Ivan's recent, strenuous attack had clearly drained him, leaving him feeling deeply fatigued and with a persistent, nagging headache. He stepped onto the cracked sidewalk, his legs heavy and unresponsive, before slowly sinking down onto the rough pavement, drawing in two deep, steadying breaths to compose himself.
'Why am I so tired?' he wondered, grappling with the sudden, overwhelming weariness that enveloped his very being.
"Weak fighter! You exhibit tremendous power, yet you are weak! I will grant you the honour to battle me."
The speaker's heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed ominously, growing louder with each measured approach.
You have received a challenge.
Defeat (kill) your challenger.
Reward: 500 exp.
Reward (2): x2 green mana rocks.
Ivan paused, his gaze fixed on the information bar that had abruptly popped up in his vision. The very moment he had decided to sit on the street, his danger instincts had screamed a stark warning of a formidable threat lurking in the vicinity. Yet, an overwhelming fatigue had held him captive, preventing him from actively seeking out the source of that menace. Turning his head slowly towards the booming voice, he caught sight of a towering figure—a colossal, 10-foot-tall Und—a creature of truly otherworldly origin, strolling towards him with an air of supreme confidence that strongly suggested it was a uniquely special character.
The Und, moving on four limbs, its lower arms cradling an oversized, menacing rifle while its formidable upper arms wielded dual, gleaming switch axes, was clearly ready for immediate combat.
"What in the world of man!" Ivan blurted out, a genuine gasp of disbelief escaping his lips.
Ivan felt a chilling wave of fear now that he was so utterly exhausted. His entire being yearned desperately to relax, to simply give in to the weariness. A part of him, a small, desperate voice, urged him to abandon the daunting challenge and flee to somewhere safe, to find respite. He forcefully overcame this powerful urge to flee and, with a sharp, defiant motion, stood up. He firmly gripped the hilt of his sword, pointing the gleaming tip of the blade directly at his formidable alien opponent.
"Vile being from the cosmos, flee now or meet your swift demise," Ivan proclaimed with a surprising, unwavering confidence, despite his inner turmoil.
"Such arrogance. You have made me like you. I will make your death quick for you," the Und in the distance roared, its voice resonating with contempt.
The Und suddenly burst into a furious sprint, charging with terrifying speed directly at Ivan.
"The river has receded, and your power has diminished. Finish off this opponent before you become weaker," a deep voice said to Ivan.
From the corner of his left eye, he briefly glimpsed Merlin_13's ethereal phantom appear before it swiftly vanished.
'The river is the source of my strength?' Ivan's gaze instinctively darted to the river water that still submerged the centre of the street.
It was at this precise moment that he noticed the river had indeed receded significantly and was now only ankle-height deep.
"Flying sword!"
Ivan charged fiercely at the incoming Und, flying swiftly on Black Riot. The instant the gap between the two formidable fighters zeroed out, Ivan grabbed his sword and slashed down with immense force. The Und expertly crossed their switch-axes together, parrying the powerful attack away. They quickly countered, raising its rifle's muzzle to aim directly for Ivan's abdomen, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger, unleashing a devastating barrage of bullets.
"Sword Projection!"
Ivan swiftly cast his defensive skill, and a shimmering projection appeared, blocking the relentless bullets from hitting him. Ivan flew away from his imposing opponent, putting some crucial distance between them. He landed on a drier area of the street, attempting to catch his breath.
'I wanted to cast One Thousand Sword Lights, but I almost fainted. Why?' he pondered, a flicker of confusion crossing his weary mind.
His initial intention was to get close to the Und and finish it off with one decisive move. But as he tried to cast the powerful skill, he felt a sudden, intense hypoxia and almost succumbed to unconsciousness. He could only manage a single, strong sword slash.
The Und wore an amused, condescending smile on its face, clearly enjoying seeing its opponent back away from them. The Und was then suddenly surprised to hear multiple distinct sounds of metal falling into the water on the street. Its upper right hand felt inexplicably lighter. The Und looked down at the switch-axe in its right hand and discovered, to its astonishment, that the blades had completely cracked and fallen to pieces. The amused smile instantly vanished from its face.
Ivan lifted his chin in a clear gesture of mockery, his action visibly enraging his formidable opponent.
"I see you pack more punch than I expect," the Und sneered, its voice laced with newfound respect and fury. "Let's get serious."
The Und aimed its rifle directly at Ivan. Ivan quickly conjured a resilient sword projection before his opponent could unleash another barrage of bullets. The Und slowly approached Ivan, its movements somewhat hindered by the strong recoil of its massive weapon. The alien's aim was reckless, wild. Sometimes, its shots struck Ivan's protective shield; other times, they indiscriminately hit various objects on the street. Ivan grew increasingly worried about the destructive consequences of the alien's stray bullets.
"Flying Sword!"
Ivan dashed swiftly towards the alien while maintaining his protective sword projection. He intended to slam himself directly into the alien, hoping to upset its formidable balance. The alien, however, sidestepped Ivan's attack with surprising agility, which meant Ivan's back was now dangerously exposed for a counter-attack.
"Sword Light!"
A blinding sword light flashed, and the alien's massive rifle was instantly cut into two unequal halves. Ivan crashed hard onto the street; the shallow water offered little to no cushioning for his painful fall.
Ivan quickly recovered from his fall, sparing no opening for his opponent to launch a counter-attack. The alien stood in stunned shock, staring incredulously at its severed weapon.
'I have lost two weapons in a matter of minutes to a puny human. A human who doesn't seem stronger than the Bronze-Ascendant tier,' the Und thought, utterly astonished and enraged.
The Und slowly raised its gaze to Ivan: "Human, you took from me what took me years of arduous labour to obtain. You will pay for this."
In Ivan's vision, the Und seemed to have blinked over his position, moving with such incredible speed that he couldn't possibly track its attack. His danger premonition screamed at him to move left, and he instantly complied, narrowly dodging a heavy axe blade that cleaved down and lodged itself deeply into the ground. He caught the faint, metallic scent of the alien, but the instant he did, he received a devastating blow to the head. The powerful assault sent him sprawling metres away until he crashed violently into a window in a nearby building.
Roar! Ivan heard the alien's loud, rushing sprint steps. He instinctively punched forward, with a sword projection leading his fist. The crashing wall and the alien's bulldozing attack met the unyielding resistance of the sword projection.
"Ten Sword Lights!"
The world seemed to spin wildly around him. The powerful attack he had just launched had severely drained a significant amount of mana from his body. He could barely see his formidable opponent at that moment, and he was rooted to the spot, his thoughts scattered and disoriented. If this desperate attack didn't succeed, he was a helpless sitting duck, waiting to be devoured by a monstrous crocodile.