157 Breaking the Mask

The man wasn't using his full strength during the previous brawl. He only used a small portion of his skill; enough to make Emile feel stress.

The man began to combo Emile with his attacks. Each strike would push Emile back and leave room for another attack. The man took advantage of the room and attacked Emile multiple times in succession.

He lowered Emile's health down. The combos left Emile no time or room to strike back. The man knew how to combo without the opponent disturbing the combo with an attack. Emile retreated.

Emile was still in the enlightenment phase. Calm. Each move was out of instinct without a thought behind it.

Emile continued watching the man's movement as he homed into Emile. His strikes didn't leave enough room to attack back. Emile had to take the initiative.

His body attacked the man who grew closer. His sword maneuvered around the man's swift arm and pierced the man's chest. The man tried leaping back to avoid the attack, but Emile took a step forward closing the distance even more.

Having no weapons meant that the man didn't have enough range to hit Emile. He would have to get closer to Emile.

The man leaped forward to get a few quick hits on Emile. Emile used the blunt edge of the sword to block the attacks one by one.

Emile twirled his sword around and pierced the man once more. His sword was getting faster as his hand movement also grew swifter. A cause-and-effect relationship.

The speed was barely controllable by Emile. If he wasn't in the state of enlightenment, then his mind would believe that he was swinging randomly hoping for a lucky hit. The man couldn't keep up with as he Emile sped up.

These levels of speed were only a onetime thing for Emile. He would get to keep a fraction of his speed after the enlightenment ended.

Emile took control over the fight's tempo as unleashed his own combos onto the boss. Attack after attack.

Emile didn't use a single skill since he would have to think about which skill he would want to use. The normal attacks were enough to deal a lot of damage. The man continued getting pushed back and began feeling despair.

He noticed that it was an unwinnable fight, so the man ran away. Emile chased after the man. Emile's speed was higher than the man's which allowed him to catch up with ease. Emile struck at the back of the man with his sword causing him to bleed.

The man sometimes threw a punch back to catch Emile off guard, but nothing worked. Emile's sword never stopped moving as he continued attacking.

One of Emile's strike hit the man's mask. It was pure luck that got the hit. The mask cracked in half due to the mask being fragile and Emile having a modicum of strength.

The man's eyes were gray underneath the mask. That grayness faded away showing a dark brown colored eye. The man looked around confused and noticed Emile's blade coming towards him.

"Whoa! Stop dude," the man yelled out. He put his arm in front of himself and closed his right eye. He looked out through the left eye.

Emile broke out of the state of enlightenment as his mind resumed his past activities. He stopped the attack.

Emile cracked his joints in his fingers and gave a few stretches. He felt tired after everything he experienced.

[Sword Speed +20%]

The system gave him an announcement after it sensed him going back to normal. The only reward he got was the increase in his sword speed. That reward wasn't something to look down upon.

A small increase in speed could allow him to attack over one time before the enemy could attack back. His speed allowed him to attack in openings he would have never thought he could reach in time. There were so many benefits to having more speed it could take an entire chapter describing each method.

Emile didn't let the enlightenment that disappeared stop him from ending his combo. He continued striking his sword at the man. He wouldn't feel remorse for someone who has killed before. The man rolled out of the sword's way just in time before death. He wanted to talk to Emile.

"Dude, let's talk. I'm no longer possessed," the man said as he put his arms ups. He acted friendly.

"Who possessed you?" Emile asked. The word possessed intrigued him.

"The Dark Ones. That mask controls our deepest and darkest thoughts and acts on them. No matter how minor those thoughts might have been. As long as you thought them, they would be your motivation," the man said.

"What was your darkest desire?" Emile asked. He was stepping into private territory, but the man didn't seem to mind.

"I hoped to kill a certain group of people. Those people killed my mother when I was younger. She was my only family member during my younger years," the man said as he clenched his fist.

"Sorry for your loss. So, the mask took control over that desire and made you kill people who are innocent? Am I correct?" Emile asked. He wanted to see if he was correct.

"Yeah, that's what happened," the man said. He wanted to walk up and give a handshake, but Emile moved out of the way. The man backed off after Emile walked away.

"I still don't know if you're trustworthy, so I won't come close to you and you won't come close to me. How does that sound?" Emile asked. He was using his cautious nature to protect himself.

The man nodded to show his understanding.

"Do you know about other people who are part of the Dark Ones?" Emile asked. This was a vital question. If he knew them, then they could track them down and take them out for good.

"Sadly, I only know the location of one other person who is a part of the Dark Ones. The others are hiding somewhere. Don't kill them. I'm asking because they didn't do anything wrong. It was the mask's fault. I don't want them to die," the man said.

"All right. I can't promise anything to you. You never told me your name. What is it?" Emile asked with curiosity. Each time he interacted, he wouldn't use the man's name because it was unnecessary.

"My name is Jirai Titania. You can call me J because I know it's hard to say my name. Everyone always mispronounces my name."

"Nice to meet you, J, I hope we can work together to stop those people from going on any rampages," Emile said.

"All right, I'll start off by telling you the person I know of who is deeply involved with the Dark Ones," J said.

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Author's Note

Once again, the character limit forces me to place the author's note here.

2/7 Regular Chapters

Synopsis Version 2 is here.

With the help of Kiroji who went out of his way and created a synopsis for us which I copied some ideas from. Big shout outs to him.

Also, shout outs to LiroyJeckins and Akera for their feedback on what to improve. I appreciate all the support I received.

___

In the distant future, on a vastly different earth from ours, lived a young man named Emile Reeder who's driven by his pure love for Martial Arts.

In hopes of reviving their family, his father trained Emile from a young age.

Emile's only remaining family member, his father, sent him into the latest Virtual Reality Game, Nirvana, with the premise of stronger opponents to challenge. Little did he know, a deep secret hid within the game capable of changing the world.

A secret connected with his deceased family.

Follow Emile as he journeys through the game world to grow stronger not just in the game, but also in the real world.

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I'm open for opinions once again. Same question as last time. Is this better than the synopsis that I'm currently using or does it need improvement?

I would love to hear people's opinion like last time. It was fun reading your comments.