Limit Break

Bang!

A wolf crashed headfirst into a shield as it rushed forward with reckless abandon. It was then sent flying into the air as Dalt swung the towering metal in his hand upwards. Upon realizing that Dalt had once again covered his back, Akt looked on with appreciation in his eyes.

"Thanks..." He muttered in between his panting.

Dalt tiredly raised his shield and chuckled, "Do the thanking when we get out of here."

This scene of Dalt covering for Akt had already happened countless times for the past few hours. Dalt had gotten used to Akt's movements, and Akt had learned to synchronize his maneuvers with Dalt's. It was a good thing that their teamwork had evolved to such a degree. Of course, it was mostly Akt adjusting his pace with Dalt since he was the one capable of seeing through their movements in detail via his [Analyze]. But it could be said that their teamwork was good enough in normal circumstances.

However, no matter how good their teamwork became, it did not make things better. The number of injuries that they had acquired through all that fighting sapped their bodies of their energy. They were already on their last leg.

Akt was riddled with horrifying wounds all over his body. It was only the tenacity that he had built up during his training with Vera that was keeping his body upright. His head was hurting badly as he endured the fatigue brought on by the prolonged use of his [Analyze] Ability. At this moment, the only thing guiding his swings was the instinct imbued in his body by the countless swings he had practiced in his life.

In addition, he was not the only one in a miserable condition.

With the wound on his right arm, Dalt was no longer able to move it and only used his left to hold up his shield. He was also covered with various wounds that he had acquired after covering for the weaker Akt numerous times. He was already spent and was only moving through sheer will. It was already a miracle that he managed to hold out for so long considering that he had been dealing with the rear long before Akt even joined them in their efforts.

As for the others, Akt did not have the mind to check up on them in great detail. He did not have enough energy to spare to do so. He could only assume from what he had scanned with his Ability that their conditions were approximately the same as his or even worse.

To know how things came to be like this, one could narrate every possible factor that had led to their plight. However, there was one thing that became the turning point of their predicament. Alia had run out of arrows.

Of course, them running out of fumes was bound to happen ever since they found themselves outnumbered. However, without Alia's arrows to back them from behind, the situation escalated to such desperate degree.

Everyone had to be extra mindful of their actions because without someone watching out for them from behind, one mistake could cost them everything they had put on the line. They had to be very careful of their next moves and think about the consequences more thoroughly. This, in turn, made hesitation come out of their movements every now and then, and such action only put them even more at risk.

If there were other people watching the battle, they might think that losing an Archer was not that bad. How could the loss of an archer and a few mere arrows affect the whole battlefield significantly? Those arrows were indeed lifesavers, but the warriors themselves had been faring well all this time with their own efforts. If so, how could their formation crumble just like that?

However, things were not so simple on the battlefield. Especially more so with the way this battle was set up. They had to fend off dozens of wolves with just the five of them as they ran. It might sound easy, but the difficulty of the situation was not at all comparable with a defensive battle in a stationary spot. The group had to move their legs constantly and block assaults from various and unexpected angles. In a premise such as this one, these low-tiered cultivators of baron-class level would unmistakably make a blunder sooner or later. They would definitely be in need of someone to cover up their mistakes— an Archer.

That was how important Alia's role was no matter how subtle it was.

--

'We've slowed down...'

Akt's face contorted into an ugly frown when he realized. At the pace they were going, the group would eventually come to a stop. And if that ever happened, their lives would also be forfeit. It was not like he did not see this coming, but seeing it happen made his heart jump in anxiousness and indignation.

Would his life really end in such a pathetic situation? Without even being able to show this world his sword?

Unwilling.

He was truly unwilling.

After being made aware of the fact that he could only be a low ranking adventurer upon his arrival in this world, although dejected, he accepted that fact quickly upon discovering that he could become stronger. However, being constantly reminded that he was but a small fry and even brought to the brink of death by these beasts made him feel insulted.

After all, from where he came from, he was hailed as one if not the strongest. While Earth's power level was comparably lower than this world, he was still someone who stood on top of everyone else. Him swallowing his pride and bearing with staying as a low ranking adventurer for a while in this world and even going as far as working as a porter for somebody else already showed his great compromise and tolerance. He remained humble in the face of everything despite his mastery of the sword being above everyone else.

But as a master swordsman and a person dubbed as the strongest in the way of the blade back on Earth even if technically untrue, a sense of pride and arrogance naturally existed deep within his bones.

So, being provoked like this by these beasts made his blood seethe in anger. How could he allow these lowly beasts to continue disrespect him this way? How could he allow them to push him into this pathetic state? He gritted his teeth tightly, letting out grinding sounds from his mouth. His eyes blazed as he glared at the wolves.

Noticing the irregularity in Akt's mood, Dalt turned around and was surprised to see his expression. His face was filled with unrestrained anger as he stared at the demonized wild beasts. His aura turned unbridled, and the deep arrogance within his bones stirred uncontrollably.

"Akt. You..."

"Senior, we have to stop saving our stamina," Akt said. "At our current pace, we will soon need to stop. We might as well unleash everything."

Of course, Dalt was also aware of this. But, he was still hesitant to commit. There was no backing out any longer if they did so. And If they failed to make it out of the forest when they truly ran out of everything, it would truly spell their demise.

On the other hand, he was also bewildered when he caught on to what Akt had said earlier. 'He still has not unleash everything yet?'

Dalt assumed that for a Body Tempering realm cultivator to be performing at this level, Akt must have been giving his all and going beyond his limits. Even if he was only capable of immobilizing the beasts and not fully killing them, he was still carrying out his role flawlessly with his techniques. Who would have thought that this white-haired young man still had energy to spare?

Dalt was not willing to believe it.

"You... You're kidding, right?"

"No. This is the only thing we could do after all..."

Kark, on the front, heard the conversation and asked, "Dalt, what's going on?"

The other two, Shadow and Alia, also pricked their ears.

"Akt suggested that we... go all out with everything we have."

"Hey, are you crazy? We'll not last!" Alia cried.

While a certain trust had been established after witnessing his performance, the others were still reluctant to go along with Akt's suggestion. His idea basically meant throwing out the leeway they currently had for a burst of strength.

Meanwhile Shadow disagreed with the others, "No, i think Akt might be right this time. We're slowing down.... At this rate that we're going, we also would not last. I see the worth in betting everything we have for one last chance...."

However, they all did not have the time to think about it. Time would not permit it. Akt closed his eyes and concentrated. He scanned his whole body with his [Analyze] and found several injuries in and out of his body. Then, he sighed. He really was reaching his limits.

It was then that he remembered a passage in the cultivation manual that he had used to start cultivating.

'The Body Tempering realm makes use of the surrounding Mana to temper one's body. This, in turn, transforms the body into one that could house Mana and also strengthen the cultivator. Once one is able to enter the Body Tempering realm, the closer to the limit one's body is while cultivating, the more the body would strengthen after recovery.'

That was right.

One would not necessarily need mana to cultivate in the Body Tempering realm. It was true that Mana was necessary in turning the mortal body into that of a cultivator's, but after entering the Body Tempering realm, anything that would bring the body to the limits and temper it to the utmost one could handle— including hitting the body with Mana, strenuous physical activities, or even life and death battles—would also help in strengthening the body.

Remembering this fact, Akt smiled daringly. He would use this chance to go beyond and train. It was the perfect situation to bring himself to the limits after all.

"[Analyze]"

This time, he held nothing back. He scanned his whole body to the maximum of his capabilities and searched for ways his body could move to exert his greatest. He tightened all the muscles in his body, his blood still flowing in the process. Soon after, an indomitable aura rose from his body when he raised sword in a stance. It was the aura of a master swordsman— a glimpse into the fraction of strength the woman named Vera was capable of.

Akt opened his eyes. His golden orbs lit up. Soon after, he muttered once more with a clenched jaw.

"[Analyze]."

And again.

"[Analyze]."

And again.

"[Analyze]."

He held nothing back. An unknown energy flowed out of his body and brought back information to be used at his disposal. He scanned, analyzed and calculated with vigor intermittently. Every movement in the battlefield was at his grasp.

Even amidst the the strong headache threatening to rip his mind apart, he endured. His concentration wavered constantly, but he held on. This was probably one of the times that he had to use his ability the most.

Soon after, he moved with flowing movements akin to that of a dance. He re-entered the battlefield like a tempest and swung his blade like a tornado ravaging everything in his path. Curiously, his strikes were also quite accurate despite that.

His head hurt pretty bad, but he was calm inwardly. He let go of all the rage he felt and channeled all his emotions in his swings, bringing his body's performance beyond what he was normally capable of.

Swish.

Swoosh.

Blood flew everywhere. The strength he had now gave him the capability to slay in one strike. The others could hardly believe what they were seeing. Just a Body Tempering realm and he was capable of this?

'Where the hell did this man come from?'

The others were astonished in seeing this. They almost stopped running, but a shout from Dalt woke them up from their stupor.

"Damn it. Support him!"

And right after, he followed through. Although Dalt could not keep up properly with the new attack pattern Akt was exhibiting, he made sure to cover him as much as possible. The display of Akt gave them a second wind and uplifted their morale a little. However, Dalt knew he was a right earlier. He was not willing to believe that Akt still had spare energy to do this. He did not know how this junior gain such combat prowess out of nowhere, but he was certain that this man had paid a price in exchange for this strength.

"He would not last for long," Dalt gritted his teeth. "Back him up together with me and regain back our momentum. We can still make it out of here if we play this instance right!"