Anything ~ 7!

~ 7 ~

In the same instant that the King had ordered the start of the duel, an astral wind began whipping around the five members of Heaven’s Earth. One of the men was chanting something, and it appeared to be creating a large-scale group buff. Luke glanced at Zed, then the Knights, and back to Zed. “Hey. Why don’t you have something like that?”

“The Kingdom had been intentionally suppressing my Masteries before I joined this team.” Zed sighed dramatically as they stood there and watched the opposing team power up one after another. “Are we just going to let them dance around and add more auras to themselves?”

“It’s fun to watch them get all excited.” Taylor watched as one of them held his wrist at eye level and spun in place, then his armor was coated in energy and grew slightly. “I’m gonna get started. Andre?”

“They’re already dead, you can show off if you want to.” Andre leaned back against his staff, which somehow fully supported his weight. “Luke, they’re worth a lot of Potentia if you want to take it.”

“Can I go all out on them? I have a new thing I want to try.” Luke glanced over just to ensure his Sigil wasn’t about to stop him. Taylor nodded seriously, and Luke’s head snapped forward so he could focus on his opponents. He eyed them for a few long moments, then began muttering his evaluations. “They were called Knights, and sponsored by the Prince. That means they’re in at least level fifteen. Yet… they have that same fluffy feeling the Royal Guards did.”

He glanced at his own stat sheet for a quick comparison.

Cal Scan

Level: 9

Current Etheric Xenograft Potentia: 3,333/8,900 to level 10!

Body: 30.1

Fitness: 40.2

Resistance: 20

Mind: 18.6

Talent: 16.3

Capacity: 20.9

Presence: 14.5

Willpower: 23

Charisma: 6

Senses: 22.4

Physical reaction: 27.5

Mental energy: 17.3

Maximum Health: 250

Maximum Mana: 324

Mana regen: 5.43 per second

“Okay. At a disadvantage. Bum Rush!” Luke dropped all of his armor and devoted eighty percent of his total mana to his Battering Ram Knuckles, spent ten mana on Bum rush, then used nearly the entirety of his remaining mana on activating Shockwave Cleave for the first time. He covered the distance between the two teams in an instant, and his fist shot forward.

Warning! Mana dangerously low: 4.85/324.2 mana.

Space was distorted around his brightly glowing clenched hand, as mana was packed so densely that light actually bent. To the Knight Captain’s credit, he pulled a glowing tower shield between himself and the incoming fist in that instant. The Knight braced himself, fully confident in his team’s protections.

Then the blow landed.

Metal screamed as the shield was bent inward, and the arm holding it steady broke in an instant. Edward’s eyes widened fractionally as his gear failed, then narrowed as he pushed back as hard as he could.

Damage dealt: 599 blunt damage!

Edward activated a burst of his own damage-soaking Feats, dropping the total damage he received to a fraction of what was actually dealt. If he could have seen the notifications Luke received at the same moment, he would have spat blood out of pure anger.

Damage dealt: 299.5 blunt damage x2!

Damage dealt: 150 blunt damage x2!

Damage dealt: 75 blunt damage!

The Knights had been standing in a wedge formation, and it was typically considered the best defensive formation in small-scale battles. Unfortunately for them, it allowed Luke to damage each of the subordinate Knights to take damage at the same time. The two directly behind Edward failed to make any preparations to receive an attack beyond the buffs, and the shockwave that reached them utterly liquified their internal organs. The final three took heavy damage, but managed to keep their feet.

Seeing two of his team die from the opening attack, Edward roared like a lion and swung a glowing sword at Luke. Luke growled in return and backhanded the blade, his strike causing the metal to vibrate like a gong. In the moment Edward was forced to bring his sword back under control, Luke managed to redistribute his mana so that each item of his Walking Arsenal had ten percent, his standard for combat.

The remaining Knights dashed forward, each of them using a variant of a sword in an attempt to suppress Luke fully. A claymore bounced off his seemingly unprotected chest, only a hint of his Simple Metal Cuirass mana armor appearing; even that only lasting long enough to turn the blade before breaking. Plenty of force managed to reach Luke, as the twelve and a half points of armor was a joke in front of the heavy weapon.

Damage taken: 85 blunt.

Health: 165/250

Luke’s body shuddered, and he coughed out a splatter of blood. His focus increased; he had stopped letting pain control him decades ago. He dropped into a horse stance as another blade whizzed by his head, and punched out with full force at the man wielding the two-handed claymore.

Damage dealt: 110 blunt damage!

The metal of the cuirass protecting the Knight was torn through like it was tissue paper, dissipating the majority of the force but unable to stop Luke’s hand from piercing through to his opponent’s chest and poking a hole in his heart.

The Knight died and vanished like fog burning away under the scorching light of day. Edward said a word and pushed, sending the Murderhobo tumbling away in a burst of divine-seeming light.

Damage taken: 110 solar.

Health: 55/250

Luke came to a halt only by hitting the wall and shattering it. His entire body was covered in a thick layer of charcoal, the first few layers of his skin ready to flake into powder from the lightest brush of wind. He looked back at the battle though damaged eyes, barely able to make out the remainder of the fight. Mainly because…

It ended mere seconds later.

A Flame Lance tore into Edward, followed by a series of ice and force shards from Scatter Shot. Tyalor wasn’t the only one that had been making preparations as Luke held the opponent’s attention. As the spells petered out, thorns erupted out of the Knights; and the sponsored team was able to move as the plants that had been sown into them finished growing.

Between the two attacks, the Knights vanished from the Mirrored area, leaving behind wooden constructions that could easily be used as scarecrows. Clearly the plants had been growing for a while, yet the Knights hadn’t sensed even a hint of crisis before the barbs had erupted outward and grown into every part of their bodies.

As the dreamlike setting faded, so too did the injuries each of them had accrued. In a blink, they were once more facing team Heaven’s Earth. The overbearing and arrogant aura had faded away from them, leaving behind shaken and sweating Knights. The surrounding area was silent for a long moment, clearly only one person in the crowd had expected that a group at least five levels weaker and one member down would prevail.

The King clapped gently, and spoke over the explosive curses that erupted from Crown Prince Vir at the same moment. “Very impressive! Your capabilities are a true testament to what can be achieved when earning your power through harsh training and true combat. If my information is correct, you are at just shy of half of the total power allowed to remain on this plane of existence. I truly look forward to seeing what you can achieve as you grow.”

“There’s no way they should have won! That is… Your Highness, I feel that something is amiss with this.” Prince Vir coughed lightly at the intense stare he was subjected to when erupting publicly. “My Knights are undergoing strict Royal Guardsmen training, being trained by the best of the best. How could they possibly…?”

“How indeed? Why… we may need to rethink our training methodology for our Royal Guard at this rate!” King Alexander allowed a smile to play around the corners of his mouth as he hushed his overexcited progeny. The defeated Knights winced as the Royal Guards in the room glared at them sharply. “As for the winners of our little wager, I think we should certainly release their winnings to them, no?”

The King looked first at Zed, “By my authority, and the agreement of Crown Prince Vir, what do we owe you?”

“Well, about that, Your Highness…” The Bard opened his mouth to answer with pure uncertainty, but was cut off as a low chime swept through the room, the noise originating from his Sigil. A number appeared on his forehead, enlarged and projected to the Grand Hall at large. “Oh, well, nevermind, then.”

Etheric Xenograft Potentia owed: 1,760.

There were a few impolite chuckles from various Ascenders in the area, and Zed flushed with shame for a reason he didn’t understand. The King cleared his throat lightly, “As a… token of my appreciation for participating in this surely unwanted duel, I’ll directly increase your reward to two thousand exp, taken from my private stores.”

Zed’s highly trained ears twitched as he heard one of the Knights of Heaven’s Earth mutter, “Just two thousand? That’s not even a full week’s stipend.”

All the Bard could do was try to mask his fury, and he bowed to the King to hide his thunderous expression. The monarch turned to Taylor, “For you?”

Etheric Xenograft Potentia owed: 25,850.

“What?” Crown Prince Vir shot to his feet and roared. “How could this woman have possibly-”

“Vir!” King Alexander roared at his heir. “You dare act like this in front of me? You truly want to spit upon the honor of the direct Apprentice of the current Archmage? This debt will be paid! Forcing this sort of act and reneging on your word once given would remove all our authority, giving her free reign to leave our Kingdom! By the celestials above, I would personally ensure she left to pursue her passions instead of remaining loyal to her next King!”

That announcement shocked everyone present to their core. Prince Vir was alternating between flushing furiously and going pale at the thought of insulting three very important people all in one go. “That’s four months of resources for one of my sponsored Knight squads!”

“I’ll add my own resources to increase the amount to an even sixteen thousand. Perhaps you’ll learn to understand exactly what you are getting into before betting next time. Perhaps this lesson will one day save our Kingdom from ruin.” King Alexander coldly cut down any arguments, then looked at Andre. “What is owed to you, Archdruid?”

The Prince, hearing those words, groaned and fell back into his chair.

Etheric Xenograft Potentia owed: 37,630.

“How is this even being calculated?” The Prince wailed into his hands as he saw the amount. “They haven’t even been active for six months! They just got out of training!”

“Twenty percent of all exp they’ve gained has been given to us as a tithe.” The King announced grandly, for all to hear and understand. “Half of that is going back to them. This will serve as an additional reward to them for the grand service they’ve accomplished for the Kingdom. Give them these resources with no ill will, and allow the fact that you promptly pay your debts to your subject inspire confidence in your future rule.”

Many of the Nobles nodded at these wise words, and soon the only people wearing unpleasant expressions were Prince Vir and Zed. The King nodded at Andre, “I’ll increase that to a full forty thousand. Luke Von Murderhobo, what is owed to you?”

The Sigil on Luke’s head began to brighten, then spin and flash as numbers began to show. A line of text appeared in Luke’s vision that no one else was able to see.

If these pigs want to continue to control you, let’s see how fat they really are. Hope you like bacon! Source-cerer protocols are increasing your earnings… complete.

Etheric Xenograft Potentia owed: 130,035.