Capítulo 42: Sudden Escape

Shadows embraced John once more as he slipped away, fully embracing the rogue's approach. A covert sneak attack was their best hope of victory. Lightning cracked ominously as John observed the electrified man from the rooftops, carefully planning his next move.

He crept swiftly yet silently across the crumbling rooftop, shrouded in wisps of ghostly mist. Each step was muffled, but echoed the unsettling emptiness of the dead city. Intermittent flashes illuminated the twisted landscape below in bursts of haunting light.

Navigating the fractured terrain, John felt a strange enchantment take hold amidst the phantasmal interplay of darkness and revelation. The abandoned city had become a stage for this sinister performance, whispering its secrets into the dead of night. He moved with cat-like vigilance, senses primed to the spectral sounds.

The rooftop itself was a decrepit canvas, its surface was marred by the passage of time, presenting an uneven and fractured terrain. As the broken streetlights flickered and the dilapidated structures loomed, John inched closer, his dagger at the ready.

At last he reached his vantage point above the enemy. Outlined in that ominous electric sheen, the man seemed possessed by both determination and madness. A dangerous combination, fuelled by the raging tempest.

The man below had the rugged appearance of a battle-hardened thug. A scraggly beard framed his face, untamed like the chaotic world around them. Unkempt hair draped haphazardly across his forehead, partially obscuring eyes that burned with crazed, relentless determination.

His worn leather jacket was marred by countless skirmishes, a tattered emblem of survival against grim odds. Mud-splattered boots carried the imprint of endless footsteps through these desolate lands.

As he wielded the tempest's power, eerie blue light danced erratically across his features, casting a macabre glow on weathered skin. A stark juxtaposition - this ordinary thug commanding otherworldly forces of nature.

John observed from the shadows, plotting his attack. He too had gained new abilities in this changed world. But he did not take them for granted. Power had to be tempered with discipline. His pragmatic mind focused on strategy rather than grandstanding displays. Patience and precision were his allies now. The time to strike would come.

John leapt from the rooftop, dagger poised. But his foe whipped around, blasting lightning towards the movement. John barely dodged the deadly arc, rolling behind a dumpster.

"Show yourself, coward!" the man roared, unleashing more lightning blindly. The bolts scorched the walls where John had been seconds before. But John was not going to fall to provocation. He would make full use of his advantage as a rogue.

Under the cover of his camouflage coat, John activated Quiet Steps, moving silently through the concealing mist. The man's eyes darted around wildly, unable to locate his enemy.

"Muscle Strengthening," John whispered. His body surged with power as he dashed behind the man and slashed his blade ruthlessly. Howls of pain pierced the night.

The man lashed out, discharging a 360-degree lightning burst. John dove away, the electricity singing his coat. "Shockwave!" John bellowed, launching himself skyward over another bolt.

At the arc's peak, he honed in on the man's location and plummeted down with a devastating strike, dagger finding flesh. The man stumbled back, casting a final massive bolt skyward before crumpling.

In a flash, the man unleashed a searing bolt. John dropped low, the deadly current singing overhead. It struck a dumpster with an explosion of sparks.

Undeterred, John rolled and sprang up, dagger ready. The man flicked his fingers, loosing smaller bolts. John weaved gracefully through the onslaught, never slowing his advance.

The lightning rained ceaselessly as John closed in with blurred speed. He lunged for the man's shoulder, but his foe parried with a crackling forcefield. John stumbled back, momentarily dazed.

Seizing the opening, the man launched a powerful kick. John raised his forearm barely in time, blocking the shockwave impact. He gritted his teeth and struck back with a targeted elbow to the ribs.

But the man seemed unfazed, following up with a swift uppercut. John leaned away inches from the blow, the sizzling knuckles narrowly grazing his chin.

They broke apart, panting heavily as electricity still danced between them. John kept his eyes locked on the man, muscles coiled. He just needed one more clean opening to end this. Patience and precision were his winning edge.

The battle raged on, a complex interplay of skill and strength. Each move was countered, and the two fighters appeared evenly matched. John's dagger sliced through the air like a shadow, while the man's lightning surged in brilliant flashes.

The man's body pulsed with the residual energy of his lightning strikes, but John had a hidden advantage. The venom from the Venomlash had been slowly spreading through the man's body, weakening him with every passing moment. The man's movements became slightly sluggish, his reactions dulled by the creeping toxin.

John seized the opportunity. With lightning reflexes, he closed the gap between them and delivered a powerful spinning kick, aimed at the man's head. The man, struggling to react in time, attempted to raise a defence, but it was too little, too late.

The spinning kick connected with the side of the man's head with a resounding thud. The force of the impact sent him sprawling to the ground, disoriented and defeated. John stood victorious, his chest heaving with exertion.

John inched closer with weary steps, beads of sweat glinted in the moonlight with each step. The sprawled body of the man appeared lifeless, but John approached with caution. With each step, the sound of his footsteps grew louder as he deactivated his Quiet Steps, allowing the echoes to return to the night.

He stood in front of the man to examine him closely. How had this man obtained such power? Even John's class wouldn't give him such a destructive Skill so early on. Maybe classes were unbalanced after all? John wondered. He thought back to old video games and how some classes had varying uses depending on which stage of the game it was. Some classes were useful early in the game, while others skyrocketed in the late-game.

But John had no time to ponder the mysteries of this new world. Before his eyes, the fabric of reality itself seemed to fray. A swirling vortex of dark blue materialised, tearing open a rift in space. The man, now wide-eyed and helpless, was drawn into the portal, leaving John standing alone in the moonlit night, bewildered by the unexpected turn of events.