Rusty's fra rose from the smoke. It was not his largest form, nor his fastest. He had chosen to face his enemy in his all-purpose body. The gorge around him was unrecognizable. Stone had been split by magical explosions, and even the reinforced wagon lay on its side, one wheel still spinning lazily. Dead horses stead in the cooling air. Surprisingly, the chest filled with money remained mostly undamaged.
"What are you?"
At the center of the devastation stood Varkas. His crimson cloak had burned away, and his face looked rugged from the blasts. Blood stread from a cut across his brow, but with a single swig of a high-quality potion, the bleeding stopped.
A few n remained around him, only six lesser D-ranks and one surviving sub-leader, the strongest among them. These were not Rusty's concern. Aburdon and Alexander approached in their own fras, moving to intercept them. Gleam buzzed close above, already gathering mana to support the two armored guides.
"Not talking? It doesn't matter. Once you're dead, all of this will be over. As long as I'm here, the Black Hounds will always survive."
Varkas did not seem perturbed by the loss of most of his n. He appeared not to care about them at all. It was as if he saw himself as the true rcenary unit and the others as pawns to be spent in his advance.
Rusty gave no reply. He had switched to his original body. There was no head of Edmund or anyone else to speak for him. He needed all his mobility to win. Varkas, a wind magic swordsman, could not be underestimated. He could punch holes through reinforced steel. Though Rusty had faced him many tis in the training chamber, this would be their first true battle.
'This is it.'
He advanced with a shield and sword in hand. At first glance, he held the advantage. His armored body and defensive equipnt should have resisted any cutting or slashing attack.
Varkas lowered his stance. The air around his saber began to twist. Mana gathered along the edge of the blade, no longer as pure mana but as condensed green wind pressure. Strange script shone to life along the steel. Then it surged forward, a burst of compressed wind so dense it beca a blade in its own right.
Rusty did not retreat. He braced himself instead. The shield in his grip sizzled with energy as a blue layer of mana ford over its surface to et the incoming strike. The forces collided, and an erald glow filled the gorge.
Wind t raw defensive mana. A shriek of tearing air echoed in every direction. The compressed green blade slamd into the shield Rusty held. Even with a skill increasing his weight, his body buckled under the impact as he was driven backward.
'Heavy…'
That was what Rusty felt. Even though this was only the first attack, his hand was barely able to hold onto his shield. His tal boots scraped against the ground as he began to slide back, but for now his body held firm. The attack subsided, leaving a small scratch across his shield of high-enchanted steel.
'I do not think I can guard against those attacks forever.'
Rusty realized one thing. These attacks were deadly. If he took one directly to his body, he would suffer serious damage. He had only managed to defend himself because of the defensive enchantnt on his shield. Without it, the strike would have pierced straight through.
"So you can block it?"
Varkas's voice was calm, almost pleased.
"Good. I would have been disappointed otherwise."
He spoke, then vanished. Rusty was left baffled, but his life detection skill activated almost imdiately.
'On the left!'
He thought it, but it was too late. A crescent of wind carved across his side, the green edge screeching as it bit into enchanted steel. Rusty twisted and raised his sword just in ti to deflect the follow-up strike. Sparks burst in a violent arc as the saber clashed against his blade.
Varkas's movents blurred, as if he were the wind itself. He did not rely solely on powerful saber techniques. Most of his skills focused on swift footwork and precise movent. Every step nearly left an afterimage as the air distorted around him. He was a man on the verge of reaching C-rank, ard with a strong class and high-quality equipnt that further enhanced his agility and strength.
Rusty braced for each impact, blocking, parrying, and dodging as best he could. Twilight energy surged through his body as he tried to level the playing field. This was likely his toughest opponent yet, even greater than the undead spider or the summoned monsters he had faced alongside Gwen, and he loved it.
"This is… fun."
More scratches and shallow cuts appeared across his body, yet he did not falter. He stepped forward to deliver solid counterattacks, and with every passing second, he grew more accustod to the speed. This was the real Varkas, not the training illusion he had fought before, but the movents and patterns were strikingly similar.
"How are you…"
The rcenary leader jumped back as a blade thrust toward his neck, slicing through the collar of his coat. He leapt away with trendous speed and paused to glance at the damage to his armor.
"..."
Rusty gave no reply and lunged forward. Though he had no skills that directly increased his speed, he could raise all his stats at once. With Twilight's Embrace and the Fury skill, he enhanced himself. His movents grew faster and his strikes heavier. Varkas tried to parry, but the force drove him aside like a straw doll. He struggled to steady himself and had to perform a backflip to avoid being hurled into a large boulder.
"How are you…"
The man was clearly shocked by this sudden shift. Yet it was happening. Rusty was growing stronger by the second, adapting to his opponent's movents at a rapid pace. He dodged attacks as if he knew they were coming and countered with precise cuts, leaving fresh wounds across Varkas's body. He did not give him a chance to drink another recovery potion as he pushed his opponent to the limit.
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'There he goes again, but now I know the trick behind it.'
Varkas vanished once more and appeared at Rusty's right flank. This ti, Rusty was ready. His blade t the green enchanted saber in a perfectly tid parry. The technique he had learned while adventuring with Gwen proved invaluable against a man who fought with only one sword.
The clash rang across the battlefield. Steel shrieked against the wind enchanted blade, and for the first ti, Varkas lost his footing. Rusty twisted his arm as he deflected the strike, then stepped in and slamd his shield into the man's gut, sending him flying nearly ten ters.
Though the rcenary captain was fast and powerful, he had one weakness. His constitution was lacking. The blow sent him crashing through loose stone before he rolled into the shattered remains of a wagon. Air burst from his lungs in a ragged gasp. His saber slipped from his grip, skidding across broken rock before embedding itself point-first in the ground.
Rusty did not hesitate. This was the perfect mont, not just to claim victory but to seize sothing more, a fragnt of the man's power. Throughout the battle, it had beco clear that Varkas possessed rare and intriguing skills, and Rusty intended to claim one of them.
He surged forward as Varkas forced himself upright. Blood spilled from the man's mouth, yet instead of reaching for a potion, he lunged for his weapon. Once again, he used that strange step forward, but this ti Rusty was ready.
'Got you.'
"W-what?"
Even though Varkas managed to grasp his weapon, he miscalculated badly. Rusty had already abandoned his own weapon and shield. Instead, he lunged forward, locking the man in a tight bear hug before activating his weight-increasing skill and dragging them both to the ground.
"Unhand !"
The rcenary leader shouted as he struggled to move. Wind energy flowed into his saber, but he could not fully free his arm, which was exactly what Rusty had intended. Rusty thrust his helt forward using his limb control skill. It hovered over Varkas's head, and a mont later, the skill absorption ability activated.
"Argh!"
Compatible skills have been found. Please choose a skill that you want to learn.
Varkas cried out in agony as Rusty scanned the available skills. The man thrashed with all his strength, but he could not break free from Rusty's superior grip.
Dash Step
Active Skill
Allows the user to briefly boost their speed to an extre degree, propelling them forward and leaving behind an afterimage to confuse enemies if the skill level is high enough.
Light Swordsmanship
Passive Skill
Allows the user to wield light swords with greater speed and efficiency, making them faster and deadlier. Required to unlock more advanced light sword techniques.
There was little to choose from. It seed Varkas did not possess many compatible skills. Light Swordsmanship was likely a prerequisite for many of the techniques he had displayed, but taking it without the proper class would probably be a mistake. Fortunately, the skill Rusty wanted was there. The very ability that had made the fight so troubleso could now beco his.
As with all previous victims of skill absorption, the transfer of information was painful for the target. Rusty, however, felt nothing. As a monster composed of animated armor and a magical core, he experienced no strain on his mind. Even Aburdon had once remarked that when he still possessed a body of flesh, even he had felt discomfort during such transfers.
"Arghhh…"
Varkas scread again, but no one ca to his aid. Aburdon, Alexander, and Gleam had already cut down half of the remaining rcenaries. Though their effective range was limited, the narrow gorge provided enough space for them to maneuver.
"Now then. We should finish this."
Rusty comnted as his helt slid back onto his shoulders. Just as he was about to crush his opponent, a surge of mana exploded outward. He retreated at once, his monster core vibrating from the energy being released. He backed away as the wave of mana pushed him off Varkas, who regained his footing.
"Monster, I will kill you!"
Varkas was still alive after his skill had been absorbed. He looked confused, shaken but not yet defeated. It seed that higher-ranked beings could partially resist the absorption and retain their sanity, but it was obvious he was finished. With his skill gone, he could no longer move as fast, and his greatest weapon had been taken from him.
Although Rusty was eager to test the Dash Step skill, he knew better than to activate it in the middle of combat. Instead, he opened his storage system and pulled out a mana crystal, crushing it in his hand. Even though half of his mana pool was being used to sustain Aburdon and Alexander, he had gained enough mana crystals from the dungeon to restore his MP almost instantly.
Twilight energy surged around him as it was ti for the final exchange. His sword clashed with Varkas's wind blades, which were already losing power. The man's enchantnts began to falter. He could no longer concentrate properly, and that was all Rusty needed to press his advantage.
Dark energy coated his blade as he struck. There was no reason to hold back. His allies were within the range of his darkness spell but it didn't matter. His shadowy aura erupted, spreading across the entire gorge. The rcenaries were instantly affected, nausea twisting their stomachs. The darkness empowered Aburdon in a strange way, while Alexander appeared weakened by Rusty's elent.
Varkas forced himself to fight within the suffocating darkness, blood spilling from his mouth even after he swallowed another potion. Sparks flew as steel t steel one last ti. The wind around his saber expanded into a spiraling vortex. It was a final skill, tearing through Rusty's high-enchanted blade.
"I do not know what you are, but I will break you, just like I broke everyone who stood before !"
Even within the dark haze, Varkas resisted the energy to so extent. His bloodshot eyes burned with fury as his saber shredded Rusty's sword, confidence flashing across his face. The longsword shattered. The saber continued downward toward Rusty's chest.
Instead, it struck his vambrace. Varkas smiled, certain that his green wind energy would carry through. But as Rusty's body began to crack under the force, it restored itself before the rcenary leader's eyes.
"What?"
"Didn't count on that? My body will not break that easily!"
The man could not hear Rusty's taunt, but it did not matter. His shield was already flying toward Varkas's chest. Varkas had been too confident in his attack and forgot to defend himself. Another blow struck his chest and shattered his ribs at once. He was hurled backward again, crashing into a massive boulder that would beco his grave.
A large halberd appeared in Rusty's hand, ready to deliver the finishing strike. It shot forward like a ballista bolt. Varkas tried to raise his saber and summon the wind once more, but the mana did not form quickly enough. The erald energy unraveled as the weapon tore through his chest, cutting him down instantly.
"AGH!"
His armor split apart, and the force of the impact drove him into the boulder behind him. The stone cracked, and for a second, everything stood still. Then the boulder exploded outward in a spray of shattered rock as the halberd pinned him to it like an insect to a board. The erald glow of his wind mana flickered wildly, then vanished.
Silence settled over the gorge, and the dark smoke slowly began to disperse. When it cleared, it revealed only broken bodies and scattered pieces of armor. The remaining rcenaries lay motionless on the ground, their blood soaking into the earth. They had already drawn their last breath.
The final battle with the Black Hound rcenaries was over at last. Rusty and his guides had planned every step and erged victorious. Amid the chaos, he sensed that his levels had risen because of the carnage. He was not alone in that gain. Gleam, his earliest companion and close friend, had shared in the rewards and reached a high enough level to advance further in her evolution.
"( •̀ ᴗ •́ )و "
"Good job, everyone, now let's clean up and head ho!"
Rusty called out to his allies, and they answered with silent nods. The battle was over, but it was unwise to remain here for long. Before they left, however, they still needed to claim the chest waiting nearby…
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