Chapter 27- Killing Machine
Looking around him with deep amazement, Akio could only blink a few times. The world that was completely covered by darkness had somehow gained some light.
It wasn't that a sudden source of light appeared but as if his eyes had somehow become far more sensitive than before. He could see an area of 20 meters around him without the need to use the torch. He could clearly see the soil, he could see his body clearly, and even discern colors.
The more amazing fact is that even when he is clearly using this stigma, his Holem Spirit pool isn't getting depleted. It meant that this stigma was something he can use 24/7 without getting exhausted.
'I still can't get accustomed to this miraculous power.' The young boy thought as he examined his hands. Seeing them again without the need for a torch was a very refreshing feeling after being submerged in darkness for a while.
"With this, I won't have to worry about the torch burning off." He smiled and started walking again.
Since he will be staying here for a few days from what the guard said, he will obviously need a form of light to be able to keep an eye on his surroundings. However, with Nocturnal Overseer, he can completely ignore that fact.
The only thing he will probably need fire for is when he needs to cook some meat from the creatures he hunts.
Then, what occurred after that was nothing short of a massacre. Akio went and started slaughtering every Lizardman he stumbles upon in the vast lands of the Serenity Abyss.
The place was apparently filled with these creatures and what was even better is that they walk in groups of no more than two.
[You have killed a level 3 Lizardman.]
[You have killed a level 4…]
[You have killed…]
[You have leveled up to level 4.]
[You have gained 2 points to allocate freely.]
[You have killed…]
[You have killed…]
[You have killed…]
[You have killed…]
[You have leveled up to level 5.]
[You have gained 2 points to allocate freely.]
Using Death Paths and Nocturnal Overseer, Akio was basically a nightmare for these creatures. With each kill, the young man was gaining a huge amount of strength and a ton of experience. His mind was like a sponge as he absorbed all the moves his clones were doing and replicated them perfectly which ends up with a perfect kill even when he is outnumbered.
As he was going like that, Akio noticed that the more he walked deeper into the Serenity Abyss, the higher the level of the Lizardmen became. At first, they were only level 2, then they quickly became 3 and now there were only Level 4 monsters. Their speed and strength obviously increased with each level up, however, Akio's growth far exceeded theirs and so he didn't really notice a change.
'Death Paths is beyond amazing. It's overpowered.' He thought as he felt a weird excitement well up in his heart.
At first, he thought that this stigma of his would only be a one-time use thing as it was a completely broken power. However, other than the fact that he has to use all of his Holem Spirit which can be recharged instantly with each level-up, Akio didn't really have to worry much. In fact, after he obtained Nocturnal Overseer, Akio started only revealing two Paths from the possible Death Paths he can use.
The reason for that is the obvious jump in power he gained, his strength had basically doubled and his stamina had also made a huge leap from how he was not long ago. However, the most important factor in that decision is his experience, after using the stigma for a while, he can now easily get things done without wasting Holem Spirit.
That not only gave him the free space to fight more rounds of enemies but also lessened the risk he had to face in case of a sudden attack when his Holem Spirit is still recharging. Coming to that, Akio also learned the speed at which his Holem Spirit was coming back.
'1 point per 1 minute. That's slow, but I feel that the speed is increasing with each level up.' He thought to himself as he exhaled a deep breath from his lungs.
Looking around him, the scenery hadn't changed much since the moment he walked inside. It was still the same, deserted, empty place that makes one lose sense of left or right.
Then, his eyes looked down at his hands that had bits and pieces of lizardmen's flesh and blood on them mixed with his own blood. Because of the sharp nature of their skin, Akio's fists were tattered merely from the punches he fired at them. It was quite painful but it didn't really affect his performance.
'I should rest. I have been hunting for a while now.'
Sitting down in between his two victims, Akio opened his stats menu again to check something.
[Akio -
Level: 5
Race: Human
Class: None
Stigmas: Death Paths (Ex), Evolver (Level 1), Nocturnal Overseer (Level 2)
Strength: 8 (+2); Agility: 6 (+1); Stamina: 10 (+4); Health: 6; Holem Spirit: 12
Free Points: 8]
Another new addition to his menu has appeared. He now had 8 free points he can use to strengthen himself. That number might be small but for Akio, it was massive. He can literally double his strength if he wanted to.
The second thing he noticed is that Nocturnal Overseer had already leveled up to level 2. Maybe it was because he had been using it non-stop for a while now but it was still impressive.
'The level-up didn't increase the distance of my vision by that much, though. It's still not bad.'
For Akio, however, there was something off, even though he had been gaining stable power for a while now, he felt as if there was more to that than merely fighting a few weak Lizardmen. If Serenity Abyss was really as hard as he heard from the whispers of the prisoners, he should be facing something far greater and far more dangerous than what he was doing now.
The place from what he saw till now was unbelievably massive, it could even be considered a world of its own. So, the chances that it's only filled with Lizardmen are close to zero.
"Maybe if I…"
As he was like that, suddenly, he heard a loud thud not that far away from him. The sound was akin to that of something huge hitting the ground like a big tree. Without any second thoughts, Akio stood up and readied himself to face whatever could emerge.
However, when he saw the thing that made that sound, his eyes widened.
That thudding sound wasn't something being thrown to the ground violently but instead, the sound of a creature walking. Yes, what he thought to be a big tree were merely the legs of a creature.
"What the… fuck…" He uttered as he stared at the Holem monster that appeared in front of him.
The creature was gigantic, towering over Akio by a lot. It was at least 12 feet tall. Its skin was an eerie green like the Lizardmen but had more sharpness to it. Its body was buffed and wide, filled with compacted muscles. Its eyes were as sharp and as cold as they can get. Then, his eyes fell on its mouth which was dripping with saliva. A huge set of sharp, long teeth protruded out and made its horrifying appearance even more horrifying.
It was clearly a Lizardman, however, the difference between this one and the other ones that Akio had massacred was great, way too great.
'I… jinxed myself.' Akio didn't know whether to curse his bad luck or laugh at how much fate likes to mess and toy with him.
However, even if he decided on which one he wanted to do, the monster won't let him do any of that because the moment its eyes fell on Akio, it dashed toward him like a hungry predator.
(A//N: Thank you everyone for supporting the book with power stones, golden tickets, and comments. I'm deeply grateful. Let's all keep it up :) )