292 System Return
In a quick movement before the entity that embodied “War” of another realm, he drew his crossbow, which was already loaded with a bolt, and aimed it straight for the center-mass of the armored brute.
“Gh-!”
Shooting the heavy-duty crossbow came with its own kickback, firing the bolt straight for the entity’s chest before–CLANG.
In a disheartening collision, the crossbow bolt merely bounced off of the terrifyingly durable plated chest of War.
Still, he didn’t let himself be dissuaded, sucking in a refueling breath of bravado into his lungs before tossing his crossbow to the side and instead wielding his sword.
At that moment, he remembered another piece of advice his father had told him, flooding into his mind when he needed it the most: “When you’re drowning in fear, and your knees are buckling up and your arms are trembling, do the opposite of whatever your body is telling you. If it says to run, well…You charge forward like a bull with fire chasing its ass.”
There was no part of his body that wanted to confront the massive, hulking frame of mayhem and bloodshed, but he did so anyway with a warcry forced from the depths of his being to drown out his own doubt–
“Aaaaaah–!!!”
Whether the steam-breathing entity was perplexed by the young man’s irrational charge or it simply didn’t feel the need to act in haste against his weak self, War had yet to move, but the young Dragonheart welcomed this advantage.
With an all-too dramatic leap using the dusty table as footing, he jumped in the air with a downward swing of his sword primed and readied for the metallic helm that was War’s head. In that moment he locked “eyes”, if the scarlet glow behind the barred outlines in the steel head of War could be called so, before following through with the sword swing using all of his might.
“Raaagh–!”
Empowering the swing with a yell, he swiped the sharp blade of silver complexion downward before–KLING.
Against the durable head of War, the sword snapped in half; the top half was deflected from the force, flinging back in the young man’s direction as it cut his cheek.
“Ngh–!”
As he landed on his feet, the despair was at its strongest as he looked up, standing barely at the humanoid tank’s waist as not even the slightest scratch was left on its head.
Part of him, for a split-second, was prepared to accept his failure; the fingertips of his right hand that held onto the sword began to loosen to drop the broken sword, but stopped just as it began sliding from his grip.
He wrapped his fingers tightly around the handle once more, gritting his teeth as he almost felt like crying from the sheer density of War’s terrifying aura.
I’m not going down without a fight…! He resolved.
As he rushed forward with his dulled and shattered sword, War finally let out a distorted roar that rang like scratched metal; steam shot out from the pipes in its body.
“Nngh…!”
The steam pelted the young man’s body, but he didn’t stop; feeling his flesh burn, he dashed by with a quick sword slash, only to be deflected by the durable armor of the entity once more.
He dashed straight past War after leaving an ineffective slash against its side, jumping out of the hole busted through the side of the building and into the more open space of the labyrinth’s chamber.
“…Hfff…”
Breathing out, his entire body was engulfed in pain from head-to-toe after enduring the entity’s steam for only a brief moment. While there wasn’t any lethal damage done, he was left with his skin slightly reddened, caked in sweat, and with lungs that burned with each breath.
STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.
Heavy steps followed as War casually exited the building to pursue the young man without any haste, as if taking some sort of joy in the hunt. Debris rained down on its steel shoulders as it opened up a further hole in the stone structure.
Certain death loomed over him.
That much was certain.
Or, so it seemed–
BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.
[“The blood of the Dragonheart doesn’t pump in the heart of a coward.”]
That sublime heat returned to his body; not the scalding steam that attacked his skin, but an internal flame that was born with the thumping of his heart.
It was like a mighty drum signaling the reawakening of the blood that had laid dormant in his heart since his arrival in the deathly realm; in his ears, his heart drummed louder-and-louder.
A refined breath slid past his lips as he welcomed this flow of vigor in his veins, tossing his broken sword to the side as he looked up at the approaching entity with a changed look in his eyes.
[Dragonheart System Awakened]
[Current Stage: 1/10 | Dragon Newt]
Strength flowed through the fibers of his muscles as he clenched his fists, feeling the draconic force flowing through his body like an unstoppable river once more.
[Level up!]
[Level Thirty Achieved]
All at once, the levels he had garnered over the years for his system also returned, and with it, his skills and increased physical abilities were reclaimed.
Suddenly, War raised one of its massive arms as the blades sticking out from its limb morphed into grotesque spinning instruments of cutting that resembled chainsaws before slamming it down towards the young Dragonheart.
“–!”
He managed to flip back in time, evading the lethal blow as he found himself naturally returning to form with the supernatural strength of his Dragonheart System awakening.
Yet, even with his reclaimed power, he knew there was still a fraction of a chance in putting down a monstrosity of this level; even worse, he was only able to tap into the first stage of his system, it seemed.
Alright…I have my System, but what about my magic? I can sense it, faintly…it’s in there, but I still can’t seem to access it, he thought.
After having missed its strike, the behemoth of steel and steam sprouted barrels from its own body that pointed towards the young man.
“What–”
It was a surprising, yet expected development as he was given only a split-second to react before sparks flashed and his ears were filled with consecutive “bangs” as projectiles shot from War’s transfigured weapons.
“–Ngh!”
He could do nothing but jump back and raise his arms, evading only two bullets as one pierced straight through one of his forearms and another grazed his side, taking a chunk of flesh with it.
“You–!” He gritted out.
Desperate, he manifested the azure flames of the Dragonheart into the palms of his hands, readying himself for a counterattack. In a burst fueled by his potent emotion and reckless form, he sent a wave of the bright-blue flames forth, crashing them against the behemoth’s body.
The inferno exploded in a fantastical collision, though was instantly rejected as War released a partly metallic, partly organic roar that unleashed a shock wave capable of repelling the heat.
He brushed even that off–?! He questioned.
Not letting himself be disheartened, he dashed in with a burst of flames at his feet to boost his speed, launching a powerful kick against War’s head–
THUD.
The impact only had the opposite effect desired as he felt his shin crack and no damage be embedded on the seemingly impervious helm of the entity.
“Agh-!” He let out.
CLICK.
War morphed once more, shifting one of its arms into a hulking tool of massacre; a dozen barrels were embedded in its black-steel arm before it began spinning, releasing a spray of bullets. It was nearly impossible to tell, but by his estimate in that fleeting moment, there were likely a hundred bullets that shot out in that singular second.
“Ah–”
Before he could even summon [Scale Armor] to protect himself, the high-caliber, deathly bullets shot through him dozens of times, piercing holes through his entire body before he was reduced to nothing more than red mist within that same moment.
Darkness.
Silence.
And most of all, failure.
–
“Haaaaah…!”
Once more, his eyes shot open to the familiar setting of the armory, screaming out as the death he faced felt like a seamless second ago.
[“One of Seven Attempts, failed. Five more left. Closer, but not close enough, Emilio Dragonheart.”]
It was that same voice again, ringing through his head as he caught his breath, patting his own body to make sure he wasn’t still full of holes, but to his fortune, he was in perfect health.
I died again, he realized, it killed me in an instant once it tried…even with my Dragonheart System back, would it even be enough with higher stages?
Despite the reality of failure, there was a flipside that brought on a reluctant smile to his lips as he squeezed his fist, holding it in front of him.
“I can do this.”
The strength of the Dragonheart was still there in his veins, he was certain of it through the mightiness felt in his body. It was with that power he had faced and overcome adversity countless times already with that he placed hope in.
Next step, let’s get my magic back—I’ll take it all back, including my life, he resolved.