Ting!* Ting!* Ting!* Ting!* Ting!* Ting!*
Theo and the clone have been in a stalemate for a full fifteen minutes just exchanging hundreds of blows with each other, not letting the other take a single edge.
Theo was slowly but steadily losing stamina and mana. Reaching Astute tier enabled him to use 'Sacrifice' for a long period of time.
"HAAAA!!!!"
Theo swung his blade downwards, sadly for him it was blocked again by the clone
The clone tries to sweep Theo off of his feet, but Theo jumped backwards dodging the attack
The clone lunges in once more, this time with a thrust attack infused in holy mana.
TING!!*
Theo parries it and goes for the slash but-
Cring!* Shatter!*
It was blocked by a holy shield spell that broke but gave the clone a split second to dodge.
"..... This guy-"
Theo pursued the clone and went for a feint slash on the right, but was actually going for a leg sweep, sadly for Theo, the clone somehow anticipated this and almost cut Theo's leg off, luckily for him he placed a holy shield on his leg, learning his lesson after getting it cut earlier.
"-It's getting stronger!"
Theo then exchanged a flurry of blows with the clone. The clone matched the movement of Theo, mirroring everything he was doing
Shick!*
Better yet it was actually starting to slowly overwhelm Theo.
He's reading my every move! What the hell! This isn't even me anymore! This clone has slightly better stats than me!
The clone in front of him felt like a slightly better version of himself three months later. The power behind the attacks were heavier, the speed of his movement were lighter and it's battle knowledge looks to be better.
There was also the fact the Clone was reading Theo's move as if it knew what his next move was.
Theo was slowly getting pushed back. He didn't expect that this was the result of him going ti the trial earlier than planned.
He also knew that if this kept going and he did nothing whatsoever, he would die.
Thinking that it was a walk in a park was naive thinking of Theo.
The world doesn't just feed you everything.
He was overeliant with his capabilities once again. Trusting in his knowledge of the game too much yet again
I never really learn don't I?
Theo blocked a thrust attack and a kick to the side in order, then retreating further back into the white space as the clone kept chasing him, unfazed despite the amount of stamina and mana it was using.
But it wasn't a problem because it knew that it would still last longer than Theo, because it felt that it was stronger than Theo.
If this was the result of his negligence once again, then all he needed to do was pay the price for his stupidity.
"Fire barrage!"
Drained almost all of his mana summoning hundreds of fireballs and launched every single one at the clone.
This unexpected action caught the clone off guard, not expecting that his opponent would just throw all his mana away, making hundreds of intermediate tier fireballs at it.
The Clone opted a simple strategy, it simply made a holy shield at the level of an Astute tier, negating most if not all of the fireballs that targeted it, playing it as safe as possible.
What he didn't expect was the next immensely risky move that Theo enacted.
"Sacrifice Lifeblood" Theo muttered coldly under his breath as he charged behind the hundreds of fireballs.
All I need is one second!!!!
BOOOM!*
Theo reached the level at middle of the expert tier, enabling him to speed that rivaled sound itself. A testament to how broken this ability was when used right and how it rightly has a costly payment of ten years per second.
The Clone didn't even notice, It was busy blocking the hundreds of Fireballs that he missed Theo just speeding past everything and even itself.
It was already too late, The Clone was also overconfident, copying this trait from Theo, just because it was slightly stronger than Theo, it just took his time to observe and opted to slowly defeat his opponent, sadly for it, Theo was someone that he was pushed into a corner, would in turn do everything in his power, even if he ends up defeated or dead, to bring the enemy down no matter the cost.
"Heaven's Slash" Theo whispered under his breath.
SHICK!
Theo, almost as if he teleported behind the clone, decapitated it in a single strike of his Expert level strength and speed, ending it's life forever.
Plop*
Thud*
The head of the clone plopped from his neck and fell to the ground.
Theo on the other hand lost all strength in his body after one second use of 'Sacrifice Lifeblood'. His body just smacked down onto the ground, trembling and shivering.
"Hah..... Hah.... Hah"
Theo gripped the surface of his chest, overwhelmed with the feeling of pain beating in his heart. Blood started dripping down from his orifices. He also couldn't move a single finger and whenever he attempted to, he was overcome with intense pain.
The repercussions of 'Sacrifice Lifeblood' was just that immense.
"H-heal.... Cough! Cough!"
A soft golden glow encased theo. It was a healing spell that helped ease the pain he was feeling in his body.
After five minutes of resting on the cold surface of the white expansive space, Theo got up, trembling. He still felt his muscles scream in pain but it was bearable enough for him to take a few steps and towards a silver sword that appeared out of nowhere embedded onto the ground randomly in the white space.
"This sword better give me extra rewards or I'm raging..."
Theo summoned a long piece of branch used for fire to act as a cane for him to aid him with walking.
"Alright, Time to be in a coma for half a day... sigh"
Theo grabs the hilt of the sword to pull it out and as soon as he does his body get hit by a wave of fatigue, knocking him out on the spot.
A voice echoed throughout the white expansive empty space. The voice was very androgynous and the fact that it sounded closer to a child didn't help in determining the gender of the voice.
The voice was indeed right, Theo would have slowly lost because of the disparity in strength.
****
"-aster... Young Master.... Young Master!..... Young MASTER!"
fifteen more minutes....
"YOUNG MASTER!"
Bennet called out to the unconscious, now conscious Theo.
"Ugh"
Guess the assimilation finished
"Young master! Thank Alethea, your awake" Bennet said with teary eyes
Theo opened his eyes and saw his butler on the verge of tears beside him crouched.
"Wassup Bennet" Theo smiled, happy that his butler was fine and the same
"Don't 'Wassup' me, Young master!"
Oh scolding time
Theo laid on the floor, getting scolded by Bennet. He didn't try stopping him, because he knew that his servant just wanted to prioritize his safety above all else and if something happened to him, Theo knew the butler would take the full brunt of faults, but what could he do?
Theo needed to place himself in danger no matter how many warnings he was receiving from people. He would inevitably worry them. Even if they wouldn't understand, he still let his servant scold him out of respect for him.
But....
He's taking ages to finish.....
*****
Clack* Clack* Clack* Clack*
Theo was on his way home inside the carriage, Bennet had to actually carry him all the way down the mountain, because of the internal injuries he occurred during his with the clone.
His body actually gets transported to the White Space, so all the cost of using "Sacrifice Lifeblood, weighed heavily on Theo's body"
He was grateful to Bennet for this, he even called for reinforcements to escort Theo home.
So Theo was surrounded with about twenty expert tier Holy knights and five Master tier Holy Knights. Even though this amount of force could destroy a big city or even potentially a country, it was only expected that a prince of the Nation of Light would have this much escort.
Everyone was surprised when his father allowed him to have Bennet as the only escort to accompany him to the mountains of Ignatius the day before his trip there.
Theo was astonished to be given permission as well, but took the opportunity nonetheless. He though his father was suspicious for allowing to have barely any escort, but in the game Lucian always didn't stop his Theo from doing anything dangerous, believing that danger is also a big factor on his growth, his mother was the person that always restricted his movements and usually go overboard with escorts, like now.
Aurora was the one that gave Bennet an artifact that would call a group of Holy Knights in case of emergency.
"Sigh.."
Theo sighed, tired of thinking too much, but he couldn't help it, it was in his nature after all.
He even had a short conversation with Bennet when he woke up.
Theo felt guilty and apologized to Bennet, but Bennet was just silent and nodded weakly in response.
Theo knew that Bennet wasn't going to question him so he just looked silently away.
Bennet's priority was his safety and preventing him from taking any risk whatsoever, so it was only inevitable for them to clash priorities.
Sorry Bennet, keeping everything from you is for everyone's sake.
Theo promised himself that he'll also save Bennet from his destined fate in the future.
Hmm, putting that thought aside for now, I need a name for this....
Theo glanced at the ring he had placed on his middle right finger. It was the sword he took in the suspicious ancient room.
It had many names, Sword of the righteous, Sword of Destruction, Dragon Slayer, Evil Slayer, Holy Slayer, Sword of Poison, Sword of the Weary and more. But most people called it the Sword of Chaos.
It was a sword similar to the effects of Chaos. It brings about disasters or miracles.
This sword was passed to differing historical people that were destined for something. Be it good or bad. Demons could even used it and whenever a wielder of this sword apeared destruction would follow or hope for those righteous that wield it. It only picks the best of the best in history, to those worthy of its power.
The sword's effects were simple, it takes the form of it's master's power and amplifies it
If a Holy knight uses it, the sword transforms into a legendary Holy sword or If a Demon owns it, it becomes a fearsome demonic sword. The effects also vary depending on your affinity with certain elements and other factors of someone's power.
The sword also grows together with the wielder so Theo didn't have to find another weapon in the future. And it also takes forms best suited for the wielder.
"I'll name it Dawn" Theo smiled as he lifted his hand, staring at the silver ring.
As if approving of its name, the ring suddenly turned golden.
"Nice, pity that I didn't get extra stuff as rewards. Real life is rigged"
"AHHH!!!!????"
Theo jumped from his seat in bewilderment.
"Young master! Is everything fine?" Bennet said, riding a horse close to the carriage door.
"Ah, yeah, don't worry about it, hahaha" Theo said while awkwardly smiling as he waved his hand at Bennet to Alleviate his worries
Theo then spoke with the person in his mind with his mind as well.