1-Star [Sand] + 1-Star [Gather Sand] + 1-Star [Compress]: [Stepping Stone]
1-Star [Leap] + 1-Star [Strength Up] + 1-Star [Speed Up]: [Greater Quick Leap]
[Named personally by Shinji]
Shinji somersaults through the air as wind gusts produced by its force disperse the released qi. Immediately a morning star appears as if waiting for Shinji to be in an inescapable position. Shinji spins quickly and three magic circles appear making a solid foothold for Shinji to step on. He dodges the weapon by diving to Kaitlynn on the ground.
Unexpectedly, Shinji's direction made an arc. As if gravity were upside down he swooped above Kaitlynn.
1-Star [Flowing Kick: Swirl]
Kaitlynn made shields appear. Being of close approximation and a part of her own shadow, these shields were much stronger, took less time to make, and took less mentality to use. To this, all Shinji could only remember of his screams of repeated broken bones being bashed mercilessly by that stuff.
Shinji's kick was stopped and a bang of metal resounded, even a crack of a bone didn't go unnoticed but it didn't end there.
1-Star [Spring Step: Parabolic Flip]
1-Star [Flowing Kick: Stream]
Using the momentum of the kick, Shinji used [Spring Step] on the already injured leg which launched him to the left side of Kaitlynn. His other foot then aims straight at Kaitlynn only to be blocked again by another shield.
The kick was stronger, however, the opposite reaction was evenly so. An even louder resounding crack could be heard. Shinji places his palm on the ground and cartwheel away before he gets crushed.
You should know since we've come this far but similar to Misogi Kumagawa[1]...or any crap xianxia iron-willed mc, Shinji's pain endures is higher than most people, probably as higher than Dongmei...in normal situations. This transferred with him whenever he comes back in time... well the pain tolerance at least, the amount of pain just stays the same.
As I said, he has Superhuman Physiology comparable to Misogi, well only in the part of his tenacity. His physical strength is still a far cry from that good loser[2].
Shinji got on both his feet and took cover behind Drax who was able to break out of the entanglement after the former blocked Kaitlynn's sight.
'Meat Sheild, I choose you!', Shinji thinks in his mind before avoiding sickles popping out of Drax's shadow. Drax engaged against Kaitlynn's shield and banging noises could be heard frequently.
With a breather, Shinji starts to master his second martial art. He gets on all fours.
1-Star [Spring Step: Centrifugal]
With a kick, he starts spinning upside down in place.
1-Star [Flowing Kick: Swirl]
For every swing, the force exerted is stronger with azure-tinted qi spinning with him. He kicks the flat side of the sickle and it breaks. The broken pieces immediately disintegrate till they disappear, no smoke nor ash was left as after effects.
1-Star [Flowing Kick: Stream]
He spins in the other direction at a much fast speed than last time. The same process keeps happening as the frequency of shadow weapons keeps breaking. When all the weapons break, Shinji aims his outsole into the ground and green qi intertwines with the azure qi that is dragged by the spin.
1-Star [Spring Step: Parabolic Flip]
With this combo, Shinji became a human tornado that could move albeit through flips. Fortunately, the force of his kicks is enough to offset the disadvantage of his movements. With just one kick he spins and arrives beside Drax where a claw manifested.
Shinji kicks the claw and uses it as another stepping platform.
'Let's gooo!', Shinji smirks in his dizzyness that fortunately is minimal due to his mentality and how used he is to being under dizziness.
He does a roundhouse kick midair against a shield but it only made a dent. Shinji seems to juggle himself in the air using the multiple weapons materializing around. Unfortunately, he still has a long way to go as his bones broke again.
'!?', Shinji's eye twitches and he rolls away again behind Drax.
Both of them cooperate for a while which exhausts a lot of Kaitlynn's mentality. Finding Shinji to be the most troublesome of the two, Kaitlynn tried trapping him whenever he tries escaping only to find out how much of a rat he is.
Although Shinji hasn't fully mastered [Flowing Kick], his main goal was accomplished. Due to repeated amounts of dying, Shinji realizes that he isn't used to his strength which changes from both weak, strong, and weak again. His other goal was to strengthen his body to withstand heavy blows.
Shinji removes the weight that has become redundant. It may slow him down because right now he has to defeat Drax.
But the combo of [Flowing Kick] and [Spring Step] won't work so also practices the [Disruption Palm] and [Swiss Palm].
[Disruption Palm] wasn't only used in just disrupting qi control but can also be used on other manifested energies, though in a much weaker effect. With this, he was able to immobilize shadow weapons for a split second only if it was big enough or far from Kaitlynn.
[Swiss Palm] was used to parry sharp edges or attack weak points that Shinji's feet couldn't hit. It also acts as another support if Shinji can't find reach a stepping stone before an unavoidable attack from a bad spot.
Drax keeps growing stronger the longer the battle went on. In the current situation, he is now an avenger's level threat[3].
Shinji arrives below Drax and gives a bicycle kick directed right on his chin. Drax use [Flash] and avoided the attack. Shinji spins in place and kicks with his other foot because Drax retaliates at the same moment. Shinji connects his leg with the side of Drax's arm.
'My Leg![4]', Shinji wasn't making a reference.
With the leg that missed Drax, Shinji kicks the dull side of a weapon going straight at him. Kaitlynn wants Shinji dead now.
Shinji uses his leg as a hook and pulls himself above Drax.
Spell: 1-Star [Jab] + 2-Star [Water Bomb] = [Water Dunk]
Technique: 1-Star [Swiss Palm: Knife Palm]
'Definitely-Not-Psuedo-Chidori[5]!', Shinji thought
Wait, that reference has already been mentione-
Again, Shinji kamikaze and both he and Drax were electrocuted due to the latter's electric arm. Unfortunately, Drax's instincts were enough to set up a 2-Star [Insulate].
With the water spell bursting, Shinji is forced back by the blast. He turns and curls into a ball with both his legs and arms in front of him. Drax attacks him and it flung Shinji far.
Shinji vomited blood, 'What was I?-', his eyes roll upward but he reverts back to his senses. Even with broken limbs he shifts his weight and crashed down to avoid another shadow weapon.
"Gah!", Shinji's jaw went open after his chin hit the ground directly. He stood up in a hurry and spits out the dirt inlaced with saliva, blood, teeth, and food.
'I'm getting stem cell treatment[6] after this...', Shinji thinks and runs again. Drax was gaining ground. He would reach in another 3 seconds.
1-Star [Flame]
Shinji gurgles and spits. His parched throat craves to drink but in the middle of his movement, a saber appears behind him which he avoids with a side roll. he also burned the grass beforehand before Kaitlynn tries to pull a fast one on him.
He chokes on the water a bit but runs again nonetheless. He was at the edge of the field so it is understandable that a horde of weapons would pop out of the forest of trees, and appear they do.
1-Star [Doubt Movement: Fake Out] + 1-Star [Confucius Steps: Not]
Shiji's feet shuffle and he changes his movement technique. With nowhere to go, it's better to find a way to avoid the attacks coming from both sides. Purple and grey qi fluctuate with the latter being peculiar as one can't exactly picture its movements without giving a second serious glance.
Normally it would be hard for movement techniques to work together but these 2 both complement each other while also not bothering each other's area.
[Confucius Steps] needs movements to be erratic while [Doubt movement] needs to be misleading in its movements to someone else.
Erratic stimuli can lead to simple judgments that are always assumed to be true till they rue.
After all, one can only think so much while both in confusion and in an unfamiliar situation.
Well, show don't tell[7]. Shinji took a step forward as Drax launches a punch straight at his face. A simple shift in the leg was all it took for Shinji to be at the side of Drax's passing fist.
1-Star [Disruption Palm: Flat] + 1-Star [Swiss Palm: Knife Palm]
There were different ways to mess with internal parts using [Disruption Palm] but Shinji went with the move that would compress the inside to complement the use of [Knife Palm] that stabs through like a knife causing higher damage on thinner layers regardless of thickness.
Drax is knocked back by half a meter, he falls into his butt. Shinji looks at Drax's eyes and knows he can't use that move again with [Battle Instinct] just ruining it.
Shinji however turns to the horde of weapons ambushing them from above. Shinji dodged around with precise movements.
What is surprising is that this movement is the exact movement he used when dancing with Sirena in her mind.
Shinji hums a tune, ignoring everything for a while. He needs to recover from his mental exhaustion. Drax on the other hand broke a shadow weapon and changes his target again.
With a flick of Shinji's hand, another poison-laced [Mana Bullet] bursts from his fingers going straight at the departing Drax.
Drax of course blocks but it corrodes his fist again. he ran straight to Shinji in the middle of the weapon horde. The cycle repeats with Drax breaking another shadow weapon. Poor guy.
Kaitlynn who was a bit far off is having a hard time hitting Shinji so she had to approach closer. Sirena also reaches them from the other side.
Shinji had been sweating buckets and spilling blood all this time. His multiple orifices all bled as even more weapons increase their speed and strength the nearer Kaitlynn drew.
Sirena's eyes clear up and she sits down intently watching Shinji, ingraining everything into her mind. She vows to find a way to never have him be in this state of torture again.
The relentless attacks last for a minute.
Kaitlynn passes out of over-exhaustion, it isn't known whether she increased in her [Psyche].
//
Obtained [Mental Resistance - Lv.1]
//
Drax stood looking at a horribly messed up sight of Shinji. Unfortunately, he curls up the next second due to a wound on his stomach.
"Ah, F***. Oh, my stomach. IT HURTS!"
//
Obtained [Pain Tolerance - Lv.1]
//
"Oh...it still hurts.", Drax stands up a bit embarrassed by his reaction.
He saw just in time when Shinji bows like he made a magician's act. Tough, this could be counted as escaping death.
'What is more tolerable than unnecessary drama? Probably an unnecessary fight caused by me...', Shinji didn't forget to hate himself before he also passes out.
Other than being really, really tired. Drax looks over to Sirena awkwardly.
"So uh, what just happened?", Drax asks since he was in an illusion of playing Fist Art Online.
Sirena just fills him in with the details while carrying the still-breathing Shinji.
"Well, that sounds a bit stupid, why not-", Drax felt confused.
"Because monsters here can't threaten your life so either you increase your latent potential through fighting a strong monster or drinking a berserk potion that pushes your body to its limits.", Sirena explains.
"But fighting a monster?", Drax asks quite curious about the response.
"If everyone were to fight a Rank 6 monster, we would be able to kill it with difficulty but it wouldn't be life-threatening while a Rank 7 monster is out of the question. Our combat power against Rank 6 monsters relies heavily on synergy so taking a turn to put ourselves in life-threatening situations will lead us to death. Shinji also banking on the thought of developing someone's battle instinct."
"Really? the berserk potion could do that? Is there somehow a book mentioning it?", Drax became interested in the topic. While that happens, he also picks up Kaitlynn.
Not knowing if he should carry him on his back or shoulder, he settles with just a princess carry.
"You discovered it Drax. He based this theory after you went berserk.", Sirena reveals something shocking.
"Eh? But how di-", Drax stops his leaking thoughts.
'I wouldn't have somehow drank that potion in the first place would I? No, I haven't prepared any potions like that. Did I somehow have a skill [Beserk]?', Drax thoughtfully theorizes.
"Indeed.", Sirena answers.
"Hm.", Drax nods and falls into contemplation, 'I need to get that skill'.
Looking around, Drax became perplexed, "Did Shin-"
"He attracted all the monsters in the vicinity before the fight happened.", Sirena assures.
'Well, at least he was thorough in his plan.' Drax thinks, 'But on second thought', he remembers the skill to go back in time and shudders, 'I'll just stay ignorant for now. Not like I can do anything about it.', he thinks with a bit of cold sweat.
Sirena looks over the condition of Shinji. The latter drank a health potion before passing out so he'll be fine.
1-Star [Clean] + 1-Star [Dry] = [Quick Wash]
[Dry] is a wind attribute but Sirena didn't care about the amount of mana cost right now.
Sirena sighs. she felt as though multiple knives had cut through her heart multiple times. Although she explained that it was safe, her eyes still kept looking around frantically like it was the end of the world, and made sure to keep a check on Shinji every second.
She is troubled by her power being only support and intelligence-gathering ability. With no spells to use, She takes out a healing potion from her magic pouch and pours it gently for Shinji. She turns her head to Drax.
"Don't you have a healing spell?", Sirena asks. It seems that Shinji didn't inform her specifically about what to do after the battle.
Drax widen his eyes looking at his status
//
[Drax Vasiliev]
Title: Reincarnator, System User
Race: Human
Age: 12
Aptitude: Lightning and Metal
Class: [Mage - Lv.43], [Combat Mage - Lv.10], [Lightning Mage - Lv.10], [Metal Mage - Lv.10]
Skill Points: 10
Skills: [Cooking - Lv.20], [Smithing - Lv.30], [Metallurgy - Lv.30], [Alchemy - Lv.20], [Electrical Mechanic - Lv.20], [Bloodlust Resistance - Lv.7], [Fear Resistance - Lv.10], [Calm Mind - Lv.10], [Gathering - Lv.5], [Identify - Lv.10], [Slinging - Lv.8], [Target - Lv.8], [The Zone - Lv.3], [Battle Instinct - Lv.3], [Mental Resistance - Lv.1], [Pain Tolerance - Lv1], [Melee Combat - Lv.10], [Brawling - Lv.10]
Spells: [Heal Up - Lv.3], [Stamina Up - Lv.3], [Spark - Lv.20], [Reinforce - Lv.20], [Sand - Lv.20], [Gather Sand - Lv.20], [Disperse Sand - Lv.20], [Sand+Gather Sand: Sand Sphere - Lv.20], [Sand+Disperse Sand: Sand Swirl - Lv.20], [Sand Gather+Sand Disperse: Lesser Sand Control - Lv.20], [Spark+Reinforce: Lesser Shock - Lv.20], [Spark+Temper: Lesser Shock Impact - Lv.30], [Spark+Shock: Greater Shock - Lv.30], [Reinforce+Temper: Metal Enforce - Lv.30], [Reinforce+Flash: Launch - Lv.30], [Reinforce+Temper+Iron: Iron Enforce - Lv.5], [Insulate - Lv.5], [Temper - Lv.40], [Iron - Lv.40], [Copper - Lv.40], [Gold - Lv.40], [Zinc - Lv.30], [Aluminium - Lv.30], [Lead - Lv.30], [Tin - Lv.30], [Silver - Lv.30], [Titanium - Lv.30], [Nickel - Lv.30], [Platinum - Lv.30], [Tungsten - Lv.32], [Niobium - Lv.30], [Magnesium - Lv.30], [Molybdenum - Lv.30], [Tantalum - Lv.30], [Zirconium - Lv.30], [Lithium - Lv.30], [Beryllium - Lv.30], [Sodium - Lv.30], [Potassium - Lv.30], [Calcium - Lv.30], [Rubidium - Lv.30], [Strontium - Lv.30], [Scandium - Lv.30], [Vanadium - Lv.30], [Chromium - Lv.30], [Manganese - Lv.30], [Cobalt - Lv.30], [Gallium - Lv.30], [Yttrium - Lv.30], [Ruthenium - Lv.30], [Rhodium - Lv.30], [Palladium - Lv.30], [Cadmium - Lv.30], [Indium - Lv.30], [Caesium - Lv.30], [Barium - Lv.30], [Lanthanum - Lv.30], [Cerium - Lv.30], [Praseodymium - Lv.30], [Neodymium - Lv.30], [Samarium - Lv.30], [Europium - Lv.30], [Gadolinium - Lv.30], [Terbium - Lv.30], [Dysprosium - Lv.30], [Holmium - Lv.30], [Erbium - Lv.30], [Thulium - Lv.30], [Ytterbium - Lv.30], [Lutetium - Lv.30], [Hafnium - Lv.30], [Rhenium - Lv.30], [Osmium - Lv.30], [Iridium - Lv.30], [Mercury - Lv.30], [Thallium - Lv.30], [Bismuth - Lv.30], [Thorium - Lv.30], [Uranium - Lv.30], [Shock - Lv.40], [Flash - Lv.40], [Lesser Rest - Lv.3], [Lesser Recovery - Lv.3], [Lesser Heal - Lv.3], [Lesser Energy - Lv.3], [Flash+Temper: Bullet - Lv.40], [Temper+Shock: Shock Impact - Lv.40], [Iron+Copper: CuFe Alloy - Lv.40], [Iron+Gold: CuFe Alloy - Lv.40], [Copper+Gold: Red Gold - Lv.40], [Copper+Zinc: Brass - Lv.40], [Copper+Aluminium: Duralium - Lv.40], [Copper+Tin: Bronze - Lv.40], [Gold+Silver: Soft Green Gold - Lv.40], [Gold+Platinum: Sandia - Lv.40], [Gold+Aluminium: AuAl intermetallic - Lv.40], [Gold+Tin: Gold Tin - Lv.40], [Gold+Nickel: White Gold - Lv.40], [Gold+Zinc: AuZn Alloy - Lv.40], [Gold+Lead: AuPb Alloy - Lv.40], [Gold+Titanium: AuTi Alloy - Lv.40], [Gold+Tungsten: AuW Alloy - Lv.40], [Iron+Zinc: Galvanized Steel - Lv.40], [Shock+Temper+Copper: Copper Shock Impact - Lv.5], [Flash+Temper+Tungsten: Tungsten Bullet - Lv.5]
//
Drax wants to slap himself but only sighs in the end, 'Right...I have a healing spell'. He takes out a mana potion and downs it. Instantly his reserves went back up.
1-Star [Heal Up]
1-Star [Stamina Up]
2-Star [Lesser Rest]
2-Star [Lesser Recovery]
2-Star [Lesser Heal]
Both Kaitlynn and Shinji twitch but no magical effects happen around them. It would seem like Drax did nothing if it weren't for the glow coming out of the magic circles created by him.
What furthers the realism is a gradual path up of the big wound while the smaller ones closed up.
Drax also applies the spell to himself and Sirena who have a high amount of fatigue and small wounds. Surprisingly only Shinji is the person capable of wounding Drax while Sirena has small bruises due to stumbling and such.
'Hmm, Instincts huh? Fits me very well since all the spells just come in my mind unconsciously.', Drax huffs to himself.
'I am also starting to remember our battle... I should stop achieving max leveling...', He looks through the system. He was always a casual player and thought of just leveling skills and spells to the max before getting more but with the addition of a [Battle Instinct] and [Berserk]...
'It...might just work?', Drax thought and looks at Shinji, 'Well, he might be hinting at me to do it.'
Drax takes out some fruit from his magic pouch and munches on its sweet texture.
'I'll level up spells to Lv.10 and make more spells. It's gonna make my system messy and may overwhelm my brain but... I might just open a new path for myself, Drax felt energized all of a sudden.
1-Star [Reinforce] + 2-Star [Temper] + 2-Star [Iron] = [Iron Enforce]
He only had enough mana right now to use [Iron Enforce] on both of his arms while using 5 healing spells. Drax observes how the spell for [Iron Enforce] changes while his hands move to form different hand signs. Unfortunately, he could on do it one hand at a time as he is also carrying Kaitlynn.
They both were in serene silence, both were physically fatigued but their minds raced with thoughts. They gradually reach the camp before sundown.
Shinji jumps off, no one except Sirena knew when he woke up, "Well, it's no time to rest so I'll go back to training after this.", he stretches his utterly painful limbs and went cooking as if nothing happened.
Sirena follows while Drax places Kaitlynn back in her tent.
Drax looks at Kaitlynn sleeping, "Yeah, definitely still creepy with those open eyes. How do those eyes not go dry?", he still finds her crimson red eyes a bit of a concern, 'I once found the red eyes kind of thing a bit hot when I was younger so I'll just stay silent.'
Drax blinks for a second before going back, he'll go back to training while Shinji cooks some dunch.
2-Star [Shock] + 2-Star [Temper] + 2-Star [Copper] = [Copper Shock Impact]
2-Star [Flash] + 2-Star [Temper] + 2-Star [Tungsten] = [Tungsten Bullet]
'Since the spell changes whenever I move...', Drax thought of how Shinji was dancing back then, 'Nah, it's kind of embarrassing. I'll just run around the poison hill and search the perimeter.', he abandoned the idea of breakdancing.
Meanwhile, Shinji is both comforting and spoiling the obedient yandere by his side, "What about here?", he lightly scratches under the ear which gets a strong reaction from the latter.
"Uwah! Please stouoop! චᆽච!", Sirena jolts, "Oh, that's nice.", She closes her eyes as Shinji went to the underside of her chin and went up to pat her head. She is beaming such a happy aura.
"Hm, hm, I'm not satisfied. Give me a kiss and a hug.", Shinji says. Sirena does so immediately. Darn my immortal eyes. Diabetes exists here too?
[1]: [Misogi Kumagawa is a character from Medaka Box.]
[2]: [Misogi Kumagawa is known as the Good Loser due to not only his 0 wins and all losses but also because of how he loses every fight.]
[3]: [Avengers is a team of heroes that were made by Marvel Comics]
[4]: [A recurring off-camera character/sound effect in Spongebob Squarepants]
[5]: [Chidori is a jutsu in the anime Naruto]
[6]: [Stem cells somehow have something to do with healing and could possibly heal blindness, tooth loss, and others. (but I don't know the detail) not a reference but it's a fun fact tho.]
[7]: ['Show don't tell' is a saying where it's better to make something happen rather than say how it should happen.]
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Author's Note:
Again, I was supposed to at most finish this chapter yesterday. ;-;
I also notice my biggest flaw in story writing. Actually remembering important and redundant details. Please remind me of stuff (or possible plot holes) that I possibly forgot. (This also means that I might make the same joke twice. ;-;)