A bolt of electricity and heat pierced his shield without encountering any resistance. It immediately pierced part of his chest... missing his heart by a stroke of fate.
His body could not move backward any further as it hit the wall. Fortunately, that attack camouflaged his poisonous attack from Brandon's view, so he stepped back, feeling great pain run through his lower body as the vial shattered upon impact.
He looked down and saw that a powerful corrosive poison was staining much of his lower body. Fury burned in his eyes.
"Damn bastard!" he roared, and a powerful attack was unleashed from his rapier in a horizontal motion.
It was the same in formation as the previous one, but it was not concentrated on a single point: his intention was to split him in half.
The attack quickly closed the distance, like lightning streaking across the sky. Ryan tried his best to defend himself, but it seemed too late.
His body wasn't responding as it should. The hole in his chest was weakening him. Although it hadn't destroyed his heart, it would certainly kill him very soon. Although he thought about taking out all the shields he had bought, he didn't have time to do so, and even if he managed to take them out, the effort would kill him.
At a dead end, he made a decision. He would take out the last potions his mother sent, a high-level one with healing capabilities.
If he did it quickly enough, he could gather enough strength not to die by summoning everything he had in his storage ring.
Since he had gained distance thanks to his poison, Brandon's attack would take some time to reach him, but that time lag was, at most, two seconds. He was practically asking to be fast enough to react in milliseconds.
A normal human... it was impossible for him to do so.
But he decided to cling to the thought that he could be.
As soon as he could, he brought the potion to his mouth and swallowed it so quickly that even his mind was surprised. The rest of the potion splashed over his body, entering his wound. It would be less effective, but it still retained some effectiveness.
In the face of death, the body sometimes draws on its greatest capacity, and Ryan witnessed that. Strength coursed through his body, his arms moving at full speed.
Even so, he was still a normal human being. Brandon was a Walker. Furthermore, Brandon was a powerful Third Level. There was no comparison.
Although he was quick and managed to put up a shield and a weapon in front of him, soon the power of electricity, as fast as lightning and as hot as flame, struck.
A wooden shield reinforced with iron was like any ordinary flan for this type of attack. The shield split in half without even stopping it for a millisecond. Soon, the other two shields met the same fate, and finally, the weapon...
Nothing resisted.
The weapons Ryan could use were normal weapons, without Spirituality. They were not very resistant beyond the resistance of the material used.
He soon found himself face-to-face with the attack.
Only two seconds had passed, and he saw death cross his gaze once again.
This time, he decided to face it head-on, without fear, as he had the first time. And without being struck from behind as he had been the second time.
CLANK*
BREAK*
The thunderous sound of lightning striking a barrier startled him. The protective barrier made of spirituality was soon destroyed, but it took with it all traces of Brandon's attack.
Spiritual Protection!
Ryan spun around to the other side of the room, and just then, Arnold appeared, running and throwing a series of potions at Brandon.
The potions weren't just poisonous; some were designed to explode when their container was broken, while others were meant to create smoke screens.
More than 10 potions were thrown at once, creating a huge smoke screen surrounding the room, making it impossible for Brandon to see through.
"Run, young master!" Arnold shouted, reaching Ryan to help him up.
Ryan wasn't stupid; he knew this was his chance. He immediately got up and ran alongside Arnold, but Arnold soon pushed him forward, knocking him to the ground, and turned to defend himself from an attack.
"Too naive if you think that will stop me, Arnold!" Brandon swung his rapier at high speed, aiming for the neck, but at the last moment, it was deflected by a short sword that appeared in Arnold's hand.
The rapier grazed his cheek slightly, but after dodging it, Arnold quickly threw several potions at him to gain distance.
"Young Master, leave it to me!" Arnold shouted, throwing some healing potions at Ryan. "The tunnel I'm in connects to the end of the test. Run there!"
Ryan got up and looked behind him, frowning.
He no longer had any high-quality poison potions left. At most, he had a few that he had made himself, but none that his mother had made or that Arnold had given him. How could he help here?
The hallway he had been assigned to did not connect to the end, so his only alternative to obtain the Devourer's Path was to run to Arnold's tunnel.
But that would mean selling Arnold out.
As someone who had reached the highest heights, he perfectly understood the enormous difference between Arnold and Brandon.
Arnold was talented and quite good, but his level was only 2. Being an Alchemist in the Alchemist of Laboratory subcategory and being Level 2 (Catalyst Alchemist), his abilities had not yet evolved.
Meanwhile, Brandon is already Level 3, considered a Plan Changer. His abilities have already evolved. And although Ryan remembers that he has no combat skills, his evolved spirituality has gained a lot of purity.
For a specialist in Spiritual Projection like him, defeating a specialist in Spiritual Protection who is only Level 2 is too easy.
While he was lost in thought, Brandon had attacked again.
His rapier stabbed firmly into Arnold's shoulder. "Idiot!" he roared in front of his nose.
Arnold furrowed his brow and attacked back with all his might. Although it was painful, he shouted again, "Young Master, run fast!"
He immediately punched Brandon in the stomach and pushed him as far away as he could: "Run away from here, you already have what it takes to get the reward! Maybe with this, you can become a Walker!" He shouted again, almost roaring.
Ryan clenched his teeth. It wasn't his style to abandon his companions.
But he also understood that there was nothing he could do. The difference between Brandon and Arnold was huge, but what about between Brandon and him?
A moment ago, he witnessed it. He could do nothing but cower in a corner. Faced with such a difference, there was nothing he could do.
The corrosive poison he threw at him didn't have much effect on Brandon because he had special protection. Furthermore, even if his lower body was affected a little, he simply drank a high-quality potion and counteracted the effect.
He gritted his teeth and turned around. Without thinking twice, he ran at full speed to complete the test.
If he could obtain the Devourer's Path in time and return, he could save him. Arnold was a powerful man; he could endure.