Chapter 12 - Petals Beneath Bloodied Skies
Marked by Victory: Temporarily heals wounds, regenerates limbs, restores stamina, and radiates dominance and respect from recent victories. Removed once the host is fully healed or the effect expires.
The ride across the second half of the city turned to be even more of a slaughterfest, something Levi more or less expected and had wholeheartedly welcomed. Unlike the Red Skull Tribe who kept their word based on the System Description of Marked by Victory, the other Orc Tribes growled and roared in fervor as they saw the respected opponent of the [Red Skull Tribe]. Along his journey, he encountered batch after batch of Orcs from other tribes all of them seemingly ecstatic to take his head as a trophy yet with all of them similarly being weakened, they all fall prey to his newly earned weapon.
Levi, unlike his earlier blunder, aggressively cleaved through every orc he met in the way, disallowing the groups of orc to call for backup, killing them as efficient as possible either using his new blade, or a double tap through the orcs skull.
He didn't accept any challenges either, continuing to slaughter his way, ignoring all etiquette disgracing the mark given to him but Levi didn't care. While the gifts he received from the orcs after winning and gaining their 'respect' were than Levi could have imagined, humanity would be better off taking the gifts by force as a whole. Sentient or not, these orcs will sooner or later pillage and slaughter other cities.
Overtime they'll only get stronger and stronger. And while unsure when, he knew that humanity will suffer for it. Even when ignored, or made peace to, these battle hungry orcs will seek out challenge just as the Red Orc did.
Like a calamity that's simply waiting to happen.
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Even if it could have all been his prejudice Levi was more than happy to slaughter the psychopaths after having experienced a fraction of the truth. He executed tens if not hundreds along the way. Eagerly using the other tribes as blood banks to properly get accustomed to the Twin Sickles that was given to him as a prize.
Unlike when he was materializing one of the petals, the summoning time of the [Twin Chained Sickles] was near instantaneous. Levi using this fact to exploit and bypass collisions he didn't want, sometimes even using the chains of the sickles to propel himself for more mobility, or disabling monsters by choking them to death.
But other than that, the blades of the sickles themselves was the true treasure he walked away with from that duel. The blades of the weapon stayed true no matter what he attempted to cut. The blade being far too precise as it cleaved through almost anything, rendering both his customized blade as well as the [Black-Dyed] dagger obsolete.
The sharpness of the [Twin Chained Sickles] eclipsing even those of the axes used by [Gura] though Levi guessed, that he had simply lucked out on an artifact far stronger than his current level. Levi being fine to use the weapon as it is. Wanting to focus more on increasing his proficiency with the new weapons rather than letting his mind get lost in curiosity from contemplating the unknown.
Steadily getting proficient, Levi soon found some obvious limitations regarding the soul bound attributes of the weapon. Aside from not being able to summon the Twin Sickles anywhere he wishes, summoning the sickles requires him to picture out a clear position as well as it's angle, the [Twin Chained Sickles] spawning randomly if not properly guided, a mistake that at some point almost split Levi's arm having delved too early with abusing the instantaneous summoning and unsummoning features of the sickles.
There was also a fatal 1 second delay for unsummoning when under combat. Which could be fatal in certain situations but that was easy enough to adapt to as Levi continued to master and evolve his new found battle style.
Having his horizons widened after receiving 'Average' remarks based on the standard [EVA] had after integrating the foreign system from the Red Orc, Levi pushed himself even harder. His thoughts falling into a rhythm as he continued expanding his limits integrating all of his tools in his arsenal and even getting more proficient with utilizing [EVA] as well as his growing toolset.
Sadly enough, Levi couldn't find a ways to gather more Soulbound Weapons even after dissecting four to five Orcs that had prowess similar to the [Red Orc Gura]. He had even found a scion from another orc tribe that had a similar tattoo, but as soon as he defeated the red orc and attempted to carve out the tattooed part of the skin of the corpse, The ink simply faded same as how the tendrils from the [Wraith]s went after they died.
If he wasn't mistaken tattoo was more of a manifested 'Intent' manifested in a tattooed form with the help of the System. Similar to the two markings he now bore on his chest. Though that didn't mean that Levi wanted to acquire more of the strange tattoos. He recalled the dozens of modules [EVA] rejected during the update sent to her. And it is likely that this tattoo, especially the Lyrcrest flower contains some element that would sooner or later cause issues to himself, if not with the people around him.
It simply wasn't Levi's nature to trust anything at face value and this had only been the second day since the apocalypse began.
He still knew too little. And he doubted that the strict tradition of the orcs would hinder them from being crafty, or atleast simply thinking ahead.
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Leaving the grounds of the city, exhaustion finally started to catch up to Levi. Adrenaline finally coming down to a drain, being replaced by a big hit of fatigue after being on enemy grounds for so long.
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Deciding to end the day early, Levi found an abandoned but slightly hidden garage along the way to rest. Levi ordering [EVA] as well as the Guardian Petal to be on standby incase someone breaks in while he was asleep.
Calculations, trainings and dangers flooding through his head. His mind playing the image of a garden, of petals, orcs and other monsters…
His mind steadily drifting, and in seconds, sleep finally took him.
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Days passed as Levi continued to his training as he journeyed towards the capital. Along the way he encountered both monsters and people alike, Levi opting to help as much as he could afford. Spending extra time specially dissecting and collecting materials, exchanging tips and information with other survivors as he noted to himself the last time.
Just like the City taken over by Orcs, the problem with bandits, scavengers and lawless people were becoming more and more severe. Levi have had to cut down tens of people who were unlucky enough to have met him during their heists. His mind and heart turning colder and colder as he continued to encounter more and more of such individuals.
The remark given by [The System] probably the only thing keeping himself sane. [EVA]'s revelation about his skills having lots of room for improvement becoming a core factor of keeping himself sane despite the seemingly endless bloodshed.
The meager goal allowing Levi to focus his drive into shorter goals.
Levi letting himself get drowned by the chaotic routine of both battle and discovery. using [EVA]'s real time assistive feature to point possible improvements from himself, along him to study and improve how he uses each muscle group, the way he times his breathes when executing various movements, as well as the way he chains attacks and positions himself, and more importantly safely extending himself beyond failure…
Squeezing what little to more potential still hidden within the almost thirty year old body, constantly pushing him without breaking him. Leaving him just enough room to grow and rest, before repeating the same cycle all over again.
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As he resting each day, Levi would then experiment with his harvest. Expanding [EVA]'s data set as he examined various materials he had collected over his journey.
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Using the incredibly sharp sickles to cut the thick leathery like skin of the [Wraith]s he fought. Levi was able to create a darker than black hoodie, replacing his current tattered one… The soul bound weapon allowing him to create thin cuts of the leatherlike-feathery skin of the [Wraith] to use as a thich fastener in order to belt down a semblance of a hoodie.
The Nature of the Skin being only slightly heavier than normal leather allowing Levi to essentially create an advanced tactical hide that was far more durable than normal equipment.
Levi wished he had the proper equipment to split the [Wraith Skin] into thinner sheets. With enough tools he should be able to create another version of the suit he was using, including the parachute and the gliding cloth hidden within the tactical suit but that would have to wait for later.
For now, he was satisfied in being able to easily cut the leathery skin using the soul bound weapon he got. Though he guessed that would only stay true while the [Wraith]s were in their infantile stage.
He shivered after recalling the unique phasing ability of the [Wraith]s. Given the size of the young ones he fought, It was likely that a fully matured [Wraith] can span as large as a plane…
And it wouldn't be far from the truth if the creatures had access to their own variant of the System just like the orcs…
Levi sighed.
Out of the Seven Cities he had passed by, the [Wraith]s were by far the strongest and most mobile out of all the monsters he encountered. The Red Orc was strong yes, but he was a scion of the tribe and the [Wraith]s he fought, was just three a flock that numbered into the unknowns.
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As of the other materials he managed to collect, Levi wanted to use the [Arms Length Bee Stingers] he had gotten from Hornet Insectoids he fought as needles quickly realized he had no way to retract the paralyzing effect of the needles. Making it far too dangerous to craft with.
Now that he thought about it, that City overrun by the hornet insectoids was one of the more dangerous cities he visited. The [Hornet Insectoid]s having the ability to shoot Paralyzing arms length sized stingers that pinned people to the ground, prepping their victims to be harvested by the hive.
If Levi were to compare the hornets with the monsters of that spawned in other cities, the hive would have been second, even one place ahead than the orcs, if it not for their relatively squishy bodies as well as relatively flammable skin.
The only reason why the city fell was probably the hornets staggering numbers, top that with the paralyzing effect of their stingers, and the mere fact that they can fly. The city was quickly overrun and it had long been just a hive by the time Levi had passed through that city.
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Materialwise, aside from their stingers, their body were literally just like that of a giant insect. terribly Light, easy to ignite. And overall entirely useless for crafting.
Of course for other cities which had beast-like monsters. Levi harvested their claws, fangs, and bones, none of them having a none of them being as durable as bones and beaks of the [Wraith]s, but Levi still collected them, planning ahead to possibly trade the materials for when he reaches the capital.
Levi kept himself off the last Orb that dropped from the [Wraith] however. The presence of the [Twin Chained Sickles] as well as the newfound monsters being the new toy he needed. The pair of sickles connected by the chain proving to be a lot more complex than the simple blades and knives he had experience in using…
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And then after experimenting… Levi would then summon a petal to do various chores. He often used the healer petal to massage and stretch his drained body, the healer seemingly having the most delicate of touches. Though still far too robotic for his tastes. The soul likely having something to do with the tedious and overly strong movements.
The Guardian Petal of course, was the one Levi summoned to guard him during his sleep. The Guardian's Shield having the ability to block even his armor piercing bullets. It's task to protect and wake him as soon as an enemy is detected.
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For the other petals, regardless of their current use, Levi often found himself cycling through all six, he found that he enjoyed telling them stories as he worked on his various projects. Their presence providing Levi a bit of comfort even though he had yet to notice them respond.
Still, it helped him carry on .
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On the 7th day of the apocalypse, Levi finally saw the outskirts of the capital. The rails of the once functional train system now serving Levi's ramp for Levi to both avoid monsters as well as gun fire…
And he could hear everything even from this distance.
'Another war…'
Levi mumbled as he sped towards what probably was his last war for his home country.
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To be continued.