NOVEL WEB Chapter 63
63. To The Next Stage
The fallen beast stood up and stared at us warily.
(Come on then)
Jack readied himself without letting his guard down.
On his limbs, crests resembling knights appeared.
This was proof that his strength and agility were enhanced several dozen times by a skill.
His stance, having never received combat training, was naturally that of an amateur.
But his superhuman physical abilities more than compensated for this disadvantage.
Each simple punch and kick carried power far surpassing a master’s slashes or attack spells.
(The problem is this beast and the poison mist)
The dark green mist spewing from the pillar was gradually spreading.
It was corrosive, poisonous.
Nearby buildings were dissolving one after another, and if it reached the evacuees, there could be many casualties.
“Whooooooooooooooooooo!”
Jack blew out a big breath.
He [Enhanced] his breath, turning it into a gust.
The spreading poison mist was pushed back towards the pillar.
“For now, this should—huh?”
Barely had he felt relief when he noticed the mist couldn’t be pushed back any further near the city wall.
As if there was an invisible barrier there.
“A barrier…?”
The town—or perhaps the entire capital—
Might it be wrapped in a barrier preventing escape?
The bone dragon slowly approached.
“…This isn’t the time to talk about holding it off.”
Jack glared at the beast again.
First, he needed to stop the poison from spewing out.
To do that, he had to destroy the pillar.
And probably defeat the guardian beast protecting the pillar.
Jack made up his mind.
“I will defeat you. Here and now.”
To protect his beloved woman and his colleagues.
Therefore, he needed power.
Jack wished.
For even greater power.
For even stronger power—!
“Hmph, the normally desireless you finally desire something.”
Suddenly, a voice was heard.
Before he knew it, Jack’s surroundings had completely changed.
“This place—”
It was a vast, pure white space extending endlessly.
He recognized it.
Yes, this was where he had met that being after being fired from his previous job and attempting suicide.
“Long time no see.”
With the voice, a shimmering figure appeared before him.
“I am the War God Vim Force—the essence of that power.”
The figure was a knight clad in golden armor.
The god who had granted Jack the power of enhancement.
“The god’s skill has begun to resonate. Your power should be greater than before. Thanks to that, I can finally communicate with you.”
“Resonate—”
Could it be because he met that boy, Levin?
The boy who, like Jack, possessed the god’s power—the skill of [Domination].
“I dislike long talks. I’ll get straight to the point.”
The war god spoke bluntly.
“Your [mind]’s power is starting to improve. Therefore, your skill can be elevated to a higher level.”
“A higher… level?”
Jack gulped.
“Use that power to do what you must. Achieve what you wish to achieve.”
“How do I—”
“Wish. Hold your thoughts strong. Your wish will transform directly into power. Into greater power—I will lend you the strength for that.”
The war god said solemnly.
“I am the one who sleeps within you. The one who resides in you. If you wish, I will always respond—”
With that voice, the white world disappeared.
An instant, like a daydream.
But Jack knew deep down that it was real.
He looked at the beast ahead again.
—Wish.
—Hold your thoughts strong.
—Your wish will transform directly into power.
He recalled the war god’s teachings.
“My wish, my thoughts are—”
Clear.
Protect those precious to him.
Destroy anyone who harms them.
Crush them.
Annihilate them.
Everything—!
“Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Jack roared.
With fierce emotion.
With a raging, violent fighting spirit.
That will make countless patterns appear all over Jack’s body.
Simultaneously, his body began to transform.
With cracking sounds, his skin hardened like armor.
In an instant, his entire body was covered in a blue-black metallic sheen.
The hardened skin on his face changed to resemble a wolf.
Excess skin stretched from his waist to form a long tail.
A warrior in the form of a beast and human hybrid—.
Having transformed, Jack assumed a quadrupedal stance like a beast.
“—So this is the Beast Knight Form Code Beast. The transition was smooth.”
The war god’s voice echoed in his mind.
“Now go, my host.”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooaaaarrrrrrrr!”
Jack roared, vibrating his vocal cords.
It was the roar of a beast.
The mere sound of it created a shockwave, blowing the beast away.
Despite its pained cry, the beast got up, and Jack readied himself.
Destroy.
Crush.
Kill.
Aggressive thoughts rose one after another.
Power surged through his entire body.
He sprinted in a quadrupedal beast stance.
His hands and feet cratered the stone-paved main street as he ran.
At supersonic speed, he ran.
In the blink of an eye, the beast warrior closed the several dozen-meter distance to the beast.
He launched his fist.
The beast’s abdomen blew apart.
He swung his fist.
The beast’s front leg was torn off.
He struck his fist.
The beast’s head was shattered.
In just—three blows.
The beast died, collapsing on the spot.
“Haah, haah, haah…”
Looking down at it, Jack panted heavily.
“This is—”
He stared at his fist still covered in the blue-black shell, and at the beast’s corpse, groaning.
“Did I… do this…?”
He had fought desperately.
Driven by ferocious aggression— and the desire to protect everyone.
Jack had fought and defeated the enemy.
“Now, just need to destroy the pillar.”
Sighing, Jack moved towards the pillar.
Still in his beast warrior form.
The exhilaration of battle kept his heart fiercely ablaze.
Jack sensed that something within him had begun to change.