9 Pride

:::[Adam's POV]:::

After seeing the second portal opening, everything that appeared in my field of vision moved in slow motion and I realized that the worst had yet to come.

The events that occurred during the last fifteen years flashed back in my mind, and as if my thoughts were accelerated by a boost of adrenaline, I began to question the reason for all of this.

I trained and learned a lot of things, but was it enough? I lived a luxurious life after I came to this world, not having anything to worry. Maybe that was why, I let my guard down.

Even so, I couldn't accept the thought that I would die for the second time and waste my second chance because of something as stupid as being poisoned.

'Just a few years in luxury and this is what happens? I am pathetic. What the hell was I thinking?' I reckoned, looking back at what I did during these fifteen years and realizing that it was far from enough.

I was used to the feeling of luxury that my new status had granted me and the way my parents treated me, it seemed like I become full of myself, letting my guard down around everyone who worked inside the castle.

'I need to do something! Think! think! Think...' I thought, resolving myself to not become the kind of person that I dislike the most. 'It's out of the question that I will end up dying as a loser again...'

I never felt so desperate in my life, and for the time after I came into this world, I realized the true value of the second chance that was given to me.

However, everything that I could come up with to deal with the situation seemed unrealistic since I couldn't move my limbs even if I wanted to crawl to that portal.

Also, the monsters that came out from the second portal were numerous and were at least level 4.

I could at least recognize them because these humanoid and ugly monsters were called goblins and even though they weren't as strong as the wolf-type monsters, they were ranked as level 4 monsters because of their intelligence and viciousness.

These short monsters carried weapons and wore armors which made it hard to fight them since they could also control the primordial particles instinctively, increasing their mobility and range of attack.

To put it simply, they were the description of the word scoundrels and it was only thanks to the tough-looking priest that I was still alive.

After the goblins began to perform sneak attacks on the Royal Knights when they were focused on fighting against the wolves.

And apart from being vicious with their attacks, these despicable minsters didn't even leave dead bodies alone but began to crush them with their weapons as if they were having fun.

'Bastards!' I thought, looking at the scene in front of me. Something that I could have prevented if I was more attentive to my surroundings and thought twice before drinking that juice.

'Mother…'

I saw my mother laying on the ground with sister Gracia's hand on her forehead, and I could also see my father and Marcel trying hard to protect the two of them as they took a side glance at me who was surely in a pitiful state from their point o view.

'What the hell is this…' I couldn't stand the fact that I was becoming a burden to everyone. Me... A burden'

'I need to get hold of myself!'

'I need to do something… I…'

*****

"Hey there. So we meet again."

Suddenly, I saw the silhouette of a person standing in front of me. Really? I knew this kind of plot twist.

"Do you want my help?" The person said. He looked like me but his body was more of a projection of some kind. And illusion?

"However, this will be the first and last time I will be helping you, if you take my hand now."

Did that even matter? If there was a chance for me to change turn this sitaution around, I would take it.

However, as I took the person's hand that was reached out in front of me, I realized that I forgot to ask, what did he want in exchange ? What was the price for receiving his help?

Suddenly, the entity vanished as soon as I took his hand, and I felt strong emotions going out of control deep inside me, as if my heart was on the verge of exploding. I couldn't feel my limbs and my brain didn't work properly.

My voice was stuck in my throat and I couldn't ask for someone to bring me near the portal so I realized once again how bad my condition was, but I didn't want to die without achieving anything.

'Huh?' And when I felt like all hope was gone, something extremely strange occurred, and I suddenly felt my body was moving by itself and standing up.

I knew that I was desperate and I wished for a miracle to happen, but this was something that I didn't expect. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of confidence so I became very calm, not feeling any hesitation, fear, anxieties, or doubts.

'What is this insanity?' I thought, wondering if I had lost my mind, because, at that moment, I looked at my mother, at the monsters, at the portals, and at what was happening around but the word 'difficult' didn't even cross my mind.

I felt like some of some of feelings were locked away, like my fear and my anxiety, while some others were emphasized.

My lips moved and a voice came out of my mouth even though I didn't even think about saying anything. Various information appeared inside my mind.

"This is certainly a poison that affects slowly the nerves and the muscles. I need to neutralize its effects for now." I said, understanding the situation that I was in without any difficulty. It was a very strange feeling that I couldn't describe with words alone

Then, I inspected the surrounding. "And from what I can see, there seem to be two portals and approximately 420 monsters that are still alive. What I need now is speed and a force of execution so this sword will do." I didn't feel any doubts while uttering these words even though the entity was speaking through me and the feeling of confidence and pride that I felt was genuinely real.

My voice sounded clear and extremely pleasant and it echoed throughout the whole place even though everything appeared to be chaotic.

I felt like my strength was bottomless and one of my punches could create a shockwave that can destroy thousands of planets.

Then my body began to float in the air, "I altered my center of gravity and so this body should be able to glide around," I said, feeling the entity talking through me.

When I was afloat dignifiedly above the ground, my eyes stared down at the world below me and continued talking. "This plasma sword looks decent even though it was just a prototype," I said, taking out the plasma sword which was made of Stellarium and mana stone, assembled with the ability of nanotechnology that I kept hidden in the inner pocket of my clothes. It was just a prototype that I thought will increase my chance of survival so I didn't use it often and I almost missed the chance to do so."

After that, I leaped forward at an unbelievable speed as if it was being pulled by some sort of gravitational force while the monsters that were at least within a range of five meters around me were neutralized by my power.

The original gift that I received when I came to this world was a cheat-like power, even if it felt incomplete, but the ability to float wasn't part of it, so I was surprised when my body used two abilities at once. One to fly around and one to neutralize the monsters.

The original gift only neutralized the mobility of living beings and couldn't do anything else to them, but what made me realize how stupid I was. 'This ability's range of use was extremely limited if couldn't move around quickly which was a skill that I lacked.'

In one on one fight, I knew that no one could beat me if I intended to kill them, but after seeing what I could do while exterminating monsters like some sort of angel who held a sword of judgment, I realized that I could do better.

Slash, slash, slash!

The plasma sword might have been a prototype but it was very effective against monsters than against people, and whether it was the despicable goblins or the ferocious wolf, my sword didn't give them the time to react and they were chopped into pieces, dying instantly.

Roar! Roar!

The monsters got agitated after seeing my one-sided massacre and rushed at me literally like mad beasts, but even after seeing them coming at me, I was calm and I could observe every detail in their movements, their weaknesses, predicting their angle of attack, so I didn't have any feelings of doubt concerning my victory.

'Everything... is simple and clear.' I thought.

I once again raised my sword, and as if performing an elegant dance, I sliced the monsters one by one without any wasted movement.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Not even a single monster could survive one of my attacks, so I didn't even turn back as I approached the portals and activated the power of neutralization, returning them to a pile of rock.

My power stopped all of the activities that were generated by the unstable primordial particles and they returned to simple inactive, neutral particles, which could easily be dissolved by the world.

I had a guess, but I wasn't sure that I would be able to do it. I was relieved.

It all happened so fast and if it wasn't for the monster body parts scattered everywhere around the place, no one would even remember that there were monsters a few minutes ago, but I wasn't even surprised since the word failure never crossed my mind during the process.

After I finished my one-sided slaughter, I turned around, and as soon as I saw my mother, I felt sad again and regained control of my body.

However, as soon as I did, all of my strength yet again left my body, and I fell to the ground for a second time, losing my consciousness for good.