Chapter 132 Underwhelming

'Can I run away? If I can stall him and then use a random path I might be able to lose his tail.'

'But he already knows I'm aiming for the prizes'

"Why aren't you attacking? I've always wanted to see what makes the Irregulars so great."

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The man spoke to him with his deep voice.

I tried to stall him as I attempted to come up with a plan.

"Why don't you start with that intimidation skill of yours? You can even use your grimoire."

'Why is he being so confident?'

Though I didn't refuse and increased the output of the skill.

Red hue shrouded the entire corridor and the mages behind him started quivering.

The man frowned and looked at his hands.

"Your skill amplifies the target fears and projects you as them. Not bad."

He was standing unbothered and indifferent.

His arched brows were the only sign that he was in discomfort.

Gulp-

I unconsciously gulped.

I knew that one day I will face people who would be able to stand against [Domination Decree].

But I didn't think it would happen so early.

"Don't be too shocked kid. Frontlines are a place that will crush your greatest fears and take its place, but it will also force you to stand against them daily."

The man spoke as if he was talking to a little kid.

"Besides, your skill is working."

The man swung his fist at the wall.

Boom-!

The corridor shook.

Webbed cracks formed around the fist that was imprinted on the wall.

"See, I can only use around 50% of my strength."

He rubbed his chin in thought.

"Maybe, this is better? It will serve as a handicap."

I raised both of my hands.

"How about we settle this through negotiations? I can pay you better than what you currently are being paid. Besides haven't you heard 'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent'?"

"Sorry, kid work ethics."

He disappeared and reappeared in front of him.

I raised my right arm before his fist hit me.

Bang-!

I was blown a dozen feet away and crashed into the wall.

Opening my eyes, I immediately rolled away.

Boom-!

The man appeared and punched the wall, missing me by a hair's breadth.

Phhzzt-

Three swords materialized in a line to act as a shield.

I stopped rolling and stood when his kick suddenly dug into my abdomen!

The swords didn't even stop him for one second!

Bang-!

My body rolled on the ground a few times before coming to a stop.

(Nathan, use the elixir you are bleeding too much!)

'I don't think he will let me'

Vrrrooom-

My hair floated wildly as I used ether to its limit.

[Iridescence]

Shadow hands appeared all over the walls and rushed at the man.

Utilizing the time brought by my stigma I used my art.

Phhhzzzzzt-

C..crack- C..crack-

Ten cracks appeared all around me along with eight swords that materialized in the air.

-Bam!

The man jumped in the air while running to avoid coming in contact with shadow hands.

His figure quickly arrived as he moved forward due to the momentum of his jump.

"[Pierce]"

The 10 spears and 8 swords increased in size.

Swish- Swish- Swish-

The shower of weapons akin to a storm flew.

The man pulled his arm back and punched with a large swing.

"[Power]"

Boom-!

A large shockwave erupted in the air that threw the weapons off course.

The shockwave canceled his jump, and he landed on the ground.

"Were these shadow hands only for distraction? Impressive."

As he evaluated me, I grabbed a few pieces of rubble and a bunch of things on me.

Swosh-

Swinging my hand, I threw everything at him.

The man only moved his head to dodge the rubble and looked at the cylindrical object mixed in between.

"A flashbang?"

Fwossh-

The smoke grenade detonated.

'That was my last grenade. I need to finish this now."

Phzzt-

I spread the cracks to track the man's movement and stepped on my sword.

Kicking the sword, I pushed my body upwards and climbed higher in the air.

"I can't sense your position. Do you have a skill to hide your presence?"

With [Zero] wrapped around my core, I would 'feel' similar to unawakened humans to others.

The higher the rank of an awakener is, the more energy they have to deal with.

Due to this, unless they have a high perception, they would have difficulty sensing those with much weaker energy than them.

"If I can't find you, then I'll have to attack everywhere at once."

'Huh, what is he doing!?'

I sensed that he looked below and raised his arm.

"[Power]"

Boom-!

The corridor shook heavily and debris shot at great speed from the floor.

The wind thrashed wildly from the impact. It created a few empty areas that were devoid of any smoke.

Unfortunately, I was also in one such area.

The man found my position when an open path in the smoke screen opened between us.

-Bam!

He jumped toward me and again punched.

I dissolved the sword beneath me and dropped to the ground.

Boom-!

The rubble fell, and I had to rush away.

I scanned the corridor before the man attacked again.

'Found it.'

-Bam!

I kicked the ground and rushed ahead.

The man fell back to the ground and dashed towards me.

He attacked without a break.

Bang-!

My back arched in the wrong direction and was sent crashing near the mages.

Crashing, I moved swiftly.

"Stop!"

I shouted, and swords appeared in the air, pointing at the mages.

The man stopped a few dozen feet away.

My body shook, and I was barely managing to stand.

A metallic taste filled my mouth and I could feel something warm flowing down my lips all the way to my chest.

However, I looked him in the eyes.

"Move and they die."

His gaze alternated between me and the mages who couldn't move because of my skill.

He fell deep into thoughts before making a decision.

"Do you know? I–"

He suddenly covered the distance between us.

"–don't care."

Bang-!

His fist dug into my stomach.

My back collided against the wall, and I spat a mouthful of blood.

Like a lifeless doll, my body fell back to the ground.

"That was much more underwhelming than I predicted."

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[Ryukurou]: 2/12 missed chapters uploaded. My exams are finishing on Tuesday so expect multiple releases from Wednesday. Also thank you for sticking with TEO even though I barely uploaded it this month(Don't worry! I'll upload every chapter I missed!)