I burst through the people running Helter skelter, and as I did, the armor slowly covered me.
It surged from the Core in my chest, flowing over my body in intricate patterns.
Plates locked into place with a series of metallic clicks, forming the sleek, formidable exoskeleton that was the Forever Armor.
My fingers clenched, covered by the gauntlets, and my speed increased as the metallic boots covered my feet, ushering me deeper into the heart of the problem.
There, I found it. Or rather... him.
Ant Goliath, C-Class Villain.
He was a towering ant-like humanoid, his backstory if I remembered correctly was he fell into an experimental ant chamber.
After being bitten by a multitude of ants, his skin formed into chitinous carapaces, till he fully turned to a man-ant, the size of an elephant.
Ant Goliath's anger led him to things such as this; terrorizing the community.
He loomed over the panicked crowd, clicking his mandibles menacingly.
Once he noticed me approaching, his multifaceted eyes locked onto me.
He dropped the car that he had trapped in his mandibles, and faced me. First, his giant head tilted, as though he was curious about me.
Then, a twisted grin spread across his chitinous face.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Ant Goliath's voice was a grating hiss. "I haven't seen you before."
I clenched my fists, feeling the Forever Armor hum in response beneath my skin. "Ant Goliath! C-Class Villain. You have caused minor destruction in City D and brought fear in the heart of its citizens. I am here to bring an end to your terror."
'Mhmm?' Ant Goliath tilted his head the other way, and then he burst into laughter.
It was a harsh, buzzing sound, but all it did is infuriate me.
"Big words from such a small creature. Let's see if you can back them up!"
Without any hesitation, his charged towards me in attack. It was fast, faster than I could anticipate.
He instantly closed the gap between us in the blink of an eye, I was a second too slow and I paid for it brutally as his clawed fist jammed into my right side.
The blow sent me flying to the left like a limp rag doll, luckily I crashed into a car that completely shattered on impact.
"Like I said, small creature with big words. You cannot do anything tangible..." Ant Goliath's voice pulsated through the air as I stumbled to my feet, thanks to the Forever Armor no damage was dealt on my body.
"... Because from where I'm standing, you look like a wannabe superhero..."
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue and furrowed my eyebrows, my blood boiling in rage as I watched him ramble on and on.
My focus became intense, my eyes fixed in a glare of determination, he enjoyed his short victory, seemingly pleased with himself when he hadn't done any damage to me whatsoever.
I found it idiotic.
Without wasting any second, I grabbed the crushed car behind me and lunged it towards him as hard as I could.
The car hurdled through the air heading straight for him but with one successful swing of his giant claws, he sliced the car into two separate halves.
"Is that all you've got!" He lashed out.
But I was gone, that car was the very distraction I needed to get an opening attack.
I dashed towards him, a blast from the sole of my boots propelling me even faster than I could imagine.
It was all in a blink of an eye, I was now right under his nose, leaving him without a chance in hell to see my attack coming.
All he could do was brace for impact.
I delivered a thunderous blow to his midsection sending him screeching backwards. Although it was a clean shot without any form of interference, I was disappointed at the aftermath.
I packed a lot of power behind that punch and it didn't even crack his hard exoskeleton.
Is he even a C-Class villain?.
I looked up at him to catch him grinning back at me with his hideous mandibular jaw.
He was enjoying this. Ant Goliath. His rage for what happened to him as let him unable to feel joy except when causing destruction.
He enjoyed terrorizing people. He stood for everything that I didn't. And I despised him for that.
"You see... ants are one of the most impressive creatures on the planet, it's a wonder how you all look down on them" Ant Goliath said as he outstretched all six limbs.
"I have the opportunity to represent these creatures and I'll start by showcasing my hard, impenetrable exoskeleton!"
He clamoured as he slammed one limb straight into his chest trying to hype himself up.
I dropped into a fighting stance and immediately the Forever Armor manifested it's helmet over my face, introducing a Heads Up Display with information highlighting Ant Goliath's physical anatomy.
[—Energy Levels: 94%]
[—Targets strengths: Estimated C-Class.]
[—Recommended combat strategy: Evasive maneuvers and precision strikes.]
"I see..."
The Forever Core chimed with a notification that popped into my peripheral view.
[ New Task: Eliminate Ant Goliath]
[To level up significantly, you must defeat the C-Class villain known as Ant Goliath]