[Ordinary Shedim has been slayed]
[+1 Arcanium]
Liam ignored the notification that popped up in front of him as he followed the Shedim corpse he had hurled at the rest of its brethren. The corpse was used as a cover-up, which worked much better than Liam could have anticipated.
Two steel spears pierced into the body of the Shedim in mid-air while Liam appeared next to them. He was not sure why they were wielding steel weapons if they were not even capable enough to hold them properly.
Twisting his body to an uncomfortable degree, he lashed out at the shaft of one of the spears. The wooden spear shaft burst into dozens of wooden splinters that were flung through the surrounding area and Liam's other claw reached out for the upper half of the spear instinctively.
He pulled the spear blade out of the Shedim's body by grasping the remaining broken part of the spear's shaft, without disrupting his momentum, and sent it flying at the other spear-wielding Shedim before it could even react.
Liam's shoulder jerked back due to the recoil effect but the battle was not yet over and neither was his movement sequence done.
As for the Shedim, whose spear Liam had just broken, sparks ignited within its mouth. This wasn't a surprise for Liam who was well aware of the capabilities of the Shedim race. They might only be Lesser Demons but their origin was not too shallow. After all, they were said to be descendants of higher-ranked serpent-like demons.
Their origin was also why the Shedim were capable of controlling and expertly using the element of fire to a certain extent. It was more than enough to manifest fireballs!
But Liam didn't think much about that as he spun his body in order to maintain the high momentum before he pierced through the maw of the Shedim with his bare claws. The flames were lunging at him and scorching his skin but he did not flinch while tearing the Shedim's mouth apart.
Piercing through the swirl of flames caused a small explosion that occurred with a small delay due to the interference Liam's attack caused to the Arcane Power that had been manifested, and the Shedim's fire control that was crumbling down to pieces.
The sixty second delay was more than enough for Liam to pierce the wedge bone in the Shedim's skull, and the brute force ensured that the explosion tore the Shedim's head apart.
Rotten skin, flesh, and brain mass splattered through the surrounding area, but Liam had already moved further ahead.
[+1 Arcanium]
[+1 Arcanium]
His battle instincts were going wild as adrenaline was pumping through his veins. Not even his low stats could restrict him anymore as he ignored the faint burn marks that had appeared on the back of his claw.
'Seems like my bloodline is not entirely useless,' Liam thought while his claws turned back into hands before he reached for the spear of the other Shedim. It was the same Shedim, whose heart had been pierced by the spear blade he had thrown at it with all his might.
Holding the steel spear tightly, he took a look around. There were still more than ten Shedim alive, yet Liam was already beginning to feel weak as his stamina was being drained rapidly.
He could use some Arcanium to increase his stats but it would not make too great of a difference. Going on a shopping spree in the current situation was also not feasible.
Thus, Liam figured that he had to surpass his limit, just like it had been in the past, and wreak havoc.
With that in mind, Liam made a move. A few fireballs, the size of his head shot toward him but Liam evaded them as he leaned forward. His face nearly touched the cold surface of the stone while the heavy rain poured down on them.
The crackling noise of sizzling flames rang through his ears and so did the thundering of the thunderbolts far in the distance as he burst forth.
A handful of fireballs shot past him. They missed Liam by a hair's breadth and would have burned the fabric of his clothes if they weren't drenched.
While he burst forward, he thrust the steel spear toward the closest Shedim. The spear's blade was flat and not extremely sharp or endurable. Facing a battle-axe, or some blunt weapons head-on was certainly not intelligent but it was certainly less weird than seeing the Shedim wield weapons they could barely hold properly.
The Shedim the closest to him cleaved at Liam with a large and heavy battle-axe. But Liam was ready and attacked the Shedim with blinding speed due to the difference in the weapon, range, and wastage of movement in the attack sequence. A moment later, Liam pierced the heart of the Shedim as warm blood splattered on his face.
[+1 Arcanium]
His eyes were ice-cold and he merely gave a sideway glance to the notification that appeared at the corner of his eyes to make sure that the Shedim was truly dead.
He glanced at the heavy battle-axe for a moment before his attention diverted to the remaining Shedim. Their movements were being hampered by the heavy downpour and the stone cliff that turned much more slippery the closer they came to the wet soil that was more mud than anything else.
Liam was still standing on the stone cliff, wielding the simple-looking steel spear that was only a bit longer than two meters.
It was a long, narrow spear with a double-edged blade and a pointed tip. It suited Liam's purpose because it was light and easy to wield. His thrusts were rapid and his range of attack allowed him to gain an advantage against the high number of Shedims that were slowly making their way up to the cliff.
That way three more Shedim fell for his attacks and collapsed to the grounds.
Unfortunately, the kills didn't come without a sacrifice.
His mind was rattling rapidly but his body was not able to move as he imagined to move in his head. No matter how honed his body was, the vast difference in strength compared to his past strength was shocking.
He also lacked his Soultrait, which made things even more difficult.
Thus, he ended up getting hit by two fireballs that exploded on his upper body, one at his chest and the other on his abdomen.
Liam's expression turned grim and the impact of the explosions flung him back, closer to the edge of the cliff that welcomed him with a breeze of chilling air.
"Open the Arcane Shop!"
**
If you like the Novel, add it to the library and sent it your powerstones!
**
The high fire resistance of his body, and its resilience towards explosions allowed him to survive the impact of two fireballs.
They hit him and exploded, flinging him through the air but he was alive and thankfully had not received any severe injuries. His clothes had received the brunt of the attack and he had two burn marks across the area of impact, which was much less troublesome than he had expected.
Getting up from the ground, his eyes flickered through the bunch of screens that opened up in front of him.
'These fucking bastards are really going to waste my money!' Liam cursed in his mind as he opened the Arcane Shop, which was one of the three special options that could be used the moment the Arcane System was initiated.
The functions were〖Arcane Shop〗, 〖Nine Realm Chat〗and last but not least,〖Missions〗.
Liam opened the Arcane Shop, or the different types of columns to be precise.
He could only take a quick glance at the affordable options which did not leave him with a lot of things to buy.
'A temporary Speed Drug…enhances my Agility to the D-rank for five minutes…for five Arcanium…' Liam found, biting his lip as he did a quick calculation in his mind. There were more than ten Shedim that were making their way toward him right now and a steady influx of more such monsters continued to emerge out of the underground tower.
Since the ancient doors had been opened, the Shedim were unleashed on the hapless humans, creating a Gateway from the Underworld to Haltan. Instead of pouring high-ranked Demons, let alone Great Devils out of the tower, and thereby wasting precious resources, Liam's sister had chosen a different way to bring the Apocalypse to Haltan.
The little rat of a half-sister, from his mother's side, of course, caused lots of trouble to him, even if they were in a completely different realm right now.
Unfortunately, that was not something Liam could give much thought to right now. After some quick calculations in his mind, he swallowed his pride as a warrior.
Not using his Arcanium right now would mean his death, even if he didn't like to acknowledge that.
He was too weak, his Soul had yet to awaken and his mind took longer to adjust to the given situation than expected.
It was annoying but so was life! There was nothing Liam could change about it.
'...weakening state after the drug's effect wears off is five hours…yeah, definitely not…'
[Speed Drug]
[Herculean Drug]
[Vitality Drug]
[Black Iron Saber]
[Ring of Pyroma]
[Boots of Aracnian]
[Ignition Flash]
[Staff of Marli]
"That's all bullshit…not helpful at all…" Liam cursed under his breath. He was forced to keep moving backward as more fireballs were thrown at him.
The number of Shedim was steadily increasing and it was hardly possible for Liam to make out their numbers.
Fighting against all of them was not feasible even if he were to use his small fortune of Arcanium to increase his stats because there were simply too many, swarming at him like cockroaches.
It was possible to stall some more time by killing a few more Shedim in exchange for being grazed by several fireballs but it was only a matter of time before he would be pushed over the edge of the cliff.
He would fall more than ten meters through the air until his fall would be punctured due to the tree branches he was bound to collide on. The entire valley was like a reservoir blessed by nature, teeming with an abundance of flora and fauna. Liam had seen the trees below the cliff before so he knew that increasing his Vitality would be more than enough for him to survive the fall.
However, retreating and jumping down the cliff seemed to be his last and only shot at survival even if his pride took a severe blow.
There was still a chance for him to turn the tides, which Liam noticed the moment he found what he had been looking for…just that it was way too expensive.
'So you're telling me that the Soul Awakening Orb costs 1000 Arcanium…this is such bullshit…' Liam thrashed the system in his mind, or he imagined to do so, at least. However, he knew that he should rather curse his Mother for snatching everything from him.
If their Soultrait had already awoken before, they would emerge on Haltan with their Soultraits unlocked as well. Only a few intelligent lifeforms on Haltan would receive the fortune of awakening their Soultrait the moment they came in touch with Arcane Power.
As for everyone else, they had to pay the price to awaken their Soul artificially, or strive even harder and hope that they would be enlightened all of a sudden.
Liam didn't believe that the latter was possible right now even if his current situation put enough pressure to force him into a state of enlightenment to survive miraculously.
Unfortunately, he didn't really feel like relying on a miracle to survive. He knew that he was on his own, just like always. Thus, he clung to the last straw of hope and shouted out loud.
"System, lend me as much Arcanium as I can borrow with an interest of 10% or less!"
The Arcane System was not something anyone had a lot of information about. It was only known that one could do basically everything with the System.
At least, that was what Liam heard when his siblings had discussed what to do about Haltan. He had been chained down to a chair at that time, forced to listen to their discussions because his mother wanted that, and he could have never believed that it would come in handy someday in his life.
[The Arcane System has analyzed the Host's current situation and is willing to borrow 1000 Arcanium that has to be paid back in five days with an interest rate of 10% per day.]
Liam's upper lip began to twitch and he momentarily forgot about the threat caused by the dozens of Shedims in front of him.
"You son of a Hydra!" He cursed out loud while bursting forward. His right arm thrust forward and the tip of the steel spear cleanly pierced through the head of the closest Shedim.
[Edit: If the Host is unable to pay back, or dies in the following 120 Hours, his Soul will be taken and sold at the new Haeli Auction!]
"Fuck you…" He shouted, just to grit his teeth at the sight of more than 30 incoming fireballs that would turn him into a living torch in a matter of seconds.
"...I agree…"
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GOT IT