DOODON!
Solis felt a strengthening power coursing through his heart before spreading to every fiber of his being, filling him with mighty energy that was not his own but granted by the Rising Attack Scroll.
He then flexed his fingers and closed his eyes for a while to contrate on the pleasant sensation he was having. This was it—this was what he needed to have a chance of defeating a way more powerful opponent.
"Status Window."
***
(Status Window)
Strength/STR – 0 (30+)
Intelligence/INT – 0
Vitality/VIT – 0
Wisdom/WIS – 0
Agility/AGI – 7 (10+)
Dexterity/DEX – 4 (25+)
Stamina/STA – 4
Perception/PER – 0
Luck/LUK – 0
[Available Attribute Points: 0]
***
'Man, does this feel great or what.' Solis thought to himself.
After inspecting his better and improved condition, only then did he put his attention back to the situation at hand. Subsequently, he noticed that the fat ogre, horseman, and Valedd were all looking towards him curiously.
"Looks like things are getting quite interesting," Yahtorn remarked as he got up from the ground and dusted his clothes. "I can definitely sense a new power coming from you after you've opened up that scroll, and it also looks like your aura has become a little more dangerous, boy."
"Heh. Do you really think so~? I don't think I've changed that much. Well, I guess we'll both find out for ourselves soon enough, right?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Ha-ha~ Nothing at all. Anyway, shall we dance?"
And so, without giving any warning, Solis abruptly sped up and ran towards Yahtorn while positioning his dagger in front of him. He was so fast that the naked eyes of everyone watching could hardly keep up with his advancing figure that was like a moving shadow snaking through the mist and fog. Before Yahtorn even realized it, a gleaming metal dagger was already approaching to slit his throat.
"Fifth Young Master!"
The tikbalang Gaius yelled out and was about to block Yahtorn's front from the attacker by employing his Galloping Horse Form's speed when all of a sudden, he felt a sharp pang of pain right on his abdomen.
"Gaius, your opponent is me!"
Feeling the sharp sword that was about to cut straight through him, Gaius had no choice but to click his tongue and jump backward to avoid major damage. On any other day, he would have been able to ignore the attack to some extent thanks to his armor; but unfortunately, due to its durability dropping to zero from the fight he had earlier with the crazed NPC guard, it could no longer provide a scrap of protection to him.
"Goddammit!"
Meanwhile, Solis' attack finally reached the fat ogre Yahtorn. Not being able to react at all, the hand holding the simple dagger swiped its targeted neck with incredible dexterity.
"Argh! Don't underestimate this great young master! Ogre's Wrath!"
Before Solis' dagger could completely go through the wide neck of his enemy, he abruptly sensed an intimidating and oppressing aura putting pressure on him, like a large mountain forcefully crushing him from above and wanting to make him kneel. Consequently, the speed he was so confident of began to turn sluggish and cumbersome, almost as if he was stuck in a marsh.
'What the hell is this?!'
Solis promptly removed his eyes from his weapon that was burrowing away at the swollen neck and met his gaze with Yahtorn's fierce one. The fat ogre's expression was volcanic and was surprisingly scary for even him to look at. Then, without saying another word, great flames manifested on Yahtorn's hand as he directed a fiery fist towards the shocked Solis.
"Sh*t…!"
"Super Ogre Punch!"
Solis hurriedly leapt back to hopefully reduce some of the impact as he was sent flying away like a broken kite that lost its string. He fell to the ground mightily and felt that he couldn't breathe.
"Ga-gack! Blergh!"
A pool of blood was splattered close to Solis because of him throwing up massive amounts of red health points.
'F**k me. That attack seriously dealt eighty-eight damage to me? I only have one-hundred HP, and now I'm left with a measly twelve HP…'
Interestingly enough, Solis could get a feel of his exact condition from his health to his mana, and currently, his circumstance was not looking too great; things were already heading in a bad direction right from the start of the battle.
'I was being damn stupid… I shouldn't have underestimated my opponent and blindly charged in full of confidence like I could one-shot him or something. I mean, Jesus Christ man, the ogre's level is 10 whereas I'm completely at the bottom-most of the barrel…'
While he was still stuck in his thoughts, Solis didn't just stay lying down like a pussy and stood up from the mixed brown-red soil with great difficulty. He was staggering as if he would fall down once again at any moment, yet persisted by placing his shaking hands on his equally quivering knees.
"Bloody hell… F**k me."
Fortunately, he still got his dagger with him since he didn't let it go even at the last second of hitting the ground.
"Huff… Huff… Hieeee—haauuu~"
He closed his eyes and tried to calm down his irregular breathing by inhaling deeply, then letting it all out with a heavy sigh.
No matter the result—whether or not he would get to live or die today—everything would never be over until either he or his enemy released their final breath. Therefore, he couldn't be backing out now and hop off like a cowardly rabbit with his tail tucked between his legs; because running away in a panic to save his life was not and will never be his style.
"Kekeke~! Are you still raring to go, little worm? Don't worry, I won't make you suffer for long, as I'll make sure my next attack will send you straight to Baal."
Hearing those unnerving words, Solis unfolded his eyes accordingly so that he could redirect a serene gaze to his enemy. Yahtorn, the ugly bastard, was grinning from ear to ear with a complacently smug expression.
Although, now was not the time to let out his wild emotions. He needed to be as calm as possible when facing a perilous situation, maybe then he would have a chance of staging a comeback.
'Think. How can I get out of my critical condition?'
BOOM!
A dangerously loud noise caught Solis' attention. As such, he slightly turned his eyes to look over what was happening. The tikbalang Gaius smashed down an exaggeratedly humungous axe on the ground, causing the earth to crack and rupture. On the other hand, Valedd was able to dodge his attack just in time by moving in a zigzag to throw off his assailant before leaping aside to safety.
'Valedd…'
Beholding his awe-inspiring figure, Solis suddenly had a light bulb appear in his head. His composed yet dire face instantly switched up its brightness, as he had a wishful thought,
'That's it! Valedd is also a young master, the same as this luxuriously dressed ugly bastard. And I already confirmed that he was loaded with the scroll he tossed to me. Maybe he has another scroll or something similar that can quickly heal me up!'
Wanting to give his conjecture a try, Solis shouted out loud in order for his recipient to clearly hear him and his following words,
"VALEDD! DO YOU HAVE A HEALING SCROLL WITH YOU? I'M ALMOST DEAD OVER HERE!"