**CHAPTER TWO: Defiant One**

The Lockden militia, Reginald, and Levi began their preparations. Buffs went out, and potions were passed around. "Archers, take rooftop positions there, there, and here," Reginald pointed. "Front liners, remember, do not feed into the spell. Stay in the moment. Winning the fight isn't why we're here; we simply need to buy time and eliminate the mage," Reginald said as he placed a hand on a fisherman's shoulder. Levi knew this wasn't going to be easy but took a deep breath to focus his mind. He looked at his friend speaking to the others, the smell of the wood all around on fire, the light glow from the moon. Taking in his environment, Levi could feel the calmness wash over him. He stood up and said, "Okay, let's fuck this guy up!"

Reginald got into position along the southern wall with a fire mage from the militia. The mage placed both hands out in front of him and charged his biggest spell. With a rush of hot air and a boom that sent a shock wave through the air, the wall exploded, taking a large portion of the roof with it. Levi was infusing lightning affinity mana into Armor's Bane. It could take much more than the uncommon rarity one he used earlier. It had an engraved wooden handle with a large circular head, and on the other side was a long, sharp spike. He had won the hammer in a tournament back when he was training to be an adventurer. Giving Reginald a nod, the mage blew the wall to pieces. Before the debris could even land, Levi was moving, using Chain Lightning to keep the mage off balance while he closed the distance. With his hand held up in the mage's direction, it crackled with power. Levi unleashed it. The spell shot through the air with immense speed and struck the mage. The mage, at the high end of bronze rank, easily tanked the spell and leapt back to gain some distance. He was utterly surprised this backwater shithole had anyone able to produce such a spell. While he could take the hit, it still hurt like hell and did a considerable amount of damage for the rank.

The mage had many tricks up his sleeve. Upon seeing Levi barrel through the falling debris, he used one of these tricks. With a mental command, a hulking bandit five times bigger than the one from the hall slammed into Levi, sending him flying into the wall to his right. "What...the...fuck," Levi mumbled while standing up, hammer still crackling with mana. "Oh, that's a big bandit!" Reginald yelled out. "Reggie, take the mage; I'll deal with this thing!" Levi shouted. He knew enough about Reginald's abilities and strengths—they'd worked together for a number of years and defended the town numerous times—that Reginald was more suited to putting pressure on a ranged opponent. Levi brought his shield from his back and took a defensive stance, readying himself for a real battle. The hulking man's eyes were pitch black, his veins were bulging and a dark purple color. He was altered by some kind of twisted spell. Wood debris was still falling from the explosion. Blue light flickered all over from the hammer. Levi kept his gaze locked on the man in front of him. The man dug his back foot in. Levi knew he was about to make his move and readied himself. Then the man was gone. Levi was taken by surprise at the speed when a hit from behind sent him flying. He crashed into tables and chairs, breaking everything in his path. Levi spat out blood on the floor. "It's been ages since I took a hit like that," Levi smirked. He began infusing the lightning affinity mana into himself, increasing his reaction time and speed. His eyes glowed blue, and lightning started to crackle all over, striking the ground around him. Levi leapt upwards towards the man. He was just above the man's head and struck down, holding the hammer with two hands on the man's head. With a shriek, the mana infused in the hammer flooded the man. Bolts of lightning were streaming out from his head. Levi didn't stop. He pressed the prone man and struck downward again and again, pummeling the now motionless giant. Levi swung until his hand was sore, then leapt back and chugged a mana potion. Potions had a cooldown effect after they're taken. While you can consume more, there won't be any effects. A lesser rank potion will have a lower cooldown.

Reginald moved fast, using the momentum that Levi created and pressed the mage, closing the distance and getting into melee with the mage. Reginald struck with a hidden blade and placed a shallow cut across the mage's chest. The mage became transparent, and Reginald's cuts passed through him like a ghost as he started casting a spell. The hulking man slowly stood up. His head was caved in, part of his face was gone, blood poured from the man's head. A dark purple light started glowing out of his wounds as his flesh grew back and wrapped around the exposed skull. "It's fucking healing, Reggie!" Levi yelled. "He turned into a damned ghost; I can't hit him!" The giant man grabbed a handful of debris on the ground and hurled it at Reginald. Levi leapt to block the attack with his shield. Levi took the attack head-on. Shards of wood found the gaps in his armor. While the armor didn't give any stats, it did disperse physical attacks extremely well, but even it had its limits. Levi was in pain. Shards of wood sticking out of the gaps in the armor began dripping blood, and visible dents appeared in the helmet and chest plate. Levi's glowing eyes locked in on the incoming bandit. He raised his shield to block the attack. The bandit raised both his arms and slammed down into the shield with both fists, crushing the shield and sending Levi crashing into the ground.

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Now they lost the momentum, and the mage's forces were closing in. Arrows flew overhead as the archers engaged them. The other militia made their way through the breach. One engaged a bandit with a large two-handed axe that parried the militia man's attack, then cleaved him in half. Two more crawled through the rubble towards Levi and the large bandit, who grabbed one and used him as a weapon to beat the other. It was a massacre. He threw the battered man to the side. Levi opened his eyes. He was breathing heavily. The sounds of metal weapons clanging, arrows thudding into the bandits and ground around them. He slowly stood up, and with a loud clang, what was left of the shield he was holding fell to the ground. Reginald was absolutely shaken. "Levi, you fool!" Reginald shouted as he tried to move, yelling in pain from the spell. The hammer was so heavy in his hands he wanted to drop it. His helmet was dented and hot. He wanted to take it off and accept the fact that he did his best, but he couldn't. He couldn't accept this fate. How fucking dare they trash the Maul, threaten his family, and kill his friends. A deafening thump echoed in his head. The mage laughed hysterically. "Crainwall will wash over this backwater nothing town and carve out the countryside!" He cast a spell that wrapped Reginald with transparent purple tentacles. He struggled to move, but each time he did, pain shot through his entire body. Levi was hunched over, blood pooling at his feet. He started to feel cold as the warm blood ran down him to his feet. The large man leapt above him, both hands raised high. THUMP...THUMP...THUMP.

[Prerequisite for unknown race skill met]

[Cataclysm]

1. Damage Amplification: The more damage you take, the more damage you can deal.

2. Second Wind: When your HP falls below a certain threshold, you gain a temporary boost to your abilities.

3. Enhanced Abilities: During the Second Wind state, your abilities are enhanced, allowing you to deal more damage and gain other benefits.

Levi felt like a dam had just burst inside him. He was flooded with power and mana. His eyes were swirling blue and black orbs. Lightning bolts began to jump from him, striking the ground and tearing it asunder. He raised his hand and cast Chain Lightning, which normally had a blue color to the lightning, but this time it was black as the void. [Chain Lightning has evolved into Abyssal Lightning]

[Abyssal Lightning]

1. Bolts of lightning from the abyss jump up to 20 targets, amplifying each time it jumps.

2. Causes targets to be debuffed with shock; targets take increased lightning damage.

Black electricity wrapped up Levi's arm to his hand, creating a ball in his palm of pure darkness. He stared down the giant-sized man and unleashed the devastating spell. Pure black bolts of lightning burst from Levi's hand and surged towards the large man. As it hit him, he twisted and contorted, dropping to the ground. Cracks formed all over his body. The black bolts jumped immediately to the mage, who smirked and didn't even try to dodge, assuming his ethereal form would protect him. He was also struck by the bolts and writhed in anguish. He released Reginald, who had lost consciousness from struggling. [You have killed level 70 human] Levi got the kill notification for killing the giant bandit but not the mage...not yet. The mage was keen and resourceful. He cast a spell that empowered him. "You are a defiant one. My victory or loss doesn't matter the invasion has begun more far stronger than me are already here. This town, your family, and your friends—all will be crushed!" The mage snarled.

Levi infused the same Abyssal Lightning into Armor's Bane. It crackled with violent black electricity. Levi felt lighter than ever before, his reaction speeds were like those of another rank. The mage raised both hands and cast a spell that shot a beam of dark magic towards Levi. He saw this in almost slow motion, stepped to the side of the beam, and charged the mage. Before the mage could lower his hands to move the destructive beam towards Levi, he raised the hammer and slammed it down square onto the mage's head. There was a powerful explosion, with bolts of black electricity jumping out from the impact. The mage's top half was gone.

[You have killed level 80 human]