The battle between Nero and the goblins had entered its final act, as the moment he started to fall from the air, the two of them looked at him with sinister glints in their eyes as they raised their swords and jumped.
Swoosh! Instantly, they had arrived at both of his flanks and chopped their chipped sword towards his body. Two piercing sounds resounded, as two dazzling sword arcs swept out at alarming speeds, ready to end his life.
Nero didn't want to die without a fight, he twirled and faced the sword attacks with a sharp look in his eyes as he shouted, "I won't die to the likes of you!"
In an instant, Nero had sheathed his sword, staring at the two swords that were approaching him, his eyes flashed and the world had turned quiet at this moment as if all sounds had faded, leaving only the hums of the two chipped swords.
The two sword-wielding goblins had sinister smiles on their faces as if they were picturing the scene of slicing Nero apart. However, that was it, neither of the two could move, nor did their swords, everything had fallen in a state of stillness.
Adult Nero, who was observing from Nero's consciousness, nodded as he saw this change. He murmured, "In the life and death critical moment, we can temporarily heighten our senses, this is another of our talents..."
Shing! Instantly, Nero, who had fallen into this unknown state, pulled out his Crimson Iron Sword and cut horizontally, leaving behind a flash of white silvery light due to its sheer speed.
In this one motion, Nero's sword had struck both goblin's swords, causing them to fly out of their hands. His blade had even drawn an arc across both of their necks.
By the time the two goblins realized what happened, Nero's body had already fallen onto the ground as they continued their aerial assault. Soon, their faces turned into surprise as they saw that they no longer had any swords in their arms.
They wanted to figure out what was going on, but it didn't take long for their eyes to turn lifeless as their heads flew into the air, shocking not only the club-wielding goblin but even the two spectators that were idly watching from afar.
"This... he actually survived? How did he pull off such a cool recovery?" One of them said in shock.
"Silver Boy... I thought that his name should be different," The other guy said.
"Oh, and what do you think would be better? That name was given to him by his female fans; you'd best be careful not to provoke their wrath," The other guy said with mock.
The previous individual shook his head while looking at Nero, holding the sword at his side with the blood dripping from it, as one of his arms was placed only in the grassy field with his head held down.
He thought back to the resplended sword flash just now and spoke with flashing eyes, "It's better if he's called, Bright Silver..."
The person felt it appealing, but he no longer had the interest to continue watching Nero fight. The two then looked away, continued their training.
As for the other side, Nero had only stood up from his previous posture; he looked at the sword in his hand as his eyes twinkled when he thought, 'I don't know what that state was, but it has done me a great deal in learning how to use the [Flash Cut].'
When Nero said this, the stats for the skill popped up before his eyes.
[Flash Cut: Stage 1 (30/50) | 3 Stages]
[Effects: Technique is limited to 3 Stages. Each stage can allow for the user to deal an additional damage power. Current damage boost: +5.]
---
Nero felt pleased as he saw how quickly he jumped from 1 to 30, but at this time, he knew his battle wasn't finished as one more opponent was left.
Bang! With a loud sound, the two headless goblin corpses had only fallen on the ground behind Nero; their necks spewed blood about the area dying the grasses in a deeper shade of green.
Ding!
[You have killed two Inferior Sword Goblins, 14 EXP gained.]
As Nero heard the notification, he felt pleased, but his attention was focused on the club-wielding goblin that didn't seem phased by its friend's death; it was a savage creature by nature and wouldn't back down for such a little thing.
Nero and the goblin glared at each other from a meter's distance, the wind guiding their clothing seemed as if they were determined to end it in one attack.
The goblin raised its club above its head, as its arm grew more muscular, its body adopting a stern combat posture.
Nero, on the other hand, had his sword at the ready, he had already placed it back into its sheath and was now holding its hand by his side. He leaned his body forward, pressing his foot against the ground, ready to charge again with his Four Point Unity Steps.
Suddenly, the wind grew silent, and as if instinctively, they both knew that the hour had arrived. In a flash, Nero's body dashed forward at crazy speeds, charging towards the goblin.
The goblin merely looked at Nero however, in calmness, though it had more Combat Force than it's fallen comrades, it lacked a great deal when it came to speed. It was only natural that it used sneak attacks or wait until its opponent entered its attack range.
Swoosh! With a sound like that of the wind, Nero's figure soon appeared in front of the goblin, but as this happened, the goblin that was previously less than a meter tall had grown to a size one head larger than himself.
Nero was shocked by this change, as he could even see a sneer on the goblin's face when it fiercely swung the club towards his head in a downward blow with both of its bulky arms.
'Such a sneaky bastard, it's a good thing I was ready for any sudden changes,' Nero thought as his body shifted to the side, sliding away from the attack as he used the Four Point Unity Step's evasive method, bringing him at the flank of the goblin.
Bang! With a heavy sound, the ground was smashed sending chunks of dirt into the air as the goblin, which was sneering, looked in front of it with confusion.
However, before it could even react, Nero didn't hesitate as he leaped forward and swung his sword at fast speeds. His blade flashed in bright silver light for a moment before he arrived at the goblin's opposing end.
Not surprisingly, the goblin carried a confused look as its head flew and fell on the ground near its corpse.
Ding!
[You have killed one Inferior Strong-Arm Goblins, 7 EXP gained.]
Nero only let his guard down when he heard the notification, his slumped down on the ground as sweat rolled down his forehead. He was now completely exhausted after spending such a long time to defeat these goblins.
'These guys were so troublesome, their teamwork and battle experience were far too great. I really don't know how I managed to beat them in this bout. If I didn't achieve a higher understanding of the [Flash Cut], I would probably lose terribly,' Nero thought as he glanced at the corpses with a trace of fear, causing their stats to appear before his eyes.
[Inferior Sword Goblin]
[Level: 3]
[Health: 300/300]
[Combat Force: 65 stones]
[Body Tenacity: 10]
[Spiritual Awareness 25]
[Speed 60 km/h]:
[Skill: Sword Chop]
[Description: A weak but savage creature in the lesser plains of the Novice Zone. Though its combat power is of the average standard, it has high battle awareness and loves close quarters combat.]
---
[Inferior Strong Arm Goblin]
[Level: 3]
[Health: 300/300]
[Combat Force: 80 stones]
[Body Tenacity: 20]
[Spiritual Awareness 15]
[Speed 50 km/h]:
[Skill: Growth - A skill that allows for the caster to grow by more than double its size, increasing Body Tenacity by 10 and Combat Force by 10.]
[Description: A weak but dangerous goblin that likes to use brute force to smash apart its foes. It is especially cunning and keen, loves to perform sneak attacks by relying on its higher attack power to crush its opponents to bits.]
....
Nero felt like he was lucky to come through that battle in one piece, but as he was thinking, he could hear Adult Nero's words.
"You've done well; that was merely a battle meant to force you to exceed your limit. These monsters are weak, and the quest you are doing though normal, isn't going to be so simple for your current degree of strength. Hurry and recover! We don't have any time to lose; you must fight even harder to achieve better combat awareness and skill mastery. This will be your first hurdle in becoming barely comparable to a Ranked Talent..."
Nero didn't like those words, he couldn't help but a curse inwardly, 'Barely comparable? Am I this weak?'
Adult Nero chuckled, not saying anything, Nero gripped his fist as he spoke, "Hmph! I won't fall behind anyone!"
Nero, now filled with a fighting spirit, was ready to move after calming his mind, but right at this moment, he saw a notification that caused him to halt everything.
[Avollo has sent a message, would you to read it?]