Chapter 41 - Underdog- War for Academies arc

Multiple class levels? Just how strong are they!? AAGGGHHH!!! I screamed as my opponent finally drew the first blood. My strikes were rapidly slowing down, which was something I absolutely could not afford with how small my sword was. As blood flowed from my arm and stained the previously spotless floor, I gritted my teeth. This pain is nothing. We traded more and more blows. Despite my injury, it felt as if I was growing stronger with every passing second. [You're welcome, kid. But at some point you should probably learn how to reinforce darkness yourself.] Reinforce darkness? That's right. During the battle against the Leviathan, the system did do something to that effect. Could I do that here? Can I control darkness? [Probably not. I'd focus on the enemy in front of you though. You're going to get hit again.] Snapping back to the present, I instantly saw what he meant. As the soldier's sword flashed through the air, it took every piece of focus just to parry his strikes. Left! Right! My actions became more and more fluid. With each passing second, I felt myself become more and more accustomed to my opponent's fighting habits. But I also felt my strength fading. I felt the shortness of my sword imperiling my life. As if I could see the future, I knew his sword would find my flesh again. And he was far too strong for me to use the same tactic I used against the Vakash clones. It would be entirely illogical to purposefully allow his hits to land, just in hopes of creating an advantage. What can I do then?! I can't continue on like this, he's far too strong! [Darkness, kid. Embrace it.] Darkness? As my enemy's sword hit its mark again, I began to see darkness. All around me. The walls, the ceilings. The floor. Everything was becoming darkness. Control the darkness. Everything is darkness. Control the darkness. Everything is darkness. Embrace the darkness. Control it. Fighting against the encroaching unconsciousness, I reached out to the world. The world is clay. I am the sculptor. The world is molded by me. Darkness is molded by me. Darkness, unending darkness. It exists not just in the world but in me. In my enemies. It exists everywhere. That's the level I have to reach, right? [No kid, beyond. Darkness is the first step.] The first step? What's beyond darkness? [Everything.] Everything... It's too much... I looked out, attempting to peer past everything. To look past existence itself. To find the root of all power. But just the steps leading into these waters were far too deep, let alone the pool. The deeper I traveled, the more I felt as though I was drowning. [You're still not ready kid.] Suddenly, the pool vanished. The gigantic ocean of a pool. Existence vanished, Darkness vanished. I had returned to the real world, the world where I was bleeding out fighting an enemy far stronger than me. But what the hell does that matter? Just because he's at a higher level I'm supposed to lose? What kind of linear bullshit is that? There's more to strength than numbers, than stats. Ignoring the pain in my chest, ignoring the flaming sensation igniting my guts, ignoring death itself, I forced my body to stand. "Healing touch." Giving my body no time to heal itself, the enemy flung itself at me again. Strike after strike after strike. A blur of flesh and metal. A cacophony of clanging metals echoed throughout the hall. For the moment, we were evenly matched. Even an overwhelmingly stronger enemy such as him would fall to my blade. Eventually, that conviction became truth. I landed a hit of my own, and that's when I knew who would win the battle. Howling with pain, the enemy flung a punch filled with nothing but fury. It didn't have close to the amount of willpower or brains that I had. Even if it was stronger in stats, I was the superior soldier. It could cut me 1,000 times and I would still fight. But the moment I landed a hit, it felt as if the battle was over. Relishing in the revitalizing strength of Healing Touch, I readied my blade. Initiating the clash with a smirk, the battle was already becoming entirely different. No longer fearing his blade, I invited his attacks. It wouldn't matter. As his sword cut through my armor, lodging itself into my chest, I grabbed his arm with one hand pulling him close. The other held my sword. The sword penetrated his armor, lodging itself deep into its chest. Any living thing would've died right there. I watched in horror as its eyes turned black, its mouth contorting with laughter. What the hell is this thing?! [It's a branded. A low-level one too. Some vessel or something probably gave it a bit of power.] Branded? That's what the tattoo is for... [Obviously.] [Kid, the battle is going to get very destructive very fast. You need to take the fight to the system's subspace. If you don't know how to, you need to relinquish control right now. Otherwise, those kids are going to die. Ish is going to die. Half the city is going to die.] Subspace... I don't know how to do that. And I could see the truth of the system's words before my very eyes as the Branded's maniacal laughter only increased. It was going berserk. Everything went dark. Subspace activated. How? [That wasn't you kid?] No. [Strange. You know, next time I pick a host, I will do a better job. I swear you're the only one who consistently finds himself in these situations.] Humor? In a time like this? [I find no part of this funny, kid. Pay attention though, or you're going to die.] He was right. Both of the branded were already adapting to this new landscape. Maybe they were used to the darkness of nothingness. The one to the left, the one I thought I killed, screamed with a primal fury before charging at me. It was all I could do to parry his strikes, even though he no longer used a sword. By only using his bare hands, he was attempting to overwhelm me. And his attempt was working. Somehow, his skin had turned iron-hard. My sword clanged off his skin, shooting sparks across the battlefield. If his friend joined in, I'd be dead. So why isn't he? [You don't mess with a berserk Branded, kid. He's keeping his distance because he doesn't want to die.] He's going to die either way. Gritting my teeth from the impact of another gargantuan blast, I tried to find a way to flank the demon. Unfortunately, its killing intent was so great that it was breaking apart its body just to try and hit me. Just like the corpses from before... The corpses that I killed in the thousands in an instant. Glancing at his partner for a split second, I knew that I shouldn't use Dragon's Breath here just yet. I needed another way to kill this berserk-ing Branded. Passives ineffective. Ineffective? Weren't they just failing a moment ago? Did he get weaker or did I get stronger? [He's weakening himself considerably. That's a downside of going berserk. After his initial surge in energy, his body eats itself. That's why only these weak idiot inbreds go berserk.] Not paying much mind to the system's obvious disdain for these demons, I began formulating a plan. If I could just stall the battle- As his fist flew through the air, connecting with my sword and creating a thunderous BANG, I couldn't even finish that thought. Feeling a liquid falling down my mouth, I raised my arm to wipe it off. Blood. Would I be able to stall? The beast answered that question for me, lunging with lightning speed. Knowing I would be unable to dodge or block this attack the second it was initiated, I instead activated my secret skill. "Leviathan's Aura." At the cost of 10 souls, you can cloak your sword in the aura of a Leviathan. This gives your sword the ability to steal a target's mana. The buff lasts for 10 seconds. In the milliseconds it took for the beast to land his attack, my sword erupted with a bright light. A luminescence spark illuminated the entire vacant space of nothingness, evoking a sense of pure power. This spark culminated into a single point of unfathomable light. This light enveloped my sword as it penetrated the beast. As I heard its wounded cries, I immediately turned my attention to myself. "Healing to-" A punch sent me flying through the subspace. That wasn't enough to kill the beast? No, I could see the beast die right now. After my attack landed, it drained him of his mana. Mana that was keeping him alive. With that mana gone, he crumbled into dust as he let out his final screams. It was his partner that punched me. His partner that turns his body into weapons. A power that relied on regeneration to work. Regeneration that Dragon's Fire should negate. If my injuries allowed me to speak.