Death's Disciple [Sys Apoc, OP Villain MC, LitRPG] Chapter 16: 1.16 Yippy Ki-Yay

Read chapter 16 of Death's Disciple [Sys Apoc, OP Villain MC, LitRPG] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

1.16 Yippy Ki-Yay Chapter 16 My sword clashed against Barry’s, sliding down to his cross guard and forcing the weapon wide. I sent in a punch with my free hand, but he pulled his shield into place for a block, my attack clashed against the steel with a loud ringing bang! His follow up slash came from below, and I leaned backward to dodge, the tip barely grazing the side of my cheek and drawing a thin line of red. My counter hooked my sword under his shield and tossed it high, leaving him open for the kick I sent into his stomach and knocking him backward a few feet. [Blood Manipulation - Lvl 2 - Beginner] My mana stirred to life in my body, a tendril of it traveling up to my face and stopping the cut Barry had left from bleeding almost instantly. It was a use of my new skill that I had learned in the two weeks since I had been rewarded it in the Common Dungeon. In the privacy of my own room I had practiced with the skill to the point that it had levelled up once, and I had learned I had a measure of control over my own blood flow. Letting me supply more oxygen to my muscles, or to stop my wounds from bleeding. These uses also hid the activation of my skill, as all the effects were internal. Given my many lies around my abilities and skills so far, I couldn’t reveal the skill, not even to Barry. Which felt a bit wrong, as I knew I could trust the guy, we had talked a lot and trained together many times. He was a good guy, a bit naive maybe, with starry eyes and ideas of peace and prosperity for humanity that didn’t exactly align with my own. But that’s what made me like him more. He saw the good in people. I saw the evil in them. “You are really good with your unarmed skills, but your sword technique seems to be lagging behind, that Mastery Skill giving you trouble still?” Barry said as he put away his equipment. “Well, I learned martial arts before the System even came,” I said, putting my own sword back into my inventory. Our little spar inside the cave facility was now over. Around us, many others still fought and practiced, skills and spells flashing about in the immense space. Far off to the side, Huwett, Francis and Norton sat or stood against the metal wall, watching. Vasquez was still off by himself, practicing his own magic. “Wish I had trained before all this too, would have been seriously helpful and made me even better at this stuff. You have an Epic class, yet you are still as strong as all the Hunters with Mythic classes.” Barry’s armor vanished next, leaving him in the white athletic shirt and shorts that the military supplied to us. My own armor went away too, leaving me in similar attire, but in black. “Looks like it was a rather good class fit for me. Except for the weapon choice, I don’t think a sword is my thing even with the Mastery skill. Maybe I should lean more into the rogue style and go for daggers?” I rubbed the back of my neck. My words were only a partial lie. I was better with my weapon than I really let on, trying to downplay things, as usual. But I could still see that my talent with the blade was below what I saw from other melee fighters with their chosen weapons. Francis was amazing with his axe, especially after his new skill. Huwett was almost magical with her bow. Even Norton, who was a healer class and not a fighter, could perform some amazing feats with his new staff. “Perhaps, we'll have to give it a try and see how they feel for you. Let's rest though, I’m hungry.” Barry nodded towards the rest of the crew and I nodded in agreement. I took a seat with my back against the wall next to Francis, Huwett standing to my left. “Here you go buddy,” Norton waved a hand, and light-green mana flashed from his fingers. I felt the sting on my face quickly dissipate as he healed my cut. It was barely worth the mana he spent to cast the spell, but the large smile he got on his face from doing it made me only smile back and throw a thumbs up. “Thanks!” “For sure man!” He gave a thumbs up back, his larg