I felt as my sword cut through flesh. It was sharp, extremely so. Enough that it was only seconds after I had cut through the whole side of the leg that I felt blood splash on me.
I was thankful for how sharp the sword was as if it was the sword given to me by the tutorial it would have shattered upon impact.
Even now I could feel the microcracks that hid in the sword. It was not enough to compromise the blade but if it had to do what it did more than a couple times more it would shatter.
I sighed at how tough the hide of the creature was. And it wasn't just the hide either. Contrary to what one might expect it wasn't the hide or the bones that were the hardest.
It was the muscles. I could only assume that this was because the bones needed to be hollow in order to conserve mass and the muscles corded in a way that gave it the strength to stand.
A roar echoed above me. One of primal fury. It echoed into the air, as the blood it lost pooled at its leg. One last time I swiped the sword towards the last string of bone that connected the leg to the body.
However while I was doing that I felt myself flung into the air. The only reason that I came out alive was that I had blocked at the last second.
The sheathe that I had made, I was so glad that I had made it of metal. If I hadn't I would be dead.
It was the only thing that I could reach to that allowed me to block. Still though the force around the blow cracked it in two. My back hitting the side of the arena.
My ears rung as adrenaline pumped through my veins. The jeers of the crowd fading into the background as I tried to climb to my feet only to drop to my knees from the pain.
Yet despite that pain I used my hands to push me back up and found my balance on shaky legs. I could feel the pain, but right now it was muted. Most likely the adrenaline.
My mouth formed into a vicious smile as I started to run growing closer and closer.
I could see as the drake was shaking, its balance broken by the loss of its limb. Just a push and it would fall to the ground helpless.
Though it still was dangerous, despite the amount of effort it needed in order to even stand.
Case in point being its opened maw as it gathered the air. Another fireball forming and shooting from its mouth.
However I was too close to it, the drake was unable to aim it right and ended up smashing the fireball against ground that was too far away from me to do anything.
I jumped from where I was and instead of using my blade I flooded mana into my arm and expelled it from the back of my arm.
What I held was not my blade but the sheath. The mana exploded from the back of my arm and propelled it faster than even I could see.
The blow brought the dragon down from where it stood.
It fell onto its side but before it could gather itself I found myself falling towards it. The blade in my other hand pointed at it.
Again I tried to burst the mana from my back yet I was out, all of my reserves gone in that one explosive burst.
I grit my teeth preparing for the fall. If I could not finish him in this one blow then I would just do this again. Knock him down and cut him. A thousand small cuts would lead to its demise.
The sword reached before I did, the blade piercing deeper and deeper into the drakes eyes before it reached the brain.
I found its eyelids and pushed myself even deeper in. Even while doing this I recoiled in disgust but I knew that I had to do this.
A moment later the roaring of pain stopped as I felt the struggle around me stop.
It had died. Dead, I had won.
[Wow!]
I glared up to the sky as I heard the parasite's voice. I grabbed the walls of the drakes eyes and pulled myself from it.
[You actually did it. Heh- thanks for winning me a bet kid]
I looked up from where I sat. Above the drake stood the being that had been monitoring my tutorial all this time.
Though this time he looked more human to say the least.
Was the previous appearance only an illusion? Or was this a different being.
[To answer your question the day like being you've been interacting with was a friend]
"You read my mind?" My eyes hardened at his answer to a question I had only thought.
[No, in fact I can't… the system won't let me. It was just written in your face]
I frowned as I took the words in.
Moments later I shook my head and focused on the more important things.
"What now. What happens now that the tutorial is over?"
[You get sent to the tower but don't worry, you get a couple benefits for your difficulty and the fact that you were able to do this solo]
"Solo?!"
[Yes, you were meant to cooperate with the others on the second stage and then you all would be sent to this arena. Sure a couple of you would die… actually scratch that there was a sure possibility that three out of four of you would die. And a good one that all of you would die]
My narrowed eyes opened wide at that.
'I could have died but it felt so easy to kill'
Sure I had some difficulty but th at was mostly because of how large it was.
Was it really that big of a threat to me?
[it was, without that sword of yours you would have died. Heh- anyways I'll be sending you off, you'll be able to see your reward once you leave]