Chapter 55: deswalker


    The trick to countering dewalkers, as Tom hade to realise, was to draw it in and leave enough of an opening to encourage it tounch a strike. It was, by far, the most daring strategy that Tom had implemented to date, one that required him to master his own fear before he had a decent chance at besting the creature.


    So when the second dewalker made its approach, Tom fought the very strong instinct to fire off Water Arrows to ward off the creature. His eyes flickered rapidly as he tracked the dewalker as it leapt from the roof of the cave to the right wall, taking a few steps in quick session to close the distance between them before it lunged at him.


    Time seemed to slow down as Tom traced the dewalkers trajectory, his eyes rapidly flickering as he strained to keep pace with its erratic movements. As his heart hammered in his chest, Tom finally caught sight of the phenomenon he had been waiting for the dewalker had bought his act, dispelling its [Spatial Focus] skill mid-air as it came for the kill.


    Tom had no grand n as he threw himself backwards, his newly enhanced Proprioception stat allowing him to do so gracefully instead of haphazardly. Instead, he had merely discovered a new application of an existing [Deck Card] he held in his possession. The [Earth Maniption] card was a function of two parts, namely reshaping and solidifying the Earth, as its description in his status screen stated.


    However, to reshape the earth was to soften it, to make it malleable enough before it was hardened.


    And the [Control Glyph] allowed him to activate the [Earth Maniption] card much faster than he should be able to at his level.


    His twenty one [Proprioception] helped him time his gambit as Tom activated the [Control Glyph- Earth] as his feet were kicking off the ground to throw him backwards to safety. The ground beneath his feet began to rapidly soften, but the [Earth Maniption] card required constant contact with the ground to maintain activation.


    The end result was a creation of his own, the first move that he had innovated instead of received from either the System or Aleph


    <em>[Control Glyph Quicksand]</em>


    Tom lost sight of the dewalker as he rolled twice tond back upon his feet, a chill running up his spine as he felt a gust of wind buffet against his visage; the likely byproduct of the dewalkers missed strike.


    Finally, Tom turned his gaze forward. The beginnings of a small grin were visible on his visage as he saw the deswalker trapped knee deep in the quicksand of his own making. Its sword arms iled around as it tried to extricate itself, but Tom had observed it keenly when it had used the [Nether Crawl] skill and he was pretty sure that while the odd, gravity defying ability let it stick to hard surfaces, it shouldnt be able to defy a low friction environment that boasted of a distinctck of solid footholds.


    Perhaps if it possessed normal arms it could throw itself forward and extricate itself but


    Tom shot forward in a zig-zagging motion as he lowered his centre of gravity to its limits, positioning himself parallel to the deswalkers writhing figure. Extending his de outwards, the deep-violet glow of his Nether des [Rend] and the gust of wind that apanied the [Haste] card were utilized in unison as Tom threw himself forward.


    With his outstretched wingspan, Toms de could reach the deswalker, but if it tried to retaliate while remaining stationary all it was capable of was intercepting the de. That, coupled with the momentum behind his leap, allowed Tom to carve a deepceration running across its left thigh, with the tip of his de.


    From the very beginning, his intention had never been to kill the deswalker with a single blow, only to prevent it from running. It was not an upfront battle that he feared, but a war of attrition.


    Tom was surprised to see the deswalker standing, as purple blood gushed down its thigh and mixed with the quicksand that had entrapped it. He was even more surprised when it managed to pivot in time to meet his second charge, a wild sword sh that had been intended for its back by crossing its two des defensively before its chest.


    But ultimately, time was on his side and he could afford to whittle down his opponent and easily retreat when the momentum shifted towards his enemy.


    A solitary de shed against de arms and Tom found himself surprised at how nimbly the deswalker could use its natural appendages to both attack and defend. He had a feeling that he would gain a deeper insight into swordy if their bout continued on for an hour, but Tom had learned first hand how cruel and ruthless Artezia could be to the weak and the defenceless.


    He was not one and would never be the one to pass up and opening; and indeed, his chance came when the deswalkers injured knee finally buckled under pressure from theceration he had inflicted upon it.


    His sword was driven through the deswalkers chest and Tom had managed to y a foe that was responsible for the deaths of many dungeoneers.


    The reason why Phase Two of the Abyssal Lurkers Domain was called Destinys Path was rather disappointingly, quite simple. The four passageways that lead deeper into the Dungeon all shared the same exit, the only difference being in the difficulty of the encounter. The easiest passageway only housed a meagre three deswalkers while the most difficult one contained as many as ten or twelve, the discrepancy between conflicting ounts making it hard to conclude with certainty.


    Tom and Aleph had ended up fighting seven, which made them neither lucky nor too unlucky. Of those, Tom had killed five through his newfound tactics, while Aleph had ended up interfering a second time when two dewalkers had made their approach in unison; a trying encounter that had left Tom emotionally exhausted and more than a little dazed, though the reward that he had received in exchange was almost worth a very visceral fear of losing his life.


    He was<em> only</em> a few thousand experience points away from the next level.