Chapter 9 : Taking Them Down

The leader of the trio stared at the gloves on Lucas' hands, thinking they were the reason for this strange turn of events. In truth, he was somewhat correct.

[[ Craftsman Gloves : Gloves suited for one pursuing the path of a craftsman. Heat-resistance, penetration-proof, shock-absorption, burn-resistance, and elemental resistance guaranteed. A certain level of strength boost and increased hit-rate is also applied. ]]

This was the description Lucas had seen when he was studying the gloves in his inventory.

Although the gloves looked like those of a blacksmith, both its name and description implied that the former was nowhere on the same level as it. From a surface glance, the gloves didn't seem to be any weapon of any sorts, but Lucas could see beyond just that. The strength boost advantage was clear but the shock-absorption feature could also aid in battles if used well. It made the gloves essentially an attacking and defending item, and since it was a product of the system -which was an entity that orchestrated his previous transmigration- it would definitely be more than ordinary.

Also, Lucas' current body was that of the 21-year old Yohan from his first life, and apart from his magical powers from back then, his current body retained every characteristics from the time, including his physical prowess. Although young, at the time, Lucas was quite strong and had dabbled a bit in physical development.

When it came to mastering mystical energy, physical development would always be the first step. This was obvious even in this world where the Body Strengthening stage came first. Even with the improvement of the human species to become hyumans, they couldn't jump right into manipulating or storing stellar energy in their body, and still had to make proper preparations. These preparations were the five levels of the Body Strengthening stage.

Lucas' current body had physical strength comparable to someone who just began the second level of the Body Strengthening stage, the Muscle Refining step. With the strength boost from the gloves as well as an element of surprise, it was no shocker that he took down the man in a few moves.

"Get him."

Although their companion had been defeated, the leader didn't fret and took it as a slip-up from their side. He was still confident in capturing Lucas.

Having received the order, the man on the right charged at Lucas just like his partner from earlier, but this time around, he took the latter seriously.

Even though he had lost the element of surprise, Lucas still wasn't scared. He had a few cards up his sleeve, and from how he saw things, there was no way he would lose.

"Ha!"

The attacker released a shout as he pounced at Lucas, blasting a fist in his direction.

Lucas dodged the attack and maintained his distance from the attacker. His strength might prove to the task, but this didn't mean that Lucas' other abilities were on par with his opponent's.

The man delivered a forceful kick right after which forced Lucas to block with his arms and didn't suffer a loss. On the contrary, he grabbed the leg, offsetting his opponent's balance.

The leader who stood behind raised an eyebrow in surprise, but how would he know that Lucas' gloves could absorb the force from any blow?

While holding the man's leg, Lucas tightened his fist and let loose a punch right at the knee.

Crack.

"Ahhh!"

The man cried out, but Lucas ignored him and rained down a turret of fists on the same knee.

"Ahhh!"

The man let out a hideous cry, looking rather pitiful as his leg got bent in an outrageous position.

Lucas coldly glanced at the latter and still didn't let go, drawing him closer and striking another blow at his face.

After two more hits, the man was similarly knocked out, and Lucas finally let go of him. But at that moment, a deadly sensation swept towards him.

Lucas hurriedly took a step back to avoid the attack, but his senses still ticked him off as he turned on his heels and moved to the side.

Poom.

A low rumble was heard as the punch from the assailant released an explosive force comprised of compressed air.

"Good instincts." The leader of the trio commented, as he stared at Lucas like a predator facing off against prey.

Lucas inwardly let out a sigh of relief. He had underestimated the fighting ability of this group, seeing as they were still unable to truly utilise stellar energy. However, that didn't mean they were weak or without some skills. For instance, the move used by the leader was one where the user would release a blast of compressed air, which could only be done by someone who is both incredibly strong and fast.

The leader of the trio was at the third step of refining in the Body Strengthening stage; the bone refining stage.

The Body Strengthening stage focused on tempering the body and enhancing its physical nature. This was, in essence, setting the foundation for one to truly begin absorbing and storing stellar energy in their body. The first step focused on tempering the flesh, the second on the muscles, the third on the bones, while the fourth was dedicated to the organs, with the fifth dealing with the blood vessels, nerves, and the blood.

Through this method, the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, musculoskeletal, endocrine, nervous, and all other systems of the body would have the appropriate foundation to ensure that no harm is done when storing stellar energy in the body. They would also experience a large increase in physical attributes.

At the bone refining stage, the focus is on the two hundred and six (206) bones of the human body, and when completed, with the prior muscle refining stage in mind, the boost to physical abilities like speed, strength, and endurance becomes staggering. Although one wouldn't be at the stage of moving at the speed of sound or something as insane, their speed and strength could easily top any of the best Olympic athletes in history. Their average punch could even reach as high as 150,000 units [2], so one could imagine how powerful their blows become when they are serious.

While the man had yet to complete the bone refining stage, his punching power was nonetheless incredible, especially when he became serious.

"You should have just come with us quietly." said the man as he withdrew a dagger from his side.

This was the weapon Lucas had seen back then, which reminded him of magic weapons from his first life. Although the weapon was a lot weaker, it still contained a hint of the ever-mysterious stellar energy, making it far more deadly than an average dagger.

With the dagger in hand, the man lunged at Lucas and thrust forward.

'Fast.'

Despite having created what he felt was a safe distance away from the latter, Lucas felt like he had underestimated the man's prowess, and the latter closed the gap quickly with the threat of the dagger looming right in front of him.

He hurriedly brought his right hand in front of him, opening his palm and grabbing the dagger.

The man sneered as he thrust the weapon forward. While he had some suspicion that the gloves weren't ordinary, what he had in his hands was a stellar vestige—a weapon made with stellar energy infused. Despite the dagger not being a military-grade vestige, it was far better than a normal blade. There was no way the gloves on the young man, which had no trace of stellar energy, could even face off against his dagger.

'You're dead.' The leader thought as all he could envision was a splash of blood from Lucas' hand.

Tink.

The dagger got caught in between the gloves, not moving an inch further.

"How?" The man was shocked silly by this.

How could an ordinary looking glove remain intact despite being stabbed with a vestige by a third level Body Strengthener?

Lucas had already been expecting this to happen; after all, this glove was a gift from the system and had the attribute 'penetration proof'. After seeing the effect of the shock-absorption attribute, Lucas had no doubt and was never scared from the start.

Gripping the dagger tightly within that one second, Lucas punched out with his other hand, aiming at the right side of the man, right where his liver ought to be.

Bam.

A liver shot [3] connected.

The man opened his mouth wide, yet no scream could be heard, as the pain he felt at that moment was horrendous. Even with his prior body tempering and so on, that punch dealt an insane amount of damage. He was still at the bone refining level and had yet to have his organs refined, so the weakness still existed.

However, he was still a Body Strengthener of the third level, so one punch alone was still unable to take him down. Lucas seemed to have realised this as he let loose another left hook.

Bam.

With the second shot connecting, another inaudible moan escaped the man's mouth and he seemed close to crumbling but was still on his feet.

Bam.

The third punch connected, and this time around, it did the job as the leader collapsed to the ground while passing out at the same time.

If someone were to have told him earlier today that he would meet a young human who would first escape his assault but later face off against his men, defeating two of them, stopping his attack, and finally taking him down, the man would have laughed it off as the joke of the century, but yet, such had happened.