Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 71: Chapter 66 B: Hidden Quest B

Read chapter 71 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 66 B: Hidden Quest B “Mother fucking System bullshit!” Alex spit on the ground as he stared down the figure standing between him and the next grave-mound. Another skeletal sentinel. This one had no open grave to be put into. It was just another enemy Alex had to overcome. He knew how to fight these already, but he couldn’t dip into his stash of enchanted crystals every time he fought one. It didn’t help that skeletal knights, warriors and dread rangers still generated even more threat to Alex as he was out in the middle of the fields as well. Even as he stared down the sentinel, he formed a [Shield] spell, which sent a dread ranger’s arrow careening off into the dirt. The other skeleton staggered and charged. He didn’t have time to curse the system further. A skeletal knight came at him from the side first, its rusted sword a blur. He ducked under it, spun, and crushed its skull with a full-bodied swing of his dagger. Too slow. The skeletal sentinel was already on him . Alex barely rolled out of the way as the greatsword came down like a guillotine, throwing out dirt and rocks from below his feet. The sheer force of it sent out a shockwave, toppling a dread ranger’s arrow mid-air and throwing up even more dust. “ Nope. Nope, nope, nope! ” Alex scrambled behind a the body of a downed warrior. Arrows hissed from behind—the Rangers had taken up flanking positions. He raised the downed warrior’s iron buckler, catching one arrow with the buckler and deflecting the other with a [Shield] and sending it into another warrior’s skull by sheer accident. The system flashed a notification, giving him credit for the kill. That was nice. “ Alex, you’re at 62% aether capacity and dropping. Two knights, two dread rangers, three warriors and a sentinel.” “Yeah, I noticed!” Alex shouted back at Obby in frustration. The Sentinel surged forward , a blur of bone and bronze. Its blade came down in an arc that would’ve bisected him if he didn’t dash to the side, nearly slipping on a loose ribcage from an earlier kill as he went. Skeletons surged in around him like water from a broken dam. He couldn’t fight them all. Not here in the open, he’d be surrounded and beaten down with no way out. Alex dove toward another body, narrowly dodging a Knight’s lunge, then slid in the dirt to another killed warrior. He stopped behind its armor and shield once more. The protection it gave was basically nothing, but he both heard and saw the impact of two more arrows splitting the shield partially before being stopped. His breathing was ragged. Blood ran down his arm from a shallow gash. His aether surged with adrenaline and fear. He closed his eyes. Unpredictable, resourceful. People can’t take advantage of you if they don’t know what the hell you are going to do. So just go crazy, bro. Adam’s voice entered his head. It was a strange moment to hear his brother, but he knew where the memory came from. Adam and he were out at a meet for their martial arts regional. Adam had just made the quarter finals, and Alex was having a rough time of his match. His brother had come to talk to him between rounds, to give some advice. Alex ended up making it all the way to the finals that day. It was Adam who beat him in the end. Regardless, the memory came up at that moment, and he remembered the lesson that day had taught him. One, Adam could really fucking fight. Two, sometimes playing by the rules was how you always lost. So do things others won’t expect. He opened his eyes in time to see the sentinel bearing down on him. Its sword flashed downward again in a blur. Instead of moving away, Alex stepped into the attack, catching the sentinel’s leading arm with his dagger. The move let Alex get under the skeleton’s arms, avoiding the greatsword entirely. The sheer strength from the sentinel was a new problem though, as it drove Alex into a low crouch, making it difficult to move for any follow-up attacks the sentinel had. He didn’t care about that, as Alex simply rolled fo