33 Physique Boost

The anger from the Saint Realm's face couldn't be hidden anymore.

While I was talking with him, most of his subordinates were all killed.

Well, he called them useless but they're not that useless. They did drain some of our energy as well as the limited time we're betting on. And the one I was fighting only had his arm cut off.

If we can kill him by working together then great. What I am really worried about is the possibility of him having the same item as that Priest. The one where he sacrificed himself to summon that incarnation.

Before he can even think of using that, we have to defeat and kill him.

Erin briefed me about the Halo. It seems the Halo was what sets a Saint Realm as different from the Augmented Realm. That Halo represented an upgraded Augmented Skill.

On how was the effect of it being upgraded, she also had no idea.

If I have to guess, it increases the effect of the original Augmented Skill and maybe adds another purpose for it?

Judging from his enhancement when he used the Halo, it only bulked him up. Then was there no other purpose or was it hidden from our eyes?

This is just a guess after all. I might be wrong but I'll keep my eyes open for any changes.

His enhancement isn't as strong as my orb anyway. We have to test it first.

As to who will go first, of course, it's the leader.

My feet kicked the ground as I started dashing towards him.

The others behind me followed behind.

The Saint Realm's weapon is a giant Mace. It's a blunt weapon like Raiden's sledgehammer.

It's big and heavy. Now I wonder if my Energy Explosion can deflect it.

Its force is concentrated on that metalhead. Once hit, bones will surely be broken.

I hope Energy Shield and my Endurance can endure it and leave me with unbroken bones if I was ever hit by it.

I put my sword in front pointing towards him.

After using Flash Step, I appeared in front of him and his sneering face welcomed me.

His Mace dropped down from the top of my head.

My reflexes immediately kicked in, I raised my sword to defend, abandoning offense.

"Die!"

When his Mace touched the sword, the explosion was triggered but it only abated some of its force.

I was slammed to the ground and bounced once. I completely blanked out at that moment.

That hurts a lot!

The pain was greater than that time when I was caught by the Adept-class at the Detaining Area of Westcolt Manor.

But I have to move away or it will be my end.

I tried straightening my body as I bounced away from that position.

I only saw Erin's silhouette appearing from the corner of my eye executing another attack to the Saint Realm.

Whether it succeeded or not, I didn't see the result. I was already rolling away and trying to stabilize my body.

"You bunch of Mortal Realms trying to attack a Saint?!"

I heard the Saint Realm shouting. He couldn't take it when even the tribesmen who were clearly still at the Mortal Realm tried to join at attacking him.

Usually, that's impossible and they will just cower but because of the enhancement from the orb, trying became possible.

I steadied my body and saw them ganging up on the Saint Realm. Mostly the attacking tribesmen were being blown away.

Erin kept on using her Shadow Concealment and for the first time, I saw some of her Augmented Skills.

There were that shadow-like daggers made from brute energy. But sadly, the Saint Realm's reflexes are definitely higher than any of us. Our attacks were mostly deflected or countered.

Even Avelin's skill couldn't confuse him when his mind was on full alert.

Someone should take his attention for it to work. Being frontal wasn't as effective if the enemy she's using it on was stronger than her.

Then I'll take that position. My back still hurts a bit but compared to the others who already have bruises on various parts of their bodies, this is nothing.

I fired an Air Bullet to distract him and Erin used that opportunity to launch another Augmented Skill of hers.

Slowly, the battle is turning into our favor.

I tried to keep an eye on them to give necessary instructions if needed but I guess, they could coordinate among themselves even without that.

These barbarians were fighting all their life so adjusting to match their companions in battle was as easy as breathing for them now.

In fact, it was me who was having trouble adjusting. I tried to rush first and got slammed hard.

That Erin will surely sneer at me if we survive this.

Suddenly, his Halo appeared again and the darkish aura enveloped him.

It's not the same as the first aura that enveloped him, there are subtle differences.

Even the effect.

His already bulked body didn't get bulkier instead his speed was considerably enhanced.

The attacks he couldn't deflect in time before it were now getting deflected.

I see. That's the other purpose of that Halo. Not only can it enhance their body but also their speed.

I don't have a skill like Raiden's Temporal Acceleration that can finish this guy despite the gap. We have no other path but to whittle him down by ganging up against him.

I have to think of something. But for now, we'll continue harassing him. Soon enough he'll show some openings we could exploit.

And that was really the case.

Avelin successfully landed a hit on his leg after our consecutive attacks. But she was also blown away by him right after

Her body was already full of bruises and cuts. Not only her, even Erin and tribesmen.

Using Psyche Boost will not be enough so…

Right.

Why didn't I think of this before? The energies that were stored in the invisible container were already stabilized. So why am I only using Psyche Energy?

Brute Energy was proven to have a positive effect on our body, that's why this path was created.

Then I can create another type of boost using Brute Energy, right?

It's worth a try.

I controlled the Brute Energy around me and took it in to fill the invisible container for the Brute Energy. Somehow these energies can't be mixed with each other. So even in that container, they were all separated.

After filling up the container, I controlled the Brute Energy stored in it.

I recalled the process of how I did it before with the Psyche Energy. Turning the energy into a ball of stabilized energy.

It really works!

Eh? This looks like those balls of energy made from putting the natives into those Huge Cauldrons. But those were a bit different.

It's not as pure as these balls.

I see, since they're made from squeezing the barbarians, it's bound to have impurities.

Then let's call this Physique Boost!

If Psyche Boost can refresh the mind and boost clarity, then this Physique Boost can refresh the body and boost strength or one's physique.

Ah. I created another support skill…

After that, a system message rang out inside my mind again.

[Ding! Created a Skill. Do you want to list it?]

Of course!

[Skill : Physique Boost added]

No use mulling over it. I better try this now.

I looked at Avelin who already stood up. Her knees were already trembling but she still chose to charge in.

Aiming at her back, I threw the ball of stabilized Brute Energy towards her.

And like I thought, the effect was immediate.

Her body was energized and it even made her faster.

She was surprised at the sudden change but she's already charging towards the Saint Realm so she couldn't care less.

Next, I threw another one at Erin.

This time she noticed it. She smiled at me and like Avelin, she also charged towards the enemy.

With their weapons in hand, they did a pincer attack.

Their Augmented Skills both in play.

Only two minutes left. We have to decide this battle now. Throwing Physique Boost to the tribesmen and lastly to me, we entered the final 100 seconds of this battle.

Whether we win or not depends on this final struggle.