Activating [Sage Period] wasn’t even an option with the prospect of doubling the damage he was taking frequently. As his mind raced to find the answer to the situation, hastened by the closely growing footsteps of the lunatic who seemed to take pleasure in execution, he found himself backed into the mightiest corner.

“…Yes–that’s the way. You’ve realized it, haven’t you? There is no resisting the end of humanity,” the man continued to ramble, “It’s God’s very will. Though he approached us with a pathway out, we’re unworth his courtesy. That’s why we take it into our own hands to enact his true will–his wrath.”

“–“

[Remaining Health Points: 880/2250]

He remained silent, watching as the crazed man approached with his ramblings filling his ears, echoing against the metallic walls.

“–Item: Greater Health Potion!”

He summoned the action of his system just as he used his functional leg to sweep the crazed man’s own, causing him to fall and give him enough time to manifest the rejuvenating potion into his hand.

It was perhaps one of the most valuable types of items in the world–a health potion. As they’re able to save one from certain death, they’re as sparse as they come. Even with all of the Angel coins he accrued, and the enemies he’s defeated, he’s only ever possessed three health potions at most, and two greater.

“You defiler–!” The crazed man howled out, scratching the metallic ground to crawl towards him.

No time was wasted as he drank the entirety of the bottle’s contents, downing each drop. It acted fast: restoring his health and mending his wound with its mystical properties._.

[Health Points Fully Restored. 2250/2250]

They were greatly expensive to use, and it was the last of which he had, but it was well worth it in exchange for his life as he brought himself back to his feet.

Alright…no more chances. I’ve got to do this right. My assassin skills will hardly be useful against him since he is more advanced in that class than I am–so I’ll have to rely on my Martial Artist class. I haven’t put much thought into it now, but let’s use this–I put a couple points into “Taekwondo” before–I wanted to try it out here, but when he took out my leg, that wasn’t much of an option. Now…however, he thought.

The lunic assailant pulled himself back to his feet, which were shoeless as he walked barefoot with blistered, scarred feet across the dark metal.

“Defiler! Defiler–! Heretic—!” The man was beyond angered now, slurring his words as saliva spewed from his lips.

He kept quiet, taking to the stance that came natural to him as he hopped on his feet, getting himself warmed up to the new style of combat.

The moment the man dashed towards him, he was on guard.

Now–! He thought.

–He predicted it: the [Blink Step] coming from the scar-faced attacker who warped directly in front of him as he countered with a high kick with a sharp twist of his body, launching his boot against the side of the man’s head.

“Gah!”

As the man stumbled, slobbering and swaying from the force of the kick–he didn’t stop there. He spun himself around, gathering force for another kick aimed for the man’s side, utilizing his enhanced physical prowess to slam the lanky man into the side of the wall.

[Martial Arts Proficiency: Taekwondo: 2/9999]

It already seemed effective enough, so he was surprised to see that he was only just now at the second proficiency level out of a whopping nine-thousand nine-hundred and ninety-nine.

He had never practiced Taekwondo before, but the basics came naturally to him with the assistance of his system.

“…Inconceivable! I am the envoy of God’s wrath!–You can’t stop his punishment! No, no, no!” The man lunged at him without any form or grace, wildly swinging his blade as he stomped towards him with saliva trailing from his lips.

This time, while the man was without any tactical, sound mind, he used a [Blink Step] of his own, both evading the swing of the man’s blade and setting himself up for another kick. It was natural and seamless; the system guided his instincts naturally as if he had already practiced the swinging kick hundreds of times beforehand, as if the formula was ingrained into his mind already.

When it came down to it, martial arts was the perfect complimentary class to an assassin; as being an assassin required close-ranged attacks, he was able to slip into his opponent’s position easily and unleash swift attacks without much of a risk. Beyond that, the flexibility and refined technique of martial arts provided an all-around benefit to the way he moved his body.

It landed against the man’s back, using a roundhouse kick to cause the man to nearly fall forward before he rebalanced himself with an unexpected [Blink Step], appearing at his side.

“Perish! Die! Fall! Sleep–!”

He contested the wild swings of the man barely, sweating as he stopped the swings before they could reach him, smacking the man’s wrist before delivering another sharp kick to his abdomen. He was still unable to fully put all of his weight behind the kick, but it was powerful enough.

Even after using the health restoration potion, he felt the fatigue still present in his body, forcing him to act quickly as he delivered a series of blows against the crazed man’s body.

“No-! No…! No–!”

The man drooled as he was hit, unable to formulate any semblance of strategy as he was helpless against the sudden display of martial arts.

After healing my wounds like that, my body is pretty exhausted–I have to end this quickly! He thought.

“Cast: Skewer–!”

The salivating man invoked a new, unknown spell, resulting in mystical blades being conjured out of thin air, surrounding him, all pointing towards him with malicious intent.

Not good, he thought.

The moment the blades shot towards him, he ran forward, drawing his daggers and deflecting the few blades he was able to before using a [Blink Step], evading the bulk of the projectiles and using a spinning kick to divert a few more.

It was a path that took the crazed, fiendish one by surprise as he was left agasp as the red-haired young man stepped behind him swiftly, holding a resolved glint in his emerald eyes.

Raising his leg high and swiftly, he flexed his body to gather the full strength of his system-enhanced body, bringing it down in a crescent kick, slamming the bottom of his boot down against the top of the lanky man’s head.

He didn’t have any room for restraint, bringing his leg down with full force as a bit of air pressure released, slamming the man into the ground with a resounding quake that shook the corridor.

“–Ngh–!”

Though he yelled out, the man was out cold afterwards, having been brutally slammed into the steel floor with eyes that were now pupiless as his consciousness was temporarily plucked away.

“Phew…”

[Martial Arts Proficiency: Taekwondo: 5/9999. Current Rank: Beginner]

[New Technique(s) Acquired: Leopard Strike | Swift Descent]

It seemed utilizing his Taekwondo abilities and overcoming his opponent raised his proficiency, confirming his theory that this sub-class operated differently than normal.

“…I did it,” he mumbled, “…I won. I’m still alive n’ kicking…”

Standing there for a moment, he huffed, looking down at his unconscious foe, unknowing of what to do with him.

The thought did occur to use one of the daggers at his hips and stick it in the man’s neck, but he couldn’t bring himself to do something so ruthless. Pondering that idea for a moment, he remembered the man’s taunts from earlier: “You don’t seem very proficient in killing.”

“Yeah, well…Maybe that’s a normal thing,” he mumbled.

Finding some rope, he tied the man up, leaving him in the corridor as he finally went on his way, though exhausted from the battle.

It wasn’t some sort of soft spot for the man’s life that kept him from killing him. It was just a small fear deep within him, that if he killed–he wouldn’t stop.

I’m not a hero, not even close, but…I’d like to keep my options open, and not kill if at all possible…He thought.

If there are more freaks like him in this place, that’s all the more reason to find the others–as soon as possible, he thought.

The thought still clung to his mind, even as he moved–his inefficiency with killing.