Power of Runes

-Crash!!

As another beast fell to the ground, Ash tilted his head, his senses flaring, and at the same moment, a claw swept past his head, the sharp wind brushing against his cheek. Without any hesitation, he swung Eclipse. The blade cut through the Poisonous Dog as if the beast offered no resistance at all, splitting it cleanly in two.

But that was not the end, as four more beasts lunged towards him from the front while another five closed the distance from behind, their eyes glinting with hunger.

This is the largest group I have encountered till now.....

Until now, he had faced close to fifty D Rank poisonous beasts, all of which had fallen without much effort, but never had he come across a pack of Eleven Poisonous Dogs at the same time.

If Ash wished, he could have obliterated them instantly with a spell, turning the pack into nothing more than scattered remains, but that was not what he wanted. Doing so would defeat the very purpose of being here.

It is such a perfect moment to let me practice my sword.....

Even though he carried the class of a magic swordsman, he knew he was not living up to it. As he went deeper into this cursed place, the number of beasts would only keep increasing, and at one point, spells would become unavoidable.

That was why, while he was still only at the periphery of the area, he decided to dedicate this chance solely to the sword.

Ash adjusted his stance and steadied his breathing as he watched the movements of the beasts.

One lunged for his legs, another went straight for his head, while the two on either side released thick streams of poisonous fog from their pig-like noses, leaping in unison to trap him.

All of this happened in a single instant, the air itself turning foul as his vision became drowned in shades of green and purple. The poison seeped into his body and burned against his skin, yet Ash did not waver.

Instead of rushing forward, he shifted his weight and stepped back with nimble precision. His movement caused the two beasts from the sides to crash past each other, their claws raking only empty space before they turned back, eyes wild with madness. The other two missed their mark as well, but they, too, quickly refocused on him, baring their fangs.

Then suddenly, Ash enhanced his legs with a surge of mana, his body bursting forward with twice the speed of his retreat. The mindless beasts did not react in time and only moved with even greater ferocity, but just as they lunged again, Ash shifted diagonally, his blade already swinging.

The rightmost beast tried to spew poison across his path, its jaw snapping to bite down on Eclipse, but the sword flared with a strange energy that cleaved through the fog and the beast itself in a single stroke. Without losing momentum, Ash carried the swing into a wide arc, striking down another dog that had leapt too close, splitting its body open as blood sprayed into the poisonous haze.

With two beasts already dead, Ash did not slow down. He lunged at the remaining two that were less than a meter away, Eclipse sparking with streaks of lightning as his blade cut through both in one swift motion, their bodies falling lifelessly before they even touched the ground.

Nice.....

It took him another minute to dispatch the remaining five, who had already closed in dangerously. Their claws slashed wildly, their bodies lunging with mindless hunger, but one after another, they fell before his steady advance.

When the last beast finally dropped, Ash lowered his sword and exhaled slowly.

"That makes sixty kills, approximately..... I did not count the first few, so it might be a little less, or perhaps more....."

He muttered softly, his voice calm yet carrying a faint note of exhaustion, as his eyes swept over the field behind him. All that remained was a landscape of torn carcasses, the ground soaked in blood and poison, a scene that looked nothing short of a set taken straight from a zombie movie.

Meanwhile, Ash, whose whole body was in peak condition, had only burns scattered across his tracksuit, yet not a single mark touched his skin. Even his hair and face remained spotless, without a trace of the acidic blood that splattered all around him.

He had barely drawn on his true strength, nor had he relied on the overwhelming power of his body. If he did, then all this practice would lose its meaning.

But I didn't expect the Immunity skill to grow here.....

The poisonous fog continued seeping into him, spreading heat and irritation through his insides, burning him from within. Yet at the same time, his skill, Hundred Poisonous Immunity, was steadily refining itself, becoming sharper and stronger, perhaps even preparing to evolve into something greater.

The skill was of no real value, to be honest. Almost all the work was being carried out by the Rune of Life. The immunity skill itself was nothing more than words, a hollow title with little purpose.

Even if it evolved, the only change would be that he would stop feeling anything as the poison seeped into his body. In simple terms, his body would merely adapt to it.

"Let's speed things up... no more holding back. Otherwise, Ray will get ahead of me...."

After killing sixty beasts, Ash came to understand that there was nothing left to gain from restraining his strength any further. Holding back had only slowed him down, and it was not teaching him anything new. Growth would only come if he placed himself in an unfair situation, one where the battle pushed him to the edge and forced him to rise above it.

That kind of struggle could only be found against stronger enemies, which meant he had to reach the center as quickly as possible.

Yet a quiet fear stirred in the back of his mind. If he was too slow, then Ray might take away the chance to face those stronger enemies first, robbing him of the experience he desperately needed.

When Ash finally stopped restraining himself, his movements changed completely. Passing through the fog like a breeze, he unleashed the power of his affinities. Lightning crackled, life energy surged, and even space bent faintly as his sword cut through every beast in his path.

Savage monsters fell like fragile insects. Death affinity had yet to fully manifest, but there was progress. Soon, he would be able to wield it as naturally as life itself.

Though for that, he would need far more knowledge and the right books... another challenge waiting ahead.

As his pace quickened, so did his tally. From a modest 60, his kills soared to 200 within fifteen minutes, and the number only kept rising.

Meanwhile, deeper inside the choking fog, another boy of the same age was cutting through the monsters with even greater ease. He moved as though he were taking a casual stroll. Not once did he bother blocking claws or fangs. Every beast that rushed at him was sliced cleanly in half, as though a sword had taken the form of a human and was walking forward.

At that moment, Ray's attention wasn't even on the beasts. His eyes lingered on the glowing quest window, which demanded he clear out all monsters in the area, with no time limit.

The reward is too good... is the system actually happy or something...? Or is it a scheme...?

Ray thought idly as Aetheris cut down another savage beast.

It was his 300th kill. He wasn't counting... but someone else was.

{Damn, they smell horrible. Keep them away from me. Ugh, that was the 300th already. Use another sword, I'll allow it... BRAT!!!}

You're making too much noise....and it's not like you have a nose, nor can you smell anything, you are just irritating me, nothing else

{Easy for you to say. Try being in my place. It feels disgusting getting soaked in their blood. I would rather get soaked in someone else's blood, and I have no idea how you're enduring it.}

That's because the academy tracksuit has a smell-diffusion system. I'm not breathing it in directly. The stench is still there, but it's diluted for me... so it's bearable....

{Tch. Unfair...}

Ray chuckled softly. "There's nothing I can do about it. You're the only sword I have. The others break the moment I try using them seriously...."

{...}

Aetheris stayed silent for a moment before its voice returned, calm but firm.

{I don't think your system is happy. I think it simply believes you're strong enough to handle the weight of all your affinities. That's why it is granting such a reward.}

If you put it like that... it does make sense. Unlocking all the remaining affinities if I succeed here... that was beyond what I expected....

I had thought it would take me a long time before I could awaken them....

Ray's form blurred, becoming illusory as several beasts lunged at his previous spot. A breath later, he appeared behind them like a reaper in the fog, and with one swing, their lives were reaped.

{Exactly. But that also means your training will need to become even harsher. Otherwise, those affinities will weigh you down as a burden instead of lifting you as a strength.}

Yeah... I know....

Ray was even a little suspicious about the intentions of the system. After the scene with Ash, that doubt grew faintly in the back of his mind. Not too much, but enough to make him wonder. Why did the system help him? Why was he chosen in the first place? What exactly did it want from him?

Unknowingly, a seed of doubt had been planted deep within his heart. Yet still..... There was nothing he could do about it. The only choice was to keep moving forward and wait for the time to come when the truth would finally reveal itself.

****