LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 22: PIERCE IT
[A/N: From now on, please the weapons are in grades not realms.]
Before leaving, he realized there was no easy way to leave unnoticed, so he decided to take a different approach.
With a burst of speed and the use of his shadow steps to move like a blur, and since most of them didn't even meet the requirement to opened their status, he was able to vanish from their sights.
He normally would have informed Jenny and Cynthia about where he was about to go, but his distrust was still at its peak and this was something he had to do alone.
Honestly, at this point he had to admit, he would lose in a fight against Jenny or Cynthia. It was only his physical stats that was carrying him at this point, he needed something else, something more.
So, as the survivors were watching the locations the other fighters went off to, Jon had slipped away.
As soon as Jon left the cafeteria with his new spear in his hand, he sprinted towards the boys' dormitory without any particular reason, he was simply following his instincts. And part of his reason was partly to see if he could get some of his belongings.
But after running about 300 meters, he was forced to stop abruptly.
His earrings blared a little, and he swung his spear to the side instinctively.
CLANG!
The impact jolted him backward by a step. And Jon turned to see his attacker.
It was a zombie.
However, this one was different. Its skin was red, and its eyes gleamed with a spark of intelligence and its claws was covered in metal, it was what had clashed with his spear.
'Strong.' reacting at the force behind the attack. It was actually a zombie with a metal related skill.
Using the push he gained from the zombie's strike; Jon adjusted his stance and launched his attack. He activated his shadow steps, disappearing and reappearing behind the red zombie. His Moon gaze identified a weak spot, and with his spear charged with moon energy, he struck.
CLANG!
To his shock, the spear barely made a dent, even at the weak point. The zombie only staggered forward a step, and grunting in annoyance.
KARRRGH!
The zombie turned swiftly, landing a powerful kick on Jon's chest with its metal-covered leg.
He barely blocked it with his spear and was thrown back. And before he could recover, the zombie closed the distance, swiping at him with its claws.
SHNG
Jon dodged to the side, his mind racing as a part of his eye could see the deep marks it made on the ground.
"My speed is fine, but I need more strength," he noticed. His strength stat was now the lowest among all his stats, something he hadn't paid much attention to until now. And he wasn't to late to change it.
"Add 13 points to strength."
The change was immediate as his body rippled with newfound power he didn't previously have..
[STRENGTH: 83]
Still, his strength lagged behind his other attributes as they were already entering the 100s.
But that didn't matter at this point, he raised his spear again and dodged another swipe.
SHNG...And slammed his spear on the ground.
Rumble...
The vibration on the ground threw the zombie off balance a bit and he followed up with another thrust packed with moon energy, this time denting the metal skin slightly.
BANG!
The zombie screeched, regaining its balance and lunged again. Jon activated shadow steps, trying to get behind it, but the creature twisted its body at an unnatural angle, dodging his strike. It retaliated with a swift swipe of its claw.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
And they began the melee, the fight was brutal and intense, with each clash pushing Jon to his limits. And as they fought, Jon began adjusting his movements to fit the situation, refining his stances and style, trying to fight more fluidly like a martial artist, a suggestion given to him by his Soldier Physique skill.
And despite his now growing frustration, Jon kept returning to one move: the piercing thrust. It wasn't the only technique he knew, but every time he executed it, something deep inside him stirred.
He couldn't describe it, but it felt like something powerful was awakening.
Deep within him, a flame flickered, it was faint but it kept growing with each strike. Jon tried to pull at it with his mana, however nothing occurred. He then tried with moon energy, however still nothing.
"What else can I use?" he thought, desperation creeping in. Then it hit him.
"Willpower! My mind world!"
Focusing all his will, he reached for the flame, and it shifted a little. Now, he knew he had his answer, however, it still wasn't working fully.
And the zombie's speed increased while he was trying to pull out the flame inside him. Its attacks came faster and faster, overwhelming Jon's senses. His temporary danger-sense kept blaring warnings, forcing him to rely heavily on shadow steps just to stay alive.
The truth was, the zombie wasn't getting faster, it was just that Jon was concentrating a lot on the flame that was growing inside him, so in turn he was slower.
And he was pushed to the edge again and again and was even on the edge of getting scratched.
'No...No it can't end like this.' he roared inside him.
"I WILL NOT DIE HERE!" Jon roared, determination flooding his voice. "I WILL PIERCE THAT BODY!"
And just like that, the flame that had been flickering within him roared to life.
And that moment, Jon properly felt it.
The flame, no longer flickering, burned brightly and its location now clear to him. It was in a place called the core, in the middle region of his body.
And just like on how he was guided on how to use mana, the Information about it flooded his mind, guiding him on how to use it.
With renewed focus, Jon leapt back, narrowly dodging the claw that was about to end him and channeled the flame into his spear.
Immediately, a new surge of power coursed through his body alongside the messages.
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED REQUIREMENT...]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED...]
[MARTIAL EXPERT...]
[YOUR *** HAS...]
However, he couldn't focus on the notifications.
'This is...' His eyes were widened at what he was seeing this moment. Right now, he felt like his strength had multiplied. His muscles and bones tensed and relaxed in rapid succession, as it kept pushing his body to new heights.
Suddenly, a thick concentration of white energy formed at the tip of his spear. Jon stared in shock, realizing what it was.
"It's...fucking aura."
Aura, it was something he'd only read about in novels, something that was supposed to take years of training to master however it had appeared before him in just five days into the fall.
"The Soldier Physique must have pushed me to the brink of unlocking it," Jon thought, quickly piecing together the puzzle. He wasn't foolish enough to think he'd reached this point alone.
"Now, what if I add moon energy?" He then coated the aura with his moon energy, turning it a bluish hue. Its power magnified exponentially, at least four times stronger than before when he just used moon energy alone.
A reckless grin then spread across Jon's face as he muttered to the zombie, "You're so dead."
The red zombie, also sensing Jon's newfound strength, hesitated. Its earlier confidence wavered as Jon's spear now radiated deadly power.
Then Jon moved,
WHOOSH!
SLASH!
THUD!
The zombie's head hit the ground before Jon even realized what had happened.
And he stared at the headless corpse in disbelief, then at his spear.
"Huh?...?why was it so easy."
However, he didn't have time to dwell on the sudden victory as the notifications began pouring in.
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED LEVEL 25 METALRED ZOMBIE REMAINS]
[YOUR LEVEL HAS INCREASED]
[YOUR LEVEL HAS INCREASED]
Finally, the message he'd been waiting for since the beginning of the day:
[YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 25 UNRANKED REALM. YOU NEED CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS TO ADVANCE YOUR REALM.]