Without another word, the two clashed again. Gerald charged in a straight line while Grimm braced himself, muscles tight, claws glowing with dense mana as he raised his hands to guard.
Meanwhile, Gerald closed in quickly. His movements were bizarre, unstable, unpredictable. Grimm kept his stance low, eyes sharp, every nerve on alert.
Then he vanished.
One moment he was sprinting. The next, there was only empty air.
He went stealth.
Grimm however didn't flinch or panic. His expression remained calm, his eyes steady.
For a moment he looked like he was just standing there, waiting to be killed by the invisible enemy. But just as quickly, he moved. His hand snapped to the right, fingers clamping around a dagger that materialized mid-air, still coated in the shimmer of stealth. A heartbeat later Gerald appeared, frozen mid-strike, eyes wide.
"You…? You can see through my stealth?"
Grimm didn't answer. With Omnivision, this level of concealment was nothing more than a child's trick.
He yanked the dagger instead.
Gerald, caught off balance, stumbled forward — right into Grimm's counter. A clawed hand tore downward toward Gerald's skull.
The assassin reacted on instinct, throwing his arm over his head.
CRACK.
Grimm's claws cut through flesh and bone, driving Gerald backward. His arm hung by threads, fingers twisted, blood spilling everywhere.
But then, as fast as it fell apart, his flesh writhed as bones snapped back into place. Veins reconnected.
And just a heartbeat later, the mangled limb was whole.
Grimm didn't panic. He'd watched that healing a few times now... but this confirmed something with this.
Even with that regeneration, Gerald still shielded his head first. That meant he could die. The healing wasn't perfect.
If Grimm landed one truly fatal blow, the fight would end.
But Gerald wasn't planning to give him the chance.
The assassin's lips peeled into a wild grin. A broken laugh spilled out of him, unstable and almost rabid.
"Heh… hah… this is thrilling," Gerald rasped. "Struggle more. The more you fight, the more I want to feed."
Grimm's expression tightened.
From the outside it looked like he was pushing Gerald back with sheer force. In truth, he knew he was at a disadvantage. Gerald recovered instantly. Grimm didn't. Worse, his mana was draining fast—Vicious Edge ate through his reserves every second it stayed active. He didn't know Gerald's limits, but he knew his own. If this dragged on, he'd run out.
But there was still a sliver of hope.
He pulled open his Status window and dumped forty points into Intelligence, raising it to sixty-eight.
Mana surged.
His reserves refilled in a single refreshing wave.
He didn't linger on the feeling. He dropped the remaining six points into Focus, raising it to twenty-three. His senses sharpened. The world around him clicked into finer detail.
He closed the window and lifted his claws.
His mana felt full again, but he knew he couldn't drag this fight out. If he let it drain a second time, he was done.
Time to finish it.
Gerald blurred.
He reappeared in front of Grimm twice as fast as before.
"Fast—!"
A dagger sliced toward Grimm's neck. Instinct yanked him into a duck that narrowly saved his head. Steel tore through the space where it had been.
Gerald didn't stop. He followed through immediately with another slash.
Grimm raised a claw to block—
CLANG.
His arm went numb from the impact.
"What—?"
His eyes widened. Gerald's strength had spiked.
Grimm activated Omnivision—and froze.
---
[Gerald Milton]
- Rank: Wood
- Level: 15 (Abnormal)
- Profession: Assassin
- Talent: C-Rank [Phantom]
- [Vitality: 0%]
- [Mana: ???%]
Stats:
Physical:
[Strength: ??? | Endurance: ??? | Agility: ???]
Mental:
[Intelligence: ??? | Focus: ??? | Perception: ???]
---
Note: Subject has entered a deep state of Abnormality. Mental stability collapsing. Cognitive function deteriorating rapidly.
---
"What…?" Grimm whispered.
His level went up? Two whole levels—right in the middle of the fight?
No wonder every strike hit harder.
But then his gaze dropped to the bottom.
Vitality: 0%.
That shouldn't be possible. Anyone whose Vitality hits zero died. Yet Gerald was moving. How?
Unless… His eyes widened.
That dark energy. Was it responsible?
He activated Energy Vision without hesitation.
His breath caught.
Gerald's white mana was gone—replaced by murky, polluted energy that spread through his body like ink flooding water. It wrapped around his organs, his bones, his heart. Every inch of him.
Grimm's thoughts raced.
His healing must come from that dark energy. But was it only repairing the body without restoring Vitality?
But that didn't line up. Earlier, when Gerald healed his dislocated shoulder, his Vitality shot back to one hundred percent. That contradicted everything.
Grimm clenched his teeth.
Nothing made sense. But there was one clear upside.
The dark energy wasn't only a power source. It was corrupting Gerald's mind.
A collapsing mind was easier to handle than a stable one.
Or so he thought—right until Gerald lunged.
Grimm twisted aside, a dagger skimming past his cheek. There was no hesitation anymore. No technique. Gerald attacked like a starving beast, every move wild and murderous.
They clashed—mana claws against steel.
The air shook around them.
And Grimm realized how wrong he'd been.
A crazed opponent who didn't care about his own life was far worse than a rational one.
Grimm feinted left and slashed right, opening Gerald's chest. Blood sprayed. It didn't matter. The flesh rewound instantly. Gerald charged again, smiling like a man possessed.
"INTERESTING—! Yes! Feed me—! Feed your life to my growth!"
Their blows thundered through the clearing. Grimm started taking real damage—deep cuts, bruises, pain blooming everywhere. For the first time since entering the Tower, hopelessness crept in.
An opponent he couldn't kill.
A mana pool that was draining rapidly.
A body beginning to slow under mounting injuries.
Was this where he died?
But then—
Gerald stopped.
His whole body jerked. His face twisted, eyes bulging.
"G—ghh—! What did you do to me—!?" he choked, clutching his abdomen. "It burns—! Why isn't it healing!?"
Grimm blinked.
What was he talking about?
Then it hit him.
Vicious Edge.
Besides forming mana claws, the skill injected enemies with vicious internal energy that shredded them from the inside.
He had never noticed because no fight had lasted long enough since he acquired the skill.
But now it did. And it showed its value at the perfect moment.
A precious opening.
One he planned to use well.