HAH! HAH! HAH!

Nolan panted, his chest and muscles burning. He sat on the floor, back resting on a tree, holding his right arm.

A D-rank demon, with a few low-grades lay dead in front of him.

He ran out of mana, so he had to face these ones without the help of his abilities, and it was not easy at all. He even ended up injuring his right arm, though at first it felt like it was broken when the demon slammed into him.

"A little… more," he muttered between breaths. He had been ignorant, not taking a Royal Clover potion with him.

His main drive—other than saving his variables—was to find out what happens when everyone lives, and if there was something he was missing.

As he drowned in the quiet, the sounds of metals clanging could be heard. His eyes snapped open, filled with exhaustion. "Get up, get up, get up."

Nolan pushed himself up with gritted teeth, his hand aching. "There's just two more, right?" he muttered.

In past lives, his team had been ambushed sometimes by three, four, five and at most six D-ranks. And he couldn't explain why they got berserk without being in a near death situation.

However it was, there was just two more he had to deal with.

Unbeknownst to Nolan, the woods held more than that. He started running, his legs screaming at him to stop, but Nolan didn't listen to them.

Alas, his system came to save the day.

[Your Mana has been replenished!]

"Great," he said, letting out a sigh of relief.

He created an ice path ahead of him and made some blades under his boot, then he leapt onto ice path, skating forward.

He skidded to a halt after finding two silhouettes blocking his path. "Oh, come on. One at a time," he ground, dismissing the ice.

Now he wished he carried weapons with him, rather than having to create new ones every now and then.

The D-ranks approached him, staring him down with murderous intent.

Nolan breathed out slowly, staring back at them. He lifted his hand to make a weapon, but… he wasn't using it.

He made a short sword and threw it away, then another, and another. Daggers, swords, spears, all constructs made with enough quantity—yet, he threw them all behind him.

"I hope I have enough mana," he muttered, checking just how much he had left.

[Mana: 62]

"Tch, that's enough," he said, finally making a long double-edged axe.

Not thinking twice, Nolan lunged at the demons and they met him halfway.

He was neither good, nor was he bad with fighting with his left hand, but it always felt alien when using it alone.

He usually did well when using dual weapons, but using his left alone was a hassle, so he just had to bet on his plan.

Nolan swiped aimlessly at the demons and the stepped back a little, before using his late recovery against.

Nolan barely got out of the way as a clawed hand landed where he was standing. He ducked another attack and managed to slash the side of one, drawing blood.

His movements were so slow, he wondered how he was still dodging their attacks.

Spotting the one opening he was looking for, Nolan drove his axe into the foot of one, then he twisted his body, pulling it out and cutting off the leg of the other.

Both demons went down and Nolan stood behind them, chest heaving.

[Switched Ability!]

[Ice Affinity > Divine Control]

He lifted his hands slowly, all the weapons he had discarded behind him raising off the ground.

With a swift flick of his wrist forward, they all moved at an incredible speed, piercing the demons.

Nolan let out a deep, relieved exhale, closing his eyes. "That's the la—"

His eyes snapped open as he felt the familiar oppressive pressure of a D-rank, and he looked up, seeing another demon.

"Last?" he voiced, all his exhaustion hitting even more than it already had been.

… …

The head of a demon rolled up towards Maximus's feet, his eyes widened, somewhere in between shock and terror.

"H-how?" he whispered, stepping back as the team closed in on him, anger evident in all their faces.

"I don't care what she says," Selena said, nodding towards Liana. "I'm definitely killing you, snake."

"No, no, no, Noooo!" Maximus roared. "You think this is all? There are more! More than you can all fight! Stop resisting!"

He lifted his bloodied hand up and after a few seconds, noises could be heard from around the woods.

Soon, low-grades started appearing, attacking the team. "Protect Selam," said Liana, getting ready to fight.

Kayra and Alexander stook by Selam who was groaning in pain, back resting on a tree. The Royal Clovers did heal deep wounds, but some injuries needed actual medical treatment, because the potion couldn't do instant wonders on them.

Even the puncture on Liana's side, wasn't fully healed, but she was too stubborn to listen to it.

However, Maximus was shocked. "Wh-where are the other D-ranks? Why—Why aren't they answering my call?" he muttered.

CLANG!

Selena had already lunged at Maximus, letting the others handle the low grades, but he he had seen it and quickly blocked it.

"You're quite fast, you know," Selena commented, her brows furrowing. She pulled back and attacked him again, continuously.

Maximus matched her speed, blocking off all her attacks, though it was clear she had the upper hand.

The team couldn't believe how well he was holding up against Selena. He was acting to be weak all along. That shouldn't have been a surprise anyways.

Selena spotted an opening and kicked his leg, bringing him down and cutting off the hand where he wielded the dagger.

With a spinning kick, she sent him flying and crashing onto the ground.

"Come on, come on," Maximus gritted, as blood sprayed from his severed hand. He lifted his other hand, yet nothing happened. "Where are they?"

He cursed under his breath and started scrambling to escape. He knew he was no match for Selena.

Managing to get up, he started running. "Where did the D-rank demons go? You don't mean he—" he stopped as there was a fallen tree blocking his path.

But that wasn't the problem.

It was the silhouette, squatting on the tree with glowing blue eyes. "So it was your doing?"

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