Upgrading Skills
I need to level up my skills. So, what should I pick?
I pondered my options for a moment. Weapon Revive to increase the number of summons, or Weapon Manipulation to add new techniques to my weapons.
Adding an attack skill will pay off more than just getting one extra summon.
Weapon Manipulation level increased.
All weapon types can now use Shadow Strike.
And with the level up, my mana went up a bit too.
Checking my status window, it had risen slightly. At this rate, I could handle one more dagger.
I picked up another dagger from the floor. Now I had three in total.
"S-Sir, that was incredible!"
"To pull off an attack like that... Are you really a swordsman?"
"I've never seen an ability user who attacks by floating their weapons!"
The guards who had witnessed the scene from behind were slack-jawed. The civilians were pouring out exclamations of awe, but all this attention made me uncomfortable for some reason.
Thud!
Thud thud!
That's when I spotted something green moving on top of the train car. Just from the sound, it felt pretty heavy. The boss was coming.
Kabooom!
"U-Up there!"
I couldn't see clearly through the debris from the ceiling, but something massive had definitely dropped down.
Vroooom!
"Huh?"
In that instant, a massive axe blade emerged from between the fragments. So this guy's weapon was an advanced-grade giant axe. That meant its speed would be slow.
I figured I could block it even now.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I quickly pulled the daggers in front of me. This should hold.
But...
Claaang!
Kabooooom!
I definitely overlapped the daggers to block the axe blade. But my body got flung back anyway. I slammed straight into the wall.
"Gah!"
It felt like my whole body was shattering. In the game, it would've just been a HP deduction, but...
I wanted to move, but my body wouldn't listen.
...What's going on? None of the mobs here should hit this hard.
Something was off. It was a giant axe, sure, but this was a low-level zone. It shouldn't have this much power.
"Not bad. But you're just a knockoff, aren't you?"
Knockoff. That was the term they used to mock test subjects. He'd figured out I was an experiment.
"Pathetic, whimpering at a piece of trash like this."
"...Boss. This guy's no ordinary pushover. He floated his weapons and blocked, I swear."
"Tch."
The bandit boss clicked his tongue and glared at the guards.
"You gonna charge in?"
"Y-You bastard."
"If you're gonna charge, do it now."
"Sh-Shoot! Fire!"
Bang bang bang bang!
Flames spat from the guards' long rifles. In that moment, a blue glow leaked from the boss's eyes.
Ping ping ping!
He swung the giant axe with blinding speed, deflecting every single bullet. He'd used Clear Sight.
"Now it's my turn."
Vroooom!
Shiiiing!
He swung the giant axe gripped in his mechanical left arm with full force. Red blood sprayed everywhere, and the guards' bodies were cleaved in two at once.
Splitting them clean in half in one strike. He definitely wasn't at that level...
Something was definitely wrong. There was something special about that axe he was holding.
"...Pathetic worms."
After finishing off the guards, the bandit boss moved on to the next car.
*
"Urk."
Crackle.
After some time passed, my body finally started moving again. Good thing I blocked with the dagger—otherwise, I'd have been bisected too.
Did the body mods boost his strength?
Freakishly strong power for his level. Something must've been enchanted on that arm of his. Or maybe it was the advanced-grade options, as expected.
"Ptoo!"
I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth. Whatever the reason, this guy wasn't a pushover.
Something surged up from deep in my chest. Irritation. Rage. And the humiliation of getting hit by him.
The pain was already forgotten. All that lingered was the fact that he'd gotten me.
"A-Are you okay, sir?!"
"Survivor here! Everyone, over here!"
More guards arrived. They came running, then turned away from the mangled corpses on the floor before rushing to me.
"Someone treat this man!"
The spot where he'd hit me throbbed. But I didn't care. My head was full of thoughts on how to kill him right now.
Then I'll pay you back.
Repay favors with grace. Enemies with double the pain. He'd touched me.
I couldn't let that slide.
"W-Wait, are you going after them? You can't move yet! We'll go with—"
I ignored the guards and headed out alone.
*
By now, the train had been completely taken over by the bandits. The good news was that the engine car was still guarded by soldiers.
But the other cars were a different story.
"U-Ugh..."
The captured passengers were all herded into one spot. Severed arms and legs. Rolling heads. The scene was pure horror.
It didn't look like robbery—just slaughter for fun.
"Listen up, you bastards. Want to get home in one piece? Hand over everything you've got. You see our boss's axe? Disobey, and your heads roll next!"
"P-Please spare us!"
"T-Take it all!"
Terrified, the passengers offered up their belongings. No one dared resist. Otherwise, they'd end up like the corpses on the floor.
"Hmm..."
That's when I saw the boss wiping blood from his axe blade. A double-headed axe too heavy for a normal person to even lift. And his modified body. Upper torso made of metal chunks. Hoses connected all over his arms. Holes on his shoulders spewing steam.
It looked a bit shabby, but he wielded that massive axe without issue.
"Ugh... Looks like nothing special here, boss. Move on?"
"Yeah."
"Kill every last one of these guys."
"Yessir! Heh heh heh."
The bandits approached the passengers. They grinned with yellowed teeth, excited at the thought of staining their swords with blood.
Clang!
That's when something shot inside—but its form was indistinct. Just a straight line of black smoke.
Whiiiish!
Crack!
"G-Gah!"
The black smoke stabbed in at tremendous speed. It wasn't just fast. It pierced straight through one bandit's shoulder.
"D-Dagger?"
The black smoke hit the wall and vanished, leaving a dagger embedded there—their own dagger.
Clang!
But it didn't end there. Two more streaks of black came flying in.
Whiiiish!
Whiiiiiish!
"Gah!"
"Urk!"
Speed like gunfire. The bandits dropped like flies.
"I-It's coming again!"
The dagger pulled from the wall, wrapped in black smoke, flew back in. The bandits got caught flat-footed, and soon everyone inside was down.
Clang!
But the boss was different. He deflected the dagger heading his way.
With Clear Sight, he'd read its trajectory.
Rattle.
Right then, a man appeared from the back door.
"There you are."
Shaggy silver hair, red eyes. A smile crept across the man's lips.
But it was chillingly cold.
***
I'd found the group holding the passengers, but the interior was a nightmare. Body parts littered the floor.
Time to try it out.
I activated my new Shadow Strike. Black smoke rose from the daggers as they punched through the door toward the bandits.
Clang!
A collision rang out, and one went down. The dagger pierced him instantly at insane speed. The effect was huge.
Its speed had doubled, and so had the attack power.
So that's what it does.
I'd been skeptical from the description, but now I got it. It reminded me of Damian facing a rain of dozens of weapons.
Just three now, but if I get more...
I could use it like game Damian too. The three daggers, cloaked in black smoke, tore through the interior.
Claaang!
But only for a moment. A deflection sound rang out. The bandit boss had knocked it away.
Unlike the small fry dying like flies, he'd casually swatted it with the flat of his axe blade.
Clear Sight at work, as expected.
Rattle.
I opened the door, and the metallic stench of blood hit me. The floor was soaked in it, the walls splattered.
"You... didn't die?"
Despite his men lying slaughtered, he grinned with yellow teeth. He seemed thrilled to meet a real opponent.
"Even if you made an ability, a knockoff's still a knockoff. You could've run and lived, but stupid, huh?"
He was right. Most test subjects couldn't handle real ability users.
But he was wrong about one thing. This body wasn't some cheap knockoff.
The experiments on Damian were their masterpiece, everything poured into it.
"Whenever someone touches me, I gotta pay 'em back tenfold to feel satisfied."
Whoosh whoosh!
I raised the two daggers from the floor and sent them flying from different angles. Unfortunately, my aim was off.
Accuracy still sucked.
"Tch. Figures a knockoff can't hit. Heh heh."
He laughed at the miss. Yeah, laugh it up.
I attacked again. This time, the aim was true.
...But as expected, he wasn't easy. The wind pressure from his massive mechanical-arm swing sent the daggers flying.
Won't be able to use Shadow Strike much more.
I needed stronger attacks, but I had to conserve mana. A side effect now would be bad.
Tat tat tat!
I spotted a glaive on the floor.
...A glaive, huh. Let's try it.
I scooped it up while charging at him.
Whoosh!
The glaive felt natural. Like it was always mine.
Damian's power too? Yeah, his body had swordsman abilities mixed in.
Claaaang!
The axe blade met the glaive's edge. A metallic ring echoed inside.
Then, in our struggle, our faces drew close. Close enough to smell his foul breath...
"..."
But this bastard's expression looked bad. Shock, confusion, excitement. All mixed in.
Finally realizing something?
"You... a knockoff with 'mage' and 'swordsman' abilities...!"
"Shut up."
Vrooom!
Clang! Clang clang!
The glaive pressed him. He backpedaled in panic but still blocked everything.
But he was wrong again. My weapons weren't just what I held.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
I floated the daggers and attacked from all sides.
"...W-What the—?!"
Glaive up front. Daggers everywhere. He couldn't hide his confusion at the unfamiliar style.
But he'd adapt soon. Even a bandit boss with swordsman skills wasn't to be underestimated.
Vroooom.
Kaboooom!
He counterattacked. Slamming the axe down unleashed a massive shockwave, upheaving the floor.
So he knows Earthshaker.
A technique for axe-wielding swordsmen—smash the ground to create waves.
"I'll split you open and pull out your guts!"
Not like the others—he was tough. But that just sharpened my focus.
My goal right now was solely to take him down.
Clang clang clang!
When distance opened, daggers flew. Close up, glaive swings.
Melee and ranged. My attack range was huge.
"Hah... hah... This knockoff bastard."
He couldn't close in or pull away. No clue how to handle it.
But I wasn't in great shape either.
...Mana's running low.
Still not enough mana. I'd been conserving, but the prolonged fight was draining it.
Zing.
"Urk."
Suddenly, my head shook like it'd been hammered. Side effect incoming.
Luckily just a precursor...
No time.
"Try blocking this!"
Vroooom!
Seeing me wobble, he unleashed another technique: Rift Attack. He launched his bulky body into the air, axe pointed down.
Now.
I'd waited for this. When he'd be defenseless in the air. Clear Sight wouldn't help mid-jump.
Whiiiish!
Thuk! Thuk!
I fired Shadow Strike instantly. Three daggers buried into his side in a flash.
On the ground, he'd have deflected. But airborne? No chance.
"Gaaaah!"
Thud!
He flew sideways and tumbled. Maybe due to his massive build. Or dagger limits.
Not deep, but fatal for his modded body suffering mechanical arm backlash. Oil leaking from it would rot his side.
Swish!
Time to finish. I pulled the daggers from his side by hand.
His jaw dropped at the sight.
"Summon...?"
Whoosh!
Splurt!
"G-Gaaaaah!"
Summoning surprised him good...
Whatever. I jammed a dagger into his face.
But he wouldn't go down that easy.
Whoosh!
Shaaa!
The glaive curved in an arc, piercing his neck and staining red.
'Bandit Boss, the One with the Mechanical Arm' defeated.
680 EXP acquired.
Skill points obtained.
Leveled up. I spotted his advanced-grade giant axe too.
The hard fight paid off handsomely.