Chapter 62: Iron Colossus
He then crushed the blue Orb.
A pair of dark combat boots appeared in his hands.
[Swiftstep Boots - Rare-rank]
[Agility +15.]
[Sense +5.]
[Lightweight combat boots designed to improve rapid movement and stability during sudden acceleration.]
Cain had barely finished reading when the boots vanished from his hands.
He slowly turned his head.
Ron was already several meters away.
One of his old shoes lay on the road.
Cain stared at him.
Ron immediately put on the first boot, then the second.
"My mission requires me to escape from a First Echelon."
"You could’ve asked."
"You might’ve said no."
Cain shook his head helplessly.
Ron stood and tested the boots, a smile formed on his face.
Cain had no real reason to take them back.
Anything that increased Ron’s speed improved his chances of completing the mission safely.
"Keep them."
"I planned to."
"Shameless bastard."
Cain crouched beside the corpse afterward.
He removed the 1st Echelon Core and erased its contamination before storing it inside his Inventory.
Then they continued east.
The streets became increasingly empty.
Occasional zombies still wandered between buildings, but they ignored them completely as there was no reason for them to be bothered with unranked zombies.
Ron had finished the killing requirement.
Alex was already Level 25.
The next useful target had to be First Echelon.
Fortunately, they did not search for long as Cain suddenly sensed another powerful presence ahead.
Unlike the previous one, it did not resemble a human.
They followed it toward a damaged public garden.
A massive animal stood beyond the broken fence.
Dark fur covered its enormous body, while thick forelimbs pressed heavily against the pavement.
[1st Echelon Bear | Level 27]
Alex’s eyes sharpened.
Cain glanced toward him.
"This one."
The bear noticed their presence and charged almost immediately.
Despite its enormous size, the bear moved with frightening speed. Its thick forelimbs struck the pavement hard enough to leave shallow cracks behind as it rushed toward them.
Cain stepped forward to meet it.
The bear rose slightly and swung one massive paw toward him.
Bang!
Cain raised his sword and caught the blow against the flat of the blade.
The impact sent a heavy vibration through his arm, but his feet barely shifted.
Cain’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The Level 27 evolved bear possessed considerable physical power, yet after the evolution of his body, even taking its attack head-on no longer felt particularly troublesome.
He could have ended the fight quickly.
Instead, Cain twisted his wrist and redirected the bear’s paw away from him.
"Alex."
Alex immediately understood.
He rushed into the opening Cain had created and swung the greatsword toward the bear’s exposed side.
Shhk!
The heavy blade tore through its fur and opened a deep wound across its ribs.
"ROAR!"
The bear twisted violently toward Alex.
Its other paw swept horizontally.
Before the claws could reach him, Cain stepped between them and struck the attacking limb aside.
Alex did not waste the opportunity.
His greatsword came down onto the bear’s shoulder.
Bang!
The impact forced the enormous bear lower, but the thick muscles beneath its fur prevented the blade from cutting deeply enough.
The bear roared and lunged toward Cain instead.
That was exactly what Cain wanted.
He remained directly in front of it, drawing most of its attention onto himself.
Whenever the bear attacked, Cain either blocked or avoided the strike without attempting to seriously injure it. Each time the bear overextended itself, he forced its body slightly off balance or redirected one of its limbs, creating another opening for Alex.
The bear slammed both forelimbs downward.
Cain moved aside just before they struck.
BOOM!
The pavement shattered beneath the impact.
Before the bear could lift its paws again, Alex rushed from its side.
The greatsword struck its ribs.
A second wound opened beside the first.
The bear immediately turned toward him, but Cain struck the side of its head with the flat of his sword.
Bang!
Its massive head jerked sideways.
The brief disruption was enough.
Alex stepped closer and swung again.
The heavy blade cut across the bear’s back, tearing through fur and flesh before finally stopping against the dense muscle underneath.
Blood began running down its body.
The evolved bear became increasingly furious.
Its attacks grew more violent as the fight continued.
Cain remained its main target.
The bear swiped at him repeatedly, occasionally attempting to bite whenever he entered too close, but Cain never remained where it expected.
He could feel the difference between them clearly.
Its attacks were powerful enough to seriously injure most Unranked Awakeners.
However, it was nothing to Cain even if he didn’t use Ruin Dragon Force.
He still could afford to spend the fight controlling the bear rather than killing it.
The bear suddenly charged with its head lowered.
Cain planted one foot against the ground.
Instead of dodging completely, he placed his free hand against the side of its head and used its momentum to guide it past him.
The huge bear stumbled forward.
"Now."
Alex was already waiting.
He stepped toward the exposed flank and swung the greatsword with both hands.
Bang!
The blade buried itself deeply into the bear’s side.
The evolved animal roared and twisted around so violently that Alex was forced to release the weapon for a moment before grabbing the handle again.
Cain immediately stepped in.
His sword intercepted the paw descending toward Alex’s head.
Clang!
The claws struck the blade.
Cain was pushed back, while the bear’s forelimb was forced away.
Alex recovered his footing and pulled the greatsword free.
Blood poured from the wound.
A minute passed like this.
Cain remained at the center of the battle, taking most of the evolved bear’s attention while deliberately avoiding lethal attacks.
Whenever Alex was forced into a bad position, Cain disrupted the bear long enough for him to recover.
Whenever the bear exposed itself, Cain left the opening untouched and let Alex take it instead.
Gradually, wounds accumulated across the bear’s body.
Its movements remained powerful, but they were no longer as smooth as before.
Alex’s breathing had grown heavier.
Several shallow claw marks crossed his clothes, but his eyes remained fixed on the evolved bear.
The bear raised one forelimb again and swung toward Cain.
Cain stepped inside the attack.
His sword struck the limb from below, forcing it upward and exposing the joint near the shoulder.
Alex’s eyes sharpened.
He immediately rushed forward and poured everything into one swing.
"HA!"
The greatsword swept upward.
CRACK!
The blade struck directly through the exposed joint.
For a moment, thick muscle and bone resisted, but then the edge tore completely through.
The bear’s forelimb separated from its body.
Blood erupted from the wound.
"ROOOAR!"
The bear staggered sideways as its severed limb crashed onto the road.
Cain’s eyes immediately changed as he thought that Alex had already done enough.
There was no longer any reason to drag the battle out.
Before the bear could even recover from losing its arm, Cain moved.
His body crossed the short distance instantly.
The evolved bear had only begun turning its head when Cain appeared beside its neck and swung his sword.
Shhk!
The blade passed cleanly through.
The bear’s roar stopped abruptly.
Its enormous head separated from its body and struck the pavement.
A moment later, the rest of the corpse collapsed beside it with a heavy crash.
Bang!
Cain lowered his sword, but instead of immediately turning toward Alex, his gaze remained on the corpse for a moment.
Something about the fight had caught his attention.
’It was stronger than it should’ve been.’
The bear had only been Level 27, yet the physical force behind its attacks was clearly greater than what Cain had seen from zombies at a similar level.
Even the mutated zombies he had fought before did not possess this kind of raw Strength at the same rank.
Cain glanced at the massive forelimb Alex had severed.
The difference was not small either.
Its speed was nothing extraordinary, but its body was tougher, its muscles denser, and every direct attack carried far more force than its Level suggested.
’So evolved animals are naturally stronger than zombies?’
Cain did not immediately decide that was the case for every species, but this fight had given him enough reason to pay more attention.
If an ordinary evolved bear already possessed this much physical strength at the 1st Echelon, then the stronger animals deeper in the eastern district might be considerably more dangerous than their Levels made them appear.
His eyes shifted farther east for a brief moment.
The zoo was in that direction.
Cain’s lips curved slightly.
’Interesting.’
Alex remained several meters away, breathing heavily as blood dripped from the edge of his greatsword.
Then the notification he had been waiting for finally appeared.
[You have participated in the defeat of a 1st Echelon being.]
[You have dealt considerable damage to the qualifying target.]
[Required Contribution achieved.]
[The qualifying target has died while you remained within the battlefield.]
[1st Echelon Advancement Mission completed.]
"Thank God my attacks counted considering we didn’t even know how much damage the System considered as considerable." Alex grinned.
"You cut off its arm. It better count." Cain chuckled.
Mana around Alex began changing almost immediately.
He sat down and started the advancement process.
Cain had already witnessed Mana Core condensation several times, so he merely watched the surroundings while removing the bear’s Core.
Around a minute later, a powerful pulse spread from Alex.
[Mana Core successfully formed.]
[You have advanced to the 1st Echelon.]
Alex slowly stood.
His physical presence had changed noticeably.
Even before advancing, raw Strength had been his greatest advantage.
Now that his stats had doubled, he could feel a huge difference in his strength compared to before advancing.
A new notification appeared before him.
[Please select the name that will represent you in the World Ranking.]
Alex thought briefly.
"Iron Colossus."
Golden light immediately appeared.
[World Announcement: The 50th player to have successfully advanced to the 1st Echelon Rank.]
[The name "Iron Colossus" shall be recorded in the history of this world.]
[The Iron Colossus has received a Green Scroll and Orb!]