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You have extracted from a person of extreme virtue.
A large portion of your humanity is restored.
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The glass vial shatters immediately after my last gulp.
Unknown prowess fills my body, stimulating my mana circulation rapidly. My heightened senses escape the confines of humanity. Every movement of my body defies logic and space, destroying the very surroundings into pieces.
The unleashed strength ejects a fierce shockwave that cracks the chamber.
Nevertheless, Darilyus' blade shoots through.
*BAM!*
One thrust turns into three strikes, I barely avoid each with lightning-fast back-and-forth manoeuvre. My arm whips at a frightening speed, my blade zaps several curvatures, and Darilyus blocks all attacks with his aura.
Darilyus throws several slashes aiming at my shoulder, my body weaves its way through before attempting a cut. Darilyus steps back, barely dodging my attack, and leaps forward with his sword at his hips. My senses scream in agony as if death is breathing down my neck.
My body leans back, almost stumbling.
*BOOM!*
One sweep of his blade erupts a drilling gust of wind rushing above my nose. It cuts a mark into the confines of this chamber. It was a serious attack done without aura, had he infused aura, this entire chamber might have collapsed.
...In the end, Darilyus is still attempting to subdue me without fatally injuring my body.
"I don't know what you took but the gap between a master and grandmaster cannot be closed with a mere potion," Darilyus says. "Surrender."
...
His absolute control of mana in the environment forces a large reliance on physique. Although because I extracted his mana control talent, I should be able to at least draw out my aura. I should find the right time and pretend I'm still affected.
"Do you still need time to think? Or are you not convinced?"
Tch...
I can't use my attributes or domain. The moment he fights me seriously, I will lose in an instant. What can I do-
"Your eyes tell a story of determination. You've not given up yet," Darilyus says. "I admit I underestimated you, you are the strongest peak master I have met. In a few years, it might even be possible to achieve the grandmaster realm as the youngest ranked swordsman in history."
He lowers his gaze. "Leave and become stronger. At your current strength, you can't fight against the mastermind behind this."
...
"Then what's the point?" I ask. "If the strength that I cultivate cannot protect the ones I love, why even fight? I don't enjoy doing this. I don't want to spend every second of my life killing someone's loved ones...You, of all people, should understand me."
Darilyus furrows his brow. "Say what you want, you can't deny your weakness."
I grit my teeth and charge towards Darilyus.
!
*CHING!*
Our blades clash, spilling fluctuations of mana running amok. The atmosphere trembles from our might.
"Then I will struggle until the end."
Our eyes lock contact as sparks of fiery dance.
Is it the effect of his "Unbreakable Fortitude" skill or simply my intense desire to save my family? I don't feel like giving up no matter what happens.
YOU ARE READING
A Background Character's Fate
Fantasy"In war, commoners are the victims in victory or defeat." Struck by poverty amidst a long and devastating war, an ordinary mercenary dies among the countless corpses on a snowy battlefield. Yet by a stroke of luck, he regressed to his younger self...
