Rogue Villain-Chapter 113: All Natural

Ackster wasn’t where Hansel had last seen him. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Where’d he go–"

Hansel caught a blur at the bottom layer of his vision.

"Right here, motherfucker."

Ackster’s fist accompanied his voice as he appeared from beneath Hansel’s chin.

Ackster had thrown his clothes into the air as a diversion and dropped to the ground before dashing forward like shot out of a cannon. Liberated from his weighted training equipment, unfettered, Ackster was like a horse given wings as he flew across the ground. The short distance between him and Hansel vanished in the blink of an eye.

If it weren’t for his already warmed-up Keen Senses and the blood-red crescent light cleaving the air and triggering his Battlesight, Ackster’s speed would have overwhelmed him and taken away the golden opportunity it had bestowed upon him.

If the speed Ackster could unleash now that he had removed the training equipment surprised even him, it would definitely surprise Hansel as well, who, despite—or maybe because of—Ackster’s boastful attitude, thought lowly of him. And, as he had expected, as soon as he realized how free and powerful his body felt without the clothes weighing him down, Ackster landed an uppercut straight to Hansel’s chin with enough force to lift his entire body and disrupt his stance.

Ackster’s punch clamped Hansel’s jaw shut with enough force to chip off the tip of his tongue. It fell to the ground in a depressing arc, accompanied by a few drops of blood.

Hansel nearly lost his balance as his feet returned to the ground, disoriented as he was from Ackster’s mind-rumbling punch. But he stayed standing and instinctively gripped his spear. He would surrender one of his advantages as soon as he let go of it.

Ackster didn’t wait for Hansel to regain his bearings and landed another blow to his midsection. Hansel was just a hair too slow in guarding, and Ackster’s quick and heavy fist knocked the air out of him.

But Hansel wasn’t a reputed veteran adventurer for nothing. He didn’t crumple, and his posture remained mostly intact, despite not being able to breathe. And before Ackster could try to land a third strike, Hansle spun the spear in his one hand, pointing it at Ackster while guarding his body and solidifying his balance with the other.

Hansel forced himself to stay calm and not panic from the oxygen loss as he tried to force Ackster back using his spear. He could barely concentrate enough to apply a weak layer of mana to the spear. And it was almost disrupted by the alarmingly loud impact of Ackster’s clothes crashing to the ground.

Ackster clicked his tongue. He hadn’t expected Hansel to recover so quickly or take that uppercut so easily. He had wanted to press the attack further and drive Hansel into the ground while he had the chance. It was unfortunate that Limit Breaker hadn’t activated.

But it also made sense. Without the training equipment, Ackster’s body was no longer as heavy. He could move freely and much quicker than before. He didn’t know how much stronger and faster he was now that he had discarded the training equipment. He didn’t know what his limits were.

And unless he inadvertently stumbled upon them—his limits— while trying to exert all of his strength, Limit Breaker wouldn’t even meet the bare minimum requirements for activation.

Ackster didn’t think he could guarantee a quick win against Hansel, even without the training equipment, unless he could get Limit Breaker to push his body further and unleash even more of the dormant strength it was capable of displaying for a befitting price.

Fortunately, there was a simple and straightforward way to reach his limits and get Limit Breaker to activate properly. Ackster just had to go all out.

So, he ignored Hansel’s still feeble attempt at swinging his spear to chase Ackster back until he could catch his breath. His speed without the training equipment and boosted by Sprint had taken both Ackster and Hansel by surprise.

Ackster was looking forward to what it could do if he broke past his body’s limit. He darted from side to side, taunting Hansel a little and warming up his legs and ankles so they were ready for the impact when he began running full speed in circles around Hansel. He wasn’t fast enough to leave afterimages, unfortunately. If anything, he was only making himself dizzy. So, even if Hansel was getting just as dizzy by swiveling his head like a weather vane in a storm, it wasn’t worth it.

Instead, Ackster began running in straight lines back and forth across the corpse-ridden area of the forest just out of sight of the dome. He tried to dash around without a pattern, and when he saw an opening, he would flit in like a butterfly and land a quick jab wherever he could.

The more he moved, the better grasp he got of his body’s capabilities and its movements. Keen Senses and the sensory amplification provided by Strong Body also got used to the new world of speed Ackster had entered. Fortunately, it was slight enough of a jump from his previous slowness under the training equipment that he could adapt in the middle of a fight.

Unfortunately, it still took enough time for Hansel to regain his breath, and he gripped his spear with both hands and braced for Ackster.

"So all you can do is run."

Ackster discarding his clothes and unleashing a new level of speed was surprising, but Hansel could still see Ackster and his movements with his naked eyes, so he wasn’t afraid and didn’t lose his composure. Hansel would have never gotten as far as he had, with or without the shortcuts he used, if he was startled and revealed openings for something as simple as an opponent revealing a trump card.

And if Ackster’s bare chest and legs were any indication, he didn’t have any more clothes to discard so that he could reveal and unleash even more of his strength. He also didn’t have any visible items adorning his neck, wrists, ankles, or ears. Of course, there was still a place hidden by his underwear where Ackster could have attached magic items and artifacts as a final trump card.

Hansel accepted it as a definite possibility, both because of Ackster’s attitude that didn’t care about anything or anyone around him and because he couldn’t accept the reality where the bulge was all-natural.