Aaron, Gwen, and Amber were fighting against Ethan, who could summon a mana staff. The battle had already lasted for several minutes but was far from over, as the guy was strong and used to kill.
The only silver lining was that they were three against one and held themselves well against the guy.
They kept dodging and blocking many of Ethan's attacks, but he was a skilled fighter and continued to enlarge, make longer, or make heavier his mana staff to strike them with powerful blows even from a distance.
However, despite constant shifts in size, weight, and length, Ethan's staff was fast and fluid, moving with an almost magical grace that made it hard for the trio to predict his next move.
That was also due to his physical superiority, but thanks to their training and their rare powers, they managed to survive against him until now.
Aaron, trying to gain the upper hand in the fight, summoned a wave of corrosive slime that flew toward Ethan. However, the man quickly responded and used his staff to deflect the attack, sending it harmlessly to the side, which started sizzling due to its corrosiveness.
On the other hand, Gwen was using her mana armor to protect the others as she fought Ethan with her fists. She delivered a series of punches and kicks, but Ethan was able to evade most of them with ease.
While Gwen and Aaron kept the man at bay, Amber, meanwhile, was trying to find an opening to deal a fatal blow to the man, but it was like the thug had eyes behind his neck, and she never landed a hit on him.
Besides, Ethan was a formidable opponent, and his staff made it difficult for Amber to get close enough to land a blow.
Aaron stepped forward, his hands poised to create his corrosive slime. As the ball of slime appeared in his hands, Aaron threw it at the staff-wielding man, but Ethan was quicker, and with a quick move, he avoided the attack.
Amber and Gwen sprang into action as the man moved, with Erik's girlfriend hurling her daggers at Ethan while Gwen charged forward, her fists covered with spiked gauntlets that increased the damage she made.
Ethan deftly dodged the daggers, his staff twirling to deflect Gwen's punches.
Aaron tried again to summon his slime, but Ethan was noticed. He sent enlarged his staff and swung at the young man, forcing him to leap out of the way. The swing hit a nearby column instead, breaking it into multiple pieces that fell to the ground and seriously weakening the club's integrity.
Amber and Gwen continued to press the attack, their moves fluid and coordinated as they sought to keep Ethan off balance. Gwen landed a solid punch to Ethan's chest, but it barely seemed to faze him.
The thug countered with a mighty swing that sent Amber and Gwen flying backward. They hit the ground hard, rolling to their feet as Aaron stepped forward to take his turn.
With a wave of his hand, the young man summoned a tremendous amount of corrosive slime and threw it at Ethan. But the thug was ready, and he swung the staff, which hit the slime and prevented it from reaching him.
Amber and Gwen recovered quickly, leaping back into the fray with renewed determination.
Their attacks came faster now; each move was meant to distract and deceive Ethan.
The battle was intense, and the sound of clashing weapons and grunts of exertion filled the air. Sweat poured down the faces of the combatants as they fought with all their might.
Ethan continued to use his staff, sending it whirling through the air in a deadly dance. Aaron used his corrosive slime to slow the man down, but the staff moved too quickly for him to get a good shot.
The problem was that as the fight progressed, the three students grew increasingly tired. Aaron's slime was becoming less effective on the battlefield as Ethan learned where it landed and avoided it carefully, and he hadn't been able to hit the thug directly.
Gwen's attacks were losing their force, and even Amber was beginning to slow down, her movements becoming more sluggish as the fight continued. The trio fought bravely, but it seemed as though they were losing ground.
Despite their exhaustion, the trio continued to fight, knowing that they had to give it their all if they were to have any chance of surviving.
They dodged and weaved, blocked, and struck, their bodies moving in a frantic combat dance. And yet, despite their efforts, Ethan continued to gain ground, pushing them back with each passing moment.
At that moment, Erik and the others killed the woman, Ava, and right after, he and Martha joined the fray to help the three kill the man.
Since Aaron and Martha had already fought against the thugs for a long time, they already knew what to do while working together, and a plan was brewing in their minds. However, what they wanted to do was only possible thanks to Erik.
Gwen stepped forward, her mana armor glinting in the light. Ethan swung his staff, its mana crackling.
He thrust it at Gwen, but she tilted to the side. As the man's arms were outstretched, Amber dashed forward, her daggers gleaming in the flickering light.
She aimed for Ethan's back, but he spun around just in time, narrowly dodging the woman's attack. Amber didn't expect him to see her, but it was like he had eyes behind his neck or had a tracking device on her.
Erik and Martha jumped into the fray; the woman kept sending multiple thorny vines to the man just so that the thug had to keep moving to avoid being hit and creating more opportunities for her friends.
At the same time, Erik attacked the man with incredible vigor, giving the man a hard time he didn't deem possible for kids this age.
Gwen stepped forward again, taking Ethan's attention away from his assailants. She punched him with a powerful right hook, but the thug parried the blow with his staff.
Seeing an opening, Erik's girlfriend stabbed Ethan's leg with her dagger. He jumped back, avoiding the attack, but the distraction was enough for Aaron's slime to reach him.
The slime started dissolving Ethan's clothes and skin, causing him to scream. He frantically tried to rip off the slime.
As the man was distracted by his slime and Gwen's and Amber's attacks, Aaron, in the meantime, summoned his corrosive slime, which splattered on the ground and started creeping toward Ethan's feet.
There were just a few spots where he could move on.
The man tried to jump away, but the slime-covered his shoes and started dissolving them. He frantically tried to shake off the slippery slime, but it was useless.
He had to get away from the substance, so he jumped back on the only clean spot on the floor.
Martha, watching the action, knew this was the right opportunity. She summoned her thorny vines, which shot out of the ground and wrapped around Ethan's arms and legs, trapping him.
He struggled to break free for a couple of seconds and would have been almost successful if it weren't for Aaron's slimes and Amber's contextual attack, which he parried. Erik, seeing that Ethan was vulnerable, charged forward.
The vines resisted long enough for him to charge, holding his flyssa high.
He struck down at Ethan, aiming for a killing blow. This time he feinted to the left, then spun around and struck at Ethan's neck with a powerful swing of his sword. The thug tried to dodge, but the attack connected, and his head rolled away from his body.
[HOSTILE KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 7569 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
That was the notification Erik got as the man's head rolled on the ground. That meant that the other two thugs had been killed too.
The awakener turned to look at the situation, and the other groups stood there momentarily, panting heavily and covered in sweat and blood.
However, Erik noticed Adam's brother there; he apparently came to help the students fight against their opponents, but he couldn't understand how he was able to do so.
Erik looked at the other parents, who were still fighting, and saw that the remaining ones were taking care of Adam's brother's opponents too, but the situation wasn't the best.
The man nodded at Erik as he saw him looking at him and then went back to fight against the thugs. His powers, which characterized the Silverbend clan to which both he and Adam belonged, were very powerful.
It didn't take much for him to trap the men and let the students kill them. The fight became especially easy since, thanks to Floyd's power, the thugs' attacks became much less threatening.
At that moment, Erik understood what it meant to be a Red Palace member or what a top 20 student at Thornton High School really signified.
Despite being significantly weaker than their opponents, with a little bit of help from the outside, or the number advantage, they had been able to overcome impossible odds.
In a sense, his friends were even more freaks than he was, despite having the system.
They had succeeded, but the fight had taken a toll on all of them, and they knew they couldn't keep going like this forever.
They were all battered and bruised, and some had sustained severe injuries. As they looked around at each other, they realized they had all changed somehow.
They had faced danger and fought for their lives, and they had come out stronger and more resilient on the other side. Now they only had to get the hell away from that mess.
Like that, Erik pushed open the Red Lotus Lounge door, and they escaped through the city.
"GET THEM!" Matthew shouted from behind, and his thugs didn't let him repeat himself twice.
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