Chapter 45 Lasting Damage

Ethan felt that he would need more, but for starters, he put just twenty skill points in Explosive Impact. He would have to test during the battles if that was enough since he couldn't use it in the city anymore. Since he had caused a lot of commotion before, some guards appeared to question him, but since he didn't understand them, he ignored them all.

Bastard Sword (Common) (+0)

Attack: 15 – 25

Durability: 90/90

Effects: None

Requirements: 50 STR

Since his power increased by using those skill points, Ethan brought a new sword. One which could withstand the power of his new skill more than a few times. The Bastard sword was almost as tall as Ethan, so it was pretty heavy, considering that it was much larger than any real swords from Earth. Still, the material still was iron, given that Ethan couldn't buy anything better or appropriate for him than that. Speaking of which, the sword alone cost him forty thousand coins.

Some people frowned when they saw Ethan taking a sword out of nowhere, even Hannah when she returned, but in the end, she just shrugged. Much to Ethan's surprise, Lili was back, and she was with Hannah alongside a group of thirty or so wizards and witches.

"That was pretty fast," Ethan said.

"I just left to ask for permission for this plan," Hannah said. "I'm helping, but I'm not the commander of the forces here, so that is a given."

"What about you?" Ethan asked while facing Lili.

"I confirmed that my family is fine, so I have returned to help," Lili replied. "Then, I found your big sister, and she told me that you are planning. Thanks to her, the damage suffered in the capital has been kept to a minimum, so I want to repay the favor."

Hannah and Lili seemed pretty confident with that plan, but the others weren't so eager to follow the such strange plan. Even more so when the core of that plan was a boy who looked average in all senses of the world. Being looked down on was an annoying feeling, and most people hated that. However, Ethan could only feel refreshed by it. Why? Because there were few things that were better than showing how looks can be deceiving.

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom Instead of wasting any more time, Ethan and Hannah decided to put the plan into action. Since the zombie army wasn't moving, it was a sign that the necromancer was resting. That being said, the zombie army wouldn't become an easy target. They could react and attack anything that may approach them, after all.

"You soon will need some time to recover your mana, so let's start with the nearest places," Ethan said. "You can teleport me to anywhere, but make sure to make me appear thirty meters above the zombies. You will know the exact time to teleport me back."

Hannah nodded and then began to concentrate. It looked like her teleportation skill used the presence of others to decide where the target of the spell would appear. Still, given the presence of so many monsters filled with mana, she had to choose the place carefully. Hannah teleported him above a squad of those monster bulls to confirm if that plan was viable and Ethan wouldn't only get hurt. They were one of the weakest monsters in the army. When Ethan noticed that, he couldn't help but show a small smile.

"She is such a worrywart…" Ethan said.

From so up close, the zombies noticed Ethan's presence pretty fast. However, the bulls didn't have any long-range attacks. There was a squad of giant snakes that had a lot of mana in their bodies and that probably could offer some support. Still, before they responded, Ethan fell to the ground.

The impact not only made the nearby zombies fall to the ground but they also had been sent flying several meters due to the shockwave caused by it. That alone had been enough to break the necks of the monsters, and such damage was more than enough to stop the zombies for a while, but then it came to the flames that looked like an explosion. The fire burned the ground and all the grass around it in an instant. At the same time, the zombies began to burn. However, before Ethan could see the first one dying, Hannah teleported him back.

You received 160 experience points.

You received 40 coins.

You received 160 experience points.

You received 40 coins.

You received 160 experience points.

You received 40 coins.

…

"Maybe I went too far…" Ethan said while looking at his arms.

Ethan received considerable damage when he learned Explosive Impact. Now that the skill got much more powerful, the fingers of his hands broke, and he dislocated both of his shoulders. Somehow, he still could hold his sword, but it was quite painful.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Hannah said and then began to heal his arms. "What kind of idiot damages themselves this much with their own attacks?"

"Save your mana. You called those people to do that," Ethan said. "It can't be helped since I'm not strong enough to pull off this plan with my current strength, so I have to go a bit far."

Aside from Hannah and Lili, who soon began to help with the healing, the others mages still were looking at the place Ethan had been a few seconds ago. More or less, fifty zombies died in the blink of an eye, and their bodies were still burning. It was hard to believe that someone who looked so weak and had so little mana in his body could do that.

"This time, I landed on a space that had no monster right below me," Ethan said. "But the next time, you have to make me land right above a monster. The first attack probably alerted the necromancer, and the second attack will probably force him to act."

"… Can't you hold back a little?" Hannah showed a pained expression while looking at her little brother's arms. "You don't have to go all out against the small fries with such a powerful skill."

"No can do," Ethan shrugged. "If I hold back, I won't be able to take down an entire squad, and that will only make us waste time and energy. Remember, defeating the zombies as fast as possible not only will tire out the necromancer, but it will also end his vast pool of mana that he has thanks to that relic."

It was annoying and painful to hear such a thing from Ethan, even more so when they made so much sense. Hannah decided to stay quiet again, and it was her way to be understanding. Ethan felt thankful for it, and since attacking like that was painful for his big sister, too, he made a mental note to increase his endurance in order to decrease the damage he was receiving from his own attacks.