MM - Chapter 44 - EVERY ADVANTAGE

With time flowing normally out of combat, and slowing to a ridiculous degree while fighting, It was beyond difficult to keep track of how long he’d spent in the mystic realm. Not that Raine was trying. His focus was dedicated to fixing the holes in his foundation.

The first—raising his right arm when retreating a step—no longer blocked his view once he retrained himself to bring the arm closer to his neck. The second involved the positioning of his feet when in a low stance, leaving his center of gravity skewed and forcing him to take an extra step to correct it—a telegraphed move that could easily be deadly against a faster foe.

Compared to his past level one hundred and fifty attributes, Raine's every action felt like he was moving through molasses. Being forced to such a slow speed made correcting his fundamentals a breeze. After ten fights, lasting only a couple minutes total, he was ready to enter the temple.

Instead, he took another hour clearing out the rest of the town’s fifteen buildings he hadn’t visited. The thirty-three armsmen within died in ones and twos. The third from the last netted the final SP needed to reach level thirteen for himself and both weapons.

[Last Chance’s Gambit - Lustrous Blue - LVL 10 > 13 - SP 0/300,000: (AP 40 > 52) (EP 40 > 52) (AS + 1.5) (FNS 12 > 18) (CNC 12 > 18) (Durability 135/135) Innate Skill - Final Gambit: Convert 50% maximum EP into a single target non-elemental attack. 40 > 46 damage per EP converted (no cooldown)]

[Cassidy’s Comet - Lustrous Blue - LVL 10 > 13 - 0/300,000 SP: (AP 60 > 75) (PTC 12 > 15) (PHY 12 > 15) (Durability 120/120) Innate Skill - PuriPuri Comet Burst: Single target physical attack dealing 800% > 920% physical damage with 800% > 920% bonus force. Ignores all defense. (Skill name must be shouted to activate) (Cost: 20 Discipline) (Cooldown: 35 minutes > 28 minutes)]

LEVEL: 12 > 13

SUPERIORITY: 36,400 / 300,000

ATTUNEMENT: 5,088.75% > 8,188.75%

HEALTH POINTS: 420

ATTACK POWER: 87 

ELEMENTAL POWER: 68

CRITICAL RATE: 26% > 30%

DISCIPLINE: 76

DEFENSE: 103

RESISTANCE: 68

ATTACK SPEED: 2.3 > 2.5

MOVE SPEED: 5.3

ATTRIBUTES:

POTENCY: 31 (42)

FINESSE: 31 (40)

ACUITY: 43 (43)

PHYSIQUE: 31 (42)

CONNECTION: 34 > 39 (39)

As planned, he put his attributes into Connection. The world firmed around him with each point, pressing against his skin as though the air pressure were increasing. He punched the air, willing his fist to distort the atmosphere. A large gust of wind blasted away from him, stirring the sands.

Not bad. Might take some practice, but I should be able to push against the air hard enough now.

Back at the temple, the three guards towered over him. They were equipped with heavy two-handed weapons, just like every other skeleton in the desert. He bared his teeth in a wide grin, his eyes opening fully to take advantage of their increased perception. Of all the armsmen he’d killed, only four had dropped their skulls so far. Looking at their reflective domes and licking his lips, he wondered if any of these would as well.

Unbidden, his hand flashed and a shortsword appeared. At the exact same moment, the skeleton’s that were still outside their regular aggro radius turned to face him, the pits in their empty sockets glowing fiercely.

It happened again! And they responded to it this time?

Raine didn’t have time for more random thoughts as they charged with martial-enhanced movements. He bent his knees and Leaped to the far right, forcing two to circle around their comrade to get to him. His maneuver also perfectly lined them up. His shortsword cracked into the air, releasing a Rupture that crashed into all three. [-743] [-743] [Critical hit! -1,486]

Of course, the one furthest away took the crit. His focus narrowed on that one as it used a martial sidestep Raine had seen hundreds of times by now. With his enhanced Acuity, the motion no longer caused the creature to blur or appear in two places at once.

He stepped into the guard of the first armsman as it reached him with an empowered Lunge. Sliding his back foot fully behind him and gently rotating his torso caused it to sail past a scant millimeter from touching him. The skeleton tried to turn enough for its large mace to reach, but Raine bent forward just enough for the blow to miss his skull. 

He stepped forward again. The second skeleton’s two-handed sword dragged on the ground behind it. The weapon emitted an opaque sheen as it swept the weapon up and forward, attempting to bisect him. Fully predicting the angle of the attack, Raine’s Parry sent the Great Divide—a column AOE—straight into the mace wielder’s back. [-1,050] It soundlessly took the hit, the extra force propelling it into the side of a building with a crash.

After lifting its sword, the undead directly in front of him was off balance. Raine swept its bony legs out from under it in a spinning sweep, then threw his momentum to the side in a roll. He narrowly avoided the large axe that sliced deep into the sandy soil. Ending his evasion with his feet beneath him, Raine Leaped again, flying over the prone skeleton. His sword Slashed across the neck of the axe wielder. [Critical hit! -211]

He used the force of the blow to spin his body midair, coming down facing its back as it yanked its weapon from the ground. A follow-up Pierce jabbed its shoulder, and as it turned, a Bash connected his pommel to its jaw. [-106, -98] An onyx glow swept across its exposed bones as it recovered five percent of its health. [+200]

Its axe lifted high, shining darkly in the bright daylight. Already in close, Raine weaved around it with a new martial technique he’d mastered. Now behind it, he slammed his right leg between its knees and his free arm hooked beneath its armpit. With a powerful twist and flare of his hips, he threw it onto its back. The swordsman had recovered, its large blade thrusting toward his heart.

The blade appeared to slide through his chest, but he already sidestepped, utilizing the same technique the skeletons had used on him so many times. He slid his sword between two exposed ribs, then grabbed its shoulder with the other hand and threw it into the still active Guillotine Slash. He wasn’t expecting it to work as the armsmen were heavy, and unless he collapsed their footwork first, usually couldn’t be displaced.

When the tip of its sword neared the dual whirlwinds on either side of the stationary cut in the air, the undead was yanked off its feet. It flew into the cut, and five slash marks were gouged across its armor and bones. [-1,587]

Woah! Good thing I never got hit by that!

Another round of Slash, Pierce, and Bash landed on the downed axe wielder as it climbed to its feet. Raine ducked its Counter, then leaped back and circled all three, making sure to keep the mace wielder as far from him as possible until the cooldown on Rupture ended. Two rippling waves passed over them, netting him two more critical hits. The axe wielder was still alive due to its second tick of recovery, so he dashed in and ended it with another barrage of quick attacks. 

The other two weren’t idle, closing in on either side. He Parried one and dodged the other, then turned tail and ran. Without Parry, and both about to have their special attacks available, he would definitely die if he stayed. They were faster, instantly barreling down on him. At the last second, Raine’s hand snapped out and grasped the lip of a fixed window. His arm jerked painfully as he was sent down an alley while the two barreled right past.

Grinning, he backed up, waiting for them. They appeared a few seconds later in a jumble of scrambling, clicking limbs. They charged down the alley, catching him right as Parry finished its cooldown. He carefully evaded a few strikes from the mace, then Parried it’s Debilitating Crush when the weapon emitted a blinding light. It crashed full force into the building to his left, shattering the entire wall into debris. Before opening his eyes, Raine used the last Rupture, bringing both foes to the ground in a pile of bones.

[Obtained 15,000 SP bonus 150% Superiority for defeating an elite boss 2 levels above you]

[Obtained 62.5% AT (Doubled) bonus 150% Attunement for defeating an elite boss 2 levels above you]

The same message appeared three times, and the last one he killed dropped a fifth skull. Raine added the item to his inventory, took a few breaths, and shook out his limbs. At the temple, he carefully ascended the steps. His knees were bent, ready to throw himself in any direction at the first sign of a trap. He reached the portico—a roofed entrance supported by columns and gently curved arches. The stonework was in slightly better shape than the rest of the town.

Peering through several rows of columns that no longer had a roof to support, Raine spotted a walled inner sanctum with a raised pedestal at its center. Atop it was a small statue of a man holding a two-handed sword. A large axe and mace were strapped across his back, their shafts sticking over each shoulder.

Fitting.

Raine remained stationary for several minutes, running his eyes over every surface. He cataloged several oddities: A brick slightly elevated from the floor to his right, tiny holes, visible along the side of a collapsed column to the left, and unusually sized tiles beneath a few of the columns. With more confidence than he had climbing the stairs, he strode into the temple.

He moved to the far left, and then right, locating more arrow holes that weren’t visible from head on. He avoided stepping between those columns, slowly and steadily advancing while avoiding five more elevated bricks. He weaved through the main court, soon arriving at the inner sanctum. He bent low and charged a full ten Discipline into a Leap that brought him across the small room, all the way to the pedestal.

He landed atop it, the idol vanishing into his inventory the moment his foot collided with it. He held his breath, waiting for the building to fall down around him. When it didn’t, he retraced his steps until he was back outside. Accessing his inventory, he pulled out the idol, inspecting its masterfully intricate chiseling. With a jaw thicker than any humans, and muscular limbs to match, Raine recognized the race as a Gromut—pseudo giants that prize physical prowess above all.

[Korahn’s Idol of Indomitability: Polutan strived for peace through might of arms. His legacy was an empire without equal, built upon the suffering of millions]

Little dramatic but not the worst I’ve seen. Definitely fitting for a Gromut. One down, two to go.

Raine returned the idol to his inventory and set off north, around the base of the central mountain. His next goal was the thick jungle seen from the gateway’s platform. Shortly after leaving the desert ruins, the air grew thin and his body light. The scenery zipped past. Though his senses had improved, they still couldn’t keep up as he tore across twenty kilometers in what felt like seconds. Angling his path to traverse up a portion of the central mountain gave him the vantage to see deep into the lush vegetation below.

He spotted the telltale signs of another ruin, this one overgrown by vines and moss. He ran along the side of the jungle, slowing when he reached the narrowest section between the desert and ruins. The space was still thin, making traversal through its thick vegetation challenging. He pressed on for three hours, finally feeling like time was getting away from him.

When gravity normalized, and the air pressure on his skin turned heavy, he slowed further. He didn’t see them until it was too late. As he passed through two vine-wrapped trees, large patches of moss on their trunks pulled free. They shook their bodies free, revealing familiar armored skeletons. These ones wore scaled armor instead of leather, and each held a shield in one hand, a short sword and half spear in the other.

Jaws clicking with hunger, they sped toward him with martial techniques he didn’t recognize, azure lights beaming from their empty sockets.