SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will-Chapter 104: Corruption’s Gamble
The man’s body looked human at first glance, yet something about him felt deeply wrong. His skin carried dark vein like patterns that pulsed faintly with corrupted mana. His movements were unnatural, stiff in one moment and fluid in the next.
Tainted energy leaked from him constantly, twisting the air around his body.
His eyes were sunken, glowing faintly with sickly light.
His arm hung loosely at his side, bent at an impossible angle, yet with a sickening crack the bones twisted back into place.
Arthur watched silently.
As if sensing his gaze, the figure slowly straightened.
Its body shifted, flesh writhing beneath the skin before settling into a more human shape. The movement was wrong, like something wearing a human shell rather than truly being one.
When it finally spoke, its voice sounded distorted.
"Who... do you think you are..."
Its head tilted unnaturally.
"To interfere with the formation... the uppers ordered me to protect?"
Arthur felt nothing but disgust.
The presence of the man alone made his instincts recoil. The corruption surrounding him was far denser than the ritual itself.
Arthur did not answer.
He simply drew his dagger.
The blade reflected the dim light of the burning clearing.
The corrupted man laughed softly.
A broken, wet sound.
Then he moved.
Vines burst from the ground instantly, not like the wild attacks of monsters but controlled and precise. They twisted and curved in unnatural angles, striking from multiple directions at once.
A fighting style no human should possess.
The vines shot forward with terrifying speed.
Whoosh!
Arthur stepped aside calmly, the attacks grazing past him. The vines slammed into the ground behind him, splitting the earth open.
The corrupted man did not pause.
More vines surged upward, forming sharp spears that launched toward Arthur’s chest.
Arthur moved.
Intent Step.
His figure vanished and reappeared beside the attacker, dagger slicing toward his neck.
Clang!
A thick vine intercepted the strike at the last moment.
The impact sent shock through Arthur’s arm, yet his expression remained steady.
The corrupted man’s body twisted violently, another vine lashing toward Arthur’s back.
Arthur spun and released a burst of flame.
Boom!
The vine burned instantly, shriveling into ash.
The clearing erupted into motion.
Flames.
Vines.
Explosions.
The corrupted man attacked relentlessly, his movements erratic and unpredictable. Vines burst from the earth, from the trees, even from his own body, striking in chaotic patterns.
Arthur responded with precise movements, cutting, burning, stepping through every attack with controlled intent.
Steel clashed against living vines.
Fire devoured corruption.
The ground shattered under the force of their exchange.
Boom!
Crack!
Whoosh!
The battle escalated immediately, neither side holding back.
The corrupted man’s laughter echoed through the clearing as more vines erupted around him, forming a massive wave that surged toward Arthur like a living storm.
Arthur lowered his stance, fire gathering in his palm once more. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
His eyes sharpened as vines burst forward like living whips, tearing through the air with sharp force. The ground split open as thick roots rose and twisted toward Arthur, aiming to bind, crush, and pierce all at once.
Arthur didn’t retreat.
He raised his hand and released his fire layered manifest intent.
Boom!
A huge blast of fire spread outward, burning through a large wave of vines and turning them to ash. The clearing lit up in blazing heat, the trees around them shaking from the impact.
Yet the moment the flames faded, the vines grew again.
Fast.
Annoyingly fast.
They pushed out from the earth, thicker than before, tougher than before, moving like they had learned from the attack.
Arthur clicked his tongue.
"Yeah... you’re just as annoying as those beasts."
The vines lunged again.
Arthur moved.
Intent Step activated the moment he willed it, his figure slipping out of reach as the attacks struck empty air. He reappeared to the side and slashed forward, execution intent flowing through his dagger.
A clean strike.
A core inside one of the vine structures shattered instantly.
Before the remains could regenerate, Arthur released another blast of manifest intent, burning the fragments completely.
He flowed between attacks smoothly, switching between execution intent and manifest intent with ease. When the vines surged too close, his intent weave slowed their movements just enough to create an opening.
Everything he did was precise.
Measured and efficient.
Yet the man adapted just as quickly.
The corrupted vines began moving differently, changing direction mid attack, bending around Arthur’s dodges as if predicting his path. Some struck from blind spots, others created feints before launching the real attack.
Arthur raised a brow.
"He’s adapting."
As he dodged another strike, sliding back as a vine spear pierced the ground where his head had been.
The man’s control over the vines was impressive. He maneuvered them like extra limbs, shifting angles and pressure constantly, forcing Arthur to adjust every second.
Arthur didn’t mind.
If anything, he was enjoying himself.
The pace of the battle thrilled him, the constant adaptation, the challenge of reading the enemy’s intent. Yet beneath that excitement, his focus remained clear.
End this quickly.
Destroy the formation.
Return to the battlefield.
He could not afford to stay here long.
The corrupted man grew frustrated.
No matter how he controlled the vines, Arthur slipped through every attack. And worse, Arthur’s own strikes had begun landing more frequently.
A fire spear pierced through his shoulder.
A burning chain wrapped briefly around his leg before exploding.
Execution intent tore apart sections of corrupted flesh that struggled to reform.
The man roared, channeling more corrupted mana into his body. Dark energy surged outward violently.
Arthur felt it immediately.
The tainted mana pressed against him like a heavy wave, foul and repulsive. His body instinctively resisted it, his mana pathways pushing back against the corruption.
He frowned slightly but steadied himself.
"Disgusting power."
The man’s attacks became more violent.
Vines erupted wildly from every direction, smashing trees and tearing the ground apart. The clearing turned into chaos as strikes rained down without pattern.
Arthur moved through it calmly.
Step. Cut. Burn. Weave.
His movements became smoother with every exchange, his control over the fire element growing sharper.
