Esdras could only moved his eyes around uselessly, he lost all other feeling of his body… or not, apparently he could still hear.
Unfortunately the sound that registered in his mind was of his incoming doom.
The Scavenger was an untiring machine with a singular goal, that being his elimination. It gave no heed to it's missing leg and crawled over to his slumped body.
There was no doubt he would be crushed to death or be added to one of the spikes on it's armored body. And yet even knowing this his body didn't respond.
Esdras was powerless to do anything to stop or move in any way, he counted in his mind and realized that the monster had not come for him even in two minutes.
Another excruciating minutes passed and Esdras began to feel feeling in his body. Once again, it was like sitting on a dead knee only his entire body was dead.
The first thing he did was take a deep breath when his body was paralyzed, he could still breathe, but in incredibly steady breaths that were out of his control.
He turned around to the noise coming from behind him, and saw the scavenger clawing at the wide open gate of the boss room and yet it was unable to pass through an invisible wall.
Esdras had managed to leave the boss room in the last minute, hoping that the boss will be trapped in the room. It was a gamble and the risk, however, at that time he had no choice but to take it.
Fortunately, his guess was right honestly, it was a close call.
That that, [Dulling mist] was is a very powerful skill it completely paralyzed him for three minutes. In a life and death battle that was no different from an execution.
It was an unexpected skill from the name alone he thought it might slow him down shouldn't be called [paralyzing breath] instead.
He had his own guess as to why it resulted in that effect this was likely because of the difference, in rank between him and the monster. Bing rank 1 He had no resistance to the skills of a rank 2 monster.
Perhaps a being of the same rank wouldn't have been paralyzed or at least not for that long.
In that bathroom just now he felt what it was like to go against a being of a higher rank. Despite his increased power and strength, he was outmatched by that monster.
In fact, if not for his passive skill [Vitality Lv.2] and he's abundant Vigor that fused with his body recently he would have been dead in a single strike.
Not that he was in a good condition right now in fact, many of his upper body bones were outright broken. Thankfully, he had a few health potions.
Enduring the pain wrecking his body he chugged two potions at once and decided to leave one for emergencies. Then he took one stamina potion and closed his eyes.
He brought few potions because he also got others things and because he had a limited amount of things he could carry. That will change once he was able to use his Storage ring.
Esdras couldn't go back to get more potions because the trip would cost him time, hours and he was afraid that the boss monster would return to full health if he was absent for too long.
But he had another solution to his problem. He was going to advance to the Vigor core realm right now. This breakthrough should elevate him to rank 2.
Fighting and winning above your own rank, was not an easy thing. It was not something simple or something that can happen every day.
Novels and anime made it seem like a joke but it was far from it. That is not to say it was impossible, rather very very difficult. He did deal some serious damage on his own just now, but it was not enough far from it in fact.
That monsters, body and strength along with inhuman physiology, made it true monster that was, without even mentioning its various abilities.
Esdras had no intention to test his luck again since he couldn't win the first time he decided to breakthrough at once.
Within a second he focused his mind and consumed 520 EXP at once reducing his stash to 319 EXP. but right now he could care less about any of that.
He felt the amount of vigor within him increase exponentially, his eyes started to glow with the sky-blue light of Vigor. But it didn't stop at that.
Suddenly his vigor started spinning faster and faster to the point where it left him dizzy. His muscles and bones started wriggling, his blood vessels expanding.
The vigor that once covered his entire body was all consumed by the vortex within him and suddenly and incredibly huge pressure was felt all over his body similar to when he was stomped on by that monster.
That pressure soon focused under his navel and with a terrible pain his flesh was cut and shaped into a small aperture. The vortex of vigor then compressed further and turned into a sky blue core within the aperture.
Esdras opened his eyes and wiped away his sweat. Honestly, it was useless because he was nasty right now in the fight with that scavenger he was covered with the blood of the many bodies that were crushed in that fight.
He stood up and took a look at his stats.
Name: Esdras Varthos
Race: Human (world wyrm)
Title: Pioneer
Rank: 2
Classes: 1) Apprentice mage Lv.2 (0/230 EXP)
2) Vigor core Lv.1 (0/720 EXP)
Physique: 5
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 3
Spirituality: 3
Mana: 0
Vigor: 6
Origin points: 5
EXP: 319
Mystical talent: 3 (0/8 OP)
Martial talent: 1 (0/2 OP)
Stat points: 7
Skill point: 5
Skills:
1) passive skills:
a) Vitality Lv.3
b) Veteran's hunch Lv.2
c) Third eye Lv.2
2) Active skills/ spells:
a) Penetrating Vigor Lv.1(0/50 EXP)
He ascended to rank 2 as expected, his stats also experienced a jump, his strength and agility only though which is understandable.