Nimo's stone-cold pupils perfectly reflected the small campfire dancing with the wind; a suffocating silence enveloped the surroundings.
Lukas's figure was slightly tensed, slowly moving back inch by inch, when suddenly Nimo's eyes narrowed to slits. With a dangerous look on his face, he uttered a single word: "Die...!"
This single word reverberated in Lukas's head like thunder, sending alarm bells flaring. A strong feeling of death gripped his heart as if death was really close.
Trusting his instincts, Lukas threw his body to the ground.
Whoosh! A crystal-white stone with a pointed edge flew past his face.
"How can you avoid this...?"
Nimo's eyes widened in slight surprise as he caught the stone in his grasp. This was his talent; it allowed any object within a hundred meters around him to instantly fly toward his hand. This talent was what allowed him to become a successful trader, as he caught countless rare treasures without actually taking the risk.
Huff! Lukas took rapid deep breaths. If he had been just one moment late, it would have been over for him.
He had been too careless.
Suddenly a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. In a low voice, he muttered, "Come out, Basic Bonewalker..." While saying this he jumped toward Nimo.
He had to end this fight as fast as possible; the more he wasted, the more dangerous this situation was going to become.
Multiple thoughts surged through his heart. He had been too rash and stupid in his decision, coming to the forest without any weapons, no plan, no knowledge. Even if he were to die today, he would blame no one except himself.
Why am I so stupid?
This thought had barely flashed in his mind for one-tenth of a second before he focused on the task at hand. The Basic Bonewalker emerged from just a couple of steps away from Nimo.
"What gall!"
Anger flared in Nimo's eyes. He wasn't an ignorant noob to react like this. He was expecting Lukas to run, to beg for mercy, but what Lukas did was completely opposite of his expectations.
Still, he was a veteran awakener who had been surviving in the Star Dimension for months. His hand once again glowed with faint white light, and another stone came flying from the distance at fast speed, hitting the Basic Bonewalker's ribs. The impact scattered all of its bones.
Just one move and the skeleton scattered like a house of cards; truly a trash-grade summon for a reason.
Lukas remained completely unaffected and he roared and kicked Nimo's legs, mustering as much strength as possible. "Wrong move, pal. Now die!"
The kick aimed at the shin caused Nimo to tumble and fall. Lukas didn't waste any time; he sat on top of his chest and started punching without stopping, each punch faster and more powerful than the last one.
Because of the poison Nimo was incredibly weak, and using his talent two times had also exhausted him. After all, it was because of this reason that he thought of killing Lukas with a sneak attack.
Bang! Bang! Without even realizing Nimo's face got bloodied. From the knuckles, Lukas's skin started to split, blood was flowing out, but Lukas kept punching like a machine, hitting the same spot again and again.
He didn't even realize at some point Nimo's body went still as a dead corpse, but as if possessed Lukas continued to punch as if venting all of his frustration, the guilt that he felt because of his stupid decisions.
From the very start, all the decisions that he took were sending him to an early death.
If the Roaring Dragon Guild would not have taken him, he should at least have tried, and even if they had rejected him, what was wrong in joining a small organization? At least he would have gotten a safer environment to learn and might even get a chance to get strong.
But he came to the forest like a dumb fuck to die.
As he thought about all these things the speed of his punches got even faster; at this point, he was doing more damage to his own body than Nimo's dead corpse.
Crunch! He only stopped when he heard the sound of something breaking.
At this point, Nimo's skull had caved inwards, his face turned into bloody pulp.
"Promise yourself that you will not return to the forest unless you are strong enough..."
Lukas silently swore in his heart to not leave the Roaring Dragon Settlement until he was strong enough to survive, because not every time luck will be on his side. Moreover, he didn't want to be weak enough to survive just because of luck.
He remained unmoving, the events of the past few hours flashing in his head again and again. No matter how many times he recalled and went through them, his decisions simply did not make any sense.
Finally, after another five minutes, he shook his head. "Right now is not the time to think. It's already nighttime; I need to think of my way to ensure my survival..."
While thinking his gaze drifted to the bag filled with skeletons lying on the ground.
Slowly he got up step by step and moved toward the bag, his eyes growing slightly cold and numb.
Under his command, the Basic Bonewalker recovered and slowly came near, waiting for his instruction.
Without a single change in expression, Lukas grabbed one skull from the bag. It was a young man no more than nineteen, head full of golden hair. Lukas could still see the trace of ambition deep into those eyes. From the looks of it, Nimo had used a sneak attack to kill the poor guy.
"Leaving these skulls here for the monsters to feed would be just cruel. It would be a thousand times better for me to use to enhance my own strength..."
With these thoughts in mind, he handed the skull to the Basic Bonewalker and said in a plain voice, "Assimilate this."
Under the dim glow of the campfire, the Basic Bonewalker brought its hand forward, its skeletal fingers wrapping around the severed skull tightly, not gentle in its actions.
Noting this, Lukas's eyes rippled slightly but he ignored it and focussed. The next moment his vision rippled and blue flashed in front of him.