Stronger

"Emma, Ethan, back up. I'll handle this on my own," Ashen ordered the twins, urging them to retreat to safety as he knew that they probably used their full stamina in the previous fight.

With the impending threat of the zombie horde, Ashen swiftly turned his focus to the mysterious equipment. He reached out and touched the pair of daggers, prompting a panel to materialize in front of his vision.

[Shadow Strike: A pair of daggers that increase agility by 30 points and strength by 20 points. Their sharpness allows them to cut through most monsters below the first division.]

Ashen nodded in approval at the significant stat boosts offered by the daggers. Eager to learn about the shoes, he touched them next.

[Pantherpace: A pair of shoes that increase agility by 30 points and dexterity by 15 points, providing the user with a substantial speed boost.]

A satisfied smile crossed Ashen's face as he considered the potential advantages these newfound items would bring to his battle.

As Ashen contemplated putting on the pair of shoes, an option to equip them appeared above the footwear. Curious, he touched the option, and in an instant, the shoes materialized on his feet, replacing his previous pair.

"Nice," Ashen remarked, impressed by the system's seamless equipment management.

The moment the shoes adorned his feet, he felt a remarkable difference. He became significantly lighter, as if he had shed a heavy burden. It was akin to removing a weighty vest that had been slowing him down.

Next, he turned his attention to the "Shadow Strike" daggers, taking them into his hands. A sensation washed over him as if half of his body had momentarily vanished. In addition to this peculiar feeling, a surge of newfound power coursed through his veins, invigorating his entire being.

"Now, let's get rid of these zombies," Ashen muttered, his excitement palpable as he prepared to test out his newly acquired power.

However, as he took his first steps in the enhanced shoes, he stumbled clumsily, moving like a child learning to walk. It seemed as though he might even fall.

Turning to look at the kids, Ashen saw their amused expressions, which only heightened his embarrassment. He berated himself for his lack of composure. After all, he was considered one of the best fighters on the planet. How could he have forgotten to maintain control over his movements when experiencing such a significant boost in attributes?

Determined to rectify his blunder, Ashen focused on regaining his equilibrium. After roughly 30 seconds of adjustments and practice, he had once again attained full control over his enhanced agility and speed.

Coincidentally, the zombies arrived at that very moment, requiring his immediate attention.

Ashen threw himself into the fray, wielding his newfound power to dispatch the zombies with incredible speed and precision. The intoxicating sensation of his strength and the rush of battle momentarily diverted his concentration.

However, this lapse in focus had dangerous consequences. In a split second, the massive, eight-foot-tall leader of the zombie horde appeared behind him, launching a powerful punch. Instinct kicked in, and Ashen managed to narrowly dodge the attack.

The sheer force of the zombie's punch struck a nearby wall, shattering it into thousands of fragments that scattered in all directions. Witnessing this devastating display of power, Ashen couldn't help but swallow hard, fully realizing the dire consequences had he been struck by that devastating blow.

Ashen quickly dismissed the near-catastrophe from his mind, refocusing on the immediate task at hand. He knew that, given his newfound speed, avoiding the leader's attacks should be relatively easy as long as he remained vigilant and didn't repeat his earlier mistake.

With this determination, Ashen continued his merciless slaughter of the lesser zombies. Minutes passed, and he found himself standing before the last remaining zombie—the leader. Having already dispatched all the weaker foes, Ashen was ready to confront him.

The leader attempted to strike Ashen multiple times, but this time, Ashen maintained his concentration, sidestepping every attack with grace and precision.

With a warlike scream, the leader signaled the beginning of the fight, launching an aggressive attack toward Ashen.

Ashen responded swiftly, his enhanced speed allowing him to effortlessly evade the monstrous punch. He decided to employ the same tactic he used against the cheetah, channeling the power of the lightning bolts into his dagger. The electrified blade sliced through the zombie's waist.

However, this time, Ashen noticed a significant difference in his execution of the move. It felt remarkably natural and far easier, as though he had practiced this move hundreds or even thousands of times.

The zombie leader writhed in agony, letting out pained screams as it tried to retaliate with its powerful leg. However, Ashen had already anticipated this counterattack and swiftly evaded, leaving the monster's strike to find nothing but empty air.

The battle raged on, heavily favoring Ashen due to the big speed gap between the two opponents. The zombie was utterly incapable of landing a single blow on the nimble and agile Ashen.

After a few more minutes of relentless combat, Ashen seized the opportunity to deliver the final blow. Using his agility and the environment to his advantage, he moved the zombie to position its back against a nearby wall.

With lightning-charged daggers in hand, Ashen executed a daring move. He slipped beneath the monster's final punch, leaped off the wall, and plunged both electrified daggers into the zombie's head, ending its life with a decisive strike.

A notification rang in Ashen's mind, signifying his victory over the zombie leader and after it, a white light engulfed him bringing him back to his summit

[ You killed a level 20 zombie leader! +10 strength, +9 health, +7 stamina ]

[You managed to combine your unique talent with your fighting abilities to create your own active skill. Give it a name so it will be fully recognized by the system and get a system boost ]

" No wonder I felt it was much easier the second time, so this is the reason"

Thought Ashen

" But what should I name it ? " He pondered over the name for a moment, wanting something both descriptive and straightforward.

Finally, he settled on "Lightning Pierce" as the name for his newly crafted skill.

[ The name has been saved ]

[ Making the skill in progress …]

[ Skill made successfully ]

[ Lightning Pierce (Unranked Active Skill): You can infuse your attacks with lightning bolts, increasing the power of the attack and delivering a shocking effect that freezes the enemy for 3 seconds. This skill consumes 5 mana points to use and has a 30-second cooldown time.

This skill may be able to evolve if the unique talent used in it evolved ]

With this new skill at his disposal, Ashen felt even more confident in his ability to face the challenges that lay ahead.

After that, from the zombie leader's lifeless body emerged an object enveloped in radiant light. The luminescence gradually faded, unveiling a chest piece of armor. Ashen extended his hand and touched the newly revealed item, prompting its information:

[ Zombie Leader Armor (1/7): A chestplate of armor that primarily enhances strength and stamina, increasing them by 40 and 10 points, respectively.

Special Effect: When battling zombies, it boosts strength by an additional 5%. ]

Ashen couldn't help but admire the newfound equipment, recognizing its benefits for future battles.

After that, he thought of wearing it and the [ equip ] option appeared . He touched it and it appeared on him.

After that he surveyed the battlefield, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. It was now filled with the lifeless bodies of the defeated zombies. His eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he were staring at a treasure trove.

"How many attributes would I get from all of these corpses?" Ashen wondered aloud. Eager to grow stronger, he began the process of extracting attributes from the fallen enemies.

After a focused 15 minutes of extraction, Ashen finally commanded, the "Status window," to assess the benefits of his hard-fought victory.

_______

Ashen Evilian

level : 15

exp : 1350 / 102 400

Race : Human

title : none

class : none

subclass : none

__________

Stats :

Strength : 90 (+ 60)

Agility : 91 (+60)

Dexterity : 77 (+15)

Health : 89

Mana : 71

Stamina : 77.5 (+10)

Free points : 16

_________

Active skills :

silent steps

Lightning Pierce

Passive skills : none

Unique talent :

Extraction [ rank : X ]

Lightning bolt [ rank : A ]

Talents stored : 3/5

Fire hands (C rank)

Ice shield (C rank)

Thornal roots (B rank)

Lightning bolt (A rank)

_____________

System note :

- 28 days 14 hours and 31 minutes are left for the next disaster.

_________

A sense of accomplishment filled Ashen as he gazed upon his enhanced stats. In just three days, he had transformed from a skinny loser who was thrown to the Streets to die into a powerful individual.

But he knew this wasn't enough. Ashen hungered for even greater power, determined to take revenge from the people who betrayed him . He believed that with his unique talent and unwavering dedication, he could eventually suppress them even if they had a higher starting point .

" System ! What happened to my analyzing ability? " Asked Ashen after he calmed himself and remembered what happened to him against the flying cheetah

[ Your ability to analyze and copy your opponents were lost when you awakened your unique talent. ]

" How can I get it back " asked Ashen still hopping to find a way to get his best trump cart back

[ The system doesn't know, but it's been combined with another unique talent, so if you became stronger ,maybe you can get it again ]

" Stronger huh ? So in the end it's strength. In the end I'm just too weak and I need to became much stronger " thought Ashen

With his resolve intact, Ashen made his way back to where the twins had been resting, only to find them fast asleep. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, silently thankful for their unwavering support. He knew that they must be very tired as they didn't level up after killing the flying cheetah.

He didn't want to wake them up, so he decided to go practice a little with his new skill while they rested.