"I…did it. That's two down…right?"
The flashing red bar in my vision pestered me to no end, even throughout that small moment of victory before leading to the next fight.
I turned my body to the oncoming attack. A large Orc lifted its fists beside its body for a flurry of punches. The distance between us was too close for comfort and left barely enough room to think.
The berserker blow did a lot of damage but it had two major drawbacks for a situation like that. Firstly, the cooldown on the skill was longer than my other quick-use skills. Secondly, I didn't have the mana to perform too many of those in a row.
There was no telling how long that fight would last, especially with two Orcs still standing. They were both already cut into a few times but there was no telling how long a fight like that would have lasted.
I need to rely on my body for a bit. I'll push myself–push myself further than ever before!
I tossed out my Chakrtams and drew my chest back with every inch of force I could muster. A striking pain rushed down my spine as I forced myself to move further and faster than I could handle.
Both my hands hovered beside me and a faint green light appeared in my palms that drew my Chakrams out of the air.
A moment later, as the Orc drove its fists towards me, my blades rushed back to me in a swift jolt across the air. They cut through gaps between its limbs and torso with sharp motions and left a couple of deep cuts across its skin.
My eyes jolted open as the Chakrams met my hand and I flipped backwards, out of the way of the flurry. The orc stumbled forward, weakened by the heavy cuts around its arms and legs.
The massive, hulking arms that caused alarm were no longer even a threat. They dangled at the brute's side as if they were ornaments that served no purpose.
Now's my chance!
I noticed the last Orc behind it, rushing in to finish the job. A fight against both of them at the same time put me at a disadvantage so I tried avoiding that. I needed to get to my target first and finish it off.
I buried my feet in the rough dirt and used it like a foothold for me to explode off of. "Rush!" With that call, my legs were covered in a thick layer of mana that kept me light and helped close the gap between the weakened Orc and myself.
Both Chakrams at my side, I spun around and delivered two clean cuts across the chest, then the thigh, then the arms. I continued with a full explosion of cuts and slashes to its body from every angle I could muster but my fun was cut short.
The looming shadow of a creature much bigger than I, fell over me. I rolled between the bleeding Orcs legs and leapt to my feet behind it. With a snappy motion, I brought my body towards it and threw my fist out with every last fibre of strength I had left to give.
I had been watching the cooldown clock in my peripheral and timed it to the T.
I put everything I had behind that punch and pushed through every muscle and joint in my body that screamed against it. "Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!!"
{Berserker Blow activated}
The green Orc arm covered over mine like a sleeve and crashed into the bloodied chest of its own kind. The dense bones beneath rattled against my knuckles and then eventually…snap! My fist broke through and every bone against my knuckles shattered into crunchy jelly under the skin.
My attack landed two hits, one against the Orc in front of me and then the last Orc that stood right behind it. The force of my punch caught them both and sent the duo flying back with a beam of pressure.
I felt it though, the intense amount of pressure that left my fingers as I landed that punch. It managed to travel through the first one and hit the second Orc.
{2000 Exp gained}
{2500 Exp gained}
{Level Up}
The two bodies of the Orcs crashed against the tunnel wall and left a massive crater behind them, littered with cracks and fissures around it. My eyes and mouth worked together in a celebration as I noticed my accomplishment mounted on the wall in front of me.
"Does this make me strong…Mister Ed?." I collapsed back and felt my body fall into someone's arms.
"Yeah. You're crazy strong, kid."
Mister Ed stood over me, with a warm smile shining down. My eyes were half open, barely able to stay that way but after seeing him, they flickered into a frantic string of blinks. Everything was pretty blurry but even so, his words remained clear.
Once my vision cleared and I looked up again, Mister Ed had vanished and all that was left was Veldor's worried expression. My eyes raced back and forth across the room as Veldor helped me back to my feet.
"Just my imagination?" I muttered.
"Come again?"
"Oh…nothing." I strapped my Chakrams onto my back and felt someone's gaze on them.
Veldor stood in front of me and left just enough room between us for a breath. He was taller, only by a couple of inches but enough to notice it when that close. His eyes fell over me with a sombre stare as if staring into my very soul.
I felt a sudden pressure weigh over me, a sense of something important. It was then that he spoke, his voice carried a heavy layer of sincerity behind it.
"Are you aiming for money, fame or women?"
I wanted to ask why he needed to say that but nothing else but a straightforward answer felt right. I think it was the weight that his stare cast over me. Whatever it was, it wasn't something I could ignore.
"None of those."
"Then what is it that you're really aiming for?"
Without a second of delay, my voice carried out my thoughts.
I clenched my fists. "To reach the top of this Tower. Only then, will I be satisfied."
After questioning me about my goals in the Tower, Veldor fell quiet. He was pretty quick to move on and suggested that we head back to the lower floors before we completely exhausted our supplies.
So after devouring the remaining Orcs, we quickly made our way down to Istoria. Turns out that the Orcs were pretty strong, not just in a fight.
{Strength Alteration Lv1}
Out of the many locked skills that became available to me, that one was the only other skill that became usable after devouring those Orcs. A skill unlike any other that I had unlocked until then.
It's a skill that can temporarily switch my mana status with my physical status, supposedly able to give me a massive boost in might. Seeing it for the first time sent me into shock, I mean, just imagine it.
My mana at the time was nearly three times the number that my strength was at, by that math, I should be able to triple my strength using that skill. How could something like that not interest me?
As for the trip back down, it went off without a hitch. I was nearly out of commission after that fight but luckily I still had my health potions and revival creams left to use, which brought me back to perfect health.
Veldor didn't say much during that time, it felt as though he was actively trying not to speak to us. For a moment back there, I thought we had grown a little closer as comrades but…I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.
Finally, out of the Tower, we stepped foot into the fountain-surrounded plaza where the night sky graced us with its vast purple light.
"Alrighty! I'm beat, see ya later guys." Arga was the first to part as her head hung while walking away. She gave one final wave without looking back and disappeared out of the street's sight.
Veldor and I were left alone, standing outside the Towers doors with barely anyone else around. Apparently, in our absence, even time hadn't brought the adventurers' courage back. I wanted to leave, even if I had only an empty inn to return to, it was better than standing around with Veldor.
My eyes drifted down to my feet as I tried scrolling through the endless amount of excuses I could come up with as to why I should leave when suddenly–
"Rei…" Veldor drifted off.
His voice brought back that sincerity he had introduced before and delivered it two-fold once his eyes met mine.
The dull blue glimmer of his eyes that usually carried next to no emotion suddenly held me in place and captivated my entirety. A bead of sweat formed at the side of my face, nervous as to what would come next.
Would it be another random question? Some kind of strange insult or statement that's just going to make me mad? What does he want to tell me so badly, that it made his face go that serious?!
The thoughts ran through my mind rampantly, trying to sort through the possible explanations. Not long after initiating that stare, he gave me my answer.
"You're a real idiot!"
So it is just an insult…
"You're also reckless and a pretty crappy teammate for taking on all those monsters by yourself!"
Veldor laid into me, shouting one bad thing after another. My lip remained firmly clamped to the other because the worst part about it was, I had nothing to respond with. He was right about everything he said.
I was reckless and stupid, I was a bad teammate too.
"That being said, you're one hell of a guy."
Veldor's words raised my chin and I was drawn back into what he had to say with a fresh expression of shock.
His eyes lowered to the floor as he spoke, but it didn't stop him from being angry though–no on the contrary–he grew more frustrated the further he went on.
"You're a rust rank, taking on dragons and demons and orcs! All things that would flatten other Rust ranks and adventurers much stronger than you and yet…" He clenched his fists and his teeth alike. "Even when you're supposed to lose, you turn it around."
Turn it around, is that really how he saw things for me? Did I completely judge Veldor wrong?
"..."
"There's no way in hell someone as dense as you could ever make it to the top floors, no chance!"
His words cut deep, even from Veldor, they hurt like hell.
"...that's what I thought until I saw you. Now, after seeing you fight monsters up close and pushing yourself further than you thought you could go, I'm convinced. You're not like any adventurer I have ever seen Rei, you're strong."
My eyes flickered open in surprise, unable to gather the words to respond I felt like an idiot just standing there silent.
"I didn't want to believe it when that air-headed smithy said you were special but, I'd have to be all kinds of stupid not to see it. You're not planning to stop once things get good, are you?"
My mouth opened and suddenly the words I needed to reply with came easier to me. "I won't stop until I reach the top." Those words flowed out clearly as if a fog in my throat had lifted.
Veldor let out a genuine smile, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just seen it. Without giving me a second to react, he extended out his hand to shake mine.
"I want to see those heights you climb to...so that my masters will can live on. Help me get stronger, Rei."
My hand met his and the only words after that were my own. A bond formed as our gaze's met and the sincerity of our goals wove together.
"Let's both get stronger, together."
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