This guy is only level forty-five? But that attack killed that beast with one strike! he thought to himself. Disbelief struck his mind.
He questioned the logic of the System right now, but upon closer observation, everything seemed right.
The skeleton ambushed the beast, and its weapon might be incredibly sharp.
It wasn't weird for someone to carry a weapon more powerful than the user.
Hopefully, that was the case, or Shun might really be in deep shit.
He then realized that he no longer had his leg.
I'm already in deeper shit! Shun exclaimed inwardly and wondered if there's something he could do to his other leg.
Fighting with a cane is clearly not an option!
[Your Nightmare has found you.]
[Returning to the Tower of Odysseum.]
His vision went blank. He collapsed almost immediately.
[Materials gained: None.]
You don't have to mention it again! Shun commented in his heart, feeling a headache.
As he said those words, his consciousness stirred like it was being sucked into a vortex, then almost immediately, it came out the other side.
He opened his eyes abruptly and quickly got up, scanning his surroundings.
The gray fog had long gone. Akira was next to him, muttering, "Master Alden, I don't think it's a good idea," before changing her sleeping position.
Besides that, the surroundings were completely dark and extremely quiet—so quiet he could hear his own breathing and Akira's.
But there was one thing he didn't understand—what happened to that Nightmare?
"I am here to obliterate you."
A voice filled with killing intent echoed. Shun turned his head to the source and took a few steps back, but then he remembered he had lost one of his legs.
He looked down and still found his legs were there! But he couldn't exactly control them, so he was back to square one.
He clicked his tongue and said inwardly, I will definitely marry you, bad luck!
That aside for a moment, he transformed into Living Alloy and considered his options to win.
It had a powerful weapon, so he had to watch out for that, but its level was lower than that beast. Then again, the advantage of Living Alloy might not be effective against a skeleton.
It didn't have nerves to be weakened, nor did it use mana to deploy skills.
He had to use his skill and innate ability to win this—and maybe a trick.
Fu… okay.
He let out a slow breath to sharpen his senses and focus. His eyes glinted sharply, seeing only victory.
But before that, he need to do something about his mobility.
Using his skill and encased his other leg with the earth. He got himselt an artificial limb. He wasn't sure about the durability but it seemed holding off just fine.
Shun took a few steps to the right, finding a good position to fight. Behind him was a tree.
The skeleton knight bolted at Shun, leaving a trail of smoke. Then, its claymore shot out at insane speed—as though a bullet!
Shun imbued Cursed Energy into his eyes and saw everything five times slower.
He cloaked his body with Aura to hasten his agility and dodged the upcoming claymore. Shun could hear the whistle of the wind as it passed by him.
Swoosh.
He shifted his gaze back to the skeleton knight, and it was already in front of him, raising its swords, preparing to swing down.
Shun quickly touched the ground and used his skill. The earth below the skeleton knight quickly sunk down, but simultaneously, the spot next to Shun soared to the heavens.
He kept using the skill until—
[Notice: Mana ran out.]
To be level seven where mana runs out quickly! How joyful! Shun thought sarcastically to himself and peeked at where the skeleton knight had just sunk.
It was incredibly deep.
Obviously, Shun didn't dare to think it wouldn't escape. It seemed to have the same intellect as a human. It would find a way out—and one more thing.
Shun turned to the claymore that had gotten embedded deep into the tree. It struggled to escape.
Shun walked closer and grabbed its hilt. The claymore resisted his clutch. Shun pondered for a moment if he could do something to make it quiet—but what could it be?
He couldn't come up with anything but a crazy idea. He gripped the hilt and imbued Cursed Energy into it.
No reason why he came up with such an idea, but he remembered something about a battle mage that liked to cover his weapon with mana so they could have a better connection with one another.
Of course, this could be another case of mental illness, but who could say for sure?
As soon as the Cursed Energy cloaked the weapon, its struggle relaxed and disappeared.
Ohh, it worked? Shun was surprised and couldn't help but wonder, Why is cloaking this thing with Cursed Energy easier than with other objects? Is there something about this weapon that makes it different? He paused for a moment, then added, Surely that's the case.
After which, he pulled out the claymore and inspected it.
———
Name: Jade Blood Upon Sea of Corpses.
Type: Claymore.
Rarity: Special.
Weapon att: +45.
Effect: +35 STR. +10 PER.
Att speed: Normal.
———
Shun almost lost his breath and was close to fainting from immense joy.
A special-grade weapon! This thing was one of the most demanded items in the hunter circle.
He could sell it at a steep price that might make anyone puke blood—but they would still buy it! A huge grin plastered over his face.
He said it once but would say it again—he got a jackpot.
Shun halted his line of thought for a moment and re-evaluated.
Although selling it would grant him a lot of money, it might be wise to exchange this weapon for one of the same grade that he was proficient with.
Following that line of thought, he stored the claymore in his inventory—but something happened.
[This item is soul-bonded.]
Meaning the item could not be stored in anyone's inventory or any kind of spatial space.
Soul-bonded item, huh? It might decrease the price immensely, Shun thought to himself and felt dejected—but it lasted briefly.
For one, his initial purpose of obtaining this weapon was to assist him in offing his Nightmare. Second, it might help him in this Tower until he got the weapon he was good at. So the discovery wasn't all bad.
He swung the claymore to the left and right with an unsophisticated posture. He fixed his stance to a comfortable position and looked like a pro.
But any sword master would be able to tell he was a newbie with a single glance.
He walked over to the pit he had just created and looked down.
The claymore shook for a moment, as if answering the skeleton knight's call, but with a wave of Cursed Energy invading it, it stopped resisting.
"Human, what did you do?"
"Stealing your girlfriend."