novelraw Chapter 103: Leveling
Chapter 103: Leveling
Together, they picked up speed through the ruined buildings. Loud crashes echoed through the emptiness, along with spectral voices that sent chills down Mitsuki’s spine.
’They’ve already realized we’re here. It’s obvious they’ll come hunting us.’
They had arrived here suddenly and without warning, so whatever lurked among the ruins hadn’t noticed them until the first specter fell.
He frowned, thinking deeply as he followed Monar.
’I guess staying to rest wasn’t such a good idea.’
"Another one’s coming!" Marco shouted from the front.
Azel leaped back, positioning himself atop a nearby roof to aim his bow. At the same time, Monar raised his staff, trusting Mitsuki to take the front alongside Marco.
There was no need to say a word—everyone took their positions the moment the enemy appeared. Mitsuki was already behind Marco, loading his shotgun with Fire Elemental Magic.
At the main exit of a wide street, a knight clad in full plate armor—sinister and grayish, with a long black plume rising from a helmet adorned with backward-curving horns—appeared alongside its companion: a skeletal archer wearing broken armor that exposed its bony torso. Part of its skull could be seen through the gaps in its helmet.
’No hesitation,’ Mitsuki thought. In the next instant, his body dissolved into ash, surging toward the skeleton with powerful momentum. ’Take out the archer first!’
As he appeared before the skeleton—clearly surprised by his speed—Mitsuki aimed. The shotgun roared with flames contained within the barrel, and with a brief click, the trigger was pulled. A fire round shot toward the beast’s chest, blasting it against the wall as it exploded.
At the same time, an arrow flew toward the gray-armored knight from Azel, piercing its helmet and leaving it momentarily disoriented. Monar took advantage of that, summoning a wind spell—a small tornado that lifted the knight into the air.
In the next moment, Marco swung his sword, cleaving the ash beast in half with a downward strike.
"Mitsuki!" Monar called.
The Ashen Kid turned, propelling himself with ash; then he aimed and fired without hesitation. The fire round incinerated the gloomy armored knight. As a result, both ash beasts crumbled into the curse that had imprisoned them for the past four hundred years.
Marco dashed forward to keep running.
"Move!"
Azel and Monar rejoined the sprint, while Mitsuki took a second to check the system.
[ You have defeated an unnamed Rank B specter. ]
[ You have defeated an unnamed Rank B specter. ]
[ Your stats have increased based on your actions. ]
[ You have gained XP. ]
’This just keeps getting better.’
He could feel it—subtle changes in his body. He glanced back; the others were already pulling ahead.
’Gotta keep it up.’
He propelled himself with ash once more. At this point, he had realized that Ash Propulsion, since it wasn’t a leveled skill, could be used as much as he wanted as long as he had mana. On top of that, he could chain it repeatedly, creating the sensation of flying—even though he was simply propelling himself forward.
Thanks to that, he caught up and ran alongside Monar.
The dark elf glanced at him and nodded in approval.
"You’re doing well, Mitsuki! But from here on out, it’s going to get worse! You’ll have to keep up with us!"
Of course, Monar was aware of Mitsuki’s physical weakness, but with Arcane Magic, he was a card they couldn’t afford to lose.
Mitsuki nodded and sped up.
’I know. That’s why I need to keep leveling up!’
Once again, to match Marco’s pace, he propelled himself forward with ash and loaded his shotgun.
[ The skill "Premonition" has activated automatically. ]
However, his new ability warned him that things wouldn’t be pretty. A chill ran through his body, alerting him to the next danger ahead.
***
Minutes later, from a high vantage point, four human silhouettes sped through the ruins. The ash beasts—mostly skeletons and knights clad in rusted, decaying armor—attacked them relentlessly.
Mitsuki moved like a shadow across the battlefield at high speed, showing remarkable control over Ash Propulsion.
A shot rang out.
[ You have defeated an unnamed Rank B specter. ]
A sword cut down an enemy in a single strike.
[ You have defeated an unnamed Rank B specter. ]
Wind spells sent enemies flying.
[ You have defeated an unnamed Rank B specter. ]
Dozens of light arrows, fired by Azel from the rear, filled the sky with their radiant glow. The skeletons at the front—about five of them—along with two heavily armored colossi, looked up in confusion.
The arrows pierced through all of them, stunning them momentarily.
In that instant, Marco and Mitsuki surged forward through the beasts. They cut, fired, and killed in the blink of an eye.
[ You have defeated an unnamed Rank B specter ×7. ]
[ You have leveled up. ]
[ The skill "Precise Aim" has leveled up. ]
[ The skill "Weapon Mastery" has leveled up. ]
[ The skill "Precise Aim" has leveled up. ]
[ Other skills have leveled up... ]
Breathing heavily, Mitsuki wiped the sweat from his forehead. He put away the shotgun for a moment and rested his hands on his knees.
’Damn it. There are too many—and they just keep coming.’
In the distance, more beasts could be heard approaching. They couldn’t afford to rest—not now. If they did, they’d be ambushed and killed by a massive horde.
"Mitsuki," Monar said, tossing him a leather canteen filled with water. "Drink and catch your breath."
"You’ve got twenty seconds," Marco added.
’Twenty seconds? That’s nothing!’
Despite his internal complaints, he drank the water and used the remaining seconds to breathe deeply before continuing. Then he tossed the canteen back to Monar and looked ahead at the narrow street.
A long, dark alley...
"Ready?" Blondie asked.
Azel stepped forward.
"That’s not my terrain, so I’ll follow from the rooftops."
"Good. Then let’s not waste time."
Mitsuki sighed, exhausted.
’No rest for someone who wants to grow stronger, I guess. All I can do is pray—and keep leveling up.’
With that, he stepped into the darkness of the alley, heading toward the castle alongside these people, who are now his comrades-in-arms in this dangerous leveling.