Chapter 15: Dark Strike

Locating where the sound had come from, it appeared it was towards the large building to his right, the place he was originally going to head to.

'One would be a fool to head over to a scream like that,' Raze thought. 'That is only a recipe to get killed. We're not in some kind of horror movie. So, it's best that I stay away from that.'

With this thought in mind, Raze decided to continue to explore the outside platform that went along the side of the large building. The noise was bothering Raze, though, and for a number of reasons.

One, this was a portal to another planet, one with the same creatures that he had come across when he went through portals on Alterian. Not once had they ever come across another human.

'So does that mean there's another mage here doing a hunt as well? The creatures here don't seem to be of high level, so at most the mages would be around 2 stars. Then again, it could be someone who is just from this planet, a first.'

Raze soon had to stop in the middle of his thoughts though, as the same creature from before appeared from behind one of the crates, growling and staring at him with its piercing eyes.

"I understand how you feel. I killed your friend earlier, right? Was that your aunt, brother perhaps? Look, let's make a deal, if you don't attack me, I won't attack you, okay?"

Almost immediately after saying those words, the beast leapt toward him again right in the air. The monsters of other worlds, if the same, often attacked in the same manner.

At the same time, they were nearly always hostile to anyone they met; it was kill or be killed. This was how they had discovered the use of the crystals in their bodies in the first place.

Rather than rolling away, Raze waited until the right moment, and he positioned his feet, just like he had done in training. Then, leaping off his back foot and stepping with his front, he threw out a fist. Dark aura flowed out from it.

"Dark pulse!"

The fist pulsated and shot the magic out fiercer than before, ripping the top half of the dog's head away, killing it in one hit and causing it to fall to the floor.

'The result of adding the two-step shift, while throwing out a punch, amplifies the dark pulse. Even if I don't make direct contact, it's stronger than I thought.'

Just like before, the dark essence lifted from the dead creature and flowed right into Raze. When it connected with his dark core, the ring on his finger lit up as well.

[16/250 Dark essence absorbed]

The dark ring had another effect; having connected with his dark core, it gave him a better way to track his affinity with the dark attribute. Now, when cultivating the dark essence or killing creatures, he would have an idea of how much stronger his dark magic was getting.

For now, there was a cap, but each time he raised his star mage level, the cap would also increase, allowing his dark magic to grow even stronger than before.

[A portion of your mana has been restored]

The other effect of the ring had also kicked in, allowing him to use the Dark pulse skill once again. But there was something that hadn't recovered, and that was his stamina.

'Using the two-step shift, because of this weak body, each time I use it with the Dark pulse, its effect will weaken. I think this body could only do it perfectly about three times. Also, this naming is a bit confusing. Let's just call them Dark pulse and Dark strike for now.'

For a mage, saying the spells was actually an important part of performing the spells. One would have to have an image of the spell formation in their mind when they produce the skill they said.

Attaching a word to each formation allowed for the image to easily appear in their head, giving them a chance to use the attacks quicker with the correct formation. Essentially, one would connect the word to the formation, and it was a lot easier to remember the word than the image of the formation in their head.

Another crystal had been obtained, and the best part was, this crystal was all his to use. He didn't need to use it to create an item; he could instead use it to increase his own magic powers.

Knelt down, Raze was admiring the crystal in his hand with a large smile on his face.

"Stop right there!" A voice shouted from behind, slightly high in pitch, sounding like a female.

'Don't tell me... I decided to walk around the place so I would avoid everyone.'

"You do not have permission to be here. Who are you? State your name and where you're from!" The person demanded.

"Don't have permission?" Raze said, standing up and turning around. He wanted to have a look at just what type of person could be so bold as to make such a claim.

"Are you the owner of this place or something? Who are you to ask for permission?" Raze asked, as his anger had slightly taken over. The way the person spoke reminded him of the many arrogant mages who looked down on all the others.

The two-faced bastards in the tower that preached all sorts of things but then did what they wanted themselves.

When seeing the person in front of him, Raze was relatively surprised by what he saw. It was a young woman, a beautiful one at that. Her straight black hair was tied up in a ponytail, while part of her fringe stuck out over to one side.

However, her skin seemed to be glowing even in this light, but the surprising thing wasn't her beauty. Raze had seen plenty of beautiful mages, especially ones who would use magic to enhance their looks and change with the fads. Creating big lips one day, big bums the next, and even large knees at one point had become a fad!

What Raze was surprised about was what she was wearing. She was covered in a white and gold type of cloth material. It was tight-fitting around the chest and waist but a little loose around the arms, and in her hand pointing right towards Raze was a sword.

'This, she's clearly not a mage, she almost looks like...'

"You must answer me!" The woman demanded again. "This area is owned by the Dawnblade Clan! State what clan you are from. If you cannot answer me, I will get rid of you right here, I swear on my name, Beatrix Highborn!"

It was now very clear, Raze was certain of it, this person was from the same world as him, not the world of mages but the world of martial arts? Did he just teleport to a different area?

No, he was sure of it by the color of the moon, this was another planet, so why was there a Pagna warrior in front of him?

Raze was wondering if he should mention the name of the Red Brigade clan or say no name at all since he wasn't technically from there. He also had no idea what stage this warrior was at.

In the end, Raze had decided to take a risk.

"I'm from this planet," Raze answered.

"From this planet? Then you are just a beast disguised as a human, you must die!" Beatrix shifted forward with her sword pointed. It was at incredible speed. It was clear that she was able to use Qi, and his guess about her being a Pagna warrior was right.

'I can't avoid this... this body is too slow, I have no choice.'

Raze had no skills that could quickly move him out of the way, nor did he have any magic. So he did the only few things he could do. He got into a stance and shifted forward.

'The two-step shift, so he is a Pagna warrior!' Beatrix thought. 'But, that's such a basic skill. Why would someone use that in this situation?'

"Dark strike!" Raze shouted out, throwing his fist, gathering his magic.

The movements were simple, too simple and Beatrix was able to avoid the strike, and instead she thrust her sword forward with her Qi, right toward Raze's chest. n-(In

'I thought you would do that, go right for the chest, and aim for the kill... I have no choice, it will take up nearly all my mana, but I have to survive!'

"Shrouded heart!"

The sword hit Raze right on the chest, and his entire body was sent flying through the air. His body crashed through the large building that was to his side, and he was no longer in Beatrix's sight.

"That felt a little strange," Beatrix thought, looking at her sword. It was fine, but what was of more concern was her own shoulder. Even though the fist hadn't connected, something else did.

"What clan or faction was he from?"