Chapter 73: Degraded
One week later,
Scar had hunted thrice within the seven days. The forest had become a familiar, blood-soaked training ground for him. And now, he was only a few dozen experience points away from another level up. His baseline speed had also climbed steadily—ten kilometres per hour everyday from the daily quests, plus the extra gains he got from near-death sprints and the adaptation. He now sat at a clean 1080 km/h.
He was significantly faster and stronger than he had been just seven days ago.
Seven days had passed since Scar's first training session with Vincent at the Speednasium. And in that time, his routine had become a relentless cycle of physical conditioning and slaughter.
He had also discovered small improvements on his own. Certain movements allowed him to accelerate more efficiently, while others helped him maintain his speed without wasting as much energy. His body was slowly becoming accustomed to the tremendous force generated whenever he moved.
Two days ago, he had returned to speednasium for another round of speed training.
The results had been promising.
His speed had continued to climb. His stamina had improved. His control over his acceleration was getting better.
And although he still had a long way to go, Scar was beginning to understand what it truly meant to be a speedster.
He had also trained twice with Xavier during the week. Those sessions had been brutal. Xavier had forced him to do extreme workouts and use close bare-handed combat to fight instead of relying on his speed to overwhelm everything in front of him.
Scar had complained about it. A lot. But he had learned.
Today, however, belonged to Jane.
They stood in the wide training arena in her estate. The afternoon light cut across the polished stone floor in long golden bars. There were several marks across the surface from previous battles and training sessions, but the place was otherwise clean.
Scar rolled his shoulders, his dagger loose in his right hand. His breathing was already slightly heavy, but he was recovering fairly.
Jane, on the other hand, looked perfectly fine. She waited opposite him, barefoot, dressed in simple black training clothes, a plain kitchen knife held casually at her side as if she had just stepped out of the kitchen.
"Ready for round three?" she asked with a smile.
Scar didn't answer with words. He exploded forward.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from the sudden acceleration.
Jane's eyes tried to follow his movements, but he had accelerated too fast to track.
Scar appeared directly in front of her, his dagger already moving. He had closed the distance in one microsecond, thrusting for her left shoulder.
Jane shifted her body sideways. The blade missed.
But Scar didn't stop. Instead, he twisted his wrist in the middle of the movement, swiftly changing the direction of his attack. The dagger that had been moving toward her shoulder suddenly swept toward her ribs. But Jane already saw it coming. She brought down her knife and met Scar's dagger with a soft clink, deflecting the strike with ease. The force of the block sent a sharp vibration up Scar's arm.
Scar immediately accelerated again. In the blink of an eye, he planted his foot, completely redirected his kinetic momentum, and vanished—reappearing directly behind her to strike at her exposed neck. Jane didn't even turn around. She simply raised her right hand over her shoulder.
Clang!
The kitchen knife in her grip perfectly intercepted Scar's dagger, stopping his attack yet again. But Scar wasn't done. His body shot sideways, thrusting for her waist. Jane twisted, the kitchen knife sweeping behind her in a reverse grip that caught the blade again.
Scar frowned. Jane was blocking all his attacks as if they were child's play. She was toying with him.
He decided to go all out.
He moved again, this time picking up speed and sprinting to the other side. Then he accelerated forward. Then backward.
For the next several minutes the arena became a storm of afterimages and ringing metal. Scar's movements became faster and more aggressive. His feet barely seemed to touch the ground.
He would sprint toward Jane, thrust his dagger, then use his momentum to swing around her and attack from another angle before she could fully turn. Sometimes he didn't even finish one movement before beginning another. His entire fighting style had become built around unpredictability.
For a normal fighter, his movements would have looked completely chaotic. He was attacking from everywhere.
Front.
Side.
Back.
Above.
Each movement happened so quickly that his body seemed to flicker between locations. He wasn't simply moving quickly, he was using his speed to change the battlefield itself. Speed had given him something most fighters could only dream of.
But even with all these, he still didn't manage to land a single blow on Jane. He was fast, true. But not fast enough to lay a finger on her.
After sprinting around her in a circle to cause a diversion, Scar suddenly appeared in front of Jane and thrust his dagger toward her chest.
Jane saw him coming at the last minute and raised her knife.
Clang!
The two weapons collided.
Scar disappeared again. He reappeared at her left and initiated another thrust.
Jane turned.
Clang!
He appeared behind her.
She twisted.
Clang!
Another attack.
Another change of direction.
Another block.
Scar gritted his teeth. Even after increasing his speed, Jane was still able to track him and block every single strike. It was getting frustrating. And what made it even more frustrating was the fact that Jane wasn't even moving at super speed like him; she was just terrifyingly precise. She possessed the reflexes and combat awareness of an experienced fighter, parrying, deflecting, and neutralizing every single one of Scar's high-speed, multi-angled strikes without breaking a sweat.
Scar appeared above Jane, dropping toward her with his dagger.
Jane lifted the knife and blocked the descending strike.
Clang! Boom!
The impact sent a sharp vibration through both weapons.
Scar landed softly and immediately disengaged, leaping backward to create distance. He dropped his stance, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air. Sweat ran down his face and his muscles were beginning to ache. He had dumped all the available stat points he earned from his last level up into Stamina, but it still wasn't enough. The use of Accelerated Perception and constant high-speed movement had burned through his stamina and EP far faster than he liked.
Jane, on the other hand, barely looked tired. She casually lowered the kitchen knife in her hand.
Scar stared at her in awe. "You're seriously not tired?" he asked between breaths. "We just went three rounds."
Jane smiled. "I'm perfectly fine."
Scar scoffed. "Well, that's annoying."
Jane chuckled. "You knew what you were getting yourself into." She chuckled. "I'm not called the greatest fighter in the world for nothing."
Scar straightened himself and looked down at his dagger. Something caught his attention.
He frowned.
The blade didn't look the same anymore.
The once pristine metal had lost some of its shine. Its sharp edge was chipped in several places, and tiny cracks had begun to form around the hilt where he held it.
Scar stared at it for several seconds. He turned the dagger around, examining it carefully. Then, his expression changed.
"Did you degrade my weapon?" he asked.
Jane blinked, confused. "What?"
"My dagger." Scar raised it slightly. "Look at it. It's falling apart."
Jane stared at the weapon before laughing. "And you think it was me?" she chuckled.
"Yeah," Scar said flatly. "You used your ability to make it lose its quality."
Jane laughed in amusement. "I did no such thing," she said defensively.
Scar looked at her suspiciously. "Then why has it been getting weaker since the day I started training with you?" he asked
"I don't know." Jane shook her head, chuckling. "I didn't even touch your dagger during our training."
Scar's expression became confused. He lowered the weapon. That was true. Jane had never made physical contact with his dagger since the day they started training. So what exactly happened to it. Felicity had given him the dagger only two weeks ago. Yet it looked as though it had been used for years.
"I think I know what's wrong?" Jane said, tilting her head. "Your ability is super speed, correct?"
Scar looked up at her. "Yeah," he said. "But what does that have to do with my dagger falling apart?"
Jane smiled. "Everything," she stated, walking slowly toward the center of the ring. "When you move at over hundreds of kilometers per hour, the physical force and kinetic output you generate are astronomical. Weapons and objects are not naturally built to withstand that kind of pressure and velocity. They simply can't handle the repeated stress. This is why most speedsters do not use weapons. It will chip, crack, and eventually shatter upon impact." She gestured toward the blade in his hand. "The fact that your dagger is still in one piece is actually quite impressive. It proves it is a genuine A-rank artifact. But it still has its limits. It might withstand a couple of speed strikes, but consistent, high-velocity impacts still weakens the molecular structure. Eventually, it will break."
Scar stared at the cracked hilt, his analytical mind instantly verifying the logic. He internally scolded himself for failing to realize this before.
"So what am I supposed to do?" He asked, frustrated. "Stop using weapons?"
"Of course not," Jane said gently. "You can still use weapons, but just make sure whatever weapon you use is of high rank so it will survive your kinetic output. And also, you shouldn't use it consistently. A dagger is excellent for a speedster, but don't rely on it for every fight. I hear you also carry a pistol. That should be your primary tool. Save the dagger for extreme situations or forced close combat."
Scar nodded slowly. "Okay." He looked down at the dagger. "Thanks. I'll consider doing that."
Jane smiled. "You're welcome."
Scar remained silent for a moment. Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He looked back at Jane. "Wait. You can increase the rank of objects, right?"
Jane raised a brow. "Yeah. Why'd you ask?"
Scar revealed a sheepish smile. "Can you upgrade an A-rank weapon into an S-rank?" he asked, his eyes scanning her face.
Jane chuckled. "I can. But it costs a great deal of energy." She gave him a knowing look. "I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."
"Come on, Jane," Scar urged, his voice softer than it had ever been in his life. "It's just one weapon. It won't hurt."
"True. It won't hurt me," Jane agreed. "But raising the rank of a weapon doesn't protect it from the force you generate. Consistent use will still break it eventually."
"Yeah, but until then it would serve me a lot better." Scar argued, taking a step forward. "So... will you do it for me? Your cute little godson?"
Jane chuckled. "You're not going to give me a moment of peace until I do it, are you?" she sighed.
"Nope." Scar confirmed shamelessly.
Jane laughed. "Fine. I'll do it." She twirled the kitchen knife in her hand, a challenging smirk suddenly touching her lips. "But only one condition."
Scar raised a brow. "What's the condition?"
Jane's smirk widened. She pointed her knife toward him. "Beat me in a duel at least once, and I'll upgrade your dagger."
Scar's eyes lit up with a mischievous glint. "Oh. Why didn't you just say so from the start?" He whispered, his lips spreading into a grin.
And then, before Jane could even finish processing his words, Scar raised his left hand and pulled out his plasma pistol from his inventory. Without hesitation, he fired a blinding, concentrated beam directly at her chest. The beam shot across the clearing at a blinding speed.
Jane eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't seen him take out the pistol, but her instincts were instantly alerted. The searing plasma beam was mere inches from her when she reacted. Without time to dodge, she snapped her wrist, using the flat, broad side of her kitchen knife to smack the beam away, redirecting the lethal shot harmlessly into the concrete floor.
BOOM!
Dust and dirt exploded upward.
Jane quickly took a stance. But by the time she looked up, Scar had disappeared from his spot.
He was gone.