The Acid-Crawler came crashing down, its jaws wide open and ready to snap Zen's head off.
Zen did not use the Emperor's Stride. He was afraid of hurting his calf muscles again. So he held his sword tight with both hands.
"System," Zen thought. "Optimal strike angle?"
[Calculating... 45 degrees upward. Strike the soft tissue under the mandible.]
"Lets do this," Zen said.
He didn't move. He just stood still and swung his heavy, chipped blade in a tight arc. The sword cut through the monster's unarmoured neck and green acid splashed over the floor, sizzling loudly.
The Acid-Crawler fell down dead at his feet.
The chat on his screen went crazy immediately.
User_992: Did you guys see that?! He didn't even dodge!
ScrapRat: One swing. He just stood there and chopped it in half!
MetalHead: Okay, that wasn't luck. That was an actual sword form.
The remaining thirteen crawlers shrieked in unison. Their red eyes locked onto Zen. They scrambled down the walls and rushed him from all sides.
"System," Zen whispered. "Give me the threat assessment."
[Multiple targets approaching. Probability of taking damage: 88%. I advise falling back to a narrow choke point.]
"No," Zen said with a confident smirk on his face. "I need the practice."
Zen shifted his feet into an ancient stance. It was the First Form of the Arclight Blade, a combat style he created centuries ago.
Just then, a bright golden notification popped up on his stream interface.
[User_992 has pledged a 1,000 Mana-Credit Bounty!]
User_992: 1,000 credits if you kill the next three without dodging! The platform holds the funds. Do it!
Zen read the message and chuckled. "You guys want to play games? Fine."
"System, what are the odds of parrying three strikes without moving my feet?"
[Calculating... 22%. Increasing to 75% if you utilize the Vanguard Parry stance.]
"Easy money," Zen said to himself.
The first three Acid-Crawlers leaped at him at the exact same time. Zen stood perfectly still.
As the first one lashed out with its sharp front leg, Zen brought his sword up and deflected the blow. He used the monster's own momentum to spin his blade around, slicing the second crawler's legs clean off.
Before the third crawler could bite his shoulder, Zen thrust his rusted sword straight forward, piercing right through its main green eye.
He kicked the monster off his blade. He had not moved an inch from his spot.
[Bounty Condition Met. 1,000 Mana-Credits transferred to your account.]
User_992: Holy sh*t! That was amazing! Take my money!
VanguardFan1: That was flawless! Who the hell is this guy?
ScrapRat: I told you! The footwork, the sword skills... he's a pro!
More notifications started flooding the screen. The viewers realized the Ghost Scrapper was taking requests.
[MetalHead has pledged a 500 Mana-Credit Bounty!]
MetalHead: 500 credits to cut off the legs of the next two before killing them!
[RichKid99 has pledged a 2,000 Mana-Credit Bounty!]
RichKid99: 2,000 credits if you clear the rest of the room in under a minute!
"Challenge accepted," Zen said.
He moved.
He didn't use any ancient breathing techniques, just pure, refined skill. He dashed forward, sliding under a crawler and slicing its legs off just like MetalHead asked. He spun around, using the heavy momentum of the rusted sword to crush the shells of two more monsters.
Green blood and acid sprayed everywhere. Zen moved like a dancer, dodging the acid spits by mere inches. He cut down the rest of the pack in exactly fifty-six seconds.
[Bounty Conditions Met. 2,500 Mana-Credits transferred.]
The cavern went quiet, except for the sizzling of acid on the floor.
Zen walked around, cutting the purple Heart-Stones out of the dead monsters.
"System," Zen thought. "Absorb them."
[Absorbing 14 Low E-Rank Heart-Stones... Core stability increasing.]
He felt the warm energy flowing into his chest. The broken pieces of his soul felt like they were slowly being glued together.
Before he could celebrate, the ground started shaking.
A massive roar echoed from the back of the sewer tunnel. The water in the reservoir rippled. A huge Acid-Crawler crawled out of the dark. It was twice the size of the others, and had a glowing green horn on its head.
"Alpha Acid-Crawler " Zen said. "Mid E-Rank. This is the boss."
[Target: Alpha Acid-Crawler.]
[Danger Level: High. Its acid can melt through standard Aegis shields.]
[Probability of F-Rank Host surviving: 5%.]
The chat went crazy again.
ScrapRat said, "It's the boss! Run, dude! That thing killed a full squad!"
User_992 said, "Your sword is too rusted for that! It's going to snap!"
Then, the biggest donation yet flashed on the screen.
[VanguardFan1 has pledged a 5,000 Mana-Credit Bounty!]
VanguardFan1: 5,000 credits if you sever the leader's horn first before you kill it!
Zen looked at the glowing horn. "System. Odds of cutting that horn off with this trash sword?"
[Calculating... The horn is highly durable. Probability of success: 15%.]
"I'll take those odds," Zen said.
The Alpha shrieked and spat a massive glob of green acid right at him.
Zen dodged to the side. The acid hit the concrete wall behind him melting it instantly. The boss didn't stop; it charged forward like a train aiming to skewer Zen with its horn.
Zen ran straight towards it.
"He's crazy!" someone said in the chat.
Right before the boss hit him, Zen jumped. He stepped hard onto the sewer wall, ran two steps up the curved concrete, and launched himself into the air over the monster.
While he was upside down in the air, he brought the heavy sword down with all the strength his F-Rank body had. He aimed perfectly for the base of the glowing green horn.
CRACK.
The rusted sword hit the horn, but it didn't cut through.
The chipped blade wedged deep into the bone-like material at the base. Zen gripped the hilt tightly as he fell toward the ground. Using the weight of his fall and the monster's own momentum as a lever, he twisted his wrist a bit.
SNAP!
The thick horn broke off violently. At the exact same time, Zen's rusted sword shattered into a dozen jagged pieces.
The Alpha let out a loud scream of pain, thrashing wildly.
Zen landed perfectly on his feet behind the monster. He didn't give it a chance to recover. He dashed forward, jumped onto the beast's back, and drove the jagged, broken hilt of his shattered sword straight down into the soft gap between its armor plates.
The boss jerked once, then collapsed onto the floor, dead.
[Bounty Condition Met. 5,000 Mana-Credits transferred.]
Zen stood on top of the dead boss, pulling his broken hilt out. He breathed heavily, wiping some sweat from his forehead.
The chat box was moving so fast it was just a blur of colors.
User_992: NO WAY! HE ACTUALLY DID IT!
RichKid99: Best stream on GE right now!
ScrapRat: He made a Mid E-Rank boss look like a joke!
Aidan387: You're sure he's not a C-Ranked? Or even higher?
"Thanks for the bounties, guys," Zen said. He looked directly toward the drone, knowing the hacked system interface was digitally blurring his facial features on the live feed. "That's all for tonight. See you next time."
"System, end stream."
[Ghost Scrapper is now OFFLINE.]
Zen jumped down from the boss. He used his dagger to cut into its chest, pulling out a Heart-Stone the size of a baseball. It was pulsing with bright, strong mana.
"System, initiate absorption," Zen ordered.
[Processing Mid E-Rank Heart-Stone...]
A massive wave of power rushed into his body. It was hot and overwhelming. Zen fell to one knee grabbing his chest as his core expanded.
[Absorption complete. Core fracture repaired by 2%.]
[Congratulations. You have reached Mid F-Rank.]
Zen stood up, feeling the difference immediately. His muscles did not ache as much and he felt a little stronger. He wasn't an Emperor anymore, but he wasn't completely helpless either.
He packed up his drone, grabbed his chipped sword and walked out of the Ashen Sewers.
The walk back to the Ares Military Academy was quiet. The acid rain had stopped.
As Zen got closer to the Scrap Dorms, he noticed someone sitting alone on a rusted metal bench near the courtyard. It was a girl with short brown hair.
"Maya?" Zen asked, walking closer.
She jumped, looking up with wide, terrified eyes. The moment she realized it was Zen, the color completely drained from her face. She grabbed her canvas bag and frantically scrambled backward on the bench, trying to get away.
"No! Don't come near me!" Maya cried out, her voice shaking with panic. "Please, Zen, just stay away!"
Zen stopped immediately, holding his hands up to show he wasn't going to step closer. "Maya, calm down. It's just me. Val isn't here. She left hours ago."
Maya hugged her knees to her chest, her eyes darting around the dark courtyard nervously as if Valeria might pop out of the bushes. "Are you sure?" she whispered, trembling.
"I'm sure," Zen said, keeping his voice gentle. "What did she say to you in the lecture hall, Maya? Why are you so scared?"
Maya shivered. Tears started forming in her eyes. "She... she leaned in close to my ear. And she told me that if I ever looked at you again, or offered you food again..."
"What did she say?" Zen pressed gently.
"She said my healing magic wouldn't be strong enough to put my own skin back together," Maya sobbed quietly. "She said she would peel me like a fruit. Zen, her eyes... she wasn't joking. She meant it."
Zen clenched his fists, feeling anger flare in his chest. Valeria wasn't just playing the overprotective girlfriend; she eas trying to completely isolate him from anyone who was nice to him.
"Listen to me Maya " Zen said in a calm voice. "You have to stay from Val. Don't talk to her. don't even look at her."
"But what about you?" Maya asked, wiping her eyes. "She made you partner up with her. Are you safe?"
"I can handle Val," Zen lied. "Just keep your distance. I promise, everything is going to be fine."
He got up, gave Maya a nod to make her feel better, then went into the dorm building.
When Zen got to his room. he locked the metal door. He threw his broken sword on the bed and went to his terminal.
He needed to see how much the bounties had actually paid out.
"System," Zen thought. "Show me the final revenue from tonight's stream."
[Accessing GE Network...]
[Calculating donations, paid requests, and ad revenue.]
Zen held his breath.
[Total Revenue: 124,500 Mana-Credits.]
"You gat to be kidding me…"