1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 37: The World of Altered Perception

A constant battle of countering ensued as Noah had to watch each and every angle while the burnt shadowman moved like a phantom through the underground lake.

As a shade drifted quickly like a leaf carried by wind, he swung his axe to the right–CLANG. Sending the unseen dagger back, he instantly had to turn his attention, glancing behind him to find the shadow moving in from the path they came in from. The mage was on it, sending a small, but bright fireball back as it cast the phantom away.

Noah reunited with the young elf, breathing out, "This is getting tiring already. How long is he going to keep this up?"

"I don’t know," Astrid responded, catching her breath. "I would’ve thought he’d be out of mana by now with a spell of this caliber...but it must be the blessing he has."

Throughout the vast cavern occupied by the glistening lake and vibrant minerals, the hoarse, wheezing laughter of the mole-faced man echoed. The strange man-eater had engulfed himself in shadows, moving freely throughout the space as if unshackled by physical form.

"...Do you know how I became the way that I am...?"

The voice coming from burnt vocal chords came from his right, prompting him to swing around, though his axe passed through only dispersing shadows.

"...By the standards of others, I was a handsome man, once upon a time..."

From above, the words came, right over the elf who shoved her stave up in a panic, casting a fireball that quickly dismissed the playful shade.

"...When you see, when you truly see what resides in the Unseen. Oh, it changes you...It changes you, forever..."

From all points of the chamber now, shades of the killer appeared in the dozens, all possessing the vague, but deformed face of Bonid.

"...You learn..."

"...We all exist to feed it..."

"...To be sustenance..."

"...For what lives in the dark..."

The voices came from everywhere, bouncing off the walls as the many shades of the man-eater spoke their twisted chants before–complete darkness. It was as if the natural light in the cavern was snuffed out like a breath to a candle.

While it took a moment for his brain to adjust to the sudden deprivation of sight, he quickly snapped his fingers. A flame conjured above his hand, granting sparse, but meaningful light. It seemed the same idea was taken by the mage with him, as she drew a larger flame, holding it above herself.

A quick nod was shared between them as if certifying they both thought of a good idea, though it settled in swiftly that the situation was far from favorable. The light from their flames afforded perhaps two meters of sight, but that was it.

’This darkness–it’s similar to that place he dragged me to. I couldn’t muster any light there. It’s not as bad here, but it’s like the flame is being drowned out by darkness–being overwhelmed,’ he thought.

Naturally, the mage tucked herself closely beside him, watching his back as he did for her in return. He felt an inclination to shield her, seeing as she was half his size and he felt sick at the idea of the depraved man placing any harm on the young elf.

"I can’t sense his presence...no, it’s not that," Astrid whispered with clear concern trickling from her lips. "He’s...everywhere."

He understood all too well what she was describing; the air felt thick, of tar and grime, a stench like spoiled milk filling the shadows. It made his hair stand, constantly turning his head, feeling the man there, then the next moment, somewhere else.

"I might have something that’ll work..." Astrid admitted, though there was some hesitance in her words.

"Yeah? I’m all ears," Noah said, looking around.

While he intended to hear out whatever she had planned, through the abundant darkness, daggers lashed out. He swung his axe, deflecting the first set of strikes, quickly pivoting by the mage as another blade came for the side of her neck.

It was close, but the edge of his weapon caught the disembodied dagger, bouncing it back into the darkness. There was no actual sign of the one who lurked, as if the blades themselves simply spawned out of the unknown.

’We’re playing to his tune right now. He’s just trying to wear us down then finish us off. Shrewd is putting it lightly,’ he thought.

The axe in his hand was his only defense, looking into the dense darkness, knowing there would only be a tiny window to react.

"...It will take time, and a lot of focus–I’ll have to completely depend on you," Astrid explained, clutching the wooden grip of her stave. "But, I promise–I’ll lead us to victory."

Seeing the determined look embedded in those emerald irises, there was nothing else he could do but agree to her terms with a nod.

While he was confident he could come up with a path to victory of his own, the opportunity for the timid mage to grow was a more meaningful option to him.

’Alright, time to lock in,’ he steeled himself.

[Lesser Barrier]

He kept the ethereal shield manifested on his left arm, clenching his axe in the right. Listening closely, watching intently, he waited until—it came.

"...Through the darkest night, the emerging radiance wakes..." Astrid calmly chanted with her eyes shut.

From three directions, daggers came in, all aimed to kill the invoker of magic. There was a slight interval between each; fractions of a second, but just enough to work with. He stepped to the mage’s right, deflecting the first dagger.

At the same time, he reached his left arm around, shielding her with the glowing barrier, rejecting the grimy projectile. He immediately pivoted, running behind the girl while she chanted with complete trust, meeting the dagger halfway with his axe.

"Its influence is of the mind. A dark cloud that can be washed away; oh, Great Light, I request of thee..." Astrid continued the invocation.

With the words that exuded with power from the elf’s lips, carrying a commanding tone a world apart from her usual, shaky self, an intense radiance surfaced from her position. It seemed the one skulking in the dark felt the powerful spell reaching its finality–

Noah stood as the sole protector of the mage, witnessing a dozen blades emerge from all sides; what he counted as that much doubled within an instant.

[The Snake’s Eye]

Entering the world of heightened perception, he saw the path of each dagger.

"...Ooooh Almighty Gloooooow..." The elf’s invocation trailed within the slowed world.

He moved himself to the foremost, deflecting it before quickly spinning himself around to the girl’s left, sending away the next.

Positioning was key; he had to move in the most efficient way possible to intercept each attack. He reached his arm out above the girl’s head, blocking a dagger from above, while shielding her shoulder from another. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"...Show..."

"...Ussss..."

It was constant, moving through halted time as his eye burned with a great fury. Through sheer tenacity, he thwarted at least two dozen blades, he estimated yet–his eye reached its limit. Even if he told himself it was only pain, it felt like a brand was being pressed into his pupil.

["Superspeed" Proficiency +1] [1/10]

[Skill(s) Acquired: "Tintri"]

Just as he exhaled, releasing the altered vision, the skill implanted itself into his cellular structure. Sweat practically poured off his skin as he looked on with his aching eye towards the abundant darkness.

Of course, the assault of the man-eater had only begun:

From the shadows, the many doppelgangers emerged from all sides, wielding their own weapons, holding their same, wicked grins.

[Ethereal Replication] [B-Rank Mage Skill]

He held his free hand out while azure light gathered into a shape, taking the form of the axe in his other grip. It wasn’t something he thought of until that moment, finding it entirely necessary, finding two axes more than enough for tenfold the daggers.

"...The..."

As the next word fell from the mage’s lips, it incited the killing march of the shadows. At the very same moment, the dual axe-wielder tensed his entire body, invoking the newly-ingrained ability:

[Tintri] [A-Rank Superspeed Skill]

It routed through each fiber of muscle like bolts of lightning, condensed into each cell; the empowering force had three simultaneous effects:

First, he found the approaching shadows growing slower in their baleful strides; a quick step became a lunge in slow-motion.

Secondly, his body felt as light as a feather–no, even lighter than that, as if his mass was entirely altered.

Third, and most importantly, the moment he exhaled, the exact moment he stepped forward–everything became a blur.

Before the leftmost shade could take a single step closer to the chanting mage, he intercepted, cleaving through. He moved with such speed that he nearly wound up falling into the lake, quickly spinning himself around and–he was there.

Faster than his own thoughts could process, his axe was through the next shadow across the rocky platform.

"...Way..."