Chapter 60: Lifeblood

Chapter 60: Lifeblood

As the last of the crystal dust faded away, Tom found himself staring down the Abyssal Lurkers battered form.

To say he was horrified was perhaps, an understatement; especially since he didnt quite know what he was supposed to be more intimidated by the fact that Alephs [Shardlock Execution] had punctured two dozen holes into the Lurkers chest, abdomen, upper arms and legs or the eerie realization that the Boss Monster of Sector 6 still doggedly stood on its feet.

Its breath was raspy and blood all but poured down the three to four inch deep perforations but the Abyssal Lurker was most definitely standing.

Tom shot forward without hesitation, letting his instinct tamp down on his hesitation. The opportunity that lay before him was one born out of both his and Alephs collective efforts. If he hadnt dominated the Lurkers attention, then Aleph never would have gotten a chance to encase the creature in her [Shardlock Execution]. Conversely, without her he never really had a chance at actually killing the creature it was a boss monster, which already put it leagues above any other creature he had fought up until now and it was probably ten levels above him.

That wasnt a difference that could be made up by resolve alone.

He could feel the strain his own movements exerted on his muscle fibers, his Physical Stat straining to keep pace with the agility and reaction time his Proprioception Stat demanded.

Already committed to follow through with the strike, Tom noticed that the Abyssal Lurkers reaction time was noticeably slower.

That was precisely the kind of opening he had been waiting for.

Tracing the arc of his own blade, Tom observed as his blade slipped under the Lurkers right blade arm.

Tom immediately winced as his Nether Blades rend made contact with the Lurkers flesh the resistance so strong that he felt as if he was trying to scratch across a large boulder with the tip of his sword.

Even then, he refused to let up.

The Abyssal Lurker didnt even utter so much as wince in pain as a long, but ultimately shallow rent was carved across its abdomen.

Tom had been expecting and indeed, was even used to this magnitude of resistance from the Lurkers incredibly durable body.

But now

Where there was one strike, a second followed.

Each strike he carved into the Abyssal Lurker only made it difficult for it to react to the next.

He was so focused on avoiding the threat from the blood poison upon its blade arms that Tom didnt see the quick leg kick aimed for his abdomen.

The air was knocked out of his lungs as he was sent reeling back. It was all Tom could do to make sure that his gaze didnt waver, silently watching as the Abyssal Lurker jogged to cover the distance between them.

Instinctively, Tom raised his Revenant Claw and let a gout of flame explode outwards. Initially, it seemed like the Abyssal Lurker was about to dodge, but at the last movement it seemed to willingly slow down and walk through the continuous stream of flames he was outputting.

Tom knew that something was wrong, but at the same time he couldnt stop his [The Flame] card until he caught his breath.

The impasse ended a few long moments later, confronting Tom with the realization that he had been played.

As steam rose off the Lurkers stony skin, blood had largely stopped leaking out of the puncture wounds focused near the chest and abdomen. His own flames had been used by the sly creature to cauterize its wounds, infuriatingly enough.

But

It also gave him an avenue of approach he had missed in the heat of the battle.

[For killing a Dungeon Boss ten levels above you, you have unlocked Feat: Invictus. Upon facing enemies that are at least five levels above you, Physical, Mental and Proprioception stats are increased by five for the next sixty minutes.

This Feats buff refreshes every twenty four hours.]

[Name: Synrak Veralis Thomas Lowe.

Age: 18

Soul Card: The Flame [Level 6] The Fool [Level 9] [984,224/2,750,000)

Feats: Nether Slayer I, Invictus.

Statistics:

Physical: 14 (+1)

Mental: 16 (+1)

Proprioception: 30 (+1)

Soul Power: 87/87 [95]

Free Points: 40

Skill Upgrade Point: 6]

[You have received the Uncommon Ranked Card,Level 1 Lifeblood. Would you like to add [Lifeblood] to your Deck Cards? Doing so will temporarily deduct 5 Soul Power for the duration you have it added to your deck.]

Yes, Tom hurriedly replied as his hands trembled with exhilaration.

An Uncommon Card.

A card that the denizens of the Nameless District would kill for. A Card that even lesser Nobles would find themselves vying for.

The first powerful card that he had truly, undoubtedly earned with his own ability.

Aleph had intervened, yes.

But it was Tom that had created the opportunity.

It was him who had staked his life to fight the Abyssal Lurker even though he was far from its match.

And ultimately, he was the one who landed the finishing blow.

And the Divine System agreed.

For once, Tom felt like he had been rewarded for his efforts.

And then he shot forward without reading his new cards description, before Aleph was overrun by Abyss Demons.