before, and caught him off guard.
Lucas first skill from the skill selection was an anomaly in terms of usefulness, as far as he knew, probably due to him having a unique class. Normally the first skill wouldn’t be too great, but Lucas could see how that power stomp his opponent used could be useful during a battle; he was a living proof of it. But he also knew that skill selection wasn’t the only way one could use to get new skills. One other way he knew was through books.
Lucas regretted how much he neglected that aspect. In Zoria, there was a way in which he could gain a few skills, and that was the upper floors of the library, but for him to get access to that place, he first needed merit points from the City Hall. So far, he hadn’t even set foot in that place, much less earned any merit points. But in his defense, with his training and alchemy practice, he had his hands full. He only hoped this oversight didn’t end up harming his run on the tower.
The man carrying the axe in front of him had a wicked smile on his face after that last bout.
“That was pretty close huh?” He said, laughing. “Are you sure you want to continue with this? You can still run away; you are pretty fast after all; we probably won’t be able to catch up. Not unless one of the big shots comes after you.”
Lucas shook his head. “I still have business to do here.”
“What, this half-assed prince? Is he really someone you are willing to die for?”
Lucas frowned upon hearing the man’s assumption. “I’m not here for him. I mean, not really; I’m here to kill Sultan.”
Both were silent for a moment, before his opponent burst out laughing.
“BWAHAHAHA,” he only stopped after a few seconds, seeing Lucas’ blank face. All humor vanished from his face. “I thought you were making a joke, but it appears you are really crazy. If that’s the case, then let me awaken you from your delusion,” he said, and even before he finished speaking, he was already sprinting towards Lucas.
When he reached Lucas, he attacked with his axe, and Lucas dodged to the side. Just when he was about to punch—almost like he was expecting this outcome—the man didn’t hesitate, and shoved with his shield. In the last moment, Lucas desperately changed his action and placed his arms in front of his body to protect himself.
A loud thump could be heard from the collision, and Lucas flew a foot backwards, almost landing on the wall. It almost felt like he had been hit by a truck, but at least that thrust allowed him to create some distance again after a few rolls, avoiding the follow-up with the axe.
Rising from the ground, Lucas faced his opponent again with sore arms. Thankfully, they hadn’t broken, but he knew that was only because his opponent wasn’t able to apply much strength since he needed to catch Lucas off guard.
“I already know your movements; you are predictable. You are just prolonging the inevitable,” the man laughed.
Lucas began to think rapidly through all the alternatives he could use to catch the man off guard. That situation wasn’t stable and he knew, like in the beginning of his journey in Ponos, one good hit from a man as strong as him could kill him. His body had improved a lot, but it was still a long way from being strong.
He needed to think of a solution that didn’t involve using his pugilism, since the man had pretty much figured it out his movement pattern by now, but after few moments of quick thinking, the only thing that came to mind was his fireball. However, Lucas still believed that his fireball was too weak to cause any significant damage. This by itself wouldn’t be enough to change the outcome of this battle as it is.
That was when Lucas remembered something. His skill bone-blade didn’t limit itself to only the fists. Sure, he hadn’t trained with any of the others, but if he found the right opportunity… well, a blade is a blade, be it in the hands of a child or an adult. Feeling reassured in his course of action, Lucas decided to take the upper hand and ran towards the man with the axe.
Let’s see how long you can keep up, Lucas thought, beginning to make a series of fake attacks where he went to punch, gave up and proceeded to dodge whatever came his way.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
He had two goals with this: the first was to know exactly at which speed his opponent could move, and the second soon came: the stomp. While doing his fake attempts, Lucas always kept an eye on the man’s foot, and when he saw him raise it higher than normal, he jumped forward, as high as he could.
The ground trembled but Lucas was high in the air, the blade from his opponent’s axe passed right below his feet. The man ducked, expecting a punch from above. And for the first time since he first used the skill, a blade came out of Lucas’ feet as he launched a powerful kick towards the man’s head; the position was nearly perfect after his jump and the duck.
At the last moment, however, realizing Lucas’ feet were coming towards his head, he tilted his head a few inches to the side. Lucas’s blade still managed to pierce his left eye socket, and it went out the side of his head. With the head’s movement, Lucas’ blade broke, and he went flying past the man to fall on the floor behind him.
Quickly turning around, Lucas saw the man still standing but immobile. Until he started to turn, Lucas got ready, still feeling the deep pain in his foot due to the glass breaking. But when he saw the man’s face, he relaxed.
“Wh-what, did you…do?” A look of extreme confusion could be seen in the man’s face. He had a big piece of broken glass sticking out of his left eye socket, and blood was pouring out. It was a gruesome sight, and it was over the next second when the man collapsed to the side.
*You have killed Human – lvl 13. Experience earned.*
Lucas took a deep breath after that. He had been holding his tension in all this time, the rush of adrenaline pushing him forward. Now that is was over, he felt a little ill. This was the closest he had come to seriously injuring himself ever since that whole debacle with the spider.
He needed to be more careful; from now on, he wouldn’t underestimate his opponents anymore. If he had broken his arms on that thrust with the shield, he would be practically done for, and looking at his swollen arms, it had been pretty close. At least the pain was a testimony to the damage caused.
The prince was agape, looking at him and the man on the floor. “What the hell is that thing?” he asked a few moments later, clearly indicating Lucas glass blades.
“It’s none of your business,” Lucas replied casually, after regaining his calm.
“It’s not like any skill I’ve ever seen. Did you find it in a book or an orb, perhaps?” The prince asked. Lucas was about to tell him to shut up when the last part caught his attention.
“An orb?” Lucas asked.
“Yes, those skill orbs, you know,” the prince replied casually, with his eyes fixated on the glass that was sticking out of Rodrik’s eye.
“There are orbs that give skills?” Lucas reasoning behind this question was obvious. Could his orb actually be a skill this entire time? But the librarian hadn’t mentioned anything about this, nor did the tree.
“Yes, well, they are rare, but books aren’t the only thing that you can learn a skill from. I’ve heard stories of people eating fruits and gaining a skill.”
That last thing he mentioned made him remember of Faruk’s wife, who had gained a skill by eating a mushroom. But that wasn’t what he was most interested in. Lucas took out his orb and showed to the prince.
“Is this one of those skill orbs that you mentioned?” Lucas asked anxiously.
The prince shifted his eyes to the orb that Lucas was holding in his hand. His face brightened upon seeing that beautiful piece of art, and he involuntarily extended his hand to grab it, when Lucas slapped it away.
“Who said you could touch it?” Lucas said it angrily. Being a babysitter was more tiresome than he expected; he had no patience to hang out with people he disliked, and the prince with his entitled attitude was clearly one of them.
The prince looked furious when he left his stupor, his teeth clenched with rage. Not even his father dared treat him like that.
“Why should I answer you?” the prince replied. “I know you won’t dare to harm me; my father would take your head.”
“Is that a fact?” Lucas replied, unbothered.
“Yes!” The prince replied triumphantly.
“Well, let’s try out that theory then, shall we?” Lucas said, and his blades popped out of his fists once again as he started walking towards the prince.
“Stop, stop!” The prince yelled when Lucas was about a foot away from him.
Lucas stopped, grinning. “Well, then, is this one of those skill orbs you mentioned?”
“No… I’ve never seen one like this before,” he replied to Lucas disappointment. “But I know the king will be interested in it; we can give you something for it if you give up now and go to the castle…”
Lucas waved his hands. “No need. I’m keeping it.”
The prince closed his mouth, not daring to say more, while still clearly very curious about the orb Lucas had shown him. He knew that if Lucas died in Sultan’s hands, he would never see that orb again; that greedy man wouldn’t let him.
If it were a skill, it would surely be epic, judging by the importance placed on it by the system, he sighed. But he didn’t feel too discouraged. If it wasn’t a skill, then it would be other great thing. Besides, he already had an epic skill—that kick towards the end was awesome, even if he didn’t hit it perfectly. He was smiling, just imagining how it would be when he mastered all the blades.
I should do more of that, he thought, remembering the other blades he could use. So far, he had been focusing on getting good with his fists at the Training Center, and that already proved to be very useful. But maybe the tower was a good place to fully test his new skill since he didn’t have any others he could rely on.
Looking at his arms, Lucas wondered how much time would it take for them to heal. He thought about taking a health potion, but they had a cooling period. After he took the first, he would need to wait about two hours to take another.
This injury isn’t too great; I should save the potion for later. Having decided that, Lucas turned to the prince. “We are going to take a break here, before we proceed,” he said, before sitting on the floor.
The prince looked around for a while, as if considering if he should sit too, before deciding it was better to remain standing so as not to get his clothes dirty.
To pass the time, Lucas decided to check his stats and had a nice surprise waiting for him: he had finally leveled up.
Status:
Lvl: 12
Name: Lucas Romano
Race: Human
Class: Glass Warrior
Health Points (HP): 390/420
Mana Points (MP): 340/350
Stamina: 175/210
Stats:
Strength: 37
Agility: 47
Toughness: 10*
Perception: 26
Vitality: 31*
Magic: 20
Distributable points: 3