AN: Sadly I can't promise an extra chapter this week if we hit a power stone mark, but I would appreciate it nonetheless if you guys spare a little bit of your time to leave a review or donate some power stones, it will help immensely, really.
In return I hope this extra juicy chapter (2.6k words) will serve as a compensation.
Enjoy.
***
Holding his golden sword in a two-handed grip Levi brought it down on Koh who quickly escaped in panic, even with Limit breaker boost still taking effect Levi didn't manage to cut him making him frown.
"WHO ARE YOU? WHY CAN'T I STEAL YOUR FACE." screamed Koh at the top of his lungs as he looked at him from afar, not approaching. He was clearly scared, something like this had never happened to him before.
Not giving him any time to think it over, Levi conjured a spear in his other hand and activating Limit breaker for another split second he threw it as hard as he could.
Aided by his throw skill and limit breaker the spear flew straight at Koh who tried to dodge it, but it was already too late as the spear hit him straight in his midsection and penetrated all the way through coming out from the back accompanied by Koh's shrill screams.
[Ding]
[Throw skill leveled up +1]
Judging by the centipede's previous speed, Levi knew that he had only caught him by surprise this time and an attack like this one wouldn't work again, he probably hadn't anticipated long-range attacks.
Sadly It seemed that was enough to finally snap the centipede out of whatever state he was in as his face changed to that of a lion and he lunged straight at Levi trying to tear him apart with its teeth.
Levi met his head with a round golden shield he conjured as Koh slammed straight into it, Levi barely felt any impact, such was the might of Divine armament, he immediately swung his double-edged sword at what was supposed to be the centipede's neck trying to incapacitate him as soon as possible.
Sadly Koh's pincers were faster as one blocked Levi's sword getting separated in the process and shocking the centipede greatly as he didn't expect the sword that Levi conjured so casually to be so sharp, another pincer came from above him hitting him straight on his head.
A wicked smile spread on Koh's face as his pincer connected with Levi's golden hamlet before that smile disappeared, his pincer bounced straight back, only able to make a single dent.
[-20HP]
Even then Levi still lost some health points due to the force of the impact and vibration. But that didn't deter him, Levi had a plan and he was going to follow it till the end, he was going to incapacitate Koh and forcefully bond with him! If he succeeds he can just return Acnologia's face and all would be good, but to do that he sadly needed Koh alive.
Koh jumped backwards, shocked again at Levi's defensive capabilities, as for Levi, his boost from Limit breaker was finally over and he felt its after effects as his body became a little heavier.
"You're not going to leave this place alive." said Koh threateningly, this time his tone more solemn than before, Levi though paid it no heed, he had more important things to worry about, like getting Acnologia to safety so he wasn't caught in the crossfire.
Releasing the blue eagle Levi controlled it to move Acnologia's body to a safer location, Koh tried to lunge at it but Levi engaged him in close quarters again stopping him.
Summoning a huge halberd Levi held it in both hands as he started to expertly wield it, fighting with it as if he had years of training even though it was his fire time holding it, and it was only now that Levi noticed the strength difference between him and koh.
Although he had managed to catch him by surprise at first and thanks to his limit breaker being active he seized the upper hand, but now his shortcomings were obvious, Koh was stronger and faster than him!
[Ding]
[Weapon mastery level up +1]
Koh tried more than once to land a hit on him but he was always met with either the hard surface of the armor or the halberd forcing him to retreat every time, and when he did succeed in landing a blow he would be flung back by the impact while Levi seemed to be hardly affected, except for his armor which recovered instantly.
Of course, only Levi knew that was far from the truth, 'I need to end this as quickly as possible.' thought Levi seriously as he checked his health stat.
[100/180]
He had already lost 80 health points in this short exchange not to mention the chi he was using to summon his weapons and repair his armor, he won't be able to last long.
On the bright side his expert welding of the halberd managed to catch Koh off guard more than once, costing him three extra legs, sadly though the centipede that had hundreds of legs and losing three was nothing.
The more they fought the more Koh started to regret his decision, if he had known that this kid was such a monster he wouldn't have provoked him in the first place, sadly for him it was already too late, he could only see it through to the end.
He could at least see that he was stronger and faster than the annoying human, the only thing holding him back was that golden armor and his proficiency in dodging, as well as him conjuring one weapon after the other keeping him on guard, he didn't know what to expect next.
Lunging at Levi again he wildly swung his pincers at him from all directions dodging whenever he could, he might have lost some legs but there were hundreds more and if he killed the annoying brat he could always regenerate.
Jumping back and Conjuring a bow and three arrows Levi fired them and used observation at the same time, Koh simply dodged of the way of two arrows with the last only leaving a shallow scar on him, but it didn't matter, Levi's goal was to have a breather to go through Koh stats, and as he did his look became more solemn.
[Status:
Name: Koh
Age: 10.000+ years
Level: Level 42
HP: 2760/3000
Chi: 1890/2000
SP: 4254/5000
Vitality: 300
Stamina: 500
Strength: 25
Agility: 21
Dexterity: 16
Endurance/Will power: 80
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 12
Luck: 50
Description: Koh the face stealer, one of the most ancient and knowledgeable entities in the spirit world, he is currently furious as well as terrified of the user and plans to kill him at whatever cost to avoid future problems]
[Observation leveled up +1]
Looking at Koh's states Levi couldn't help but start sweating, it was so much above his that he should have died instantly, the only reason he managed to hold on until now was the boost given to him by limit breaker and divine armament, but if he couldn't finish this quickly enough before he ran out of chi he might lose.
He could always assign his stat points but he really didn't want to do that this early in his life, when he could still increase them relatively quickly, it will hinder his future potential greatly.
Lunging at Koh again to not give him the time to organize himself, Levi relied on his golden armor to tank all hits, supplying it with chi whenever it was damaged and repairing it instantly, he couldn't let Koh realise that he was slowly being drained.
He had to give him the illusion that he was inexhaustible to break his spirit and mentality, and when that happened this fight would become way easier, for now though he could only persist.
As he was exchanging blows with Koh Levi suddenly started regretting not making Acnologia hide in his body before he came to face the centipede, but at that time he didn't know if Koh could perceive Acnologia inside of him and that wouldn't end well. He was one of the oldest spirits in the spirit world after all, something like that wasn't far from his reach, sadly it all turned out the same in the end.
And with the state Acnologia was currently in he couldn't merge with him and gain his immense stats, which would have made this fight a lot easier, he could feel as if a piece was missing from Acnologia making their merge impossible.
Levi quickly conjured a shield the size of his entire body in front of him just in time for Koh's tail to smack into it, sending Levi flying into the wall of the cave before falling down on one knee panting.
[50/180Hp]
[2069/3000Hp]
Looking at his health points and at Koh's health points Levi could only smile bitterly, it felt like he was looking at a vast canyon that was impossible to cross. Levi of course knew that he would only need to assign some stat points and he would be able to jump across that canyon as if it was nothing.
Activating limit breaker for the third time today, Levi felt its immense strain on his body as strength flooded him, if he had to guess, he could only use limit breaker for another three times maximum before it'll become a burden more than an asset.
[Limit breaker leveled up +1]
Straining his leg muscles as hard as he could, Levi launched at Koh like a bullet with his sword in front of him catching him by surprise.
His sword went straight into Koh's body and before he could react Levi immediately transformed his two-handed sword into a great sword while it was still deep inside, increasing its size and ripping the wound he had just inflicted even more.
The next thing he knew Levi could see that his world was flipped upside down and he had no control of his body, it only took him an instant to realize that he had been flung aside by Koh's tail as the centipede started to screech in pain.
[30/180hp]
[110/270 Chi]
[1500/3000]
That attack had managed to chip a big chunk of Koh's HP but it was still not enough, 'At least I tried, I can always get more star points later on.' thought Levi, he was just about to assign his stat points when…
"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, I'LL RIP YOU APART AND STEAL THE FACES OF EVERYONE YOU EVER LOVED.' That simple sentence from Koh was like a hammer slamming into Levi's mind, rattling him more than the impact of Koh's pincers and legs slamming into his hamlet.
He felt as if a dam inside of him had broken suddenly as his vision turned red, he was going to kill this centipede!
[Ding]
[Spiritual body leveled up +1]
[Spiritual body level 30: …..]
[Spiritual body sub ability unlocked: Ethereal force (look for a better name later?)
[Ethereal force (Active) Level 1: Using his inner energies the user converts them into Ethereal force to perceive a distance of 1 meter around him, reinforce himself, and put pressure on his enemies, the distance and power will increase with each level up, the cost will decrease with each Level up
Cost: 5 Chi per second.]
Reading through the description a wicked smile spread on Levi's face as he looked at Koh and activated his new ability, although he didn't have a lot of Chi left it would be enough.
Koh was about to rush the annoying human to end him once and for all when all of a sudden he felt as if he was carrying five times his body weight as he fell onto the ground barely able to move.
"Agh, what is this? what did you do to me!!!??." screamed Koh in horror, the more he fought this human the more scared he became, he didn't even want to kill him any longer, he just wanted to escape from here alive, that was the only thing on his mind right now, he had to escape.
"You stole my friend's face." Said Levi as he took a step forward increasing the pressure on Koh even more.
"AAGGHHHHH"
"You tried to deceive me and steal my face more than once during our first interaction and for no reason." said Levi ignoring Koh's painful screams and taking another step forward increasing the pressure even more as Koh's scales started to crack from it and yellow goo started oozing from the cracks.
"And now you're threatening my friends and family." said Levi, taking his final step bringing him above Koh as he stared down at his trembling form.
The ancient spirit that was feared and respected by both living beings in the physical world and spirits in the spirit world, that had vast knowledge craved by many, was now shaking and trembling like a scared child beside his feet, but Levi didn't feel any happiness or satisfaction from it, he only felt pure anger!
Using Observation Levi brought Koh Hp points and kept them on the side of his vision, he didn't want to kill him by mistake after all, using his Ethereal force reinforcement on his body and especially his fists Levi delivered a fist straight into the centipede head.
[-110 points]
[1390/3000]
And again
[-140]
[1250/3000]
And again
[-90]
[Ding]
[Close-quarter combat leveled up +1]
Ignoring the notification Levi kept on punching him on his head and body, again and again till it was barely recognisable, as for Koh no matter what he tried to do he couldn't resist the pressure that was bearing down on him like the weight of a mountain.
[Ding
[Ethereal force leveled up +1]
Suddenly Koh felt the pressure holding him down disappear and he immediately took that chance and used whatever remained of his energy to fling his tail to the back of Levi, hoping to incapacitate him immediately.
Unfortunately for him Levi was using his new Ethereal force observation and had a one meter 360-degree vision of his surroundings at all times.
Although for Koh it seemed that Levi had grown eyes on the back of his head as he expertly dodged to the side before delivering another blow to his head making him dizzy.
[Ding]
[Dodge leveled up +1]
He could barely hold on any longer just as Koh was about to escape Levi activated Limit breaker and stacked it with Ethereal force reinforcement on his sword as he cleaved straight down, vertically cutting Koh from below his head to his midsection as yellow goo liquid fell all over his armor.
[Limit breaker level up +1]
[30/180]
[10/270]
[10/3000]
He had won!
Quickly activating spiritual bond in fear that Koy might die due to his injuries light seeped out from Levi's body as it quickly enveloped Koh, slowly overriding his brain as it dragged him inside of Levi amidst his shrill screams.
"NOOOO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME? I'LL GIVE BACK YOUR FRIEND FACE, I WON'T EVER GO AFTER YOU OR YOUR FAMILY PLEASE JUST LET ME GO, NOOOOO." screamed Koh at the top of his lungs but Levi was having none of it, whatever Koh had just promised he could achieve by simply bonding with him.
Before long Koh was fully assimilated making Levi feel a little rejuvenated.
Calling back his eagle it dropped Acnologia beside him before also disappearing into his body giving him another boost and making his tiredness all but disappear.
Kneeling down a little he stroked Acnologia's face with a smile on his face as he spoke, "It's alright buddy, I got this, and after this we're going to have a talk about you not following orders." said Levi in a stern tone, he knew that Acnologia was awake and listening through their mutual bond.
***
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