Chapter 20: A-grade Invalids (2) (1/2)

[Bonus Chapter for reaching 50 powerstones. Next at 100. 7 more reviews till next bonus chapter]

Leonel breathed hard. The fog of his breath under the chilly night sky reflected like crystals within the moonlight.

Below him, yet another A-grade Invalid had fallen, and though Leonel remained uninjured, he could feel himself reaching his limits.

It wasn't the first time Leonel had felt like that. During those months in the Mayan temple, he experienced it all the time. It was just that he had underestimated the pressure A-grade Invalids could put on him.

Though his life was constantly on the line in the temple, it had to be remembered that the Spaniards were barely considered D-grade threats, and that was only when their weapons were factored in. Alone, they were normal mortals, not even of the F-grade. Their only real threat to Leonel were their numbers, especially after his battle experience deepened.

'Still not good enough. I'm wasting too much energy… One more left…'

Leonel pedaled hard to the next spot. This Invalid had originally been over 400 meters away, but by now, it was within 50 of their base. There was no doubt that it had already caught their scent.

By the time Leonel made it there, panting, he came face to face with an Invalid that seemed painted in silver. Its skin had become a flexible metal and judging by the heavy sounds its normal footsteps caused, maybe it wasn't just its skin that followed this pattern.

Across the board, its stats were completely normal. Nothing was above 0.70. But Leonel knew his senses would not lie to him. This was most definitely an A-grade threat.

Now more than ever Leonel realized just how flawed his self-created stat system was. He still didn't have the ability to account for everything. He couldn't even begin to posit how he would perfectly account for all of these abilities properly.

From just about 20 meters away, Leonel launched a dart, immediately catching the attention of the metal Invalid. Just as he hoped, it diverted its attention away from his sleeping friends. However, aside from that, the results were less than pleasing.

The dart's tip completely shattered against the Invalids body. Its reactions were far too slow to dodge, and its agility was even worse, but it didn't seem to matter. There wasn't even a single scratch on its body.

'… Dammit…'

Leonel quickly loaded another dart, this time aiming for its eye as he continued to pedal. But the dart was shattered once more with a simple blink.

'Did it blink just on reflex? Or are its eyes truly vulnerable?'

There wasn't much time left to think. Leonel hopped off his bike once more, charging with his shoulder and ramming into the Invalid's chest.

A grunt escaped Leonel's lips as the Invalid was sent tumbling backward.

'Only 5'10, lean body type, yet weighs over 400 pounds…'

Realizing the ramifications of this Leonel retreated a few steps, nursing the numbness of his shoulder. He had thought that the defensive abilities of his flexible armor would protect him enough to do some damage, but it was very clear that this metal ability of this Invalid was several levels more durable.

'I was wrong. I was using the specifications of a normal human to measure out his stats, but that's foolish. In order for a normal human to exert the kind of force it can while being at less than half the body weight…'

[Metal Invalid]

[Strength: 1.02; Speed: 1.05; Agility: 1.00; Coordination: 0.50; Stamina: 1.05; Reactions: 0.50; Spirit: 0.00]

Leonel sucked in a cold breath. The adjusted stats were mind numbing. These were the stats a normal human of about 5'10 160 pounds would need to move around with the ability of this Invalid.

If this Invalid had more time to adjust to its ability and reached an equilibrium point where it was no longer impeded by its heavy body… Just what kind of monster would it be? S-grade? SSS-grade? Something beyond even that? He had simply never seen a stat above 0.99.

How many other Invalids were there with this level of potential danger attached to them?

The Invalid slowly picked itself off of the ground, its white pupils locking onto Leonel with a dull gaze.

Before Leonel registered what was happening a long sharp blade suddenly appeared between his brows.

Leonel's eyes widened. He pulled his head back as fast as he could, withstanding the whiplash with gritted teeth.

A fine cut slit across his forehead, the breath of death kissing his cheek. If it wasn't for his obscene reaction time, his skull would have already been split into two.

Leonel rolled across the ground, realizing that he had once more miscalculated. Not only was this Invalid covered in metal, but it could shape this metal as it pleased. In that moment, even with Leonel completely focused on it, its arm suddenly became a three meter long blade, nearly impaling him.

'So fast… At least 0.90. I have to adjust his base agility because of that. Dammit!'

In Leonel's calculations, attack speed was factored into agility. If he corrected the Invalid's stats like this, then its adjusted agility for a normal human would be even more ridiculous.

Leonel grunted, using his silver rod to block a second blade. But though the metals his rod was formed of managed to withstand the sharp edge, the weight was too much for him to stay on his feet.

Leonel coughed violently as his back slammed into a half collapsed building.

He didn't have the luxury of slowly recovering. Without pause, yet another blade tore through the air toward him.

There was no time for Leonel to land back on the ground before it reached him. Thinking quickly, he hooked his rod into a broken window. He turned it hard, launching himself toward his left.

The blade tore through the building's wall as though it was a piece of paper. It continued to follow through, chasing after Leonel while slicing through tough sheets of metal and stone with absolute ease.

Leonel fell through the air quickly, morphing his silver rod back into a bike and pedalling away.

'His blade gets thinner the further from his body it is. He isn't producing more metal, he's just diluting what he has to extend his range. So…'

Leonel's gaze flashed, his thoughts spinning.

His bike sped up.

'There it is! Ten meters is his limit!'

Leonel bike cut a hard turn, driving up the side of a tilted building and back toward the the Invalid with everything his thighs could muster and flipped back.

Leonel soared through the air. There was no longer any room to maneuver. He fell in an arc aimed right for the Invalid.

The Invalid's gaze showed no emotion. It simply brandished its second arm, sending out a blade that was impossible for Leonel to dodge.

Leonel twisted his body, a sharp spike of pain ripping through his left shoulder as the blade went through him and his flexible armor with ease. However, his gaze remained pure and focused.