Stalker

A/Q: Special thanks to Already_Dead_4 for gifting an ice cola. Gracias

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In a large park surrounded by trees, the sound of metal striking echoed through the entire premise.

Two male parties were engaging in an intense sword fight with one other.

One was a tall muscular man in his early 40s while the other was a teenager in his perveted prime

In a large park surrounded by many trees, the sound of clashing steel reverberated through the air, drawing the attention of startled onlookers. Two figures, vastly different in age and stature, engaged in a fierce sword fight.

The taller opponent, a rugged man in his early 40s, wielded a sword singlehandedly with ease. His muscular frame and battle-hardened expression commanded respect. Across from him stood a slightly muscular teenager with an air of determination etched on his face. He also wielding a silver longsword

This were Henry and Xavier, both locked in an intense battle, neither of them wanting to lose to the other

Xavier unleashed a powerful swing, aiming to take Henry beneath his blade. Henry dodged nimbly, his agility allowing him to weave between the trees. Xavier pursued, his heavy footsteps echoing through the park.

Henry countered with swift, precise strikes, but Xavier sheer strength deflected each blow. Henry's breathing quickened as Xavier's relentless assault pushed him back.

Suddenly, Henry spotted an opening. Xavier's aggressive swing left him momentarily off-balance. Henry seized the chance, sprinting forward with incredible speed.

"Alright let's do this," Henry thought, leaping into the air, before going into a front flip

Time seemed to slow as Henry flipped, his sword aligning vertically, just above Xavier ready to strike

He landed gracefully, unleashing a vertical slash, both his weight and that of the sword adding to the attack. Xavier attempted to block, but Henry's gathered momentum was too strong, he gritted his teeth as he struggled to push back with his sword

Both their swords pushing against each other, sparks eminating from the collision, it was now a matter of strength and balance, but it looked like Henry had the upper hand

Xavier's knee bent slightly, he lost balance and stumbled, his sword faltering, but he wasn't going to lose to a kid. He quickly jumped out of the way, allowing Henry's sword to strike the ground with force

Henry stood tall, chest heaving as he raised his sword from the ground, his eyes blazing with determination.

"Running old man?" Henry said with a smile, while catching his breath

"I have to hand it to you kid, you almost had me there," Xavier chuckled "but this battle is far from over."

With a roar, Xavier charged, his longsword flashing in the sunlight. Henry prepared to face the onslaught, his sword at the ready.

"I couldn't agree more," he said with a wide smirk as he advanced forward as well

Xavier's ferocious charge forced Henry to act on the defensive, making sure to monitor Xavier's movements

Suddenly, Henry spotted an opening. Xavier's aggressive swing left him momentarily exposed. Henry seized the chance, activating dash and darting forward with unbelievable speed

[Dash Activated]

[-5 Ep]

With a swift, precise strike, Henry sent Xavier stumbling backward. The teenager pressed his advantage, catching Xavier off guard, pushing and pinning him against a tree.

Henry's sword flashed in the sunlight, pressing against Xavier's neck. The older man eyes widened, he didn't understand how he was suddenly pinned, everything had happened too fast

Henry grinned, he was completely exhilarated "huff! I've won!" he voiced out

But Xavier smiled "Not quite," he said as his eyes darted down, signaling for Henry to take a look

That was when Henry could feel a slight piercing sensation on his stomach, he directed his gaze downwards only to see xavier's sword on his gut, the tip pressing against his stomach, just a push away from piercing it.

The two warriors locked gazes, their swords poised in a deadly stalemate. The match was over.

Henry frowned as he knew that he hadn't won at all, it was a tie. He dropped his arms and released Xavier who still had a wide smile on his face

Henry held his urges to punch that face, he sighed as he put his sword back in it's sheath

"Cheer up kid, to be honest you could've won this with just a little bit of attention to the other parts of your body, but i have to say I'm impressed," Xavier stated trying to cheer Henry up

"Yeah I'm just glad i finally perfected that accursed skill," Henry replied

"Yes, that was executed quite well, you have successfully mastered the Descending slash, and you did in just six days. Felicity would be pleased," Xavier said

"Yeah, i guess I'm a quick learner, though I think I could do better," Henry muttered "And remember that in that six days, I've had my ass kicked by you non-stop, today was the closest I had to a win," he retorted

Xavier smiled "And you did good kid, just that I planned better," he teased Henry

"So which is why I'll be taking you to explore the city tomorrow, we'll go wherever you want to and have fun. You deserve it," he added

Henry's face brightened "Well about damn time, i was starting to think that you're a boring coach,"

Xavier laughed slightly "I can be pretty fun, just don't expect to much,"

Henry nodded with a wry smile as he waved and left the park leaving Xavier to his thing

He had been returning back to the hotel on his own for the past few days, walking peacefully and admiring the city

Xavier stared at Henry's back as he exited the park "He just keeps improving by the day, he's not just more stronger but also... seems more different than when we first met, he now acts more mature, calm and collected. I wonder if jade had something to do with it," Xavier muttered inwardly, before remembering the incredible speed Henry had used earlier

"He also seems to be quite fast... maybe too fast." He thought

Henry was now trekking back to the hotel as usual, glancing around from one building to another. He always enjoyed the view as he had been doing this for the past six days since he first sparred with Xavier.

"That skill is useful, it would come in handy." he thought to himself "But five days was too long to learn that, i need to improve." he muttered clenching his hands into a fist

[But you have achieved certain things over the past six days. No] Miley spoke

At this point, it had become a usual norms for Miley to always chime in at his every thought

"Well I guess that's true, i did level up and gained a few shop points," Henry replied as he reminisced over the events of the past few days

First, the daily quest had stopped giving him Exp, only the 10km/hr boost which was a bummer to Henry but he still received exp from hunting

He had only killed 25 more E ranked beasts in total due to him having only had gone to the hunting ground twice in 5 days, but he had levelled up once and was almost about getting to the next level. He opened his stats to check his progress

*Name: Henry Myers

*Race: Human

*Level 4

Exp: [40/50]

*Hp: 40/40

*Ep: 296

*Sp: 100,600

*Strength: 30

*Agility: 30

*Stamina: 25

*Defense: 25

*Perception: 30

*Stat point: 0

[Speed Rate: 200km/hr]

<Abilities >

none

<skills >

*Advanced time perception [passive]

*Health regeneration [passive]

*Dash [Active]

Henry nodded with satisfaction "This is a good pace, I'll definitely be able to reach level 10 before the end of the month," he mentally stated

"Though I'm suprised i didn't receive extra stat points or a new skill when I levelled up,"

[Well now you know that not every level grants free stat points, a skill or even anything special, it basically comes at random] Miley replied

"I see, but i have a feeling that I'll get one at level 5," Henry said confidently

[There's only one way to find out]

"Of course, I'll be going today. it's been 3 days since I went hunting." he muttered as he quickened his pace

He soon arrived at the hotel, quickly changing into the comfortable black fitted jumpsuit before leaving once again in his hovercar, heading for the hunting ground.

Henry arrived at the hunting ground and immediately entered the hunting area and began searching for beasts.

"Hopefully today I'll find an higher ranked beast, I'm sick of those E rank weaklings," he muttered

Since the first day Henry began hunting, he had only encountered E rank beasts, he hadn't the luck of facing a higher rank beast

He advanced further into the forest, going deeper and deeper, until he finally found what he was looking for.

Laying peacefully in front of Henry was a black bear, a very large one. It seemed to be asleep on a bed of grass as it back was turned to Henry

"Jackpot!" he exclaimed with a wide smile but was soon disappointed by the notification from his bracelet

[Lesser Forest Stalker(E Rank): Retractable claws]

Henry's face twitched slightly "I come all this way just for another stupid E rank beast!" he yelled angrily

[Hmm, i wonder why you've only been encountering E ranked beast, my senses tell me this hunting ground has higher ranking beasts] Miley stated

"Then this fucking beast is just big for nothing, weak!" he stared at the bear with pure anger and hatred

Miley could feel this sudden hatred [Hey, it's nothing to get mad at, let's keep looking, I'm sure you'll find a stronger beast] She tried to calm Henry down

"Yeah, okay," he replied having seemed to have calmed down

"What was that sudden hatred, i have never seen him this angry... no, i have never seen him get angry at all," Miley thought

Henry was about to leave the spot, but before he could turn away, the bear suddenly woke up. It stood upright staring at Henry with rage before dropping down on all fours and charging madly towards him

Henry just stood there calmly, he frowned "I thought I'd spare your life before, guess that was a mistake," he coldly muttered, taking the red dagger out of the storage ring

He stared at the bear as it approached him "Activate dash!"

[-5 Ep]

He dashed towards the beast at incredible speed, but didn't stop in it front, instead he passed by it side, delivering a single slash to a part of it's body

Henry stopped at the other side, his dagger stained with blood. The bear hadn't seen anything, it kept running until it gradually slowed down, before suddenly stopping.

It grunted loudly and fell, bleeding from a large deep cut in it's throat.

Henry smiled as he saw the confirmation message from the system

[+2 Exp]

[1 E rank beast core gained]

"Damn, this never gets old," he thought admiring the 'Dash' skill

He had come to like the skill a lot when he hunted and always combined it with time perception, making him seem even more fast

Henry felt invincible with both skills "Honestly I wonder how those speedsters in the movies always get hit even with the incredible speed they had," he muttered as he returned the dagger back into the storage ring

[That is because every speedster has a limitation] Miley said

"Huh? So whats mine then?" he asked in a sarcastic tone

[Oh you'll find out as you get faster] She replied with a mischievous chuckle

"Well whatever it is, I'll find a way to conquer it."

[Good luck with that, just remember that everything comes with a price. Nothing is free] Miley stated

"Yeah whatever. Hey why do you think this beast was called a forest stal.....uhhh

Henry was suddenly hit from the side, by a strong, unknown force that sent him flying into a nearby tree

His back took the impact of the tree before his body fell to the ground, the side of his gut bleeding profusely. The wound seemed to be visible claw marks that were quite deep.

[-15 Hp]

The system notified him of his present condition

[Health regeneration active] The system started to heal his wounds and the claw marks started to close up

Henry quickly recovered from the shock, he spat out a mouthful of blood and stood up to scan the environment for the assulter, but there was no trace of anything around him, nothing could be seen anywhere

Henry frowned and immediately activated his time perception skill, slowing everything down in the environment, and allowing him better focus

"Miley what was that?" He asked, taking out his sword the storage ring and unsheathing it

[I don't know, it had appeared out of nowhere, it's fast]

"It appeared so fast that not you, nor my perception could detect it," Henry stated

"And it striked me with claws, which was also enough to send me flying. So it's a large creature with claws and... fuckk, it's a greater stalker!" he exclaimed

"It's not fast... it's invisible," Henry voiced out before his bracelet ringed and a message appeared, confirming his thesis

[Greater Forest Stalker(C rank): Camouflage, retractable claws and massive strength]

Henry gritted his teeth, he had researched on the most powerful kinds of magical beast in every rank and the forest stalker was one of them.

He started looking around, scrutinizing the entire area well, he knew the beast was there, the bracelet had confirmed it, but he just couldn't see it

"How do you find a beast that blends in with the colours of the surroundings?"

Henry's eyes scanned the surroundings, his mind racing with strategies to uncover the invisible beast. He knew its camouflage ability made it nearly impossible to detect.

"Think, Henry, think," he muttered, clutching his dagger tightly.

But all of a sudden, his Time Perception skill wore off on it's own and everything returned to normal

His face was filled with horror and shock, as he thought about why the skill stopped working