Wave 10 was just about to begin and Zain was thinking of all the possibilities it could have. Would it be several of the stage 2 types, maybe even one of each? It was tricky because he had skipped a few levels, so it could possibly even be something he had never seen before.
When the timer finished counting down, right out of the tunnel a creature had run in and jumped up in the air. It was large in size and it was something Zain had seen before. From its body, one of the strange bones grew, extending out like a spike and headed out right towards him.
It was unexpected, so rather than dodge, Zain lifted his weapon on its side and blocked the hit. The attack had pushed Zain back making him skid across the ground slightly.
'It's the stage 3! The same one I fought against outside the subway.' Zain realised. 'I won that fight because I was able to summon the other zombies, but here I can't. I have to beat it with my own skill.'
Just as the zombie landed, it dashed forward from the ground and started to swing its two hands. Its speed was greater than Zain's and with it, its power was stronger as well.
This fight was a disadvantage for him, he was on his own and was less than the zombie in front of him when one compared the stats.
Swinging his sword, Zain clashed against the bladed hand, but both of them were hit back with recoil as if they had smashed against something harder than them. The blade wasn't damaged but neither was the zombie.
'I guess it makes sense, why would a stage 2 weapon be able to out match a stage 3 zombie!'
Carefully Zain was watching the attacks, the second he saw a part of the zombie's arms move, he knew the direction of the strike would be and moved out of the way. There were some close calls and those were the times where he would parry it with his sword slightly.
The problem in all of this though, was that he couldn't do it forever, not if he wanted to win.
'I still don't have a return key yet!' Zain thought. 'If I lose now, I won't die, but I'll never be able to come to this place again... I have to do something.'
After avoiding another swipe, the bladed part of the zombie had scratched the outer cave rock and a big mark was made. It was clear that one attack from it and Zain would be a goner, but a ping was heard as well.
Sword mastery [Level 4] 41.3/100
'My sword mastery increased, just from avoiding the attacks. I didn't even think about increasing my sword mastery skills with this thing just because I was surviving, but that's the fastest it's ever gone up... if I can't get a return key out of this thing or beat it, then I can at least improve my swordsmanship.'
The whole view of the fight had changed for Zain, he was carefully avoiding strikes, and only attacking when it felt absolutely safe to. His sword would hit the body or bladed arm of the Zombie, it would do nothing but he was getting a better sense of timing and the attack patterns the beast had.
The only thing was, it seemed like the zombie itself was aware of its weak point, because everytime Zain tried to get behind it, it would swivel quickly around defending its back.
'I just realised, when did this fight get easier?' Zain thought.
He was so panicked about surviving in the beginning, but now that his mind was focused on something else, he realised he could block every hit. He could hit the zombie and it couldn't hit him. In this fight he was the superior one, and there was a big advantage in this fight, he could still evolve.
[Sword mastery is now level 5]
[A passive skill has been added]
[When using long bladed weapons, the attack strength of the user will increase by 20%]
The second the system message had come up, there was a new rise of power in Zain. The zombie was running towards him again. When it was a few metres away, it was almost as if Zain knew what to do. He bent his knees down, and with all his strength, pushed off the ground and with one of the Titan blades, he swung it, hitting both of the bladed arms away, and twisting the other machete like a screw, Zain aimed right for the creature's head.
With the boost in Zain's power, the momentum of the zombie, and the Titan sword, Zain had crushed the outer skull of the zombie, killing it on the spot.
[Congratulations you have passed the 10th wave]
[A checkmark has now been placed]
[Whenever you return to the challenge will start from wave 11]
[You may now leave the space and put it on pause, returning to challenge it whenever you wish]
[Note: The pause can only be used now, in the future a return key is needed to return.
[2 Gold cards have been received]
Reading the rewards it made sense to Zain that it would start from Wave 11, he was far too strong and would only get stronger if the other waves were worth something. The good thing about the pause was, it was essentially a free Return key as well.
In this case, he thought it was best not to waste it, especially since he still didn't have a return key. If he went on to wave 11 and failed, then he would never be able to return, or at least he thought that's how it would work.
Just in case, Zain claimed the two Gold reward cards right there and then.
[2 random stage 2 crystals have been given]
[A double exp card that lasts 1 hour has been granted]
Depending on the situation, that could be really valuable, especially since it's been getting harder to level up and the crystals, one of them is from the Bonezom, which means I can create a new weapon. It's time to get out of here.'
[You have paused the challenge]
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Thank you for all the support so far on LUZ. LUZ will be continuing on, and I hope I can do more chapters for all my series as time free's up in the future