Chapter 38: Stopping Farrell (1)

"I don't have time to waste, so I'm going to end this in one hit!" William screamed while laughing like a maniac.

His blonde hair was scattered and spread roughly on his face.

His eyes were wide with a strange glint, and a dangerous grin stuck to his face.

His muscles bulged through the sleek design of the black and silver plated suit as he folded his hands into fists, generating a huge amount of Attack Force that caused the air around his hand to compress and sent sparkles of electricity dancing excitedly around.

As he was about to take a step forward, a mechanical voice went off in someone's head.

Tti-ring!

[You're now wearing the item 'Gatekeeper's Necklace'.]

[Perception and Agility stats have been increased by 20 points each.]

[Stats]

Strength: 50

Stamina: 30

Agility: 55

Speed: 35

Intelligence: 30

Perception: 50

(Available points to distribute: 0)

Hal curled his lips to the side and let a deep breath escape it, as he slowly closed his eyes and got into a more relaxed posture.

He stood with his legs apart, each firmly planted in the opposite direction from the other.

He held his dagger — Steel, in reverse grip in his left hand which was held in front of him, the other folded into a fist at the back.

He breathed slowly but rhythmically, his breathing and heartbeat flowing together in a unique tempo.

With the now increased Perception Stat obtained from the Necklace of the Cerberus, he had killed the Demon's Hellspawn; his sensing abilities were hiked to a new level.

He pushed his perception to the max and could feel everything around him.

In his Mind-of-Mind a white pulse rang out from the top of his head to the tips of his toe sequentially before spreading out to a 200-meter radius.

Nothing escaped the range of his view.

He could feel everything around him, from the small bits of rocks lying around on the ground to the cracks wedged in the walls of the passage.

He could feel Sir Jack in his half-kneeling position behind him, and of course, he could feel the tremors of the earth as William Farrell completed the action of raising his leg and moved at a gob-smacking speed.

Boom!

A shockwave spread out from behind him and sent howling sounds and wind gushing through the passage, but Hal remained unruffled.

"Hahaha, die you bottom ranker!" William screamed in the still maniacal way, expecting to crush Hal with the weight of his punch, but was soon giving the shock of his life.

His expression crumbled into an unsightly one, as Hal escaped the attack by moving to the side in a blinding bout of speed.

"Uh! You still persist?" He roared this time around and equipped his gauntlets again attacking Hal.

Several powerful attacks, each one capable of ending this fight if hit, were exchanged without rest.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish,swish!

Light sparked all around as both fighters moved in and out, attacking each other relentlessly.

It was a truly scary and gripping battle that would have caused any onlooker to marvel in awe.

Such was the case of Sir Jack as he stood to the side recovering his energy, which was now almost fully recovered.

He couldn't help but wonder how strong Hal was after his re-awakening — that's if he truly re-awakened.

He was very sure he was now as strong as him, and that very thought raised a question.

'He was now as strong as him.'

If he willfully said that, then it must mean that he knew Hal wasn't as strong as him initially, but now things had changed, and he again willfully admitted that Hal was as strong as him, if not stronger.

Then if it was so, does it mean that he was capable of growth?

Does that mean that Hal could increase in power?

Does it mean that apart from the re-awakening he had undergone, he now could grow in strength over time?

If it was so, then that would be very scary!

'A Hunter who could grow in power, how scary!'

Sir Jack shivered at the thought. If it was so, then it would mean, he would be able to utilize the suit to absorb enough Qi up to the 100% range, surpassing any known feat in the history of Hunters.

Sir Jack really couldn't comprehend the severity of such a thing happening.

He could only hope it wasn't so, and if it was, he could only hope the young lad didn't become evil.

For now, he was going to put that thought at the back of his mind and relish the fight that was taking place in front of him, while praying Hal emerged victorious.

Clang! Cling!

Two men were inwardly admiring each other's movements while also entertaining personal bias of theirs, as they continued to clash in a super-close proximity fight.

'We are moving at almost the same speed!'

'Our speed is about the same!'

While at the same time.

'How! How is he moving at a speed close to mine?! A friggin E-rank!' William was screaming blazers in his head.

'Hmmm....With the Stat points received from the completion of the Emergency quest, coupled with the points from the activation of the 'Gatekeeper's Necklace', I'm able to be on almost equal footing with him.'

'I'm only able to avoid all his attacks due to my high Perception Stat.'

'So I mustn't slip!'

Cold sweat drops formed on the foreheads of both men, as the battle was taken up another notch.

Clang! Cling!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Hal's dagger locked in a deadly embrace with William's gauntlet as they came to a stop.

It seemed that their strength was about the same.

It was here when Hal's eyes gleamed dangerously.

'I guess, I'll have to find another opening elsewhere then.'

Hal's leg moved in an instant and he slammed a foot on William's foot.

STOMP!

"Uwwahk?"

William had been paying attention only to the dagger, so he was pretty shocked by the pain shooting up from his foot, causing him to hurriedly step back.

Hal didn't miss this opportunity.

'Dash!'

[Skill: 'Dash' has been activated.]

[Your movement speed has increased by 20%.]

Hal rapidly got closer to his target.

William's eyes grew wider in fresh shock.

'He got faster?'

Hal had been displaying an already high level of speed, but that all went up a notch with the addition of the Skill 'Dash' and William found it all disorientating.

This was one of the benefits of the system.

While other Hunter's speed and other skills alike simply relied on how much Qi they could utilize through the suit, the system provided Hal with skills that weren't found anywhere on the surface of the earth, giving him a complete edge over others.

Hal closed the distance in an instant and sank his dagger down on William's thigh, earning from him a muffled scream of anger.

"Grrrr Mmh!"

He aimed there precisely because William was focused on guarding only his upper body, but the quality of his suit still provided a level of protection.

William was a high-ranking Hunter and was not to be played with. His gauntlet aimed at Hal's vital organ in a series of swipes.

Stab! Stab!

Hal evaded the attacks by only a few hairs breadths and also retaliated with swift attacks of his at William's vitals.

Even though his thigh was injured, William calmly defended himself against Hal's attacks, as befitting an experienced Hunter.

'I gotta break this stalemate somehow.' Hal thought.

They've been moving back and forth in their attacks, each not really having the upper hand over the other.

Hal gathered magical energy in his eye.

[Skill: 'Intimidation' has been activated.]

He focused his gaze on William, and the moment their eyes met each other, William slightly flinched for some reason.

'What was that?'

['Effect: Fear' has been activated!]