Essence Code

However, he wouldn't let himself be proven as an embarrassment in front of the others. He furrowed his eyebrows as his hand clasped the claw that hooked itself in his body, quietly groaning as he slowly drew it out. 

Blood poured from his own, painting the ground below him a cordial crimson. His face crunched as the pain flared out in wild pulses. 

Leon, who finished his third wolf, sighed and looked back to Cale.

He didn't bother looking at Ardyn or Lapis as he knew with complete confidence they'd be fine.

He quickly registered the current circumstances of his fight but stood there motionless.

His eyes stayed fixated.

Cale's efforts came to fruition as the claw gave away, finally allowing him to yank it out like a corkscrew, causing a torrent of blood to shoot out of his side.

Indifference overcame pain, and his mind remained composure in battle. He wasn't aware that Leon was monitoring him; his mind was locked on the fact that he was in a life-or-death situation.

He whipped his arm forward, and the claw disappeared from his hand.

In front of the wolf, the claw flickered into existence, and time seemed to dilate to not even a hundredth of a second as the claw penetrated the mushy skin shielding its head. It slowly rotated counter-clockwise, the momentum and shape allowing it to flawlessly rotate with high velocity, shredding its face to smithereens as it continued to its brain, cutting it into small pieces of meat before exiting the back of the head.

The other wolf arrived at Cale's injured state, the mindless monster completely ignoring the gruesome death of its companion.

Cale, who seemed to enter a flow state, utilized his elbow to pivot his legs behind him, building on this action to leap to his feet just in time for the wolf to slash its paw across its body, narrowly zipping by Cale.

Cale lunged forward, using his body weight to bash the beast back to create space between the two.

Following the process in his mind, the beast stumbled backward. The fact that its paw was extended only left 3 points of balance, further increasing the effectiveness.

Cale quickly scrambled to his side, kneeling down to finally grasp the hilt of his sword again.

The wolf ran onward, lifting its paw to slice downward like an executioner's axe. Cale's eyes tracked the paw smoothly, all the way down to his head, where he comfortably moved it out of the way, substituting where his head was with his blade.

It made contact, firmly repelling the attack back in the air, leaving the wolf's stomach area wholly exposed. Switching his grip on the blade, he flipped the sword so the pommel faced the wolf.

Cale swung his arm forward as if he wanted to elbow the beast instead of cutting it down with a sword.

The blade flew forward, on track for the chest of the beast. It could only snarl in rage as it was left defenseless.

Leon, who was curiously observing while being courteous to detail, cocked his eyebrows, an expression of surprise painting his face. 

While he observed, his mind was like a sponge and supercomputer.

Each second of the battle was like a photograph imported into his mind, which he seamlessly broke down and analyzed.

'What is it that makes him good?'

'Combat Awareness?'

'Ability to make the best decisions at the moment?'

'Willing to endure immense pain to gain an upper hand?'

'Is his talent for combat so dormant that in simple fights like this, his efficiency skyrockets each fight?'

No matter what possible answers he formulated in his mind, the cogwheels in his mind didn't seem to turn, and when one jammed, the rest did.

Before he could think further, Cale's blade cut through the beast's chest, falling forward in the process.

Next to him, the beast also fell. The only difference was it was limp.

Cale instantly jumped to his knees, only to sigh in relief as he realized he killed it.

He closed his eyes as the gratifying feeling of emerging victorious in battle washed over him, making all the pain and fatigue afterward worth it.

The familiar screen appeared despite his eyes remaining shut.

[You have exiled a Evolved Mutated Wolf]

[You have exiled a Evolved Wolf]

[You have attained a Passive Skill]

[Check Skill Tab for More Information]

Cale was exhilarated to read the words displayed in front of him. Nonetheless, the adrenaline drained from his bloodstream, unleashing a surge of fatigue to assault his body.

Lapis smiled. He had already dispatched the two wolves he had fought after Leon had finished. 

He sighed inwardly, nodding in approval as he peered at Leon, who returned a gaze.

Leon was unsure what to think of Cale, as the reason he was winning was still a mystery to him. The only things he could think of were that he had a skill that didn't have to be activated or that he had previous combat training.

'He wasn't slow or uncalculated. He yanked that thing out of his hip without hesitating. Maybe he can't feel pain?' 

Leon shook his head, 'That doesn't sound right.'

He looked back up to the figure of Cale, who fell backward, the onslaught of fatigue winning over his will. 

Leon smirked and walked over to him. Cale barely opened his eyes to see Leon trotting over to him.

"So, despite what I thought, you didn't need my help."

Cale returned a smile in response, too tired to even respond to him.

"Why do you think you won?"

Cale's mind halted briefly, and his happiness disappeared, replaced by a wandering sense of curiosity.

Now that he thought about it, he was outmatched in every way but intelligence.

Strength, speed, agility, durability, hell, even skills. 

Not to forget, he was also outnumbered. 

Was it endurance? After all, they were reeling from one attack; he simply pushed through with pure grit, even pulling out the claw to use as a weapon.

Cale wasn't sure why he won. That couldn't be the reason.

Leon looked at the sky, "I think you have a very special knack for combat, Cale."