Amari was bored now.
None of the soldier puppets were a real challenge. Maybe to ordinary people, they would be terrifying monsters but he was really underwhelmed.
"My common sense tells me that their professors are not this weak, but I'm not really inclined to believe it at this point," he said to himself, sighing.
The challenge did get interesting when he encountered the archer puppets, but those were not very powerful if you could get even remotely close. He sighed again, then returned his attention to the hidden doors in the walls where the puppets came from.
[988/1000]
He'd barely used about ten of his mana points which just proved his point.
"Ahh," he groaned loudly, leaning against his sword as he stared at the walls in tired expectation.
But nothing came.
No. Nothing at all.
Instead, mechanical whirring emerged from the centre of the room, not far from where he stood.
"Eh?"
This was new.
The whirring sound stopped as a large armoured figure replaced the patch of empty ground.
"Congratulations on making it this far." A loud, deep voice said from the armour's helmet, "You have three challenges remaining!"
"Ready yourself, challenger!"
Amari tensed up and gripped his sword tightly. Appearance alone, this puppet wasn't like the fodder he'd fought with not long ago.
It was far taller than the others at over 10 feet tall and had slightly less rusted black armour. Its eyes also shone with a menacing blue light rather than the bright red of the foot soldiers. In the greaves of its palm lay a massive black blade that looked a hundred years younger than the armour.
The blade was as tall as Amari itself and shone with a dangerous light. Three different coloured gems were inlaid in the sword's wide cross guards.
It would be his most challenging opponent yet. At least in the realm of physical prowess.
However, even at that, it couldn't hold a candle to the High Demon Beast he killed.
Without much thought, he used his strategy of infusing as hardly any mana as possible and charged forward.
He struck the ground beside it, missing the puppet by an inch.
No, that was wrong.
The puppet dodged so fast he couldn't see it move!
'This guy is nothing like those slow bastards from before!' He swore inwardly and retrieved his sword.
Fighting conservatively wouldn't help his case in this matter. So, Amari infused a few points of his mana into his legs and dashed forward again. The energy he used wasn't that much but the effect…
Flash Step!
He circled the puppet repeatedly and struck down at it.
Cling!
Metal clashing against metal rang out as both blades collided in the heat of the moment. The puppet's blue wisp-like eyes bore down into Amari's soul as it pushed forward, driving him backwards.
He jumped back, unwilling to sustain the confrontation any longer.
'What the fuck? Flash Step is so much stronger than before!'
Managing to restrain the thoughts of experimenting more with the skill, Amari held the sword up again and rethought his next moves.
"Shadow Movement isn't efficient in combat. I'm not sure how effective Words of Power will be. And I'm trying to practise with my sword right now so I can't use Force Fist or Star Fist. So…"
His distraction didn't remain unnoticed. While he was thinking a massive explosion erupted from the front as the puppet charged at him ferociously.
Its gigantic black sword shone with a red aura as it bared down on him. A second too late Amari remembered the gems inlaid on the sword.
'Fuck!'
He rolled to the side, just in time to avoid the explosion of flames that sprang to life where he had just stood. The puppet stood menacingly above him, waiting for him to make the next move.
Amari dusted the dirt off his pauldron as he got up and grinned at the sentient suit of armour. "That's what you want, eh? Come on, let's go then!"
He was able to figure it out. The skill he would use to overpower this opponent.
It was simple really.
In a small burst of energy, several shadows emerged from the ground all around him. The ones in the corners also joined the shadows beneath him. And when his mass of shadows was complete, he moulded them.
Dark Tendrils!
A wriggling mass of tentacles shot out at the suit of armour and latched onto its pieces several at a time.
Unlike the shadows he used in the past, these tendrils were bulkier and way stronger. It now resembled an eldritch horror rather than the tame jellyfish tentacles he was used to.
But even that wasn't enough.
The suit of armour snapped alight with a burning red flame, destroying the shadows instantly, and leaving Amari dumbfounded.
"Amazing! He exclaimed, dispelling the shadows and leaning forward for a close-range attack.
Flash Step!
Rush!
Small lightning bolts appeared around his body as he flashed forward. A fading afterimage remained as his real body already appeared in front of the puppet.
BANG!
A loud crash sounded out as he struck the puppet's shoulder and drove down into its chest. The armour fell to the ground with small clinks and the puppet stumbled backwards, stunned by the new development.
Amari charged forward again. This time he was going for the kill!
Flash Step!
Rush!
This time his body threatened to tear apart under the pressure brought about by using two speed-based skills at the same time, but he managed to do it.
"DIE!"
The dull golden blade slashed into the puppet's side and tore it clean in half!
And that was it.
Amari looked at both puppet halves. They were still moving.
"Amazing. Even after all that," he muttered to the upper part of the body staring at him emotionlessly.
It wiggled a little bit, nudging towards the sword it had dropped.
Amari nodded and retrieved the sword, putting it back in the puppet's hands.
"You have my respect. Tell your master to end the match. I haven't exerted myself much," He said again, checking his mana points in his status bar.
[900/1000]
It was true.