Hell Difficulty Tutorial Chapter 809 - Vlad

With a final swing, the mora diverts the lance with its blade, sending the weakened projectile to embed itself in the wall. Transforming that motion, the mora follows through with another slash, severing the armored arm encasing me.

I examine the bone sword for any hidden skills or effects, discovering it to be merely bone. It's incredibly resilient and possesses a sharpened, albeit chipped, edge, but no other anomalies are present.

The doors I struggled to keep sealed momentarily creak open, and my mana seeps through the gap. Outside, I deploy several orbs of tricolored energy just as two new arms sprout from my armor, forcing the door shut.

I feel the armor tremble from the ensuing explosions.

[You have defeated Bloodmancer - lvl 353]

[You have defeated Flesh Berserker - lvl 349]

[You have defeated Lightning Guardian - lvl 346]

The mora is already by my side, driving its sword into my surrounding armor and then bringing it up to parry a kinetic blast. Allowing the force to propel him backward, he spins through the air and lands on all fours, charging at me like a ferocious beast.

True to the nature of mora, its skin is a deep red, etched with gray symbols. Short, slightly pointed ears adorn its head, and two small fangs protrude as it grins menacingly. Its limbs are long and slender, yet they convey an impression of incredible nimbleness rather than weakness. An after-image trails its movements as it evades my onslaught, indicating its growing adaptation to my firing rate and kinetic blasts.

Instead, I unleash a torrent of thermal energy, stepping out of my armor and leaving it to maintain the door's seal. Flames engulf me like a cresting wave before surging outward. I escalate the temperature until the floor begins to liquefy and the ambient air becomes so searing hot that every plant and tree ignites.

The oppressive force of a defensive array bears down on me. This particular array appears engineered to disrupt mana, severing the intruder's connection to its use. It relentlessly assaults my natural barrier, exerting a potent repulsive force.

Nevertheless, it proves insufficient. My blood, my augmentations, my other inherent traits, and my Mana Cycling all anchor my power securely to me as my flames erupt in a wide-reaching assault upon the mora, leaving it with no possibility of evasion. Just before they consume it, I see it smiling, standing its ground. The flames wash over it, momentarily obscuring it from my view with their brilliance.

Then, the flames are violently pushed aside, revealing the mora still standing. It bears burns but is otherwise unharmed. Gone is its previous slender physique; it now stands before me with bulging muscles, easily twice my height and likely double its previous width. The colossal bone sword appears like a mere trinket in its grasp as it swings it toward me in a wide, horizontal arc.

The next sensation is the powerful suction of a vacuum as the void of space pulls all the air from this section of the orbital base.

Finding myself adrift in the black expanse, mana flickers around me, coalescing into a form-fitting suit of armor that adheres to my skin like a second layer, functioning as a barrier. It appears almost too delicate, yet the effort invested in its creation signifies its immense power. This is one of the arrays I continuously refine, always maintaining a portion of my focus on its development in the background. It represents one of the variants of the armor I've come to designate as Regalia.

My gaze is drawn back to the orbital base, a sphere of seamless, silvery metal devoid of any visible windows or openings. Now, a significant, horizontally oriented breach scars one section of its surface. Contrasting sharply with the silver and white surroundings, the bloodied mora, clad in its white fur robe, stands within the opening, a predatory smile plastered across its face.

"From one Absolute candidate to another, I challenge you to a duel to the death. I am Vlad Ar-Thal'vahr of the House Kezdhuul. Let the slaughter of a worthy opponent be our only reward, honored by the certainty that only one of us shall leave this void alive."

His voice pierces the vacuum, defying the absence of air that would normally silence any sound.

As I respond, I realize my own voice carries as well. "I accept."

The incredibly muscular mora lets out a laugh, though I can no longer hear it. He shakes his hand, and the bone greatsword splits into two identical blades, which he grasps, one in each hand. Both weapons are swiftly enveloped in symbols unlike any inscriptions I have ever encountered, leading me to believe they are not inscriptions at all.

Green and blue after-images surround the weapons, and with a powerful leap, the mora propels himself toward me, leaving a trail of damage on the orbital base behind him.

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Perhaps I should consider it a form of cheating. I sensed the mora sending out a distress signal, a call for aid, and had been anticipating its arrival, keeping a close watch. Now that I am prepared, I can’t help but question the vast difference in our understanding of honor. Vlad, it seems, doesn’t even consider the possibility of it being cowardly.

My thoughts racing, I observed the mora hurtling through the air towards me. The way his eyes darted, his mind must also be processing at an accelerated rate, though likely not to the same degree as mine. This heightened cognitive function is something I’ve been noticing in more individuals; their brains function like supercomputers, while the physical laws of reality ceaselessly attempt to impede their bodies. At least, what remains of them.

Within this decelerated reality, my hand lifts, palm open, revealing a self-inflicted cut. As I push my body to move with such unnatural speed, it sustains damage even as I manage the kinetic energy, mitigating it substantially.

Lioren would surely find this amusing.

My blood, the Red Empyrean Ichor, began to seep from the wound, its tiny sparks of white and gold expanding and flowing with accelerated speed. I still find the name 'Empyrean' unappealing; it is my blood, not some celestial essence. However, for the moment, I will permit it.

[Manifestation - lvl 45 > Manifestation - lvl 46]

[Manifestation - lvl 46 > Manifestation - lvl 47]

[Weave - lvl 9 > Weave - lvl 10]

[Weave - lvl 10 > Weave - lvl 11]

[Empyrean Lance - lvl 49 > Empyrean Lance - lvl 50]

[Empyrean Lance - lvl 50 > Empyrean Lance - lvl 51]

[Empyrean Lance - lvl 51 > Empyrean Lance - lvl 52]

The blood-forged lance became encased within another, its core a radiant blend of gold and white light as I intricately wove them together. The blood sustained the lance, and the lance, in turn, empowered the blood, each amplifying the other. The weapon grew in magnitude, the golden and white light struggling against the crimson flow, vying to coalesce into a unified core until they finally settled into synchronized pulses.

I unleashed it with such formidable power that Vlad was violently propelled backward by a blast of kinetic energy before he could close the distance. The lance surged forward, striking the newly materialized base. From this base, an array of armaments erupted towards my projectile: lasers of pure white light, streams of mana, a device designed to absorb kinetic energy, and ultimately, a series of formidable barriers erected in its path.

The lance effortlessly pierced through every obstacle, including the base itself, emerging from the other side unscathed.

And then, the lance returned.

[Empyrean Lance - lvl 52 > Empyrean Lance - lvl 53]

[Empyrean Lance - lvl 53 > Empyrean Lance - lvl 54]

It traversed the void to hover above my hand. I replenished it with more of my blood and mana before launching it once more. My target: the points of concentrated mana I could now discern through the base's compromised defenses. Additional projectiles followed – javelins imbued with thermal energy, tricolored orbs, and more – all aimed at these vulnerabilities.

Many of my subsequent attacks detonated prematurely due to the base’s continuous barrage of projectiles and lasers aimed at anything encroaching, yet several successfully breached the defenses, causing further explosions. Some of these assaults impacted my person, striking the armor enveloping me and causing its surface to shimmer, but inflicted no further harm.

Vlad managed to reach me again. I spun and propelled myself through the void, compelling him to pursue. He launched himself towards me repeatedly, as if leaping from unseen platforms, and our battle commenced anew.

Simultaneously, a segment of my consciousness detached as I materialized my vessel behind me. This time, it was not a complete form, merely the upper torso, which expanded until it dwarfed my own torso twice over. It rapidly adopted a deep black hue as I condensed a portion of my mana and initiated the conversion of thermal energy into mana, feeding the entity. The more I provided, the more it absorbed. Crucially, it didn't solely draw from me; it siphoned all available mana from the immediate vicinity.

It stripped mana from the incoming projectiles, from the damaged mana batteries scattered across the station, and from fragments of the surrounding barriers.

The lance was dispatched once more, this time slicing directly through the shimmering base. The bombardment I faced intensified, yet it was primarily mana-based and dissipated harmlessly before reaching me. Even the most potent attacks proved ineffective as my vessel shielded me, absorbing them. Any assaults utilizing primordial energy were met with direct, unyielding blocks.

I drew forth a measure of mana from the vessel, concentrating and refining it into a slender stream. Executing a horizontal slicing motion, a beam of condensed mana, no thicker than my finger, extended for a mile. Oscillating and focused, it carved into both bases at their points of greatest vulnerability.

An unnerving silence persisted even as I witnessed the bases detonate from within, accompanied by the cacophony of 'kill notifications' echoing in my mind.

At times, I ponder the extent to which the tutorial's design aims to let participants truly feel their abilities. Is it crafted to incite anger, fear, and sorrow, prompting outbursts and attacks? It's constructed to allow for the breaking of things within a permissible setting, free from genuine repercussions, enabling observation. This process teaches self-control and the art of containing these powers and emotions before re-entering the world.

The mora returns to me, and simultaneously, mana and kinetic energy surge through my body as the lance flies back into my grasp. I seize the lance, compelling it to transform into a two-handed sword, even as the intense heat sears and wounds my hands during this grip.

He unleashes swings with his bone weapons, and I counter with mine.

Then, my sword shatters. Blood splatters, and all that accumulated mana erupts across the vicinity.

Vlad, his eyes wide in astonishment and a grin spreading across his face, advances. He shifts his still agile form and swings both of his swords once more, intending to end me.

The mora falters, his assault weakening further as my vessel reacts. It presses its hands against his forearms, restraining them. He strains to move again, but the projectile still lodged within his chest shifts under my command, burrowing deeper and ravaging his insides. An arc of light then erupts, piercing through his head.

[You have defeated Endo Knight - lvl 429]

[Lvl 410 > Lvl 411]

Allowing the momentum to propel me away from him, I spin to face the remaining combatants. My senses sweep across the area, and with my vessel close behind, I propel myself forward to resume my assault.