Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain

            Ryan tried to heal his wound, but he felt another sharp pain coming from his right shoulder as soon as he activated the spell. Zeus wasn't there. He was behind Ryan, holding another piece of Ryan's body that he had taken in a single instant. Ryan bit his lips in anger… that had to be some kind of joke. He defeated Odin, Thor, and Poseidon… and he got even stronger, but he still couldn't even see that guy's movements. His body seemed to be made of cotton in front of Zeus' power.

"Did you know that he was this strong, Merlin?" Ryan asked.

"I had a fair idea of his true power," Merlin replied as if the situation didn't concern him in any way.

            If Ryan knew about Zeus' true strength, even he would probably think twice before challenging him. Regardless, it was too late to change his mind or regret it. Besides, Ryan was certain that his allies were fighting and winning their battles. After all, not a single elder god came to annoy him. Either they have absolute trust in Zeus, or they were too busy.

            While Zeus threw away a piece of Ryan's body, Ryan began to analyze about that new power of Zeus. His status grew so much that even light was slower than him. That wasn't supposed to be possible, but… it was hard to apply logic when the enemy was Zeus.

            Once again, very suddenly, Ryan felt a sharp pain and then a string. This time on his left arm, near the elbow. It was as if Zeus showed him that he could chop him from limb to limb if he wished for it. Ryan decided to ignore the pain and the obvious taunts. It would be dangerous, and Ryan had no idea if it would be enough to defeat Zeus. Still, he had a plan… before Zeus could attack once again, Ryan enhanced Light Speed with Mana Manipulation. Once he did that, he felt like the surroundings had changed… things suddenly seemed a lot slower than before. He had noticed that things seemed that way at some point during the last year, but only in very particular moments… like when he was fighting Poseidon, where before dealing the blow that defeated him, he suddenly changed his attack and the enemy didn't notice it.

            As if that wasn't enough, he saw that his health, mana, and stamina were recovering much slower than they were supposed to… it seemed that his enhanced Light Speed made Ryan feel the passage of time differently…

            Ryan suddenly saw Zeus moving. Yes… this time he saw it. Zeus frowned when he saw Ryan reacting to his sudden movement. That was unexpected… Zeus never saw someone moving that fast, at least not a human. Not even those who had a high level of divinity.

"I see… you enhanced Light Speed," Zeus said. "Still, will that be enough? But of us may be fast enough to be two times faster than light now, but I didn't enhance only my speed. Not to mention, you are using a lot more mana."

"You really have a big mouth," Ryan said and then grabbed his Dark Ice Spear, only to store it away.

            Zeus frowned when he saw that… that was the only weapon Ryan could use that actually would damage him, so why did he do that? Unless he is able to create the same version but this time using a Draconic Bow, Zeus couldn't see him causing any trouble. Much to Zeus' surprise, Ryan only summoned a Hydra's Bow. It was one of the few bows that he could adequately use in his draconic form, but…

"What are you plotting?" Zeus asked.

"The best way to defeat you before I run out of mana," Ryan replied. "Or maybe I should just focus on defense and see you self-destruct with that skill."

After that, Ryan summoned an arrow and then nocked. Considering his current status, Zeus knew that Ryan's arrows would hit him. While they might not cause much damage, that would be another matter. Zeus dashed to attack, but Ryan stopped him with an arrow. Zeus dodged to the side since even he would have some trouble blocking an arrow traveling two times faster than light. After dodging, Zeus looked behind and saw the arrow disintegrating after flying for five hundred meters. Even if an object could fly that fast, it doesn't mean that it could do so forever. The attrition would slowly make it disappear until it became dust.

              Now that they were fighting on the same terms, magic and tricks won't help all that much. The winner will be decided according to the skills and who was the toughest among them. Ryan didn't have the upper hand in neither aspect. After all, Zeus was many times older and had much more time to refine his skills. Not to mention, he is a natural brawler… Nevertheless, Ryan was planning to win by using his spirit alone.

Ryan began to bombard Zeus with his arrows. The target moved to the side and then advanced. Still, he could barely make any progress since Ryan was firing at alarming speeds. His focus was on the max level, so it was only natural that he would show his actual ability with a bow. Despite that, Zeus couldn't help but smile. Those continuous shots will make Ryan spend mana much faster while moving that fast. However, Zeus forgot to consider one thing… Ryan was someone who surpassed all the obstacles along the way by becoming stronger while he was at it.

Congratulations! The skill Concentration has leveled up.

Congratulations! The class Expert Archer has reached the max level.

Congratulations! The skill Accuracy has leveled up.

Congratulations! The class Mad Archer has reached the max level.

…historical

              It was barely noticeable, but Zeus could see Ryan's skills improving. In the end, it wasn't that unexpected. Ryan was facing the one who was considered the strongest among all elder gods. It was only natural that his skills would level up so fast. As for Zeus… his skills couldn't grow any further. He didn't have all skills, but the ones he had, were already at the max level.