Panicking was one of the tools responsible to losing a battle quickly. Marx knew this but he could not help but panic. What he feared most was being vulnerable. And at the moment, he was.
He was around 100 meters above for he had been expecting the adult sandworms to charge at him but none had. He had lost his main ability, Halo Steps. Without them, he felt like he had lost his ability to move.
He just submitted to the laws of gravity and receded to the ground. He braced himself for his fall with clenched teeth. He had submitted to fate but he was not ready to die for he knew that that was not his fate.
Even if he fell there today, he was not going to die. He felt the wind slap on his face and his shirt being raised and blow by the wind. He rotated himself so as to fall on his back knowing it was going to be less painful.
He fell after around ten seconds on his back. It felt like he had fallen on a matress. He could only thank his stats for protecting him. But it dawned to him that his stats had also dropped.
He had been trying not to get panicked but how could he not. Immediately he fell, he rolled away hoping for the sandworm that was after him not to get him. But to his surprise, none came.
Instead, only the adults appeared to not take their eyes off of him. He had fallen around ten meter away from them. He sat up and looked at the ten sandworms.
How could he not know what was happening. It appeared that these adults had restricted the young ones from coming out. Marx could also guess that these sandworms were the same ones that had been appearing after he killed teenager ones.
He sighed as he stood up. The ten sandworms were sticking their heads up five meters above the ground. The one with flashing eyes then started slithering towards him.
Marx wanted to run but he knew that it was futile. The furthest he could run was ten meters before it caught up with him. He had no option but to fight it. Maybe welcome his death...
But he had to increase the distance between them. He knew that he was good at close combat but he needed to stay away from the adult sandworms as far as he could.
Marx thought that if he went all out, he would manage to kill it but he now had his stats dropped by a large margin. To make matters worse, he could still not activate Halo Steps.
Good thing he had the Fist Torpedoes and Laser Kicks. He had learned to discern the stats of opponents without the system's help. He first gauged the drop in his stats then the incoming sandworm's.
[Strength-2
Speed-2.2
Agility-0.9
Reaction- 0.9
Stamina- 0.5
Coordination- 1
Intelligence- 5.1]
Marx could have asked the system the reason but that was his own gauging. He knew that if the system gauged for him, they would have an even larger drop.
His stamina proved that he could not fight for long. The reason it had dropped was due to the 9 continous battles he had had. His reaction and agility had also dropped massively mainly due to the loss of the halo steps.
[Strength- 7
Speed- 7
Agilty- 0.3
Reaction- 0.4
Staminina- ...
Coordination- 1
Intelligence- 2.2]
Marx once again sucked in a cold breath despite the hot conditions of the dessert. One thing he knew about the stamina he could not read was that it was close to infinite.
He remembered that many people usually had their stats rated out of 5 but geniuses were rated out of 10. As they got older, it would get rated out of 20.
These sandworms were probably a threat to anyone who had their stats rated out of 5. They could also give a person rated out of 10 a hard time.
Its stamina could probably be rated in the class of adults probably it was the main reason he could not read it. He quickly discarded these thoughts. How could he afford to get distracted when he was in a life and death situation.
He could have charged but without Halo Steps he could not take the risk yet. He sighed to the fact that he could not use his surroundings to his advantage. Instead, his enemy was at a complete advantage over him.
Marx was not foolish to charge at the sandworm. He had observed them for long and he had come to realise that they had not even once close their eyes.
He could only guess that the process of closing its eye took a long time or maybe they just couldn't open and close them at will rather was instinctual.
He needed to act fast. If by some chance he managed to kill it, he would have to act quick and get the crystal to leave the mission ground. The eye was one of the only parts he was sure his attacks could harm.
By the time Marx finished his train of thoughts, the sandworm was already three meters from him. It was accelerating faster at him.
Marx knew that a hit and he would be no more. He quicly dove sideways but the sandworm quickly changed its direction and charged at him. He cursed at his recklessness as he dove sideways again but the result was the same.
His forehead was already filled with beads of sweat even before the battle began officially. Not ready to give up, he dove sideways once again. He quickly glanced at the other nine sandworms and he realized that they were only spectators.
He gave up on dodging and started running away. After diving, he stood up quickly and started running. It seemed foolish but he knew that he could not dodge forever.
He only managed to make a distance around ten meters before it started bridging it. He cursed and stopped to face it. Marx dropped on the right knee. His his body forward and his fingers clenched on the sand.
One could see his toes tearing through the sole of his shoes. One could see the slight vibration on the sand at the point of contact with his feet. He raised the knee halfway like he was getting ready for a race.
His hands seemed to be trembling. If one could see, the muscles of his triceps bulged outwards and clenched the same occurred with his biceps. His eyes seemed serious and also calculative with his teeth clenched.
He then shot forward. The sand under his feet was all blown away as he charged at a speed faster than that of the incoming sandworm.
This was what the sandworm least expected. For him to charge forward like this, he appeared like he had a loose screw. One might have thought he was commiting suicide.
He reached the sandworm in few seconds. He clenched his fist and activated Fist Torpedoes. The punch alone appeared like it carried twice the weight it usually did. But Marx did the unexpected.
He should have punched but he leapt upwards above the sandworm. The teeth seemed to be moving at a very slow speed. Marx knew his jump limit was 15 meters.
There was no way for the sandworm to react at this current change of tides. He stood on its head his gaze still calculative. The sandworm seeing his actions stopped abruptly.
It had already gained much momentum and Marx should have been pushed forward with respect to inertia. But he was not. He was dangling on of his right hand.
Had he reacted slower than he had, he would have fallen victim to inertia. His palm was plastered on the head of the sandworm. His body was hanging few inches away from the slowly moving teeth.
Marx smiled like someone who did not know his current situation. He smiled because he had thought that he would never get the chance to use the skill Viscous Palms. He had even thought of it to be useless.
The sandworm kept staring forward unsure of why the ant it had been fighting had not been thrown forward. In comparison to the sandworm's strength and weight, Marx's weight was negligible.
Also, due to its tough steel like skin, it was impossible for it to sense his current location. This could be said to be one of its major weaknesses. Marx pulled himself upwards and sat on the sandworm's head.
But as though they communicated, the samdworm seemed to know his current location and shot forward at blinding speed. Marx was caught offgurad once again but he quickly used the Viscous Palms to stop himself from being left behind ten meters from the head.
Next instant, he regretted using only one hand. His right hand felt like it had been pulled out from the shoulder. Marx grit his teeth and activated the left hand. The sandworm suddenly stopped and he was pushed forward.
Thankfully, he was blown away but the skill did its job perfectly and he remained plastered on its body. But he once again had overlooked its capabilities. The pores on its skin once again formed and contracted inwards.