Chapter 183: Explosion Tyrant
Chapter 183: Explosion Tyrant
Flying over one of the dilapidated buildings, she was immediately beset by a dozen corrupted. If it was her a few weeks ago, they would prove to be a tough opponent. Now, however, Astrid didn’t even have to look at them before their bodies exploded into a mass of gore.
Multiple [Crashes] split them open like a violent wave. She didn’t even bother pulling out their eyes as it was a simple waste of time. Not only did it not kill them, but she had no use for their eyes in the first place. They were too weak.
Once they were dead, Astrid got a closer look at the buildings. They were entirely levelled to the ground. It wouldn’t have been out of sight for it to be a demolition zone, but since it was the corrupted who had done it; it left Astrid confused. The corrupted wanted one thing, and one thing only–to devour whatever their opponents were. Of course, it was often humans, but not always. Once they consumed someone with a System, they would grow more powerful.
It was a huge reason why some crazy people ended up corrupting themselves. They believed themselves to be different. They wouldn’t become insane like everyone else. Well, they were always wrong. Astrid didn’t know if it was from pride, or desperation, but she would never willingly infect herself with a brain consuming virus.
Back to the buildings, it couldn’t have been done by corrupted. They had little reason to break them down, unless there were people hiding within them. Even then, only a wall or two would be smashed; not the entire house.
In conclusion, Astrid believed it was some sort of evolved corrupted. Maybe a high level adventurer, or someone from the military. Whatever faction they belonged to, Astrid just had to kill it.
She could hear the fighting in the distance from Daniel and the others, so all she had to do was make even more noise than them. Then, whatever had destroyed the buildings would appear from whatever dark corner it currently resided within.
Thankfully, it seemed that they were more interested in her for some reason. Corrupted after corrupted charged at her with no regards to their own safety. She blew them up in a bloody mess. Only a few minutes had passed, and she had already killed around forty of them. With no end in sight, they continued to sprint for her no matter where they were located.
As she [Crashed] the matter against one of their heads, sending bone, and brain matter scattering in the surrounding area, a thought popped into her mind. She was aware the corrupted had acute senses when it came to hunting those who had mana. It was another reason why her coming alone was beneficial as her mana would be detected from a long distance.
Are they going more insane since I have a Transcendent Class? Astrid thought, and it made sense. If they were capable of detecting mana, then she would be the tastiest treat on the entirety of Rebirth. Unless someone else had a Class on the same tier as her–which she doubted. But honestly, it was possible. How big was the world? Well, it was huge. It took Rebirth twenty years to travel from one side to the planet, to the other. The thought of her being the only person with a Transcendent Class was a good feeling, but an unrealistic one.
Astrid shook her head. She was getting distracted. Flying past another building, she headed further into the core of the housing area. In a cleared out area, where presumably a house used to remain, stood a clump of corrupted. Their heads twitched, along with their noses as Astrid neared.
Landing on the ground, she fired twenty or so [Psychokinetic] bullets. Their target? The brains. Her bullets tore through the air like rapid fire arrows. In a blink, they all bore through their heads. With a wet thud, they fell to the floor.
The moment their corpses hit the ground, she was already met with a few roars. But one was different. Astrid resisted covering her ears as one shout particularly caused her eardrums to thrum. It wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t something she wished to continue experiencing.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for the monsters to appear. The first wave was at a higher Level than the others she had killed. Presumably they had come from the core area, where any of the stronger survivors were located. Well, it was better their attention was on her, rather than them.
Although they were stronger than the others, to Astrid, it made no difference. Anything that wasn’t above Level two-hundred and eighty, posed little threat. Bullets of highly condensed psychic mana formed above her head, and as the corrupted arrived, she fired them all at once. Each bullet tore through multiple bodies. If they didn’t kill the monsters outright, then another was immediately replaced, then fired to follow it; securing the kill.
Just as the first wave died, another took its place. Why don’t you give me a challenge? Astrid spat, but she grinned in the next moment. Behind it, powerful stomps caused the metal plates underfoot to tremble. It wasn’t long before the powerful corrupted blasted apart what was remaining of a house. It charged straight through it, but that wasn’t all. As its body made contact with the wall, a secondary explosion obliterated what was left of the house.
Even the other corrupted weren’t safe. It blasted through the second wave, crushing them under its mighty feet.
The evolved corrupted was the furthest away from a human it could possibly be. It was almost unrecognisable. Maybe it was once a man, but now, it was nothing but a monster. Both internally, and externally.
Massive plates of bones covered both of its arms as if it had two tower shields strapped to them. Atop the shields were multiple openings where mana rippled from within. It seemed that was how it caused the extra explosion. The bone also continued all over its body as they stuck out of its skin like thorns. It was no longer a man, but a demon.
There’s the target. Astrid thought. She grimaced at how far the man had fallen, and he obviously wasn’t weak. Well, physically, anyway. She couldn’t say the same for his mind. The more depraved they were, the faster they fell to the corruption.
Level ??? - Corrupted Explosion Tyrant.
It was a cool name, but Astrid was aware of the danger the monster represented. She didn’t know what Level it was, however, she didn’t need to Identify it to find out its power. It was clear as day that the monster in front of her used to be a high Level adventurer… which was sad. Spending all those years just to have it turned against him surprisingly filled her with vexation.
The monster stuck its feet into the ground, then rucked it up with a stomp; as if it was a bull readying its charge. And charge it did. With another step, the ground shattered underfoot, and its entire body flew forward like a human freight train.
Astrid was about to pull out its eyes, or throw hundreds of bullets at the beast, but she wanted to test how her Psychokinesis itself compared against it. It had been a while since she had a wrestling match, after all.
As the tyrant hurtled towards her, Astrid forced her mind on a single point: It’s left leg. The liquid mana within her right eye surged, and with a mighty pull, she tugged at its leg as if trying to rip it off completely. However, it was made clear that the latter was just a fanciful thought.
Despite that, the monster stumbled to the floor. Causing him to crash. His forward momentum tore the earth, but he managed to regain his composure, and blast off with the other foot, straight for Astrid. The pores opened up atop his dual-shield, and the energy exploded forth as he blasted through Astrid.
Astrid reappeared to the side with a smirk as the corrupted tore through her illusionary body–straight into an erected spike that was taller than he was.
The tyrant's eyes widened as he couldn’t stop his explosive momentum. However, his panic lasted only a second as the pores exploded once more. He collided with the savage spike in a spluttering of molten slags that flew into the surroundings like shrapnel.
Of course, the spike was obliterated, but the corrupted didn’t escape unscathed. The side of the left shield was skewered, and fragments of the spike had even penetrated through the armour, and into its side.
It was a nice little surprise attack Astrid brewed with the help of her illusions. It didn’t work against those with high intelligence, but against a mindless brute–it was quite effective.
The attack caused the tyrant to screech out a powered roar that caused the weakest nearby corrupted’s head to directly pop open.
Astrid dodged a sudden attack behind her. The new corrupted’s claws scraped along her Mind Barrier as it passed by, causing blue sparks to splinter. While it was in mid air, Astrid grabbed hold of its body, then slammed it down into the ground with a thud. Not giving it a moment to regain itself, she [Crashed] the area above it in a rumbling explosion. There was nothing left of the monster–only a faint red mist.
It wasn’t the only one. Hundreds of screams roared at her as the target of their desire. They wanted her mana.
Scoffing, Astrid moved at high speed through the air as she killed them all enmasse. Hundreds of explosions rocked Rebirth’s middle district. It entirely drowned out any other sounds. With the golden haired young woman at the centre, it was a world of destruction, and she was its creator.
Raking its armoured hand across the incoming corrupted, the tyrant blasted toward her once more.
“Give it a rest, will you?” Astrid spat, and flared the mana within her eye. With a violent pull, she tore the beast's eyes from their sockets. Miniature explosions rang out within its skull. The rupturing was too much to bear, and the mighty tyrant fell to the ground.
She glanced at the description of its eyes, but they weren’t worthy enough to be stored. Instead, she just [Crashed] them, erasing them from existence with a splatter.
You defeated - Corrupted Explosion Tyrant - Level 232!
| Extra experience is granted for defeating an enemy many levels above!
You have Levelled up!
| Oculus Witch Level 158 -> Oculus Witch Level 161
| Voidmare Level 158 -> Voidmare Level 161
You have gained 30 stat points.
| You now have 1376 Intelligence.
Astrid finished the other incoming corrupted, then injected a mana stimulant into her arm. It was gifted by the psychos, and she had to hand it to them; they were extremely potent. They restored the same amount as a Rare potion, but instead of a gradual replenishment–the syringe was instant.
Your eyes were useless, but let’s see what else you’ll give me. Astrid flew over to the hulking corrupted body, then placed her hand over it, and used [Disintegration].
Skill level up!
Disintegration level 9 -> Disintegration level 10 [ Max ]