Chapter 15: Beg For Forgiveness
"So... bullies exist here too."
Kalon muttered the words more to himself than anyone else.
The man he had just punched regained his footing. Wiping the blood from his lip, he glared at Kalon with burning rage.
"You’ve got some nerve, punching me. I don’t care who or what you are!"
The aggression in the servant’s voice caught Kalon off guard.
For a brief moment, it dragged him back to Earth. To all the times he’d been cornered, mocked, and forced to cower.
Then he looked at the man again.
Even if he’s a Vendurion, he’s only Silver. He doesn’t have any SSS-rank skills or passives.
Things don’t have to be the same anymore...
The Vendurion lowered himself into a fighting stance, and the maids quickly backed away to give the two of them room.
I can beat him!
Judging by Josinia’s rank, Kalon guessed the servant was either the same rank as her or perhaps one rank higher.
That would make him a Low Silver or a Mid Silver.
Either way, the gap between them was significant, but not impossible to bridge. Not with Astral Counter.
All he had to do was wait for the servant to attack first.
The two slowly circled one another across the room. The servant’s pink eyes never left Kalon for even a second.
"I just figured out what you are," the servant said with a smirk. "You’re a human. I thought you losers were trapped on your own planet."
Kalon didn’t reply.
He’d learned long ago that there was no point arguing with bullies.
"No words, huh?" The servant smirked. "Fine then. Let’s dance."
Without warning, he lunged forward. At the same time, he drew a small dagger from inside his black servants coat.
A white aura coated the blade.
It was being enhanced by a skill.
One glance was enough for Kalon to know the truth.
That thing will cut straight through me... even with my steel body.
It was finally time to test his active skill.
Astral Counter.
The instant he activated it, he felt the Ring of Skill Bridging spring into action.
The mana inside his body had always felt directionless, but now it flowed with purpose, guided by the ring.
His F-rank mana spread through every inch of his body.
It was the weakest mana possible. Yet under the ring’s guidance, it became exactly what it needed to be to use the SSS-rank skill.
Understanding of the skill flooded Kalon’s mind.
His body reacted on instinct.
He reached out and slapped the dagger aside before it could reach him.
At that same instant, the white aura surrounding the blade flowed into his body.
It felt as though every muscle and bone stored a fragment of its power. It was like he was a shark devouring it’s prey, and the prey was this skill.
His System immediately identified what he had absorbed.
D-Rank Skill: Ranged Slash.
It allowed its user to project the blade’s aura a short distance beyond the weapon itself, extending the reach of each swing by a few extra centimeters.
Now that Astral Counter had absorbed it...
He could return the attack at twice its original power.
Then Kalon realized something.
I need a blade.
To return a sword technique, he would need a sword.
But his hands were empty.
He glanced around the room, searching for anything sharp enough to use.
Nothing. There was nothing in reach!
Then another thought struck him.
...Wait.
Despite having no weapon, the skill didn’t feel restricted to him. Instead, it felt like it was right there, waiting to be used.
Does that mean...
Kalon stepped forward and swung his hand downward in a chopping motion.
It was a clumsy attack.
He’d never paid much attention during martial arts lessons, unlike Richard, Daniel, or many of the other bullies that had beat him up in the past.
Fortunately, technique didn’t matter when it came to using certain skills.
Brilliant white aura erupted around the edge of his hand, extending the strike far beyond its normal reach.
Twice as far as Ranged Slash should have.
His hand missed the servant, but the white aura surrounded it didn’t.
A razor-thin line appeared across the servant’s blazer, running diagonally from shoulder to hip.
A heartbeat later, the fabric split cleanly apart. His jacket and shirt slid from his body and fell to the floor.
Beneath them was only the faintest cut on the servants pale purple skin.
A thin line of red slowly welled up before a single drop of blood fell onto the polished floor.
Silence spread throughout the room.
Every servant and maid in the room stared with wide eyes.
From their perspective, the human had just produced the cutting power of a sword using nothing but his bare hand.
Worse still, the strike had been so precise that it left only a shallow scratch on the man’s actual body.
The servant swallowed hard.
He... spared me.
Is he really that much stronger than me?
Without another word, the servant let the dagger fall from his hand.
Then he dropped to his knees.
The rumors about humans couldn’t have been more wrong. They were not weak, lesser versions of Vendurions who were stuck on their planet with no way to escape.
The chubby maid and the taller maid stood frozen in shock.
Then the servant shouted,
"Get on your knees! Help me beg for his forgiveness!"
"B-but—"
"Now!"
The two maids hesitated only briefly before kneeling beside him.
Moments later, all three of them were prostrating themselves before Kalon as though he were some sort of king.
Josinia watched in silence, the tears in her pink eyes finally beginning to dry.
Meanwhile, Kalon simply stood there, dumbfounded.
Usually I’m the one on my knees begging for forgiveness...
I have to admit, this feels a whole lot better.
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