World Awakening: The Legendary Player-Chapter 98: A True Fighter

They moved through the sick forest for hours.

Nox was in the lead, his pace steady and confident. He wasn’t just wandering, he was following something only he could see. A faint blue line was showing him the way on the ground, a secret path that was totally invisible to Serian.

It led them through the thickest parts of the woods, avoiding the worst of the dead patches and guiding them toward their first target.

Serian walked a few steps behind him, her movements now as light and sure as his. Her gaze kept drifting to the back of his right hand.

’That mark...’

She knew it was a brand, a symbol of a contract with some incredibly powerful being. It explained so much about him, his impossible strength, his strange resilience. But it also raised a hundred new questions. She wanted to ask him about it, but she knew it would be pointless.

He would just shut her down.

’He will tell me when he is ready,’ she decided, her gaze softening as she looked at his back. ’Or he won’t. It does not matter. I made a promise.’

Nox could feel her watching him, but he didn’t care. He was focused. He could feel the air changing, a familiar buzz of power and danger ahead, and he couldn’t wait to see what was waiting for them.

’Almost there,’ he thought, a slow grin spreading across his face.

The System’s map showed they were less than a mile away from the first alpha creature. It was time to get ready.

He stopped walking.

Serian stopped a few feet behind him. ’What is he doing?’

He just held out his hands. Two chunks of dark, heavy metal appeared out of nowhere, slamming into his fists with a loud clang. They weren’t just gloves, they were solid blocks of star-metal, covered in sharp angles and glowing red lines.

They looked like they were made to break things, and just putting them on made his whole body feel like it was humming with power.

The Brutalizers.

They felt perfect.

He looked at them, admiring the way they drank the light of the forest.

"Hell yeah."

Serian just stared at the new weapons on his hands. ’He summons weapons from nothing? Just like I did.’ Her mind raced. ’His sponsor... it must be a god.’ The thought was both terrifying and strangely reassuring.

"Let’s go," he said, and started walking again, the gauntlets feeling like they had always been a part of him.

The forest changed again as they got closer. The ground turned wet and swampy, and the trees were all dead and black, like skeletons reaching for the sky. The whole area just felt wrong, and it smelled like rotting plants and mud.

In the center of the swampy clearing was a small, murky pond, and the corrupted energy here was so thick it was like wading through invisible sludge.

Something huge moved in the water.

A massive, fat, ugly toad, bigger than a carriage, pushed itself out of the muck. Its skin was green, covered in pulsating black boils that leaked a dark, oily fluid. It had too many eyes, a cluster of glowing red orbs that all focused on them at once. A long, sticky tongue, tipped with a bony barb, lashed out and snatched a corrupted bird out of the air.

Nox grinned. This was what he was searching for.

’Void Gaze.’

[Grotesque Croaker (Corrupted Alpha)]

[Level: 45]

[HP: 3500/3500]

[MP: 1000/1000]

[A mutated amphibian bloated with the forest’s Rot. Its tough hide is resistant to piercing and slashing attacks, and it can spit a highly corrosive acid.]

[Weakness: Blunt force trauma. Its soft underbelly is a critical weak point.]

’Resistant to slashing? Good thing I have these then.’ He looked down at the Brutalizers on his fists and clenched his hands. The glowing red lines on the gauntlets pulsed a little faster.

Serian drew her own sword, her stance low and ready. "This creature is foul," she said, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Its hide looks thick. A sword may not be effective."

The Grotesque Croaker let out a deep, wet croak that sounded like rocks grinding together. It turned its cluster of red eyes on them and took a heavy, squelching step forward.

Nox just laughed, a sound full of pure, happy violence. He smashed his new metal fists together, creating a shower of red sparks.

"Finally," he said, his voice a low growl of anticipation. "my Exp."

It let out another deep, wet rumble. It took a step forward, and the whole swampy clearing seemed to shake.

Serian circled to the left, her sword held ready. "Its hide is too tough for my sword," she said. "I will create a distraction."

He didn’t take his eyes off the monster, a savage grin plastered on his face. "Don’t bother," he said. "I’ve got a better idea."

The toad’s throat bulged, its fat mouth opening wide. A thick, glowing green glob of acid shot out, arcing through the air right at him. The sizzling sound it made was super nasty.

He didn’t even try to dodge.

’Void Step.’

He vanished.

The glob of acid hit the spot where he was standing, and the ground just dissolved with a loud hiss, a cloud of foul smoke rising from the new hole.

Serian gasped. Her head whipped around, searching for him.

He reappeared right next to the toad’s massive, warty leg. He was so close he could smell the rot coming off its skin.

’This thing is ugly up close.’

"Hey, ugly!" he yelled.

The toad’s cluster of red eyes swiveled down to look at him, its expression a weird mix of confusion and anger. Before it could react, he activated his new favorite skill.

’Primal Void.’

The dark, smoky energy poured from him, his muscles swelling with a power that felt incredible. He pulled his fist back and drove it straight into the toad’s fat, warty knee.

The impact wasn’t a crack, it was a boom. The Brutalizer gauntlet flared with red light, and the toad’s leg just exploded in a shower of green goo and shattered bone.

The massive creature let out a scream that was more like a gurgle, its whole body tipping sideways. It crashed to the ground with a huge splash, sending a wave of stinking swamp water across the clearing.

Serian just stared, her mouth slightly open. The fight with Fena, it wasn’t a defeat. It was training. He had learned. He was no longer just charging in with blind rage.

He was thinking, using his skills together.

He was a real fighter now.

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