Joshua was suddenly thrown at a one versus one battle and wasn't sure what to do. He unsheathed his greatsword and peeked up at its stats to see exactly what he was using.
[Iron Greatsword]
[Damage 30-35]
[Durability: 50/50]
[Requirements: 6 Strength]
[Description: A huge sword commonly wielded. It requires great strength to wield it]
[Low Strength Penalty: Your strength is lower than the requirement by a small amount, a penalty will be afflicted while wielding this sword. Damage reduced by 30% and you'll get tired more easily wielding it.]
Joshua cursed within due to being weak. I'm a legendary hero and yet cant wield a sword, how pitiful. At least the damage penalty wasn't that bad. He also had his sword mastery that boosted damage, so it was actually only a 20% damage reduction in the end.
Both man and beast stared at each other. The beast was already injured, which gave Joshua an advantage. Rhakun weren't beasts that liked to run. They always faced enemies head-on. Of course, if an enemy was far beyond their strength they would flee, but the beast could sense that Joshua wasn't that strong.
Speaking of Joshua, he wanted to win that fight without relying on his Divine Grade ability. Richard was watching after all, and if he needed such ability to deal with a weak beast, he should leave everything behind and stop pursuing power.
The Iron Greatsword had its tip hitting the ground. Joshua wanted to put it on his shoulder, like those badass warriors from the games he played, but he couldn't. He only had basic clothing, if he did that, he would just cut his shoulders and make himself a clown in front of Richard.
The beast decided to attack first, even though it was injured. It dashed towards Joshua, swiping its claws, aiming for his legs. Joshua gathered all the strength he could to lift that sword from the ground, and somehow manage to dodge that attack, barely. Due to the weight of that sword, and Joshua's poor strength, his mobility was far worse than the beast. Deep down he knew that he only managed to escape that attack because the beast was slower, as an arrow has stuck in its leg.
'If the fight continues like this I'll get hit, but there's nothing I can do. The beast is injured and losing a lot of blood, which means it's losing HP. If I stall this, I'll win.'
After dodging that attack, Joshua counterattacked with his sword. The sword slash was slow, and the Rhakun jumped back and avoided it. The attack hit the ground, and its mighty force made the Rhakun lose its stability.
'My attacks are slow but they sure hit like a truck.' Joshua wasn't dumb so he grasped that opportunity to hit once again, and this time, the beast didn't manage to dodge. The giant sword slashed the left ribs of the beast, breaking a few and sending the Rhakun flying.
[24 Damage Dealt.]
That wasn't a bad number. Joshua had a minus 20% damage debuff after all. The fight was basically over. The beast was struggling to survive. Joshua got near it to do the final blow, but as soon as he got closer, the Rhakun suddenly jumped and its claws carved Joshua's chest, ripping some portion of his flesh.
[40 Damage Received.]
That was a lot of damage. Joshua had 120 Health Points, which means he only had 80 more. Two more attacks like that one, and he was dead. Well, he wasn't that scared. He knew that with his Divine ability that beast couldn't kill him, but he didn't want to use it in front of Richard, so that made the battle more challenging.
'Whats this excitement I'm feeling? Don't tell me that I'm one of those battle freaks…' Joshua was bleeding like crazy, and Richard was thinking if he should get out of the bush and help, or let the boy handle it. In the end, he decided to stay still and watch. Life and death fights were common, and if Joshua wanted to attain great strength, he would need to face those. If Richard saved him every time a battle got hard, Joshua would never learn to fight alone, and would never become strong.
He was also curious about how Joshua managed to beat up that bandit trio, but of course, he wouldn't let him lose his life just to see his secret. If things got bad, he would save him no matter what.
[New passive skill unlocked: Phoenix Blood]
'What is this? Another skill? Does everyone learn skills so easily or it is just me?'
Joshua was happy he learned yet another skill. That just meant that fierce battles were the best way to get stronger.
[Phoenix Blood(Divine Grade): You're blessed by the God of Fire, the undying phoenix, Solan. This skill can only be activated while the sunlight is touching your skin. Every time your Health Points get lower, you'll get improved Health Regeneration, speed, and damage. Upgrade this skill enough and you'll be able to almost resurrect from the dead.]
[Level Progression: 0%]
'That's a disgustingly overpowered skill. This one is also Divine grade and it has a level progression bar. The other one, Blazing Rage, doesn't have. How the hell I level up that skill then?'
Joshua didn't get the Phoenix Blood skill training something like he did with the sword and bow mastery. That one was a unique skill due to him being one of the legendary heroes. It probably trigged because he lost a lot of Health Points for the first time, as the other fight he had with the bandits was easy with his Blazing Rage. He noticed that the skill could only be used while the sun was still in the sky, it was a skill from the God of Fire after all. He wondered if his Blazing Rage could only be used during the day too, but the skill didn't state that, so he could only test another time.
The wounds he had on his chests were healing at a fast speed, noticeable to the naked eye. Richard who was watching by the side was astonished. He had never seen such a strong healing ability. It looked like a priest was sending constant healings to Joshua.
Feeling his body rapidly healing, and his damage and speed a little higher than before, he dashed once again towards the Rhakun, slashing his huge sword.
[40 Damage Dealt.]
He was surprised to see his damage. The wound he had on his chest was bad after all, and with less health, more damage. The Rhakun didn't last and died on the spot. Richard got off the bush and praised him.
"Nice fight Joshua. Are you a dragon in disguise or something? Your wounds are healing quite fast." Richard said.
Joshua knew that he would see that, and ask, but he couldn't tell him the entire truth, so he just said it was a special ability he learned from his parents before they passed away. That's right, he was using that story. He couldn't say he just teleported from another dimension, people would think that was crazy. But what he said wasn't entirely a lie, as his parents back on Earth had died.
"Well, let's bring this bad boy back to my place." Richard was doubtful about Joshua's statement, but he wouldn't ask too many questions. Everyone had secrets, so as long as he wasn't a threat to his daughter, everything was okay.
The village wasn't that far, so they didn't take long before arriving. Aurora was waiting for them in front of the house, and they could hear her belly screaming from afar.
"Oh, finally food," Aurora said.