Chapter 158: [Day 125] – “Improvement” (1/2)

∼ Day 125 ∼

Kicking up a cloud of dust and rubble as the transformed lizardman decimated the ground beneath his point of impact, he hissed hatefully. He had intended to simply squash me right then and there, but of course, I wasn't that easy to catch as I had already disappeared from both my spot and his sight.

However, instead of setting up the fight slowly like I tended to do, I wasted not a breath's worth of time, instantly pressing my counterattack rather than lying in wait.

Conjuring my crimson claws mid-swing, I bolted from the shadows with Blitz, the mind-boggling speed multiple times faster than whatever Dash had been able to produce.

Barely managing to meet my attack in time, the hulking Zev'vev groaned under the awkward angle of the block with his bladed bat.

Pressing the attack, I immediately switched up my weapon's form with the slightest control of my Blood Shaping, allowing it to slip through his block and take him by surprise as I ripped a large furrow through his chest.

I managed to get out of dodge quite easily with Blitz, avoiding the retaliating slam the rocketed the scene as his weapon connected with the spot where I had just stood, but it still sent shivers down my back seeing that absolute raw strength in that figure of his. Not even Bob's destructive might could possibly come close to this, but that was not surprising as the noble before me gave off the unmistakable aura of a C- rank monster.

Although he was clearly a very early and weaker C- rank than most, the potent difference between a D rank and C rank monster was present in its full glory.

I would never be able to match this monster in attributes at any caliber, so that was why it was imperative that I used my skills to perfection.

Not relenting, I cast myself in multiple shadows that split as I charged the surprised lizardman. Hurriedly, he scanned each of the shadows with his reptilian eyes flickering between them, trying to find out which I was in.

Throwing his weapon in a large arc to attack the shadow he believed I was in, he smiled ferociously as his attack met my block, dispelling the shadow around me and revealing that his guess had been right on the money.

However, that grin lasted only the blink of an eye as the other shadows reached him. But instead of revealing that there was nothing in them and that they were nothing more than decoys, Zev'vev hissed in pain as he felt his sides being penetrated by something sharp.

Revealing to be two lanky blood puppets that I had hidden within the shadows, my own body being the real diversion, Zev'vev's eyes darkened, finally taking the fight seriously as he now doubted that he was actually in the winning seat.

He knew I was not even C- rank yet, and it had definitely gotten to his head. But now, he wasn't all that sure in his ability anymore.

Throwing both blood puppets off, one with a punch and the other with a swing of his weapon which he demolished to smithereens, he looked at the shallow but bleeding wounds in either of his sides. Although the blood puppets in their agile and dexterous form were very deadly, they were ultimately still unable to completely pass through the lizardman's impeccable physical resistances and sky-high vitality.

Then again, defeating the big ol' overgrown lizard through large lethal attacks had never been the plan to start with.

I continued the onslaught, disguising the creation of another blood puppet in the guise of my Shadow Magic, now peppering him with both my magic and physical attacks. Carving wounds into his flesh and leaving many glyphs inside his gashes and lacerations.

Becoming desperate to gain an advantage, Zev'vev threw out powerful skills left and right, dismantling the surroundings in his fury and distress.

Over the last week of training, Lana, the torturer, as I had dubbed her, had thoroughly beaten the bad fighting habits I had developed on my own out of me.

Before, I had been all about throwing one big combination of attacks and singular power moves at enemies and hoping for the best one after another, but now, every single attack I was dishing out was simply a way for me to chain into another series of attacks. Constantly keeping on the pressure rather than foolishly attacking my opponent with big and flashy attacks in a manner that would allow for brief pauses which would inadvertently allow my opponent to adapt and adjust.