Reborn: Apocalypse

TING

Micheal's Steelborn Sword warbled slightly as he tapped it against the ground, checking it over. When it banged off the roof, the noise it made shivered slightly, as if echoing internally.

'The Sword Energy is starting to damage it.' He frowned slightly as he saw this, glancing around.

Several Morenkai corpses were spread out on the roof, black blood leaking from them. The late afternoon light was slowly fading to evening, a few scattered clouds drifting across an empty sky.

'Every swordsman needs a good sword. My Steelborn Sword is durable and should last a bit longer, but I'll need to replace it eventually.' He sighed out loud. Points, Points, Points. Everything he needed cost Points, he simply didn't have enough.

Several hours had passed since he sold the Abnormal Morenkai corpses. In that time, Micheal had gone on his own, hunting across the central area. He had encountered large numbers of Morenkai, taking them down one by one, group by group.

In total, he must've killed more than 100 Morenkai. As luck would have it, he also didn't encounter any Abnormals.

— - Status — -

Name: Micheal Care

Points: 1,482

Race: Human

Age: 18

- Stats -

Strength - 28

Endurance - 22

Recovery - 20

Soul - 10

- Abilities - (3/7)

Life Orb Master

Ki Cultivator (Mortal Tier)

Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)

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'Almost 1,500 Points, huh?' He thought, sighing. His body was aching, exhaustion flooding his veins.

"Gulp!" He pulled a water bottle out of his Low-Tier Spatial Ring, gulping some of the cool liquid down. As he drank, he walked over to the shed that led to the bowels of this skyscraper, hiding inside.

There was no reason to leave himself exposed to snipers or people armed with guns while he planned his next moves.

He had fallen a bit short of where he had hoped to be, but was still in a stellar spot. With that many Points, he could create another set of Dragon Building Liquid. While it wouldn't enhance him as much as the first set, it would still benefit him and work to make him stronger. It would also work towards the modified physique he'd get when he took the maximum of 4 sets of the tempering drug.

'Alright. Physically, I'm too tired to last much longer out here in the wild. I'll be vulnerable to an attack by a team.' He made a decision as he glanced at the corpses.

When he'd gone hunting, several times he'd seen various teams working to take down Morenkai. Micheal had avoided them, one and all, turning to go to different skyscrapers. So far, he'd managed to successfully avoid interacting with any other humans, focused solely on improving himself.

'That won't last long, though. Eventually, I'll end up tangling with the stronger forces from one of the major powers. It won't be the Godfather Organization and I can't see the Tobagin Party acting first. Either the Saru Group or the Black Flag Pirates will come after me, enticing me to join.' He sighed.


He needed to draw attention to himself and establish a reputation. The quicker he did that, the faster his progress would be. Only… The danger that came with doing this was an unwelcome, but unavoidable, side effect.

'Alright, let's cool it with the direct physical combat. Instead…' Micheal's eyes flashed as he snapped his fingers.

Immediately, two dimly glowing blue orbs appeared, floating in the air.

'I want to test you two out a little more. The only reason I managed to break one of you was because I controlled the Life Orb and ordered it to shatter.' His mind raced as he began to walk down the stairs that led to the inner part of the skyscraper.

'Each Life Orb, despite its small size, is extremely tough and durable. Right now, I couldn't penetrate one of them with my blade, even if I coated it in a layer of Sword Energy.' He descended several floors, his movements sure.

'I can almost instantly accelerate them to move at a speed of around 15 meters per second and I can control them with my mind…' He nodded,

'What will happen if I try to use them as a weapon? If someone shoots a bullet at me, could I maneuver them to successfully block it without breaking?' His eyes flashed as he began to descend further into the skyscraper…

Headed for the deepest depths. The danger zone.

The ground floor.

'Let's test them a little.'

In no time at all, Micheal managed to reach the bottom of the skyscraper. He stayed on full alert as he moved, cautiously checking for movement or sounds. He even checked for stray traps that one group or another may have left behind. While he didn't think it likely he'd find something like that this deep into the central zone, there was no need to be careless.

And now, he found himself looking out of a stairway through a slightly cracked open metal door into the large room that almost all skyscrapers in the First Layer had. The plain grey floor, plain walls with a few windows and doors opening to the street level, everything in it was as expected.

"Oh, there's already two Morenkai in here." He whispered quietly to himself as he saw two shambling figures walking around the edges of the room. One of the figures paused by a window and looked outside it aimlessly while the other continued to move about.

"Well. Let's not dilly dather." He slammed the door open.

"Hello there." His voice boomed out, just loud enough to catch the attention of the two Morenkai in the large room, but not loud enough to carry to the streets, as he spoke nonsense, quoting a semi-famous Star Wars movie line he vaguely remembered.

He was enjoying himself. Back in the action of the moment, in the wonder of testing out a new Ability… it was one of the few things he loved about the 7 Layers. For a few brief moments, he allowed himself to relax from his dire mission, immersing himself in the moment.

Immediately, the two ominous figures turned, their eyeless faces pointed at Micheal.

He smiled.

"Come and get me."

Immediately he backed up, leaving the door open as he jogged halfway up the stairs. He waited on the midway point between the first and second floor, patient.

THUD

THUD

The two Morenkai made short work of the distance, loping across the floor in loud, clomping steps. In mere seconds, they reached the doorway, bursting through it. Their unnaturally tall bodies made them have to duck to get by.

As they entered the enclosed area, Micheal concentrated on his Life Orbs. The innate connection he sensed was unmistakable in his mind, giving him full control.

Mentally, as they reached the stairs, he willed the two orbs to fling themselves forward

WHOOSH

THUD

THUD

Immediately, the dim blue orbs flew through the air and collided directly into the chest of each Morenkai. Resounding thuds echoed out as the Life Orbs smashed the two Morenkai into the wall.

The Life Orbs then stood still, forcibly holding the two Morenkai back. Immediately the creatures began to struggle, their arms and legs smashing against the wall. They punched ineffectively at the Life Orbs, trying to break them.

"Oh." Michael muttered out loud, a feeling of strain sweeping over him as he commanded his Life Orbs to hold the Morenkai down. He felt a huge amount of pressure settle on his soul as he continued to keep them pressed up against the wall.

Instantly, he released the two Morenkai, pulling the Life Orbs back around them. Two small indents could be seen on the chest of each Morenkai, though no other obvious physical injuries.

'Their skin can easily block a bullet, it's no wonder the floating orbs didn't manage to pierce through them. I can only shoot them forward at around 15 meters per second, after all. Bullets move forward at hundreds of meters per second and fair no better.' He instantly observed,

'The indents must be because of the force I exerted in holding them back. That force appears to be related to my soul. The strain I felt must be me trying to resist their efforts to free themselves.'

'I managed to hold them back briefly, but if I waited any longer, I could sense that I would suffer an injury to the soul.' Injuries to the soul took far longer than other types of injuries to heal and could even be fatal.

As all of these thoughts raced through his head, the two Morenkai rushed at him again, their relentless charge unaffected by fear or many of the emotions that normal creatures might feel after being manhandled so easily by Micheal's Life Orbs.

WHOOSH

THUD

THUD

Once more, Micheal sent out his Life Orbs, blasting them backwards. The Orbs sailed through the air and smashed into the Morenkai with precision, following his mental route to the tee.

However, Micheal began to feel more strain on his soul, even from this much lesser exertion.

'I can't use this in an unlimited fashion. I need to get my Soul stat higher.' He blinked, his eyes cool as he reached that conclusion. He called his Life Orbs back, ordering them to float around his head.

For the third time, the two Morenkai began to rush forward again, mostly uninjured. Micheal couldn't tell if he had caused any internal injuries, but he guessed not.

As they charged, Micheal tapped on his Spatial Ring and stepped forward towards them.

SHKKK

thud

thud

In one smooth motion, Micheal dodged between the two attacking Morenkai and withdrew his Steelborn Sword from his Low-Tier Spatial Ring. He then lashed out with his blade, imbuing it with Sword Energy as he made a full, spinning cut.

The two Morenkai were literally cut in half, their bodies slamming against the wall and then tumbling backwards. Micheal was forced to quickly step backwards, dodging their acidic black blood as they fell down.

"Ouch." He muttered, feeling his sore body ache from the movement, including his soul. He needed to rest, giving both time to heal.

'Do Life Orbs heal injuries to the soul?' He tossed the thought to the side for now as he looked at the dead Morenkai bodies.

"Foolish Morenkai. You had no chance. After all…" He smiled slightly,

"I have the high ground." He couldn't help but laugh out loud, quoting another old Star Wars movie line he remembered.

Today truly had been a good day for progress.

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