7. THE STORM AMIDST TRANQUILITY

Arthur slid down the tube that was connected to the pendulum they were standing on minutes ago. He wondered, what kind of enemies he would face, as this was a gate simultaneously replicated to the utmost detail. His other side, Aether leaped with joy, his heart soaring through the heavens as he thought about the possibilities of encountering adversaries.

The first thing he witnessed made him dread ever being excited.

The place he was in was a huge dessert with nothing but sand for as far as he can see. The sun was unforgiving and it rained its hot beams of light directly on Arthur sapping away his strength bit by bit. Arthur groaned in discomfort, this was going to be a long phase.

He picked a random direction and started walking in it, he was trying to clear the gate as fast as possible so that he could escape this dreadful landscape.

Growl-

He stopped dead in his tracks, Did he just hear growls? Arthur looked around him, trying to see what was the source of those hostile sounds. To prepare, he held out his hand activating the Ring Of Archeon. The same black katana from the day prior appeared and he grasped it firmly.

“Blood Orchid” Arthur mused to himself activating the Blood Orchid. A notification window appeared on the furthest side to his vision displaying his stats

『Strength: 20 (+6 - First stack)

Speed: 20 (+6 - First stack)

Vitaliy : 6 (+6 - First stack)

Intelligence: 22 (+45 Aether) (+6 - First stack)

Endurance : 15 (+6 - First stack)

Durability : 10 (+6 - First stack) 』

Arthur walked a distance two feet before he was attacked. Omnidirectionally wild coyotes, baring sharp fangs capable of tearing steel and Claws that glowed blue lounged at him. They all beared their teeth at him, ready to sink them in his soft skin.

But Arthur had none of that, he elegantly danced around the coyotes with effectiveness of sublime quality and with ease managed to escape scratch free. He stepped on the sand and swung his black Katana before letting it rest by his side, the tip pointed downward. “Hmph!”

The 12 coyotes attacking him were split open, their holographic blood staining the sand as multiple slashes appeared on their body. Each slash being super precise.

.

The spectators were astonished by the fluidity the boy showed. He looked like a seasoned veteran in the screen when it came to welding that blade.

Min-yin glared at Evangelist, wondering if that was the Awakened ability Arthur had recently received. “is that it?”

Evangelist nodded, without a doubt, that was the sword. The sword that felt like it had a mind of its own, a blade unlike she had ever seen before.

Evangelist started to reflect on what she did in the past due to her lack of knowledge, she was unfair to Arthur, she never doted on him like the other kids. Watching the young man showing his skill, a sense of relief graced her still confused heart, she was relieved that Arthur could hold his ground yet at the same time, found herself seizing him up. Her mind cogitating of possibilities.

Min-yin saw this and nudged Evangelist on the side, “Don't worry. I'll permit you to be the first woman and his first.”

.

With Arthur, everything was smooth sailing. Not only had he managed to slay most of the Coyotes but it seems each time he slayed them, the sword devoured a fraction of them, he didn't know for what purpose but couldn't dismiss the thought from his head.

At long last, Arthur made it to the den of the gate king, the boss coyote. He could hear growls from the other side and unlike the ones he had faced before, this one was wild, deep and rough. The programmed beast stepped out of the shadows of the den and stopped before Arthur, towering over him by a considerable height. Its breath pushing him and the sand away.

“Kek!” Arthur expressed his ever brewing feelings. It has been a while since he felt the rush of battle so much, he nearly forgot how exhilarating it was. The coyotes did a good job giving him that feeling once more.

Roar!!

The huge beast roared to the heavens, its roar creating waves of compressed air pressure to shoot across the barren terrain kicking up a dust cloud. Its menacing red eyes sizing up Arthur who prepared himself to go head to head with the beast.

『System Notification

Path to dominance achieved. 

Skill unlocked

New Skill: Rage

   Can be activated admist battle when the thrill of the fight becomes too much. 

Coyote Skin fragment diagnosis complete

Coyote skin blended in

Coyote's fang. 』

Arthur looked at the multiple notification pages visible to only him detailing on what had recently unveiled.

『Coyote's Fang

Class: C-rank

Ability: Lifesteal 

A curved knife made in a shape of a Coyote's teeth. The knife has the ability of Lifesteal which activates when the knife is fed blood. For three minutes, the knife gains a radiant blue aura and can be ricocheted off any surface. 』

Arthur grinned, even though he didn't know what Lifesteal meant, he was willing to try it out. “Coyote's fang”

The dagger he had just received manifested in his left hand, with both weapons ready, Arthur prepared himself to engage in a vie against the beast before him. The katana from the Ring Of Archeon, held in a more straightforward manner, the tip facing the wolf while the Coyote's fang was positioned in the other hand which was reared back for a throw. Arthur's legs had a distance between them, with the right leg being before the left.

Roar!

The beast roared again initiating the fight. It pushed on its two heavy forefoot and rushed through the sand at a remarkable speed heading to Arthur. It lowered its head, preparing to skull bash the boy.

Arthur was one step ahead, as he checked his stacks which were already stacked three times. He put more weight on his front leg, tilted his body forward and leapt up high evading the skull bash.

Midair, he twisted his body and slashed downward with his left hand followed by the right hand. The Coyote's fang found its target first, the edge tore through the mane of the Coyote, scratching its tough skin and drawing blood from it. 

『Lifesteal triggered 』

The ability of the dagger appeared in front of Arthur. He shifted his vision to the dagger as it drew a bluish substance from the coyote prompting a howl before the Katana cut on the same spot the dagger cut through, inflicting an even greater damage to the Coyote.

The beast howled in pain as it stopped its bulldozing charge and focused its attention on Arthur who had already landed down at that moment.

Howl!

It howled again. Its enchanted blood and scream imbued together incepting a dust storm which blind everything including the cameras. Arthur closed his eyes and relaxed his body, allowing his senses to be sharp. He heard a sound on his left and turned to it subtly, striking the dust storm a bit grazing the coyote with his strike. Followed by the strike, Arthur stopped all motion.

The Coyote seeing this, pounced on Arthur, but it walked into a jigsaw trap as Arthur positioned his sword straight ahead, plunging the blade through the beast's mouth cutting through it cleanly, killing it in the process. Once the dust cloud settled, Arthur left the Coyote there and proceeded to go through the den, he appeared on the other side and waited.