Awakening [23]

The slime's tentacle was the first thing to be shredded in Ichigo's mouth. Just a few bites and then she swallowed it. The monsters took a step back, but she advanced.

"I'm hungry!" Ichigo laughed, her bat splitting through the air and slamming into one of the werewolf's heads. She grabbed one of the werewolf's fluttering arms at its wrist and tore it off. She pulled the limb up to her mouth before absentmindedly running mana through it.

In an instant, the mana coursed through the arm, burning away all the blood and bad bacteria, leaving behind what was safe and edible. Ichigo sunk her teeth into the food, taking a big bite and spitting out the fur.

Suddenly, strength unlike anything she'd ever experienced raced through her body. White energy leaked from her eyes as she grinned, finishing off the werewolf's arm in a fraction of a second.

She cracked her neck, smiling at her enemies.

The Gourmet moved.

For the monsters, it was like a horror film.

Ichigo ate, and ate, and ate her way through her enemies. Burning off the calories as soon as she took them in. The monsters couldn't help but flinch away as Ichigo came storming through, eating, and destroying absolutely everything in her path.

Soon before long, she was the last thing standing, the bones and remnants of the nearby monsters being the only things left behind.

Ichigo grinned, letting out a sigh of relief. She spun her bat through the air before beginning to walk back to the entrance of the Gate.

"That hit the spot."

Ichigo Jin-Sol entered the Gate, but Ichigo the Gourmet left it. Her Soul Attribute was officially unlocked. She stepped out of the Gate with a slightly nervous expression on her face.

"Now… how do I get back?"

-----

"Lucky Coin," Fanzer unconsciously summoned a coin to his hand, a skill that he suddenly obtained. He flicked the finger into the air. Jin-Chul's gaze stayed locked onto Fanzer.

'Heads for big buff, tails for bigger debuff,' Fanzer thought, setting the conditions for his skill. Fanzer smirked as the coin slowly started to fall back down. "Come on then, you simple bastard!"

Jin-Chul smiled before a shockwave of power exploded from behind him and shot him towards Fanzer. He disappeared for an entire second, his presence just vanishing before he suddenly reappeared, his fist raced towards Fanzer's face.

Fanzer could tell that the blow would probably shatter some bones if he couldn't dodge. Miyoung's eyes widened just slightly, and she took a step forward, extending her hand. But Fanzer's smile stopped her. He didn't even try to dodge.

A nanosecond before Jin-Chul's fist impacted with Fanzer's face, the coin hit the ground and settled. Then in the next instant, Jin-Chul's gauntleted fist struck Fanzer's jaw. Jin-Chul expected his blow to send his opponent flying, but when it didn't, he took a step back before jumping back.

"What changed…?" Jin-Chul spoke, closely looking at Fanzer. His body was unchanged, and his mana was the exact same too, but suddenly he was able to block Jin-Chul's attack with stunning efficiency.

Fanzer's hands shot out in front of him, his fingers twitched as tons of mana swirled underneath his control. The wind and lightning elements that Fanzer was most proficient in dared to spill from his fingers.

"For five seconds… I can control half of my mana. I really suggest you block," Fanzer warned, and then, he unleashed all the built-up mana within his hand.

The building started to creak.

Miyoung's eyes widened.

Jin-Chul was blown away, flying into the wall of the gymnasium only to immediately go through the wall as well. Despite the power it was meant to hold, Fanzer's incredible mana was too much for it.

Jin-Chul went flying, but barely before he got too high, Fanzer closed his fist, all the mana suddenly stopping. Jin-Chul fell, unconscious.

Fanzer quickly realized the situation and stepped forward in preparation to leap and catch Jin-Chul, but Miyoung already had him held in her arms. The powerful Hunter looked at Fanzer with thin eyes.

"You've won, Fanzer Leblanc. What skill of mine would you like?"

-----

Jin-Woo pulled himself back, and uppercut Byung-Ho, lifting him off the ground and smashing his fist into the soaring A-Rank. Before the man could right himself, Jin-Woo grabbed onto his leg, slamming him into the ground.

Kim Byung-Ho let out a roar and pulled his leg back from Jin-Woo's grasp. He rose from his spot and snapped a finger, pointing towards Jin-Woo. A light blue barrier of energy surrounding Jin-Woo and himself.

"No mana underneath the power of an A-Rank's may be used in this barrier. Only I may be able to enter and exit this barrier. Mana under the power of an A-Rank's cannot break the barrier from the inside or outside," Byung-Ho smirked, setting the rules for his Soul Attribute. "You may remember this skill, my Soul Attribute, from three years ago, but I've grown since then, and just like before I'm gonna—"

Jin-Woo charged forward without hesitation, slamming his foot into the man's head. He had an idea of what Byung-Ho's ability was anyway, but Advanced Observation helped him out that much more.

[Soul Attribute "Barrier Order" is completely ineffective against Mana of Death.]

Whether it was because his body was naturally enhanced by Death Mana or because Byung-Ho didn't understand that Jin-Woo's mana wasn't the same as a typical Awakened's was, it didn't matter. The result, however, did matter.

That result was Jin-Woo punching Byung-Ho through his own barrier before activating Soul Mimicry and telekinetically keeping the A-Rank's feet stuck to the ground, laying a few dozen more blows into the Hunter, each one of them focused and fierce.

Any time Byung-Ho tried to strike back, Jin-Woo watched his blows carefully before avoiding them and continuing his onslaught. Byung-Ho let out a roar, his mana exploding out in all directions.

Jin-Woo took a few steps back, his gaze unflinching.

"I didn't think I'd have to use my special ability here, but fine, I'll go all out!" Kim Byung-Ho roared, a large barrier appearing around the entire gymnasium. "Increase my speed by 300%. Increase my physical strength by 300%."

[Byung-Ho is using the Soul Attribute skill: Physical Boost 300%.]

Sung didn't falter. Byung-Ho took a step forward and started blitzing around the gymnasium, bouncing off the walls and charging towards Jin-Woo.

Jin-Woo's eyes shot after Byung-Ho, watching his blur and moving just enough to avoid his numerous attacks. Even though the skill seemed pointless at first, Jin-Woo now understood the value of Advanced Observation. When combined with his skills of natural observation and reflex training, Advanced Observation fed him incredible information.

「Back of head. 」

「Right side. 」

「Left leg. 」

The information was sent straight to his brain rather than in the normal notifications he was used to. The result of this subtle but important change was massive.

The information was shot into Jin-Woo's brain, and with the natural skills he'd gained, he dodged the attacks with stunning accuracy. It wasn't perfect, shown by the numerous knicks and cut over his body, but he managed to avoid every attack that could put him out of the running.

Lolikiano's heart pounded in her chest. The scene of Jin-Woo handling Byung-Ho shouldn't have inspired her so much, but it did.

'This kid… is handling Mana of Death with so much finesse…! If he really was an E-Rank just three years ago, then this kid's talent is absolutely astronomical…!' Lolikiano felt her heart pounding in her chest, exhilaration rising through her body. 'Now even I want to fight him…!'

Jin-Woo clenched his jaw as he narrowly avoided Byung-Ho's onslaught of attack.

'This isn't good enough! At this rate I'll lose to pure exhaustion! I need something that maximizes my strength!'

For a moment, Jin-Woo's unknown Soul skill flickered through his mind. It was a possible solution, sitting and waiting for Jin-Woo to access it. No matter what the skill was, it could help him out. At worst, it was unusable in the current situation, and at best it was an easy way to counter Byung-Ho's assault.

But the thoughts faded just as quickly as they appeared.

'No, I can't just rely on getting a random power boost in every situation that's a little bit tense! No, I need to properly use the pieces I've been given rather than hoping for new ones!' Jin-Woo slightly turned to his left, dodging Byung-Ho's attack.

'Think, think! I've got all the pieces of the puzzle; I just need to use them efficiently! Bloodlust won't work, since I don't actually want him dead like I wanted to kill Lycaon, so lowering his stats is a no-go. I've got Telekinesis, but it's generally proved to be limited for me. I'm a melee-fighter, so suddenly using a complicated long-ranged skill like Telekinesis won't be easy for me,' Jin-Woo ducked under another one of Byung-Ho's blows, keeping his eyes locked onto his enemy. 'I've only got my weapon skills left…!'

'In that case....' Jin-Woo pulled Legacy from his Inventory, and Byung-Ho stopped his assault for just a moment, backing off and smirking widely.

"What is it, kid?! Now you think some bummy ass dagger is gonna save you?! Get real!" Byung-Ho roared before charging towards Jin-Woo directly, leaving the gymnasium torn up behind him. "I'll blow you to bits with this last attack! Increase my speed and physical damage to 500%!"

[Byung-Ho is the Soul Attribute skill: Physical Boost 500%.]

Lolikiano clenched her hands, watching the fight closely.

'This is dangerous. Death Mana or not, this will seriously injure him. So why….' Lolikiano studied Jin-Woo's expression. Her heart pounded in her chest. 'Why isn't he worried at all?!'

The inky-black energy of Void Slash slowly rose off Legacy, the skill being activated.

'I've experienced this sensation plenty of times. It's my mana, it's Mana of Death covering my weapon. So regardless of what my proficiency rating says, surely… I can just….' Jin-Woo took a deep breath, closing his eyes despite his fierce enemy approaching him at awe-inspiring speeds.

The inky-black mana started flowing down the weapon, slowly covering Jin-Woo's hand and traveling up his arm. The mana stopped at his shoulder, covering his entire arm.

Suddenly, a thick, heavy pain shot through the necromancer, but he didn't falter. When the intense pain left him with mere aches, he opened his eyes, and as if it was in slow-motion, he could see Byung-Ho charging towards him, a cocky and manic expression on his face. The A-Rank's desire to destroy his opponent was very clear for Jin-Woo to see. Every instant, he inched closer and closer, his expression morphing into something nigh demonic.

But Jin-Woo didn't back away.

With his eerie mana slinking up his arm, he readied himself. In the past he would've met Byung-Ho's blow head-on, but something was stopping him from doing so. A voice that wasn't his rung out from deep within him. It wasn't Telepathy like Lolikiano had done, but something deeper, more personal. It was from deep within his soul.

<I created that technique after reaching into the void and becoming the first Black Wizard. So, I can say this confidently, you're too uptight when you're using it. Mana of Death isn't Mana of Life, so stop trying to replicate it. This ability of yours is meant to devour, it's meant to want everything for itself, so stop playing nice and take what's yours!>

Suddenly, the energy of Void Slash erupted. It flashed from Jin-Woo's skin like heatless pure black flames, and, visible only to Lolikiano, it started to pull in mana—Mana of Life—to grow fiercer and fiercer.

Jin-Woo's arm pulsed with power. He met Byung-Ho's gaze evenly, waiting for just an instant before—

Sung's fist clashed with Byung-Ho's jaw in an instant, his attack growing stronger as it sapped the A-Rank's power before a shockwave of pure power pulsed through the gym and building, and Kim Byung-Ho went flying away.

He flew towards the wall in limp acceptance before crashing into it and slumping, unconscious. His barrier was gone before he was out. The building shook for a few moments, and Jin-Woo could hear people yelling in confusion in the distance.

He looked down at his fist, seeing the powerful energy fade away, leaving him exhausted beyond belief. He panted heavily, his body sore and his mind confused.

He could see a collection of notifications in the corner of his vision as the voice from earlier rang out in his mind.

<Good job, kid. Good job.>

[The skill Void Slash's proficiency has jumped to 100% due to sudden understanding of the skill.]

[Void Slash can now be used without the weapon "Legacy."]

[Due to stunning proficiency in Void Slash, you have obtained the new skill, "Umbra Control."]

[Due to using Umbra Control while striking, you have obtained the new skill, "Umbra Strike."]

[Due to using Umbra Control to enhance your speed, you have obtained the skill, "Umbra Dash."]

Panting heavily, Jin-Woo looked over to Lolikiano with a smile on his face. It wasn't a small smile, nor was it hesitant at all. No, it was a wide, proud smile.

"Maybe a normal person would be scared right now, maybe a normal person would hesitate to use a power like this, but for me, this is normal. I'm gonna use this awesome power to help my sister and maybe… maybe just one day become the next Sovereign of Hunters," Jin-Woo started tottering back and forth.

"Heh, I like the sound of that," He grinned before falling unconscious, Lolikiano catching him with some help from her Telekinesis.

Lolikiano looked down at the unconscious expression of satisfaction splayed on Jin-Woo's face as Cha and Choi rushed into the gym, both of their postures ready for a sudden brawl. Cha brandished her sword, while Choi had several expensive rings around his fingers.

"Ah, Jin-Woo, I feel like Fanzer, and I will get into a lot of trouble because of you. It's all because you're too much fun to stick around," Lolikiano sighed.