Chapter 163 - Vol. 3 - Chapter 28

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He didn't initialize the contact first, as he thought those Drones would just mind their own path, and follow along in another direction however, as he high on a old tree, watching those monsters from a distance like a predatory bird, the insectoids sensed his presence and started releasing their calls.

Immediately another 5 drones appeared starting surrounding the tree Mathias was using to have high ground and visage into his range. As they surrounded the tree, immediately an attack ensued.

'How? Their sense of smell?'

{Most likely.}

They started shrieking and attacking the tree, beginning to cut it off, since they perceived Mathias as a danger to their colony.

Keeping his balance while the tree branch he was supporting his body started giving off, and to his surprise those insectoid monsters managed to drop down the tree Mathias was standing rather swiftly, beginning their assault on the young man once he dropped on the ground.

'What?? Are those insects professional woodcutters? They only took about a few minutes to take one tree down.'

'Tsk, I wish I could have observed them a bit more, it is what it is.' thought Mathias while his curiosity started to die off, preparing himself for the fight.

This aggressive behavior from the Kikimore made Mathias reaction turn colder and with Ragnius taken out, he pierced the head of one of the monsters closer to him, before stepping from the harms way of the monsters.

[Critical!]

[You've dealt 1624 damage to the enemy!]

Shrieking in pain, hearing the wounded Kikimore, the other 4 jumped in a swift manner, attacking using their monstrous four legs like dropping javelins which pierced the ground like butter.

Seeing the damage those attacks from the Kikimore could have, a potential that made him worry, Mathias started to probe around the weaknesses of the monsters.

'No way, their attack is almost the same as the Blood Hawks. I can't be a sitting target, but this doesn't mean I will revert to that tactic. Let's first observe their attack patterns from the distance, and then I'll kill them off.'

'For now I will mess around with their range perception, attacking with all the three weapons.'

In doing so, he shifted between three weapons that he was using at close range and long range, the sword, spear and bow.

Talking to himself, while asking Haycien for his opinion, he started spreading out a list of weaknesses those Kikimore had, and also their strength, which was agility and power, along with a strong defense benefiting from their carapace.

The armor around the head of the monsters was weaker, a thing he confirmed from the initial attack with Ragnius, but then, there were also a couple of weaknesses he saw while fighting for 10 minutes against those monsters, taking his time to get adjusted to their fighting style.

'So far, I can see the Head having a small defense, the eyes if I can nail them, it will cause a lot of pain. The ligaments of their legs, while seeming a stupid idea to attack the weapons of an monster, the way their legs are formed. Like the joints and ligaments of us humans, there is some weakness for attacks.'

'Also, another one I noticed from dealing with their attacks, is how there is an opening in the exoskeleton at the connection from the body with the legs. Similar to how our arm is connected to the shoulder.'

'What do you say, old Hay? A good assumption so far on the weaknesses of those monsters?' inquired Mathias, as he was pointing out the weaknesses he saw from his perspective.

{Yea, those are weaknesses I can also see, there's also a couple of them. But I will let you deal with those monsters by yourself. You have to grow, and only by experiencing and seeing yourself those things, may you increase your growth.}

Agreeing with Haycien's point while getting curious about what other weaknesses the old Emperor saw in those insectoid monsters, he decided to no longer waste additional time.

His sword disappeared from his hands, and a bow together with a quiver of arrows that was strapped on his back came into sight.

Swiftly jumping high and climbing on a tree he placed the first arrow on his bowstring, beginning to pull with all his force while closing his left eye, focusing on the monsters that followed suit, not sensing the impending doom they were about to enter.

'Good, now open your mouth wide open, let me see those sharp teeth.' commented Mathias to himself, while he was targeting a Kikemore with its HP gauge at 70% and his Rare rated bow of only level 30 with stats that matched closely with Ragnius thanks to Nelmon's Craftsman's hands in building it.

.

[Ashwood Warbow]

Rating: Rare

Durability: 320/435

Attack Power: 305 Firing Speed: + 15%

Accuracy: -15%

* Everytime you shoot an arrow successfully, for the duration of the combat period the bow's power will increase by 1%. This effect will only by applied up to 20%

* Everytime you pull the bowstring to the fullest extent, you'll consume 0.1 STA Energy points

* If you hit the combat target you will gain additional Bow Mastery experience.

A bow crafted by the Craftsman Nelmon for a person he sees to have a bright future, using the best wood material he could find in the short amount of time he worked on the creation of the Warbow.

A bow designed to fit the needs of the user, after hearing patiently the user's requirements, personally tailored for the user. This bow, if handled correctly, can be a weapon to be feared.

User Restrictions: Level 30 or higher. Beginner Bow Mastery level 6 or higher

.

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Pulling the string to the limits, Mathias felt his muscles going tense from the string resistance to tension, but nevertheless, once he was to the limits, he casted his Bow Path skills learned from Haycien watching his eyes eyes glimmering with a cold dark-purple light inside his irises.

'[Whistling Arrow]'

From the moment he let go of the bowstring Mathias was pushed a bit by the strong force of the warbow, but the cries of the Kikimore acted like an anchor for him, watching with delight at the shot he performed, allowing him to gain more Bow Mastery experience in the process with the grace of the bow.

[Critical!]

[You've dealt 3420 damage to the target.]

'Bullseye! That hit was truly satisfying.' remarked Mathias in his mind, feeling rather pleased by how his shot hit the weak spot of the Kikimore causing a rather substantial damage to it.

The monster's health gauge shifted from 70% to 56% directly, yet the fight only began.

*SHRIEK*

The Kikemores didn't stop to lick their wounds and instead began their charge, and as such Mathias found himself once again required to escape from the encircling insectoids.

This time was different, he jumped before the tree could be chewed down, unleashing another powerful attack with his bow, this time attempting to fire at another weak spot he saw, the section of the monster's legs connecting with the rest of the body.

'[Slowing Arrow]'

[You've dealt 1093 damage to the target.]

Watching the arrow being shot with his sharp eyes, expecting another bullseye, unfortunately for him, it missed the target by two fingers.

Composed, he saw the four Kikimora Drones moving at fast speed toward him, while the one that was wounded heavily still struggled to join the fight, as if that specific arrow contained something which blocked the monsters from joining the fight.

Aware of his surroundings and circumstances, moving laterally while pulling the bowstring again, this time it wasn't with an arrow, just by itself.

{Be careful so you don't burn the bowstring again. You'll not be able to use the bow afterwards.} warned Haycien when he noticed what Mathias tried to do, with pulling the bowstring without an arrow to settle.

'I'll be careful this time. At least I hope I don't burn it.'

Watching carefully each of the approaching monsters, the hand holding the bowstring started giving off a dark-purple light as it enveloped the string, and from his hand the arcane energy started morphing around into an dark-purple arrow giving off a chaotic and dark aura around it.

Mathias's expression was cold as his eyes were pinned on the Kikimore affected by his Red Energy, and without wasting his time in trying to hit a weak spot, he released the arrow, while the notifications were mentioning about the unnamed skill he released, asking him to name the attack.

'Chaos Arrow'

[You've dealt 2234 damage to the target.]

It wasn't a critical attack, but this combination of archery and magic was an efficient way of combining the masteries he was building on, taking everything to the next stage.

From the 56% HP gauge, the Kikimore's HP dropped to 38%.

Haycien who watched from Mathias's eyes everything he was doing, could be seen nodding from the sofa he was staying in the Inner Dimension of the Crimson Ring pulsing around Mathias's right hand index finger.

{[This attack wasn't bad at all. I should start thinking about methods of combining his Magic with the various weapon paths he will learn, giving him an initial boost until he fully masters the weapons.]}

{[Interesting method, just like how I used my Red Energy to shoot Gungnir when using it like a bow.]}

{[Still, I shouldn't interfere with his growth. This is his path that he has to walk, not mine. I am just an old ghost of the past who failed. Still, I can teach this boy how to not fail like I've done. I can only guide him, and give him suggestions.]}

Haycien had his own thoughts, while Mathias continued to fight with the Kikimores, shifting his bow into Ragnius, entering the monster's attacking range in a fearless way, wanting to reach the heavily wounded Kikimores with the intent of getting rid of any possible dangers.

Dodging the first swift attacks of the drones, he appeared in front of the struggling monster that he destroyed by executing a fast 'Piercing Rain' where he did a total of 1680 damage and with the other 4 drones following him to stop his attack.

He scoffed and swayed to the side, as if he was preparing to intercept the other 4 Kikimores, he attacked the wounded drone three times, reminiscent of the first skill, except that this skill looked menacing and domineering.

'[Waning Moon]'

Ragnius's blade shinned with a red light, and each piercing strike felt like a red lighting being sent, taking 8% for each of his attacks, and with some remaining health as he finished his initial strikes, he changed his stance moving toward the 4 Kikimore and with the black spear raised on the air seemingly for no reason, if not, only to taunt the monsters.

[You've dealt a total of 3425 damage to the target.]

However, that wasn't a taunt, instead the last sequence of 'Waining Moon' skill, which ended with a wheel attack which slashes in a 360 degree everything around him, taking along with him the first Kikimore he focused his attacks.

[You've dealt an AOE hit of 2249 damage to the targets.]

[Ding!][You have defeated a gaining the following rewards]

[You've gained 3 gold coins]

[You've gained 150.000 EXP]

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[You have leveled up!]

The shrieks coming from the monsters didn't worry him, and with 1 level up from killing the Drone, he activated his 'Raven's Movement' appearing closer to the grouped monsters that he attacked with [Sweep Thrust], specifically using the skill for their legs.

[You've dealt an AOE hit of 1180 damage to the targets.]

Then with the monster's being dropped on the floor, shrieking and spewing something from their months which corroded Mathias's 'Arcane Barrier' signaling to him the poisonous effect of this ability shown by the vulnerable insectoids.

There was no slowing down in his attack, as he was burning mana resources and Red Energy as if his reserves were endless, but this reckless expenditure of his resources weren't without reason, instead, he was pushing his body and abilities to the best of his capabilities.

'[Ghost Spear - Mars]'

Taking Ragnius at his side from the Thrusting attack, he executed another spinning attack which gave off a pressuring aura from the circular red aura wave released by the black spear.

This attack made the monsters lose balance, and as if they were locked to the ground, Mathias followed suit by executing another series of attacks which included [Bloodfall] and [Threachey] before switching his weapon to a longsword, that looked impeccable, with a sharp, and balanced blade.

'[Magnific Historia Slash]'

The Historia Slash, was could be used as a long-ranged attack by sending an focused sword wave attack that used the combined powers of his Sword Mastery and Red Energy, but in this situation with the insectoid monsters, he used the variant of the skill in a condensed way, focusing his Red Energy and power to cleave off the legs of one Kikimore.

[Critical!]

[You've dealt 3969 damage to the target.]

Mathias raised longsword who was covered in Red Energy cleaved the armored legs of the insectoid monster with ease, and as he was focusing on the Kikimore he used Historia Slash, the other drone's didn't forget to retaliate, and Mathias's 'Arcane Barrier' got broken in the process.

Then, taking on the attacks with ease, not worrying about his lost defensive spell that was on cooldown, he used his footwork, and slashed at the monsters with the longsword from melee range, navigating in the attacks of the insectoids.

With their health dropping in this fight, the ending sequence of the fight could be seen approaching after 15 minutes of fighting the whole group of drones, Mathias suffered an wound on his opened body which triggered the murderous insticts of the Kikimores

{Block it, lad.}

'No need, I got this.' remarked Mathias in a serene way, reassuring Haycien that he knew what he was doing, and this sequence was premeditated.

Looking weak and opened in those moments, from nowhere Mathias's body released a large amount of Red Energy that pulsated around his whole body, and in those moments Haycien thought Mathias would shield himself with the Red Energy, but what he saw this young man do, made him stare at the window with impressed eyes.

'[Whisper of the Swiftblade]'

Activating this skill, Mathias who was holding his longsword that looked more grandiose then before, fully enveloped by his whole Red Energy, he dashed once, an a cut on one of the Kikimores was left, then another one came in rapid succession, making the monsters cry in agony.

It was truly a swift blade, as Mathias seemed to dance along with the wind and the black feathers coming off from his feet like shadows, one cut, two cuts, the count continued, until Mathias did a total of 10, ending the fight in his victory.

[You've dealt a combined damage of to the enemies!]

[You have defeated a gaining the following rewards]

[You've gained 5 gold coins.]

[You've gained 150.000 EXP.]

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[You have defeated a gaining the following rewards]

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[You have defeated a gaining the following rewards]

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[You have defeated a gaining the following rewards]

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[You have defeated a gaining the following rewards]

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[Ding!]

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[You have leveled up!]

[You have …]

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*Huff*

*Huff*

Breathing heavy while his sword was planted on the ground, giving him support to stand, he looked at the aftermarks of his fight with the Kikimores, which produced a smile on his sweaty face.

Clearing out the notifications while recovering his breathing, he started laughing feeling himself rather good tasting the benefits of his hard work.

"This experience can't beat the monotonous training. Not at all, the small details I could pick on while fighting, made me aware of some mistakes I've made. "

{To think you've actually managed to use the Swiftblade properly, as I developed. Good enough, but don't get it to your head. You are still mediocre.}

*Chuckling* "Yes, sir! I am aware that I have a lot of room to grow."

{Indeed. So, you've figured what the other weaknesses of those monsters were?} asked Haycien as if he was continuously feeding Mathias' brain, not letting him wander aimlessly in this whole process.

"Yes, sir. I was about to mention to you, and ask if I am not wrong.

There were other 3 weaknesses in those Kikimores, that being, when they tried to bite me, their legs became stiff, as if losing some of their functions, like they were transferring their power in the mouth."

{That's one, indeed.}

"The second one, I don't know for sure if it was a structural weakness from the insect, but there was a slow reaction whenever I would get to their side, which obviously I took full advantage of. While the last one, I missed in my first observation, was a major weakness at their back."

{Ohh, and? What did you discover?}

"Their legs were crafted in such a way, they could only attack forward, and when I was at the back it would always try switching places. Am I right, old Hay?"

{Not bad, not bad. For an amateur to get all the answers right.}

{However, you have to be careful when fighting future enemies, and take your time to explore their weaknesses. Half of their weaknesses, if not all of them, so you can easily dominate them.}

"I'll try. I might need to read more books with regard to magic creatures, wild beasts, and monsters and build a decent archive in my head with regard to any possible match-up I might have."

{This might work with the monster type which has been documented for ages, but what about humanoids? Their fighting style can be interchangeable. Just like how you can shift your fighting style and weapon, you might encounter someone with the same abilities.}

"Yes, this is why I need to train myself more and gain experience by fighting monsters, and all sorts of people. This is why becoming a Red Knight is the best place for my growth. I can face off against all those talented people, geniuses of the Empire, which will push me to my limits."

{I will not count you losing to already advanced kids, but those who are at your stage. You better not lose or I will make fun of you for eternity.}

Mathias looked a bit down, sighing and mentioning out loud how crazy old Haycien was, before continuing on his journey, while time was ticking for him, and unlike how it was going when he was home, he couldn't spend all of his remaining hours stuck inside the capsule.

He gave Fayrene some messages, but seeing her not responding, he wasn't worried, instead just told her that he was fine, and will have a lot to talk about when they meet again.

***

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