Challenger (II) : Steps Of The Legends
While rushing forward, Nehar commanded mentally, "Distribute the unallocated Skill Proficiency point to Dagger Arts."
A notification rang out.
[System: You've added 1 Skill Proficiency Point to your Active Skill: Dagger Arts (Inferior). Skill Proficiency has increased by 50%. Current Skill Proficiency: 1/2.]
[System: You've gained more insight into the Dagger Arts.]
As he rushed towards the group, he noticed at least 20 – 30 small-sized fireballs were flying towards him.
Some were out of the trajectory, but still, at least 10 of them were directly coming at him.
This must be one of the beginner skills of the Caster Class – Lesser Fireball.
Though it's still of Inferior rank, it's nothing to scoff at.
My current Defence is only 4 and I don't have any Magical Resistance or Magical Damage Reduction stats just like the others.
Even if one of those lesser fireballs hit me, I'll be reduced into a pile of charcoal.
I've to dodge them.
Nehar was a battle maniac, but still, he was not an idiot.
He knew very well that he was also a Level 0 player at the moment.
And he had no thought of committing suicide here.
With that thought in his mind, Nehar slowly muttered, "It's time to revitalize another one of my past skills. I hope I'll be able to pull it off."
Nehar started moving rapidly while changing his direction continuously while rushing forward.
He didn't reduce his speed even once while facing a barrage of fire spells.
The people who were attacking him saw him continuously moving and dodging their attacks, and they became bewildered.
The rest of the mass, who were spectating the battle from the outside of the Field area, were also speechless.
One person screamed when he saw Nehar dodging another one of the incoming fireballs by a hair's breadth, "Is this even possible? Just how is he continuously dodging all those attacks raining down from the sky?"
The surrounding people were also startled.
They never thought something like this would happen.
Continuously dodging, sidestepping, and still moving forward without stopping or reducing speed, what sort of inhuman reaction speed was this?
They looked at the man, who was still unbothered by all of these as he continuously reduced the gap between him and his enemies.
Some people silently prayed to their gods, they were indeed lucky that they didn't provoke this monster and ran away in the first place.
More and more people started coming and watching the battle from outside.
They had no previous idea that this level of battle would happen in the future.
---
Nehar was still dodging the incoming attacks while moving forward.
500 meters…400 meters…350 meters….he was slowly reducing the gap between them.
[System Alert: The System has detected that you're performing a new but highly effective set of movements specifically designed for Combat.]
[System Alert: The System has started analyzing your Movements.]
[System Alert: Do you wish to save your current Movement Patterns in your database? YES/NO.]
Nehar didn't bother to think as he mentally confirmed 'YES'.
[System Alert: The System is currently analyzing your Movement Patterns.]
[System: You've performed 5 steps so far! Your Movement Patterns have been saved.]
Nehar also knew that so far he had only performed 5 steps just to avoid the incoming attacks at him.
Now, it's the time for attack.
As he thought of this, he quickly noticed 5 figures rushing towards him from the other side.
Thieves!!
They must be performing their basic agility Skill – Quick Movement.
I can't let them pass and reach to my teammates.
They are still not used to these kinds of battles.
Nehar gripped one of his daggers in reverse while keeping the other one untouched and rushed forward to engage them.
Let's see how much these thieves are capable of.
[Sixth Step!]
Another System notification rang out but Nehar didn't bother to check it out anymore.
Taking out those thieves was his priority at that moment.
[System: Skill: Mana Control (Inferior) is in use.]
[System: Activating Skill: Dagger Arts (Inferior).]
Nehar quickly sidestepped and plunged one of his daggers into the side of the neck of a thief.
That thief had already noticed Nehar rushing towards him and he suddenly became fearful.
That monster was coming towards him disregarding all the others.
Their job was not to intercept him, rather it was to kill his teammates, who were still standing behind.
"Shit, I didn't sign up for this", the thief yelled loudly as he started channeling his only lifesaving skill to escape – Escape.
But the Goddess of Luck was not on his side.
Just when he saw that his 'Escape' Skill was activating and thought he was safe, reality slapped him hard.
All he could hear was a System notification.
[System Alert: Warning! Your lifesaving Skill: Escape has been interrupted!!]
At that moment he saw that the monster had already plunged a bluish dagger in his neck.
He tried to breathe only to find his mouth was filled with a bitter taste of iron…his blood.
The thief collapsed on the ground, still struggling to take a single breath of air.
He saw that the monster that killed him didn't even wait to check his demise, as if he were certain that the thief was going to die anyway.
He saw Nehar rushing towards his comrades with the side of his eyes.
He closed his eyes slowly.
All he could think at that moment was, '…I shouldn't have come here.'
He heard a last System notification before his life was completely snuffed out of his body.
[System Alert: You have died!!!]
Nehar didn't bother to check the thief he attacked a moment ago as he was certain of the outcome.
Players from this time still don't know how to interrupt a Skill in the middle of casting or performing.
Nehar had plenty of experience in this matter.
In the past, he had even disrupted a God when he was casting his Divine Skill and killed him in a fierce battle after that.
Thus, interrupting a mere thief's lifesaving Skill when the opponent was only at Level 0, was nothing for him.
[Seventh Step!]
Nehar performed another step of his special Movement skill and engaged a thief directly.
Thieves were never meant to fight someone head-on in a melee and at Level 0, it was unthinkable.
The second thief hurriedly tried to block the incoming attack that was coming towards his neck.
He saw his comrade's death just a second before.
And now that monstrous bluish dagger was coming for him.
He almost closed his eyes in fear and held both of his daggers in front of him to repel the incoming attack.
He waited but he couldn't hear the intended sound of daggers clashing with each other.
A moment later he felt an intense pain coming from his backside.
He staggered and fell to the ground.
"When did he…" the thief couldn't complete his sentence as a System notification greeted him for the last time in his life.
[System Alert: Warning! Your health (HP) has bottomed out to 0. You have died!!!]
Another thief died before he could even realize how he was killed.
The rest of the thieves halted in their steps.
The attackers in the back as well as the Casters had also stopped channeling their magic.
They were dumbfounded.
No one had expected Nehar to kill two thieves within just seven seconds.
Inhumane speed, fearsome reaction speed, and extreme accuracy.
That's how Nehar had taken out two thieves within 7 seconds.
Nehar hadn't stopped for a second even when the Casters were hesitating and the remaining three thieves in the field were thinking about running away.
While rushing forward to the next thief, continuous System notifications rang out in his ears.
[System Alert: You have slain a [Human (Thief) – Level 0] in a perfect strike.]
[System Alert: You have received 25 EXP points. You have received 15 TP.]
[System Alert: You've been rewarded with Accuracy +1.]
[System Alert: You have slain a [Human (Thief) – Level 0] in a perfect Backstab!!]
[System Alert: You have received 25 EXP points. You have received 15 TP.]
[System Alert: You've been rewarded with 1 Skill Proficiency Point.]
[System Alert: You've performed a perfect Backstab – A signature move of the Thieves in the later stages. For your excellent performance, the System has rewarded you with a new Skill.]
[System Alert: You've learned a new Skill: Backstab (Inferior, Rank: E)]
[System: Unallocated Skill Proficiency Point: 01]
[System: EXP required until next Level Up: 75/250]
[System: TP Collected: 100]
So, killing a thief at Level 0 gives me 25 EXP points which is the same as the Warrior.
But, the difference lies in TPs.
Killing a thief at Level 0 provides 15 TP while killing a Warrior of the same level gives 20 TP.
I should rush forward and kill the Warriors more.
Nehar thought to himself.
He mentally commanded to allocate the Skill proficiency point to his Active Skill: Dagger Arts.
[System: You've added 1 Skill Proficiency Point to your Active Skill: Dagger Arts (Inferior). Skill Proficiency has increased by another 50%. Current Skill Proficiency: 2/2.]
[System: You've gained further insights into the Dagger Arts.]
[System Alert: Congratulations! You've leveled up your first Active Skill: Dagger Arts (Common, Rank: D-).]
[System: Active Skill: Dagger Arts (Common, Rank: D-); Current Level: 0;
Current Skill Proficiency: 0/5.]
[System: Your attack power has increased. Attack Power: +10]
[System: Your Current Attack Power: 16]
[System Alert: For your excellent performance and determination to level up, the System has rewarded you with an ample amount of Tutorial Points.
TP received: 100]
[System: TP Collected: 200]
"Good Lord", Nehar couldn't help but exclaim.
He just received 100 TP for performing a Skill regarding the Thieves in the later stages of the Tutorial.
Before this, to obtain the same amount of TP, he had to kill 3 opponents.
Should I execute other Classes' Skills much more frequently?
Nehar thought to himself.
But after some thorough thinking, he canceled that idea.
It wouldn't be anything good to get on the radar of the Handlers in the early stages.
All of this only took 2 seconds of his time when he was already in front of another thief, who was still hesitating between attacking and retreating.
[Eighth Step!]
Nehar didn't bother to perform any superfluous movements and unleashed a flurry of dagger attacks.
The thief in front of him tried to block at least one or two attacks but soon got overwhelmed.
Nehar didn't look back as he sidestepped and rushed towards another one in the Field.
The thief collapsed on the ground in disbelief.
The thieves were already not a match for Nehar before, but now he had increased his attack power significantly.
A measly Defence stat of 2-4 points stood no chance against an overwhelming attack power of 16.
The thief died before he could even grasp the gap between him and Nehar.
Nehar rushed forward and checked two previous notifications that he missed.
It was not a problem for him to check System notifications while battling an enemy.
He did it thousands of times in the past.
[System Alert: Your control over Mana has increased slightly. Skill Proficiency has increased for the Passive Skill: Mana Control (Inferior).]
[System: Current Skill Proficiency: 3.73%. Current Skill Completion Rate: 0.23%]
Nehar was happy when he saw the increase in the Skill proficiency of the 'Mana Control'.
After all, this was a Skill that he had to perform correctly over and over to achieve Proficiency in it.
But when his eyes caught the change in the Skill Completion Rate, he was quite taken aback.
Only 0.23%?
Shit, it'll take a while to evolve that Skill.
Well, it's fine. I'm in no hurry anyway.
[Ninth Step!]
The fourth thief was petrified when he saw that the monstrous bastard was almost over him.
He successfully executed his Skill – Quick Movement to increase the distance between him and Nehar.
Nehar saw the thief executing his skill perfectly and trying to run away.
Nehar was amused at his behavior.
Did he think he could actually run away?
Nehar chuckled lightly and suddenly threw the dagger which was in his right hand from the beginning with all of his strength.
His Strength stat was at 9, almost reaching the max even before the start of the Tutorial.
Thus one could easily assume what will happen if he applies all of his strength to throw a sharpened dagger towards his enemy who was currently running away showing him his unprotected back.
The thief was temporarily happy as he saw Nehar didn't rush towards him after he activated his skill but in the next moment, he despaired.
Although he tried to dodge hurriedly from the incoming attack on his back, he couldn't make it in time.
Moreover, he had no idea that his opponent had an overwhelming amount of Strength stat.
He merely saw the dagger stabbed into his back and an intense pain washed over his whole body.
His back felt numb and slowly, he fell on the ground.
Blood came out of his mouth and back, he choked and gurgled in his own blood before he died.
[Tenth Step!]
Nehar saw the last thief was trying to run away.
That man didn't even wait for a face-off as he already understood his opponent was too powerful.
Winning against him was not an option.
Thus, he chose the safest option.
Run away!!
Though the man wanted to run away, Nehar didn't want him to run away at all. He pulled out a sword from his waist belt and equipped it in his right hand.
His dagger was almost on the verge of falling apart, thus he threw it away to kill the previous thief.
Holding a sword and a dagger in his hands, Nehar rushed forward with the maximum speed he was capable of.
The last thief was still at a fifty-meter distance away from him.
When the thief saw him rushing over like a beast, he grimaced.
The thief started running away frantically; he didn't even try to activate any of his skills as it would take time to channel mana.
He had already seen what happens when someone tries to activate their skills in front of him.
He started yelling, "What the hell you are doing bastards? Shoot him. Shoot him…archers, casters…fuckers shoot him down..."
The man yelled and ran, trying to save himself from the disaster on his back.
The Casters and Archers had realized that they had almost stopped shooting their fireballs and arrows.
Only then they realized merely 45 seconds had passed since the fall of the first thief and a total of four thieves were dead now.
Archers started releasing their arrows one by one and the Casters again started casting Lesser Fireballs.
Although the amount was pitifully low as many of them still hadn't regenerated enough mana to launch more fireballs.
The Strategist from the backside yelled, "Healers, cast Magic Pulse, help them recover their mana first."
Some healers tried to protest as this skill would leave them with almost no mana.
They didn't have enough mana to cast this skill again and again.
Though some grumbled, soon they started their skills one by one.
Nehar also noticed the commotion while rushing towards the last thief.
He also knew he had to mentally prepare himself to escape as fast as he could just after killing that bastard.
Bluish mana started covering the whole sword in his hand.
Nehar felt the mana in his body was decreasing at a very fast pace. Still, he didn't stop channeling his mana on the sword.
A little more…just a little more…
He was only five to six meters behind his opponent at that moment.
As Nehar found this much distance was ideal to execute his new skill, he rapidly thrust his sword forward in an angular motion.
After performing the attack, Nehar didn't look back as he continuously side-stepped and performed the final steps of his Movement Skill to create more and more distance from the oncoming spell and arrow attacks.
[Eleventh Step!]
[Twelfth Step!]
[System Alert: You've used Combined Movements to escape pursuit!!]
Shortly after Nehar escaped the region, a barrage of spells and arrows fell on the ground.
Archers and Casters from their position watched him escape successfully with bewildered expressions.
As for the last thief, he had successfully thrown off his attacker and finally reached the group.
"Holy Shit…the last thief was able to escape his pursuit. He actually did it", a person from the outside of the barrier almost jumped up in shock.
Many people also agreed with him. Escaping that monster's pursuit was nigh impossible.
At that moment, he saw something he would remember for the rest of his life.
The last thief, who was able to throw Nehar off and almost reached his group, suddenly fell on his face.
His whole body was cleaved into an angular shape and blood slowly started flowing from his upper and lower body parts.
That thief slowly died while looking at the shocked faces of his group members. 'I shouldn't have gone there to kill them…' This was his last thought before his soul finally left his body.