Chapter 145: Vs Runic Arms Squad And Metal Squad (10)

The reason he had the energy to curse out loud is because of his physique. In the final moment when the old man's stick was about to hammer down on his head, he used '2x Power Spike'. Even though he is stingy, he would never play around with his life.

The '2x Power Spike' was not the only reason he could survive the [Qi Wave] as well as the fall. He also started casting [Petal Dance]before the [Qi Wave] hit him. All along the way, from the time when he was hanging by a hand to when he made contact with the ground, he was casting [Petal Dance] all along. To speed up the casting process, he used [Boost]. 

That is the main reason why he could cast a skill which would normally take more than a minute in less than forty seconds. 

'Damn it. I should have used [Boost] in my durability.' Rewen could feel his bones returning to their places. It was horribly painful but in his circumstances, all he could do is endure. At the same time, he moved his shaking hand into his pocket and took out a glass bottle.

*Gulp*

He drank it whole.

A few seconds later, some strength returned to his body. As he fell on his chest atop the old man, he exerted strength on his arms to get up but as he was halfway through, he felt a cold metal on his head.

"You were tougher than I expected."

A chill went down his spine. He recognized the voice owner. 

It was Kennard!

***

Rooftop.

"Jennifer! Don't lose him! Keep a close eye on him!" Brooke shouted while on his knees. As he had forcefully exhausted all his natural energy, his body was extremely weak.

Violet had fainted.

The only one who could keep standing was Jennifer.

Jennifer panicked a little. She is young and has never been in a situation like this. 'Calm down…' He chanted this in her mind four times before going over to the edge of the rooftop and peeking over. 

She couldn't see everything clearly because of the distance but she could make out vague outlines. There was only a single figure clad in white. Rewen wore a blue shirt.

That can only mean one thing - Gavin was dead!

As for the target, he most probably ran away.

Her throat went dry. 'So it was all meaningless…' 

Looking at her expression, Brooke had a bad feeling. "Is… is he dead?"

Jennifer shook her head.

"God fucking damn it!" Brooke punched the floor. He used [Core Sacrifice] and that too, on his reverse core! How could he control his anger? 

'That year, I was forced to destroy my core. Even so, my hopes to become a Rank 3 Mage didn't die. I thought that by making use of my reverse core, I could come out as someone stronger than a normal Rank 3. But it seems like everything went down the drain…' Brooke had a dead look on his face.

"Oh… uh, what about Gavin?"

Jennifer cleared her throat. "He is dead."

***

Fifth Floor.

Marla stared at the headless body for a long time. Her eyes were fixated on the body without blinking as if there wasn't anything else other than the body. 

She was so absorbed that she failed to notice a figure behind her.

"Let's go, Marla. Others are there. I'll carry Lane." A hand patted here back.

With that, she woke up from the daze and turned around. "Where were you?" Her voice was calm.

"I was outside. In case the target somehow escaped, I had to chase him down."

"Did you manage to catch him?"

Wryly smiling, Kennard shook his head. "He was way stronger and faster than a Rank 1 Mage. All this time, he might have been hiding his prowess. I think we should forfeit the mission."

Marla scoffed. "Forfeit? And then what? Do the same missions for five years all over again? Sorry, you can leave if you want to but I'm not going back."

Kennard didn't speak for a few seconds. After that, a grin emerged on his face. "All things considered, I think we still have a chance to kill the target…"

***

Rewen dragged his legs into the first building. His thigh had blood dripping from his trousers. 

"Argh…" Groaning, he fell on a bench and leaned on the back. 

The effects of '2x Power Spike' had worn off so he no longer has the durability to sustain a gunshot wound. He has no more of the "Z-Vial" - the popular healing liquid which is carried in a glass bottle.

'I should have brought some more with me.' He regretted being stingy and overconfident in his abilities. At the beginning, he entered the apartment complex confident enough to defeat the eight Rank 1 Mages even if they cornered him if he goes all-out.

But the result laid right before him.

He went all-out and couldn't defeat a single person out of four in a "proper" manner. If the old man Gavin approached him with caution, then the entire farce would have ended in a huge loss for him.

This taught him an important lesson - Numbers do matter.

There is no one-man-army in battles, at least in lower ranks. He didn't know the power gap in higher ranks but within the lower ranks, there is no one-man-army. Even a Rank 3 Mage could be defeated when cornered by a well-maintained group of ten Rank 2 Mages.

"So let's see… How many of them are left? Lane can be cut off. I doubt they have healing materials to cure her. Unless they bring a Healer, she couldn't be useful in battle. That leaves… Brooke who had used [Core Sacrifice], Violet, Jennifer, Marla and… Kennard."

'Could a person use a core skill if he used [Core Sacrifice]? It's logical to say he can't. So, no more of that fireball of sorts. Jennifer… well, I don't know if it's her core skill or not, but it's pretty damn annoying but I can handle it. About Violet, she is a real deal. Her ability to slow down my attacks is a big disadvantage to me.

'One weird thing I noticed is that they don't use normal skills and rely heavily on core skills. Why is that? According to me, normal skills are just as important as core skills. Is there some kind of discimination against normal skills in the organization?' He failed to comprehend this.

'Forget it. It's better this way. As for Marla and Kennard… I don't know a single thing about their abilities. Kennard is proficient in dodging against physical attacks… I don't know about his core skill and Marla, I don't know anything about her but she is probably not going to be an easy target.'

***

Rooftop.

The three people who fought Rewen recently had a ashen expression. Violet had woken up and when she heard what happened, she bit her lips.

Suddenly, two figures arrived at the rooftop.

"What are y'all doing?" Kennard said, then felt the cold wind. "I guess the weather is not bad but we have important things to do."

Unlike the other times, none of the three humoured him. Brooke flashed a bitter smile. "I request of you… to not crack jokes, at least not right now. We are both mentally and physically tired."

At this moment, Marla stepped forward. "Give me an accurate idea of our losses." 

"Gavin died. Brooke couldn't use his core skill. Violet had forcefully consumed too much natural energy. Her core is recuperating and it would take a few hours for her to use her core skill again. I guess I didn't take any losses." Jennifer said.

Marla deeply thought about the matter for a while, then turned to Violet. "How much longer would it take for you to use your core skill again?"

"About five hours."

Marla nodded, then looked at the sky.  It was orange. In about less than two hours, the sun would fully set. "We don't have enough time."

Hearing that, Brooke appeared puzzled. "We have an entire day? I'm not sure how five hours is going to affect anything. After five hours, she could perfectly demonstrate her core skill again. I could get the time to choose a proper set of skills to execute. We could even make an elaborate plan."

Marla shook her head. "Under normal circumstances, we could. But let's just say that there is a better option. What would you do?"

"What is the option you are talking about?"

"Well… do you have strength left?"

"I have some strength left but can't use natural energy."

"It's fine." Marla then turned to the two women. "What about both of you?"

"Same." Violet briefly replied.

"Good. Now, which apartment building is the thing located?"

The question was directed to Kennard who slightly smiled. "It's the last one."

"In that case, let's not waste any time. Brooke, Violet, Marla - go to the last apartment building and stay there. The two of us would be coming there shortly."

The three of them were puzzled by the sudden decision.

Looking at their expressions, Marla knew that she had to give some explanations. "Look, I know it's difficult to trust but I'm only doing this so that we can survive."