Cain took a moment to realize that this would be the first time he would be using his newly acquired powers to fight. Before he and everyone else had gained the ability to level up and absorb power from slain mutant beasts and devils, let's just say he had had his fair share of combat.
He knew that the way humans and beasts fought would be different. The beasts, although they had become more intelligent, wouldn't be able to just suddenly display human-level intelligence. A human just like Hunter would be more difficult to defeat, not just because of his strength, but because of his wit as well. And Hunter was as witty as they came...
Everyone expected the fight to begin with a bang just like it had been with Blaze and Hunter, but instead, the two simply drew their weapons.
Cain drew {Devil's Broken Claw}, while Hunter summoned his bow from his inventory. Placing an arrow on the bowstring, he drew it back into a full arch, the arrowhead looking Cain dead in the eye.
In response, Cain activated the only skills he had that weren't too tasking and could be maintained by him for a long time.
"Mana Blade!"
"Fear!"
'I'll have to test the waters first.' Cain thought to himself.
Once his preparations were made, he dashed forward with {Burst Step}...
Because of the effects of {Mana Heart}, Cain could use these skills indefinitely, as they consumed little mana. Although they would consume more over time, the mana regeneration properties of the {Mana Heart}, or generator within his body made up for it.
'If I try to end this too quickly, not only would I gain nothing, but I might also be dooming myself to defeat.'
Cain wanted to use Hunter as a whetstone to sharpen his fangs. He already noticed that his fangs were too dull to do anything in the world. That was why he had internally made up his mind to treat every fight and encounter as a means to learn.
To assimilate...
To comprehend...
To adapt...
To devour...
He dashed forward with the speed of a cheetah and the watchfulness of an eagle. He began trying to spot any openings in his opponent that he could take advantage of.
Meanwhile, Hunter was thinking the same thing...
'Spot his openings, take advantage of his weaknesses.' Hunter thought to himself like a mantra as the arm he used to hold his bow never even trembled in the slightest.
Hunter was a predator. And like all predators, he had the skills necessary to take his prey down. Before all the weird things that had happened in the last few days had occurred, he had a very special identity in City Z.
People like him were known as 'No Triggers'...
Both he and Dan had been part of the underground world since they could remember, and that had shaped the characters they were today.
They were merciless contracted killers that never stopped to take a breath when trying to claim the life of a target. They were the preferred options of the politicians who needed someone to do their dirty work for them...
Hunter's aura began bubbling up, as he maintained his posture.
The tip of the arrow lit aflame.
"Blazing arrow."
Hunter released the bowstring at the same time Cain started his sprint.
TWANG!
The two had put some distance between each other before the fight, so there was enough time for the projectile to gain its maximum momentum in the air to achieve max penetration damage upon impact.
The arrow tore through the air, creating a whistling sound in the process while dragging a flaming tail behind.
Cain activated {Burst Step}, dodging the arrow with ease. Just as Cain landed at his target destination, he could feel the heat of another approaching arrow.
'Seems like he's finally getting serious.'
As soon as Cain dodged the first arrow, Hunter fired another one at the place where he intended to land. When Cain activated {Burst Step}, although this speed didn't increase greatly, it was still a great enough increase that whatever attack he intended to dodge would surely miss.
The first shot had missed, but the second shot homed in on him like a shark that smelt blood.
'He's showing a level of accuracy higher than what he displayed during his fight with Blaze.'
'However...'
Without missing a beat, Cain swung his blade horizontally, cutting the arrow down mid-flight. The force behind the arrow didn't even make him flinch.
Cain increased his speed as he began his charge once again. Hunter continued to bombard him with arrows, and although he was slowed down a bit, it didn't stop his charge in the slightest.
His blade flashed around, cutting down all arrows in his path as he trudged forward. Eventually, Hunter started changing positions. Previously, he had been standing on a single spot while firing his arrows, but once he began moving, the dynamic of the fight changed.
Although his firing rate reduced, his accuracy was still spot on. It became harder for Cain to block all the arrows, so he was forced to dodge when they hit too close to home. He tried shortening the distance between them, but Hunter was just as fast as he was if he didn't use any speed-boosting skills.
'I need to close this distance and draw him into a melee. It's the only way I can win this fight.'
Numerous scenarios began playing in his head as he began to think of ways to utilize his skills to bring out their true potential.
Activating Metal creation and manipulation, a decent chunk of his mana was drained to form several chains of metal that sprouted out of the ground all of a sudden. Cain intended to use these chains to hold Hunter down long enough for him to be able to close the distance.
"Scorching Ground!"
Flames enveloped Hunter's feet all of a sudden. Like a phantom, he dashed away from all the chains and managed to break free just before Cain could get to him.
"Tch!" Cain clicked his tongue.
"If this is all you've got, then it seems I was worried for nothing." Hunter taunted Cain.
"Hehe. I'm just getting started."
"Metal Creation and Manipulation: Rain of Arrows!"
A golden magic array appeared overhead, attracting a decent amount of metal elemental mana in the area. The metal elemental mana gathered to create numerous extremely sharp arrows that rained down from the sky, targeting Hunter.
{Metal Creation} and {Metal Manipulation} were unique skills because they were more flexible than normal skills in their application. If categories were to be created, they would perfectly fall under what a skill should be, while every other skill would be called a spell.
Because of the durability, one could easily manipulate the amount of mana the skill consumed, be it 5MP, or 500MP. There was no definite mana consumption rate for the skills. The effectiveness of the skill was directly proportional to the amount of mana put in the skill multiplied by the magic stat of the user.
With the effects of {Mana Heart}, Cain's magic stat and mana pool had doubled. This meant that his magic damage, control over mana, as well a mana regeneration had also doubled. He was able to create other skills using {Metal Creation} and {Metal Manipulation} as the base.
{Mana Heart (passive): Mana pool and magic stat increase by 2×. Mana is regenerated at 5MP per second. The Cooldown of all skills was reduced by 50%. For every level, +1 extra point to Magic stat. Grants host the ability to absorb and transform pure forms of mana}.
Although he was many times powerful because of this skill, that didn't mean he could use overuse his mana. The regeneration rate of his mana was just 5MP per second, which meant just 300MP in a minute. Although it looked like a lot, even his least consuming skill, {Burst Step}, consumed 5MP per usage, and {Metal Creation} was the skill that consumed the most mana. If he wasn't careful, he might just end up burned out without even expecting it.
"Shit!" Hunter panicked a bit as he quickly tried to escape the area of effect of the skill.
Metal chains slithered after him, trying to grab at his legs, but his deftness made dodging them a piece of cake.
'He's slippery. But that doesn't change anything.'
Now that he had him disoriented, Cain could finally close the gap. He dashed forward, his sword enveloped with its signature tainted aura.
The effects of {Fear} dropped his opponent's speed by 5%. Although it wasn't much, it still made a difference at the micro level.
With all the pressure Cain applied on him, Hunter was left without any room to dodge.
"Lightening Edge!"
{Devil's Broken Claw} created flashes as it cut through the air like a bolt of black lightning. Hunter's eyes stretched out as the blade struck true. Cain used the flat of his blade to strike because he didn't want to kill him outright.
"Summon Sacrifice: Substitute."
'I didn't get any feedback.'
As Cain struck Hunter, or what he thought to be Hunter, he realized that he had been had.
"You are one scary man, Cain," Hunter said as he jumped out from behind him. Cain responded, using his blade to block the attack before he created some space between them.
"What a headache..."