Pushing Through

***

"I wanted to make this easy for you, but you leave me no choice!"

[Ability activated, Phantom Runner]

[Ability skill: Invisible dash]

Appearing before Blake, he slowly raised him from the ground, his hand tightly holding onto his neck.

Blake could feel the pain as he struggled for breath. His eyes shot out, turning red with veins propping out at the side of his head. Struggling to break the hold, he realised he was getting weaker each second.

With both hands holding onto the hand, he squeezed tightly as a last-ditch effort.

"Arghhh!" Bob screamed, letting go instantly. His hand had been oddly bent with his bone sticking out.

Blake, finally free, took in a handful of breath, stumbling to the ground. He wasn't weak like before, with his current level, along with his unique ability, he was one to watch out for.

The Resilient Body also kicked in making him to last longer. With the more damage he took, his power was rapidly increasing.

With both having a brief respite, Bob quickly brought out a healing potion which he gulped down instantly.

"Arghhh!!" Screaming loudly, he watched with wide eyes as his hand worsen. His bones felt as if they were getting pulverised.

[Special effect of ability has been activated...]

[Target injury will continue to worsen every five seconds]

With one hand already damaged, Bob eyed Blake with a wary expression. "Damn it! I'm in level 7! Two levels above you, don't think you would be able to win with these cheap tricks!"

"Huh? Cheap tricks?" Blake muttered with an expressionless face.

"You're still a naive little boy, even with these powers!" Taking the moment of distraction, Bob appeared before him once again swinging his fist towards his chest.

SPLATTT! BAANG!

"Ughhh," Blake felt it useless trying to keep track of his speed and had decided to act this time around. Neglecting the fist heading at him immediately he appeared before him, he swung his dagger leaving a deep cut on his chest.

"I have to rely on the Resilient Body skill if I'm going to push through," he thought gritting his teeth in pain. The hit was a heavy one yet with the pain came a surge of strength within.

Better still, his attack, which led to a deep cut on Bob's chest was beginning to bleed profusely. It appeared the damage had doubled with the wound getting worse.

"Arghh," Bob groan clenching his chest! Staggering forward, he spat out a blob of blood before staring at Blake with furious eyes. "I'll fucking kill you!" He exclaimed as he circled round him.

Blake charging forward this time around, spun his dagger and threw it suddenly with deadly accuracy.

The dagger was on mark and Bob had to block with his gauntlets deflecting the dagger. "Now's my chance," he thought about dashing forward. Raising his face, his eyes met a set of deep golden eyes which sent a chill down his spine.

"How did he get here?! He wasn't this fast before!"

Blake arriving before him, held onto his hands and slammed him hard on the ground. The force was so great, he bounced across the ground before coming to a stop.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Bob laid weakly on the ground. He never expected the attack to be that strong. Ever since he touched him he felt his body getting damaged by attacks that would have done little damage to him.

Standing before him, Blake climb atop him clenching his raised fist tightly.

"C'mon! Do it! Are you scared?! Huh? C'mon, I'm not scared of death! Take my life!"

"Take a life? I... I can't do it," he thought weakly, his hand falling to the side.

SPLATT!

"HAHAHA! I thought as much! You're just a useless wimp who was meant to be climbed on." Bob said with a crazed expression. His hands holding the hilt of dagger with the blade embedded in Blake's chest.

"Now... die for me!" Pulling out the dagger he stabbed once again with force.

"Humans are truly selfish creatures. How a man can change just from a strings of words," Blake thought feeling his vision getting covered in darkness.

Then came the scream, the crackling of fire which had hunted him for so long. "Arghhh!" Yelling loudly, his eyes shot open as he held the dagger, forcefully pulling it out. "I can't die here!"

Swinging down, the blade found its mark, piercing through Bob's flesh. The attack was so sudden he didn't realise when he passed to the afterlife.

"Die! Die! Die!" Blake kept on stabbing, the blood splashing on his face. "D-die!" He muttered weakly crashing to the ground. His blood was turning into a puddle underneath him with his gaze staring at the high ceiling.

"This is it, I... I couldn't make it," he thought in regret.

"This isn't your time," he felt a faint whisper along with a gentle breeze gathering around him. An image slowly formed, a man with shoulder length dark brown hair and green eyes. "It isn't your time yet. Rise, we're all rooting for you."

"Dad? I-is that really... you? I'm scared, dad. I don't want to leave them behind. I don't want Lucian to pass through all I faced." Blake whispered with tears dripping from his eyes.

"It's alright." The man squatted down gently caressing his cheek. "Everything is gonna be fine. Just stay... strong." The figure dispelled with a gentle wind blowing over Blake's face.

Opening his eyes, he weakly accessed his inventory. A bottle filled with glowing green liquid appeared on his palm. With shaky hands, he managed to pull the lid off and gulped down the whole stuff.

He felt his body beginning to heal as he lay still. For how long? Even when his injuries fully healed, he remained in the same position, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as if staring further.

Thoughts were gathering. It wasn't suppsoe to be like this. His family was once a big happy family. The descent of mana led to many heartbreaking past he hadn't fully recovered from.

And now, he had added another to it. He had taken the life of another human. Tears flowed from his eyes onto the ground, his gaze still fixed at the ceiling.

"Whoever brought this, I won't ever forgive you!" He thought clenching his fist tightly. "I'll grow strong. I'll train harder even if it kills me... and put an end to this desolate era!"

DRINNNNG!

[The test is over...]

[Number of survivors: 482]

[Rewards is being processed to those still alive]

[Get ready for the next text... 15 minutes of free time has been granted to candidates]

Few metres away, a burly guy stood, his breath coming out in rasps. His shoulders were oddly bent with a large cut on his cheek just missing his eyes down to his ear.

Before him was the body of a guy which was barely recognisable and a lady with her head embedded deep into the ground.

[Healing has commenced on the remaining survivors]

[Time left: 00: 14: 27]