CHAPTER 41: NEW TRAIT

The fact that the Oversized Monstrous Mosquito could teleport had never crossed Ray’s mind. Even in his wildest dreams, he couldn’t have seen it doing what it did. It used its cheat-like ability to dodge his strongest, most lethal move while bridging the gap between them so it could kill him when he least expected it!

He didn’t see it coming, so he was entirely caught completely off guard, and its long proboscis came infinitely close to piercing his chest.

Just then, sharp green rays burst out from underneath his shirt, so bright they were almost blinding. With the sudden emergence of these rays, a turtle-shell-like shield enveloped Ray in its protective embrace.

Clang!

The Oversized Monstrous Mosquito’s proboscis struck the shield, producing a shower of sparks.

The shield didn’t break, but it seemed close to breaking as spiderweb-like cracks spread outward from the point of impact, quickly covering its entire surface. It was clear that if the creature struck again, the shield would shatter without a doubt.

The impact rattled the Oversized Monstrous Mosquito’s entire body, sending tremors through its wings and throwing its flight pattern into disarray.

"Holy fuck!" Ray cursed, his voice was raw and strained, carrying three types of emotions in equal parts.

There was fury and fear.

There was also disgust.

The Oversized Monstrous Mosquito was ugly to the point of being unbearable. Its appearance up close was grotesque, nauseating, and horrific all at once. In fact, it was so ugly its appearance would Instinctively rouse disgust in the heart of any person who lays their eyes on it. Thus, Ray’s breath caught in his throat when the monster sudden appeared next to him, giving him a close up of its ugly mug!

It was close enough that he could smell the sickly-sweet, putrid stench radiating from its body, and as they stood face to face, his fight-or-flight response exploded to life, and his body reacted instinctively to the immense disgust boiling in his chest.

His fingers curled. His hand formed a fist. His knuckles crackled like thunder as he clenched his fist so tightly the green veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Bam!

His fist shot out like lightning flashing across the sky and smashed into the Oversized Monstrous Mosquito’s ugly mug.

The Oversized Monstrous Mosquito tumbled across the ground a dozen times before crashing into a massive tree with such force the tree shattered. The colossal body of the tree toppled over, crushing the mosquito beneath its weight. Trapped beneath the broken trunk, unable to get away, the monster was left helpless, imaginary starts circling its head.

This was the golden opportunity to take it out. However, it wouldn’t last long, considering its strength. Knowing this, Ray immediately put his earlier preparation into use. The two Level 2 fireballs he had been holding in reserve for an unexpected scenario dropped onto the trapped creature one after another.

Boom!

A resounding reverberation tore through the forest as the fireballs detonated upon contact with their target.

Both the massive tree and the Oversized Monstrous Mosquito trapped beneath it were blasted into smithereens, wooden shrapnel and chunks of burnt flesh flying everywhere.

Some fragments even shot toward Ray, sharp enough to pierce flesh if they connected.

Yet he dodged them calmly, his movements steady, composed, and unhurried.

Without losing focus, he then raised his hand and put out the rapidly growing fire born from the explosion of his fireballs before it could spread and engulf the forest.

Just as he finished with that, a crisp notification echoed in his mind.

♦️ You have killed a Mutated Monstrous Mosquito, comparable to an Advanced Bronze-rank Beast. You have gained +60,000 EXP!

♦️ You have leveled up.

♦️ You have gained +2 Stat Points.

Deciding how to allocate these points, Ray fell into thought.

His speed had proven to be too slow just now.

Just now, he would have died if not for his Turtle Shell Armor, an enchanted armor of the bronze rank.

If not for its ability to automatically save his life, the Mutated Monstrous Mosquito would have succeeded in killing him.

Now the ability of his armor could only be used thrice before it would enter a deep state of slumber. To rouse it from its slumber three days and a lot of magic power would be needed. During that time what would he depend on to survive similar attacks? So he decided to place both points into his agility.

Agility didn’t just increase his speed. It made him nimble, heightened his reaction speed, refined his reflexes, improved his balance, and even enhanced his hand-to-eye coordination.

With higher agility, he could track things with his eyes faster, he could move his hands in perfect harmony with his vision, and he could respond to sudden attacks with almost supernatural precision.

"With high enough agility, I would be able to react even to enemies capable of teleporting!"

♦️ -2 SP

♦️ Your Agility has increased from 8 → 10

At the moment his agility reached ten, a change rippled through him, comforting warmth spreading throughout his entire body.

It felt as though he had been submerged into a hot spa infused with magical herbs that repaired, refined, and improved him from the inside out in the blink of an eye.

With that feeling came a tremendous improvement in his body, his muscles tightening, his joints loosening, his tendons stretching, and his entire frame humming with a new, vibrant energy.

♦️ Trait Unlocked: Lightning Reflexes

Effects:-

• Enhances reflexes to superhuman levels. Allows your body to react faster than your conscious thought. Greatly increases reaction speed.

• Hones your hand-to-eye coordination to a flawless state, allowing for smoother, faster, and more precise movements in combat.

The moment the trait awakened, Ray felt it in his very flesh.

"I have undergone massive improvement."

He adapted to his new trait and felt sharper and lighter.

From long strides, he burst into a full blown sprint.

Even while moving at maximum speed, it felt hard to be caught off guard because of the Lightning Reflexes trait.

Ray felt like he could try crossing the wilderness at top speed now.