Chapter 38: First Time Seeing Someone Die for Love
Claire was astonished to find that, at some point, a series of icy arrows had materialized behind Jeremy.
Each and every ice arrow shimmered with an eerie chill, appearing as crystals under the gleam of the sunlight.
"Ice Arrow Rain!"
With a mere flicker of thought from Jeremy, all the ice arrows transformed into radiant streaks of light, hurtling towards the Skyrakers diving towards him.
"Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh!"
A cluster of Skyrakers hadn't even managed to get close to Jeremy before they were impaled by the ice arrows, tumbling directly from the sky.
[You have killed a level 15 Skyraker (Normal), gaining 2133 experience points!]
[You have killed a level 16 Skyraker (Normal), gaining 2319 experience points!]
[You have killed a level 14 Skyraker (Elite), gaining 1787 experience points!]
...
Without waiting for the other Skyrakers to react, new ice arrows condensed behind Jeremy and shot towards them again.
Instantly, the Skyrakers fell from the sky like dumplings plunging into boiling water.
In just a few breaths of time, more than twenty monsters lay dead by Jeremy's hand.
Claire watched this scene in stunned silence, finally understanding why Jeremy had been able to ascend the commercial skyscraper alone.
The terrifying attack power and range were not just one level above her own, but perhaps even more.
Claire surmised that Jeremy must have awakened an S-tier ability, as nothing else could explain the magnitude of his strength.
As Skyrakers continued to fall to the ground, the battle in the sky drew the attention of the monsters on the ground.
One by one, they looked up, only to recognize the all-too-familiar figure of Jeremy.
"Roar, roar, roar!!!"
Countless monsters immediately let out excited roars. Some elite monsters with abilities even hurled their skills towards them. They were so enthusiastic as if they had seen their loved ones.
However, due to the distance, these skills couldn't touch Jeremy and Claire, with some even falling back into the crowd of monsters, killing several of them.
Jeremy couldn't be bothered with them. Once they landed, he and Claire took off, leaving the monsters to eat their dust.
Soon, a golden glow enveloped Jeremy.
[Your level has increased to 18, granting you 20 free attribute points!]
[You have received your job-specific attributes: Strength +30, Spirit +30, Stamina +15, Agility +15!]
Jeremy was only a bit of experience away from reaching level 18. These monsters had just filled that gap.
Taking advantage of the ongoing Ice Arrow Rain attack, Jeremy began to lead Claire towards less crowded areas.
However, their flight speed wasn't fast, far from his actual speed.
"Wind Riding" although allowing players to hover in mid-air, it wasn't a proper flying skill.Besides being slow, it was also quite cumbersome to control, only moving in up, down, left, and right directions.
Jeremy calculated the distance, breathing a sigh of relief.
If all went well, they should be able to reach a safe area before the skill ended.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Just then, several whooshing sounds suddenly pierced through the air.
Jeremy's pupils shrank suddenly, and he swiftly moved to the left.
At the same time, he brandished the long sword in his hands boldly in front of him, firmly protecting Claire.
Four white bone spikes, like sharp arrows, tore through the air, shooting directly at Jeremy and Claire.
Despite Jeremy dodging two and blocking another with his long sword, the final bone spike still struck his sword-bearing shoulder.
Blood spurted out as the sharp bone spike pierced through Jeremy's shoulder. The powerful force even carried him upside down and flew him out, until Jeremy barely stopped his body after flying a few meters.
"Jeremy!" Claire instinctively called out, her eyes flashing purple with determination to use her psychic powers as she saw the bone spike and blood on Jeremy's shoulder.
"I'm fine." Jeremy stopped her. Then he sheathed his blazing sword, grasped the bone spike in his shoulder, and with a forceful twist of his wrist, he unhesitatingly pulled it out.
"Splurt!"
Blood sprayed out like a stream, drawing countless monsters below into a frenzy towards the area. They opened their mouths trying to catch Jeremy's blood, creating a horrifying scene.
Jeremy remained expressionless and looked up at the monster that had ambushed him.
In the sky, in front of a swarm of Skyrakers, a monster around five or six meters tall had appeared at some point.
It resembled the Skyrakers but was much stronger and had a pair of white bone wings.
At that moment, the creature was looking down at Jeremy. Its crimson eyes filled with cunning and mockery.
[Skyraker Lord]
[Level]: lv25
[Attack]: 3079-3210
[Defense]: 1013
[Skills]: Bone Spike, Bone Shield, Bone Claw...
[Warning]: Dangerous, high defense, fast. Killing it will definitely yield a golden-level equipment.
...
Jeremy frowned. They were now in trouble, facing a lord-level monster.
On the ground, Jeremy wouldn't fear this Skyraker Lord.
But they were in mid-air, the Skyrakers' home turf.
Moreover, the duration of his Wind Riding skill was almost up.
If they got delayed by this creature, once the skill ended, both of them would be monster feed.
Jeremy was eager to quickly end the battle, but the Skyraker in the sky simply wouldn't come near him.
It stood behind a group of Skyrakers, commanding them to charge towards Jeremy one by one, while hiding behind it, which was very cunning.
Clearly, it knew that Jeremy's abilities wouldn't last much longer and was deliberately stalling for time.
As hordes of Skyrakers fearlessly charged at Jeremy, he switched his sword to his other hand, fending off attacks with Sinfire and Disaster Blade while pondering a strategy.
Unfortunately, time was pressing, with only 2 minutes left of Wind Riding. Jeremy couldn't come up with a good plan in such short notice.
Finally, Jeremy had no choice but to hand a Jump Coin to Claire from his storage space, instructing, "When the skill ends, I'll draw the monsters' attention. You use the Jump Coin to escape."
The Jump Coin was too unpredictable, Jeremy wouldn't have considered it if there was any other option.
Claire understood the value of the item as she read its description. She didn't take it, but instead stared at Jeremy, asking, "If you give me the item, what will you do?"
Jeremy wanted to say he had another and brush it off, but looking into Claire's eyes, he knew he couldn't deceive her.
"I'll figure something out…" Jeremy admitted honestly. "Don't worry. With my strength, escaping isn't hard. If you stay, we might both end up dead!"
Claire carefully observed every slight change in Jeremy's facial expressions.
She knew Jeremy all too well. If he were lying, it would never escape her notice.
Once she was sure Jeremy wasn't lying, Claire pursed her lips and accepted the Jump Coin.
She understood that her presence would only hinder Jeremy.
In that case, leaving was the best solution.
After a pause, Claire looked at Jeremy seriously and said, "If you die, I'll go kill Emma too."
Jeremy was taken aback and then burst into laughter at her comment.
He said with slight annoyance, "I've heard of dying for love, but you're the first I've seen willing to die for someone else's love. Are you the king of hell?"
Claire, holding the coin, remained silent.
Jeremy sliced a Skyraker in half with his sword and estimated the remaining duration of his skill—about 1 minute left.
He glanced at the ground. Apart from a few monsters and the Corpse Devouring Tyrant picking at bodies, nearly all the monsters had been attracted by his blood.
In the shopping plaza below, a mountain of monsters piled up beneath them, frantically scrambling for Jeremy's spilled blood, their eyes filled with longing and excitement.
Jeremy's frown eased.
This was a good thing. Attracting the monsters would create a larger safe zone for Claire.
With only ten seconds left of Wind riding, Jeremy and his companion were still descending.
As they got closer, some of the monsters' abilities were already within range to attack the two of them.
Moreover, the Skyraker Lord in the sky appeared to be getting restless.
It had flown out from behind the group of Skyrakers, seemingly ready to make its move.
Jeremy thought quickly and instructed Claire, "I'll cancel the skill. You use the Jump Coin immediately. If you're unlucky and end up in a pile of monsters, just hold on for a bit. I'll come to save you."
Claire nodded.
Jeremy glanced at the mountainous group of monsters below.
He took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "Go now!"
Hearing this, Claire immediately activated the Jump Coin in her hand.
The coin emitted a burst of white light, enveloping Claire completely, and in the blink of an eye, her figure vanished.
The next moment, the blue whirlwind beneath Jeremy's feet suddenly dissipated, and he began to plummet from the sky.
"Roar!Roar!Roar!!"
The monsters on the ground, seeing this scene, crazily rushed towards his falling location.
The Skyraker Lord in the sky also fiercely flapped its wings, diving at Jeremy with incredible speed.
Jeremy was instantly plunged into a crisis!