Soul of the Warrior

The small claw slammed into Reivyn's shield, not moving a single inch. He hardly even felt the blow from the weak goblin, and only the sound of the collision was noteworthy. The attack was followed up with a sweep of Reivyn's sword, slashing through multiple goblins that had encroached upon him with ease.

Reivyn was angled slightly with his back and side against the left-hand wall of the corridor that led into the goblin's berth. He had steadily made his way down the Dungeon, and he had tried several different approaches to tackling these rooms by himself.

His first attempt had been a disaster. It was a hilarious disaster, in retrospect, but it had left Reivyn winded and annoyed.

He had charged into the first room with his sling, and he attempted to run circles around the slower goblins while picking them off from range. They were never anywhere close to catching up to him, but the constant twisting about in order to utilize his weapon had been a huge hassle he hadn't considered before employing the strategy. Even though he knew it was suboptimal, Reivyn had persisted in clearing the room out in that manner.

Even though I can use pretty much anything, including my own body, as a weapon, that doesn't translate universally. I'm still right-handed, and I don't have enough coordination with my left hand to effectively use the sling as a weapon in this situation. If I had turned to the right and ran around the room with my throwing arm on the outside, allowing me to sling across my body, that would have been one thing, but I chose to run left without giving it too much consideration.

Since his first snap-decision was a failure, but not a particularly dangerous one, Reivyn was determined to fail all the way.

Some of the best lessons are learned through adversity and messing things up.

Reivyn had attempted the same method again, but he ran to the right to use his dominant arm, and things worked out considerably better. It was still completely unnecessary, in his opinion, to waste so much time and resources evading the weak creatures, but he got some good practice out of it.

In the following rooms, Reivyn used to consider various issues with his Skills and combat. He mainly focused on trying to figure out the mechanism the System employed to use his Stamina to empower his body with the Class Skills.

Mana is a tangible force that I can sense and control. Stamina works in a similar fashion with how it can be used as fuel to power the body, so there must be some way to manipulate it directly. The only problem is, so far it has been completely intangible and invisible until it is actually used.

Reivyn knew from the System itself that it was possible to learn Class Skills permanently, and he was approaching the Level 100 threshold for his Devastating Strike, and his other Class Skills weren't too terribly far behind.

He always used his Class Skills in combat whenever he had spare Stamina or in an emergency, but he kept a tight rein on the usage so as not to ever dip to a dangerous level of his Stamina pool.

He would be able to keep three of his Secondary Class Skills when he achieved Tier 2, but one of those was definitely Flame Blade. His current combat style smoothly incorporated his Class Skills in such a way that it was almost second nature, and he would have to choose two out of the other three to keep.

Charge is definitely staying. It has much more utility than my other Class Skills and can be used for much more than just closing with the enemy. That leaves Quick-Draw, Cleave, and Devastating Strike.

Cleave might seem like a useless ability on the surface, but it greatly removes any openings I might leave behind if I need to overextend in certain situations. Without the Skill, I would be much more conservative in my combat style, and it allows me to move about and strike much more freely than I otherwise would be able to.

Devastating Strike, especially when combined with Flame Blade, really lets me decimate the Revenants on the second floor, and I imagine it will play a role against the Ogre in the first floor boss room.

Quick-Draw, while immensely practical from a starting position of a fight or when trying to surprise an enemy, is probably the weakest of the three remaining skills.

So far, unless I see a noticeable improvement from reaching Level 100 in Devastating Strike, I'm leaning towards Cleave as it allows the most free-form combat of any of my Skills.

Reivyn didn't know if he would be able to switch out his Secondary Skills once he made his selection, and if they disappeared from his list, it would be a great loss if he had the opportunity to unlock the Skill permanently but didn't grasp it.

Reivyn focused on the way his muscles contracted and moved as he bashed a goblin skull while simultaneously keeping the others at bay with his deadly blade. He alternated between focusing intently on the Skills versus just his own body.

All I need is to grasp the string that connects them together, and if I build up my understanding of the differences between them, it should make it easier. I feel like I'm on the right track with this method, but I still have a lot of work to do on it.

Reivyn finished up the room and continued further into the Dungeon without even taking a glance at the room he had just cleared. There was never anything of value to be found in the goblin or orc living quarters, and even if his Luck played a role and he found something, it was likely to be less valuable than anything he could find deeper in the Dungeon.

The next room is the mining room. I'll clear the room out of monsters and then do some mining before taking a break. I'll just leave the ores here for now and grab them on the way out.

I can grab a bite to eat while I review the maps I've drawn so far, and I can start making a master copy that's much larger and contains the smaller maps I've made. The trick will be to keep the scales equal.

My leisurely experiments with the goblins are over. I should be able to continue against the orcs, but I'll keep it safe and not consider it until I get a better grasp of my new capabilities against them solo.

The orcs, with Reivyn's newfound Stat growth, proved to be easier to handle than the goblins had been before his explosive strength gain. While moving out of combat, everything appeared normal as it always had, but once he really focused on the combat with his first encounter with the orcs, he noticed that an increase in the range of his perception wasn't the only benefit.

They're moving almost in slow motion. I don't know if the increase in my Mental Stats plays a role in how I'm able to interpret my Perception, or if it's all on the one Stat, but I feel like I could dance around at will. I do know that if I didn't get an increase in my Physical Stats, I wouldn't be able to take nearly as much advantage of the new situation.

He hadn't noticed it previously when fighting only the goblins as he had been almost fully focused on trying to figure out how Stamina worked in conjunction with Skills, and he had been far too busy and annoyed while acting as a ranged combatant, but even if he didn't fully concentrate on the battle, he was still moving and reacting much faster.

Reivyn managed to further his understanding of Stamina by a hair while he made his way down to the boss room where he took another quick break.

Ok, Reivyn thought as he loosened up his body, move hard and fast, and take the ogre out as quickly as possible. I'll run in, Charge as soon as I spot the ogre, and use Flame Blade plus Devastating Strike to kill it.

Reivyn pulled out his sword and shield, jumped up and down a few times to get the blood and adrenaline flowing, and then ran into the boss room at top speed.

Reivyn had never entered the boss room at such speeds before, so he was surprised to find that the ogre's initial positioning was much closer to the rest of the orcs than he had originally thought. He didn't see any reason to change strategies, however, so he activated Charge as soon as he spotted the ogre lugging the two orcs with chains.

Reivyn's speed immediately doubled, and he crossed the distance in the blink of an eye. None of the monsters were able to react at all to the sudden change, and Reivyn effortlessly pumped his Flame Blade Skill full of mana to extend the blade while activating Devastating Strike to initiate the swing.

A reddish-orange blur swept through the room, nearly at ceiling height, and before he took in the effect of his maneuver, Reivyn leaped while Charging to carry his momentum, and he spun rapidly while sailing through the air, maintaining his Flame Blade extended out as he turned it into a mini-tornado of fiery death.

He went through a large chunk of Mana - a quick glance showed it had cost 170 points from his Mana Pool - but it had a tremendous effect.

As Reivyn came to a stop in the guard position, shield up and sword ready to strike, silence filled the room. He looked around left and right to quickly identify any threats that might be approaching, but the group of orcs and one ogre just stood there in stunned silence with their eyes bulging.

After a short couple of seconds, all of the monsters in the room collapsed to the floor. He had slain every enemy in an instant.

This first floor boss room really isn't much of an obstacle at all, anymore. I would have been more surprised if I had had to struggle. Even though the ogre is a Tier 3, it is severely restricted by the low ceiling, and if it's never allowed to gain any momentum, it's just a big damage sponge. Looks like my damage has gotten a little high, he chuckled to himself.

Reivyn deactivated his Flame Blade, and after walking to where he couldn't see the corpses any longer, he sat down for another quick bite to eat.

While I'm not tired at all, and I have a lot more mana now than the first time I traversed the second floor, I would still feel better at full mana before I head down there. I'll finalize the maps for the first floor while I'm at it.

Reivyn bent forward over the maps he had splayed out before him, making corrections and alterations with his pen, a piece of jerky sticking out of his mouth as he absentmindedly chewed.

I'm making much faster progress than I had imagined, Reivyn thought as he approached the first rooms containing the Revenants. The skeleton patrols had hardly even been a blip, putting up no more resistance than the goblins had. I might be able to make it out of here even before Teilon and his group complete their excursion.

Reivyn looked at the door leading to the first alchemy room and considered the ways he could tackle the fights with multiple Revenants that he would soon face.

I can't count on any form of crowd control or movement obstacles like I could when paired up with Melissa. I'll have to use the same method I did with the ogre: Move fast and hard to kill the first Revenant, and once I have the initiative, I can direct the flow of combat and assess the situation.

With his mind made up, Reivyn took a deep breath before opening the door. He knew the Revenants wouldn't activate right away from just the door opening, so he stepped inside the room before assuming a stance to Charge the undead sitting on the other side of the dilapidated cauldron.

No time like the present. Reivyn initiated his Charge before the Revenant had even begun to activate, and brought his sword, covered in flames, down on its skull.

He cleaved right through the bones, and even the chair it was sitting on until his sword struck the ground beneath. The two halves of the Tier 3 skeleton fell apart, and Reivyn was momentarily surprised with how easy it had been. He stood there in the position with his body leaning forward and sword tip penetrating the top of the floor for a second as he collected himself.

Still, one more to worry about, now that I've started the fight.

Reivyn quickly exited the room and assumed a ready position with his back towards the way he had come. He had cleared the first room so fast that the other Revenant didn't have time to fully activate and sneak up on him.

Reivyn watched as the Revenant from the opposite room came shambling out into the hall, immediately spotting Reivyn and moving towards him. He stood with his shield raised and waited for the Revenant to make the first move, planning on assessing the strength of the blow.

The Revenant quickly reached him and threw out a powerful punch.

I can actually see it!

Reivyn watched the punch come towards him, appearing no faster than a strike from one of the orcs would have been before his Stats increased. An idea quickly formed in Reivyn's mind, and he deactivated the flames coating his sword. He still sheathed his weapon in mana, though, as it would be completely useless otherwise.

Reivyn's idea had been to work on his swordsmanship with the superior foe, now that he was able to keep up, and he spent several minutes treating his opponent like a sparring partner, except he would actually land the blows properly. The mana infusion did its job, and after approximately six minutes, the Revenant's body could no longer hold up to the damage it had sustained, and it collapsed in a heap.

Not bad. I might be able to reach Level 60 with Weapons Master against these opponents. The rooms attached to the stairwell might be troublesome, as I'll have to fight six at once, basically - if I don't take one or two out immediately, which I should definitely do - and how well I do against those rooms will determine if I continue on to the last patrol before the boss room or not.

Reivyn quickly searched the cauldrons for their prize, but the first two came up empty. Meh, still a lot of chances for Crystals later on.

Reivyn continued his one-man extermination of the undead.

Reivyn sat cross-legged, his pen held between two fingers with the other end between his teeth as he went over his maps. The corpses of the six Revenants lay strewn about throughout the rooms and corridors.

The end rooms had proven to be easier than he had anticipated.

Reivyn had rushed into the first room on the left, and he had quickly dispatched the two Revenants in repose before quickly dashing back to the corridor. With his eyes able to take in the two rooms remaining at the same time, he didn't have to worry about the sudden movements of his enemies.

He kept his Flame Blade active for the beginning of the fight, as he didn't want to take any unnecessary chances improving his Skills without backup. If he weren't delving solo, he might take the opportunity to continue treating the Revenants like sparring partners in such a situation to push himself; but without anyone to intervene in case things went horribly wrong, Reivyn wasn't willing to risk it.

The first Revenant had stumbled out of the central room in his weird, jerky gait, and Reivyn had lunged forward while increasing the output of his mana to quickly pierce a hole in its skull and take it out of the fight immediately. With only three Revenants to contend with, he had adopted his traditional method of blocking and counter-attacking as he backed down the hallway.

With his Flame Blade and improved Stats, the Revenants didn't pose any threat, and he killed the remaining three in less than a minute.

I might be too strong for the first two floors, now, Reivyn thought. That still doesn't mean I'm willing to check out the third floor if that scene through the viewing port is any indication of what can be found down there. I would really like to fight one of these guys at their full strength, but not if it's accompanied by another hundred or so.

Reivyn quickly drew up a map of the floor. As he practiced his Skill, it got easier and easier to maintain the proper scale without having to intensely concentrate or make several revisions. He removed the tip of the pen from his mouth and tapped his closed lips with it as he considered the parchment.

These look good to me, he took a quick glance at his Status page, and my Stamina and mana are around 95%. No reason to stick around, so I'll keep going. How long have I been down here, now? Reivyn pulled up his internal System clock and checked the time. Six hours-ish? Yeah, I'm blazing through this place. I'll definitely beat the others to the surface, especially if I decide not to tackle the boss room.

He still hadn't made a determination on whether or not he would attempt to defeat the floor boss or not. He was holding off on making the decision until and unless he fought the fourteen Revenants that patrolled the halls beforehand.

At this moment, though, it looks like I should give it a go. He got up and made his way to the next floor.

Reivyn danced back to avoid the strike from the Revenant on his right before leaping forward, shield raised to catch the blow from the Revenant on his left, and bashed the first one into the floor with his overpowering strength.

He had slowly decreased how many Revenants he killed before engaging all of them as he descended the stairwell until he fought the entire group all at once against the floor that had seven Revenants. He had proved that he was up to the task, so he had decided to tackle the final patrol.

He left his pack at the foot of the stairs. It was filled with Cracked Experience Crystals and bottles containing Experience Essence. His trip had landed him a decent haul with 20 Crystals and 6 full jars.

Reivyn had Charged the final patrol without hesitation and began laying waste to them before slowing down and controlling the flow of battle while slowly backing away. It wasn't completely necessary any longer, but it kept his footing clear of any obstacles as the bones after the Revenants died, no longer had anything holding them together. They sometimes maintained the momentum from the collapsing undead and rolled about to cause a tripping hazard.

Reivyn kept his focus on the combat, expertly dodging and weaving, and blocking and parrying in turn, to demolish the last encounter before the boss room. The Revenants were unable to make full use of their superior numbers in the cramped hallway, so Reivyn whittled them down until they were all dead.

He wiped the sweat from his brow as his body relaxed once the last enemy fell. Whew, I'm nowhere close to reaching dangerous levels of Stamina or Mana, but I still worked up quite a sweat there. From what Melissa and they told me of the boss room, it's mostly just more of the same.

I should Charge through the first group and make sure my line of sight is always towards the center of the room, with the entrance in the background because of the hidden enemies, and then I can lead them around in a circle and slowly wear them down just like out here. The only danger will be that they can fan out and surround me, so I'll have to continuously adjust my positioning to prevent that from being effective.

The Spectre won't be able to possess me as long as I keep mana flowing through my body at all times, so if it gets drawn out too long, or I miscalculate and use too much Mana, that will be the deciding factor on if I retreat or not.

Reivyn plopped down a short distance away from the carnage of bones and rested up. He had a plan, and he had the capabilities, so he was going to challenge the boss room. Should be a pretty good achievement for soloing the first two floors completely.

Reivyn quickly topped his Stamina and Mana up to 100% - No way I go into the boss room with even one percentage point missing - and made his way to the threshold. He looked at the open doorway for a moment. All of this still looks familiar to me. My memories give out at this point, though, and everything beyond this point will be new.

Reivyn only contemplated for a moment before he decisively crossed the threshold into the room. The layout was easily recognizable from the descriptions that Melissa had given, and Reivyn confidently marched toward the center of the room.

A frown crossed his face as the scene in the center of the room entered his vision, though. It wasn't like what they had described at all.

Instead of a large pit filled with a bubbling, frothing red alchemical mixture, there was instead a slightly raised dais with a larger, more intricately carved large cauldron on it. He couldn't see any light coming from within, nor any other indication it was filled with liquid.

The monsters surrounding the cauldron were also a far cry from what had been described. Instead of one Spectre in the center with several Revenants chanting beside him, there were three Spectres floating in attendance.

The three ghosts immediately noticed Reivyn approaching, and with an otherworldly shriek, their countenance changed from fuzzy middle-aged men to frightening skulls as they unceremoniously charged toward Reivyn.

Hmph, you guys are overestimating yourselves.

Reivyn exploded with mana as they quickly drew close, and as they reared back in hesitation, Reivyn slashed out with his Flame Blade. It passed through all three at once. They screamed in agony, and they bolted away back to the center of the room.

Their screams continued, even after they quit moving, and Reivyn sensed the ambient mana get drawn towards the three. While this was happening, Reivyn didn't forget about the possibility of other enemies lurking about, so he kept his head on a swivel. After failing to see any additional monsters appear, he once more fully turned back towards the three Spectres and made his way over to them.

He only took a couple of steps, though, before he came to a stop. The ambient mana reached a crescendo, and the three Spectres coalesced together into one, much larger Spectre. The apparition viewed Reivyn with pure hate, but when Reivyn was anticipating another attack, it backed away and faded into nothingness.

It might think it has a chance to possess me now that it's grown stronger, so I need to keep my Mana pumping through me and stay alert to the surroundings.

Reivyn stood in place, ready to receive a surprise attack, as he scanned the room. A dull thumping sound from way off in the distance the Spectre had moved to reached his ears.

Reivyn looked into the darkness, trying to peer into what had caused the noise, but he was unable to discern anything. Another thumping sound soon came after the first, and Reivyn saw dust fall from the ceiling a short distance away out of the corner of his eye.

Reivyn lowered his center of gravity, raised his shield, and held his sword in the ready stance. Another dull thumping echoed through the empty room.

Suddenly, the thumping sounds no longer came interspersed several seconds apart, but they came at a tremendous speed, getting louder at the same time. Reivyn's Danger Sense screamed at him to move, and he Charged to the side with one of the pillars as the target.

Immediately after, a huge shape came hurtling out of the darkness and slammed into one of the other pillars. The entire room shook so violently, that Reivyn was thrown from his feet despite his high Balance Skill. He rolled over and stood up ready to fight, and he got his first glimpse at the new enemy.

A hulking, giant figure slowly straightened up from where it had crashed into a pillar. The pillar was no longer straight, and it had a very large, very noticeable dent that made it look like a bent elbow.

The figure finally stood all the way up, and Reivyn's stomach dropped. It was easily half as big again as the ogre in the first floor boss room, but the ceiling in this room was much higher. It wasn't constrained at all.

It was fully armored in heavy plate, and Reivyn noticed that there was no head adorning its shoulders as it turned to face Reivyn. Its head, which was also fully armored, was held in the crook of its left arm, and it stared at Reivyn with the same hate as the large Spectre.

A spike-covered ball, twice the size of Reivyn's head, thumped to the ground, and Reivyn saw that it was connected to a pole grasped in the monster's right hand with a thick chain. The pole would have been a quarterstaff in Reivyn's hands, but it was simply a handle to the giant.

It raised its right arm, and the spiked ball began twirling in a circle as the monster took a step toward Reivyn.

How the hell am I supposed to fight this thing?!

His Danger Sense once more screamed at him, and he dove to the side in a roll as he felt, more than saw, the shadow of the spiked ball sail past him.

The reach of his weapon is incredible!

Reivyn sprang to his feet and started to rush towards the giant as its weapon had been launched and presented an opportunity, but he quickly skidded to a halt and once more dove for the ground. The giant easily retracted the weapon almost instantly, and it launched another sweep toward Reivyn.

Reivyn knew he wasn't out of the woods yet, and he once more leaped to his feet, but this time he didn't advance on the enemy. He turned around and ran further into the room to try and get some distance.

I need time to think about a countermeasure.

Reivyn heard the staccato thumping coming at a rapid pace, so he once again activated Charge towards another column. The room once more shook him off of his feet as the giant crashed into another pillar.

Hmm, the pillars. Reivyn examined the pillar he had rushed to as he regained his feet. He quickly came up with a plan, and he waited for the giant to once more turn and face him.

The giant turned and swirled its weapon again, and Reivyn's heart beat in his chest so loud he was surprised the giant couldn't hear it. He watched the enemy as it took two slow steps towards him.

Now!

Reivyn threw himself on the floor and rolled out of the way as the giant launched another straight attack. Reivyn leapt to his feet, but instead of advancing on the hulking monster, he backpedaled several steps as he watched the giant yank the spike ball back. With a flick of its wrist, it sent it hurtling towards Reivyn once more in a large, sweeping motion.

Reivyn Charged toward another close-by pillar, and he watched in satisfaction as the chain came into contact with the pillar he had just been near and wrapped around several times.

Hah! Take that you big, dumb undead. Reivyn had no idea what this thing was actually called.

The giant saw that its chain weapon was taken out of commission, so it immediately dropped the pole and reached behind its shoulder. Reivyn noticed the huge sword strapped to its back for the first time as it pulled the new weapon out of the sheath. The sword blade itself was longer than Reivyn was tall, and it was about half as wide as he was.

The giant lowered its shoulder and sprinted at Reivyn, covering ground much faster than Reivyn had anticipated. He had assumed it was utilizing a Charge Skill earlier and wouldn't be nearly as fast when it didn't use it, but it still moved at an incredible speed.

I don't have time to dodge this attack!

Reivyn pumped Mana into his Mana Shield Skill and braced for impact. The giant came into range and slashed with its huge sword at lightning-quick speed. The force of the blow picked Reivyn up off the ground and threw him several yards back. He coughed out a mouthful of blood as he sailed through the air, and his vision went blurry for a brief moment.

That one slash, that I successfully blocked with my shield and Mana Shield, took off a quarter of my total health! A quick glance at his Status revealed that he was down to 1497/2000 Health from that one attack.

I can only take one more of those to be safe, Reivyn thought as he stood back up once more.

The giant bent its knees and launched itself at Reivyn with its Charge Skill. Reivyn quickly identified a nearby pillar and used his own Charge to dodge the attack.

The giant is only disoriented for about 3 seconds after slamming into an obstacle, and I spend most of that time getting back on my feet, Reivyn thought faster than he ever had before as he searched for a way to win. The only way to fight this is if I can take advantage of that small window.

How do I avoid being thrown off my feet? Easy, don't be on my feet, Reivyn leapt into the air as he still hurtled across the room towards his target. The room shook as the giant made contact with its column, and Reivyn didn't get thrown down.

Hah. Now the hard part. I haven't done something like this in a long time. He pulled every last bit of his Acrobatics Skill out of himself as he turned his Charge into a flip. He landed sideways on the column and absorbed the shock with his legs, briefly appearing to stand horizontally on the pillar.

The only way to take advantage of the situation is to use another Charge, but it's nearly impossible to do right after completing a previous one. I have to force it! Reivyn summoned all of the experience he had gained into the insights of how his muscles and Stamina interacted from the first floor, and with a mental snap, he managed to bend his Stamina to his will as he manually activated the Charge Skill with the giant as the target.

He once more launched across the room. The time difference between reaching his first target and activating a second Charge Skill was so quick that it looked like he had simply bounced off of the pillar with an equal velocity.

He pumped his Flame Blade, which had slowly been draining his Mana this whole time as he never deactivated it, full of mana, and swung it forward with all of his might. The blade made contact with the back of the helmet on the head in the undead giant's arm.

The head got knocked out of the crook it had been sitting in as the giant stood back up to its full height, and it started to bounce further away. The giant immediately dropped its sword once it noticed it had lost contact with its own head, and it chased after it like someone would chase a chicken, its arms outstretched as it chased the unpredictable moving object.

If the situation wasn't so dangerous, and if every second didn't count, Reivyn might have laughed at the unexpected comical scene.

I need to keep it away from its head!

Reivyn activated his Mana Weapon Skill in a similar manner to how his enemy had used the spiked ball and chain, using the blade of his mana sword as the "hilt," and because of his Weapons Master Skill, he was able to expertly create and use a chain of fire. His fire whip had upgraded: The new strike he launched was actually closer to an Inferno Chain.

The chain sailed through the air and wrapped around the ankle of the giant as it ran about with its arms outstretched trying to catch its head, and with all of his might, Reivyn grasped the hilt of his sword in both hands and tugged, tripping the giant.

Reivyn's usage of Charge back-to-back had caused tremendous stress on his body: his muscles, bones, joints, and ligaments all ached. He wasn't able to launch another Charge right away, so he had to run the old-fashioned way to the head which had stopped bouncing but continued to roll. The first few steps he took were unsteady, but he quickly built up speed and passed the giant. The large undead wasn't smart enough to get back up and continue running, and it was instead crawling on the ground to try and get to the head.

Reivyn easily reached the helmeted head first, and as it rolled to where the open face was up, he stabbed his sword through the center of its skull. The head's mouth opened up as it released the agonized wail of the empowered Spectre, and as it tried to flee the confines of the head through the open mouth, Reivyn manipulated the flame coating his sword to wrap around and contain the Spectre.

It screamed for several long moments, unable to flee the fiery hell it found itself in, and it eventually disintegrated into ectoplasm.

The Spectre, and the giant it had possessed, were dead.

Reivyn was completely spent, both physically and mentally, so he simply collapsed as he panted to regain his breath.

Damn. I was complacent.