6 Chapter 6

-[Kenneth]-

He turned his attention to the crowd of newly recruited forever knights. Their numbers were many but their skills were few.

"You've got some nerve coming here you filthy EVO." One of them said.

"What are we waiting for?!"

"Let's tear him apart!"

The armor didn't allow anyone to see the state of the downed knights, not allowing them to confirm whether they were still alive. They simply assumed that they were unconscious, not even bothering to check on them.

Kenneth immediately realized why over 90% of the forever knights were fodder. They simply recruited people without bothering with anything related to training.

At least that was what most of the factions appeared to do. He wasn't sure about the direct subordinates of a certain ancient knight.

Pulling up his stat screen, he added 2 points to Agility and 1 to Strength, feeling the changes take place.

Though [Power Strike] compensated for the disadvantage in physical strength, he raised his strength stat to reduce the physical burden of the armor, even if just barely.

He was also confident in his choice seeing as how there was no way he wouldn't level up at least one more time if he took out a few of these knights.

'Though…' he looked at his Fatigue meter which was on 20 at the moment.

To him, it was a sign that he shouldn't waste too much energy or this would most likely be where he would die.

As they began rushing forward, Kenneth activated [Power Strike] on both hands. He punched forward, smashing his fist into the face of a knight and sending them back.

Not wasting a moment to focus on him, Kenneth's fist lashed out again, catching another knight square in the face.

None of them were given any weapons yet so they had to rely on their fists. "He's only one person! We can do this!" Someone shouted, motivating them as they continued their attack.

Kenneth pressed on, dodging a blow and delivering one of his own and sending the knight to the ground.

-[Skill 'Power Strike' has leveled up!]

-[Skill 'Unarmed Combat Proficiency' has leveled up!]

The power in his punches increased even more as now a single punch to the face was enough to put down each knight.

-[You have defeated your opponent.]

'So it differentiates between defeated and killed.' He immediately noted as he smashed his fist into the face of a knight.

Though the armor reduced his speed, the points he put into Strength and Agility made up for it.

-[Level up!]

He didn't get to show his joy as he immediately ducked under a punch, smashing his fist into his opponent's face and denting the metal.

A punch slipped through his notice and impacted his chest. Quickly retaliating, he lashed out with a [Power Strike] to the face.

-[You have defeated your opponent.]

The knights were now wary as they surrounded him, keeping their distance. The floor was littered with

"What is this freak?"

"Keep going! There's only one of him!"

While they were bickering and attempting to motivate themselves, Kenneth took the chance to allocate his points. He added 2 points each to Strength, Agility, and Perception, exhausting the points.

The burden of the armor reduced with his increase in strength, causing him to smile under the helmet.

Not allowing them the chance to organize themselves, he went on the offensive. The reduced burden along with his increased Agility stat granted him a significant increase in speed.

He was in front of the knights before they could get themselves in order, his smashing into a helmet before moving to his next victim.

Though his Fatigue was building up, he was making progress, the general number of the knights reducing every few seconds as Kenneth's [Power Strike] took them out of the fight with every punch.

-[You have defeated your opponent.]

-[Skill 'Unarmed Combat Proficiency' has leveled up!]

He eyed his Fatigue meter which was now at 68, feeling a slight strain on his body which was slowly building up.

•••

In a castle elsewhere, a forever knight sat behind a fancy-looking desk.

Unlike the normal design of the forever knight garb, this knight hid their face behind a golden mask. On that golden mask laid a grey-blue pointed crown.

His emotions or thoughts couldn't be deciphered as he sat behind the desk. At that moment, a knight in normal knight armor and overcoat marched into the room.

"How is the recruitment proceeding?" The golden masked knight asked.

"It is on schedule. This might be our biggest batch yet. They should be ready for pick up soon." The knight reported.

"Good. Organize the vehicles and have them ready within the hour." The golden masked knight said in a pleased tone.

The nanite incident dealt a blow to the forever knights. A large chunk of their numbers were turned into EVOs and more were killed in their many attempts to kill those EVOs.

Only recently did they acquire the means to deal with these abominations. Using the anti-nanite bullets, they would attract those who despised EVOs, and soon, their ranks would be refilled with faithful knights.

It was only a matter of time.

-[Kenneth]-

Panting, he threw a punch, sending his opponent to the ground. He didn't let up as he rained punches down on the helmet that got dented with each blow.

-[You have defeated your opponent.]

He panted heavily, sweat coating his face under the helmet. He had eventually run out of mana and his rising Fatigue meter didn't help in the slightest.

Littered on the floor around him were the unconscious bodies of the knights. Though he had finally beaten them, he was exhausted.

•••

Name: Kenneth Tennyson

Level: 9

Title: None

HP: 351/500 [20 per min]

MP: 0/500 [10 per min]

Fatigue: 96

[Stat]

Strength: 16

Agility: 20

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 18

(Free Points: 0)

•••

He had spent his points as fast as he got them to avoid getting overwhelmed. Perception had proved to be useful, working in tandem with Agility to keep him from being overwhelmed.

He had also felt the consequences of letting his Fatigue build up. At 96, he could barely even stay standing.

As much as he wanted to pass out and get some rest, he knew he still had work to do. Pulling off the helmet of the knight he had just beaten into unconsciousness, he pulled out a gun from his inventory.

Remembering the notifications from the system, he had 'defeated' them. With the clear distinction, it was obvious that there was a difference in the EXP given.

He calmed himself as he pulled the trigger.

*Bang!*

-[You have killed your opponent.]

Other than for leveling up, he also had to get rid of them for other reasons. He didn't want any witnesses who could reveal even the slightest hint about his abilities.

Moving to another downed knight, he pulled off the helmet and fired.

*Bang!*

-[You have killed your opponent.]

-[Level up!]

He pushed down the feeling that welled in him as he moved around the warehouse, finishing off each of the knights.

He deposited their bodies and armor into his inventory after each kill. It was a mentally and physically exhausting process but by the time he was done, he was the only one left standing in the warehouse.

He had stored them after shooting them so the ground was clean of blood, leaving no trace of anything that had occurred.

He pulled up his stat sheet once more after throwing the gun into his inventory.

•••

Name: Kenneth Tennyson

Level: 13

Title: None

HP: 478/500 [20 per min]

MP: 243/500 [10 per min]

Fatigue: 96

[Stat]

Strength: 16

Agility: 20

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 18

(Free Points:12)

•••

'It's like this thing is practically encouraging me to kill my enemies.' He thought.

He wasn't surprised that he only got four levels out of it, they weren't exactly trained fighters. Pulling off the armor he was wearing, he let out a tired sigh as he made his way out of the warehouse.

He had 12 points to spend and though he hadn't decided the allocation, it was the furthest thing on his mind. What he wanted…needed, was sleep.

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