Chương 29: Pugilism? (2)

(2) (2) Rowan looked down at the corpse beneath him, a grin on his face. He couldn't get what he'd done with the punch out of his head. It just felt amazing. The sheer strength of his body. He wanted to do it again. But he stopped and forced himself to think. As much as it felt amazing to be able to rely on his body like that, he knew it just wasn't that effective. It was like a strike from his mace, but with less force behind it.

If he were being honest, he thought he could achieve the same thing with the spiked weapon. The only thing that prevented his blows from sending his opponents flying back was that he usually hit down towards the ground rather than striking them head-on. The only advantage his body had was that it was quicker and more versatile, but in the end, it just wouldn't do enough damage, especially not against the bloodspawn; they were already resistant enough to blunt force that his mace wasn't that effective.

But what if he didn't need it to do damage? Rowan smiled as thoughts ran through his head. He didn't need his body to be the real damage dealer. And, if he was being honest, even if he had the stats to do so, he didn't think that it would be all that effective, especially since he didn't have any training or martial arts experience. But he could incorporate it into his fighting style as something else, couldn't he? Currently, he used mana projectiles and blades to fight, as well as his chains.

It was enough for him to be able to attack from both close and afar, while usually having something to fall back on in case things went wrong. But against enemies like the bloodspawn, who adapted to him, Rowan thought it would probably be good to add more to his arsenal. The more variety he had, the better. But, just then, he remembered something else: the necrotic poison that came from the fungal creatures. If he was going to be punching and kicking them, he would be striking the creatures with his bare skin.

What if they blocked with their claws? Then, he would end up punching the sharpened bones head-on. Rowan shook his head. There had to be a better way. Then, he looked at his chains. Infusing a touch of mana into them, he watched as they solidified. Then, he extended them slightly, just enough to wrap his hand. The links ran down his wrist and then looped around his palm and knuckles several times After a few seconds, it was like he was wearing a gauntlet of chains.

After a moment of thought, Rowan realized a better analogy was a hand wrap of chains. Like what a boxer might wear on their hands before a fight. He flexed his hand a few times, testing out the new grip of steel. It was surprisingly flexible and easy to maneuver in. But that didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt if he hit something. He thought his toughness might be able to allow his body to endure and avoid any cuts or serious damage from his own strikes, but he knew that it would still hurt terribly.

That was a price he was willing to pay. After all, he'd experienced and endured more pain since he'd been sent to the tutorial than ever before in his life. How bad could the pain of a few punches be compared to that? Even now, his left arm was fractured and mostly useless. But he could still endure. Still fight and kill the bloodspawn. And that brought him to his next problem: his arm. With the limb out of commission, fighting with his fists would be hard.

It was already hard enough when he was using a mana construct. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. But after a moment, Rowan realized that it wasn't really too big a deal. It would truly hold him back if he decided to fully commit to pugilism, but that wasn't what he wanted to do. He'd entertained the idea for a few moments, but now that the adrenaline of the fight was beginning to wear off, he realized that it wasn't what he wanted to do.

It had just been the feeling of victory and power of the single punch that had made him just want to do it again and again forever. Now, he knew that he just wanted it as an addition to what he already had. He could throw in a punch between mana constructs and chains. Rowan smiled. He supposed he was becoming something like a jack of all trades, wasn't he? Well, not of everything—at least not yet.

Still, the only reason he was still alive was that he had enough variety in his combat that the bloodspawn weren't able to adapt to entirely counter him. Or perhaps they just needed some more time. With a sigh, Rowan set off once more. He'd spent enough time daydreaming about what his body would be able to do. Now, it was time to actually test it out. First, though, he had to find an opponent.

— Rowan stood a dozen meters from another one of the regular—or at least as close to regular as the creatures could get—humanoid bloodspawn. It was level 6, and entirely unaware that he was there. For such a relatively low-leveled opponent, he had put a surprising amount of time into prepping to fight it. Still, most of that time had been spent properly wrapping his hand so that, hopefully, everything that might make contact with the beast was properly protected. Now, though, it was time to start.

He'd already spent the free point he'd gotten from his recent level up, putting it into dexterity. Rowan charged forward, not giving the bloodspawn time to react to or even notice him. At the same time, a mana construct that he'd formed earlier shot forward, stabbing into its side. Then, he was upon it. For a few seconds, he fought like he normally did, staying back and circling his opponent, waiting for openings.

They exchanged a few blows, and though Rowan thought he could probably overcome the creature with sheer strength now that his stats were so high, he didn't; he was doing this as a test, not just to kill more bloodspawn. He had a dagger floating alongside him as he dodged the beast's blows, darting in on occasion and drawing blood. But, as the creature lunged at him once more, rather than doing the usual, he ducked under and struck with his fist. His chain-wrapped hand made contact with the humanoid's chest.

There was a crack, and it stumbled back. Rowan hadn't put as much force behind the blow as he had against his previous opponent, so the bloodspawn wasn't knocked off its feet. Still, it was dazed, and he took full advantage of that. Before it had so much as a chance to recover, he was upon it. The mana blade was in his hand now, and he tore into the creature, leaving lacerations all across its torso and head. After a few more seconds, the beast, having regained its bearings, retaliated, forcing him back.

But it was only delaying the inevitable. It swung at him again, but Rowan dodged with ease. As its clawed hand moved past, he drove his mana construct into it, leaving a bloody trail and leaving it lodged in the creature's flesh. The bloodspawn screamed in pain and began to swing wildly, but he twisted around its blows and drove his fist upward with all his might, catching the beast's chin. Its head snapped back, and a second later, a second punch hit its stomach, sending it crashing to the floor.

A moment later, Rowan retrieved the dagger from its arm and drove it into the bloodspawn's head. With the strength of both his body and [Mana Manipulation], the blade pierced the beast's skull, putting a swift end to the fight. [You have slain Fungal Bloodspawn - Level 6] Rowan let out a breath. Incorporating his fists—or, for now, just fist—into his combat had worked far better than he'd anticipated. He'd half expected that it'd been a fluke with how it'd downed his previous enemy, but now he knew it wasn't.

It wouldn't be too effective on its own, but when he used it in concert with everything else, constantly changing how he attacked and making openings with his other tools, it was terrifyingly effective. And already, he wanted to test it more. During the fight, he didn't think he'd used his body to the best of his abilities. He wanted to see what it could really do. Now, all he had to do was find more enemies.