Reborn Regress Return: I Am the Heir of Shadows!-Chapter 34: Intensive Battle

The instant Julian watched his shadow bolt fly from the tip of his wand, Adrenaline surged through his veins as his chest tightened and his focus sharpened.

Every detail became vivid—Sena's lingering scent, the sound of her breathing, the way the harpies shifted, waiting for an opening. His glance shifted to the distant pack of harpies in the distance that drifted through the trees. One wrong movement would cause hell to break loose.

'Focus, not on the attacks, but on how to guide and support her...'

'How would I act with Umbra or Nocta?'

The 105 damage flickered on the edge of his glance, but he couldn't remove his focus from the current situation.

"Sena, watch your guard!" His voice echoed through the forest, a risky action if this were a month from now.

Eventually, monsters wouldn't be limited to the games systems, sound, smell, and instincts would awaken and players would be massacred.

Slash!

Slice!

Sena's blade cut through the air, her beautiful blue aura like a streamer dancing after her movements, while the harpies screeched back.

'They're trying to encircle you, get back!'

"Phew..."

Julian exhaled slowly, allowing his mana to gather. To avoid overuse he didn't boost the damage, and once the wand flickered, he snapped it towards the group and ensnared three of them, dealing 29 damage.

Vwoom

Instantly after, the three harpies screeched, fixing their eerie gazes on Julian, as Sena fought the remaining three.

He rushed towards a fallen tree, and hopped onto it, swishing his wand with a dark bolt bursting forth with each swing.

Swoosh!

20 damage.

Fwip!

20 damage.

The shadow wand dealt twenty damage with each hit, his magic plus one. Sena's hips lowered, as a claw sliced through her right cheek, causing blood to spurt, dealing 4 damage.

『Julian~ this is so fun!』

'I know, I know, so avoid to the right! Stop relying on me and focus, all physical attacks can be blocked and avoided!'

He flung his wand again before clenching his other hand. "Shadow's Grasp." forcing the three harpies in the back to remain immobilised.

Julian constantly bombarded them with 20 shadow damage from his wand, and 29 damage from the Shadow's Grasp.

"Haa... Oh, crap!"

As he sucked in the cold air, the three harpies seemed sick of his crap, their bodies glowed green, while the other group lunged at Sena stopping her from interrupting them.

"Kree!"

"Kraa."

"Kwuu~"

The first two harpies were casting a damage spell, the wind around their bodies twisted into several razor sharp arcs of wind. Meanwhile, the last harpy started to sing.

'What did the harpies do...?'

A distorted smile curved upon Julian's lips when suddenly everything became clear. 'That harpy is trying to stun us!' Julian glanced at his Mana, which started depleting fast.

'Sena, go crazy, kill them with your best moves.'

"I guess sometimes even the caster needs to learn to move fast."

Woosh!

Woosh!

The two harpies unleased their deadly attack, Gale Cutter, a series of razor-sharp gusts of wind that sliced through the air dealing moderate damage in a wide arc.

—Quick Cast (Rank 1)

—Mana Enhancement (Rank 1)

Julian's eyes glinted, his wand shimmering with unstable shadow energy, his chest throbbing as he poured Mana into his next attack. The blades of wind would arrive in less than a second, just after his spell finished.

"Shadow Bolt!"

The crackling ball exploded from the tip of his wand, as the blades of wind ripped through the air, aiming to tear him apart. Julian's eyes dilated, pushing himself off the elevated tree.

Nevertheless, the shadow bolt wasn't fast enough!

The blade of wind tore into the fallen log, blasting shards of wood into every direction and shredding through his pants and side, ripping flesh along with it. A brute force of wind dragged him across the ground as five blades ripped his robes apart, leaving gashes behind.

"Argh!" He cried out, blood staining his face as he rolled to the ground.

The attack caused 40 damage, dropping his health halfway depleted and draining from the bleeding status.

Julian pushed himself off the ground, abusing his adrenaline while gasping... the force winding him as he snapped his gaze to the last harpy, her spell interrupted by the flashing 105 in his eyes.

"You damned slutty birds!" He growled, the pain for him as real as could be, while other gamers would enjoy pain dampening.

Julian suffered pain at a 1:1 ratio.

『Damn it, these birds are so annoying... Help me, Julian!』

'If only at Level 10 I would have an area of affect spell... this is frustrating.'

However, he could not abandon her, with one of the Harpies sliced apart, and the rest close to death.

His low HP and Mana would gradually recover. So he dashed towards the harpies and reached out again with a dark light shining in his eyes.

He clenched his hand and with a hoarse growl—he attacked them.

"Shadow's Grasp!"

"Kree!!"

The claws tore the harpy to shreds and dragged it into the shadows, the second of the six dead.

With another burst of 29 damage, Julian's focus turned, as Sena's blade danced through the air, drawing a wonderful flying sparrow, causing another harpy to pop into blood mist dealing 72 damage.

"Haa... I did it..."

'Damn, her health is getting low.'

Sena's high defence allowed her to avoid taking a huge amount of damage.

After a battle of 20 seconds, her health dropped to just above half despite fighting three vicious harpies. Julian's chest pounded at the sight, as if it would break through his ribs at any moment.

'A bit more, focus on that bleeding harpy!'

『I'll do my best... are you okay?』

Sena puffed as two of the harpies were grabbed by Julian's Shadow's Grasp ability. Once they took up a stance, ready to use their wind blade attacks, he moved rapidly, hiding behind the trees, flicking and swishing his hand like swinging a tennis racket.

Dark shadow bolts flew out, like gunshots, dealing 20 damage as Sena fought the remaining harpy at close range.

'Phew... almost!'

Slice!

Sena cut down the last of her group, panting as she flicked her sword, and stepped towards the last harpies focused on Julian, but her legs staggered.

"Ah, damn, my legs are so heavy." She muttered in a strained pant, drenched in sweat as the sun rose over the trees, the hottest beams falling on them.

'You did well.'

『Really?』

She watched as the two harpies dived towards Julian, the duration of his immobilisation now lasting a few seconds at most. Their talons stretched outward with murder filled eyes.

"Here we go again." Julian smiled.

'The game hasn't even started yet, and I am struggling with harpies?'

Julian's eyes narrowed, his breathing slowed down, the remaining mana in his body flowing through his flesh, as his attributes all increased by 1 thanks to him using a makeshift aura.

『Eh? You used that during our duel.』

Two harpies, extremely fast, lunged at Julian, yet his eyes flickered with mana, able to see their movements and speed, a green clump of mana rushing at him.

"Haaa.... Let's see how you like this!"

Vwoom!

The moment they clashed, his hand reached out, taking the left harpy by its throat, as a shadow bolt exploded at close range.

He jabbed the wand into the other harpies eye socket, dealing 20 damage, as his mana poured directly into the monster's body, causing it to explode.

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Pop!

"Ugh!"

Julian's body slid back from the force, the explosion of his shadow bolt causing him to take 20 damage because of the sudden backlash, his nose oozing blood but...

『So cool!』

His eyes shone with a feral light, the memories of fighting desperately to survive, using anything to kill even the smallest demons and monsters.

Julian collapsed to his ass, breathing heavily, and oozing sweat, but his lips were fixed in a wide grin, his gloves caked in blood and his robes torn.

'Good fight...' He glanced at Sena's stunned expression, slowly approaching him in complete shock at his insanity.

Julian snorted, unable to even stand without feeling dizzy.

"Hahaha, I can do it."

'Was it because of that message, that the system's influence decreased?'

He couldn't help but lean against the stone beside him, a cool surface helping him relax. "Sena, let's kill the next group after eating a small meal." He didn't allow himself time to waste, immediately grabbing some rations, which they bought in the village, and started eating.

After taking a bite of the bread, which tasted similar to black-bread, he took a gulp of water.

"Julian, you look so messy, haha." Sena's eyes gazed at his exposed muscles, and the dried blood, but he shrugged.

"Don't you like seeing this?"

"Hmph!"

'I am not limited to the games laws. Though I don't know how far I can resist them.'