Rogue Villain-Chapter 191: Limp-Legged Snail

The hot air balloon carrying Ackster and Wilma set down on the sandy beach shortly after the island with Ackster’s prospective trainer came into view.

"Welp! That’s all for me. Good luck, madman!"

Wilma waved as she took to the air again as soon as Ackster left the basket.

Ackster turned around with a raised eyebrow.

"You’re leaving just like that?"

Wilma stopped waving and nodded decisively.

"Yep. I don’t want to risk meeting Bo again."

"Huh?"

"Bye!"

Wilma was already too far up to maintain a conversation.

’No wonder she wasn’t as talkative.’

Ackster realized Wilma hadn’t stayed quiet only because he asked her not to ask any questions. She didn’t accidentally want to reveal what she felt regarding Bo, who Ackster assumed was the person he was here to meet.

Ackster turned around before noticing the paper slip sailing through the air.

’I’ll come back and pick you up if Bo doesn’t want you. :)’

Wilma’s paper slip turned into a crumbled piece that quickly digested inside Ackster. He didn’t want to litter.

Slightly worried, Ackster made his way toward the stone path leading away from the beach. He scanned his surroundings. He wouldn’t say the island was frequently visited since he couldn’t see any traces of other people, or beasts and monsters, for that matter.

The place where Wilma had landed seemed slightly wider, as if made for arrivals. There was also the path that clearly indicated where visitors should go.

But Ackster could feel a certain pressure as he trod upon the stone path, though he couldn’t be sure if it were the jungle obscuring the sunlight or something else.

Eventually, Ackster arrived at a clearing that seemed to fit and clash with the surrounding greenery at the same time. And a two-story villa sat in the middle of the clearing, neighbored by a greenhouse garden.

"Hello?"

Ackster called out as he stopped at the edge of the clearing. Since he was here to ask for help, he didn’t want to be rude toward his prospective teacher. Ackster remembered Wilma’s words and the fact that he wasn’t guaranteed to receive Bo’s guidance.

"Anyone there?"

Ackster looked around the clearing for signs of life aside from the house. He didn’t see anything. He shrugged before walking up and knocking on the front door. Upon doing so, he noticed that it wasn’t closed, and when his knuckles rapped against it, the door caved and revealed a glimpse of the house’s interior.

’Well...’

Ackster was curious. And he was just going to take a look around, maybe get to know his teacher ahead of time, or make sure nothing had happened to him.

Ackster’s foot passed the threshold and landed on the wooden floor. At the same time, he felt something cold graze his cheek.

’Huh?’

He put his hand against his cheek, and when he looked at it, it was red with blood.

Ackster stepped back and hid around the corner. He realized that he almost died, and he couldn’t even react. None of his skills or instincts alerted him to the knife lodged in a tree on the other side of the clearing.

"You this rude to all your guests?"

Ackster hoped he wasn’t talking to a trap. But his instincts could at least tell him he wasn’t.

"Guests? Hardly. Rude and impatient tadpoles? You’re lucky to be alive."

Ackster flinched as a calm voice rang out from right next to him and startled him.

The bald man looked at Ackster from the doorway. Ackster couldn’t see his eyes through the black sunglasses, but he could feel some degree of condescension from him.

"Sorry. I called out and didn’t get a response, so I knocked, and the door was open."

"So you barge into a stranger’s home just like that?"

"My bad."

"Yeah, you’re bad. Very bad. If I didn’t owe someone a favor..."

’Makes sense.’

Ackster hadn’t made a good first impression, and his first impression of Bo wasn’t of someone who willingly wanted to help him grow.

"Well, let’s see what you’ve got, weed."

"Right."

Ackster backed away from the house and onto the clearing’s lawn with a raised fist.

Bo looked at him as if he was stupid.

"What are you doing?"

Ackster looked between his fist and Bo.

"I’m getting ready to show you what I’ve got."

Bo sighed and rested his forehead against his hand.

"Holy..."

Ackster had a feeling he wasn’t doing so well. He also realized he might have spent a little too much time alone lately.

"Start running."

"Yes?"

"Are you deaf? Lap the island. Keep running until I tell you to stop."

"Okay."

"Go!"

Bo shooed Ackster away back down the path with impatience. He had told him to run, not to answer.

Ackster had already noticed that Bo was too strong for him to tell how strong he was, so he obeyed. He also wanted Bo’s guidance, and he had a feeling that he needed to prove himself if he didn’t want to get tossed off the island or get his head pierced by a dagger.

But if Bo wanted to test his physical capabilities, Ackster was confident he could win back some points.

"Did I tell you to walk? Run, you limp-legged snail!"

Ackster picked up the pace from a high-speed jog to a full sprint.

’Makes sense. He’ll need to see what I’m truly capable of.’

Ackster started running around the island. The sandy beach, cliffs, and occasional swamp were terrains he hadn’t run across in the same way before. But it didn’t matter. With Feather-Footed and Stalwart Advance, the surface or obstacles posed minor or no trouble.

However, running at his top speed, save for using Limit Breaker and Last Stand, still drained Ackster quicker than he would have liked. But Bo hadn’t told him to stop. So, he kept going. He kept running, running, and running.

It wasn’t the first time he pushed himself until his legs grew leaden and his lungs turned into broken bagpipes.

Ackster held off on using Limit Breaker for as long as possible, but he was eventually forced to tap into it to continue running. Stubborn Well-Being and Strong Body also repaired the muscles in his legs to keep them in a state fit for running. Ackster’s infinity machine was up and running. But the fatal flaw was still there. He needed energy to keep it going, but he didn’t have anything to eat.

Still, Ackster kept running. Iron Will kept him focused and driven until even Limit Breaker and his other skills started running out of juice. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But there was still no sign of Bo calling for him to stop.