Sho's theory was simple.
The man was using fear to fuel his speed and strength. As a result, Sho who wasn't feeling any fear didn't fuel the man's power, thus, the man's power started to run out of fuel.
Sho wasn't getting faster to match the incredible speed of the man, it was the man who was actually starting to get slower!
Sho was not some kind of God or superhero with sudden buff. He didn't even believe for one second that he suddenly became the protagonist and gained plot armor and overpowered skill.
Proving his theory would be simple. If Sho continued to avoid the man's attack, his fuel would run out. But if his guess was correct, then, the man would come after the group again. Getting fuel once more from the fear of the group.
He needed to think of a way to let the man come after him until the group was out of their sight. It sounds tricky, and putting it in action would be almost impossible.
Sho continued to dodge while trying to take away the man.
"I thought you're good. But after a while, you're just like me. Simply ordinary." He taunted. His mind was still working for ideas, but the first idea he came up with was taunt. Just like games, if he wanted to be a tank, he needed to get the agro of his enemy.
Even if that was basic gaming knowledge, he tried to apply it in real life. Most of his current experience with Sho's memory was gaming afterall.
The man snickered. "Are you retarded? I'm just having fun with you. You don't even qualify for me to use half of my power."
Sho was shocked with the revelation. He felt the man was telling the truth, he felt a shiver but he instantly cast the fear aside.
*Maybe, the man was just bluffing.* He tried to convince himself and throw the uneasiness in his heart. *Hesitation would get me killed. I need to be confident.*
He continued to observe his enemy at the same time dodging nonstop. Despite his mind wanting to dodge, his body couldn't keep up–he didn't have unlimited stamina.
Sho started to pant harder as he tried to control his breathing with the knowledge imparted to him by Alpha. He knew that now was the best time to practice how to conserve his energy with right breathing so he would survive.
In the middle of trying to understand how he could control his energy with his breathing he got hit by the man's blade in his right arm. Upon contact, he realized how sharp the weapon was. His body was like a jelly getting cut open. The cut was deep, but luckily, his arm was still intact as he pulled away.
~Thumpthumpthumpthump~
His heartbeat started to go crazy at the thought of losing his arm.
*Damn. Even if his speed would go down, I would also have expended my stamina. In a sense, we're both just going to run out of our fuel. This is not looking good at all. If my theory with fear was true, he has a way to run unlimited fuel, but I don't. I thought I would have a chance of defeating him, but it turns out I might just struggle to survive.*
The thought of an unknown chance of survival slowly made Sho feel fear once more.
*Definitely not good. If my guess is right, then I'm fueling this man. I must not be afraid.* But thinking and doing was an entirely different thing. It was not easy to do at all, especially Sho being assaulted by the maniacal man. It also didn't help to know that it was a life and death situation.
*I don't need distraction. Focus! I need to keep my mind only in this battle. It's good that I have partially awakened the System Energy, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to survive at all. Wait! I have other means! Yes! Qi energy! Wouldn't it be possible to use the Purification Energy Technique that Alpha thought so I can have an unlimited energy source? I need to gather more. I need more energy to survive! I need to stay strong until Alpha, Miya or Ross' group arrives!*
He was grasping at any straw he could hold. For once, he strongly hopes to be a protagonist of his own story! A protagonist would surely survive any adversary!
He decided to follow what he thought. However, it was not as simple as it sounded. He just learned about Qi Energy and System Energy earlier. And when he was trying to gather energy, he was focused on it alone. Now however, he needed to gather energy while battling the crazy man!
The man continuously swung his sharp blade, Sho tried to dodge as best as he could, but more deep wounds were showing in his skin.
*Damn! Why do I always get wounded ever since I came into this world? First the Murloc Zone where an insane man attacked me, then there's the wolf and Fenrir, and now, this man! Am I a good target for butchering?*
He ignored the pain and tried to concentrate on the energy around. His jest on himself helped to calm his unruly heartbeat and thoughts.
"What are you doing? Do you really want to die by not focusing on me? Hah! You're too arrogant." The man sneered at him. His pride seemed to have been hurt because of Sho.
"I only need to put a fraction of my attention to defeat you." Sho once again taunted. He was bluffing, but he had to do that so the man would forget the existence of the other people.
Still there was some fact in what he said. He could only spare a fraction of his attention to the man. His focus was on searching for energy he could pick. Then purify those energies and let them inside his Qi Waygate to fuel him. Surely, it was harder than when he was sitting and collecting the pure particles. Because now, he was running, dodging and weaving through the forest. He needed to enlarge his search for the energy, not the energy around his body, but the energy in the distance where he would go.
*Not enough. I need to feel more. I need to see it. So when I go there, I'll just pick it!*
He silently gritted his teeth when he realized the loophole of his plan. He couldn't pick anything close to him because he was running! Any close energy he saw would be easily bypassed by him even before he could touch it!
Maybe it was because of the dire situation, but Sho knew what he wanted was out of this world. But he kept encouraging himself. He didn't want to let go of his hope amidst the constant pain the man inflicted on him.
He continues to run around, feeling the small things on him, on his surroundings. He could feel the swinging of the man behind him as he moved forward. He dodge instinctively when he felt his swing. Miraculously, he was able to fully dodge. For the first time. But he didn't have the sense of accomplishment. He was like in trance, fighting for survival. And his rope of survival was seeing the pure particles of energy. Dodging wouldn't matter if he ran out of energy.
*More. more… more!* He pushed himself. No one would think the lazy Sho would even do something like that. But he was pushing himself to the max.