Expert levels

"Bullets?" Carlos had barely spoken, showing the kind of shock he was in. However, he too was an experienced warrior, so he was quick to recover. When he heard Haiser's answer, he was beyond shocked, "Are you telling me you managed to block bullets?"

Any way he looked at it, this was nothing less than a superhuman feat. It should not even be possible. When he said that, he attracted everyone's attention. They had not thought that far. 

Haiser smiled. He too would be bewildered if he heard someone had done such a thing. Bullets were faster than the speed of sound, especially those shot from a high powered rifle. Moreover, their shape made them impossible to detect when fired, so how could there be a person capable of blocking a bullet?

However, Haiser had two things working for him. The first was information. As a prince, he was privy to almost every weapon known to man, and he had trained with them. 

Smart bullets were quite the menace. When being fired, the shooter would lock on to a target. Much like a heat-seeking missile, the bullet would not charge directly to the opponent, but it could even evade obstacles placed before it.

Due to this, one could shoot an opponent who was hiding behind a wall, as the bullet could curve and come back once it missed its target. This was the most menacing thing about them. When fired, they had to either be blocked, or somehow stopped. Otherwise, they wouldn't stop until they had impaled their target. 

Moreover, the bullets that had been shot were incendiary rounds, with an explosive fitted at the tip. They would explode upon contact with the enemy, decimating any defense that had been placed before them. 

However, despite all their overwhelming advantages, they still had glaring disadvantages. For one, they were self-propelled, which meant that they were not as fast as electromagnetic, maglev, or energy weapons. It should be noted that though they were slower than normal, they were still incredibly fast and nigh invisible.

Knowing this advantage had given Haiser an advantage when facing his opponents, but only just. The second thing that he relied on was: predetermination. 

Logically, dodging or blocking a bullet once it had been shot was impossible. However, if you could predict which area the bullet was going to be shot from, and where it would be aimed at, then you could plan yourself beforehand and block the shot before it was even fired.

However, he had not gotten off unscathed. His hand had been shaking, and a little numb as he blocked every shot that came his way. Moreover, being incendiary rounds, the bullets packed a punch. Haiser not only had to predict the attacks, but he also had to position his body in such a way that the momentum and explosion power would not disrupt his movements. Rather than blocking the bullets, Haiser had been parrying them. 

This was why this had been so risky. Had he made the slightest error in his calculations, he, and his teammates would have died. As it stood, they had lost the other two teammates. 

After hearing Haiser's explanation, the group came to a realization. However, they still regarded Haiser as a monster. Even Carlos, the loud mouth, found himself tongue-tied. What Haiser described so simply was anything but.

To an ordinary person, such a feat was just not possible, however, Haiser had managed to execute it, successfully blocking the shots coming from the hidden assailants. Even Joel was looking at Haiser with a shocked expression.

Of the things Haiser had done, be it shooting down oranges in the settlement, or easily gunning down the griffins that had troubled them so much, Joel felt that all these were within range of what should be possible for a human, but what Haiser described, he just could take it. 

In his mind, he began to wonder, had Haiser reached that level? Joel knew what it meant to be an expert, and in the past, he had even had a chance to duel with several. He also understood several things about experts. 

Being able to execute fighting techniques in the real world was just the beginning. Even among experts, there were levels and ranks separating them.

The first level was known as the Body control level. Experts at this level had such a fine control over their body and could do amazing and grands things, things that others thought impossible. However, they were just at the first level. 

The second level, as per what Joel knew, was called the Predetermination level. As the name sounded, experts at this level could not only control their body to a fine degree, but they could predict and even determine what the enemy was going to do by simply studying their attack patterns.

However, even if that was the case, Haiser couldn't see his enemy, so how was he able to identify the enemies' attack trajectory and prepare for it?

Joel knew there were other levels, but in his entire life, he had only every met someone at the Body control level. Many aspired to rise to expert level, Joel himself was not an expert, yet Haiser had advanced his combat standard to such a high level? Was he a monster? Joel couldn't help wondering. 

A look of reverence and worship could be seen in his eyes, and he wasn't the only one. Haiser was by far the most dangerous person he had ever met. Joel shuddered when he thought of fighting such a person. He would be killed before he knew what had happened. 

Looking at the rest of the group, Haiser realized that he might have exposed too much. He wondered how they would feel when they found out, as a bonus, he had killed off Green Kirin just as he was getting in the water.

"Alright guys, don't forget, we still have to collect our kills, and send a message to our attackers." With that, he rose up and started walking, intending to do as he had just said. Meanwhile, his teammates were even more shocked. He intended to go for round two?