Chương 121: B2 Chapter 40

The Fracture didn't let them rest for long. Whatever had restricted [Vitality Stream] stopped working long enough for Hakon's wounds to stop bleeding when the air shifted again.

"There's a time limit," Ava cried out, scrambling to her feet from her cross-legged position.

"Is your Core full?" Hakon asked, but the look he received in return was enough of an answer.

"No? You need to improve your [Meditation]." Ava's lips parted, but he waved dismissively just as the doors opposite them opened once more.

"Hit me with your mana bolts."

"What?!"

"Just do it!" Astrid was the first to react. She punched Hakon in the chest, her aim impeccable. No vital spot was hit. Instead, his mate focused on Hakon's muscles. And yet, while her hits were tough, Astrid didn't hit him often enough in one spot to affect his movement or combat strength.

"W-What are you doing?" Ava gasped, eyes trailing Hakon as black and blue bruises formed all over his body. At the same time, his Runeskin flared up. Hoard Impact absorbed a portion of the incoming impacts, empowering his body ever so slightly. The strain increased with every punch, but so did the power surging through him.

"The impact makes me stronger," Hakon explained between two grunts. Then, as the first creature stepped through the open gate, he channeled a trace of mana into [Split Focus] to reactivate [Aether Spiral] as well. Recovering more mana was his priority, and it looked like he could afford to divert his attention to several things. The 2nd Wave did not consist of a group of 2nd Ascension Asquires, after all. [Skeleton Warrior – Middle Threat] [Skeleton Warrior – Middle Threat] [Skeleton Warrior – Middle Threat] …

[Inspection] picked up all the enemies, neither of which was a High Threat. Then again, he'd never heard of Skeleton Warriors. Bony structures stepped out of the gate in a flood of chaos, their numbers much greater than anticipated. They were shambling messes, slow-moving, and their bodies, bearing neither skin nor flesh, inched closer. Flames burned in the eye sockets of more than a dozen foes as they redirected their focus to the living waiting for them on the other side of the Grand Coliseum.

As soon as the Skeleton Warriors located them, the slow-moving bundles of bones rushed ahead, rusted swords and spears resting in their bony fingers.

"Oh no…" Ava cried out, while Astrid shot forward, daggers flashing in her hands. Blood Fury's accumulated power seeped into the daggers that raked across the first Skeleton Warrior to enter her range, only to get repelled. One of the blades got stuck between two ribs, forcing Astrid to release it. Instead of cutting through the Skeleton Warrior, the Barbarian woman was forced to punch and kick it before pulling back as more Skeleton Warriors caught up to her. Hakon hadn't moved up to Astrid.

He watched her dance across the arena, distracting the Skeleton Warriors. They surrounded her and continued to charge, slashing and stabbing at her. Several cuts covered Astrid's body, but the blood flowing down her arms and shoulder only granted her strength and speed. Blood Fury's hue grew denser, only to be consumed by her first Runeskin, enhancing her flexibility enough to evade even more attacks.

"A-Are you not going to do anything?!" Ava screamed at Hakon, tears welling in her eyes.

"Should I?" He glanced calmly at the little human, discarding the stress he'd felt earlier. After the 1st Wave, his biggest worry had been the thought of fighting half a dozen Asquires. Given how much mana and Will had been wasted in the fight, dealing with more Asquires would have been troublesome. The Skeleton Warriors, however? They may cut through skin and flesh, but Astrid would never fall to them.

"She's only using her Ancient Power to deal with them," Hakon added before Ava could say something.

"So? She's injured. Just look at her. She–..."

"Astrid is doing fine. She's improving some of her Skills. Can't you see that?" He cut her off, disappointment seeping into his voice. Ava likely wanted to say something, but the way she looked at the dozen Skeleton Warriors trying and failing to injure Astrid after a while made her stop. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Now, stop wasting your time and hit me with some mana bolts," Hakon ordered.

"Also, tell me when you think Astrid's going to collapse. Shield her and I'll be there." That said, Hakon did not avert his eyes. He focused on the battle ahead of him, but not solely for his mate's sake. Astrid knew what he was doing, so he did the same. He trained, something he should have long since paid much more attention to. [Flow Observation] activated on its own, quickly followed by [Scent of Lifelight] as a particular movement caught his attention. Astrid darted to the left.

She didn't move many steps before rejoining the battle, fists clad in crimson as she broke a jaw and a set of ribs in quick succession. But it was not Astrid he focused on as much as the Skeleton Warriors. The creatures changed direction instantaneously. There was no hesitation, no curious tilt of the skull, no burst of rage as Astrid broke them down little by little. All Hakon caught was immediate action. Their feet struck the arena ground smoothly, every stride balanced and eerily efficient.

Astrid veered across the arena, testing her different Skills, her sweat-drenched face split into a vibrant smile, and the Skeleton Warriors followed behind. There was no anticipation or prediction from the warriors either. They merely followed the shortest path toward her, yet they did not fall over one another either. The Skeleton Warriors twisted their bodies unnaturally midair as a pair leaped above a warrior collapsing to the ground, their spines bending far beyond what a regular body would have allowed.

All that just to evade their brethren. They attack the nearest living creature. Hakon recognized that one of the Skeleton Warriors jerked to the left, toward where he and Ava stood. It didn't seem frustrated about its inability to kill Astrid and charged at him the moment the distance to him became shorter than the distance to Astrid. The difference wasn't even all that much, though it didn't look like that mattered. Tireless creatures that cannot be bothered with efficient kills.

There was no precision, let alone grace, in the Skeleton Warriors' attacks, and yet Hakon studied every little bit about them. Their attack pattern was repetitive, stamina-draining for any living being, and yet the Skeleton Warriors struck again and again. The lone Skeleton Warrior charging at him stood no chance. Hakon used [Swiftstep], moved around the heavy cleave descending toward his head, and conjured a warhammer via [Arcane Manifestation]. The Skill flared up as he grasped the blue-twinkling warhammer.

A Scripture popped up, but he was only interested in observing the Skeleton Warriors a little longer. Enhanced Comprehension told him that he was close to something. It pinged him relentlessly, telling him to change something ever so slightly, but all he could see was a moving skeleton. As for what he smelled… it was the dead. There was no other way to explain it. [Scent of Lifelight] informed him about everything he needed to know as he swung the warhammer, crushing the Skeleton Warrior's skull.

The impact shoved the skeleton to the ground, yet it did not dissipate like the Asquire. It collapsed to the ground, only to scramble back to its feet, its skull missing.

"Huh?" He let out a disgruntled grunt and struck the Skeleton Warrior again, shattering its neck and part of its left shoulder. That was when [Scent of Lifelight] triggered for the first time. A different smell reached him. Still like the dead, but more pronounced and yet different. As if life and death mingled with one another. Hakon leaned more into Enhanced Comprehension's sense of wrongness before tweaking whatever his senses were trying to tell him.

His senses weren't wrong, but according to his Ancient Power, they were not necessarily right either. There was more to it, and he adjusted his senses. At the same time, he continued to bash the Skeleton Warrior sprawling to its feet until whatever he smelled and sensed made more sense to him. Until a ball the size of his fist entered his view beneath piles of broken bones. It didn't look all that special at first glance.

Hakon almost ignored the dark, twisted ball, but the pulsing light of a sickly green hue made him stop. Among other things, his senses were screaming at him, telling him not to do anything stupid. So he did the only thing he could think of; he crushed the ball. After using [Inspection] on it, of course. [Undead Core (Awakened) – Refined] The Undead Core, as it was apparently called, crushed beneath the impact. There was some resistance, more than there had been from the Skeleton Warrior's bones, but that was it.

The creature fell apart, its body dissipating into blue mist.

"That was simple enough," Hakon called out, power filling every part of his body.

"Astrid is struggling!" Ava shouted before he could check out the new Scriptures popping up left and right. Dismissing the Scriptures for the time being, Hakon spun around to see Astrid weaving around a dozen attacks before the thirteenth hit her. She was covered in more wounds than before, and her movement had slowed considerably. Yet while she was much slower than before, her every movement was much more refined. She was not nearly in as much trouble as Ava made it look like.

Maybe that's what she perceives, he told himself, feeling into himself to confirm that he sensed much more than he did before. Still, hefting his warhammer, he pulled back and channeled his power into [Enhanced Throw].

"Hammer incoming!" Hakon shouted a heartbeat before hurling the warhammer across the Grand Coliseum. It whipped through the air with tremendous strength and speed, and it smashed through the masses of Skeleton Warriors, creating a small opening for Astrid to escape. She danced around the rusty swords and spears, emerged from the encirclement with a smile that barely did anything to conceal her exhaustion, but Hakon could tell that she was happy nonetheless.

"I want one of those as well!" Astrid exclaimed as soon as she reached Hakon's side.

"A warhammer? Your wish is my command," he said with a wink and conjured a pair of forging hammers with wide, reinforced heads.

"Two? I knew I chose the right mate." Astrid snickered as she reached for the weapons. Hakon expected her to make a run for it, but instead of pouncing back into the battlefield, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Wait a few heartbeats before you join, will you? One of my Skills is so close to upgrading!" He snorted at that and waved at his mate dismissively.

"Have fun out there." Astrid didn't waste a single moment. She took him at his word, spun around on her heels, and stared at the Skeleton Warriors rushing up at her with glee in her eyes. Next up, round two of Astrid against the 2nd Wave commenced.