"Hey new guy! Did you hit your head or what? Why are you walking towards—"
Before Leo could finish his question, Michael exploded forwards.
"What kind of speed is that?! Forget about Apprentice, his speed is rivaling a Peak Adept! Is he really just 18 years old?!" Leo muttered before turning to Ava.
"Hey Daredevil, what should we do?"
But the petite woman didn't seem to acknowledge his existence; she was watching Michael move staggeringly fast with a strange gleam in her eyes.
"HAHAHA! I was right, he really is special!" She exclaimed before going after Michael.
"Fuck." Leo cursed. "It seems like the plan of slowing down the alien wave has turned into slaughtering them."
Once that was made apparent, the rest of the squad rushed in, unleashing hellfire on their enemies.
'Even if it's a bit amateurish to ignore the orders of those with higher rank than me. There is no way I will ignore the system quest. Not to mention that I really want that Epic cybernetic for managing to kill the most aliens!'
Thanks to the 500 points that were added to his strength, agility and stamina, it took Michael less than a minute to see the enemies with his own eyes.
'By the lack of intelligence these aliens are displaying, it's clear that they are all Lower tier.'
Now sure that he could win for as long as he remained on guard, he pounced on the closest enemy.
Its appearance resembled that of a dog, but on its head there were several long tentacles. They stretched forwards, eager to catch him.
Slash!
But before they could reach Michael, the alien was split into two parts by his horizontal slash.
'Kid, that was a perfect slash! Really, who the hell are you, and where did you acquire such formidable power?'
Michael's eyes darkened upon hearing the sword's praise. A flashback of his loved ones dying before him appeared in his mind. The vision of a shattered Earth marking the death of the human race.
"No matter how powerful I am or I might have been in the past, it's still not enough!" He roared, spinning 360 degrees, decapitating all aliens that had gotten too close.
'I am not going to relive losing all that is important and dear to my heart! I will get so powerful that nothing will stand in my way. I will not stop until every alien is exterminated and humanity stands above it all!'
Like a flash, he moved so fast that all he left behind were afterimages. With more than 500 points in his agility, the Lower aliens weren't able to keep up with his movement speed, resulting in them dying before knowing what hit them.
"Eat this!" Ava reached the aliens a few seconds later and activated her cybernetic arms to their limit before bringing the giant hammer down.
BOOM!
A thunderclap echoed, stunning the nearby aliens. The ground beneath them cracked under the formidable power of the petite girl. There was no doubt that her modified arms gave her strength superior to Michael even when he was using Berserker at its limit!
Behind her a shower of bullets rained down. Leo, having equipped one of the two exoskeleton suits, walked slowly with a minigun in hand that killed dozens of foes every second.
"It's not a mecha, but it's more than enough for the job!" Leo laughed.
He was supported by the other ranged units. The other wielder of the exoskeleton wielded two heavy blades, tearing through the aliens like a bull.
Ava's squad was merciless and proficient when it came to dealing with aliens. Yet they seemed to be a step behind Michael.
It wasn't because he was the fastest nor the strongest. What he possessed was a finesse the others didn't. The way he perfectly wielded the soul weapon with each swing, slaying several creatures while dodging all attacks, like a professional born killer with thousands of hours of practice.
Every second of rest that Ava got, she spent observing his movements closely.
'He must know a technique that enhances his sword skills. There is no other way to explain it.'
Three hours later the battlefield grew quiet. The corpses of aliens littered the ground while the squad breathed heavily from exhaustion.
Michael was no different. 500 points in stamina could only last him for so long. It was a miracle in itself that he had managed to last the entire battle.
Once he caught his breath, he crouched and bit the meat of a nearby lying alien.
'I would have preferred it being cooked, but this should work regardless.' He mused.
[Lower alien meat consumed: +8 Skill Points gained]
[Lower alien meat consumed: -50% due to second use: +4 Skill Points gained]
[Lower alien meat consumed: -50% due to third use: +2 Skill Points gained]
This was one of the ways humans grew stronger. By eating the meat of slain aliens. That way one of their attributes would increase. A fast and easy way to acquire power, the only downside was that it was random what attribute you would increase.
In Michael's case, thanks to his system, he gained Skill Points rather than a direct upgrade. He could choose to increase any of his attributes as he wished to.
For reference, the normal people would need to visit a terminal to see their attributes, while Michael's system updated him in real time.
'12 Skill Points, not bad. I will save them in case of emergencies in the future.' He decided
"New guy, good work." Leo praised slowly getting out of the exoskeleton suit.
"I can't believe that I lost to such a young man!" Ava pouted, she didn't know the exact amount of aliens killed, but everyone knew that Michael was in the lead.
"It's not over." Michael raised his gaze to Ava.
Usually the sight of a man covered in enemies' blood with glowing red eyes would cause most women to look the other way in fear. But for Ava it had the opposite effect. In her eyes, the more brutal the man, the better.
She averted her gaze in an attempt to hide her blushed expression. "I—I guess you want to kill the one that opened the portal and seal it? Sure, since we have reached so far, it's fine."
With a simple nod, Michael sped off to the distance where the portal was located. They might have slain this wave, but that didn't mean things were over. Once a portal was created, unless closed, countless waves of enemies would come out trying to kill every living being in sight.