NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 103: UNLOCKING POTENTIAL
Brian, the Sword God, had been leveling up at a massive and fast pace. He felt extremely dissatisfied with himself—he had been unable to protect Elizabeth. Instead, he was the one who needed saving. She had almost lost her life because of him, just because he was weak.
"Hey, slow down, man. You need to take it easy, or you'll run out of stamina and jeopardize yourself," Stagnant Water called out to the distracted Sword God. But Brian was too far gone, his focus solely on getting stronger and killing demons to grow stronger.
"More, more, more!!!" The desperation on his face was clear. Slashing, stabbing, spinning, and kicking, Brian's concentration was at its peak. Truly, he felt like a war god.
Stagnant Water watched in awe. "Wow, he's this good? I guess all he needed was a little push to tap into his potential." For some reason, Stagnant Water was interested in the man Brian would become after finally achieving his potential.
"Two behind, three from the side, six from the front, one two meters away from me, a demon hanging on the tree, ready to pounce." Brian's brain was working at an extremely fast rate, anticipating every move a demon made. It was so fast it felt like he had premonitions, as if he could read the future.
"The demon is going to swing its claw at my back in a sneak attack. Spinning to block will waste too much stamina. Moving sideways will cause the attack to hit the demon trying to attack from the front," Brian reasoned rapidly. His thoughts flowed so quickly it felt like time had slowed down. He sidestepped, the demon at the back unable to stop its momentum. The attack hit the other demon preparing to strike from the front. The demon was surprised, realizing Brian had dodged its sneak attack.
Stagnant Water watched Brian's beautiful movements. His technique was perfect, making only the necessary movements when needed. Brian was like a puppet master controlling the battlefield, predicting the demons' moves so well it almost seemed like a scripted battle—a play with Brian as the invincible main character.
"Huff… huff… huff…" Brian breathed hard, corpses of demons littering the ground.
"Wow, that was refreshing to watch, Sword God. I even forgot we were a team and just stood here watching your beautiful display." Stagnant Water walked up to Brian and tapped his shoulder softly, admiration in his eyes.
"Let's go further. There's no time to waste. We need to level up as fast as possible."
"Hey, you need to take it easy, Sword God. You're pushing too hard, and I strongly believe it's going to hurt you if you keep this up. You need to recover your stamina," Stagnant Water tried reasoning with Brian, but Brian was too fixated on getting stronger to care.
"I'm going ahead. Catch up when you're ready," Brian stated, forcing his tired body up. The mental strain was great, but his resolve was stronger. He pressed forward.
"Hah, a human. So it was you."
A demon knight, level 50—two levels ahead of Brian—walked toward him and Stagnant Water, its killing intent running rampant.
"Don't even bother trying to escape. I'll make sure you suffer for killing my clan members."
"Sword God, he looks like trouble. Do you have enough gas left to face this big guy?" Stagnant Water asked.
"Hey! Where the hell are you going? We need to face him together! What happened to being a team, or do you just need me as a cheerleader?" Stagnant Water shouted at Brian, who was walking toward the demon knight, clearly intending to fight alone.
"Ohhh, you think a weakling like you can fight me just because you killed a few demons? Arrogance leads to only one path—death!"
The demon knight moved at top speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. It swung its claw, aiming to slash Brian's eyes, but Brian leaned his head back. The claw missed by an inch.
"Tsk! Your instincts must be pretty good," the demon commented, stabbing its claws forward. But with a quick sidestep, Brian dodged again. He retaliated, thrusting his sword at the demon knight's abdomen. The demon knight tried to stop its momentum, but it was too late. Brian's sword stabbed deep, causing critical damage.
"It seems I underestimated you," the demon knight muttered. It suddenly grew two extra arms and swung them diagonally in a cross, tightening its abdomen to prevent Brian from pulling his sword out in time and escaping its attack range. But with a backflip, Brian kicked the sword, driving it in deeper while dodging the attack.
"Arrogant piece of shit! I swear I'll kill you!" The demon knight screamed, its claws growing longer until they were the length of a sword—thin and pointed like a rapier.
"How can his claws be that long? Can he even use them?" Stagnant Water, once more relegated to a spectator, couldn't help but ask—though he was the only one watching.
The demon knight swung its elongated claws. The increased reach didn't seem to reduce its force, giving Stagnant Water an answer to his question.
Disarmed, Brian dodged the long claws with minimal effort, running straight at the demon knight until he got so close that the extended claws couldn't properly reach him.
Brian, now within striking distance, swung his arm for a punch. But suddenly, he stopped, planting his foot firmly on the ground. With precise footwork, he shifted his momentum sideways.
"Tsk! I thought I had you," the demon knight muttered.
Its claw bent unnaturally, stabbing at where Brian had been just moments ago.
"Huh? You… how dare you mock me!!"
The demon knight screamed, realizing it had been fooled—the sword once embedded in its body was now in Brian's hand.
"How dare you mock me!" The demon knight was furious. Brian had read his intentions so well while faking his own that the demon felt utterly humiliated—it was as if Brian were pulling his strings like a puppet master.