Draconic King of Shadows

Damion swiftly turned around and crossed the two tasers in his face, blocking the root whipping at him and skidding across the ground, right towards the unmoving humanoid.

Before he reached it though, he forcefully pressed his feet against the ground and shot to the side like a spring, evading yet another sneaky root.

Immediately, more roots began to burst out of the ground and slice through the air towards him, but he skillfully dodged them all.

Damion displayed insane acrobatics and intelligence like this wasn't the first time he was doing something like this. Even he was surprised by this, but he reigned in his curiosity, linking it to the level up in Krav Maga and trying his best to fight back.

Krav Maga, a passive skill just like Swordsmanship, was always active, meaning that he could never be caught off guard because he was always battle ready. And even if he was caught with his pants down, he would be able to retaliate.

This skill was something he hadn't really understood to its fullest, same with Swordsmanship. He didn't know just how much strength he could deliver in a fight if he used the skills to their fullest.

Swordsmanship alone had the capability to be an Ability of its own if he focused on it, same with Krav Maga, though it didn't have the same potential as the first basic skill.

Still, the skill hadn't been developed, yet he was displaying this level of finesse in combat.

Krav Maga and Swordsmanship appeared to combine into a whole in that instant, and Damion took a strong stance and raised the taser up.

With a grunt and a flash in his eyes, the makeshift weapon tore through the air at a blurring speed and whacked a root right at its base.

There was a stalemate for a second, before the root lost its strength and got obliterated, falling to the ground while still thrashing around.

Damion hopped to the side and avoided another root, jumping back on it as it shot back up. He found himself soaring in the air after the root flailed, and he landed on the metal ground a few meters away.

Before any more roots could locate and attack him again, he blasted right through their ranks, destroying root after root until they were all lying on the ground, twitching.

Damion stopped and huffed out a hot breath. Despite doing all these, he didn't feel satisfied. His senses were still ringing, telling him about a hidden danger, but he didn't know what it was. He was definitely sure the danger signs weren't coming from the unmoving humanoid.

"So what is it?" he asked, and he got his answer right after.

The moving roots on the ground suddenly rolled around each other, forming a large ball. Then without warning, it suddenly dissolved into the ground through the countless holes they had formed earlier.

Damion paused when this happened, and his guard was raised further.

The humanoid ahead of him stirred, its head bobbing around like it was too heavy. A sudden surge of energy emanated from it, and its feet connected to the ground by some roots began to glow with a faint pulsing light.

Damion's instincts screamed at him to attack now that it was vulnerable, but he hesitated, something about the humanoid seemed… off.

Its head stopped moving around, and what felt like a gaze settled on him.

Damion instantly felt dread.

"You shouldn't have come here to disturb my sleep," the humanoid said with a deep rumbling voice. "My evolution was almost complete, but it has now been reset by your actions."

Damion tensed up, but maintained an unfazed expression on his face.

"Luckily, you contain enough energy to push me back to my evolution. So to atone for your sins… DIE!"

A sudden explosion of roots from the ground sent Damion into panic. They erupted around his limbs, wrapping around them like snakes and holding him down.

"Shit!" Damion cursed, realizing too late that the humanoid was only stalling for time to prepare that wave of roots.

The humanoid began to move, its feets still glowing with an otherworldly energy. Damion knew he had to think fast if he wanted to survive. This was a fight he couldn't lose.

With a surge of adrenaline, he closed his eyes and directed his intent at Krav Maga. His mind was flooded with memories he didn't know he had, and his body suddenly felt more malleable.

His muscles suddenly relaxed, letting the roots wrap around him more, then with a strong tension of his muscles again, his body moved, using the roots' own momentum against them.

The roots snapped and recoiled, freeing Damion from their grip. Damion sprang forward, barrelling towards the humanoid like a mad man.

He weaved with ease through the myriad of roots that burst out of the ground to ensnare him, using Shadow Walk in tandem with Shadow Pulse, then with a sharp move of his torso and arms, the two tasers smashed the humanoid on the hip, sending it off balance and causing it to reel back.

Damion didn't pause and jumped at it, raising the tasers and smashing down with all his strength.

In that moment of time, the tasers sparked to life, a malevolent torrent of electric currents flaring to life around it and descending on the humanoid like an avalanche.

A scream tore through the air as a whirlwind of sparks, energy and flora exploded from the point of contact. Damion gritted his teeth and pushed harder, making sure not to let go of the tasers.

The humanoid clawed at him, but he only pushed further, filled with the intent of ending the battle.

The sizzling smell of burning leaves followed, but Damion's mind was too occupied to notice that.

The wound he inflicted was trying to close, but to no avail. He glimpsed a glowing greenish core rotating on its axis within the humanoid, and he immediately recognized it.

"The beast core…I need to destroy it!" Damion said through gritted teeth.

He pushed harder with his left arm and raised the right taser up. A second later, he smashed back down on the same spot, pushing further.

Waves of roots rose from the ground to hold his hand back, but another use of Shadow Pulse repelled them, and he immediately changed spots and jumped back, escaping another whipping root.

Damion watched the injury heal at a visible speed, undoing all the damage he had just done.

He took a step forward to charge ahead again, but suddenly, a massive root burst out of the ground, growing up and reaching for the roof.

With a loud bang that spread into the distance, the root broke the roof apart, and the greenhouse began to collapse.