Chapter 54 Dominating Hearts And Souls 3
- Alert: The host has entered battle with a target bearing the [Mark of Vengeance]. [Wrath of the Vengeful] has been activated. 30% increase in combat-related skills for the duration of the battle. -
- Alert: [Skill Prediction] has now been set to automatic, skill will continue to trigger so long as enough AP remains. -
- Alert: [Legacy of Vengeance] activated, Stat legacy calculated: 5 STR | 5 AGI | 2 INT will be awarded upon enacting vengeance on Gryphon.
The system counted the battle in the sky and the ground as separate, despite only being within minutes of each other. Feeling the threat to its life, the Gryphon started flapping its wings if only to blow Hiro away.
Skill prediction activated and showed fifteen large three-meter-long spears made from solidified air about to skewer Hiro. Knowing the trajectories ahead of time, Hiro charged sword in hand.
- Alert: Sight Beyond Vision activated, Spirit vision syncing with Skill prediction. Guidelines for actions now will be generated -
Similar to [Tactics] Hiro no longer needed to remember and now could see exactly where the spears would travel. The transmigrator evaded the guidelines that looked like laser pointers. The beams showed which paths the beast's projectiles would take, Allowing Hiro to visualize better how to avoid them. "Turn into my XP you piece of shit."
Not expecting his response the gryphon was caught with its pants down, normally when shot by wind spears, its targets ran away not charge forward. In its five years of life, the beast grew arrogant despite rarely fighting system users. It acquired a taste for humans due to eating so many that traveled around its territory.
The gryphon's body still suffered from skill cool down. This was a phenomenon where a system user could not move for a few seconds after executing a skill. While skills allowed users to autonomously follow actions, they also froze their bodies for a few seconds due to recalibrating.
Because of its haste to use its greatest skill, the gryphon now couldn't move despite seeing Hiro come ever closer. Arrogance [E] allowed a system user to not get scared or panic easily, but its demerit was that it lowered intelligence and forced grandiose actions on occasion.
Hiro got within striking distance and swung the blade horizontally while shouting. "[Sword Driver]!" instantaneously mid-swing, the eastern sword that barely passed one meter, turned crimson and grew to over three meters. Its width similarly widened from just three fingers thick to over as long as an entire arm.
The gigantic blade that came out of nowhere slammed into the same gaping hole the monster already had. "[Impact]!" A loud sound came from the sword. It was reminiscent of a firing hammer from a gun slamming down.
The transmigrator's [Blade of Mitsurugi] then turned blue as its weight increased by three times, then turned green as ghosts started to gather at the blade's tip. All happening in the same second the sword then violently bisected the gryphon in two.
The beast's lion body was split just after its forelegs, it didn't even have to scream as its upper body got carried by the attack's momentum and flew away like wood chips from a lumber jacks block.
Unlike its counterpart, the lower half just slumped silently to the ground. Due to the overwhelming forces exerted, a full couple of minutes passed before the blood started to gush out of both halves like buckets.
- Alert: [Legacy of Vengeance] completed, Stat legacy awarded: 5 STR | 5 AGI | 2 INT. -
- Alert: Gryphon Level 35 has been defeated 2500 exp gained! -
A ring of light then fell from the heavens around Hiro. The light recovered his wounds and light scrapes and restored his Calibers to full. The level-up ring, as Hiro called him was the system's way of indicating a system user leveled up.
'Well, farming low-exp monsters can only get you so far. Glad I managed to take it down without overdrive.'
The transmigrator then looked at the giant sword in his hands, one he could no longer lift due to its weight. Gratitude welled up in his heart as he looked at the weapon. It overflowed with his harem's love for him. He then whispered, "[Sword Driver]." The [Blade of Mitsurugi] just as quickly returned to its original size.
His heart grew full as he carefully whisked the blood from the blade and returned it to the sheath, emulating samurai from anime. The transmigrator quickly remembered there were five gryphons and that he no longer saw the young devoted from Starfall.
He turned around and searched only to become frightened at what she saw. The refugees were all on their knees and were begging quietly in a circle. At the center was a young woman who sat on a pile of monster corpses. Rilu still had clean clothes despite sitting on a gruesome mountain of dead bodies. On her shoulder lay a giant black scythe. Its blade had a menacing appearance like it was cursed.
- Alert: Summoned Venator detected. Skill [Sight Beyond Vision] has caused Venator to notice the host. Applying vision to the spirit realm. -
Hiro who heard an unfamiliar term grew wary. 'What the hell is a Venator, it is like an elemental?' as his skill modified his sight he then, saw a giant armored figure beside Rilu. The being had a belt made from monster skulls and had a giant blade grafted into its right arm. Its head lacked ears, eyes, or a mouth. 'What the fuck is that thing. It just screams evil!'.
As the transmigrator lambasted the villainous-looking entity, Rilu noticed him and waved energetically. "Hiro-sama! I am done here, excellent work on the gryphon! Despite only arriving here a month ago you can now fight such a powerful monster unassisted."
The man didn't know if she was making fun of him due to her sitting on a pile of the same monsters he took all this time to kill. The Venator took his attention so he went ahead and asked.
"Uh… Rilu may I ask what the knight-like thing beside you is? It is staring at me."
Since the system message, the giant knight looked in Hiro's direction despite not having eyes. Yet the man's senses were all screaming, he was in danger. The young devoted finally looked at her guardian and noticed its interest in the transmigrator.
"Ah, this guy here is Gideon, he is a Venator bound to me. Basically, Venators are like spirit kings, if the latter came from elements of the earth, the former are personifications of concepts. Gideon's concept is truth. He liked my skill [Scales of Justice] and became my personal lie detector. Gideon is my next most favorite person in the world after Rhyne-sama.