The sounds of the battlefield faded from my peripheral. My mind cleared, as for the anxienty that was in my heart- I pushed it down. I didn't have much time.
The field of [Murderous intent] that surrounded me wouldn't work forever and I wasn't too sure if my friends could actually defeat the Bone Ape. Not that I didn't have faith in them but the odds were pretty overwhelming regardless so I couldn't really help the doubt that was deep within me.
Eventually all these thoughts were filtered out of my mind, replaced by the familiar green letters as the Spirit Record took form within my mind. I need to digest my gains so that I could best utilize them.
…
[Name: Huey Coleman
Race: Human
Level: 17 (First Star Order)
Special trait: Anti-magic
Job class: None (required to reach level 20)
Unallocated stats: 6
Stats:
Strength: 153(+20)(30)
Stamina: 109(30)
Agility: 164(30)
Mana: 171(30)
Magic: 154(30)
Health: 188(30)
Shadow Art{UNIQUE}: 25(30)
[Skills:
Active Skills List:
[Break-Unclassified Skill Level 3]
[Charged Mind- First Star Order Level 1]
[Murderous Intent-Second Star Order Level 5]
[Aura Skin-First Star Order Level 2]
[Metal Control First Star Order Level 5]
[Sun God's Palm First Star Order Level 5]
Passive Skills List:
[Super soldier-First Star Order Level 5]
[Poison resistance-First Star Order Level 5]
Shadow skills List:
[Shadow slash]
[Shadow step 1st Form-Swift]
[Shadow veil]
Titles:
[Against All Odds-When facing an enemy who surpasses you by 5 levels all stats get a boost of 40% for 2 hours and goes into cooldown for 3 hours]
[Splendid scholar-You are the first to achieve the feat of learning two active skills through your own efforts and comprehensions. The Spirit Record has taken note of you and has decided to reward you appropriately. Increases learning speed by 30%. Passively increases intelligence and perception by 10%]
]
…
If anyone told me whether I ever thought my stats would increase to the level as they had right now two weeks ago, I'd probably tell them they were messing around and laugh it off- yet here I was looking at my stats that crossed over the hundreds and an extensive list of skills that seemed a bit too long for somebody still in the First Star Order.
Regardless this was good and the best part was that because my stat points had increased the title effect of [Against all odds] had reset. I didn't have to wait 3 hours of cooldown for it to be usable once again.
That was a win in my book.
'Mana has increased significantly too meaning I can make more use of my skills almost freely' I thought with a slight smile.
Another thing that caught my attention was [Sun God's Palm].
It was still a new skill and I still hadn't found the time to test it out yet, it was even to the point that I almost forgot about the skill. I didn't even use it during my confrontation with the Alpha Bear and the Fiery Panther!
It would be best to test it out before the final battle with 'The Lurker' begun.
I checked on things one more time before internally nodding to myself. It was time to go.
Dismissing the Spirit Record, my eyes flashed open with a fierce light and the sounds around me returned to my ears. The sounds of a beast growling nearby caught my attention immediately.
It was one of the bears from the Alpha Bear's pack. It felt the [Murderous intent] surrounding me but it still approached nonetheless. Some creatures just hard to learn their lesson the hard way and unfortunately for the bear the lesson it would learn would be the last it ever did.
Chi.
With a casual swing of my arm [Black Salamander] snaked through the air, the bear's head falling to the ground and a fountain of blood falling from its severed neck.
I didn't even look at it. I stood and took in everything around me.
A lot of things had changed while I was out of it. In the distance, not even a five meters away, a familiar group of three were huddled together. I could see Candice and Lydia standing over a third person who I assumed to be Jordan.
A weight that had been on my chest was relieved somewhat. However just before I could sigh in relief pained groans travelled to my ears prompting me to look forward with even more attention. This time I noticed Candice and Lydia moving frantically above him as though they were worried about something.
That wasn't even the worst part. Whatever it was that they were worrying about seemed to take away all their attention because they didn't seemed to notice the bears and apes heading their way.
I counted about 11 in total- five bears, six apes.
My eyes narrowed and without a second thought I moved. A heavy step forward carried my momentum forward and with my current agility stat closing in on the beasts wasn't a problem at all.
Like a ghost I appeared before the bears a fierce light shining in my eyes. I appeared before the first bear and with fast movements I pierced my right hand forward, thrusting [Black Salamander] in the side of its neck.
Even as I did that I pulled my foot up and slammed it into the creature's side. The bear growled in agony as the kick sent it stumbling into the path of the other bears and apes. The bear died even as it hit the ground.
With their path forward blocked they could only bring their attention towards me.
The first creature to pounce on me was from the apes it was several times smaller than the Bone Ape but it was definitely bigger than a normal ape almost standing at 1 meter in height.
I took a deep breath and called on my mana and pulled my left hand to my side with an open palm. Heat gathered around my palm as mana converged, my palm glowed with an orange glow. The temperature around me seemed to rise sharply.
The moment I felt this change I threw out the palm.
"[Sun God's Palm]" I muttered and as though responding to my call, a lance of flames shoot forward.
The ape was covered in a blanket of orange. The ape could only give a mournful shriek before it fell to the ground as a corpse of all black. The flames continued forward and landed on part of a bear's coat that had been running just behind the poor ape.
This time however since the bear was a fairly long distance away it didn't suffer as much as the ape did.
'It seems the flames are more effective when they are less than a meter away from my palm. More than that and the effects aren't as great'
I pushed the thought to the back of my mind as I flashed forward.
By now the bear had leapt back and was currently shaking off the flames that lingered on its coat of fur. It only took a single stroke of my blade to end its life. I moved like a ghost, the shrieks of the apes and the cries of the bears filled the air for a moment before they went silent once more.
An insignificant amount of soul essence trickled into my soul but I ignored it together with the system messages as I made my way towards the others. It was only when I was standing between the two ladies that I could finally see what was actually going on.
Jordan was lying on the ground, his teeth clenched and his body convulsing slightly.
"What's wrong?" I asked my voice dripping with anxiety.
Lydia was the one who replied. Her voice as pleasant to the ears as they have always been.
"It's the earrings they enhance Health regeneration but what I don't understand is how healing can cause this" Lydia said. She bit into her lower lip nervously.
The moment I heard this my worry lessened.
"All if its that then we don't have to worry too much. This is probably because his body is healing at a faster rate than his used to so he is probably feeling his cells and nerves reconnecting in real time and trust me when I say its not a good feeling at all" I said
Lydia seemed to relax a bit as she released her lower lip. She looked at me with questioning eyes. I could only shrug and say: "I had the same experience after the battle with the Second Star Order eagle"
Her brows shot up in surprise.
"Really? How come you never said anything that time?" she glared at me this time and look that somehow got me thinking of an angry cat but I didn't dare say that aloud.
"I never thought it was important at the time you know" I said.
"So this is something that happens?" this time it was Candice that stepped in.
"Yeah if you're health is high enough or if your healing ability is enhanced to a high level like with a healer" I replied. "That said now isn't really the time to let you guards do-"
"DULTON!!"
At that moment a sharp cry ripped through the battlefield causing me to stop mid-sentence.
"…That sounded like_" Lydia began
"Clara!" I shot forward into the eastern direction from our current location. "Take care of Jordan!"
I leapt over the grooves melted into the ground and leapt over the corpse of the Bone Ape before continuing forward, the air exploding behind me as I broke through a certain barrier. I unleashed all my agility without holding anything back.
…
It didn't take long for me to reach Clara. A distance of over 200 meters crossed in less than thirty seconds. I was moving so fast that I could barely feel the wind on my skin. Soon I had her in sight however what I saw made my heart drop while at the same time I felt my blood boil within my veins as though it had turned into magma.
The largest praying mantis that I have ever seen stood over Clara, even from this distance I could feel the aura of a peak First Star Order existence pressing down on her however what truly made my blood boil was the large scythe-like blade it was trying to cleave Clara with.
However woman was resilient- I could help but praise her in my heart, she was actually trying to push back the blade with nothing but her bare hands. Even here, from 10 meters away I could see the blood dripping from her small hands and felt to the ground but Clara never gave up.
[Murderous intent] billowed out from my body as I pushed myself to the very limits of what my current body could handle. I lost control of my body and ended leaping off the ground however that just seemed to work in my favor.
Like a rocket my body soared from the ground launching me forward. It was to the point that I almost flew over the mantis however even as I passed over it, I managed to cut off its arm at the joint, elevating the pressure that had been on Clara by a great deal.
I flipped in the air as I landed on the ground, clenching my thighs and flexing my calves to the very limits. My feet dug into the ground, leaving burrows in my wake even as I came to a stop.
THUMP. THUMP.
The beating of my heart felt like a war drum.
Clara seemed to lose consciousness as she fell to the ground.
By now my [Murderous intent] reached its peak and somehow it didn't just explode outwards from my body like it usually did.
This time I could feel it subconsciously, [Murderous intent] was being directed onto the First Star Order mantis that was standing in front of me, now having lost a single arm.
…
The First Star Order mantis couldn't comprehend how it had gotten to this point. It had been having a very easy time earlier eliminating the two human males whose soul essence hadn't even been enough to push it to the next level and was just about to slice the other human as well and yet before it could even do that who knew that this thing could appear.
It was shaped like a human and yet it felt like a monster.
The murderous intent that slammed into it felt as though it had been doused in a bucket of cold water. It couldn't help but shiver suddenly finding moving to be extremely difficult and what was worse it could feel its stat drop by at least 10%
The human…no the monster took a strong step forward and the area seemed to get darker. The shadows swayed beneath its feet as though responding to the boiling murderous intent coming from it and then the tip of a sword suddenly appeared before it.
If the mantis had human eyes its pupils would have constricted to an unhealthy degree.
The mantis tried to shift its body to the side but such movements weren't designed for its body in the first place so it could only helplessly watch as the dark obsidian blade pierced through its flesh and into the side of its body.
SKREE!
What sounded like a cry of pain and agony came from its mouth as the mantis felt its instincts scream of danger. Its senses were overwhelmed by the scent of death that hang just above it.
If it didn't do something soon it would die.
Its one remaining scythe swung down aiming for one of the monster's arms but to its utter surprise the monster let go of its sword leaving it stuck in its body and warped around to its side!
The scythe hit nothing but air. However the monster could attack with nothing but its body alone.
…
Despite my murderous rage my mind was actually calm. After piercing the mantis in what I would like to call its torso, I let go of my sword and warped around to the left side of its body. My feet shifted, my hips rotated and my fist struck forward carrying the entirety of my body weight with a fearsome momentum
Bang.
My fist landed on the side of the mantis' 'face'. The force of the punch sent its body swaying to the side, green blood falling to the ground. My body shifted once more into a lower stance this time as I lashed out with a kick aimed at the hilt of [Black salamander].
The blow pushed the sword all the way through its body.
SKKKRRREEEEE!
Blood fell from the tiny mandibles in its mouth but I didn't let up. I reached forward and pulled the sword out only to slice its other arm off. The pained screams of the mantis filled the air but it wasn't enough.
Clara had clearly screamed for Dulton before I arrived and from my memory Dulton, Mordecai and Clara had moved together as a unit so the fact that Dulton and Mordecai were nowhere to be found could only mean…
The mantis at this point turned to flee however before it could even take a single step back I unleashed a [Shadow slash] that tore off all of its legs. It fell to the ground helplessly but my murderous intent only continued to grow.
…the fact that Dulton and Mordecai were nowhere to be seen in the vicinity meant that this…
'Fucking mantis killed them!' the thought alone almost had me seeing red. I pierced [Black Salamander] into the ground and walked forward leaving the blade behind. The blood in my veins rushed like the untamed tides of the ocean, the beating of my heart growing so wild and loud that it faintly travelled through the surrounding air.
It felt like something within me was lashing out wanting nothing more than to be released and it felt that the best way to do so wouldn't be through the blade but rather the fists.
The mantis was crawling forward now with what remained of its arms, a trail of green blood in its wake. It didn't get far before I stood in front of it.
From the ground the mantis felt as though it was standing beneath the feet of an emperor and if it had a human face its eyes would be reflecting fear and helplessness as my fist descended- carrying with it the fury of a tempest.