After two weeks and a half of training, Dean could already take a grasp of his own improvement. He never thought that he would be able to progress so much only by hunting Dreads, but it was the most effective way that he found to get stronger.
The first two Pillars of the Art of Ascendance were meant to be trained through focus. He could only improve doing that while meditating or then making the sword forms that his father taught him.
However, by using Control and Nourishment while battling, Dean was able to train his mind to use these Pillars while in a life-or-death situation. It was a completely different matter to use both techniques when fighting against a Dread.
He didn't improve in any of them in terms of Rank, but he was now more used to utilize them as fast as possible while fighting, without even think too much about it.
After so much time fighting against Dreads, Paul couldn't cover Dean forever. The group ended up knowing that Dean was sneaking out of the camping at night, and Rick could perceive that his "Willpower" was changing a lot.
He had his guess about what the boy was doing, but he decided not to pursue that matter for two reasons: He was already needing to deal with a lot of troubles regarding the new journey, and no matter what he did, the boy would always find a way to keep doing what he was doing.
He was in a race, so it was better to focus on getting to his destination first rather than disturb his opponent. However, he asked for Hector or Kevin to keep an eye on him, which made Dean stop going out to hunt so often.
It was bothersome for Dean, but the boy found it way better than just being prohibited.
...
'Horizontal attack, to the throat!' He thought quickly as he looked to the Scythe in front of him.
Dean avoided the attack swiftly by swinging his body backward. He was used to the length of the Scythe's claws, so he could do these reckless dodges without worrying too much.
'Now, to the leg!'
Those monsters were cunning fighters, so they would always aim to throat first, trying to get a kill in a single blow, if it didn't work they would aim to a spot where they could debilitate their opponents.
Dean leaped behind, dodging the attack that was targeting the exact point that he predicted.
The Scythe roared and pursued him, flapping its wings to both scare him and impulse its body.
'They are, generally, relentless when attacking an enemy. Although they are resistant, they hate to get hit. They won't give an opening so soon to be attacked.' Dean kept just staring at the Dread calmly and following its movements.
'The weakest points of these Dreads are that their joints are stiff and their footwork is clumsy. They can't go around the battlefield and swiftly avoid attacks or confuse their prey, so their movements are quite predictable, despite being quick.'
Dean somersaulted, never letting go of his sword, and avoided the Scythe's third attack.
He kept dodging and parrying his assaults until the Dread gave the first sign of hesitation.
'The other weak point that they have are their stamina and how easily they can get insecure about an opponent whom they can't dominate!'
Dean stopped to go backward and stomped the ground instead.
Rapidly than ever before, "Willpower" reinforced his sword and the main muscles that he needed to execute an attack.
The Dread tried to back away, defending its lethal spots with its claws.
Anyway, Dean could overcome his desperate defense and his sword flew towards the Scythe's belly, cutting him in half.
'Lastly, these monsters curiously have their respiratory and cardiovascular system gathered near their stomach. That's one of the few places in their body that doesn't have a carapace, therefore the biggest flaw of their evolution as animals.'
He coldly analyzed the Dread's body.
Even though he was a bit distracted, Dean could still hear that more monsters were coming.
'My reserves of "Willpower" are still high, though I already killed three Dreads of the 7th generation and one of the 6th... According to what I can read through the lines of "Chaos" appearing, there are, at least, two 6th gen Dread and one 7th gen...' He reasoned quickly, thinking if he would be able to beat them all.
The boy tied his long light-brown hair again. He needed to cut it to average length soon.
Dean grinned while cleaning the blood on his sword on the black grass.
'I think that it's time to test this new strength that I acquired.' His challenging eyes shone once the three Dreads appeared flying in the dark horizon.
'After all, I can't be seen as a weakling forever!'
He charged forward without fear as he raised his sword.
The energy within his heart began to flow through, but not like a calm stream of water this time. It came with more intensity, traveling across his body with explosive force like a tsunami of a dense liquid.
His body rushed forward without any hesitation.
Upon seeing his reaction, the Dreads got more excited to slaughter him once they got closer. The quantity of "Chaos" in the air began to rise more and more.
The first Dread to arrive was the strongest one of the 6th generation. That one seemed to have evolved long ago, while the other of the same generation was probably yet to complete one year after evolving.
Dean parried his attack while running. At the same time, he ducked, avoiding the second scythe-like claw aimed at his eye. The boy seemed to be going to fall, but he was well-balanced. Dean was fully aware of his center of gravity.
He crossed the Dread, stopping a meter behind him and looking intently at the other two coming.
His sword, before just with some strains of black blood, was now bathed on it again.
The Dread behind him spat a mouthful of blood, without knowing what happened exactly, but a huge cut got opened on his belly.
'One is gone. Now, more... five...' Dean narrowed his eyes. Looking to the sides and spotting more Dreads coming.