In an area far away from Winfrey Village, a group of newbies was hunting a herd of three-meter tall beasts with a length of five or so meters in the wild plains. They were dark reddish boars with two massive swirling horns, and savage-looking teeth exposed from their open mouths.
These beasts were known as the Swirling Horn Boars, each of a cruel and brutal nature as they would attack in a frenzied manner upon contacting any humans. They were Level 5 creatures found only in a greater plains area of the Village.
While these newbies fought, some of them moved as a group, while only a few of them battled as lone individuals. If one looked closely at their attire, they would notice that some belonged to different famous parties who had long since left their legends in the Novice Zones.
A young man with a red mohawk, sizeable round nose, and slender eyes, fought against a Level 5 Swirling Horn Boar himself with a pair of axes in both of his arms.
The two charged straight towards each other like tanks, but as they collided, a strange scene occurred. As if metals crashed against each other, a 'clanking' sound resounded, following this noise the axes that the young man held parried the two horns of the boar, forcing it to halt its charge.
"Up!" The youth then roared as it raised his arm, lifting the boar into the air; he then tossed it upward before he jumped towards it, spinning his body before he cut the ax into its flesh, severing its head in one swing.
As he landed on the ground, the headless boar fell before him, crashing on the ground as blood spewed about the area. It soon vanished after a flash of light, leaving behind what looked like copper coins and a single shining item.
The young man smirked at this and was about to pick them, but right at this time, two individuals walked over and spoke politely.
"Young Master Weizer, we've come to report," One of the individuals said.
Weizer turned and looked at the duo indifferently as he spoke, "So, how was it? Did you teach that pretty face a lessen?"
One of the men laughed and replied, "Haha, young master, we didn't even need to; once you watch this clip, you will understand."
Weizer frowned at this reply, he looked at his HUD interface and saw that a message icon had appeared. Upon opening it, he saw the scene of Nero getting mistreated by the slime, which caused his face to shift to one of mock as he spoke, "Hmph! Daring to act so popular when you are nothing but garbage, tsk! Alright, don't pay attention to this thing anymore, right now I am focusing on getting on the rankings."
As Weizer said this, his eyes shone with ambition as he didn't want to be just one of the young geniuses of his clan, he wanted to venture far and search for the treasure himself.
Right as he was about to continue his leveling, one of the lackeys spoke with hesitancy, "Y-Young Master, there was one more thing we noticed."
"Hmm? What is it?" Weizer asked an annoyed manner.
"It's the girl from Balkras Family, the recent young miss; it seems that she's awakened not so long ago..." The lackey said.
"What? You mean that detached clan that stands apart from our Digitizers Union, how strong is their young miss already?" Weizer asked with a hint of worry.
"I-I'm not sure, but the famous Iron Wall Sword Knight had descended to guide her," The lackey said.
Weizer frowned as he thought, 'The Iron Wall Raynas… if it's him, then power-leveling her to my level or higher wouldn't even take a few days. Darn! I refuse to let myself be bested by these talents. Not that Grass-Root Sword Kid, not that Genius Spear Boy, nor the Rising Fox, or the Flaming Haired Freak! No matter those rising geniuses from which race or sector, I will be the one to stand at the peak!'
After making up his mind, Weizer turned and walked towards the distance as he shouted, "Let's go, we are headed to the Level 6 area..."'
"As the young master wishes," The lackeys said as they followed along behind him.
Soon, their figures had vanished from this region, as they headed much further into the plains, into more dangerous quarters.
***
Back in the Tyrant Slime area, a few individuals were gathered chatting and laughing while observing a spectacle.
"Ouuu! Look, he got hit again, how much has it been?" A young girl said as she looked before her.
"I think this was the tenth time, darn I can say he sure is sturdy, that body of his is just as good as his looks," Another girl said with starry eyes and a mouth-watering expression.
One girl looked at her this and mocked, "You idiots, what's there to get mouth watery over, he's getting his ass kicked."
The previous girl snorted as she spoke with a snappy comeback, "What do you know? The true man is the man that walks through all obstacles, climbing from the ground with nothing as he earns his victory from a hard-fought battle. Hmph! I guess you're the type who likes the pretty and useless men..."
The other girl wanted to snap back, but she glared at her and no longer paid her any mind.
Unlike those girls, there was another that stood nearby, seated on the branch of a tall tree; it was a beauty with orange hair and puffy looking orange-white tail, garbed in a red battle dress. Her skin was pure as snow, with long eyelashes from her bright but slanted orange eyes, resting above her small nose and pinkish lips.
As she sat in silence, the girl stared at Nero as she thought, 'Hmm, am I hallucinating, or is he getting better?'
She had arrived here before everyone else, wanting to test her current limits before heading to do her Inheritance Quest.
However, upon seeing Nero, she could only wait for him to finish or fail his quest; never did she think that he would still be engaged in the same fight for over six hours. Every time he lost; he would challenge it again after a few seconds of catching his breath. Now, even the sky was growing dark as night was already beginning to descend.
'He truly is a stubborn guy, hehe, I'll guess have to come back tomorrow,' The girl thought as she gave Nero a deep look once more before she jumped from the tree and left.
"Eh? Wasn't that fox?" A guy who was previously bored said as he looked up.
Someone else hurriedly followed his sights but was disappointed as he saw no one, he looked at the guy and spoke, "Che! If you want to fantasize about women, do so in your dreams,"
"You... say that again!" The other man cursed in anger.
As the two men started to fight, the battle occurring between the main duo seemed to be entering its final act, causing the eyes of many observers to light up.
***
At the center of all onlookers, two figures darted about at high speeds as they attacked each other. One being a slime that could mimic a person and the other a human. The Tyrant Slime was superior in experience, technique, and overall capabilities, giving the human a warm time. No matter what he did, how he fought, he could not defeat it.
Still, as he was human, he was naturally more resourceful than the slime, and because of his latent talent, he was slowly evening the odds through experiencing violent combat.
Suddenly, the two clashed against each other in a frontal assault as the wooden sticks in their arms moved like a living creature. They swung their hand at various angles, clashing the sticks against each other, causing it to bend at times as if it was defying physics.
Pow-Pow-Pow!
With the sound of wood colliding, the Tyrant Slime had an expression of ease, but Nero seemed to be exhausted. He drew his arm back and twirled the stick before he struck it at the Tyrant Slime, who mimicked his actions.
POW! With a loud collision, both were forced to retreat, the Tyrant Slime fell back by 1.5 meters, while Nero flew back by 2 meters, his foot sliding on the ground before he stabilized at 2.5 meters.
Nero, whose face, neck, arm, shoulders, knee, and just about everywhere was battered black and other colors, took a moment to gather his breath. He stared at the Tyrant Slime that didn't seem to be phased as he cursed inwardly, 'This is my fiftieth time fighting him, and I'm running out of Magic Power again. I still can't properly activate the Foundation Footwork technique. Why is it so hard compared to activating the Weapon Control technique?'
At this time, Adult Nero, who watched Nero from his consciousness, smiled as he spoke, "Of course, the Weapon Control Skill is merely a simple technique. However, the Foundation Footwork skill that I've given you is a distilled version of the High-grade skill, known as the Four Point Unity Steps."
Nero was angry that he didn't tell him this before, but he didn't have the energy to complain, Adult Nero knew this, so he decided to help out once more, "The essence of the Four Point Unity Steps is to move as one along four points connected to a single road. Each is responsible for a given task; one is the road to advance, the other is the road to retreat, the final two are the roads to evade, both are connected and are traversable in one motion. Hence, you must be certain of your choice when you make your steps. Now listen carefully, you'll have only one chance, and that is to grasp the core of this Foundation Technique in your next clash to catch him off guard. It's all or nothing..."
Nero carefully listened and nodded his head; he knew that Adult Nero was correct. The Tyrant Slime didn't take the initial charge as it was similarly low on stamina but didn't show it; however, its a carbon copy of Nero, and his Magic Power and HP aren't that far off.
Nero knew that he must strike him now and end it before it gets any more complicated; his body felt weak, as his muscles were sore, all the bumps and bruises on his skin hurt like hell. Yet, Nero stomached the pain; he had been through much worse and wasn't going to back down because of these little injuries.
'I cannot lose!' Nero shouted in his mind as his eyes shone in a firm light as he adopted a combat posture, holding the stick with both arms as he leaned his body forward and crouched his legs.
As if he could sense Nero's fighting intent, the Tyrant Slime knew that it must finish Nero off once and for all with its next attack.
Crack! Its muscles and bones made cracking noises as its body grew larger by a section, it seemed that it was planning on using its primary advantages in power and physique to crush him.
The audience was in silence as they knew the final exchange was here, the evening wind blowing a single blade of leaf towards the duo, this leaf glided in the air passing between them before it touched the surface of the lake.
Drip! As if they heard the ripple, both Nero's and the Tyrant slime's eyes shimmered in blue lights. With a 'whoosh' they moved like the wind charging towards each other.
Nero was the first to act, as he quickly arrived before the Tyrant Slime and swung his wooden stick towards his face.
The Tyrant Slime looked at this with a sly glint in its eyes; it shifted its body to the side at a speed that was a notch faster than usual before he shifted once more arriving behind Nero. His entire motion was like drawing half a diamond shape from one side, starting from the front of Nero, then at his right side, and ending at the point at his back, easily avoiding the attack.
The instant it arrived at this position, the Tyrant Slime wasted no time in attacking by spinning its body, using the build-up force to attack Nero from behind. Its face now contorted, showing a savage-looking as its veins were visible and teeth were clenched, indicating that it was using its full power to flourish the wooden stick.
Nero was filled with sweat as he sensed this danger behind him, but he quickly calmed himself and focused, causing his eyes to glow in blue lights as he pushed his senses to his limit and gathered the power to his legs.
At this moment, the world around Nero started to slow down in his eyes, and he felt as if he could maneuver more efficiently.
Soon, Nero recalled the scene of the Tyrant Slime dodging his attack; his eyes had a sharp gleam as he now perceived the image of a diamond-shape in his head, one with each of its four points marked by a glowing light.
As he saw this, Nero's thoughts sounded, 'So, that's how it is, that's what it meant, four points, one motion...'
Adult Nero smiled as if this was what he wanted, he pointed his finger, causing another manual to fly into Nero's mind. When that happened, the comprehension that Nero had from the Foundation Footwork technique had assimilated into this new technique.
Instantly, Nero felt as if he had learned a myriad of things as if the technique he knew before, and these four points were more complicated than he'd thought, filled with an inexhaustible amount of change.
Ding!
[You've learned the Four Point Unity Steps! The Foundation Footwork Manual has been assimilated!]
[Mastery has achieved 10, Four Point Unity Steps has been activated!]
Nero ignored the notification and imagined himself as the starting point of the edge of a diamond shape, not long after his figure shifted from this point on an imaginary line and arrived at a point at the side of the assaulting Tyrant Slime.
Not even wasting his single chance for victory, Nero spun his body like a spinning top before he leaped from that point and brandished the stick towards the neck of the Tyrant Slime with everything he had.
"Faaaalllll dooowwwnnn!" Nero shouted fiercely as his stick whistled through the air.
The Tyrant Slime couldn't even react to the sudden change, as the stick had already smashed into its neck with a loud sound.
POW! Instantly, the head of the Tyrant Slime flew into the air, leaving behind its body. Soon, the body of the slime reformed into its usual self, as its head flew back to it and was absorbed.
Although all of this took time to describe, it happened in a few seconds, as by the time the Tyrant Slime's attack had reached Nero. He had already vanished, arriving at his flank as he hit his head off, resulting in the current scene.
Currently, Nero had already landed from his previous attack; he turned to look at the slime that glared at him for a while, the two looking at each other in silence. It then jumped from the ground and landed on the rock with an expression of defeat.
Nero seeing this sighed as he felt relief and a feeling of pride as he managed to overcome his limits against this previously impossible slime. Now, he was feeling exhausted to the point that he didn't know if he would be able to do anything.
"Well done," Adult Nero said, with a rare tone of warmness, it seemed that the way he looked at younger Nero changed a bit.
There was a lot of noise coming from the female crowd and other beginners waiting to do the quest, but Nero didn't pay them any mind, he felt happy being praised by his older self.
Nero was about to lay down for a bit, but a sound came in his mind.
Ding!
[You have completed the Beginner Quest: Tyrant Slaver in one day. Return to Winfrey Village to claim your reward!]
Nero felt overjoyed as he saw this, a small shiny slime token appeared before him which quickly put in his inventory. He then hurriedly jumped to his feet, forgetting his pain and exhaustion as he smiled in excitement while thinking, 'Finally, I can get something for this darn quest, that old hag better give me extra for all that hard work.'
Adult Nero chuckled as he heard those words, he thought to himself, 'Ah yes, I keep forgetting, he's still a kid...'
Soon, Nero had left the area, moving through a sea of excited women and angry looking males. Now that the quest was free, anyone could have it, but with so many gathered, a massive brawl had taken place. Sadly, the cause of the tragic event had now left the chaotic scene.