The collision of their attacks sent shockwaves throughout the land as the sheer air pressure from their collision destroyed the ground.
For a moment, Tyler found himself contending with the monster using his fist.
Unfortunately, it was just an adrenaline boost. The moment that monster took it seriously, it thrashed into the ground.
Just before its claw reached his chest, Tyler used the extreme speed given by his Lightning Cloak to move away.
Bang!
The claw smashed the ground, increasing the size of the crater while Tyler appeared nearly hundreds of meters away, on his right knee.
"Whooooo!"
He released a deep breath and jumped, landing on his feet.
'Although I lacked strength, I can make up with fighting style.'
He thought to himself before he saw the monster running towards him. It was running on its four legs, and its speed was only slower than his lightning.
At this moment, Tyler knew his speed was at least ten times slower than the Mountain Level Monster.
Because that's the boost he was getting from the Lightning Cloak. That being said, he hadn't confirmed it to be ten times faster.
He hadn't even tested it before, but he could feel his speed improving to that rate.
As soon as the monster appeared in front of him, Tyler spun, putting more force into his left hand, and slammed it with his elbow.
The monster felt the attack on his neck, unable to stop it. But it quickly swept up its claw, trying to tear apart his chin.
Tyler ducked below its elbow before placing his palms on the ground and launching a spinning kick.
The monster stumbled but didn't fall. But that's all Tyler needed from it.
He rotated his palm, using the force on them to somersault in mid-air. While in mid-air, he raised his leg and brought it down, crashing into the monster.
Bang!
The force behind his attack was so high that it literally cracked the ground underneath as the monster fell.
Although it looked quite destructive, not even a single bone of this monster was destroyed.
Once again, he was reminded of just how powerful Mountain Level monsters are.
Despite so, Tyler clapped his hands together and spat out a huge column of hot flame towards the monster.
It didn't even get to react. Until it was hit by the flames, it realized that Tyler was no longer using the Lightning Cloak.
[First Skill- Fire Dragon Roar]
'Damn it! Mold! Mold! Damn it!'
He kept blowing flames with greater impact on the monster. He had tried his best to contain the fire within the size of the monster.
But his real intention was to use the fire to create enough force to launch him into the sky.
This was a pretty simple mechanism that rockets used to fly.
His mouth could easily bear the temperature of the flame. It was one thing that wouldn't harm him.
But even with such a condition, he wasn't able to output fire at enough force to launch himself into the sky.
Suddenly, he started feeling changes in his body. It was hovering, slowly, but it was going up.
'It's working…..No, I understand. I am not releasing fire with enough force. I need to increase it.'
Gritting his teeth, he released a large amount of flames, no longer as a cylinder but just simply as a wave of fire.
This time, his body was flung into the sky at an extraordinary speed.
As the fire slowly started disappearing, several large wind blades flew towards the sky.
[First Skill- Fire Dragon Roar]
Using the fire stream, Tyler managed to fly away from the range of those blades.
He knew the moment he stopped spitting out flames that monster was gonna release those deadly blades.
He had already suffered enough mental injuries. He didn't want to suffer physically as well.
Although he could heal, these wind blades could cause some serious damage to his body.
While in mid-air, he cursed.
'Damn it! This doesn't make sense. My flames don't hurt me, but I can't control them.'
But as he was falling towards the ground, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
'Maybe this is the limitation of Third Rank. Maybe in the fourth rank, I will be able to control my powers better.'
'Hmm! I seriously need to reach Third Rank after this. Only then can I use Lightning Cloak alongside other skills.'
This time, while being distracted, his eyes were still on the ground.
The moment he got closer to the ground, he spun himself in mid-air and landed on his feet.
But as soon as he landed on the ground, he sensed the monster. But this time, the monster wasn't coming his way.
It was running towards the tree.
'No! Rose is still close by.'
Tyler immediately sensed Rose, who had picked up the fruit and was running away.
'Damn it! I didn't even manage to distract it for long enough.'
At this moment, he knew he wouldn't be able to reach the monster without Lightning Cloak.
But if he used that move, he might collapse in the middle of a battle.
At this moment, he remembered the time when he met Diva.
'Nothing goes as planned. You can never be prepared for everything. So sometimes, learn to bet on yourself, on your beliefs, on your goal!'
'It will not fail you.'
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Tyler roared; the pain started haunting him. His eyes closed, his skin crunched, and his head shook as if he was put in a freezer.
The veins bulged on his forehead, and some even popped out, leaking blood, but they quickly recovered as lightning appeared around him.
Lightning didn't just improve his speed, strength, and defenses. It also sped up his regeneration.
Not at the level of Rapid Regeneration, but still fast enough for small wounds.
He opened his bloodshot eyes
He looked no different than a person who had gone crazy, but there was a small hint of clarity in all of that madness.
That clarity was enough to push him towards the monster at an extraordinary speed.
He raised his right fist, then raised his left one. When he closed the gap, he jumped.
As his body hovered in mid-air, he struck the monster with the full force of his might, using his fists and head.
Bang!
It was like a lightning bolt striking the monster. It happened so fast that even the monster didn't see it coming.
Not only that, it also struck so hard that the monster and Tyler flew a few kilometers before coming to a stop.
Tyler fell above the monster. Although it suffered quite a devastating attack, it only left two marks on his stomach.
His head didn't do much. And that mark was mostly a lightning burn.
While his body kept twitching, Tyler jumped away from the monster. He could barely think of anything.
He just gathered all of his mind into running and dashed away. Although it seemed quite random, Tyler was accurately choosing the south road.
He didn't even see the trees that he was colliding with. Every time he collided, he quickly got up and kept running.
Until he finally left the forest.
Only then, his mind give up
Completely shut down!
The lightning disappeared, and his body crashed against the ground due to his velocity. It kept crashing against the ground until it finally stopped.
But the sheer impact was enough to create a small hole in the ground
At this moment, his condition was worse than he could imagine.
His entire body had turned red, filled with bruises and burns. But the most injured part of him was his soul.
Until the moment he used the Lightning Cloak, Tyler didn't understand why he was doing this.
He could've just chosen not to take those fruits. He didn't have any hatred against this monster.
So why did he take that kind of risk?
Was it just for fruits? He could get several of those through Check-ins.
He still had nine of those in his inventory. He could use them at any moment to improve his strength.
He could use them to improve the strength of his people.
He didn't need to take risks.
But even when he was sitting in his home, he had encountered a person whom he couldn't even shake.
Diva never showed any kind of malice against him. He was like a mentor to him.
But that encounter left a deep scar in his heart.
That made him realize he wasn't safe anywhere.
Even if he managed to gain strength, he wasn't better than many people. He wasn't stronger than some people.
He was just a bigger ant.
He didn't want to remain that way. He knew that even if he made hundreds of plans to expand his influence or remain stable within just one city.
He would never be safe until he had the power in his own hands.
That realization hit him hard.
Especially since he was in a world where strength mattered the most.
That's why he decided to take the risk.
To reach Fourth Rank faster. To improve his combat experience and strength. He always remembered Diva's words.
'Risks and Benefits always go hand in hand.'