Retreat

In truth, Jayde's plan in the beginning was to overwhelm the ancient human with his physical prowess. But when they clashed, he had no advantage in strength whatsoever. Right now, this man had an advantage based on both his weapon grade and his talent.

With all this said, one would assume that Jayde would be scared or at least cautious. Instead, Jaydes eyes shone with excitement as he reformed his weapon in segments. Normally, if a weapon created by him shattered, it would dissolve into the shadows. But in a situation where he manifested different parts of the weapon in segments, though this would reduce the weapon's durability, it would give him an advantage where only the segmented parts would dissolve, allowing him the chance to reform them back immediately. With that done, Jayde lunged towards Kalikun, and they clashed furiously.

As they clashed, Jayde's attacks were both measured and efficient, his battle IQ on full display. His eyes gleamed with an abyssal light as he unleashed a flurry of attacks in maddened abandon. He tapped deeper into the power of his shadow comprehension. Slowly but surely, he managed to adapt to Kalikun's battle rhythm, and he was no longer at a disadvantage. Jayde's heart thumped loudly as his veins pumped with adrenaline. Right now, in this battle, he didn't feel pain, anger, or fear. In fact, he felt nothing at all. The only semblance of emotion stirring within him was pure, utter excitement.

From his previous life, Jayde discovered he loved battle the most—putting his life on the line, dancing on the edge of life and death. Even as the clash progressed, the feeling of ecstasy shone brighter and brighter in his eyes.

The two were on equal footing. There were even slight signs that Jayde was gaining the advantage. Well, that was until...

THUMP!

Jayde's heart suddenly skipped a beat. His eyes traced the jagged edge of Kalikun's sickle. Though faint, he could see tiny energy veins pulsing with green light. He understood immediately—*poison*. The laceration on his neck and other parts of his body seemed to throb. Quickly, his veins began to turn black.

He had been poisoned, and as though in response, Kalikun's strength immediately doubled. His attacks carried a bone-chilling speed, not inferior to the serpent man Jayde had fought in the dungeon. Jayde's eyes constricted into pinholes. Right before his eyes, the ancient human was using a comprehension.

Now Jayde's suspicion was confirmed. These ancient humans were countless times stronger than what modern-day humans had to offer. He was sure of it. The question now was: while they had such strength, why stay in the shadows? Jayde was pretty sure he never heard of them in his previous life.

Suddenly, his vision blurred for a split second; the poison seemed to be taking its toll on him. Jayde wasn't a fool. If anything, his final moments in his previous life were enough lesson for him to know—*he who knows when to retreat will surely live to fight another day*. So with that in mind, Jayde turned around abruptly and sprinted, retreating across the horizon.

This sudden action caught Kalikun off guard. He was shocked at how decisive Jayde was. He quickly bolted after Jayde. After all, he couldn't leave any witness. Unknown to Kalikun, there were two more witnesses watching their battle, but he couldn't know based on how far they were.

...

Quickly, upon seeing Jayde's retreat, Elior's eyes flashed. He immediately put out an order, taking the ether crystal given to him by Jayde and preparing to activate the protective formation of the mansion.

Jayde did the smart thing, retreating in the opposite direction of the mansion in an attempt to draw the overpowered Minoan away. He moved so fast his legs seemed to blur. The scenery around him blurred as his eyes shone with a deep light, evidence of him flexing his mental intent. He quickly navigated to the shore of the island. He could feel the Minoan hot on his heels. Despite the pressure he was facing, his eyes glowed with glee and madness. When had he last been pushed this far? He had been living the life of a regular human for the past fifty-two years, but now he was back. He felt more alive than ever before. His blood pumped furiously—a reaction from his body trying to suppress the poison.

Immediately, he stepped onto the shore. After five long steps, he jumped, diving straight into the cold embrace of the ocean. Now that his mentals had reached five circles, not to mention the primal chaos art which boosted his efficiency nine times, he had long reached the level of being able to use lesser telekinesis. With this support underwater, his speed should be faster than on land. The only problem he would face was oxygen, but with his physical being so high, holding his breath for ten minutes should be more than possible.

As he broke into the ocean, with his lesser telekinesis, he reduced his weight and swam at a speed that could put even a submarine to shame. This tactic seemed to work. Seeing how fast Jayde was in the ocean, Kalikun immediately gave up the pursuit and turned back to fulfill the mission he came to accomplish.

But Jayde remained cautious as he continued swimming in retreat. Though the tides were high, Jayde had a good sense of direction, so he was able to maintain his pace forward. After every few intervals, he would surface for air. It wasn't until he progressed far enough that he encountered another issue—beasts. As said previously, all creatures on Earth had undergone the awakening, all having various forms of talents. But there was a certain aspect of beasts that made them dangerous. Imagine a creature as big as a blue whale getting a circle in its physical. By what magnitude would its strength be enhanced? Not to mention the fact that it would have a talent to top it off. Though humans could fill this disadvantage with intelligence, having strength and knowing when and how to employ it were two different matters.

That still didn't change the fact that such beasts were vastly dangerous. Adding the fact that he was in water, though he might be faster in water, it also came at the cost of not being able to unleash his full strength. One can imagine his mood when he came across a group of killer dolphins.

[Killer Dolphin]

[Talent: Sonar (FF+)]

[Physical: Second Circle]

[Mental: First Circle]

[Killer Dolphin]

[Talent: Glide (F)]

[Physical: First Circle]

[Mental: -]

[Killer Dolphin]

[Talent: Compress (F)]

[Physical: First Circle]

[Mental: -]

He was surrounded. He knew it was best for him to avoid a long drawn-out battle if possible. He needed to get back to his island. But the relentless dolphins swarmed around him, stalking him, ready to pounce at any minute.