章 23: Grimlit Lurker's Surprising Speed

ZAP!

Fiery red lightning crackled behind Romulus, sending him flying forward at an insane speed. His figure zipped across the ground, producing burn marks on the damp cobblestone. Yet, before those marks could fully solidify, he had already made it past the sharp stabby appendage that caught him by surprise earlier. It chased after him as soon as it saw him glide past, but he was faster. As his body crackled with stronger and stronger lightning, he ascended up the side of the Grimlit Lurker's left leg stump. On the way up, he infused more than just the Lightning and Fire Elements, as the Water, Ice, and Darkness Elements were also added into the mix. Then, with a cast of the S-Rank Skill |Elemental Dominator (Lvl 2)|, his control over the elements achieved all-time highs. And as if that weren't enough, he also used the S-Rank Skill |Elemental Dominator Transformation (Lvl 2)|, which turned him into a shimmering god of ascendance.

To top it all off, Romulus conjured forth his B-Rank Skill |Twin Cleaver (Lvl 3)|, causing two giant, pearlescent cleavers to appear in his hands. Moreover, every other applicable skill was used, reducing his MP to 40% of its total amount.

While using everything in his arsenal, his stats were improved to a point where they looked like:

|Strength: 460 (2300) | Defense: 430 (4300)|

|Intelligence: 510 (2550) | Agility: 630 (3150)|

This was the limit of his current self, which, in terms of ranks, put him at roughly the same level as the weakest of A-Ranks. However, in actual battle, more went into it than just raw stats. This was something Romulus would soon figure out…

Fwooop!

He blurred and reappeared above the top of the Grimlit Lurker's head. Only now was he able to get a good view of the absolute monstrosity that he was faced up against. Its head was large, brown, and grotesque, with numerous warts and pus covering it. Yet, its face was no better, as below the giant, dangly light with the human girl's corpse at the end, there appeared a face that looked as if it came from the very depths of the abyss. Similar to an Anglerfish, yet far more nightmarish and far bigger. Even further down below were its legs, of which it had two. They were stumpy and warty, but also as big as multiple houses. Last but not least was its tail, which was curved at the end and longer than its entire body width. Every minute movement sliced up dozens of medieval-style houses, and it did so effortlessly.

Romulus's eyes flashed. 'So this is an A-Rank monster,' he thought. 'How thrilling.'

Then, with every ounce of his strength, he slashed down at the Grimlit Lurker, causing several arcs of black-fire lightning to shoot out of his Pearlescent Cleavers. They were dozens of meters in width and possessed extremely formidable might, but as if the monster had already seen this coming, it whipped out its absurdly long tail!

"!!!"

BOOM!!!

Before Romulus even knew what happened, he found himself underneath a pile of rubble, buried beneath a collapsed four-story building. 'So fast,' he thought as he used his A-Rank Hyper Regeneration to heal his wounds. 'Even though speed is my strong suit, that tail renders my advantage pointless.'

[Ding! You have taken life-threatening damage and received 18 BP!]

Romulus's life was hanging on a very thin line, but rather than care about that, he was far more focused on discerning any possible weaknesses of the monster. From what he could see, his earlier attacks had barely scratched the thing, and that was with everything he had.

[Ding! A-Rank |Hyper Regeneration| has leveled up from 'Lvl 2' → 'Lvl 3']

[Ding! You learned the S-Rank Skill |Discerning Eye (Lvl 1)|]

After acquiring this skill, Romulus automatically knew how to use it, so he did just that. A bright light flashed in the same place on the opposite eye from the one that used the S-Rank Magic Eye Skill. While using them in conjunction, cryptic sigils appeared in both his eyes, one blue and golden, while the other was red and black. Upon activating them to their fullest capacity, he was able to see the level and threat tier of the Grimlit Lurker. Moreover, he could see gold spots scattered all across the monster's body. Some were lighter in color, while others were darker. The darkest ones, however, were located just below the Lurker's pitch black eyes.

"Found ya," Romulus said coldly. His figure bounced off the ground like a springboard, then with a double fire blast from his hands, he launched himself forward. While blitzing at ludicrous speeds, he spun his body in a circle, causing the fire blowing out of his hands to transform himself into a spinning flame beyblade.

Within half a second, Romulus had already blasted through multiple brick buildings. Ignoring the destruction left behind in his wake, he leaped off the road, causing the entire place to crack and implode.

BOOM!

He launched himself right in front of the Grimlit Lurker, and just as he expected, an unbelievably fast tail cut through the air. At the cost of his left arm and one of his Pearlescent Cleavers, he slipped past the tail's tip and slid down the tail's base. Then, with a bounce, he shot toward the Grimlit Lurker's face. In his right hand was the massive Pearlescent Cleaver, but as this would not be enough to ensure maximum damage, he summoned forth the other Pearlescent Cleaver, which was attached to his falling left hand.

PIANG!

It flew at him, but rather than go straight for his body, it shot into the first Pearlescent Cleaver and merged with it, creating something far superior.

….