Chapter 163: Breaking Through Stage III Hybrid Level

"I guess it’s time to ramp things up a little bit." Kazuichi let out, showing off his newfound powers for the first time.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Kazuichi had been hoarding meteorite ores in his free time, absorbing as much as he could within the day to maximize his growth as a Hybrid.

With the new information about the Hybrid levels and Blood Arts, he knew that there might come a time when he’d face someone potentially stronger than him. As far as he knows, they may be someone who’d already reached Hybrid level IV or V.

Japan is a huge place, after all, and he couldn’t lie on his laurels the entire time. He may be a shut-in, but he values practicality over laziness.

It was only recently that Kazuichi broke through stage III of his hybrid level. His control over his Blood Arts had also increased in proficiency thanks to Arisu’s spartan training. Those factors helped him reach a higher level— a level that Arisu never knew he had attained.

As soon as he tapped into his Hybrid powers, Kazuichi felt his blood rushing inside him, causing his muscles to contract as his body increased in strength. His eyes turned a deep dark red as well, and every time he breathed, smoke came out of his mouth.

He resembled a rabid beast that was about to chase and pin down its prey.

Previously, Kazuichi’s Synthesis Blood Art only allowed him to transform his appendages, giving them a boost in their offensive throughput. Now that he’s already stage III, however, he could finally transform his entire body, cladding it with armor made of mass and muscles.

"I still have a hard time maintaining this form, but let’s see how far I can go without reverting to my human form," Kazuichi said to himself, his voice sounding more gravelly than usual.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

In each stride, Kazuichi could feel his strength welling up within him. His bodily temperature was regulated higher than normal as he increased his power output. Not only did it help with his sprint, but every stride doubled in length as well.

Meanwhile, Arisu was already a couple of hundred meters away, and she knew that sustaining her speed was more than enough to defeat Kazuichi.

Shiiing~!

In an instant, Arisu felt a hint of bloodthirst coming from the rear. Thinking that it was just Kazuichi being frustrated with himself, she smiled. By the time she looked back, it was already too late.

In a flash, Kazuichi overtook him, and he continued to sprint even faster, breaking the speed of sound and creating sonic booms as he did so.

"What?!" Arisu almost dropped her jaw as she increased her speed as well. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn’t catch up to Kazuichi anymore.

After a couple of seconds, though, Kazuichi stopped running, and steam came out of his body as if he were evaporating. He then collapsed on his knees as the exhaustion overcame him.

’As I thought, I could only maintain that form for thirty seconds max.’ Kazuichi thought to himself.

From a distance, Kazuichi saw Arisu speeding up before stopping to a halt in front of him. While he was able to reach even faster speeds than Arisu, he had to sacrifice more energy in the process.

If this was a contest of endurance, he’d have been vulnerable after using his special move.

"Are you okay? What was that? I thought you transformed into a mindless hybrid for a second there." Arisu heaved a sigh of relief. She was just glad that Kazuichi was just trying out his newfound level-up.

"Yeah, as I thought... activating the Synthesis Blood Art at Stage III is still not useable," Kazuichi commented, forcing himself to stand up as he continued walking.

Wait...

"Did you already reach Stage III?! Eh? Since when?" Arisu was just as shocked as she was elated. Of course, she also had mixed feelings about Kazuichi’s level-up since she was this close to breaking through to the third stage.

"It was just recent. I couldn’t show it to you since I’m still having a hard time activating and maintaining it. But now I could tap into it for thirty seconds at most." Kazuichi responded.

"Thirty seconds? That’s still more than enough time. You can already indefinitely use your Blood Arts before leveling up, right? Then you can just use your full power to secure the victory in a match." Arisu circled her index finger in the air as she confidently gave Kazuichi some advice.

As the first rays of sunshine peered through the horizon, the cold foggy dawn cleared up, revealing the dewy grass and the lightly rustling trees that filled the entire forest. Arisu and Kazuichi couldn’t believe that they were almost at the Yamanashi Prefecture.

If both of them could reach Stage IV, then running all the way to the Yamanashi Prefecture at the speed of sound was feasible. Then again, it might take a year or so before they could reach that level.

It didn’t take long before the two of them arrived at the outskirts of the Yamanashi Prefecture. As expected, the entire prefecture was reduced to rubble, and the remains of the strongholds that previously gloriously stood there were nothing but broken structures filled with roaming mindless zombies.

Click!

Without much thought, Arisu and Kazuichi entered the vicinity.

"Arisu," Suddenly, Kazuichi’s brows furrowed as he extended his hand to stop Arisu from walking forward. He could sense animosity coming from somewhere, and somehow, the atmosphere of the entire area felt off.

Unexpectedly, Kazuichi’s hands brushed against Arisu’s bosom the moment he extended his hands. His face reddened a little bit as Arisu let out a soft kya~ in surprise.

On Kazuichi’s signal, Arisu too felt the wrong atmosphere that filled the entire place. The two of them cautiously put their guards up as they scanned the area.

"..."

"..."

"What’s that?" Arisu pointed.

That’s when Kazuichi noticed the mountain of unmoving zombies on the far end side, of what was once the West Yamanashi Stronghold. And on top of it stood a single entity