Putting his weight into the blade, Dante ignored the shock traveling through his arms and pressed down on his opponent. Just as the cloaked hero braced himself and pushed back, the water sword suddenly lost its integrity and let the blade pass through, scattering into a splash of normal water.
Dante fell to the floor and reactivated Aqua Edge, putting strength into his legs as he lunged. His opponent reacted quickly, evading the stab and raising his weapon in a diagonal slash.
Blocking with his left arm, Dante took the chance to jump away, attempting to put some distance between them. Before his feet could touch the floor, however, his body was yanked once more, and he found himself flying toward the hero.
[Telekinesis!] Volcan said. [And a strong one at that!]
Once again, Dante moved to counter the attack thrown at him, but his body shifted at the last moment, throwing him off balance. The cloaked hero slashed with his weapon, causing another sharp clang. As orange sparks flashed from the impact, Dante heard him click his tongue, the frustration in that simple act clear. The attack might have landed, but Type 2-3 proved to be much sturdier than he had anticipated. That wasn’t to say it had no effect at all.
Once again, Dante felt the force of the blow send a sharp current through his nerves. This time, however, he knew exactly why that was happening. He was approaching his current limit. More than six minutes have passed since he put on the armors, and since he had been changing between them without taking a break to recover, the strain continued to build up uninterrupted.
He had mitigated most of its effects by limiting his movements, which allowed him to extend the limit. He knew it would catch up to him sooner or later, but what he didn’t bet on was that it would happen at the worst time possible.
[Dante, I advise that you retreat for now.] Said Volcan. [With their tracker incapacitated, you wouldn’t have to worry about them finding you for now.]
’Yeah, I’m not doing that.’
[Then at least change to a different armor. Type 2-3 is running out of energy.]
The icon in the bottom left corner of his field of vision showed that he had 40/300 energy left. Controlling the fog and spamming Aqua Mine had drained most of it, leaving him with no choice but to change into something different.
His favorite suit, 8-3, was out of commission for the time being. He had consumed most of its energy as well, opening portals to move around the heroes unnoticed.
’This guy can move things with his mind, huh?’ Dante thought. ’What do you suggest?’
[Type 6-3 would be the perfect counter.] Said Volcan. [However, the strain it causes is much higher compared to that of other Level 3 armor. It would be unwise to equip it right now.]
’6 is the durability type, right?’ Dante thought aloud. ’Give me the first Level. I will handle it from there.’
Raven didn’t let up, continuing his attacks the entire time. Dante had always wondered what would happen if he were attacked in the middle of transitioning between armors. Volcan had informed him that he would still be safe, since the threads of light from which the armors are formed provided a substantial protection, but that didn’t stop him from worrying.
Thankfully, light erupting from someone didn’t appear like the right opportunity for an attack, which is why Raven backed away despite risking his opponent vanishing into the for.
A second later, Dante was clad in an entirely different armor.
’... hey, I thought I told you to give me the first level...’
[This is the first level.]
Dante’s confusion came from the fact that he was wearing a suit of full plate armor. Not a single part of it was made from the flexible fabric that came with the other Level 1 and 2 suits. Everything from the chest piece to the gauntlets and boots was blocky, their thickness making his limbs appear like twigs in comparison. There were no sharp spikes or bladed edges anywhere, except for the two bull-like horns extending from the helmet.
The one thing Dante noticed immediately was the weight it placed on his body, forcing him to hunch over. Seeing it like that, in addition to the whole thing having a rusty brown color, saying it looked like a bull wasn’t a far-off description.
’Why... the hell... why the hell is it so damn heavy!!!’
As he tried to move around, Dante realized it wasn’t just his imagination. Not only was the armor sluggish, but just moving it required him to exert his strength.
[Type 6-1 doesn’t have the same mobility assistance as higher levels.] Volcan said. [You have to rely on your own strength to move it properly.]
A new window popped up just then, showing him the stats granted by the armor.
Baseline Retention: Intermediate (90%)
Computing Power: 7 (+2)
Neural Interface Module (C)
Optic Augmentation Module (C)
Kinetic Absorption Protective Sub-Layer Generation 15 (C)
Just as he noticed the big fat zero next to Agility and Dexterity, Dante saw the cloaked hero move. The fog had begun to dissipate now that he couldn’t keep it in place. Because of that, he was able to see what his opponent did with much more clarity.
As he unfurled his cloak, a flurry of inky black feathers scattered from under it. They floated in the air for a moment before bursting forth like darts. Unable to move from his spot, Dante struggled to raise one of his hands to guard his face, only to remember that the feathers did him no harm the first time they were used against him.
Once the dark shower washed over him, Dante looked down at himself wondering what was the point of it all. Just as he noticed the black feathers stuck to his armor, an invisible force suddenly pulled at him.
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