[3rd PoV]
On the other side of the forest area, three instructors are chasing a woman. She is one of the four assassins who entered to execute Brian.
The woman jumps here and there on top of the trees very quickly.
"Flame Shoot!"
A fire magic shoots towards her quickly, but the woman can easily dodge by jumping to the side. However, right in front of her, Instructor Torun is already there, ready to attack. He waited for Foxy to jump into the air so the woman would have difficulty avoiding his attack.
"Stone Cold!"
Torun's right hand is coated with earth; he then throws a punch towards Foxy.
"Shove!"
However, Torun's punch is successfully avoided by Foxy. The woman kicks the air; the air pressure generated by her leg pushes her body, causing her to avoid Torun's attack.
· Bam!
Foxy launches a counterattack in the form of a kick towards Torun, but the Instructor can block it with both hands. However, due to the force of Foxy's kick, Torun is sent flying until he hits a tree.
"Got you! Crescent Slash!"
Foxy turns her body; she sees another Instructor dashing towards her and then slashing at her with a sword. However, the Instructor feels a strange slippery sensation when his sword makes contact with Foxy's skin.
His sword cannot injure the woman's body at all.
· Bam!
Foxy kicks that instructor hard right in the face, causing the man to be sent flying, hitting a tree until it collapses.
"Fire Pillar!"
Foxy looks down; a pillar of fire rises up, about to consume her body. But she activates Shove to dodge again while in the air.
However, Foxy's face is surprised when she sees Erina—the Mage—dashing towards her very quickly. On the soles of her feet, fire is seen propelling her body so she can reach Foxy, who is in the air.
The two women face each other; Foxy will have great difficulty dodging at such close range.
"Fire Damnation!"
"Unreality Field!"
Both women activate their magic; Foxy emits a defense mechanism, while Erina emits fourth-level fire magic.
· Bomb!
An explosion is created; both women's bodies are sent flying and then fall to the ground.
Foxy feels pain all over her body; she tries to get up and then quickly flees before the three instructors chase her again.
"Tch, those Instructors are pretty good too," murmured Foxy. "Especially that female Mage; this is the first time I have met a mage who dares to get close just so her magic hits the target."
Every assassin agent of Ouroboros has combat capabilities equal to an Instructor. Foxy is one of the best assassins Ouroboros has; she can even face two or three Instructors at once.
"I wonder, have the three of them killed our target?"
---
[Raul PoV]
I was a little late finding them; three students have died in this exam due to external factors.
"Ariel, get away from here," I ordered her. "I will hold them off here."
"Eh, how... do you know my name?" asked Ariel, sounding confused.
"There is no time to explain; go quickly!"
Hearing my shout, Ariel then stands up and starts running away from this place.
My focus returns to the three assassins in front of me; one is likely a Sword Dancer, the burly man beside him is definitely a Brawler, and the last one is clearly a mage.
"Well, well, well... It seems we have someone who wants to be a hero," said the Sword Dancer in a mocking tone.
"He is wearing an academy uniform, that means he is still a kid taking this exam," said the Brawler, who looked relaxed.
"Hmm... That mask of yours... I think I have seen it somewhere but I don't know where..." murmured the Mage. "I think I will take it after killing you, kid."
They are already ready to fight.
These three Ouroboros assassins have the same level as the Instructors in the game. That means the three of them are far stronger than me.
Fighting very experienced enemies with my current level of strength will be quite difficult.
They start moving; the Sword Dancer dashes towards me and then launches a horizontal slash.
I can easily dodge, but the man does not stop there; he starts launching a flurry of attacks, forcing me to focus only on his movements.
Not wanting to be cornered continuously, I try to counterattack.
· Bzztt...
Sparks of lightning appear when our swords clash; my right hand feels numb and almost causes the sword I am gripping to fall due to the shock.
That sword of his... is not an ordinary sword. Perhaps it has been augmented with lightning magic, huh?
"Oraaa!"
From the left side, the Brawler throws a punch that I can block with my left hand.
His punch is very strong; my body is pushed back even though I blocked it.
Not giving me time to analyze, the Sword Dancer dashes towards me again, launching a thrusting attack.
I dodge to the side and then counterattack by slashing at his stomach. However, my slash has no effect on him at all. I feel a strange slippery sensation when my sword makes physical contact with him.
· Bam!
The Sword Dancer kicks me, sending my body flying quite far.
Turning my body, I then land with both feet on the ground. Looking up at the sky, I see the Brawler falling from the air towards here; his right hand is seen glowing, indicating he is about to throw a powerful punch.
With this distance, I can dodge before he can get here.
· Grruurr...
Suddenly, the ground I am stepping on vibrates and then rises up, bringing my body closer to the Brawler.
"Now, Ape! Finish off the kid!" shouted the Mage.
"Of course! Feel this, Kong Gun!"
· BAAMM!
The Brawler throws a very powerful punch; I block it with both hands. My body is sent flying very far due to the momentum of his attack.
Both of my hands feel crushed from blocking that punch directly.
Ughhh... Even though I activated Repel magic, his attack still feels very much as if I am not using defensive magic at all. I think it is natural considering my magic is only low-level.
"You didn't hit him hard enough, Ape," said the Sword Dancer.
"Hee~ Don't worry, that was just a warm-up," replied the Brawler.
Previously, my slash had no effect on the Sword Dancer at all. I just remembered, the Ouroboros assassins have one of the same Profound Codexes, namely Slippery Skin. This makes their bodies immune to all sharp objects; I must destroy their special skin first with blunt attacks.
Sheathing my sword, now is the time to beat them until they are bruised.
"Hoo~ You sheathe your sword and switch to bare hands?" said the Sword Dancer. "You have a sharp mind too, it seems."
"It seems he has realized our special abilities," said the Brawler, who again prepares his fighting stance.
"Let's teach him a lesson, Ape!" exclaimed the Sword Dancer.
"Of course!"
The two of them dash towards me again; the mage behind them is seen murmuring a spell.
The Sword Dancer performs a diagonal slash to the left; I try to dodge to the side, but there the Brawler is already there, throwing a punch at me.
· Bam!
I block it again with both hands while activating Repel magic, but my body is still pushed back from blocking his punch.
Looking to the side, the mage shoots five Earth Missiles aimed at me.
This time, I focus my gaze on the mage's shadow. I will show the Nature Mana that I have been keeping.
The five large rocks are about to hit my body, but my vision starts to blur, my body feels light. Blinking my eyes, instantly I am already in front of the mage, who looks very surprised that I suddenly appeared.
"Radical Blow!"
I immediately beat his body with a combo of 8 punches, causing the mage to become battered instantly. For the last attack, I punch his face very hard with a Right Hook.
· Crack!
The sound of a crack is heard, like glass breaking, as his body is sent flying due to my hard punch.
It seems his special skin has been destroyed.
"Zed! Are you alright!?"
"How did he suddenly appear there!"
His two companions look panicked and then try to run here.
"Shadow Link..."
Disappearing into my own shadow, I then appear in an instant, emerging from the Sword Dancer's shadow.
"..."
The man is surprised to see me suddenly appear in front of him and then swings his sword horizontally to slash me.
Ducking my body to dodge, I then throw a punch strengthened by Temper magic aimed at the Sword Dancer's solar plexus.
"Bughhhh!"
The man kneels while holding his stomach; I then launch a combo of punches ending with an uppercut to the man's chin.
· Crack!
The man is sent flying far away; a crack is also heard, indicating that his special skin has been broken.
"Damn it! Don't think you have already won, kid!"
Turns out one of them is also stupid enough to attack from behind while shouting like that. I can easily dodge his punch from behind by shifting to the side.
Turning my body, I see him attacking me again, but I can dodge by ducking my body. After that, I punch his right rib hard until he screams in pain.
Not stopping there, I give a combo of six punches to his stomach, chest, and head until his special skin is destroyed.
When I am about to finish him with my sword, the Brawler is seen smiling. I quickly jump back using Axio magic to get away from him.
· Clap!
My instinct was right; the ground I stepped on before is seen folding, about to catch me there.
"Damn! My magic activation was too slow!" cursed the mage.
"Tch, he managed to escape!" said the Brawler, spitting blood after I had beaten him earlier.
My breath is panting; just using these two spells, my body is already very tired. I think I really have to develop my mana capacity after this. However, I think that was enough to destroy their special skin.
"Be careful, you two! He has unique magic!" exclaimed the Sword Dancer. "He is using our shadows to move around at will!"
They are not stupid either, it seems.
That is true, Shadow Link allows me to connect to the shadows around me within a certain radius. I can easily appear and disappear at will as long as there are enough shadows in this place.
"Zed, use your magic to counter the kid's troublesome magic!" ordered the Sword Dancer.
"Alright, Dome of Darkness!"
Instantly, the Mage activates his spell; the ground around us starts to rise up and then tightly seals this place like being inside a giant dome.
Not a single ray of light enters, making this place pitch black. Without light, no shadows will be created in this place.
"Now, you won't be able to use shadows anymore!" exclaimed the Sword Dancer.
"Let's show our true abilities, Marlin!" said the Brawler.
"Get ready!"
This is bad; it seems the three of them will be more serious this time. Their eyes are seen glowing, indicating that all three have activated Night Vision magic. I do the same so I can see clearly in this darkness.
The Brawler is seen already in a stance to punch. But, isn't the distance between us still too far? Is he about to punch the air?
"..."
My question is answered when I see the Brawler's hand elongate, shooting towards me. Moving to the side to dodge, I then swing my sword vertically to cut that hand, but it fails completely.
I think this new elongated hand is still under the effect of Slippery Skin; should I slash the base of his arm to cut this thing?
But the Brawler does not let me analyze further; he throws his other hand, making it elongate again, shooting towards me.
I run to dodge again.
"It's useless! My hands will be faster when they elongate!"
Looking behind, I am currently being chased by the Brawler's two hands. It seems both of his hands can also turn at will. Could it be that he has a Profound Codex about Transfiguration?
I turn around and then dodge his two hands by a hair's breadth.
However, in front of me, the Sword Dancer suddenly appears. This time, he is faster than before.
· Clang!
Our swords clash; whether I like it or not, I have to block his slash.
My hand goes numb again after my sword makes contact with his. I jump back using Axio magic to keep my distance. However, a dozen stone projectiles are seen shooting towards where I will land.
After my feet touch the ground, I immediately slash all the projectiles coming towards me. However, some of those rocks hit my body, and one of them sends me flying far backward.
Landing again on both feet, I feel something approaching from behind.
I dodge the Brawler's two hands again. However, the Sword Dancer suddenly appears in front of me again, the same as before.
Damn, this will only keep repeating if I don't do something!
· Clang!
Again, our swords clash. This time, the shock I receive from his sword is greater than before, causing me to be stunned for a fraction of a second.
The Sword Dancer then launches a kick that lands right on my head.
My brain vibrates very violently, causing me to stagger to the side. However, it doesn't stop there; I see the Brawler's two hands heading this way quickly from the front.
I won't be able to dodge.
· BAMMM!
Both of his hands hit my head hard. My body is pushed backward, my vision becomes blurry; I don't want to lose consciousness at a time like this.
After my vision recovers, suddenly I see the Mage right in front of me. He then points his palm at me.
"Fire Blast!"
My body is sent flying after receiving his fire magic squarely. My entire body is burned; I see my blistered hand still emitting smoke.
"Are you done, kid?"
The right side of my head is bleeding, causing me to feel extremely dizzy. However, slowly I try to get up.
"You have good abilities," said the Sword Dancer. "It would be a shame if you died here just to protect those useless students.
"Join us," said the Mage. "You will be able to develop all your potential in our organization."
"That's right. Is your life worth as much as these stupid students?" asked the Brawler.
Stupid students, you say? All of them, Ariel, Brian, Valeria, Elena, Geralt, and the others will surpass your strength not long from now. They are the most talented young talents in this generation; give them two or three years, and even I will have difficulty fighting them.
Hearing their words makes me want to laugh. "Hahaha! You? Recruiting me? Why would I join a weak organization like Ouroboros!"
Hearing my words, their expressions change. It seems they are annoyed hearing me insult them.
"Tch, in your dying condition like that, you can still talk nonsense," said the Sword Saint, who is seen preparing his sword again. "I already offered you mercy, kid. Don't regret it when death comes for you."
My breathing is starting to become abnormal; it seems the mage's fire magic burned my lungs a little. I have to activate it now.
Removing the mask I am wearing, I begin to gather the remaining mana I have to activate one of my Profound Codexes.
"Hoo~ A mask to disguise your identity, huh?" murmured the Mage. "A pretty good artifact, kid."
It seems my hair has returned to normal.
Taking a deep breath in and then releasing it slowly, I begin to chant the spell to activate my ability.
"I am The Bone of My Sword..."
My body begins to react instantly as the first Chant of this magic spell is uttered.
"He is going to use his Profound Codex! Finish him quickly!" ordered the Mage.
"Embrace The Darkness... Became Death... Destroyer of The World..."
A black aura begins to appear and then surrounds my body. The Sword Dancer is seen right in front of me, about to swing his sword.
"Villain Destiny - Prince of Darkness..."
The Sword Dancer performs a horizontal slash, but I can easily dodge and then kick his chest hard, sending him flying back towards his two companions.
"Tch, he managed to activate it!" cursed the Mage.
But I don't care about that; suddenly, a very strong killing intent infiltrates my head.
Kill! Kill!
Destroy! Annihilate!
Take! Satisfy your desires with Blood!
I hear those terrible voices inside my head.
So this is what the real Raul felt when activating one of the Skills from his Bloodlust Profound Codex? A tremendous killing intent that is even difficult for my mind to suppress.
Prince of Darkness is one of the Profound Codexes from the Bloodlust theme. This Skill has the ability that the darker the area the user is in, the stronger the speed buff he receives from this skill.
"That doesn't matter," said the Brawler. "We will still kill him even if he activates his Profound Codex."
Hearing his words makes me want to laugh. "Is that so? Is that really so? Ghahahahaha!"
The mage is seen murmuring something; it seems he is about to activate a spell.
Not long after, five magic circles are created around his body.
"Meteor Rain!"
Large fireballs then begin to appear from the magic circles and then shoot towards where I am.
He can easily use magic from other elements? Is that one of his Profound Codexes?
I start running towards the three of them.
Seeing the three fireballs getting closer, I then run in a zigzag to dodge. The sound of a large explosion is heard behind me due to the impact of the fireballs.
Seeing me dodge his three fireballs, the mage shoots two more large fireballs towards me.
Swiftly, I jump into the air using Axio magic to dodge. However, in front of me, the Sword Dancer, who also jumped into the air, has already appeared.
"Eat this! Electro Cut!"
He performs a diagonal slash towards my body. However, I can dodge by twisting my body in the air and then kick his chest hard, causing him to fall and hit the ground.
Landing on both feet, I see the Brawler has elongated his hands, shooting towards me. However, with the speed buff from the Prince of Darkness Skill, I can dodge them easily.
I then plant my feet on the ground and dash quickly towards the Brawler. He is seen surprised by my speed and then hurriedly pulls his hands back.
He then pulls both hands back and then punches them towards me.
"Hadron Canon!"
His two hands, which are starting to elongate again, are now enveloped in a purple light. The ground starts to fly up as it is passed by the Brawler's hands, which are like a missile, they are so fast.
But his effort is in vain; I can dodge again.
Using the Charging Technique, I increase my speed to quickly reach the Brawler.
He is then surprised to see me suddenly appear in front of him. The Brawler then pulls his hands back, but I quickly slash both of his hands until they are severed.
"Uaaghhhh! My hands!" he screams, falling down in pain.
I jump instantly, feeling the ground I am stepping on vibrate. A cage is seen appearing to restrain my body.
"Damn! He can dodge that too!" cursed the Mage, looking annoyed.
Changing my target to the mage, I start dashing towards him quickly.
He again begins to chant a spell and points his palm towards me. The ground around him is seen floating and then shattering into thousands of small pieces.
"Million Rain!"
The pieces of earth then shoot towards me quickly like shots from a gatling gun.
I change my running direction to the right side to dodge his magic, which is like thousands of bullets being shot at me.
With the speed of Prince of Darkness, his magic will not be able to hit me this time.
After the Mage's magic stops, I run again towards where he is.
The mage murmurs a spell again; three magic circles appear again around his body.
"Maximize Triplet Magic: Full Power Earth Missile!"
Three large chunks of earth shaped like bullets appear from the magic circles and then fly, shooting towards me.
I pass the first large rock with a sliding motion, passing through the gap under the chunk of earth. After that, I use Axio to jump, dodging the second chunk of earth. And for the last one, I point my left palm at the third chunk of earth shooting towards me in the air.
"Reject Impact..."
· Bomb!
The giant chunk of earth shatters into pieces.
I then land right in front of the mage; his face is seen surprised, unable to believe what just happened.
"Th-this is impossi-"
Before he can finish his words, I thrust my sword into the mage's throat and then cut his head into two parts.
Instantly after the mage dies, the giant earthen dome that trapped this place finally collapses. The light of the full moon shines again on the place where we fought.
"No, Zed!" exclaimed the Sword Dancer, unable to believe his companion was killed by an academy student like me.
"...."
Not wasting any time, I immediately activate Shadow Link and then appear in front of the Sword Dancer.
We stab each other's swords towards each other.
My left shoulder is pierced by his sword, causing the left side of my body to feel completely numb. However, I manage to thrust my sword right into this man's heart, causing him to release his grip on his sword and then die instantly.
After killing two of these Ouroboros agents, only one remains alive.
"I-it's impossible..."
I turn around; the Brawler is seen prostrating as if he cannot believe that the three of them could be defeated by an academy student.
I approach the armless man.
"Wh-who are you really...?"
I look into his eyes, which are clearly terrified as death approaches him.
"I... The creator of this world..."
· Slash!