Damion zigzaged across the ground as the building came crumbling down, zooming from spot to spot as fast as he could.
Shards of glass fell and scattered around violently, shooting omnidirectionally and tearing into his skin.
No matter how fast or agile he was, he was still a level 3. His stats were too low to be of much use in such a situation, unless he had a sensory type skill that could help him dodge better.
Damion found a large slab of rock that had a small space under it, and Shadow Walk took him there in an instant. He had just a moment to catch his breath before a crack split the rock slab, and it too began to crumble.
"Oh f**k!!" Damion cursed out loud, jumping out right before the slab caved it.
Damion then faced the falling glass shards again, braving its piercing and smashing damage and making a run for the exit.
Fortunately, the exit was… everywhere. The building was collapsing, meaning that the walls weren't going to hold him back, offering him multiple pathways of escape.
He looked for the nearest place to him and dashed towards it.
His speed plummeted when pieces of a large clay pot fell towards him, but he was able to reach his top speed again after weaving around it, though not without receiving more injuries.
Damion closed in on the open space leading outside and was just about to exit the mayhem when suddenly, a particularly large glass from nowhere fell over him, pressing him down and pushing him to the ground flat. He had felt close to freedom and let his guard down a bit, which dulled his senses and made him less alert.
Damion grunted in agony, but he didn't let the pain cloud his mind. His ability to withstand torture had been tempered a long time ago by his bullies. He powered through it and pushed up, but the glass was too heavy. He strained every bit of muscle in his body, trying to get back up and run, yet the glass didn't even budge an inch.
Seconds ticked by as he lay there, the collapse subsiding with dust and smoke choking the air. He was in luck as nothing fell on the glass that lay on him, and now his top priorities were to find a way to leave that place, while surviving the Green Rose Poison Heart.
The cogs in his mind rattled, his mind working at high speed to come up with a solution.
Before he knew it, a minute had gone by, yet there was no movement from the Green Rose Poison Heart. However, this did not make him feel any safer, it only heightened the fear that was already creeping into his psyche.
Damion began to think once again. He thought so hard till the point where his train of thoughts led him back to the quest description.
"Overrule the Green Rose Poison Heart's Will," Damion said out loud. "How?..."
"It had reacted when Dragon's Authority made contact with it, meaning that this is not a physical battle."
Reaching this point in his deduction, he calmed down and closed his eyes. "I can only try to focus and see what that gets me, brute force isn't always the solution."
Damion's mind dived into the inner workings of the skill, and he tried to understand it more.
Dragon's Authority didn't just increase the intensity of his presence to intimidate those around him, it worked deeper than that, reaching deep into his very being and fusing with his Will.
Understanding this, that meant his Will was projected outward through the skill to affect the world either positively, or negatively. He could make contact with things around him using his will, and that meant…
[Dragon's Authority- Lvl 3]
Dragon's Authority activated at full force and spread out, pushing away every single thing touching him. Damion, with his eyes still closed, found his body suddenly moving to a standing position, his body phasing through the glass like it didn't exist.
His eyes suddenly shot open, and he found himself standing amidst a wave of roots struggling to reach for him.
His eyes carried a sharp intent, and he pushed out with a thought.
A loud bang reverberated in the greenhouse, and the Green Rose Poison Heart collapsed under an invisible pressure, the roots around flopping.
Damion didn't let anything distract him and followed up with another push of his intent, causing the humanoid to press into the ground further.
Finally, he looked around and saw that everything was the same way it was since he was wrapped by the roots earlier.
"Illusion!" Damion muttered coldly under his breath.
The Green Rose Poison Heart had injected a poison that affected the mind into his bloodstream after the roots had wrapped around his body, then it made him believe he had broken free using Krav Maga and fought back, almost winning even.
That sort of treachery made him shudder in fear, but it also made him mad. Very mad.
He looked down at his hand, realizing that the tasers were gone, confiscated by the roots. Damion clenched his fist and looked back up, the purple glow in his eyes intensifying.
He took a step forward, and the intensity of his Will almost crushed the Green Rose Poison Heart, but its regeneration kept it from dying.
Another step was taken, then another, and another, until he stood before the humanoid.
"Hmph… weak," Damion scoffed and spat on its body. After that, with a decisive expression, he bent down as his arm shot out, tearing into the body of the humanoid viciously.
He frantically searched around until his hand closed around what he needed. With a swift, rough motion, Damion yanked out the green core.
However, the humanoid still didn't seem dead.
"A being with a lot of vitality I see," Damion whispered.
His eyes landed on the green orb in his hand, and sudden notification made him pause and almost let go of it.
[Proceed to absorb the Orb?]
[Yes/No]
Before he could even think of the question properly, he saw the orb break apart into light particles, and drift into his orifices. In the next instant, he fell to the ground.