Chapter 5: Stronger

“Hmph!” (Volf)

Before I was even be able to ask what he wants, this Volf guy suddenly charged towards me!

“Tch-! [Earth Wall]!” (Lucas)

I created an earthen wall in front of me and even manipulated some of the earth beneath us in order to further strengthen it as I take a step back.

However, the earth wall was easily shattered!

“Haha, you think this puny wall can slow me down!?” (Volf)

Volf continued to charge his way towards me while his fists gather some sort of reddish light.

Not good! This is a [Berserker] skill! [Raging Might]!

This isn’t an attack I can take on!

I hurriedly created layers of earth walls with spikes on the front between us in an attempt to slow him down but…he continues to charge through them!

Shit! What’ the hell is this guy’s body made of!?

“Haha, though I’m intrigued as to how you can change the shape of your spells, but in the end, it’s still too weak!” (Volf)

“Damn! [Blink]! [Fire Wall]!” (Lucas)

Since I can’t defend it, all I have left is to escape it!

I reappeared to the side and manipulated the fire wall I just made and turned them to flame spears hovering the air and surrounding him.

Let’s see how you take this!

With a wave of my hand, all the flame spears closed in on Volf with a loud bang which instantly covered him in smoke!

In my mind, I sighed in relief, thinking that Volf should be injured but I still remained vigilant.

“That’s still not enough!” (Volf)

All of a sudden, a fist emerged from the smoke and struck me!

What’s with this speed!? Don’t tell me he has been holding back a while ago!?

Not being able to dodge, I was blown away several meters and slammed on a tree!

[“Lucas!”] (Warren)

*Vii!!!*

I heard Warren and Vil cry out in a worried voice but my mind was too shaken to reply immediately.

“Hmph!” (Volf)

Volf charged towards me again as if he wasn’t the least bit hurt from my attack a while ago.

Dammit! Let’s go all out!

[Blood Rush]! [Dragon Roar]! [Dragon Claw]!

With Freya’s [Blood Rush], my eyes turned golden and bat wings emerged from my back accompanied by my sudden increase of power.

Further debuffing the opponent with [Dragon Roar] as I shout, I used my strongest attack, [Dragon Claw]!

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” (Lucas)

Volf stiffened from my shout that seemed to shook the earth, even the birds calmly flying above fell unconscious due to fear and plummeted to the earth.

With that split second of being unable to move, a transparent black mass emerged from my side and shot straight to Volf!

This time, it was Volf’s turn to fly backwards by several meters.

After the attack, I didn’t dare be careless and transformed into countless tiny bats and flew towards Volf while preparing for the second attack.

However, before I was able to attack, a sudden surge of energy struck me!

“Haha, good! Good! Very good! You’re not a disappointment after all!” (Volf)

Volf stood up with a black reddish aura surrounding him and a line of blood on his mouth which he wiped away.

[Berserker] skill, [Greater Berserk]!

Shit, [Dragon Claw] wasn’t enough to deal a major injury!? And he even enhanced his strength further!

Not good, I need to escape!

“Fleeing? Not a chance!” (Volf)

When he saw me turn around, Volf, punched the ground with all his might.

The ground shook and a fissure emerged which stretched towards me!

However, as I was flying, this attack meant nothing to me so why…ah!?

Just before I started to wonder why he chose that attack, I saw him move again and this time, he is using his palm to strike the ground.

If I’m not mistaken…this action is…the [Champion] skill, [Sky Palm]!?

Indeed, before I can even dodge, a transparent energy appeared above my head which was shaped like a palm and sped downwards!

The palm energy actually had a width of 10 meters which showed that he maxed the skill! Even if I use [Blink], there’s still no way I can escape since I can only cover 3 meters with it!

“Vil! Run away!” (Lucas)

I shouted at Vil who was farther away from me since she fell a while ago.

If Vil met an attack like this, she will definitely die!

Seeing as she wasn’t moving, I mustered what little strength I can in the short amount of time before the energy palm struck me and created a gust of wind which blew Vil away from the attack.

Immediately after Vil escaped the attack, the palm energy hit me and I sunk at the gap of the fissure which suddenly closed in!

All of this took a while to explain but it only took at least two seconds after Volf recovered from my attack!

For a while, the battlefield was covered in silence.

“Haha, that’s it!? The amazing [White Haired Adventurer] only amounted to this!?” (Volf)

Volf laughed loudly which attracted some people.

Actually, the loud noises of the battle had long since attracted some people who were out hunting. Most of them were low level players so hearing a loud battle aroused their curiosity and began to watch.

“That was…the [White Haired Adventurer]?”

“No way…he was beaten so easily…”

“Look, that rabbit, that is clearly his. No way he’s a fake.”

“There was also that skill earlier…just who is this Volf…”

The surrounding gallery chattered.

“Hmph, guess I’ll tell Crow we can raid [Watervliet] tomorrow.” (Volf)

But just after Volf turned around, a loud explosion emerged from the closed fissure accompanied by a huge pillar of water like a geyser.

This pillar of water suddenly bent and shot towards Volf!

“Wha-!?” (Volf)

Volf immediately dodged to the side but what he didn’t expect…was that the water suddenly turned again towards him!

“Shit!” (Volf)

The pillar of water pushed him to a huge boulder which then immediately froze!

In that second, the crowd once again fell silent. Still having trouble letting what just happened to sink in.

“Haah…haah…haah…damn, that was close…” (Lucas)

I panted as I climb back to the surface and looked at Volf’s direction.

Right now, he is encased in a huge layer of ice and showed no signs of movement.

What I did was a combination of Freya’s [Tsunami] and [Absolute Zero].

Normally, it wouldn’t look like a geyser but who am I? I have [Water Manipulation] at near max after all.

But like always, I didn’t dare to be careless.

So I held [Durandal] and [Draughtbane] as I charge towards Volf once more.

I am still under [Blood Rush] but the power up wasn’t much since it was still daytime. It was a good thing that the foliage of the trees is enough to cover the sun, otherwise, this skill would’ve backfired.

Not only that, but hundreds of elemental spears appeared around me, ready to pierce the opponent at the same time as I do.

Just a little more!

I held my breath as I neared Volf’s encased form.

I don’t know why, but I have this feeling that if I’m late by even a little, he would escape that ice and I would definitely lose!

And this feeling…was spot on!

As the sword and the hundred spears touched the ice, another surge of emerged from within the ice. And this time, it was a lot stronger than before!

This is…[Berseker] skill, [Raging God’s Berserk]!

No, that layer of golden aura is…[Champion] skill, [Might of a Champion]!

Two S rank power up buffs!

This won’t do, I need to escape!!!

I used [Blink] and reappeared 3 meters back and began to flee while the hundred spears continue to attack Volf which would maybe slow him down.

“Haha, that was close! What the hell was that magic! It actually followed me! Haha, no more playing around! My turn!” (Volf)

Volf didn’t even bother with the elemental spears and just continued to charge towards me!

His speed was fast! Very fast that he immediately appeared right in front of me!

Fuck, I am definitely going to die today!

“Lucas!” (Freya)

However, just before Volf attacked me, a huge pillar of water emerged from above and clashed down to Volf before freezing again!

Looking at the source of the voice, I saw a familiar figure, Freya!

How did she get here so fast?

Just as I thought of that, Freya created a huge ball of water with a pointed tip and froze it again, creating a large glacier which crashed towards the frozen Volf!

That was…my [Water Manipulation]!

But why does it seem that her attack is stronger than mine?

Ah! My [Ring of Connection] had a skill, [Lover’s Promise] which buffs the wearer of the other pair with 70% in all stats for a minute!

Wait, if that’s the case, didn’t Freya also blessed her ring when we went to [Sennerth] before? How come I can’t do the same?

…Could it be…that she had a different skill?

No matter, I’ll ask later, now, we need to deal with this.

As expected, even those attacks earlier didn’t do much damage to Volf. But this time, there was a clear image of him being injured.

I promised Denneth that I won’t use [Dragon’s Wrath] but…if this continues, I might rely on it again!

“Haha, so your girlie came to rescue you. Fine, I’ll stop for now. I’ve seen enough of the so called [White Haired Adventurer’s] strength already.” (Volf)

I sighed in relief inwardly but I still didn’t dare to fully believe him so I remained vigilant.

“Don’t look at me like that kid. You’re weak. I haven’t even used my [Tyrannical Wolf Style] in this fight. What I showed just now was like a child’s play. You however…you won’t even be able to hinder us [Death Eaters]. I don’t know why [Crow] is so fixated on you.” (Volf)

Volf shook his head helplessly and shrugged it off.

In his eyes…I was clearly nothing more than a brat who has no power.

And he’s right…

Up until now, I’ve only been lucky.

Denneth turned out to be a good dragon so I didn’t have to fight him to death.

I used [Dragon’s Wrath] on the [Black Hand] assassin which wasn’t even my control.

The same can be said to the hordes of monsters in [Sennerth] and to Slazore.

The [Behemoth] from before was only a child.

Until now, I’ve only met those I can easily defeat.

In the first place, I’m still in the first stage of my job and I don’t even have a unique skill for it.

The [Painter] job is also useless in battle.

I…am weak…

Like that, Volf disappeared.

No longer seeing him, I sat to the ground and sighed in relief.

Damn, too strong.

I think, that even with [Dragon’s Wrath], I would, at most, only inflict a major injury on him.

I shook my head again helplessly.

There’s no other way to it.

I just have to get stronger.

Even more stronger!

Strong enough to protect everyone I care about!

Right, he said [Death Eaters] a while ago.

Just you wait…I’ll definitely destroy you all!

“Lucas, are you alright?” (Freya)

Freya came close and looked at me worriedly.

I looked at my HP display and it showed that my HP is just a bit over 2%...really close…

“…Freya, you never told me what skill your [Ring of Connection] got?” (Lucas)

“T-that…it’s called [Lover’s Call]. When the wearer of the other pair’s HP gets below 10%, I will notice and can teleport immediately.” (Freya)

“I see…then thank you. Freya. From now on, can we exchange rings?” (Lucas)

Freya didn’t look surprised but rather, hesitant.

I guess she must’ve known that if she were to tell me that skill, I would ask the same thing.

“Freya, I know you want to protect me. But I also want to protect you.” (Lucas)

Though I have the [Bridge of Connection], I only have 3 times to use it after all. It’s better not to use it when it comes to Freya.

“Look, I can summon you, but you can’t summon me. At least, with this, I can be more assured.” (Lucas)

“…I understand. But you have to promise me that you will summon me if things get dire okay? Don’t forget, I can use your skills. And that includes [Bonds of Connection] too.” (Freya)

A-ahh…I forgot…

I did have that skill which makes me conveniently monitor the wellbeing of those connected to me.

Freya’s is exceptionally strong. I guess it must have something to do with the [Ring of Connection].

“Haha, alright. I promise.” (Lucas)

At that moment, the feeling of my connection with Freya seemed to throb.

“Hehe, this feeling of being connected to you is amazing. I feel that you are always with me despite being so far away.” (Freya)

Freya beamed a smile and the connection throbbed once again.

Not only that, but my connection to the other girls seemed to waver in protest…

…This skill…seems dangerous for my heart after all…

Once again sighing, I stood up and went back to [Drachedge], ignoring the surrounding gallery.

+ + +

“…Amazing. So there are stronger people like that…”

“It seems that the [White Haired Adventurer] is also weak…then what am I, who is weaker than him? Forget it, I need to get stronger as well!”

“Yeah! If the [White Haired Adventurer] isn’t strong enough, then we shouldn’t laze around! Quick! Let’s get stronger!”

“That guy mentioned a style…it seems I underestimated styles. I need to get to the [Style Convention] and see if a school is willing to take me in!”

“Stronger! I need to hurry and be stronger!”

Unknowingly, this event roused some people’s fighting spirit more than those who were downhearted.

But this also showed how their belief in the [White Haired Adventurer Lucas] also seemed to dissipate slowly.

However, it made them want to be stronger as well.

They know, that even though Lucas had lost, he was still stronger than them. Not only that, but there are also people stronger than Lucas.

So that means, that if Lucas cannot defeat them, then there will naturally be others who can.

The question is, will they wait for someone to do it? Or will they do it themselves?

The world is changing, and for better or for worse, they need to adapt.

They need to get stronger.

Strong enough to protect those they care about.

To be their [Hero].

But of course, not everyone had a positive outlook.

There are those who were terrified.

Terrified by the fact that they know Lucas cannot protect them.

Some, had chosen to strengthen themselves.

But there are some who cowered in fear and hid.

Hide and wait until a new [Hero] emerge.

+ + +

“…Why did you call me back, Crow? I’ve had him.” (Volf)

Meanwhile, in some dark corner in [Harus], Volf had returned to the [Death Eater’s Headquarters].

Like he said, his retreat today was on the orders of Crow.

He himself wanted to fight more. But he knows Crow isn’t a simple man that will order his retreat without meaning.

“Tch, idiot. You didn’t even notice that you were poisoned! Quickly cure him!” (Crow)

“What!?” (Volf)

Crow pointed at the back of his neck which had a tint of purple.

Volf looked stupidly at the mirror which showed the back of his neck and couldn’t help but pale at the sight of it.

“H-how? Who did this!?” (Volf)

“It’s not Lucas, or that vampire. I was watching them so it’s impossible.” (Crow)

Volf knew Crow was watching the battle from the start. Disguised as a low level player who mixed in the crowd so he believed that Crow was paying attention to his opponents.

“Then who!?” (Volf)

“I don’t know. I only noticed the purple mark after the vampire attacked you. Whoever this is…he’s good at hiding. Hood even prepared a large formation beneath the place where you battle to monitor any anomalies. Though there was one anomaly, he’s harmless. Just a [Phantom]. And he showed no signs of attacking.” (Crow)

Hearing this, Volf can’t help but turn pale again. He knows how powerful he is. And he knows how powerful Crow and Hood is to him.

If both of this people who were stronger than him didn’t notice who poisoned him…then just how powerful is this guy!?

“Luckily, we have an antidote to this poison. It should be a warning shot to have you back away.” (Crow)

“But why? If he’s protecting that Lucas, shouldn’t he have killed me then and there?” (Volf)

Volf sighed after drinking the antidote as he asked.

However, Crow only shook his head.

“I don’t know. And I don’t like not knowing.” (Crow)

Volf gulped as he watched Crow.

He knows Crow’s temper very well.

If he doesn’t know something, he will know it. Whatever the means. Whatever the cost.

“It seems we have to get even stronger.” (Crow)

Author's Notes

Ei

Bye

P.S.: Oh yeah, SCHOOL'S FIRST TERM IS DONE!!! So I have one week vacation.....well, let's see how many chaps I can squeeze there :P (Yay for short ANs!)

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