Usually, when defeating an enemy, Quinn's System would award him Exp. But during his last few fights, he hadn't even gained so much as a single point of Exp.
'System, what is the meaning of this?' Quinn asked.
"What, do you only like talking to me when you have a problem?" the man's voice asked. "Anyway, the answer is pretty obvious, don't you think? You've evolved, you're now Level 10, and your Exp threshold has reset. In simpler terms, those two opponents you just defeated are too weak for you, so you didn't gain any Exp."
Quinn cursed under his breath. It seemed like every time he was starting to get somewhere, and he felt like he was really making progress, the System would get in his way.
***
Back with Tsukuru and Erin, the surrounding boys watched, their jaws dropped, as the two repeatedly clashed blades. The two looked far beyond their level.
'It's not just that he's stronger,' Erin thought, her face tightened. 'He's faster, too.'
The daggers sold by the Shop in Tsukuru's System always seemed to favor boosting his Agility, with the Strength boost being secondary. And in the case of his new Intermediate-Tier daggers, they both granted him a "+6" to his Agility. Add that together to his 15 in the Stat, he currently has an Agility of 27.
Due to this, Tsukuru's movements were quite fast. The boys surrounding Erin were finding it difficult to keep up.
And while Erin could keep up, it took all of her concentration to do so. She felt like she was back home, training on her personal training bot on one of the greater difficulties.
As Erin's sword was blocking Tsukuru's two crossed daggers, Tsukuru began to tilt his left hand. He re-orientated the dagger in his left hand so the jagged, fang-like edges on the blade caught the edge of Erin's in its grooves. Like a sword breaker-style weapon.
Erin's eyes widened slightly as she felt her sword halt suddenly.
Tsukuru then lifted the dagger upwards, taking Erin's sword with it.
Erin strained to keep her sword where it was, but she slowly felt her arms being lifted upwards, revealing her abdomen.
Tsukuru then swung his right arm out in a horizontal slash. The slash cut into her shirt and created a surface-level wound.
Erin wincedimperceptively as she felt the dagger's blade nick her.
Her eyes widened slightly.
'He actually managed to cut me,' she thought.
However, then, she began to feel strange. The world around her began to slow to a standstill. It was as if she were perceiving the world in slow-motion.
'What…is…happening?' she thought.
Seeing Erin start to become sluggish, Tsukuru smirked.
'Looks like the Black Serpent's Venom is starting to take effect,' he thought.
As if to verify his assumption, a System messagepopped up in front of him.
[Passive Skill Venomous Bite is now in effect. Individual Erin Hayley is being affected by the Status Debuff Tachypsychia.]
Tsukuru then brought his right arm over to his left shoulder and lunged at Erin.
From Erin's perspective, Tsukuru looked like he was a slow-motion recording. She could see every frame of his movement as he swung his dagger in a diagonal slash to the right. However, her body was too slow to keep up.
Tsukuru watched as Erin slowly brought up her sword to block. But it looked like she was sleepy and lethargic. As if she were trying to move through viscous jelly.
Due to this, Tsukuru's slash landed far before Erin's sword was in position to block the strike. Unlike before, Tsukuru's blade delivered a fardeeper cut than before.
In the "Battle Mode" vision of Tsukuru's System, he saw Erin's "Health Bar" decrease by roughly twenty percent.
Tsukuru smirked. He then brought his left arm over to his right shoulder. A moment later, he delivered a diagonal slash across his left.
Erin's "Health Bar" went down by another twenty percent, reducing it to around sixty percent.
Erin grit her teeth in frustration.
'I can…see the attacks…coming,' she thought to herself. 'But my body…is too…slow to react to them!'
Tsukuru then crossed both of her arms and lunged towards Erin. Once he had gotten as close as possible, he performed a "cross-slash" at point-blank range. The two daggers cut deeply into her chest, slicing her shirt and making an "X".
Tsukuru saw Erin's "Health Bar" drop by another forty percent. She only had a tiny sliver of health left. A mere twenty percent out of one hundred.
'Just one more hit!' Tsukuru thought.
He wrenched his left arm back and then thrust it forward.
Erin felt a deep, piercing pain, and the dagger cut into her right rib. A moment later, she fell to the ground.
As Erin fell, a deep silence filled the immediate area.
"Holy shit," one of the boys muttered. "He…he did it. He defeated Erin!"
At the same time, a System message appeared in front of Tsukuru.
[You have defeated the Level 6 Ability User Erin Heyley. First time defeating a Level 6 Ability User. Bonus Reward: Instant Level-Up. You are now Level 10. XP: 0/102400
You have received 1 Stat Point.
You have received 1 Summon Point.
You are now a Level 4 Ability User.
Your MC has increased. MC: 100/100.
Your Infantry-Rank Elite Pawn Grade Haunted Knight has received 1 Pawn Point.
Pawn Points: 7/15
Your Infantry-Rank Elite Pawn Grade Harpie has received 1 Pawn Point.
Pawn Points: 2/15
Your Infantry-Rank Pawn Grade Dark Elf has received 1 Pawn Point.
Pawn Points: 5/5
Your Infantry-Rank Dark Elf has been promoted from Pawn Grade to Elite Pawn Grade. Pawn Points: 0/15
Basic-Tier Elver Shortbow has been upgraded to Intermediate-Tier Shortbow.
+5 Strength, +7 Agility
Your Infantry-Rank Pawn Grade Hobgoblin has received 1 Pawn Point.
Pawn Points: 5/5
Your Infantry-RankHobgoblin has been promoted from Pawn Grade to Elite Pawn Grade.
Pawn Points: 0/15
Basic-Tier Hobgoblin Spear had been upgraded to Intermediate-Tier Hobgoblin Spear.
+7 Strength
Your Infantry-Rank Pawn Grade Amazon has received 1 Pawn Point.
Pawn Points: 5/5
Your Infantry-Rank Amazon has been promoted from Pawn Grade to Elite Pawn Grade.
Pawn Points: 0/15
Your Infantry-Rank Pawn Grade Metal Slime Spawn has received 1 Pawn Point.
Pawn Points: 1/5
Skill Hard-Light Projection is now Level 2.
Level 2 Effect: You can now create constructs consisting of up to twenty hexagons. Hexagons are now as strong as tempered glass.
You have received a new Skill.
New Skill Video Transmutation - Lv. 1 has been acquired.]
[Video Transmutation - Lv. 1
Ability-Exclusive Skill
Active Skill
Allows you to reconfigure existing matter. The more complex the alteration, the higher the MC cost.
Requires MC
You can only alter the physical structure of non-living, inorganic matter. You can change its shape, coloration, and number of original parts. However, you cannot change it from one form of matter to another, and it must retain its original weight. You must be in physical contact with an object to alter it.]
Tsukuru smiled seeing the System message. On top of him now being a Level 4 Ability User and gaining a new Skill, his last three Summons had been promoted to the Elite Pawn Grade, making them as strong as Intermediate-Tier Beasts. He had also leveled up his "Hard-Light Projection" Skill, which he had been neglecting lately due to how frail it was.
'Thanks, Erin,' he thought in genuine gratitude. 'You saved me from having to grind out another 8000 XP.'
However, just as Tsukuru finished reading the System messages, a new set of System messages appeared.
[You have completed your Main Quest: Reach Lv. 10. You have received the following rewards:
You have received a new Title.
New Title Video Emperor has been acquired.
Title Video Emperor has been automatically applied.
Title Effect:
All Video Summons can now speak, regardless of Grade.
You will now receive XP whenever your Video Summons defeats an enemy.
Skill Video Summon - Lv. 2 has evolved into the Title-Exclusive SkillVideo Legion - Lv. 1
You have received a new Title-ExclusiveSkill.
New Title-ExclusiveSkillFictional Summoning has been acquired.
A New System Function has been unlocked.
Auto-Recovery Mode is now available.
You have received 10 Summon Points.]
[Video Legion - Lv. 1
Title-Exclusive Skill
Active Skill
You can create and summon an army of intelligent, self-aware entities that can operate independently of yourself. Initially, summoning these entities has no MC cost, but respawning them requires MC. The amount of MC required scales proportionally to the Grade of the Video Summon.
Requires No MC
You can have up to 10 Video Summons active at a time.]
[Fictional Summoning
Title-Exclusive Skill
Active Skill
You can summon individuals from fictional media that you are familiar with as a General-Rank Summon. Initially, summoning a fictional entity costs 50 MC and permanently decreases your Max MC by 10. General-Rank Summons operates exactly like your Video Summons. To summon a fictional entity, you must establish contact with a video screen large enough for the entity to physically pass through, such as a TV or computer monitor.
Requires No MC
You can possess 1 General-Rank Video Summon for every 4 Video Summon Races in your Video Arsenal. General-Rank Video Summons start at the Knight Grade, and cost twice as much MC to revive.
General-Rank Summons: 0/1]