Chapter 111 - ASH wants a word

Arga and I raced ahead, she led the charge with me running behind her. She was the first to rush the Barhemoth and brought down her greatsword on it.

The thick padded gem attached to its head crashed against her sword and the two were locked in a match of muscle. Arga was pretty strong, more so than most of the men I had seen in my life but even for her the Barhemoth was tough.

Her knees buckled slightly from the force and was forced back. I ran past along the side of the beast and when close enough, extended my hand to its side.

“Shadow Claw!” I shouted.

The claws dug into the beast's waist and tore through the large chunks of gems that protected it.

The Barhemoth flicked Arga away from it with a jerk from its head and turned to me. The large gems that covered its body lit up with a faint glow and the soft skin around its belly let out the glow of a raging fire.

“Brace for impact!” Arga yelled as she rolled off to the side.

I was too close to it to retreat, taking it on wasn't an option either. Luckily for me, I didn’t plan to do either.

Veldor stepped in front of me and braced his shield over his arm, ready for the attack. Loud heaves rushed out of the monster as it charged its beam and then suddenly–Boom!

A blast of energy shot forth and collided with Veldor’s defence. His foot dug into the ground and moved him back slightly. I felt the flickering beats of pressure that leaked past the gaps between his limbs.

That attack felt as though it had gone on forever, I could only imagine how it must have been for him to take it on like that.

The light subsided and the regular purple-blue glow of the tunnel had returned. Veldor dropped his shield and let out a deep breath as steam rolled off the surface of it.

“Nice defence!” I tapped his shoulder and ran past. With a quick sprint, I closed the gap on the monster and took a sharp step off to the side. “Arga–it’s all yours!” I signalled.

“Shadow Spike!”

The shadow attached to my feet stretched out under the Barhemoth and rose into the air in a pool of thin spikes that pierced its stomach. Trapped in place the monster thrashed about but ultimately couldn't budge.

The health wrapped around its head like a halo lowered significantly. It dropped down to nearly half health just from that alone. Without giving it a chance to rest, Arga charged in from behind and lunged into the air.

Her sword swung over her head and was sent crashing down on the monster's back. At the moment of impact, every shard surrounding the sword's edge cracked and shattered into fragments of its former solidity.

“Its defence is down, strike it now!” Veldor called out.

He drew his mace from his waist and charged in, I followed with both Chakrams in hand and dove in.

In a flurry of blows and strikes, we brought its health to zero and the monster fell. Once its body hit the ground I wiped my forehead from the sudden exhaustion that overcame me. We finally earned our rest.

“Whew~ we took that one down a lot faster than the others.”

{300 Exp gained}

{User has levelled up}

“Alright!” I smiled.

Not bad, it looks like I’m not the only one growing stronger. Arga’s already reached level 12 and Veldor is at 16. They’re progressing much faster, I wonder if it has something to do with my system.

Judging by how much I went up in my stats, it confirms my previous theory. Taking all that damage and recovering from it helped with increasing my health and defence.

{Rei Alos Lv15}

Strength – 43

Speed – 90 (+25%)

Vitality – 100

Mana – 110

Defence – 40(20)

Everything seriously shot up since my last level, I didn’t think it could improve this much between 1 level! If that’s the case, I might need to see more action. With how our formation is going, I’m not seeing much of the fighting. That being said…we’ve gotten much better since we started.

Veldor walked over. “I’m impressed, you guys adapted faster than I thought you would.”

He placed his shield over his shoulder to rest as he spoke. Not for a single second did he lower his mace though.

“I think we’re just getting into the groove of things, he-he.”

“Maybe…but even so, we got to the sixth floor a lot faster than usual. I doubt we’ve been gone very long, we should be able to reach the Eighth floor if we keep fights to a minimum.”

“The Eighth floor…we’ve never gotten that far.” My eyes lower.

I rubbed my knuckles gently as I thought it over. The open hand that hung under my eyes closed into a fist.

“No, you’re right. Let’s go!”

***

The ASH building had been packed with people that entire morning, somehow Kana found a moment of peace between her seemingly endless meetings and the piles of paperwork.

She caught her breath as the door closed behind her and the worst of the day had subsided. She pushed through and finished her work ahead of everyone else.

The cost? She had sacrificed breaks, blinking and many more luxuries that someone not in her position could enjoy.

She sunk back against the wall of the break room and dropped to the floor. All she did know was the few minutes she had managed to secure herself had finally arrived. There was no chance that she planned to waste them.

“Sigh…Finally done.”

The door suddenly slid open with a swift pull and a man dressed in a suit walked in.

“Miss Mills, there you are. Why are you sitting on the floor like that, don’t you have work to do?” The man asked.

Her boss had a firm look on his face, the same dull expression teachers gave students when they had no interest in finishing a class.

‘Not even a full minute…This job really sucks sometimes!’ Kana thought.

She stood up with a slight wobble and put on a fake smile. “Uhm–actually sir, I finished all my work already so I was hoping to get a quick brea–”

“Never mind that now! There are members of ASH senior management here looking for that adventurer boy of yours.”

“For Rei? What do they need him for?” She asked with widened eyes.

The man replied with an indifferent glare that turned Kana silent. She lowered her head a bit and walked out of the room behind him in silence.

Her mind raced at a horse's pace. ‘What do they need with Rei…and more importantly, why do I have such a bad feeling about this?’