Steal (2)

Both men use weapons against each other. The man who can control metals wields a large metal axe, which he swings horizontally and vertically. He has a huge mustache and strong, beefy arms full of tattoos. The other man is slender in comparison.

What’s surprising is that the metal man can bend and change the shape of his weapon at will. At first, it was an axe. When he noticed this could injure his friend, he changed the shape into a long metal rod. His speed and strength are no joke. He fights on equal footing with his opponent, who can fly.

The more Axel observed, the more he wanted to have that skill. Axel approached them and observed with the other patients.

“You idiot! Come down here and fight me, Nelson!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. So immature, Leroy. How are you going to kill monsters with wings if you dumbly ask them to come down?” Nelson used his sword and swung it three times; three wind blades immediately appeared to attack Leroy.

But Leroy seemed unfazed. He deflected all three wind blades with his metal rod.

“Oooohhhh!” The crowd murmured in amazement. Nelson was flying in midair. Most typical wind abilities have floating properties, but they vary. Axel remembered seeing one of his classmates create a miniature tornado in his palm and then struggle to let it grow bigger.

Leroy was not satisfied with being left alone on the ground, susceptible to Nelson’s wind blades. He groaned, slamming his metal rod into the ground. He bent his knees and assumed the stance of a runner. His feet explosively made a dent in the ground, and he used his metal rod as a pole to jump. He reached Nelson in no time and slammed the metal rod at him.

Nelson was unprepared for this attack. The wind blade he conjured was not strong enough to parry Leroy’s strike. Overwhelmed by Leroy’s strength, Nelson was forced to land on the ground. Then they parried.

The sound of the metal rod slamming and colliding with the wind blade echoed sharply in Axel’s ears. It was like a fight between sword users. Although Nelson was a sword user, Leroy did not give him a chance to use it.

The moment they were in midair, Leroy took hold of Nelson’s sword and smacked it away, leaving Nelson weaponless. It was obvious that Leroy was much stronger and fiercer than Nelson. Now that his opponent was on the ground, he did not give him the chance to fly. Attack after attack came strongly at Nelson. Leroy was too fast for him to conjure wind blades and defend himself.

In the end, Nelson lost momentum, and Leroy hit him in the abdomen, forcing him to roll on the ground. Leroy changed the properties of his metal rod. Soon, Nelson could not move, not with the tip of the sharpest axe centimeters away from his neck. It was Leroy’s victory. The crowd cheered for Leroy.

“Man, you are brutal.” Nelson’s voice became hoarse as he clasped his aching abdomen.

“Sorry, man. I was not able to control my strength.” Leroy helped him to his knees.

A woman with long violet hair approached them and smacked Nelson on the shoulder.

“Want my services? Pay up.” She had dark gothic makeup that matched well with her black aviator jacket and skinny jeans.

“Lady, are you trying to take advantage of your wounded teammate? I just got my stitch for my left leg this morning. Aren’t you going to pity me?” Nelson showed her his left leg. Indeed, Nelson’s pajama had a deep incision on the side, exposing his left leg with stitches running from his thigh down to his calf.

No wonder he was having a hard time fighting Leroy in close range. He had chosen to fly and keep his distance.

“Tsk, pity you? Have you taken a look at Leroy’s injury?” The woman sneered. She unceremoniously lifted Leroy’s shirt and showed his deep claw wounds on his chest. There were three long claw wounds that obviously ran deep.

“Miss, are you a healer?” One of the curious patients approached and asked.

“Oh, yes, I am.” Sensing a customer, the woman smiled.

“Your comrade’s wounds are very severe. Aren’t you going to heal them?”

The woman’s smile stiffened. Leroy noticed something was off with her, so he answered.

“She can’t. Actually, we just got back from a dungeon fighting against a Level 5 monster.”

The curious patient showed his understanding and apologized to the woman. He went back to his friends. It was known that injuries from a Level 5 monster and above cannot be healed by special healing abilities. That’s why most Challengers are helpless against these wounds and have to be admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Axel was very interested in these three. A healer, a wind ability user, and a metal ability user. Should he steal their abilities? The three of them talked and laughed. Sensing that it was time for lunch, they headed to the hospital cafeteria. Axel followed them, making sure to keep a distance so they wouldn’t notice he was tailing them. They ate and then left to change their clothes.

In this hospital, there was a gym and a small training center. This was for the rehabilitation of Challengers trying to heal from heavy injuries. Axel followed them for half a day, looking for a chance to steal one of their belongings. It wasn’t until they left the gym and went to change in the lockers that he seized his chance.

Nelson and Leroy left their wet towels on the bench before taking another towel to wipe their sweat. While they weren’t looking, Axel barged in and stole their wet towels. He also went to the women’s locker area and managed to snatch the woman’s towel she had left behind.

Axel’s heart was slamming against his chest. Luckily, there was no one else in the locker room, and no one saw him do the deed. The CCTV in the area was in the lobby, and he managed to avoid being captured.