By sheer luck, I managed to block Blackpearl's direct punch. Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to block the damage from such a powerful blow.
I was literally thrown three meters away, and by the time I realized what was happening, Blackpearl was already lifting me up by the neck.
He was saying something, but the ringing in my ears and the blurring in my eyes prevented me from understanding exactly what he was saying.
My heart was racing, my legs were weak, and my left arm was broken. I had no way to escape him. This was probably the end for me.
Blackpearl was Rank B, and I was Rank D—maybe Rank C if I was being very optimistic about my own level progression over the last few days.
I was close to surrendering to the inevitable path to death when, amid all the visual and emotional chaos, a system notification calmed me down.
[You have received a new mission!]
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[Mission details!]
Mission Name: Survival of the Fittest
Description: You are cornered and about to fall off a cliff, pushed by an avalanche that has a name and a reputation—Blackpearl. But isn't it too early for you to die? Find a way to survive and get out of this situation, regardless of the consequences.
Type: Survive.
Difficulty Level: S
Success: You will survive.
Failure: You will die.
Rewards: Unknown.
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Seeing this mission window didn't give me any purpose. After all, I wanted to survive and didn't need any extra incentive with future rewards that I didn't even know what they were yet. However, I confess that for a few seconds, I had forgotten that there was a system. My thoughts were jumbled, and everything was very confusing, but when I saw the system window, I remembered that I could use it to try to get out of this situation.
In the last two days, at least since I entered the Sun Temple Dungeon, I killed many monsters. This allowed me to accumulate many more Soul Fragments than I had before. A portion of these Soul Fragments had been used in the fight against Laufus, but the rest had never even been touched.
After killing twelve Hollow Knights, six Ghost Wizards, and one Laufus, and factoring in the balance I hadn't spent, I had a total of 3,000 Soul Fragments to spend as I wished.
If I invested those 3,000 Soul Fragments in myself, would I become strong enough to take down Blackpearl? The chances of that were slim. So what could I do?
It was difficult to think with Blackpearl's hand squeezing my neck tighter and tighter.
"What's the matter, boy? Cat got your tongue? GHAHAHA!" Blackpearl said. "You seemed so confident back there. Where did that courage go?"
I felt like my head was going to explode as Blackpearl continued to squeeze.
Time was running out, but I also knew I couldn't make a rash decision.
Level up myself or my Summons? It seemed like an eternal dilemma, but despite my great pride, I chose the option that gave me the best chance of survival.
[2000 Soul Fragments were consumed by Summoning.]
[Congratulations! Your "Summoning" skill has risen to Silver Level.]
[A large increase in attributes can be checked.]
[A change in the appearance of your Summons can be noticed.]
All these windows flashed before my eyes, even as everything around me disappeared. The supply of oxygen being sent from my lungs to my brain was being cut off by Blackpearl's fierce grip.
"Ah, damn it, kid. I thought you'd be more fun." Blackpearl's voice sounded distant as it echoed in my mind.
Fooooshh!
Suddenly, I heard something that made me open my eyes as wide as I could.
I saw a huge glow, and to my left, a ghostly figure was standing with his staff raised—Morgath.
The flames from a fireball lit up my face, but they didn't burn me when they hit Blackpearl's right shoulder.
This made me realize something. What the hell was I doing?! Relying on my Summons to fight? To survive?
I couldn't put everything on their shoulders like this! I had to fight too!
Wasn't that why I chose to be a Summoner instead of a regular Mage?
[1000 Soul Fragments were invested in Player Attributes.]
[Control: 16 -> 20]
[Intelligence: 18 -> 22]
[Speed: 12 -> 20]
[Constitution: 12 -> 22]
[Wisdom: 5 -> 7]
[Dexterity: 11 -> 16]
[Perception: 4 -> 9]
There was no point in focusing on Strength, because I still wouldn't be able to match Blackpearl physically even if all my Soul Fragments were spent on it.
However, mental attributes were just as important as physical attributes, if not more so.
This significant increase made my consciousness, even in pain, awaken.
At that moment, thanks to Morgath's help, I saw a way out of Blackpearl's hands as he staggered back a little.
I used my hands to grab only the thumb of the hand he was using to crush my neck and lifted it up.
Not satisfied, I used all my strength to twist that finger back like a lever.
My strength might not have been enough to break Blackpearl's neck or a hold like he had on me, but his finger was.
"ARGHHH! You bastard!" Blackpearl shouted, letting go of me immediately when he felt his bone break in two.
I landed on the ground and immediately shouted, "Morgath, again!"
The Ghost Wizard didn't think twice and quickly conjured a second fireball.
The incandescent magic flashed and instantly cut the distance between the wizard and Blackpearl.
The fireball hit Blackpearl squarely, who unfortunately managed to protect his face a little with one of his arms.
"Ouch, that burns as much as the sun burns my skin," he said, smiling through the smoke from the magic.
"Of course, that's nothing for a man with beautiful skin like mine!"
Blackpearl's sinister smile vanished when he opened his eyes and didn't see me near him.
In the blink of an eye, I was already several meters away.
"It's no use running!" Blackpearl exclaimed as he destroyed Morgath with a single punch.
"I can still get you!"
He jumped and became a blur, just like when he surprised me with that powerful punch.
However, this time he didn't catch me so easily.
I looked back over my shoulder and saw him frowning, probably confused by my sudden increase in speed.
It was no wonder he was surprised, because I was too.
Investing my attribute points in speed changed everything!
I felt my body much lighter, even with a lot of pain from my broken arm.
Everything around me seemed like a complete blur, and that made my vision a little tunneled and limited, but the increase in Perception and Wisdom didn't make things confusing.
I knew exactly when I needed to dodge a tree or jump over a thorny bush.
The increase in each attribute, mental or physical, changed the way I saw and interacted with the world!
In addition, my much improved constitution gave me even more energy to escape Blackpearl.
"I can escape! I can get away from him!" I thought as I looked back and saw that Blackpearl was unable to keep up with me.
However, in that moment of satisfaction and fulfillment, an image came to my mind. I couldn't tell if it was a vision or just a sudden pessimistic thought, but I saw my entire family dead, and Blackpearl was smiling over their corpses, which were slumped over and lined up in my living room.
That mere thought—or vision—made me stop immediately.
My feet dragged along the ground, and I turned back.
"There's no point in running now. He said he read my file; he knows my first and last name. With that information and the contacts he has, it won't be difficult to find me and my family later. He'll definitely come after me... I have to end this now."
"My mana was low, and I had no more slots for other Summons, but increasing Intelligence raised my mana reserve a little, and I also increased Control. My Summons also went up a Rank, and Blackpearl is alone now. I can beat him... No, I have to beat him at any cost."
The fire spread further and further through the Forest of Thorns, and in the light of that fire, I saw Blackpearl's shadow approaching.
The distance between us was less than a hundred meters when I stretched out my right hand and whispered:
"I won't have much mana left to even stand after this, but I'm counting on you."
I felt my vision darken for a moment, and my body staggered as the mana that left my body created three huge magic circles in front of me.
Three whirlwinds appeared in the middle of the magic circles, and tall, black shapes with bright red pupils emerged.
However, these new summonings were completely different from the others in every other way.
The three were not bare-boned, but covered in dull black armor. Each piece of armor was composed of several plates to make their movements more flexible. Despite this, the three carried completely different weapons.
The first carried a large two-handed axe.
The second carried a pair of dark daggers.
The third, the one in the center, was carrying a large two-handed sword, but when he turned the sword's hilt, the sword turned into two one-handed swords.
They were Odran, Selrik, and Laufus, respectively, the Golden Knights who had become Black Knights.
[Unique Summoning Set Skill activated!]
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[Skill Details!]
Skill Name: Golden Blood Formation.
Description: When Odran, Selrik, and Laufus are the user's only summons on the battlefield, they activate a synergy effect that increases their strength, defense, and speed by 15%. In addition, they can perform a special joint technique.
Type: Boost.
Active Skill: Triple Golden Execution – A simultaneous attack with high accuracy and massive damage. Requires: 200 MP.
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