As for the combatants, they were still eyeing each other, not flinching. Konnor was waiting for the betting to spice up.
He would ask them for a part of it after his victory. Astaroth was waiting on Konnor to make the first move.
He knew that if he tried doing the first move, he would lose, since the man was stronger than him.
Once the betting stopped on the sides, Konnor decided he had waited enough. He bent down a little, then sprang forth, aiming his fist right at Astaroth's face.
He wanted to knock him out with one hit and waste no more time. When Astaroth saw Konnor dashing at him, he grinned.
During their staring contest, he had already made some kind of plan. As the man ran to him, he used his skill; propel.
But instead of throwing an object, he focused it on Konnor's foot, which was not touching the ground, and pushed it back.
The quick jerk to his foot threw Konnor off balance for a second, but that second was more than enough for Astaroth. He equipped his shield and put it in front of him.
He then took two quick steps forward, leaning into the shield, and aiming it at Konnor's face.
*Bang!* *Woosh!*
*-633!*
*Ding!*
*You have learned the skill 'Shield Bash'*
The impact produced a crunching sound and bounced Konnor back by a few meters, sending him tumbling in the dirt. His course through the dirt kicked up dust.
Konnor quickly got back up, dashing out of the dust cloud to keep his eyes on Astaroth. Astaroth was still standing where the impact had happened, but you could see the footmarks on the ground.
He had slid back a few feet from the force.
Konnor touched his bleeding nose and could feel that it was crooked. He grabbed it between his thumb and index, and cracked it back the other way, bringing it back straight.
Astaroth was looking at him and smiling.
"It has been ten seconds." Astaroth said, keeping his smile.
"You little!" Konnor growled, before lunging back at Astaroth.
This time, he watched his footing, making sure he wouldn't fall into the same trap. With his attention being on Astaroth and his feet, he failed to notice the glowing wolf come out of the dust behind him and nip at his heel.
The attack did little damage, but again affected his balance. He quickly caught himself back, but not before receiving a glancing blow to the shoulder from a short sword.
After hitting him, Astaroth quickly tried to back away, to maintain distance. If he could kite him like this, he could win.
He scanned his adversary again.
Konnor Mac'Greygor:
Level: 28
Grade: Common
Race: Ash Elf
Class: Pugilist
Health: 1'185/2'100 Mana: 540/540
Almost half his health was gone! Astaroth gained a boost of confidence. In all honesty, he had hoped to do the most damage he could before losing, but now he thought he had a winning chance.
The fight went on for a couple of minutes, Astaroth running and hitting when a chance presented itself.
White Death, whom he had summoned, attacked from behind when Konnor focused on catching Astaroth too much, and Konnor; running after Astaroth and growing madder by the second.
In his mind, the pugilist thought Astaroth was fighting like a coward. Why couldn't he stay still for a moment and take his punch, like a man?!
After a few minutes of fighting, his health was now dangerously low. He lost his shit.
"RRAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!" He screamed, his eyes going red.
"Dragon's Fist!" He yelled out, punching the air before him.
What happened next, Astaroth would remember for a long time.
The air in front of Konnor distorted and transformed into the head of a dragon. The dragon head roared and lunged towards him at blazing speeds.
He lifted his shield, used 'Enhance Weapon' on it, used 'Mana Skin', and braced for impact.
The attack engulfed him an instant later. The hit propelled him back at vertiginous speeds, sending him flying toward the wall.
*-1650*
He was expecting a second impact on his back and a second damage number, but all that came was a slight impact. He could feel hands on his shoulders.
When he looked up, he saw Chris towering behind him. He separated himself from Chris, but then he was hit by a shock.
Chris was embedded into the courtyard wall a few centimeters. The hulking man dislodged himself and looked towards the sparring zone with anger.
In the sparring zone, another man was standing next to Konnor, holding a wolf by his mane. That man was Kloud.
And everyone around them was white right now, their faces drained of blood. Kloud emitted a pressure around him that most people would collapse from.
It was pure killing intent. And he directed it at Konnor.
Kloud let go of White Death when he noticed the wolf had fainted from the pressure he exerted.
"You dishonorable scum." Kloud growled, looking Konnor in the eyes.
"He... He... He was humiliating me..." Konnor stuttered, barely able to stay standing.
"That is no reason to kill him!" Kloud exploded.
"Give me a good reason not to end your life right now!" He added, beyond furious.
"I was losing. I... I couldn't just lose to a rookie!" Konnor stammered, feeling that it was not an empty threat.
"THEN YOU TAKE YOUR LOSS LIKE A MAN AND GROW STRONGER!" Kloud bellowed.
"Healer! Heal this sad sack right now!" He added, looking at a person wearing robes, a wand hanging at his belt.
The man quickly grabbed his wand and silently chanted something, pointing the wand at Konnor. A soft green wisp of energy left the wand and washed over Konnor, healing his injuries and recovering his health.
As soon as Konnor's health reached over half, Kloud punched him in the face with tremendous force, sending him sprawling many meters further, close to death again.
"You are lucky for two things today! The first is, the boy resisted the first blow and Chris caught him before he impacted the wall, saving him from death. Second, I caught the boy's wolf in time, before it killed you." Kloud stated, still shouting.
"Killed me?" Konnor said, eyeing the white wolf on the ground.
"Once the wolf sensed you were going for a killing blow, it lunged at you with killing intent, aiming to rip out your throat while you were busy throwing your skill. With how low your health was, it would have killed you instantly! You lost your cool, going into a state of rage, unfitting a warrior under my command." Kloud loudly admonished the man.
"I could have overlooked you for challenging a rookie if you had won justly or lost like a man. But I can't turn a blind eye to attempted murder." Kloud said, his eyes sad.
"From here on out, I banish you from this village. You have one day to grab your things and leave. Any longer, and I will chase you out myself." He added with a tone of finality.
Konnor just sat there for a few seconds, his gaze empty.
They banished him...
This is a bonus chapter for the new year! Happy new year folks in Asia! As for my western friends, you will have one too, tomorrow!
After all the ordeal with Konnor, Astaroth was hoping they would still patrol today. He didn't want to miss out on leveling, even after what had just happened.
Sadly, his health was almost depleted, and he had nothing to refill it. He looked at the casters nearby expectantly, hoping one of them would heal him, but none did such a thing.
Astaroth turned to look at Kloud, hoping to get some answers. What greeted him as he turned shocked him.
*Slap!*
A crisp slap to his left cheek, leaving a slight hand print. Astaroth's eyes went wide, as Kloud's hand was still extended.
Kloud's face was a frown of disappointment.
"You didn't need to provoke so much. We lost a good fighter today, because of a childish pissing contest. I am not proud of you, Astaroth. That was very dishonorable of you." Kloud scolded him.
"But, sir. I only responded to his roughness. How am I to blame? Is a duel not an honorable way of quelling a dispute?" Astaroth replied, still in shock.
"It is, but not this one. You could have ended matters quickly. Yet you toyed with him." Kloud said, turning to leave.
"I cancel your patrol for the day. Go home, reflect on your actions." He added, walking away.
"But, teacher, I..." Astaroth stammered, watching Kloud's back get further away.
Chris, from the side, saw the interaction and felt pity for the kid. He walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry, kid. He is just a little disappointed. You could have ended this fight sooner, but you played catch with your opponent instead. The captain is very strict about how honorable his pupils should be." He said, looking at Kloud leave.
"But, Colonel. I was fighting as best I could. I don't understand why you say I could have ended this sooner." Astaroth replied, still confused.
"Son, I have fought mages with soul aptitude. Me and Kloud both. As soon as we saw the wolf, we knew. That was the Alpha's soul, was it not?" Chris asked, looking Astaroth in the eyes.
"It is, but I." Astaroth started saying.
Then it hit him. Spirit Melding!
Had he used that instead of summoning White Death, he could have overpowered Konnor rapidly with the combined stats? It had slipped his mind completely.
Chris watched Astaroth's face as realization made his eyes go wide.
"You finally understand your mistake. Good. Go reflect on it. I'll go talk to Kloud and make sure you can patrol tomorrow. Now scamper." Chris said, shooing Astaroth away.
Astaroth stood in the courtyard for a while, dejected at losing a day of leveling.
'At this rate, I can never compete' He thought.
'I can't just lose a day.'
He formed his resolve and walked out of the barracks. He would absolutely not waste his day.
He was going to level with or without help. He walked in the village's entrance direction .
He stopped in front of the barrier for a bit, wondering if this was just reckless, but he quickly threw that thought aside. He didn't care.
He wanted to get stronger. He NEEDED to get stronger.
Thus he walked out and started running into the forest, direction, the wolves' territory. As Astaroth had walked out of the barracks, someone had been staring at him.
Korin had seen his eyes go from shaken to steeled. He recognized that look on Astaroth's face.
The look of a fool about to do something stupid. Korin had blended with the shadows around him and started tailing Astaroth from a distance away.
When he saw the young man stop at the barrier, he thought Astaroth had gotten cold feet. But Astaroth quickly proved him wrong about that, and right about his assessment.
The kid was going to do something stupid. He watched as Astaroth walked across the barrier and started running into the wilderness.
He thought of going to warn the Colonel but quickly brushed that idea aside, knowing that he would lose the trail of the boy quickly if he didn't directly follow him. And so he did.
He stayed as best hidden as he could and followed Astaroth. After running for a few minutes, Astaroth could already hear the howling in the distance.
He didn't slow down and re-oriented himself towards the closest howl he heard. He no longer cared about his safety, only leveling.
He would use his skills to the limit and drain his mana dry if that meant he could fight alone. He soon found a small group of three wolves lazing about in a clearing.
Astaroth didn't stop running. He pulled out his longsword, wielding it with two hands, and cast 'Mana Skin', 'Spirit Melding', and 'Enhance Weapon' one after the other. After casting 'Spirit Melding', he felt all his stats go up.
He felt stronger, faster, and sturdier. Like he was unbeatable.
His hair turned white, and he could feel some fur had grown on his cheeks. His canines had also elongated, and he could feel them poking out of his lips.
He almost looked like a half-transformed werewolf! He looked at his status window really fast.
Status:
Name: Astaroth
Melded: White Death (Time remaining: 2m28s)
Race: Ash Elf
Level: 14 (4'995/6'450)
Stats:
HP: 6'325/6'325 MP: 953/1'150 Stamina: 100
Health Regen: 1% / second
Mana Regen: 1/second in combat, 5/second out of combat
Strength: 17 (+47) Agility: 20 (+27) Constitution: 20 (+55)
Intelligence: 20 (+20) Wisdom: 15 (+20)
Attack Power Str: 320 Attack Power Agi: 235 Magic Attack Power: 200 Healing Power: 175
Natural Defense: 7.5% Armor Defense: 14%
Luck: 0 (Stat unaffected by Level up and free points)
Available stat points: 0
Available skill points: 1
Physical Condition: Normal
Mental Condition: Normal
Skill Gained: Wolven Heart (Passive), Alpha's Howl (Active), Hyper Senses (Passive)
Wolven Heart (Passive): Gain the heart of a wolf, granting you high survivability. +1% Health regen per second.
Hyper Senses (Passive): Your senses become one of a canine. Your hearing, smell, and sight are greatly improved.
Alpha's Howl (Active): Howl to establish dominance. All enemies in a 50m radius face genetic fear of the Alpha (50% chance of fear for 5 seconds). Can only be used once per meld.
'What a monstrous boost.' He thought.
'I almost have the same stats as a level 36!'
As he was looking at his status screen, he never stopped running toward the wolves. Now he was right in front of one, and it was jumping at his throat.
The wolf was still quicker than him, but that mattered little, as he was prepared for them. He leaned his body to the side, barely clearing the wolf's lunge, and sliced upwards with his longsword.
*-343*
Astaroth looked at the number with wide eyes.
If you liked my story, add it to your library!
This story is in the Fantasy Carnival, so it needs Power Stones to up-rank. If I get into the top 100, I will drop an extra 2 chapters that day. Another 2 chapters for top 50. I will up the stakes at 5 bonus chapters for top 20, and another 5 for top 10! Please vote for me! :)
Also, I drop an extra chapter on Monday for every 100 PS I accumulate in the event!
We made it up to 57th! Huzzah! The competition is getting tougher, but we are still slowly inching toward our next objective! Let's keep this going!
Since its new year in the western part of the world, and I was already dropping an extra chapter for it, the bonus chapter for the 200 PS will be tomorrow :)
If you like the novel so far or think something could use work, don't be scared to leave a review :)
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