15 Shadowalker

Micheal felt cool energy flow into him, bit by bit. He was at peace with the world, his mind relaxed. Micheal had mastered his Cultivation State to such degree that he could actually focus on other things, letting himself cultivate in the background.

'Hmm… should I purchase a gun? It might be worth it to have some long-range attacks. Right now my body and soul can't handle the stress of casting out long-range strikes via my Grandmaster Sword Mastery.' He silently mused,

'If I recall, most people on the First Layer hunted with either guns, special weapons and Artifacts, or unique Abilities. The sheer physical defense of the Morenkai leave few other options. Regular weapons will just glance off, magically sharp weapons are needed to harm them, though Basic Sword Mastery or similar Abilities can enhance most good edged weapons enough to cause some damage. ' He thought it over.

It was also possible to lure a Morenkai off a skyscraper and make them fall to their death. This counted towards gaining Points, though the danger in this hunting method was very high. He had often used this method, depending on luring the Morenkai onto rickety rope bridges and making them fall.

If you didn't come into the First Layer with a sufficiently powerful weapon or Ability, you had to take risks if you wanted to grow stronger. Originally, Micheal's first time here had been full of great danger.

'Hmm. My sword itself is sharp enough that, even if boosted by Basic Sword Mastery, it would be enough to injure a Morenkai, though killing one would take time.' He mused in his head.

Micheal's Steelborn Sword was an Artifact he had purchased for several thousand Points, a durable sword that could withstand a lot of use. He had specifically purchased it because of its durability, knowing his Grandmaster Sword Mastery Ability would put a lot of stress on the Artifact.

While it was true he could use practically anything as a weapon if he coated it in a layer of energy from his Ability, preserving the regular tool after using it once would be extremely difficult.

The energy, called Sword Energy by some, was sharp and powerful. If it didn't have a solid medium to meld with, it would damage whatever was used. A regular blade would suffer internal damage after just a few swings and probably break within minutes. A branch would barely last a few seconds.

'I do have some experience with a gun.' He stretched his arms out as he continued to think, feeling his body over.

Today's exertions had taken a bit of a toll on him. His mind was incredibly sharp, as were his instincts, but his body was unable to keep up. His physical stats were so much lower than they had been before it wasn't even a fair comparison.

Micheal envisioned his current state by comparing it to a speeding car, racing through a city at more than 100 miles or kilometers per hour, and a regular person trying to run and keep up. The regular person would take far more time to navigate the city than the speeding car.

Even if the regular man knew the exact same route and path he would need to take, able to perfectly mimic the car, it wouldn't be the same.

Micheal knew exactly what his body needed to do, exactly when and where, but was struggling to force his body to keep up. He had slightly overloaded himself today with his movements.

'Adapting to this body will take some time. I'll need to account for that tomorrow when I go to practice.' He sighed. Starting over again was a far bigger pain than he had thought it would be.

Just as he was in the midst of deciding what to do, Micheal abruptly blinked, turning his head ever so slightly to the side.

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At the very edge of his awareness, he felt someone's presence.

Throughout his journey through the 7 Layers, Micheal had picked up something akin to a sixth sense. Scientists theorized that this concept had to do with the soul and the presence of other souls. It was why someone's killing intent could sometimes be physically felt if it was powerful enough at high levels.

Certain feelings, emotions, these things were broadcast by your soul and could be subtly picked up upon if you didn't guard yourself.

It was this sixth sense that allowed him to notice he was being followed, though he couldn't determine who or where.

And it was that same sixth sense that tingled now, instinctually letting him know he was in danger. He didn't make it all the way to the Seventh Layer by ignoring his instincts.

He hadn't heard or seen anyone. But he could sense a very subtle awareness.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Micheal flicked his wrist slightly, tapping on the Low-Tier Spatial Ring that could be found there. Immediately, a long steel blade appeared, held out in front of him as he stood up.

WHOOOSH

Micheal's room was lit by a lamp that was set on the plain desk. This light flickered and dimmed as a gout of darkness abruptly floated underneath his door, forming a vaguely human shape.

'A Shadowalker!' Michael instantly recognized the Ability.

The Shadowalker Type Ability cost 96,000 Points in the store. It transformed one's body, granting them higher Endurance and Recovery and a small increase in Strength, as well as giving them the special power to 'Shadowalk.'

A Shadowalker could morph their body into dark essence, invulnerable to regular blows. This essence was like a gaseous fluid, able to change shapes and moves through spots where regular humans could not.

Energy and light-based attacks could still injure Shadowalker's when they were in their essence form and the increase in Strength from the Ability wasn't as significant as many other Abilities. The utility of the Ability, though, especially on the First Layer where energy and light-based attacks were a rarity, couldn't be discounted.

'My Grandmaster Sword Mastery should let me injure him, but the damage will be greatly reduced when he's in his shadowy form.' Michael's mind raced ahead of him as he glared at the target. He didn't pause to question why he might be here, saving stray thoughts like that for later.

The Shadowalker's vague form coalesced into a complete human form, revealing a man wearing a full set of black clothes and a black mask, with several throwing knives strapped to them.

"I-" Micheal began but immediately cut himself off as the Shadowalker attacked. The shadowy figure's arms seemed to blur, being covered by darkness as he snagged a pair of knives.

"Huh!" Micheal threw himself down as he felt more than saw two black knives hurling towards his head. His already ached body tried to rebel as he forced himself into action, something he promptly ignored.

The knives narrowly missed him, slamming into the wall next to his bed.

"Hiyaa!" Micheal spun onto the floor and jumped up in a driving strike, leading with his blade. His eyes zeroed in the attacker, activating his Grandmaster Sword Mastery Ability. His every movement was guided with precision, shutting out the screams of his tired body. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead as a result, his eyes bloodshot.

WHOOSH

The black clothed man collapsed into a collection of vague shadows as he saw the approaching attack, a look of surprise in his eyes. Micheal continued with his strike unabated, his sword slamming directly into the shadowy essence of the fighter.

"Arrrrgh!" The cutting energy on Micheal's sword elected a pained scream from the Shadowalker as he was forced back into existence, blood bursting from a long cut on his arm. Shock and horror could be seen in the man's eyes as he was slammed backwards, crashing down hard on the wall of Micheal's room.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you, right here and now."

Killing intent flooded off of Micheal's soul in riveting waves as he glared at the Shadowalker, his Steelborn Sword a mere centimeter from the man's neck. Micheal's every cell was full of heightened awareness, his heart pounding from the excitement of the fight.

The shadowy figure trembled, looking at Micheal in complete disbelief.

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