Chapter 231: Binding Mortality
Seth’s frame swerved left, narrowly evading a flashing streak of a strike. Behind him, space folded and his frame drifted out of range.
Vamel pulled his blade out of the earth. Despite missing his strike, his expression showed no signs of disappointment.
The Treant simply raised his blade and rested it on his shoulders. "You know, you might wield quirks of both space and time, but even that won’t save you from the all-encompassing reach of the shadows."
Vamel leaned back into a free fall, to the utter confusion of his foe. His lips formed a sinister smile. Seth watched as the Treant’s frame didn’t collide with the earth but smoothly sank into a dark, formless void of shadows.
His instincts flared as his Will commanded Chronostasis. Behind his frame, a blade snaked out of his shadow, mired in the dissonance of time—it crawled slowly.
All while Seth pulled on a Dimensional Strider, weaving narrowly.
With a flash, as fast as the blade appeared, it vanished the next, leaving one guessing where it might strike from.
Meanwhile, for the first time, Seth felt a dormant part of his soul resonate. His eyes flashed, recognizing the call of Jack of All Trades.
A screen popped into view, flashing with a mythic cadence.
[Shadow Reaper class detected!]
[Skill Shadow Walk has been observed. Factor has been replicated!]
Eyes lighting up, Seth felt a sudden tether to a new form of energy. All he had to do was—
’Wildlock!’ he chanted in his mind. Following a sharp sting, in an instant, he felt an active ability brand to his soul.
[Class Skill: Shadow Walk has been integrated into Wildlock slot: 1/5]
"So that’s how it is." Seth murmured to himself, a wicked smile finding its way to his lips.
His foe surely wouldn’t see this coming. Concocting a plan in that instant, he restrained his Will flow, making it almost seem like he was getting exhausted.
In actuality, while he was getting exhausted, it wasn’t at the speed he was leading his foe to believe.
A glow of blue coated his frame as the gene skill Hand of Tide slowly rumbled awake. An undulating silver orb appeared in his grasp.
Seth’s senses alarmed him as shadows brewed around him with ominous intensity. "Hm?" Sensing something very wrong, Seth tried to reactivate his willborne abilities.
But he wasn’t fast enough. Around him, dark frames multiplied, all bearing Vamel’s cold aura. Wielding their blades, the shadows zipped his way.
Seth clenched down on the Xenon’s sphere. In an instant, with a liquid silver flow, it formed a massive glaive.
Currents of blue rose brighter from his frame. He swung, veins bulging as his muscles coiled like steel cords, the massive weapon tearing down with an erupting tidal force.
BOOOOM!
The earth quaked, and the air shuddered as the glaive plummeted into the earth, a disastrous wave of blue destroying all the shadow frames.
Seth got ready to reposition himself, but an arm sneaked out from his shadow and pulled on his feet at a timed moment, causing Seth to face down.
"Shit!" Seth cursed as his arms clawed at the air, seeking to reclaim balance. Beside him, shadows churned and a frame slipped out, blade arcing with a flashing streak—the edge already prickling on the back of Seth’s neck.
Vamel’s eyes glinted with a ruthless gleam, victory so close he could taste it. The Treant instantly poured essence through a one-time-use talisman.
Light rippled as the inscription flared, branding itself on reality. While his blade sank deeper, drawing more blood...
His opponent fell. But instead of his head plopping right off as the impact of both the earth and the blade met, Seth’s frame seemed to just sink into the shadows.
Vamel froze. His smile went stiff. He felt his gut sink and a chill creep up.
His demeanor flipped. His eyes flashed with fear. He took a leap in an attempt to retreat.
"Shit! I shouldn’t have activated it so soon!" His fear mostly stemmed from the talisman he had just activated.
Meanwhile, in the murky ethereal formless shadows, Seth’s frame swam freely like a shadow himself.
Feeling every opening and area within range, Seth enjoyed the new ability. He glanced at a flickering alarming screen flashing in view.
[Warning! Warning! Mortal Binding has been detected: for the next 10 minutes the host will be unable to access the Origin Gate and the revive function will remain inactive for the brief duration. Beware!]
His heart skipped a beat. He had always wondered how the Treants would go about extracting genes from them.
After all, upon death or at will, one could activate the Origin Gate and escape the Origin Realm anytime. So he found the Treants’ actions puzzling.
But now, seeing this, he felt a numbing chill. These guys had the means—they had just been waiting for a chance all along.
If Vamel hadn’t been sure that victory was his, he wouldn’t have done whatever this was.
After all, now that this secret card had been exposed, Seth could as well call it quits and flee, not daring to risk his life.
Adding this to the equation completely changed the stakes of the battle. After all, it practically stated any death within this 10-minute frame would be permanent.
Seth wasn’t planning to die in the first place, but the realization that he could prompted a change in approach.
"I can’t take any risks!" His eyes flashed with determined lights. He had been planning to drag out this fight to farm some efficiency and grow his class level.
But that wouldn’t work. He couldn’t gamble with his life. His grip over the massive glaive tightened, his senses blending with the shadows, locking onto his prey. His form dissolved.
Vamel couldn’t understand. Timing, flow, and attack—everything had been in his favor. So how was it possible that his foe could Shadow Walk?
It didn’t make sense. What were the odds a single creature could have so many surprises? His brows creased.
This was beyond the level of provoking greed. For the first time, Vamel began to feel a hint of fear.
Maybe... maybe he had bitten off more than he could chew?
Wary and alarmed, he didn’t dare sink into the shadows. The thought of his foe lurking in wait with ambush made sure that idea strayed far from his mind.
Plus, now that he had activated the Mortal Bind talisman, he was equally branded. Hence its effect lingered on him.
His life and death had been put at stake. Analyzing his predicament, Vamel scowled, clutching tightly to his blade, more alarmed than ever.
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