BXBX NOVEL Chapter 59: Derrek's Debut
Age: 21
Race: Human II
Classes: Luminous Sage (Main), Demon Slayer (2nd), Scribe Lv.45/100 (Sub)
Level: Tier 2 - Lv.1
Titles: Veteran Undead Slayer, Son of Heaven, Pioneer, Young Sage
System Authority: Lv.8
Aptitude:
Body: EX!
Energy: EX!
Spirit: EX!
Final rating: EX+
Skills:
Actives: Sword Ki (M), Kickboxing (M), Iron Skin (M), Multi-Stab Lv.8, Air-Hop (M), Focus Lv.30, Lightspeed Lv.10,
Passives: Elementary Sage Physique (U), Sage's Perception (U), Education Lv.30, Demon Lore Lv.45, Slayer's Mark Lv.4, Decode Lv.45, Symbol Mastery Lv.50, Sage Arts Lv.5
[Mandatory Task:]
: Hell Dive - Survive the Endless Undead Horde for 5 hours twice.
: Rewards - 100% Demon Soul gain, Clearance Streak +1
: Punishment for Failure - Failure Streak +1.
: Record: Clear Streak - 7, Failure Streak - 0
**
Currently, Cedric was standing before the undead horde.
Adapting the identity of Derrek, he solemnly observed the growing number of zombies heading his way. Others would have goosebumps if they were to face this but not him. From where he stood, this was just another Monday to him.
His long red hair billowed as the harsh and pungent wind of purgatory blew. Wearing a red combat suit and paddings, he adapted a rugged stance. He held a sword in his left hand and clutched an energy pistol on the right.
As soon as the first group of zombies neared him, he lifted his pistol and started shooting.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
The first few shots were rough, he barely hit his targets. But as he continued shooting, his absurd learning curve started displaying its wonders. With each shot he released, his aim got better and better. By the time he reloaded his gun on the 5th time, he already seemed like a veteran at handling it.
[Alert! Through continuous action and focus, the Skill: Marksmanship was learned!]
『Marksmanship (Lv.1/10)』
: Represents the User's expertise in handling bows and firearms.
: +10% Precision and Accuracy, +1% Prediction Chance.
**
Derrek (Cedric) adopted a cocky grin on his face. Next thing he did? He started running while shooting. He even put his sword on his back and brought another energy pistol just because he could.
With the skill's passive effect and his phenomenal senses, all of his shots were now hitting his targets at the spot he wanted them to go. He even started doing fancy reload moves as he did so.
The guns he was using weren't anything special. In fact, they're the standard military-issued firearms that every soldier has. They don't use 'bullets' as ammunition. Instead, they siphon energy from their wielder and use that.
This isn't to say that regular ammunition wouldn't work. They do, but even the weakest demons are resistant to those so it's just going to be a waste of money doing so.
[Alert! Skill: 『Marksmanship』 has leveled up!]
[Alert! Skill: 『Marksmanship』 has leveled up!]
Glancing at the System alerts, the skill now provides a 30% bonus on Precision and Accuracy while also providing a 3% Prediction Chance.
Derrek (Cedric) was having fun. This was a new thing for him and it's always fun learning new things.
Letting loose hails of bullets by now, Derrek continued his assault towards the horde. After he had enough fun, he started using his other skills to check their effects on the undead.
"Sage Art: True Sunfire!"
A cloak of golden flames suddenly appeared on his body. The very sight of the flames caused the undead to flinch by instinct. And since True Sunfire counts as Derrek's energy, this means that he could infuse it into his guns, and that's precisely what he did.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
Each shot was an overkill with the infusion of True Sunfire. It didn't just kill the zombies, it evaporated them. And the best part was...
[Alert! ×30 Zombies killed! You gained ×30 Purified Demon Souls!]
"...are you shitting me? There's a shortcut?" Derrek was speechless.
Inventing the Purifying Altar - a tool that he could use to purify Demon Souls, took him weeks! Yet as it turns out, all he needed was the essence of True Sunfire to purify them directly from the source.
Sneering in irritation, Derrek just clicked his tongue and returned his pistols to his inventory. He then drew his sword and vanished from his previous location.
Swoosh!
When he reappeared, a cluster of zombies disintegrated behind him. Yeah, shooting guns while doing tricks was cool and all but he's still more used to wielding a sword. His killing speed was also faster with it.
His sword was also now wreathed in True Sunfire. The Zombies who should be braindead, now regarded Derrek with fear. It's an instinctual reaction brought forth by his Sage Art and his Title; Veteran Undead Slayer.
"Okay, let's try this next. Sage Art: Luminous Arsenal!"
All of a sudden, Derrek's weapon seemingly extended. He swung his sword horizontally, taking out at least 4 clusters of zombies at once.
'Sage Art: Luminous Arsenal' was a skill that extended the reach of his weapons by forming an energy construct that adapts the general shape of the User's current weapon, in Derrek's case that's a sword, a giant one at that. It also increases the lethality of any attack that comes with it.
"Hmm, can't quite use that many times in a row. It's particularly draining. Bummer..." Derrek mused to himself as he deactivated the skill.
Next, he took a deep breath and used 『Lightspeed』.
All of a sudden, time itself seemingly stopped for everyone else except for him. He clenched his hand a few times, silently regarding what the skill felt like while on an active battlefield.
Derrek then began running, he took out his pistols and proceeded to rain shots at his targets. Each shot paused in its trajectory as soon as it came out of the barrel. This gave Cedric an idea...
He released a volley around him. Each one stopped in place before they could even go far. He ducked and ran towards the other side of the battlefield. He did the same on the side, and on the other corner as well.
When he's finished, the 『Lightspeed』's duration ended, and the bullets that were suspended resumed, streaking everywhere.
That took out most of the zombie clusters there were. Derrek whistled at the sight of the massacre.
'And after a minute, I could do that shit all over again. Damn, that skill is awesome!'
Returning one of his pistols to his Inventory, he once again held his sword while wielding a gun on the other. Then, he began his one-sided genocide against the zombies around him.
His sword flashed as he cut down clusters of zombies while also releasing a barrage of bullets to deal with the annoying mutated zombies.
By the way, the strength of the Undead he's facing was set to Tier 2 Lv.1 at the base, and every ten minutes in here, the horde will evolve; either by increasing their numbers, or increasing their strength.
Still, despite the scaling difficulty of his task, Derrek was having fun and it showed. He's whopping, yelling provocations, and laughing out loud as he demolishes large clusters of zombies around him.
Normally, Cedric wouldn't do this kind of thing. But right now, he's not 'Cedric'. He's 'Derrek', meaning that he's acting right now.
Cedric already cleared his task earlier. Following his plans for the long con, he made it look like barely did it. Currently, Derrek's doing the same, but unlike Cedric, Derrek didn't feel the presence of 'spies' in this run.
'Well, that makes sense. For the world, today is Derrek's debut. I don't know how long it will take before they take notice but eventually, they will. I really am playing the long-con here.'
On top of his Sage Art, the effects of his other class; Demon Slayer, were also taking place.
Thanks to the 『Demon Lore』 he knows every weakness of the Undead he faced. He knows where to hit them where it hurts them most. Additionally, the 『Slayer's Mark』 was also scaling...
『Slayer's Mark (Lv.4)』
: A Mark that absorbs a tiny amount of Demonic Essence that the Slayer felled so far. This mark empowers and grows the more Demons the Slayer kills.
: Conditions for leveling up - Kill 12,345/50,000 Demons
: Current Bonus - +40% Increased Damage against Demons
**
'The skill doesn't seem to have a level cap, just like the Education skill.'
Cedric didn't want to assume but it's looking like this skill could grow infinitely, and isn't that just scary?
Right now, it's giving a 40% additional bonus damage against demons. So long as he keeps killing Demons, that bonus will increase. Granted, the conditions for leveling it up would be more difficult than the last. Still, he's essentially not lacking any demons to face so technically, he will always have progress with this skill.
It was really fun letting loose like this. Lord knows that Cedric couldn't do this on the other side so he's relishing this moment right now.
And with how his bonuses stack, the seemingly impossible thing happened...
The spawning rate of zombies couldn't keep up with his killing speed. And isn't that just an incredible feat?
This task was supposed to drown him and bury him with hordes of zombies, yet now, he's actually running out of enemies to kill.
This just proves how absurd Cedric had gotten thanks to his recent evolution.