David saw the Earthen Elental collapse, its body split in two as it hit the ground. Still, sothing told him lach wouldn't give up the elental so easily. The hardened soil underneath the two halves stirred and began to pour together. Before David turned his focus back to the Berserk Giant, he caught a glimpse of the Earthen Elental rising again.
David reached the Berserk Giant and slashed at it. His blade pierced the monster's hide, but the giant flexed its mountainous muscles, locking the weapon in place.
The Berserk Giant roared and lashed out with a powerful kick. David barely managed to conjure two crimson shields, but they shattered instantly before the blow sent him flying. The world spun as the force hurled him through the air. Mid-flight, David cast [Restore], nding his broken ribs before he crashed to the ground.
Two broken ribs, he guessed as he rolled back to his feet. He saw Torb and the Earthen Elental engaged in a desperate fight with the Berserk Giant. The Elental's arm had been severed, and Torb was flung into a nearby tree with trendous force. The dwarf's groan, followed by the ominous creaking of the tree, made David wince, but he could only cast [Healing Light] on him.
He conjured [Blood Bullet] several tis and attached [Blood Patch] to each, marking lach and Torb to cast [Restore] when needed. Yet David doubted his healing would be enough to change the tide of this battle. Not when there was a massive humanoid with a double-headed axe cleaving everything in two.
lach looked utterly spent—his golden hair plastered to his sweat-soaked face, and his bloodshot eyes fixed unwaveringly on the Earthen Elental. The elf's body trembled, barely able to stand, as though he was teetering on the verge of collapse.
anwhile, Zachariah stood motionless, the flat of his blade pressed against his forehead as though deep in concentration. David caught the faint parting of Zachariah's lips but was too far away to hear what the regressor was saying.
The Berserk Giant roared again, driving its massive fist into the Earthen Elental. David winced at the crunch of rock colliding with flesh but saw the Elental retaliate with a heavy blow of its own.
David overclocked [Blessing], accelerating his movents. He closed the distance, summoning the Obsidian Blade from his mind space. With precision, he overclocked [Slash], draining his stamina, and did the sa with [Holy Touch]. Activating [Symphony Control], he materialized a white dove that hovered before him, illuminating his path.
Another deafening crash reached his ears as the Berserk Giant pumled the Earthen Elental once more, likely bringing it down. But David was already at the giant's side, all hesitation cast aside. Leaping up, he executed a quick slash that cut deep into the monster. His soulbound weapon vanished briefly before reappearing in his hand, this ti pointing downward. Gritting his teeth, he ramd the blade into the fresh wound.
The blade dug deeper than before, but David wasn't satisfied. With a sharp strike to the hilt using his palm, he forced the weapon further into the Berserk Giant's flesh. He could feel the giant's rage bearing down on him but ignored it, twisting his body to deliver a kick to the embedded blade, worsening the injury.
Then he saw it—a massive double-headed axe swinging toward him. His head snapped to the side, and his heart raced as his body churned to react. Three [Blood Aegis] shields manifested before him, but he was about to overclock a fourth when a streak of silver light caught his eye.
David's breath hitched as he saw Zachariah—a shimring, star-like radiance crackling across his body, tearing through his skin—darting past the Berserk Giant's weapon arm in a blur of speed. Blood erupted in a sudden spray, and the giant's massive axe tumbled to the ground. David's gaze fell to the giant's wrist—or rather, where it had been—as blood poured out in thick, unrelenting streams.
Kicking off the giant's side, David leaped out of range, Words of Power spilling from his lips. He conjured several [Blood Bullets], overclocking the Skill Rune and weaving the power of the Law of Blood into the projectiles. With deadly precision, he released them in quick succession. A pained roar echoed as the projectiles streaked toward the Berserk Giant.
The blood bullets sped in a straight line, but as they neared the embedded Obsidian Blade, they abruptly curved, steering toward its hilt. One by one, they struck the blade's base, driving it deeper and deeper into the wound.
David gasped for air, beads of sweat rolling down his face, but a triumphant smile ford on his lips. Controlling blood bullets using the Law of Blood was challenging, but it worked. And to him, that was all that mattered.
His attention flicked back to the others, his heart pounding wildly. The Earthen Elental headbutted the Berserk Giant, its armless form still fighting fiercely. David caught glimpses of Zachariah darting around like a silver bolt of lightning, his movents too fast to track.
The Berserk Giant was about to crush the Earthen Elental's head when it froze for a quarter of a second. David noticed Torb crashing into the monster's leg with his shield, likely using [Charge] or [Stun] to slow the Berserk Giant.
He finally turned to lach, who had collapsed to the ground. While the elf seed unconscious, David thought he saw a fleeting glint of defiance in his eyes. The elf stared intently at the Earthen Elental until it was torn to shreds. Only then did he seem to lose consciousness.
David arrived beside the elf and cast [Healing Light] on him. He patted lach's back and praised his effort but winced and focused back on the battle when Torb was nearly squashed again.
The Berserk Giant moved faster and struck harder than before. Torb raised an earthen wall and covered himself in an earthen hue, but it was no use. The giant smashed through the wall and sent the dwarf sprawling.
Not even Torb's armor, made from [Natural Armants], survived the humanoid's punches. Only Zachariah didn't appear to be struggling. The skin all over his body was torn, leaking silver energy, but the Berserk Giant had yet to hit him. His attacks, on the contrary, struck deep.
Zachariah's Sword Intent caused considerable damage, but it wasn't enough for David. Using Words of Power, he called upon the Law of Blood, tearing the fresh cuts wide open.
At the sa ti, he released the overclocked power of [Holy Touch] that had been hibernating in the Obsidian Blade. The Berserk Giant's left leg caved in, and a deafening roar resounded. A silver flash shot toward the Berserk Giant's head, yet the humanoid didn't seem afraid. Its glimring eyes appeared to track the silver flash. David caught the Berserk Giant's arm twitch, but several large crimson shields ford between them before it could whip Zachariah out of the air.
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A thick, vibrant crimson shimr mantled Zachariah as David added [Blessing] once more before losing track of the regressor's movents again. The silver flash shot through the Berserk Giant, burning a gaping hole in its neck.
The humanoid let out a strangled growl and collapsed. It twitched a few tis as blood pooled beneath it before going still. David remained tense until the flood of notifications arrived.
[You have contributed greatly to the defeat of Berserk Giant (Bronze IX) of the Tribe of Stryxth.]
[Your Rank increased by one.]
[Bronze V] → [Bronze VI]
[Three Attribute Points have been added.]
[Your Source has grown. 1 Blood.]
…
David felt a surge of satisfaction at the notifications. Ranking up and expanding his Source was exactly what he needed. The Attribute Points would help, though he still wasn't sure if he should adjust their distribution again. He'd have to think about it carefully.
He considered checking the remaining notifications to make a decision, but Zachariah returned to them and collapsed before him. David had to change his plans.
"You used the Sword Law, or sothing like it, didn't you?" David asked, turning Zachariah onto his back.
"Berserk Giants…are quite strong," he muttered, coughing up blood. "I had to kill it. Plus…I have a personal Healer."
David cocked an eyebrow but continued. He cast [Weave of Life], creating a vibrant network beneath Zachariah. He pulled lach's unconscious body into its radius as well.
"Don't forget about ," Torb's voice rang in his ears. David looked up to see the dwarf dragging himself toward the vibrant network etched into the ground. His earthen armor was dented, and his movents sluggish.
David cast [Restore] on all of them and released [Healing Light] into the area. He also channeled [Holy Touch] through them, accelerating their recovery.
"We need to move soon," Zachariah muttered. "The commotion…"
David shrugged and channeled a portion of his remaining Blood into his eyes. Scanning the surroundings, he saw no monsters or humanoids approaching. So creatures fought near the spot where they'd harvested the Erald Mandrake, though.
"There's no need to worry. We're not being hunted right now. Once Torb is ready to move, we'll carry you guys sowhere else," David said, approaching the Berserk Giant's body while maintaining his spells on the others. His Source was draining quickly, but he wasn't struggling to sustain his spells.
"Is it possible my spells are getting stronger or more cost-efficient as I increase my Soul stats?" David asked. He was fairly sure that the Holy Sea's spells grew stronger and more cost-efficient as he strengthened his Soul. However, the benefits had been negligible compared to the Holy Sea's expansion. To David, it had been more important to expand the Holy Sea's size.
That was different now. His Source would expand and gain more Blood drops, even without enhancing the Soul stat.
"A Skill Rune's power limit is determined by its rank. The energy you use to activate it can increase the limit by a certain percentage. Blood, since it's made from Essence, can do such a thing," Zachariah explained, pausing to cough up blood. "When you use Blood to power a Skill, it's more effective than using holy power or mana, but…"
The regressor trailed off, prompting David to cast an overclocked [Restore] on him.
"If Blood were twice as potent as holy power, you'd only need half the energy to achieve the sa result. But, of course, Blood is not twice as potent."
Was that why he could use less Blood to activate the Skill Rune's 'predetermined' power limit—the limit it ought to have at a specific rank?
Then again… what if Blood grew stronger and beca twice as potent as holy power? Was that possible? David wondered while retrieving dozens of Velociraptor corpses to store the Berserk Giant's corpse and the massive war axe. He uttered a few Words of Power and drained the dead bodies' Essence before turning back to Zachariah.
Upgrading my Soul seed to increase Blood's potency and efficiency more than it had ever improved holy power. David was certain this ant sothing.
He felt too weak fighting the giants. His blade cut deep, but a sharp weapon was not enough. However, a sharp weapon combined with powerful offensive Skills and a decent physique might be.
David could focus on his Soul stat and acquire more Skills like [Blood Bullet] and [Slash]. By continuing to increase his Soul stat, further augnting Blood's potency, it should be possible to replace a lack of physical strength.
Not that I'd let my physique suffer, David groaned at the thought. But… it just can't be my priority right now.
It felt like the right thing to do.
"Did you collect the item drops?" Zachariah asked, his arms quivering as he struggled to sit upright.
David shook his head. "Lay back down. You look completely drained."
He approached the Stone Giant's body and found a small marble. He glanced at its body and frowned deeply. The lump of life, which Zachariah had split in half, looked odd through his Blood-augnted eyes.
"Is that a core containing lifeforce?" David retrieved a pickaxe from the storage necklace—one of the many tools Torb had purchased 'just in case'—and got to work. He used the massive gap inflicted by Zachariah and expanded it until he could see a red orb. Two halves of a red orb, to be precise.
David freed and collected them. "Do you think they're worth sothing?"
Torb, looking better than before, approached him and nodded in interest. "Stone Giants have Bloodstones. It's their source of life. They're very valuable."
David noticed Torb's eyes light up, but the dwarf quickly shook his head and slapped his cheeks to snap himself out of it. "But… selling it might be a mistake. Maybe you can give it to the Artificer. She might be able to use it to create your Blood storage. Even if she's already done, you could ask for a big discount by giving her the Bloodstone."
That sounded like a good plan.
"But did you see this?" Torb's eyes started glimring again as he held up a black shirt that looked like it belonged in the Middle Ages or Renaissance.
"O…okay? Is that what dropped from the Berserk Giant?" David asked. "Cool…"
"You don't know what this is, do you?!" Torb exclaid, exasperated.
"Should I?"
Torb snorted, smiling brightly as he dragged David back to the others. "Look what I found!"
Zachariah strained his arms to push himself upright and cocked an eyebrow, glancing at the shirt.
"Cool," he muttered with a faint smirk before laying back down.
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