[Mental Sanity dropped by 1 point]
A minute had passed since I left the building.
I was running at full speed. My mana reinforced body sped through the road like lightning.
Having acquired the new passive skill, I was able to endure the endless pain. Lianne had reactivated the stopwatch but I asked her not to amplify it.
I was scared.
I was scared of how much more it would hurt.
[Mental sanity dropped by 1 point]
I didn't stop the mana skill even though it cost me a point every minute.
'Ray, we're here.'
I had finally reached the area near the bridge.
Booooooom
A huge explosion took place close to the river banks.
'Fuck, I'm late.'
Quickly, I ran up to the site of the disturbance.
Multiple dead bodies were floating on the river waters when I arrived.
'This place...' Lianne started to analyze.
I looked at the adjacent shops. None of them read Tae snacks and not one of them showed any signs of destruction.
'Did Taeyang successfully handle the situation?'
'Ray, I sense strong mana up ahead.'
Changing my direction instantly, I ran towards the place Lianne pointed.
I saw someone lying on the ground.
"No…"
[Mental sanity dropped by 1 point]
Coming closer, I saw Taeyang lying in a puddle of blood.
His abdomen was bleeding. His whole shirt was colored and his face was pale.
"Urgh…Ray…", he opened his mouth when he saw me.
[Mental sanity dropped by 1 point]
"No…" My mind couldn't process the situation.
[Mental sanity dropped by 1 point]
"Ray… behind you…"
[Mental sanity dropped by 1 point]
[Warning! Memory locked]
[Warning! Mental Sanity has dropped to 50]
[PvP mode enabled]
A fist of fire came straight in from behind.
I let it hit me.
The clothes on my back burnt and his fist entered all the way up to my ribs.
"Oh? What do we have here?" A stranger's voice reached my ears.
My entire body started burning in hot flames.
[Autoheal activated]
"And who might you be?" He stared at me.
I turned my head to look at him.
His face was hidden behind a gas mask. He was wearing an overcoat and his voice was hoarse.
"Let me guess, you're a contender too?" He jumped back and pulled out his gun.
The gun started glowing in the same color as the flames he yielded.
"..." I stayed silent.
Autoheal had put off the flames on my body.
"You have nothing to say?" He pointed his gun at me.
"..."
'Lianne can you heal Taeyang?'
'Yes, Ray. But I need to start it immediately.'
"Pity, it doesn't matter to me." He fired a shot.
The bullet was invisible to my stopwatch. Its speed was beyond reckoning, almost comparable to Astracus.
It pierced my numb left arm.
"What is someone disabled like you doing here?" It seems he wanted to gather information before killing me.
'Lianne, how long do I have before he dies?'
Lianne analyzed Taeyang's condition.
'A minute…at max.' Her voice had no hope.
The masked man fired another shot. It grazed my hair and the burnt smell of my singed hair filled my nose.
He was provoking me.
I opened my mouth slowly.
"To attack a young boy's family…" My voice was laden with rage.
He looked at me as I did.
"To attack innocent people. As a means to kill your target…"
He kept the gun pointing at me.
"Why did you not just attack me, you coward?" I glared at him.
"You seem to be mistaken." He told me.
'Taeyang's injuries are worsening, Ray'
"My mission was never to attack anyone. It was the boy who attacked me first."
'Oh no, Ray. He's condensing his mana. He's about to attack!'
"I was only told to survey TigerHaven's activities."
His gun started glowing even more brightly.
"But now since I have seen you, a Contender. I cannot let you live."
'Ray!'
He pulled his trigger. The bullet that came out was a hurricane of fire. It approached me like a dragon ready to devour me whole.
..
.
.
But its speed slowed down before reaching me.
[Unique Skill: Focal Pain Boost has been compounded twice]
[Compounded skill has been used to amplify Assistant's Stopwatch]
[Assistant's stopwatch level has been increased by 16 times]
[Debt Pain (81 RP)]
[Unique Skill: Focal Pain Boost
activated]
[Agility doubled]
[Debt Pain (5 RP)]
[Total remaining Debt Pain (90 RP)]
'Ray, that debt pain is too…'
'Over 5000 RP remaining. But I can't use any of it. This greedy skill only wants me to suffer.'
[Mana Manipulation activated]
[Mental Sanity dropped by 1 point]
[Warning! Mental Sanity has dropped below 50]
'None of my skills use RP except your advice and stopwatch. What is the point of it all then?'
My fists started to glow golden.
'Ray, listen to me. You're not in your correct sens…"
My legs lunged towards the masked person, dodging the fiery bullet in front of me.
"Wha..", he tried to step back to evade my attack.
My fist swung up to his chin in a clean uppercut.
It broke his mask into pieces and launched him in the air.
His face was covered with a ski mask below the gas mask but I managed to see his slightly uncovered neck.
It had a golden dragon tattoo.
My senses warned me as I ended my attack.
'Ray, below!'
I jumped to the side.
A huge water bomb blasted in the place I was standing on.
Hot vapor rose up from the place, melting the ground into soft mud.
The attacks were deadly, but they were too slow. I could see and react to everything.
The masked man shot multiple bullets at me while he was still mid air, even faster than the previous ones.
They came spiraling towards me, burning the air it made contact with. The surrounding temperature rapidly started to rise.
"But it all looks too slow to me now."
I charged at him again, dodging the bullets at hair lengths.
One went past my ear, one beside my broken arm and another flew past my leg.
'Ray, look above!' Lianne warned me.