Albrecht felt as if time and space converged into him, and his thoughts had suddenly become muddled as soon as the announcement flashed in his thoughts. The Tri-Horn Minotaur let out a roar as it swiped its bear-like hands at Albrecht.
Despite the instant death that Albrecht was about to suffer, he was perfectly calm. His mind had been opened to the universe— or so that's what he felt, and thoughts from alternate timelines and different versions of himself flooded his mind, almost as if he had accessed the thoughts of his past, present, and future self.
Adding to that, alternate versions of himself also flooded his mind with their thoughts, and he realized that most of them had the same experience as him except for a select few.
"These skills... these thoughts... they aren't mine. They belong to other me's in different universes. Why do I have these thoughts?" Albrecht muttered to himself as he raised his hand at the Tri-Horn Minotaur. "And... why do I feel like I'd known all these my whole life?"
A moment ago, he had great difficulty dealing with the Tri-Horn Minotaur. But now that he received some sort of awakening, he realized at least hundreds of ways in dealing with the beast in front of him.
"Slash." Albrecht flicked his finger at the Tri-Horn Minotaur. As he did, he opened a small gap leading to his spatial storage space, compressing that gap until it resembled an invisible sharp wind blade.
The slash connected, whipping through the beast's body as if it were butter. A low groan could be heard from the beast as its life left it.
What's left was the unmoving body of the Tri-Horn Minotaur, cut cleanly in half by a thin invisible force.
Albrecht breathed raggedly as he propped himself onto the tree that broke his back a minute or so ago. Somehow, he managed to live another day. Adding to that, the traumatizing near-death experience brought about his awakening.
What seemed to be the end was just the beginning for Albrecht, and he couldn't help but chuckle under his breath as he stared at the Tri-Horn Minotaur. After contemplating a couple of things, he opened his spatial storage space and put the dead beast inside.
"Selling this should give me a handful of gold coins. It should be enough to get me through the day if I were to throw a feast."
— — —
A few minutes prior,
When the Tri-Horn Minotaur started running the other way, Yulie and her party decided not to chase after it. They had done their part protecting the city of Caharsa, and it would be counterproductive to attack the beast when it had already retreated.
However, when they saw the group of people running towards the city, Yulie immediately activated her exclusive skill 'Paladin's Bloodline'. At insane speeds, she ran straight to the group of people who were obviously panicked.
"MOM?!" Yulie almost screamed at the top of his lungs as she noticed her mom with the group. "Why are you here?"
"What? I can't visit my hometown from time to time?" Julia slapped her daughter, Yulie Rosethorn, on the shoulder before she grabbed her and stared straight into her eyes. The seriousness in her expression made Yulie flinch, and she wondered if she did something wrong.
"We were attacked by the Tri-Horn Minotaur. One young man attracted the beast, and now he's fighting for his life. Please save him, Yulie, he's a good kid." Julia asked. While it left a bad taste in her mouth when leading her daughter straight to the pits of danger, she had no other choice but to ask for her help.
"WHAT?! So the reason why the Tri-Horn Minotaur..." Yulie stopped short, and a light gasp escaped her mouth. "Don't worry, mom, I'll bring him back no matter what."
"Please be... safe." Julia let out. Yulie was already a distance away when she finished her reminder.
Now that Yulie thought about it, the hasty retreat of the Tri-Horn Minotaur was slightly out of place, and now she realized why that was the case— it was actually aiming for the group instead of taking its chances with Yulie and her party.
Engaging a Tri-Horn Minotaur in combat is nothing short of suicidal, and Yulie couldn't help but assume that the young man was already dead. Death by a Tri-Horn Minotaur was bloody and excruciating, and Yulie couldn't even begin to imagine how the young man had suffered.
"Hang in there." She grunted, quickening her pace as her soles dug to the ground with every lengthened step.
Meanwhile, Albrecht tried to maintain his consciousness, evening out his breathing as he felt the pain in his back shoot up to his brain. It was barely manageable, but he feared that the pain would get worse the longer he stayed there.
'If help's bound to come for me... then it would be nice if it could come now.' He said in his mind as his teeth locked in place due to the sheer intensity of the pain.
From afar, he could see a lone entity, running towards him at ridiculous speeds. She had blond hair, somewhat golden, and her clear blue eyes shone against the sun that reflected the sheen of her hair. Despite the heavy armor she wore, she run with such ease, and every step she took shook the earth underneath her.
"Ah, it's an armored lady." Albrecht let out, a spurt of blood escaping his mouth when he tried to talk.
[Akashic Records of Space and Time had activated]
[Her unique skill, 'Blessing of the Divine Paladin' can be recorded in the Akashic Records]
[Certain requirements should be met in order to make her unique skill your own]
The compendium of all universal events, past present, and future, was said to be recorded in the Akashic Records. It was certainly an insane skill, but Albrecht felt as if the Akashic Records was just a mere extension of his body.
He recalled all the memory of all the other Albrechts that somewhat existed in his mind, and most of them had the same ability. That's why it didn't surprise him that he awakened such a unique skill as well.
"Wow, what a nifty skill... and how do I copy, er, I mean, record her unique skill? What are the requirements?" Albrecht asked.
Somehow, Albrecht also knew that he could converse with the monotonous voice in his head, that's why it came automatically when he addressed the voice.
[Requirements to record the skill 'Blessing of the Divine Paladin']
[The paladins are a heroic and chivalrous class of knights, prepared to sacrifice their lives at a moment's notice. It is believed that they are kissed with divine protection.]
"Kissed with... divine protection?" Albrecht asked. At this point, a couple of game-like windows appeared in front of him, and he concluded that this would be the mysterious voice's main form of communication.
Yulie was closing in on Albrecht faster than he had expected. One moment, she was a kilometer or so away, but now she was at the hundred-meter mark. Approximately, she'd be by Albrecht's side in less than five seconds.
"What do you mean by... what are the requirements?" Albrecht was getting rather annoyed since the voice was not that straightforward.
[Heh, you still don't get it? I already implied what you're about to do... compared to the other Albrechts, this one seems to be on the slow side.]
[Kiss her! That's the requirement!]
"THE WHAT?!" Albrecht screamed, right when Yulie finally arrived.