V3 Chapter 81

“Yes. Our Master Jonathan Aquarian is also the current acting Head of the Aquarian Noble Family. A great man. A proud knight. And also one of the famous Generals that protect the Kingdom." Zia said, loading her voice with pride and joy.

“Aquarian Family…”

Rain muttered in a daze. For some reason, that name seems to tug some strange feelings in his heart. A complicated emotion he could not understand, nor could point out accurately.

Zia, on the other hand, continued to speak about Jonathan and his incredible exploits that could only be heard from a scene in epic legends told by bards and minstrels. Though, there were affection on her voice, it’s not love but more of a fan proudly boasting about her idol. Suddenly, hearing Rain’s whisper, she thought he was asking what the Aquarian Family was and happily answered, describing the house she belongs to.

"...Aquarian Noble House is one of the Twelve Great Families that has helped founded the Delouria Kingdom in ancient times… Each Family is a loyal retainer of the Kingdom ever since it was founded, and has a loyalty that will never break. Thus, they are called the Protectors…Aquarian, is the leader of the twelve Guardian Houses…they have produced many Heroes and…”

“So he is a Great Nobleman…”

Rain couldn’t follow Zia’s happy narration, nor was he in the mood to listen. The strange feeling that was surging in his heart was making him lethargic. However, suddenly, something tugs at the back of his head, a feeling of danger coming. His mind immediately cleared up.

“Zia,”

“I know. It’s coming!”

Rain turns at Zia to warn her. Zia seemed to have felt the incoming danger as well and looked back at him. Then, without hesitation, they both jump away. The Ground Devourer appeared right beneath the tree they were standing, mouth gaping open as it devoured the entire tree before diving back underground, and disappearing.

Jonathan and the two men’s attacks seemed to do only a bit of damage to the monster, though enough to scare the monster. Waiting for two to three minutes, the area seemed to return to tranquility, and the Ground Devourer was nowhere to be seen.

“Did it run?” Jin, the robed mage asked.

Though he wanted to kill the monster as much as the others, for a Ground Devourer who can escape through the underground, it’s almost impossible to catch it. Unless, there is someone who can keep it above ground, or dig it out from underneath the ground such as an Earth Arch-Mage, or at least, an Earth Elite Master Mage that can burrow the ground, then they might have a chance. Sadly, there’s no such person present.

“No, it’s still here,” Rain place his palm on the ground and said. He didn’t need to look at his smartphone to find the Ground Devourer’s location. He just closed his eyes, and immediately within his mind, an image of him standing in a dark space while circular waves pulsed around him like radio waves.

[Seismic Sense] - Using this ability, he can easily perceive things around him especially underground. This is an incredibly useful ability that resembles a sonar- able to detect vibrations in the ground to perceive objects, people, and other aspects of their environment, through earth or metal.

“Can you sense it?” Jonathan asked.

“…It’s coming, everyone jump!”

Rain snaps his eyes open, and without hesitation, leaps in the air, this time, grabbing Zia who was standing beside him. Jonathan and the others heard his words, and without hesitation did what he said.

There’s no moment of doubt as they immediately jumped in the air- even the full-armored man, who seemed to be weighing a few tons able to jump nimbly in the air, his feet glowing in golden light. Though, Rain noticed it was not a skill, but instead, it was his steel boots effect.

A magical item?

The armored knight flew in the air like he didn’t weigh anything at all.

Interesting… so it doesn’t just give a speed boost, but also enables one to fly.

That’s a very interesting pair of magical boots. It seems to be similar to the Boots of Hermes, if not for the absence of wings, typical of the items commonly depicted as a symbol of the well-known Emissary of the Gods.

Rain has always been very interested in magical items, as much as he was very interested in Alchemy and Magical Spells. As a Blacksmith himself, groomed and trained by Miyabila, he was the type that always wanted to create something, especially those considered as something from Myths and Legends. And yes, he did think about creating well-known magical items, such as Hades’ Helm, Poseidon Trident, Zeus Lightning…and well, the flying boots of Hermes are one of them. Only, they were kept as plans and designs on paper, for the moment. He doesn’t even know where to start…

And now, something like this appeared in front of him.

If I could just understand and examine those boots, maybe, I can really recreate the Boots of Hermes…?!

Rain couldn’t help but wonder about the possibility.

Though, he can fly easily without the help of any magical items… don’t you think it’s very cool to have wings on your feet as you fly…?

But that is something that could be left for later. The current situation doesn’t give him much leeway nor a moment of peace to think about his hobbies. The moment after the jump they’ve made, the ground they were just standing on, exploded. What followed after, was a massive caved-in.

The entire ground was hollowed, and a large mouth full of saw-like teeth revolving, like a meat-grinding machine, appeared. The moment it appeared, Jonathan and the others didn’t even think twice and hurriedly dived in, attacking. Rain also charged this time. He can’t stay behind now and just watched like a spectator.

Whooosh!

“…?!!”

As Jonathan and Zia maneuvered in the air, avoiding the tentacles that tried to attack them, suddenly, they saw a silver light flash. Before everyone even looked over, Rain had already drawn the thin, slender sword they had seen hanging on his waist, and stabbed at the worm’s head. Blood spurted from the bloody hole, but before the monster could retaliate, his figure had already disappeared.

Fast…!

This time, it was Jonathan’s turn to be surprised.

So that sword was not just decoration, after all… he’s a swordsman?

Unlike the Lamians, Jonathan had seen the kind of sword Rain was holding, so he was not surprised by the blade’s strange thinness and seemly fragility.

He knows that this kind of sword focused on speed, stabbing, and piercing. And there were also quite a lot of people who took this kind of sword, though most of them were women. It’s quite rare for a man to use this kind of sword since most men relied on strength and power.

This kind of sword is not suited for power battles, and in some cases, this sword would easily break during the fight, especially during clashes. For men who relied on brute strength, this sword is the least favorite. But still, it’s one of the favored swords for women due to its lightness.

However, I have never seen someone uses it this fast…

Jonathan thought as he stared at Rain’s figure appearing and disappearing. The moment he blinks his eyes, the boy was already right in front of the monster, stabbing his blade countless times, and after the next blink, he’s already far away from it, once again looking for an opportunity.

“Such a fast thrust. His swordsmanship level should not be below Lv2… this boy is truly a box of surprises,” Jonathan said wrinkling his brows in awe.

Comparing speed, he’s faster, he knows that…in fact, the speed Rain had displayed is not shocking in the realm of Lv3 Experts. His speed could easily be followed. However, that is in the Lv3 realm and above…under it, this speed is almost invincible.

Not to mention, the boy’s age…that’s what made him even more surprised.

If his conjecture is correct, then this boy is already at least Lv2, with at least Lv3 Swordsmanship… what kind of terrifying nightmare is that? How long did he train to reach that kind of level?

Perhaps, he might even be as fast as Zia when she’s augmented with her lightning speed.

Just what kind of Class does this boy have?

He’s not only a Dual Skill Holder but also a Swordsman? And his speed is even comparable to the [Lightning Swallow] Zia. A speed-type Swordsman with incredible magical abilities.

From how the boy looks, he’s barely 17 to 18 years old. But he’s already Lv2…indeed, only Elite Genius in the Academy can do that. It’s not impossible. But a Lv3 Swordsmanship skill…? This made him even above those so-called Geniuses.

Furthermore, the technique of his swordsmanship. Though he had seen fast and quick swordsmen before and even fought dozens of them, they weren’t as shocking as this boy’s skill. Fast, it was just pure speed. It’s as if, he had forgone everything, and focus on speed.

By the time everyone had turned around, he had already arrived in front of his target and attacked three or more times in a single blink of an eye. Only Jonathan got a good look at the thrust, the rest only saw the outcome. However, all he saw was the moment Rain pulled out his sword, then it had already stabbed into the monster’s head, drawing blood. It’s not a Combat Skill or Art, unlike his [Tempest Sword Art] or [Raging Torrent]…it’s just a pure attack that relies on speed.

The sword nor his body didn’t let out a glow, displaying the act that he was not invoking a combat art. Still, to think that was only done through pure physical attributes. That speed is, simply, extraordinary.

In addition, that sword should be quite a high-level magic sword, since it easily pierces through the monster’s carapace and injured it. Not all swords can easily do that- perhaps, it’s comparable to his [Blue Moon Sword], a Superior Rare Grade 3rd Tier Magic Sword.

And he’s not only fast but also frighteningly precise and accurate. The third thing Jonathan discovered as Rain continued fighting the monster, and showing his incredible abilities, is that the boy was hitting the fatal points of the monster very accurately.

The places he hits are all weak points, efficient and accurately he targeted the fatal points of his opponent. Though Jonathan didn’t have something convenient like the [Eye of Death], with his long years of experience and frightening instinct, he could still pinpoint a monster’s weakness to some extent just by looking or fighting them for a while.

However, this kind of ability has been honed after fighting countless monsters and creatures in his entire life. It was certainly not done with just a few years of training, instead, honed after dozens of years of fighting experience. And so, not knowing that it was a skill, Jonathan can only attribute it to the boy’s talent.

This boy keeps on giving out surprises one after another.

Jonathan thought to himself.

That attack just now...only a person who has reached the 3rd Level could have the chance to dodge it. I’m afraid if there isn’t a difference in strength, the target would not be able to escape. If he was fighting me, I might not be able to block and parry all the strikes as well.

As he silently watched and observed the black-haired boy, Jonathan’s curiosity and interest in Rain grow stronger. As time passed by, and the battle becomes tenser, so did Jonathan’s shock, and even his eyes widened in admiration. He saw Rain appearing and disappearing like a ghost when he appeared he was already beside the monster, attacking. And after attacking, he would not hesitate to retreat. Then once again find a gap of opportunity, and no matter how small and tiny that gap is, he would swim through it, and strike with his blade. And he never missed.

Sometimes, he had seen him use a familiar combat skill that he can recognize at first glance, but some of those he had used, he had not seen before. And most of them were powerful combat skills that can deal fatal damage to even Lv3 and above Superhumans.

What’s even more shocking was that he was piercing the same target, the wound he had made the first time he had attacked, repeatedly without any mistakes, and increasing the damage he was doing at the same time. No, the blood hole was becoming bigger, and fatal. With that kind of accuracy, even Jonathan was afraid he would not be able to do it.

It’s an attacking action only made by a machine.

The other seemed to notice it as well, as they constantly glance at him now and then. Though among them, his power seemed to be lacking, at the very least, in the aspect of controlling the battle, he was not the least bit inferior. He knows the exact timing when and where to attack, and even the moment when he needed to support as well. His swift and accurate actions managed to reduce their load heavily.

And thus, they were slowly gaining the advantage in the battle, along with increasing their understanding of each other.

... ...

Rain appeared like an azure light, and attack with fast thrusts.

Increasing his speed with [Agility Ex] and [Fast and Quick] skills, he would then attack with [Flash Slash], [Mutilate], and [Bleed Edge], increasing his damage output. Then, he would retreat before the monster attacks, and used [Silent Step] together with his lightweight movement skill, to evade its detection and hide. Then, once again he would wait for an opportunity, and when it came, he would charge right back again.

Rain was not interested in what the people around him thought. He just attacks, and attacks, all while activating the [Eye of Death]. Every time he stabbed, he somewhat saw a virtual point appearing and disappearing. He felt a pain in his mind from continuous usage of the [Eye of Death] but he endured it, and persisted, feeling his senses sharpening as he fought. He once again turned around and once again saw the virtual point. And before he knew it, his body had already reacted to it.

Attack at that point!

Attack! Quick! Quick! Attack!

His heart, brain, and hand moved. Striking precisely where it would hurt the monster more. After he attacks the same point, he would then disappear. A moment after, a tentacle swept over the air where he was, and the trees nearby broke apart.

Climbing onto a nearby tree branch. He kept his sword and pulled out his gun, shooting non-stop. He even blinked to dodge the incoming tentacle at the same time. Then, the full-armored knight appeared,

*Dang*

He blocked the attacks with his tower shield. Mid-air, Rain bent over to dodge its tentacle attack and saw Zia and Jonathan attacking the monster from below and above, with incredible fierceness. The blood that splattered had a terrible stench, like rotting waste.

Fire spears and lances, and magic missiles appeared at this moment, and he hurriedly jumped back, and so were the others, raining down on the monster. A series of loud explosions once again rang out.

The monster let out a piercing shriek, and once again dived back into the ground. The others immediately tried to stop it, attacking its body, but to no success. Once again the area fell into a weird silence, only chaos remains.

This monster is truly tough…

Rain landed on the ground, and once again uses [Seismic Sense].

In his mind, he could see the current situation... and even perceive a massive creature moving on the ground, like a fish that was swimming into the water.

If he was alone, he has many methods of dragging the monster out of the ground. However, since he wanted to hide some cards from Jonathan and the others for insurance, he could only wait. Fortunately, for some reason, the monster didn’t seem to have any thought of escaping. And a while later, it made its move again. The giant worm seemed to find its target, and it started rising again.

“It’s coming!” he said, causing the others to tense.

But this time, they were more than ready for it.