[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
A full four levels, but Dorian didn't care much. It wasn't about levels. He had said this before, but he deluded himself into believing that it was for some cause.
A righteous crusade against the System.
Laughable.
Frankly - if Dorian was honest - he could give two shits about that, that was not the reason he fought. It was much, much simpler then that.
He loved it. It was thrilling.
Quite a contrarion, no? Constantly complaining about his Bloodline and how he felt so much pain. And yet, he forced himself into these situations, taking hits even when he didn't need to just so he could defeat the enemy.
Even this last fight, he could have dodged that last attack and not have to feel his leg rebuilding, flesh writhing - twisting itself back into existence. Veins threading through newly formed muscle, knitting together. Tendons stretching and latching onto the reborn frame like ropes pulled taut. The skin, creeping over raw muscle in a crawling tide of fire and needles, sealing him but leaving him with a phantom ache.
But no, he did not dodge, he did not avoid pain. Because he embraced it, it reminded him of how far he had to go to reach his goal.
Not for any good reason. It was simple.
He was hungry.
He hungered for the pinnacle, the quicker and stronger he fought the more he enjoyed the thrill of a fight. So he wanted to get quicker, and stronger, to be thrilled even further.
Selfish.
But not, he didn't owe anyone anything. They were dead already. All he could do now was give into his selfishness, something he had surpressed for too long. Content to stagnate in Greystone, maybe he would still be content if not for his chance encounter with the girl.
He was here now. And he revelled in it.
He realised now that the pain he had been expecting from his leg regrowing hadn't arrived. It actually felt quite warm and pleasant. Why? Dorian thought.
"Dorian!" Caroline screeched, he turned towards the voice.
Ah, of course. She healed me.
He took in the scene, Caroline had briefly seperated from the duet, Dain and Isolde, to heal him. She was already running back. It looked like they were struggling. It was clear that they were disadvantaged slightly, even with Caroline, as Isolde was not good at infliciting damage to heavily armoured foes.
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Despite this, one of the [Ember Knights] had a disfunction arm. Most likely due to Dain hammering it.
He got up quickly to help, but paused for a second. How's Veylan doing?
He looked over, and smirked. He was absolutely fine.
Veylan danced around his two opponents, both had lost an arm, neither had a sword, but they weren't intelligent enough to run away. Why would a dungeon have enemies that ran away?
He refocused on the trio, and used [Forbidden Rush].
He arrived briskly at the side of the injured knight, it was preoccupied with Isolde's rapid strikes. Clearly, once Dain had injured it she focused on it - the only way for her to get some major damage in.
He unsheated [Arcane Shortsword], and used [Slash].
The [Slash] was effective, tearing a river of blood into the side of the knight's torso.
It turned to him, and swung. This time, Dorian dodged.
He used [Slash] again, and the [Ember Knight] moved to block it with it's comically large sword.
He switched quickly, deactivating [Slash] as the blade moved closer to the blocking point, and activated [Spacerend].
Time paused. Again.
It was interesting, [Spacerend]. You could infer from the name that it was an attack with a space affinity, which it certainly did as it allowed him to move his sword through objects when time was paused. But that was the problem, time was not a part of a space affinity.
Except it was, and Dorian realised this now. It was the effect of spacetime.
The mechanics of the skill were quite interesting, but Dorian seemed to understand what happened well.
Both times I have activated [Spacerend], I've felt an extreme weight upon me, like I would rip straight through the Earth and launch into space if time wasn't paused. I think I know what happens, I am literally made to be so extremely heavy that time distorts and stops. Like black holes, they are so heavy that as you get closer time goes slower and slower. If an astronaut were to enter a black hole, and people from Earth could watch as it happened. The astronaut for them would travel to the entrance of the black hole for millions of years before eventually being stuck at the entrance of the black hole indefinitely, because time is slowed so much that it stops. But from the perspective of the astronaut, it would be a fraction of a second.
This is what happens to me, the skill makes me extremely, extremley heavy. Like a black hole. Time distorts and stops around me. There are two more parts to the skill, the space part and the part that helps me.
The space part is the part that allows me to phase through matter while in this state - during my first fight my sword phased through the knight's sword. The second part is the invisible string. Obviously, when time is paused I cannot move. So the skill helps, it creates an invisible string from my sword that stretches infinitely, and it is controlled by my will. It allows me to pull the string using my will so that the skill actually has some use. Without this, it would be useless.
And this is what Dorian did now, he tugged on the string, and his sword phased through the sword of the knight - almost identical to how he had killed the first one. And stopped a few inches from it's chest.
Time resumed, and his momentum burst forth. The sword ripped into the meaty flesh that covered his rips, breaking through the costae verae and plunged into the palpatating heart.
The light died from the knight's eyes.
[Lv. 122 Ember Knight defeated]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
The last knight was battling with Dain, Isolde glanced at Dorian in shock. Clearly not knowing how he had done what he did. But quashed her curiosity to join Dain. They would handle it now.
Dorian pulled the sword out of the chest of the knight. And moved to observe Veylan's "fight".
But instead, Dorian had an idea. He hadn't ruined the helmet of this knight.
Maybe Dain would remould it for him?