A few moments earlier.
The surrounding shook as Arthur's attack ripped through the lion. The battlefield erupted in cataclysmic fury. Fire, light, and golden lightning detonated together, swallowing the land in a storm that ripped the surroundings apart and carved a huge crater into the earth.
Arthur staggered in the heart of the explosion, his body scorched and healing in uneven bursts. The heat was unbearable, his vision blurred, but he maintained his consciousness.
With a thought, the nanobots rippled across his form, their camouflage module activating to life. The faint outline of his body wavered, bending light around his form until he vanished into the distorted air. At the same time, he drew his Chi deep into himself, compressing it until his aura dimmed.
He crouched low, ready to sprint into the shattered remains of the forest, hoping the chaos would blind everyone just long enough, when a voice appeared in his mind.
'Lad…' The old, raspy voice of the sword spirit carried a strange calm. 'Don't worry. I can conceal your presence from the ones here. Their senses may be sharp, but they are not strong enough to detect my concealment.'
Arthur froze mid-step. "…You can do that?"
The spirit gave a dry, amused chuckle. 'Hmph. Did you think my power was limited to just devouring attacks? You wield me, boy, but you don't yet know my capabilities."
Arthur nodded seriously. "…Guess I don't."
The spirit's tone softened, almost like it was trying to console him. "It is better to retreat when you are the weaker one. That way, you live to grow stronger later. Many of the so-called geniuses forget that simple truth. And… you don't strike me as a fool."
Arthur's lips tugged upward into a faint, wry smile.. He didn't explain why he was really retreating. He wanted to collect more artifacts for Avalon, for his future forces. But he kept that thought to himself. Instead, he smiled faintly. 'This old sword's more talkative than I expected.'
…
High above, the dragons descended onto the ruined battlefield. The demon followed soon after, fury radiating off him in waves after he noticed the artifact was missing.
The demon snarled, slamming his feet into the ground. "Damned insect! He's hiding somewhere…I'll tear this realm apart to find him!"
The dragons' wings unfurled as their leader barked coldly, "Enough. If he has escaped, chasing blindly now will only waste strength. Spread out. Search the other pillars, we might find him."
…
As they were talking among themselves they failed to notice Arthur.
Hidden under the ground beneath them, only a few meters below where the dragons stood, he hid there perfectly still, as his body was cloaked in the sword's concealment. He could hear their voices as clearly as if they were beside him and smirked at their confusion.
And not a single one of them realized the very target they were searching was right beneath their feet.
Arthur's lips curled into a grin. 'Now this is what I call useful.'
The sword spirit's laughter sounded in his mind. 'Hah! Did you see their faces? Three so-called mighty dragons and a demon, snarling like rabid dogs. If only my first wielder could see you now.'
Arthur chuckled inwardly. 'Yeah… you're not bad company after all.'
One by one the dragons and the demon left the area. Arthur didn't move until their auras finally began to recede. Only then did he let out the breath he had been holding.
Arthur exhaled slowly, and then came out of camouflage.
Then, he emerged from under the ground. He looked around at the devastation, molten rivers still glowing, jagged craters stretching for miles.
He tilted his head back toward the sky, where the dragons and the demon had been only moments ago, and chuckled. "…Didn't think I'd end up hiding right under their noses. Guess I owe you for that one, old man."
The spirit gave a smug laugh. 'Hmph. Don't forget who saved your hide, boy. But don't grow careless. There are more stronger foes ahead. This was only your first trial."
Arthur flexed his hand around the sword's hilt, golden sparks of Chi flickering faintly across his skin. He looked at the distant horizon, where new beams of light speared into the sky.
"Then let's not waste time." His grin widened.
With a burst of Chi at his feet, Arthur lifted off the ground, and his figure vanishing into the horizon. His sights were already set on the next pillar of light.
…
The sky of the Ancient Realm was lit up with pillars made up of light. Each one was a beacon, stabbing the heavens, luring monsters, demons, dragons, and mages alike to its heart. Each one promised unimaginable power.
Arthur crouched behind a crumbled ridge of blackened stone, his eyes narrowed at the battlefield ahead. A cluster of orcs, a serpent-like monster, and two elves were already tearing into each other, their attacks shaking the ground as they fought for the shining gauntlet floating in the pillar of light.
He smirked. "So eager to kill each other, they don't even notice the real threat."
The sword spirit gave a snort inside his head. "Careful, boy. Arrogance is what kills you faster than your enemies."
Arthur's lips twitched upward. "Relax, old man. I'm not arrogant, I am just stating the truth."
With that, he activated his camouflage. His form shifted once, then disappeared from where he was. The sword spirit extended its own concealment, cloaking not just his body but also his aura. Even the faintest ripple of Chi was muffled into nothing.
The elves unleashed a volley of glowing arrows. The serpent spat acid, sizzling holes into the earth. The orcs charged, bellowing war cries.
And while they fought… Arthur simply strolled towards the pillar.
FWOOSH.
The gauntlet vanished from the pillar as Arthur kept it inside his dimensional storage. He didn't even break his stride as he left the place and went towards another pillar. With the help of the sword spirit nobody present near the pillars were able to detect his presence.
"WHAT?!" an elf screamed. "The artifact…!"
The orcs looked around wildly, confusion spreading through both sides. The serpent hissed, eyes darting as if the prize had dissolved into thin air.
Arthur, already fifty meters away, and suppressed a laugh. "You guys keep at it. Don't mind me." The people and monsters glanced around in confusion, trying to locate the source of the voice, but to their dismay, they could not.
The spirit chuckled, deep and smug. "This is almost too easy."
Arthur deadpanned. "Don't jinx it."
…
Hours passed just like that.
Arthur swept through pillar after pillar, battlefield after battlefield. Each time, he slipped past the chaos like a ghost.
At one of the light pillars, he got a sword wreathed in frost. At another, he got a shield that pulsed faintly with runes. Then a spear, then armor, then an assortment of relics that glowed with unknown enchantments. He kept them tucked away into his dimensional storage, cataloging them mentally as he went.
By the time a few hours passed, Arthur was whistling under his breath, watching a group of monsters, beastkin and humans argue about who had stolen the artifact they were fighting for.
"Must've been the damn rat!" one shouted as he glared at a huge rat-like monster. The monster glared back and hissed, as if not liking the accusation pointed towards it.
"If no one here took it, then how did it disappear? The artifact wouldn't just vanish out of thin air!" another roared.
A third shook his fist at the sky, screaming in frustration as they had been fighting for more than half an hour to determine who would get the artifact, "Damn this cursed realm!"
Arthur leaned casually against a broken tree trunk, while staying invisible, and listening with a faint smirk. "These guys are too entertaining. I should start charging admission fees for them."
The sword spirit rumbled with amusement. "You're getting far too comfortable with this trick."
Arthur raised a brow and shrugged. "Hey, if the gods wanted it fair, they shouldn't have made the light pillars appear in the open and should have prepared a proper trial for it."
The sword spirit just sneakered hearing Arthur and they continued to rob the artifacts.
…
Not every pillar contained weapons. Some contained herbs and crystalline plants that exuded energy so dense the air warped around them. Arthur crouched before one, picking up a cluster of luminous green leaves that pulsed with vitality.
He focused, and used his Analysis ability on it. The data scrolled across his vision.
[Starvein Lotus: Rare herb. Restores vast amounts of vitality. Prolongs lifespan. Can be refined into elixirs.]
His eyebrows rose. "…Not bad."
In another pillar he got an herb glowing with faint red light.
[Bloodfire Orchid: Improves innate talent of mages. High risk of backlash if improperly consumed.]
Arthur raised his eyebrows, as he didn't think it was possible to improve one's talent. "…Herbs that improve talent? This could cause wars if it gets out of this realm."
The sword spirit hummed. "Such things exist, but rarely and dangerous, too. Most destroy the body instead of improving it. But Bloodfire Orchid is one of the safest herbs to improve one's talent."
Arthur tucked it carefully into his dimensional storage, a faint smile tugging his lips. Though the herb was useless for him, but he thought of other uses for it. "Good thing I've got friends who'll benefit more than I will." He could analyse the herb and create serums capable of improving talent. He felt it could also become a huge advantage for his kingdom.
For the rest of the day, Arthur repeated the same rhythm, swooping into battlefields under cover of chaos, robbing artifacts, herbs, and vanishing without a trace.
At the end of the day he decided to review his status panel. 'Status'
//--------------------//
[STATUS]
Name: Arthur Sully
Designation: ECHO Commander
Mage Rank: 4th Circle
Martial Arts Rank: Master
Age: 27
Height: 6'3"
Mana: 841,540 Units
Chi: 5.62 M Units
#?#: 109,789 Units
Strength: 1.12 Million Tons
Speed: Mach 32.76
Durability: 2141.7 GPa
[ABILITIES]
[Reactive Evolution] [Superior Regeneration] [Toxin Immunity] [Gene Lock] [Mana Manipulation (Lv4)] [Pain Tolerance] [Lightning Manipulation (Lv5)] [Chi Manipulation (Lv5)] [Technopathy (Lv4)] [Energy Absorption (Lv5)]
[SPELLS]
[Mana Bullet] [Mana Shield] [Telekinesis] [Mana Bomb] [Telepathy] [Silent Step] [Judgment]
[TECHNIQUES]
[Chi Concealment] [Heaven's Breath] [Astral Flow Technique] [Chi Manifestation]
//--------------------//
His eyes flickered across the numbers. He gave a small, satisfied nod. "…Yeah. That fight with the lion wasn't for nothing."
But he noticed that his stats had already exceeded what was necessary to become a Grandmaster martial artist, but he was still at Master rank, 'It might be because I hadn't developed a domain yet.' He decided he would research domains that a martial artist have, there was also Kai he could consult for it, but he would have to leave the ancient realm for that first.
After checking his status panel and giving a satisfied nod he started exploring the forests and mountains of the realm as there were many valuable herbs and fruits there, and for the next few days he continued the same routine of collecting herbs and killing monsters that attacked him and collected their cores.
***
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