Chapter 28- Lizard Knight (Part 1)
The huge monster's body moved like a massive train, ready to drag everything it passes through along with it. Each stop of its giant feet shook the ground and made Akio stumble slightly. Craters deep enough to be considered holes appeared in the area.
'Crap.' Clicking his tongue, he jumped to the side and rolled on the ground before he dashed around the monster. He was sure that this Holem creature won't be allowing him to have a single moment to breathe so keeping himself on the move is his best choice at the moment so that he can study the monster's moves and how he can deal with it appropriately.
Circling around, Akio watched as the monster halted before it turned around, staring directly at him through the veil of darkness. Even though the other normal Lizardmen had good night vision since one of them even gave Akio the ability to see in a nocturnal environment, however, this abomination of a monster seemed to exceed that and be able to pinpoint Akio's position exactly in a split second.
*Swish*
Opening its mouth, a huge tongue launched out of there, flying toward Akio at an alarming speed.
'What the…?!!' Jumping and rolling, he barely avoided the hit at the nick of time. However, that side-step didn't fully save him from the creature's attack.
*Bang*
The moment the tongue smashed the ground, debris flew everywhere, hitting Akio directly. Luckily, the hit wasn't strong enough to be considered an injury, but it was still alarming enough for the young man as it meant that being anywhere near the area where the tongue will hit is a big no-no.
'This thing is too strong!'
Finding no other way, Akio quickly used Death Paths and opened all three paths to see how his clones would deal with a giant Lizard.
However, the moment he saw the vision of its death, Akio's eyes widened to the extreme.
'You have to be… kidding me. I have to pull that off?! Not even the first path is somehow easy.' He thought in complete disbelief.
Going back to the events that happened before the fight, Akio had been able to discover something hard to notice but also extremely crucial about Death Paths stigma.
He noticed that the moment he opens the three visions, almost every time, the first vision would be the easiest and the safest choice he could go with. The second and third ones were gradually harder as they go further. So, if Akio wanted the safest and most possible route to kill a monster, the first one is the one he had to go with.
However, that concept posed another question, why would he even ever consider going with any choice other than the first one? Well, when Akio experimented with it and decided to go with the second path, he ended up gaining a significant bonus in Holem essence which allows him to level up faster.
'The harder the death path that I chose is, the more benefits I will get.' He came to that conclusion quickly.
That's why, after the experiment, he decided to choose the harder path each time as he grew accustomed to the monsters and their attacks.
But, now when he is faced with this giant Lizard, the thought of choosing any path other than the first one is nothing short of a suicidal attempt.
But, even then, when he saw what the first path did, he could only gulp down a mouthful of saliva.
*Swish*
The giant monster quickly stomped down, sending a small earthquake around the area and making Akio lose balance for a second. Then, it attacked him with its tongue.
'Fuck!' Cursing loudly, Akio could only crouch down, barely evading the tongue that went a little bit higher.
'I need to close the distance between us if I want to execute the path.'
As his mind was running on full steam, his body didn't stop moving as he dashed around, evading all the tongue attacks and the charges of the giant Lizard. But, during this huge ordeal, the debris of each hit and each stomp.
Blood trickled down his arms and abdomen, coating his clothes even redder.
'I can't… Hah… get any close to it. It's too fast and too damn strong!'
Akio's attempts to get close were not as easy as they may seem to be. The monster seemed to be quite wary of Akio even though the cheer difference between them when it comes to strength is quite palpable.
'I guess I have no other choice.'
There was one thing he still didn't use other than dodging and running and it was also by far his best chance of beating this thing. After leveling up 4 times in a short time, Akio had gained 8 free points he can allocate to his stats however he wanted.
These 8 Points no matter where he used them, whether it was strength, agility, stamina, health, or Holem Spirit, will put him above average. But, in this situation, he knew which stats to increase.
'Put 4 points in strength and 4 in agility.' He thought in his head.
[4 Points had been allocated to strength.]
[4 Points have been allocated to agility.]
*Swish*
Instantaneously, Akio felt a weird change in his body. An extremely good feeling overwhelmed his body and filled every cell of his being. His muscles that were aching from running completely lost their exhaustion and bulged visibly as if they gained enormous power. As he ran, his speed also increased noticeably as if he gained a new set of legs. For a moment, Akio felt like he was flying in the air from how fast he was.
*Swish*
As much as the young crusader felt delighted with this new power, he didn't bother to even stop for a second as he continued to circle around the monster. Because of the sudden change in its prey's movements, the monster fell into confusion as it turned around and tried to corner him.
However, that moment of vulnerability the monster created was noticed by Akio. With little to no hesitation, Akio closed the distance between them.
'This better work or I'm as good as dead…. Ugh, I'm dead anyway so there is no difference!'
Whether what he saw would work or not is something that only he can decide now. It's up to how he would be able to execute the plan.
Since its target was now somehow faster, the creature decided to stop running around and following him and instead opted to use its tongue.
*BANG*
The tongue was evaded easily by Akio and he was able to easily find his way to the place he wanted to reach from the start… upward.
Since the tongue was wide enough for him to step on it, Akio jumped on top and dashed up. Many would think this was a very absurd idea as the monster would only need to pull its tongue back and Akio would fall down. But, that's where the weak point of these creatures comes into play.
The Lizardman's tongue can only be fired once every 20 or so seconds. The reason for that is the sheer energy used for each attack and also the time to recharge before pulling it back were quite big.
So, even though Akio might be risking falling down, he gambled that this giant abomination would not pull its tongue sooner than its smaller fellows. It was a huge risk, but because Akio had already seen what happened in the vision, he can only follow it to a T and hope for the best.
*Swish*
Running as fast as he could, Akio approached the monster's vulnerable face. The two stared at each other directly. Even though Akio was slightly scared of the monster, something inside him stopped him from actually averting his eyes.
Why should he avert them when he now can overpower it and come out victorious? That's illogical. This Akio isn't the same Akio from the slums, he was now far stronger, faster, and most importantly, has a certain goal he wanted to achieve. He isn't the same lost soul wandering through the tribulations of his shitty life emotionlessly, not trying to change nor escape from the hell he was in.
Now, there was no reason to not try, he had the power of this mysterious system and the ability to get stronger with each monster he kills. Shouldn't he at least try to avert himself from the grim fate awaiting him in this cursed realm?
'I won't let this thing kill me… Not now.' His mind flared with an intense desire to kill this monster and get its power. He wanted the power he would gain from killing such a splendid enemy. He wanted to bask in the feeling of climbing higher and higher.
The sensation of power was simply intoxicating. Now, he started to understand why that crusader he met in the real world said those words and why would anyone throw his humanity just to experience this moment of omnipotence. This feeling was truly addictive.
The distance between them became a few meters quickly. Akio felt himself within the reach of victory. However, at that moment, the monster's tongue pulled back, making Akio lose his footing. In the end, his lack of technique and body movement efficiency came to bite him in the ass at the last second.
'Goddamit!!' Using his left leg which was still somehow fixated decently, he made a huge leap in the air.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Shouting at the top of his lungs, Akio fisted his hand and then fired a strong punch right toward the monster's vulnerable eye.
(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 :) )