25. Still Far Away

Her hair red like roses, wide open eyes yellow like flowers.

A female student in a battle suit, just like the one provided at the academy like me.

An adored beauty, one of the owners of the risqué pictures Roxer had pinned up on the ceiling.

A heroine trailing the protagonist Jane around, confessing her affection.

My reputation was already poor thanks to Roxer’s stalking of her.

Recently, the attention hadn’t been pleasant due to Jane following me.

“…why are you here?”

“I’m here to hunt.”

Roxer wasn’t living like before, though.

She looked at me with eyes that held distaste, if not contempt.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m really here to hunt.”

Yet, she still did not trust me, looking at me as if I was a stalker.

Even so, there were lots of injuries, probably due to the lizardmen being really good in combat.

When the Tanker fell, I instinctively pulled out a potion.

Naturally, it’s in my nature to help others because people around me tend to help me when I’m in trouble.

I pulled out a low-graded elixir.

“You… is that from then?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Starting from the severely injured person in the base camp.

I generously sprinkled it on people with minor scratches and bruises.

The medical staff and volunteers from the association, as well as the injured bystanders, all wanted to express their gratitude.

“Hey, it’s okay. Just let me know when there’s good game or a dungeon.”

I didn’t ask for much, so I said something appropriate and tried to dodge.

“… Th, thank you.”

Camilla gave me a startled greeting, her eyes wide like a surprised rabbit.

I didn’t ask for this, but she thanked me anyway.

Leaving her behind, I ran towards the swamp.

###

Thanks to my second awakening, my body had become stronger, allowing me to run 3-4 times faster for a longer period without getting much exhausted.

Well… I had been extraordinarily weak and still had a long way to go for the third awakening where one can achieve an average attribute points of 150 in at least four categories.

But with the help of space manipulation and teachings of the void, I had nothing to worry about.

Also, with the support of weapons from the Colorless Abyss, it was manageable.

So, while I was panting heavily, running faster encased in the liberation addictive pulse brings.

“Phew – I have to try harder.”

Cynically, if I use the ‘space-manipulation’ defense and erase attacks that ignore boundaries in the space series, or use time-stop to disable the opponent, my body may appear at ease and powerful.

But just like when I cheated on the test to beat Erin…

Swinging great power without any skill doesn’t help fundamental growth.

I should use things that match my current level appropriately.

Therefore, I only use space teleportation when it’s necessary.

I’m amping up the speed to build stamina and running even more on my own two feet.

“I’ve just come in, and lizard men are glaring at me from the trees?”

Venturing deep into the dense swamplands…

They were monsters who concealed their presence and popularity well, in the view of the spider web visible through the crimson web…

…at some point, mobs of lizard men started to appear one or two at a time.

I could feel them stalking me surreptitiously from the treetops.

Promptly, I draw the seven-star Great Dipper Sword from the nameless abyss.

“Seaaak!”

“Shieeek!”

“Shyaaak!”

Lizard-like cries were echoing from the trees above.

They sounded distinct and organized, like there was a command structure.

Considering that they are hunting one person, quite a lot of Lizardmen have appeared.

Is this proof that I am on the right track?

It was evidence that I was heading in the direction of the lair of the lizard king and the nest of the lizard men.

As I stepped up the pace…

A blue thread of gold depicting the future where spears, daggers, and hooks made from animal bones or stones, and various other natural objects would pour down.

The crimson and purple spider web showed their weaknesses…

…and which parts were easier to strike.

Therefore, I sharpened all my senses.

To inculcate a way to realize it sensually, even when the future isn’t visible.

My senses were expanding to predict and detect everything like the brilliant cobweb and blue thread laid out before me.

I concentrated all my senses to feel the flow around me.

Then, my body moved first, instinctively.

“Absorb-!”

Concentrating all my senses, I parried the sharply whizzing daggers with my sword, shattered them in all directions…

I deflected the fiercely descending spears with the tip of my sword, altering their path as if letting a stream of water pass….

Rapidly severing the flexible vine that flew toward me in a sliding manner…

I countered the quick dagger powerfully, the strong spear gently, and the soft vine swiftly.

The vision provided by the space manipulation and my senses were slowly aligning.

“Shyaaa!!!”

Expecting my arrival, a lizard man manifested from the dense trees.

He was wearing weapons resembling Wolverine’s claws made from the bones of giant beasts.

An enormous lizard man with thick body armor protecting the vital areas like joints, heart, head.

The beast was weaker than the villain I fought during the special entity extermination practice.

However, it radiated raw, wild energy, filling me with genuine horror as it charged towards me.

Kyaaakack-! The moment I felt the vibration from clashing our swords, I knew.

This creature had significantly higher ability points than me.

“Arrghh!!”

As we crossed swords, the creature backed mine off, looking for an opening to hit me with its tail or foot.

A relentless onslaught of feints and variables among the attacks sapped my strength.

“Ugh- Ugh-“

“Chaaah-!”

The creature — a lizardman — was formidable, skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Astonishing raw power, instinctive battle reflexes, skillful maneuvers maximizing its physiological advantages; each attack was dangerous and ferocious enough to end my life multiple times over.

But,

“Chyaaah!!”

“I’ve seen through you, you lizard bastard!!”

I had not only managed to read its intentions but had also grasped its entire attack pattern.

The moment it lunged at me, I slashed upwards to catch its blade, exposing its belly for a strike.

“Chaaah!?”

The shocked lizardman hurriedly retreated.

But I had anticipated this move, too.

“Too slow!”

“Chyaaah!?”

I activated ‘Over Clock’ in a flash, ushering in a surge in my heartbeat.

I drove my sword into the weak spot in the skull-shaped armor that protected the lizardman’s jaw, piercing its vulnerable insides.

My heart pounded, and a primal desire for battle, a longing for strength, welled up inside me.

The lizardman had dropped dead without even a chance to scream, and I instantly turned its corpse into a shield.

“Chhhhhaaahh!!!”

“I’m coming for you, Chaaah!”

I blocked a spear and a dagger thrown at me by the other lizardmen, seemingly in retaliation for their fallen comrade.

As cold blood trickled down from my head, a smile naturally emerged on my face.

The hooks whirled around me as if to surround me, but thanks to ‘Omni-Sense,’ I knew where to move.

But ‘Omni-Sense’ wasn’t just about providing the answers, as I discovered when I barely managed to dodge a surprise thrown dagger, which cut a few hairs loose from my head.

My body wasn’t in tandem with my mind, movements skewed slightly.

‘Omni-Sense’ tells me which problems to solve and where, but I have to move my own body.

“Chhhhhaaahh!!!”

Spotting my misstep, the lizardmen lunged at me from above and behind.

Spears and daggers were thrown to anticipate my movement from the front.

My heart pounded faster, time seemed to slow down.

I could easily escape the situation with ‘Teleport’ or speeding up my body using ‘Over Clock,’ but the toughest path often bears the most gifts.

“Phew……”

In the seemingly slowing time, I moved my heavy body as ‘Omni-Sense’ whispered to me.

Each step should be calculated, considering all subsequent movements, not just aimlessly moving forward.

Even a slight misstep can weaken the force towards the intended direction; it was crucial to concentrate in the blink of an eye and do my best.

Moreover, it was harder to move when my movements were slow.

So, I carved every moment deep into my bones, controlling my movements and strength deployment with extreme precision.

Through radical overclocking, he had tried to accelerate only his ‘mind’ to understand movements at a deeper level.

“Sieek!?!”

In an instant, he managed barely to dodge all attacks and caught the lizard man who tried to sneak behind him.

To their eyes, it must’ve seemed as if he evaded a barrage of attacks coming from all directions at once.

He went for another vulnerability – the soft spot at the base of the creature’s neck.

As the creature tried to look sideways as it rushed over his head, he thrust his sword upwards through its mouth.

Blood gushed out accompanied by the screams of the lizard men.

“So you finally come down?”

Only then did the lizard men grasp the severity of the situation. They came down from the trees, soaked in blood, and stared at him.

A few still pointed their weapons at him from the trees, lurking for an ambush.

If he used his cheat-like techniques now, he could easily wipe them all out.

However, that wouldn’t help him grow.

“I can’t miss out on this excitement so easily.”

The closer the battle gets to a critical point, the higher his heart rate soars.

The thrill that puts his senses on edge engulfs his whole body.

The occasional brush with death makes him feel more alive.

“SieEk!!!”

As if they had made a pact, each of them did not charge recklessly but coordinated their attacks.

Three of them overlapped their bodies as they launched consecutive strikes.

He parried their fierce attacks with practiced ease, smashing through their weapons’ weak points, and always making the initiative strike faster.

Every single time he moved, he would sometimes slow down the ‘time of his mind’ through ‘overclocking’ to imprint the sensation onto his body.

At other times, he verified if his body adapted to the normal movements.

This way, his skill proficiency and also his strength can increase.

“It’s still not enough…! I can still push further!!”

But then, he couldn’t improve his mastery over ‘space teleportation’ and ‘overclocking’ that accelerates his whole body.

“Sieeek!?!”

By using teleportation, he moved to a spot where the creature’s sword had already passed, and drove his own through its flank, piercing the heart.

“SSieEk!!!”

With overclocking, he saw weaknesses and exploited all of them.

Using teleportation, acceleration, and deceleration in combinations, he varied his combat patterns, making his attacks unpredictable.

“Ssiik!!!”

To the one who continuously throws sharp projectiles, he took advantage of having no range limit for his attacks and drilled through it.

He continued giving warnings to the ones on guard,

and when they tried to block his distant attacks, he clung closer instead.

When they expected him to close in, he swung his sword from afar.

Thus, he interchanged among teleportation, acceleration, deceleration, and controlling the range.

He repeatedly pierced through those creatures using countless battling styles.

Each time, ‘No Self, No Obstruction’ whispered to him,

Advising him to stretch his legs more, twist his waist, and thrust his sword more fluidly.

“Haa, haa…It’s still far.”

“Ssieek-!!”

“SSiaaa-!!!”

The primal desires for strength and struggle resonated clearer due to the adrenaline rush.

Swamped with an overwhelming thrill and trembles, and an indescribable satisfaction,

He dashed through swamp after swamp, until the moon rose and fell several times.

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