Chapter C57 Promise
Despite the situation, Horis didn't do anything. Still, if a glare could kill… Horis turned around and then moved away. However, he stopped and then looked at Aion.
"Tomorrow, a dirt race will vanish from the face of this world," Horis said.
The blood rushed to Aion's head, and he almost summoned his spiritual weapon to attack that piece of shit. Several veins were bulging in his forehead due to the anger… Horis declared that he was going to kill Aion and his mother. That piece of shit was going to ask the king to kill Aion's mother… he had never felt such mind-numbing rage before. He never felt like killing someone like that before.
"Hey, asshole," Aion said to Horis. "Do you have a god to pray to? Don't bother praying to them anymore. You will visit them tomorrow. You are wasting your time glaring at me, I am not like the little girls you try to beat or scare. Make your peace with your ancestors, you piece of shit."
Horis left the area without saying anything… Aion truly wanted to punch something, but he didn't want to wound his fists doing something so stupid.
"You did well in controlling your rage," Lexus said. "One of the reasons I told you to win this tournament is because you will need this kind of strength to protect your mother."
"Protect her from whom?" Aion asked.
"In due time, you will come to know," Lexus said. "Also, you shouldn't tell your mother about him. She has a bad history with Horis."
"Another reason that will make me kill him…" Aion said. "Sorry, father. I will end up fighting you while I am pretty pissed."
"It is fine, controlling your anger and turn it into a weapon," Lexus said. "We might have your mother in our territory, but a lot of people hate her, a lot of people that are willing to do stupid things to have their revenge. Unless you scare them with your Name alone, they will never leave her alone."
After saying that, Lexus left. It seemed that in his own way, Lexus was on Aion's side, but he couldn't do things directly because of his position in the kingdom. Aion was glad that his father wasn't someone who would stay bitter and resentful for ten years to a single person. Still, now he had to fight his father, and he knew that he wouldn't go easy on him.
"Fate sure is a merciless bitch…" Aion thought.
In any case, after not long, Horis and another guy were called to fight. Aion didn't know who the second guy was, but he chose a greatsword, and he sure looked like a master while holding the weapon… still, much to Aion's headache, as soon as he heard the referee giving the sign to the start of the battle, he heard a powerful impact… Aion wanted to concentrate before the fight, but his curiosity got the better of him. The second guy had been thrown toward the wall of the arena in a single hit and made it collapse.
"The obstacles in my path seem much bigger up close…" Aion thought.
It will be difficult, but not impossible… Defeating that man was possible as long as Aion used everything he had. He won't have to worry about his pride… His pride in the final will be to kill him no matter what.
In the end, Aion had the chance to concentrate for half an hour while some people were fixing the walls. Eventually, Aion and his father were called, and then they chose their weapons. This time, Aion chose a longsword, and once he entered the arena, everyone frowned. It seemed like he was copying his father, but it would be too much to expect that he would be skilled as him.
Regardless, the arena grew silent once they assumed their stances. Lexus moved his sword to his right side while he put his left foot forward. It was a fine example of an offensive stance of someone who was planning to go all out from the beginning…
As for Aion, he assumed a basic stance that seemed similar to the sword fighting style of Japan. Naturally, he never studied or tried the things he saw in movies and shows. However, during his years of training, he learned that putting his left foot forward and his right foot slightly behind while holding the sword toward the enemy was very comfortable. Not to mention, it was the perfect stance to prepare for a quick but powerful downward swing…
Lexus could tell what his son was planning, but it was too much to hope for that such a simple strategy would work that well. Lexus had fought enemies that tried something similar, and while downward strikes had more power, they left the user wide open if they missed, while horizontal attacks gave the users some leeway for them to use evasive maneuvers.
Lexus knew that people might think that he let his son win if he didn't go all out from the beginning, so he decided to do exactly that. He didn't know if Aion was strong enough to defeat him, the kid had talent and had a good brain for fighting, but that wasn't enough… The difference in power between him and Horis was that massive. He couldn't let him fight that monster if their difference in power was small…
When the referee gave the sign to the start of the battle, Lexus used Inner Force and covered the distance between them in an instant. Despite that, Aion managed to swing down his sword, and both weapons collided. A powerful sound of metal spread across the area, and sparks flew around like flames. Despite their difference in size and experience… Lexus was blown away.
Chapter C58 The Basics
Lexus landed on his feet and slipped on the sand for a short while. He looked astonished that he had lost the exchange when it came to brute strength. As if that wasn't enough, he frowned when he saw that Aion didn't move from his spot and just assumed that neutral stance again…
Aion's eyes were as calm as they could be. There was no hesitation, anger, fear, or any other emotion on them. There was only focus and the will to attack when necessary. Lexus had an idea of what Aion did, but he couldn't wait and think about it while Inner Strength was active. Moreover, he had to try his hardest to test the strength of his son.
Lexus charged again and then thrust his sword at Aion's torso, but another simple downward strike stopped his attack… What was surprising was that Aion only began to move when he was within his range… Lexus saw that clearly. With his focus, he could react only to real attacks, not feints.
The weapons collided again, and the powerful impact made the sand around fly away in a perfect circle. This time, Lexus wasn't blown away, and his trust pushed Aion backward a little. It seemed that the weakness of his stance was thrust attacks. Still, while Lexus moved his sword backward to prepare for his next attack, Aion stepped forward, already swinging his sword toward him.
Lexus barely had the chance to move his sword and block the strike while holding the sword with both hands. The vibration made his arms tremble and hurt a little, but then he noticed that Aion didn't put much more strength before the impact… He quickly returned to his neutral stance after taking a single step backward.
"Is that kid planning to defeat his father by using the same sword strike over and over again?"
"It looks like he has speed and power, it is clear with the sound of the impacts, but he is underestimating far too much his old man…"
"Maybe he can use only that now that he changed his weapon."
It looked like some of the audience was thinking along the same lines as Lexus, but unlike him, they didn't know what he had realized. It was true that Aion was using a basic way to attack, but it was also the best way for him to attack using a longsword, probably because he practiced that swing thousands of times. Moreover, after seeing the second attack from up close, Lexus noticed that Aion used Inner Force, if only for a moment… He was using his best attack while only using the bare amount of energy… It was like the strategy he used against Valgen, but a lot more advanced and troublesome.
"Even if he is doing all that, he shouldn't be able to be stronger and faster than me… I suppose he is using something else as well," Lexus thought.
Lexus began to run around Aion to see if he could find any openings while he moved, but Aion followed him with his eyes without showing such a thing. He was good at changing the direction of his body by shifting the weight on his feet. Despite that, Lexus charged and attacked with all his might. This time, he used a downward strike as well, and when the weapons collided, the sparks flew around again, and the audience covered their ears due to the impact. Aion and Lexus have pushed away from the center of the impact. Since Lexus was heavier, he gained extra power, and he covered a bit of the difference in power… he still didn't know how Aion's attack power was higher than expected, though.
At that rate, they will only break each other's weapons. Unlike his kids, who had been influenced by Aion and knew how to use a kick, Lexus only trained how to use a sword, which was almost an unrivaled specialist. So, he couldn't let that happen. For a brief moment, Aion saw the sword of his father emitting a dangerous red glow, and then he swung it toward him insanely fast…
Aion didn't have time to dodge, but he swung his sword while he jumped backward and made the explosion happen a bit further away from his body. The surprise and the pain broke his focus a bit… Regardless, as expected, his father was the one who taught Vangel that technique.
Instead of something created by his family, it was probably Lexus' own technique, something he developed by himself, and just like he did years ago, the family didn't waste any type of talent. So, they passed down to the next generation a single technique that could help all fighting styles…
The explosion and the jump made Aion's body being pushed backward. Thanks to that, he didn't suffer that much damage. However, his sword did… Taking two or three more of those attacks will be too much. Eventually, Lexus and the audience noticed that Aion prevented most of the damage, and that surprised them since the attack was a lot more powerful than Vangel's…
Much to everyone's surprise, Lexus fired another of those attacks, and this time Aion jumped to the side the very moment the energy enveloped the sword. The attack hit the spot Aion had been in and caused an explosion while opening a crater. It forced his body to be pushed to the side and lose its footing. Lexus used that chance to approach and attack with all his might.
Attacking perfectly and repelling the sword strike in that circumstance wasn't possible, but Aion did them anyway. The weapons collided, and Aion was sent flying to the other side of the arena while spinning in the air.
Lexus gave chase, and even before Aion could land, he approached and attacked again. Despite the situation, Aion blocked the sword strike that sent him flying to the walls of the arena. Still, he landed on his feet on the walls, despite the fact that the impact made it fall.
Aion suffered some damage, but that didn't bother him. He just had to keep his pace once he regained his focus. Even if Lexus was the creator of that technique, he couldn't use it too often… and put him in a bad spot with it, or so Aion thought.
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Chapter C59 Final Technique
When Lexus used that technique for the first time, Aion also dodged by jumping to the side with all his might. The explosion almost involved the audience in the fight, but Lexus had planned things carefully to avoid that. There were no signs of fatigue on his body, so he charged at Aion the same way as before.
Aion was prepared for the next attack. Even before landing, he swung his sword with all his might, and both weapons collided. This time, Aion wasn't pushed away, and while that puzzled Lexus, he didn't stop there and kept attacking without letting Aion land. At some point, the hands of both of them began to bleed, but they didn't stop attacking. Thanks to Pain Resistance, the first to show some signs of pain in their arms had been Lexus, and when he flinched for a short moment. Aion used that chance…
Aion's next sword strike was a lot heavier than before, and Lexus realized why… The veins on Aion's hands were bulging like they were about to explode, or at least they looked like that for a short window of time… Lexus finally realized that Aion could use Inner Force to boost his power even more than he, but only for a short window of time in order not to make his body get tired even faster.
The impact pushed Lexus away, but just a distance long enough for Aion to cover with a single footstep. When Lexus stopped, Aion's next sword strike was already coming, and it was another simple downward swing. Still, it was fast and sharp as all the others… Lexus used his sword to block it, and the same thing happened before. He was pushed away for a single footstep distance.
Lexus noticed some dent marks on his sword and then enhanced it with that red aura before it could suffer even more damage. He didn't like to use the technique like that, but at least it made him feel less power when the impacts happened. That also gave him the chance to strike back since Aion's strikes weren't pressuring him anymore.
All of a sudden, Aion assumed his defensive stance when he saw Lexus' sword speed increasing and moving toward his neck. He blocked the sword strike with the tip of his sword to nullify some of the damage on his weapon, but he still was pushed backward for several meters.
"The difference in weight is annoying… even when we have the same strength, that influences too much when he is attacking…" Aion thought. "Regardless, it doesn't look like he will run out of stamina any time soon, so I need to change my strategy."
Aion thought that Vangel could use those techniques a lot, but it couldn't be compared to the real master… as expected, Lexus didn't teach some of his techniques to his sons because he figured out they weren't compatible with them and would make them focus on them too much and ignore their talents…
When the next attack came, Aion blocked the sword strike with the tip of his sword. While he was pushed backward, at least he decreased the area of his sword that was being damaged. Thanks to Lexus, Aion learned that thrust attacks were pretty good at decreasing the power of slash attacks, so he decided to use that for a short while and use his head. However, it didn't look like he would have much time for that. The tip of his sword was falling apart… it was only a matter of time before it collapsed…
"I didn't want to use this since I have to fight tomorrow as well, but it can't be helped…" Aion thought.
When Lexus approached and attacked, his sword was stopped by Aion. He used the same downward strike, but it looked like something else had changed… it only lasted for a moment since he was pushed backward. However, Lexus could almost feel Aion's bones cracking through the swords… he pushed Inner Force to the limits…
When it comes to people fighting in wars, it is better for them to have strength for a long while. That was why the Kresnik family had Inner Force. To prevent the problems of some situations, Lexus developed an enhancement on his sword that made his stamina being consumed even faster, and by combining those two, there was that blast attack. Still, Lexus rarely used any of those techniques since he believed that he could be much more efficient by conserving his energy in long battles.
Aion followed the inverse logic since he heard of the tournament. His only goal was to win and to do so. He needed as much as power as possible to win against single adversaries. His goal wasn't to win wars. That is why he tried to improve the Inner Force. Instead of using it for as long as possible while increasing his strength by fifty percent or more for a few minutes, he trained it to use that technique for several seconds only, but the boost in power would be massive during those seconds.
Aion trained that technique hard for over a year, but whenever he tried that, his muscles and bones were damaged to the point that he had to stop with training for a week. He tried to find a way to prevent that, and he could only use that in the blink of an eye and on a much smaller scale than he had planned, but to do anything else… Aion just had to rely on his willpower to endure that.
Lexus was pushed backward, and before he could stop, Aion approached and attacked again. The swords collided, but Lexus was sent flying to the wall of the arena. While his hands were hurting like hell, he saw Aion's approach, and then he used his final technique. Lexus jumped and then used his sword as a vessel to fire all of his energy… that would be the final test of his son's strength…
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Chapter C60 Brawl
If Lexus hadn't jumped, hundreds of people behind Aion would have been hit by the attack and perhaps killed. Everyone realized that when the entire arena began to tremble and cracks appeared everywhere. At the same time, a powerful explosion took place where Aion was supposed to be…
Cracks appeared on the ground while a thick dust curtain enveloped the entire arena. After that, no one could deny that Lexus used everything he had against his son. In any case, Lexus almost dropped to his knees due to exhaustion. The final attack took from him everything that he had. It has been a while since he had to put so much effort into a fight... he truly felt that he was getting old.
Lexus never underestimated his son, but he still thought that he had gone too far… Aion was smart enough to know that he couldn't pull his punches, and yet… he felt a bit of a sense of guilt. If magic in the tournament could be used, Lexus knew that Aion would have a much easier time fighting him, and defeating Horis wouldn't be a crazy idea but something possible. Still, there wasn't much point in thinking about that…
Regardless, when the dust curtain began to dissipate, everyone noticed that Aion's shadow still standing in the middle of that. When everyone could see him clearly, they noticed that half of his armor had been destroyed and his sword had been broken. Only the hilt still was intact. As for his body, he had wounds everywhere. He was bleeding from his nose, mouth, and ears… his condition was critical, but he refused to fall.
In that situation, many people realized that Aion was just a kid. He was nowhere as muscular as his father due to his age… he was just a ten year old kid fighting for the freedom of his mother. So, those who had a slight amount of conscience began to feel bad for the prejudice they showed until now.
Aion looked at the remains of his sword and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Despite that, he didn't throw it away. He began to hold it in a reverse grip because he knew that the fight wasn't over. To use that much through a random sword, it was clear that Lexus' weapon wasn't in a much better state… when Lexus tried to get up while using his sword as support, it fell apart, leaving only the hilt behind.
In any other situation, Lexus would surrender. Without his sword, there wasn't much that he could do, but in the end, he had to keep going. He had to show as much spirit as his youngest son, at the very least.
While staggering, Aion began to move toward his father. He was exhausted and wounded, while his father was only exhausted… it would be difficult, but he could pull that off. Lexus began to approach as well, and when they got in range, they began to punch each other.
Aion thought that he would have the upper hand in that aspected, but the weight of his father granted him some extra attack power. Without any other choice, he began to block his punches with the hilt of his sword. The damaged bones of his arms began to throb, and then Lexus flinched. Aion used that chance and then attacked his father with a liver blow. The armor that Lexus was using nullified some of the damage, but his body still bent forward.
Lexus noticed that he left his face wide open for an attack, so he used his arms to protect his head, but instead of attacking the guard, Aion used the liver blow again and again. When Lexus fell, he didn't have any other choice but to headbutt his own son, and while that stopped his punches, it also made both of their foreheads throb, so they stopped attacking for a while.
When they recovered, they prepared to attack, but much to Lexus' surprise, Aion used a headbutt as well, and thanks to his posture, his headbutt made his father get dizzy while Aion endured the pain. Despite that, Lexus could tell that Aion would attack his liver again, and he moved his arms to protect that area… However, he was hit by the sword's hilt in the middle of his torso, on his solar plexus.
Lexus' body was paralyzed, and he felt the pain and exhaustion passing through his entire body. For a full second, he was unable to do anything until Aion punched with all his might his father's left temple. Aion thought that he would need a few more punches there to make his father pass out, but his second punch only hit the air. His father had passed out, and his eyes were white…
The referee came to check Lexus and confirmed that he was unconscious. Despite everything they saw, the audience still looked surprised. Few people know how much a body blow hurts when one is exhausted. Besides, by hitting his father's solar plexus with the hilt of the sword, the damage had been a lot more concentrated than expected…
Regardless, Aion was determined to be the winner, and once again, the healers went to check and heal Lexus and left Aion alone. Still, he could heal himself soon enough. He just had to find a place where no one could see him.
In any case, while he was heading to the waiting room, Aion passed by Horis, who watched the whole fight. He didn't look impressed or worried, but Aion couldn't care less about it. Aion kept his pride by winning against his father. Now he could throw it away to kill Horis…
Along the way home, Aion healed his wounds since most of the capital was empty, but he decided to be careful and only did it when he was crossing some dark alleys. Also, along the way, he thought about what he would say to his mother… most of his wounds had been closed, but his armor was a mess…
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Chapter C61 Prayer
After having to listen to one hell of a lecture for one hour, Artemisia finally gave Aion some time to rest. Still, Aion wasn't the type to lie to his mother, so when she asked when the tournament would end, he told her the truth.
"You are in the final… you defeated your father, and you will face that man…" Artemisia said while her face was turning white like a ghost. "Aion, I am your mother, and this is the only thing that I will ever ask you… don't fight that man… he hates us more than anything."
"I am sorry, mom… but that isn't possible," Aion said. "I met with that piece of shit, so I know that much, and I also know that he will ask the king for our deaths if he is declared the winner of the tournament."
All of a sudden, Artemisia began to have a hard time breathing, and then she passed out. Aion panicked and used Heal on her several times. Thanks to that, her condition improved considerably.
In the end, Aion knew what his mother was thinking… he was going to face his death. In one way or the other, they were going to die, and she thought that her son was going first and she was unable to do anything. After the years of living in a prison, the idea of escaping never crossed her mind. That was because everyone in the world would hunt them down, and they wouldn't have a life anywhere.
As for Aion, he was going to fight so they could have a real life. Aion wanted to free his mother, but that was just the first goal. After that, he will build a place where she will be safe no matter what, and then he will travel the world. Since he had come to another world, not traveling around would be a wasted opportunity.
"It will be difficult, but it is for the sake of the future… I don't know why I have this system, but I will use it to its full extent to build a place for my mother in this world," Aion thought.
The only problem was how Aion could use his full power when he couldn't use his weapons. He thought of that while he was transferring all the experience, energy, and materials to the berserker class.
Berserker Lv 82
Health: 1029/1029
Mana: 04/04
Stamina: 296/296
Strength: 131 + 101
Dexterity: 16
Magic: 01
Endurance: 131+ 64
Resistance: 01
Speed: 131
Status: 00
Hand Axes Refinement Lv 40
Bonuses: Strength + 64, Endurance + 64
Skills: Rage Lv 25(Efficiency Lv 43), Roar Lv 19, Body Slam Lv 10, Destroyer Lv 25 (Power Lv 100)
Passive: HP Plus Lv 22(Efficiency Lv 50), Brute Strength Lv 25 (Efficiency Lv 50), Pain Resistance Lv 20,
Improvement Points: 00
Accumulated Experience: 0
Coins: 186.980
Inventory:
Absorption: 0/1000
processing: 0/1000
Reset
"As expected, after some levels of refinement, the materials become less effective… since most of the ones I used were bones of low-level monsters, I guess it is impossible to reach level fifty or something," Aion thought.
Aion got a lot stronger by using everything possible to enhance the berserker class. In terms of raw power, he believed that he could defeat his father in a direct fight without tricks. Still, he had a feeling that someone like Horis was several times stronger than his father. At least five times… which was insane… if Lexus goes all out, he could destroy the entire arena, but perhaps Horis could destroy the entire capital by himself…
Aion still could use his saved money to increase his parameters, but he wasn't sure it would be enough. With everything he had, he could buy around eighty points… he should have saved more instead of buying three other inns over the years.
In any case, for the bonuses to work, the weapons had to be summoned and be with Aion, so he couldn't just leave them at home. For that kind of situation, Aion thought of forging an armor where he could hide his weapons inside, but asking about that around would make him look suspicious, and once the rules of the tournament began to spread, the blacksmith might open his mouth and mention such a thing. Annoying rumors might spread, and then Aion would face some problems.
In the end, Aion decided to check the armory of his home for armor that could help him with that. He could always pay his father later since he had the money to pay for most types of armor. In the end, Aion found an armor that had some compartment on the shoulders that could store short swords… he had no idea how that worked, but he assumed that it was magic armor or something. Unfortunately, he wanted to use his axes, and the armor was too big for him.
"Mom didn't teach me how to create metals using magic, but if only I knew that now…" Aion thought. "There was no point thinking about that. I have to find a way to deal with this problem."
Aion looked for some armor, but he didn't find anything like what he wanted. In the end, he found several magic armors, but Aion decided to grab a normal one and then enhance the interior with some earth magic and to store the axes there. He would look like he was trying to use armor that was too big for him, but it couldn't be helped.
Since Aion didn't want to make it too heavy, he just added the compartments with earth magic to hold the weapons. His defense would be lacking, but it was fine. Aion was planning to end things faster than Horis could try anything, anyway.
After that, Aion went to sleep, and he woke up while seeing his mother praying to someone. From her perspective, only the gods could help a ten year old kid defeat a monster able to stop an army…
Chapter C62 Before The Fight
"How can you sleep so calmly while I feel like I can die of worry?" Artemisia asked.
"That old man is just big, mom… I can defeat him, no sweat." Aion said. "By the way, who were you praying to?"
"He was the one who decimated all of the royal guards, killed my brother, mother, and father… he isn't a weakling, Aion… what am I going to do…" Artemisia said and then sighed. "Only the goddess can help you now."
"What is the name of the goddess?" Aion asked.
"Her name was forgotten over the years… since people believed that her blessing only affected our kingdom," Artemisia replied. "As for the other god… I really don't know much about him."
"It seems that you are hiding something, mom," Aion said. "If you think I am going to die today, might as well tell me everything."
"Don't say such an ominous thing so easily…" Artemisia said and then pulled his ears. "Come back in one piece, and I will tell you everything one day."
"That promise seems a bit fishy…" Aion frowned.
"It can't be helped… this is a burden that I don't want to carry, but…" Artemisia said and then hesitated in finishing her sentence. "I guess it is unavoidable for you to learn that. Regardless, you already have too many things to consider today… no matter what, just do your best to return in one piece, okay?"
"Aye, aya, ma'am," Aion said.
Aion left the room, and he saw his mother praying again. Nobody ever said that he was very reliable, but that lack of faith in him sure was depressing. Still, it was understandable. Even if he never saw that asshole fighting with all his might, he could tell that he was like a mountain that many people could only tremble in fear.
Regardless, when Aion reached the garden after breakfast, he saw the other members of the Kresnik family in the garden. Lexus, the other boys, the girls, and even their mothers. It seemed like they were waiting for Aion, but he didn't like that kind of atmosphere, mainly when half of the family treated him and his family like air.
"How are your wounds, father?" Aion asked.
"You have the nerve of asking that when you were the one who inflicted them…" Lexus said while frowning.
"It can't be helped… despite your old age, you refused to go down," Aion shrugged. "I could have gone easy on you if you didn't use so many troublesome techniques. Even my first armor was destroyed thanks to it…"
"I was just joking… it was a good match, and I don't have anything to complain about," Lexus said. "I thought that my fighting style was perfect, but it seems that even I can learn a new trick or two."
"I doubt that the result would be the same if you were using your favorite sword…" Aion said. "I probably would have to break some of your bones to win."
"In the end, you never thought that you could lose agaisnt me, huh…" Lexus said. "Pushing your confidence aside, the commander truly is a monster that goes beyond the human understanding. He isn't like Caelis the Tainted or others that mutated over the years, but he is truly on the level of the worst types of beasts in this world. He is also out for your blood, so I can wish you good luck."
"Relax, it will be a piece of cake," Aion said.
"... I will try to believe your words… one more piece of advice, the commander becomes stronger when he is enraged," Lexus said after a long sigh. "When he becomes like that, he doesn't discriminate between ally or foe… that was why he was always on the frontlines and most of the time alone. His comrades couldn't trust their lives to him… once he goes berserk, he will do everything to kill his target… everything."
"All right, I will keep that in mind," Aion said.
A berserker agaisnt a berserker… it will be one hell of a battle. Aion's preparations had been finished, so there wasn't much more to say. His brothers only raised their hands and high-fived him, while the girls and their mothers didn't know what to do. Winning that tournament was an honor to the family of the winner, but one of them was going to die no matter what, and the adversary was the commander of the armies of the kingdom. Besides, it would feel cheap for them to cheer on Aion after so many years of ignoring him.
It was a bit soon for the tournament, but Aion decided to head to the arena… more than ever before, Aion will have to concentrate on the task ahead. Agaisnt an enemy that was probably four or five times stronger than him, most plans wouldn't be useful, but as long as he uses a few parts of them alongside his brain, Aion will take something out of it…
Aion arrived in the waiting room and then sat in the corner to concentrate. During that time, he recalled the things that he had heard about Horis. As a commander, he was someone who didn't have a proper fighting style or weapon of choice. He used everything he could use to attack… in fact, his tales on the battlefields were mostly known about him throwing the corpses of the enemies at their comrades… insanity was a weak word to describe him.
Although no one called him, eventually, Aion realized that it was the time for the fight. He could tell that the aura of the arena had changed, and everyone was waiting for the final. The king decided to give another annoyingly long speech, but Aion decided to ignore that. It was better to use his time meaningfully. When the referee called both participants, Horis finally showed up and Aion had a hard time not jumping at his neck…
Chapter C63 A Fight To Death (1)
Both of the fighters headed toward the center of the arena, Horis didn't choose any weapon, but Aion still was equipped with his two hand axes. It seemed that the enemy had more than enough confidence that his fists would do the trick.
While seeing the enemy up close and in front of him like that, Aion could see that his black armor covered his whole body. Only his head was unprotected… moreover, it looked like the armor could adapt to his body perfectly since Aion couldn't see any marks on the joints.
"A magic armor…" Aion thought.
He had no idea who gave that to the enemy, but it certainly was someone who was fully aware of the weakness of that asshole. It was hard to tell if Aion could pull that off with ordinary weapons, but he would have to aim for the head from the very beginning… that was his plan to kill the enemy as soon as possible, anyway.
None of those two heard the referee starting the fight, but they raised their guard, and when he felt like it, Horis charged and tried to kick Aion with all his might. Aion jumped just high enough to dodge the kick and then attack the enemy at the same time, but then he saw Horis' arms approaching… In the end, Aion hit those with his ax and then kicked them to jump backward.
The sound of metal echoing through the arena made everyone flinch, and then the sound of Aion clicking his tongue… He hit the armor with all his might, but he didn't leave a single scratch on it…
"Speed, power, durability… He had everything," Aion thought. "However, his line of attack is easy to read… I don't have to worry about them for the time being."
The increase in speed that Aion obtained made him a lot faster than most soldiers that asshole had fought… At least when it comes to regular humans. However, Aion couldn't relax yet.
From the audience's perspective, Horis was like a bull crazy bull that they could barely see moving. Meanwhile, Aion could easily dodge them… His speed and reaction couldn't be compared to before. Some people thought that he went easy against his father, but that would be insanity…
Regardless, from someone like Horis, who defeated all of his enemies until now with a single punch, missing so many hits so often made him red due to the rage.
Meanwhile, Aion couldn't help but smile… until the enemy suddenly became faster and his charges more powerful. It reached a point where the blast of his movement pushed Aion a few centimeters away… still, thanks to that, Horis ended up colliding agaisnt the walls. He was completely unhurt, but the wall of that part fell, and some of the audience felt like they were going to have a heart attack.
"Is that what father was talking about?" Aion furrowed his eyebrows.
Aion's rage consumed stamina at the cost of a bonus that would be equal to the level of the skill and would increase his strength, speed, and endurance… However, there were no signs of exhaustion on Horis' body… he either had an immense stamina pool, or his Rage didn't consume his stamina.
"If I make Rage reach level one hundred percent with the improvement points in Efficiency, will it be like him and won't cost anything?" Aion thought.
That seemed like a good idea to try… fighting above his best without consuming extra stamina would be great… but that also means that his system can grant him the same effect of a mutation that Horis obtained. Not on the same level, but the effects would be similar… Regardless, when Aion Resets his class, everything returned to zero, and Aion couldn't let his parameters fall that much during that fight.
Horis' speed increased again, and Aion was almost hit, but he let the enemy do that since he swung his axes at the enemy's head. Much to his surprise, the black armor moved to protect the enemy's face… what was the difference between letting that kind of armor be used and not letting magic weapons be used… that was stupidity.
The game of cat and mouse lasted for a while, thanks to Rage and his ability to read the line of attacks of the enemy, Aion dodged all the charges, and while he could become faster by becoming angrier, Horis got sick of that and then stomped on the ground, making several cracks appear around. He stomped again and made rocks jump… on the next moment. He began to kick them at Aion.
Aion zigzagged around and dodged most of the projectiles since he couldn't let his weapon being damaged by them. However, eventually, a big one came, and he lowered his stance to dodge it… he couldn't move to the side in time. Horis used that chance to charge even faster and then punched him. That being said, Aion struck the enemy's fist with his axes, but he still was pushed away and slipped on the sand until his back hit the walls forty meters behind him.
Half a second later, that wall was kicked by Horis with all his might and made it fall around him. Somehow, Aion escaped the attack, but some blood was falling from his mouth due to the impact on his back.
The enemy saw Aion moving to his left side for some reason, but that didn't stop Horis from charging like a mad dog again. Once again, Aion dodged to the side when the enemy approached, and Horis collided agaisnt another wall. However, when he turned around, Aion's axes were approaching his face.
Aion noticed that the armor began to move to protect Horis' face, but only when he saw the weapons, and despite that, the armor hadn't been fast enough to block one of the axes… a slightly deep cut was opened on it…
Chapter C64 A Fight To Death (2)
Horis tried to kick Aion while aiming for his lower half, but he jumped, and only his feet were hit. Even so, Aion didn't take much damage single his legs worked like a spring, and he was sent flying to the opposite side of the arena. He immediately readied himself for the continuation of the attack, but he only saw the enemy checking the wound in his face and the blood dripping from it.
"Not so immortal now, huh," Aion said.
Aion didn't know if the enemy had heard that, but he sure looked pissed. Aion ignored that since it was the anger of a walking corpse. Putting that aside, he learned by accident that the armor could only show its effects while Horis was aware of the danger. It was like the armor could read his mind…
"Putting aside that and the durability of his armor, to think that my attack would only cause that much damage…" Aion thought. "His skin is thick as hell…"
Horis suddenly charged a lot faster than before, and Aion wondered if his parameters could increase endlessly with his anger… In any case, Aion dodged another charge, but the impact of the enemy on the wall made some rocks fly around and hit him. He flinched for a moment, and Horis used that chance to approach and grab his arms while raising him.
Aion panicked while he was trying to kick the enemy's chin, but the armor got in the way several times. Horis smirked and then began to pull away Aion's arms… before the enemy could actually cause much damage, Aion opened his mouth.
"HAAAAAAAA! HAAAAAAAA! HAAAAAAAA!" Aion used Roar several times, and that paralyzed the enemy who was so close to him. At the same time, Aion felt like his throat was burning.
Aion used that short window of time to use Rage and Inner Force before pulling his arms away from the enemy's grip. When Horis recovered from the shouts, he saw Aion targetting his head again, this time with Destroyer.
The armor reacted in time to block the three attacks, but not Horis. His head was hit three times in a quick succession, and then he staggered due to the vibration. Thanks to the Improvement Points, Aion doubled the power of the skill, so at least that much was supposed to be expected… moreover, he finally found some dents in the armor.
Aion just had to confirm if the damage could decrease the performance of the armor in some way… come to think of it, usually, a magic item would have a core… instead of attacking randomly, Aion should just destroy the core. That will give him more chances to damage the enemy.
Aion forgot about that when he saw the enemy stomping on the ground again. This time, he didn't do that to attack with rocks… he just made enough dusk and sand emerge to make the entire arena disappear.
"I don't like this…" Aion thought.
If he couldn't see the enemy, he would have a hard time dodging its attacks. However, Aion realized something else… It didn't take long for the enemy to move. Horis charged like a mad dog, but he managed to dodge to the side by using most of his senses. He felt the ground shaking once when the enemy charged. Still, another part of the arena was destroyed, and this time some began to scream in pain… finally some of them were being wounded…
Horis' charges could cover the whole arena now, even though Aion managed to dodge two more times. With that growth of the enemy's speed, he had to do something, and soon…
Soon enough, the dust and sand began to dissipate, but the enemy kicked the ground again. Since Aion couldn't even attack, that was the best way to do things… At least, that was what Aion planned to make him think.
When the enemy charged again, he was welcomed by a pair of hand axes that moved in a straight line toward his eyes. Somehow, the enemy reacted in time to stop one of the axes, but the other pierced his left eye. Horis grunted in pain as he felt the smell and the feeling of blood falling from his face. When he noticed that he could no longer see from his left eye, Horis' aura began to change…
Horis' face began to change, to the point that even his skin began to look red and bloodshot while his veins were bulging alongside with his muscles. The idea of using the sand wasn't bad… if only his armor could act independently… regardless, his remaining eye turned completely red, even the iris. Aion raised his guard since his father talked about that… the enemy was going to use everything available to kill Aion.
Horis didn't even try to run, he only punched the air, and a powerful blast of wind hit Aion's stomach and made him throw up his lunch. Despite the pain, Aion was forced to clench his teeth when he saw others of those in coming.
Aion began to run as fast as possible, and thanks to the attacks, the dust curtain disappeared. However, the impact began to destroy the walls, and even more people from the audience began to get hurt… it was only a matter of time before someone died… despite that, only could only worry about his life.
When the blasts began to get too close to the royal family, Lexus told his wives and daughters to go home. At the same time, he headed to where Henri was and then unsheathed his sword to block the rocks and blasts that flew in that direction.
"Father!" Henri said.
"I got this, go help those that might have their legs injured by those attacks, and don't drop your guard," Lexus said. "A single hit on a bad spot, and you will be done for."
Chapter C65 A Fight To Death (3)
It was hard to believe that the enemy could fire attacks that could destroy half meters-thick walls without losing stamina, but that was exactly what Horis was doing… he was almost as fast as a machine gun… a machine firing rockets.
Aion decided to stay away from the walls to avoid being hit by debris. He learned his lesson… but that also made things difficult for him. The closer he was to the enemy, the harder it was to dodge the attacks… For the time being, advancing and attacking wasn't an option, but it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake or something happened that will help the enemy.
"Now I can see how come he can stop an entire army by himself…" Aion thought while furrowing his eyebrows.
Only those who were crazy, or had the confidence to block those attacks, or were being protected by others stayed behind. Most of the audience had left the arena already. Still, that changed nothing for Aion…
When Horis realized that Aion wouldn't go down with only attacks of that level, he charged at him. Aion opened his eyes widely when that asshole suddenly approached. Still, when he tried to punch him, Aion stopped some of the power of the punch by hitting the fist with his hand axes. The armor got on the way again, but Aion saw a cracking appearing on the armor. Aion was pushed backward several meters due to the impact, but nothing more.
At that point in time, it became clear that the armor would continue working until the core was destroyed. In any case, the enemy chased Aion again, and he couldn't handle that speed, even if he used Inner Force only for a brief moment alongside Rage. Without any other choice, Aion used his coins to increase his speed.
Amidst his rage, Horis couldn't help but be shocked when Aion's speed suddenly increased, and he was no longer able to catch up to him. The blasts of punches weren't getting close anymore… thanks to that, Aion decided to capitalize on the momentum.
Aion charged at the enemy, and Horis fired the blasts in a single line, but Aion dodged them while zigzagging. Still, when he got close enough to prepare his attack, Horis punched the ground with both fists, raising a massive curtain of dust and sand to all sides. Some rocks prevented Aion's approach as well… he moved to the side while protecting his face with the hand axes. Still, he could capitalize on that as well.
Horis began to fire the blasts toward the place he saw Aion moving, but he didn't feel his attacks hitting anything. All of a sudden, he felt a powerful impact on his head and something sharper piercing his skull, even if only a little… the attack caused so much pain that the air around Horis began to vibrate, and Aion jumped away before he could get hit.
"The plan to jump and attack him from above worked relatively well… Still, to think that a clean hit wouldn't split his skull open…" Aion furrowed his eyebrows when he landed.
Aion had no time to think about that… a fist enveloped in flames suddenly was fired toward him, followed by many others. Aion was left speechless… now the punch blasts were on fire… he could only think that the rage of the enemy reached ecstasy…
The speed of the projectiles was higher as well, so Aion was having a hard time dodging those as well. Although he succeeded every single time when they landed on the ground, a powerful blast would occur, and the temperature would rise… that alone made Aion's armor felt like it was melting.
"I need to kill him before he gains even more power…" Aion thought. "Let's see if the anger made him even more stupid…"
With the help of Pain Resistance, Aion ignored the heat waves of the blasts and slowly approached the enemy while zigzagging again. All of a sudden, the monster charged at Aion and then tried to punch his face. However, in the last moment, Aion twitched his neck and dodged the strike… still, he felt like his neck was on fire as he advanced.
When he got close enough, Aion threw one of his hand axes at the remaining eye of the enemy. Despite the close distance, Horis reacted fast enough and blocked the weapon with his other hand. However, when he prepared his next attack, Aion was no longer there…
Horis turned around and looked to the sides, but he found nothing… when he thought of looking above, he felt another terrible pain in his head… this time, even Aion and Horis heard the sound of his skull cracking a little, but only that… Aion jumped away to escape the enemy's attack, and he did well because, in the next moment, Horis' aura began to burn everything around him… Aion's ax that was on his hand began to melt as well…
"How many times will this motherfucker get power-ups?" Aion asked. "Not even Goku, Ichigo, and Naruto have so many forms… perhaps they have."
As if he was a tractor moving at the speed of an f1 vehicle, Horis charged at Aion and finally hit him. While spinning vertically, Aion flew to the wall of the arena and collided against it. He felt like he was being smashed from both sides, but despite the broken bones on his sides and back, he forced himself to get up and move, and he did well since, in the next moment, Horis hit the wall he was a moment ago.
Aion escaped this time, but he knew that he couldn't do that more than a few times with his body in that state… his only chance was to attack now… so he focused all his senses while he watched the enemy turning around. When Horis charged again, Aion pointed his remaining ax at the enemy's head and then jumped toward it…
Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.
Chapter C66 A Fight To Death (4)
In the end, Aion was hit by Horis' charge and sent flying into the distance… He didn't hit the wall of the arena and landed on his feet. However, he still spat a mouthful of blood… His stomach was hit badly.
On the other hand, it didn't look like Horis suffered much damage, but when he prepared to attack… He felt something wet on his face and then felt something stinging. Even while Aion was hit, his weapon still hit the enemy's face and opened a wound from the top of his chin to the forehead. The fact that Horis Aura was burning closed the wound, but his rage opened it soon after…
"It seems like his stupidity also affects the armor… If he thinks that he will win the exchange, then the armor won't do its job properly," Aion thought while he watched blood gushing from the wound of the enemy thanks to the rage.
When someone gets pissed, they stop thinking logically, so they also feel that nothing can stop them. With that in mind, their sense of danger weakens… That armor was perfect for Horis, but it could only do so much…
Horis charged at Aion, but he had already predicted the attack and moved the very moment the enemy tensed his muscles. Horis hit the wall, and the very moment he turned around, he was attacked by Destroyer. The three strikes landed insanely fast and cut some chunks of the enemy's face, but Horis didn't even take a step backward.
Horis tried to kick Aion's side, but he used the trick with his legs again. The sole of his feet was hit, and he was sent flying into the distance. Somehow, Aion landed on his feet two hundred meters from his original position, right in front of the royal family, his father, and Henri. They looked at him surprised, but he just shrugged.
Although he didn't suffer damage again, Horis realized that his ordinary attacks would never hit Aion… his line of attack was too easy to read. Even if he somehow becomes three times stronger, Aion will dodge them. Without any other choice, Horis made up his mind… actually, he made his anger make the choice for him. He touched the center of his armor, and then it enveloped his right hand and eventually assumed the shape of a sword… a sword that was as big as himself.
"If that isn't cheating, I don't know what is…" Aion frowned.
Aion wanted to know where he got that armor… still, there was no time to think about that. The enemy broke the rules first, so Aion could do it as well. The referee was nowhere to be seen, but Aion had become the winner of the tournament. Now he just had to kill that asshole…
Aion summoned the hand axes from his armor and made those who still were watching the fight frown. They never saw such weapons before, and they couldn't tell where or when Aion got those…
Before charging, Horis swung the sword toward Aion numerous times, and the projectiles in the same of fists on fire transformed into sword slashes that could move toward him even faster. Aion threw one of his axes to hit one of the projectiles and create an explosion in the middle of the arena. After that, he began to run to the sides while the enemy was unaware of him. The weapon returned to his hand, and then Aion finally charged toward the enemy.
When Horis realized where Aion was, he was pretty close. Still, he didn't give up on firing the fire slashes. However, Aion threw one of his hand axes again and made the weapon hit the enemy's attack and causing an explosion right in front of him. Horis flinched for a moment, and Aion used that chance to run around Horis and attack him from behind. However, he turned around, already swinging his sword. The weapon almost chopped Aion's head off but lowered his stance to dodge the attack.
Aion succeded and charged again, but when he got on the range to attack, the sword was already being swung downward toward his head again. The speed Horis could swing the sword with a single arm was insane…
Aion fixed his stance to block the attack, but the enemy didn't notice that he took a step to the side while he was fixing his stance. The impact almost crushed him, but in the end, that also worked for Aion's plan. Thanks to his stance, he parried the attack to the side, and then the sword hit the ground, making the area tremble. Recovering from such an attack would take a while for the enemy. So, Aion used that chance to attack.
When Horis saw Aion aiming at his remaining eye, he immediately moved his left hand to protect that. In a normal situation, he would have realized that attacking him with the other hand would be a better alternative, but deep down, Horis was afraid of Aion taking his sight from him. Still, Aion didn't stop and attack… he aimed for the neck of the enemy and attacked the jugular.
The enemy flinched when he felt some damage there and the feeling of the wet blood falling from the wound… it was just a small wound, it closed soon enough due to his hot aura, but another hit in the area and they would have a hard time preventing himself from dying of blood loss.
Horis let go of his sword for a short while and then tried to slap Aion away from him. That worked… but he didn't expect that Aion would just accept being hit because he grabbed the weird sword/armor.
For all intentions and purposes, the attack should have killed Aion. However, at the last moment, he jumped to the side and decreased the power of the impact… he still landed with his shoulder on the wall, though, dislocating it. He quickly fixed it while he was touching the center of the sword hilt. After not so long, the armor began to envelop his body… what a convenient magic item that could adapt to the user…
Horis looked at all that in disbelief… still, he soon recovered. Aion might have his armor, but he didn't have the same level of natural endurance… a single good impact on the head will be enough to kill him…
Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.
Chapter C67 A Fight To Death (5)
Aion didn't feel the weight of the armor, but he couldn't feel it strengthening himself either. It was a magic item that was focused on durability even when it was in sword form, so perhaps that was to be expected… Regardless, Aion didn't have time to think about that since the enemy charged at him while using the fire blast punches again.
This time, Aion charged in a straight line, only protecting his head with his hand axes. The other parts that were hit were protected by the black armor. Horis bit his lips in annoyance. Aion thought that he would obtain more power, but nothing happened. It seemed that his body finally reached the limit…
Horis couldn't get any more power up, but that didn't prevent him from improving his abilities. Instead of firing those powerful fire blasts, he made his hands practically burn to enhance his direct attacks and waited for Aion's approach… that would be troublesome, but Aion expected nothing less from that asshole.
The enemy tried to punch Aion, and then swung his hand axes to attack as well. When they came in contact, a small explosion happened, and while Aion wounded the enemy's fists a bit, the explosion also pushed him backward for several meters. The armor did its job to protect him, so he was fine.
Horis charged faster than Aion and began to punch him. Aion blocked the attacks with his hand axes and was pushed backward for several meters with each hit. While his weapons were harder the ordinary ones, they still could break, so he couldn't do that forever…
Despite that, the one who got impatient first was Horis. With both of his fists on fire, he tried to smash Aion from the sides. The first hit didn't work, but Horis kept attacking again and again. Aion decided to take advantage of his stupidity and then jumped to attack the enemy's throat again. However, Horis stopped attacking and grabbed him by the neck.
The armor got in the way and prevented Horis from strangling Aion, even when the enemy was using both hands. However, he insisted… it almost felt like he thought that he could break his own armor like that.
Aion couldn't let that happen and tried to attack. However, his arms were shorter than Horis', so he couldn't hit the enemy's head or neck. When Aion heard the sound of something cracking near his neck, he immediately began to attack the enemy's elbows. With each hit, a small wound was slowly getting bigger in size… blood started to gush from the wound, and while his aura closed the wounds, Aion's attacks opened it again.
Despite the pain, Horis kept going… he decided to bet that his arms would last longer than his armor… at that point in time, Aion could no longer see the point of saving his energy, so he used Inner Force to the max level and began to attack even faster, his strikes pierced even deeper than before… Horis flinched and then realized that he was going to lose the bet.
In the end, Horis stopped the straggling and then smashed Aion's body against the ground. That stopped his attacks, and he did that several more times… Between the short of time between those attacks, Aion found an opening and then attacked one of the elbows of the enemy with all his might. The weapon pierced deeper than before and cut the artery of the elbow.
Rage took over Horis' body as he smashed Aion's body against the ground, creating a ten meters wide crater. Several parts of the armor cracked, and then Horis threw Aion to the side… The power of the attack had been so massive that Aion collided agaisnt the walls of the arena and passed through it. Aion's body only stopped when he was no longer inside the arena and after he rolled on the ground for dozens of times.
That got Aion seriously. He saw the world spinning when he tried to get up. The armor began to fall apart, and Aion knew that he could no longer he hit when he spat a lot of blood…
Horis approached through the hole that Aion made while holding his damaged artery. He also needed to be healed as soon as possible because his Aura couldn't close that wound. Still, he was too stupid to be reasonable at this point… in that state, he could only think of killing Aion.
In the end, before the enemy could attack, Aion changed jobs and then became a healer and used his small amount of mana and power with a level one class to heal himself, even if a little bit. Horis realized that Aion had done something crazy and that he couldn't let him continue… So he strengthened his Aura to the limits, to the point that even his blood began to burn, enveloping his body on a red and dark Aura.
"I guess this is it… my golden chance to kill him, but it won't come cheap…" Aion furrowed his eyebrows.
The enemy was going to attack with all his might, so he would leave himself wide open for a short window of time. If Aion uses that chance to attack without caring about defense as well, he will have the chance to inflict a shit ton of damage, and as long as he hits his target, he will defeat him. However, the chances of him going down as well were… pretty high.
"Let's finish this, shithead," Aion said.
Horis' aura exploded once more before charging at Aion… his presence had become so powerful that he left a path of burned ground on the land he had crossed before hitting Aion. Despite that, he kept pushing Aion for dozens of meters until they collided agaisnt a fifty meters tall hill and then created an explosion that destroyed it… completely.
Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.
Chapter C68 Reward
When Aion began to wake up, he felt like his body had been over by truck-kun several times… like he had played the role of a ball in a soccer game, and the teams of both sides had eleven truck-kuns on each side. Despite that, he felt some warmth in his left hand, and then when he opened his eyes, he saw his mother sleeping on a chair and holding his hand. His body was covered in bandages, but at least most of the wounds had disappeared, and most importantly, he survived.
"I guess I won…" Aion thought, recalling the last moment of the fight.
Aion didn't flinch even in face of death. In fact, he charged toward it with all his might while holding his axes and pointing them at Horis' head. The last thing he remembers was them hitting the enemy's head, nothing more.
Berserker Lv 87
Health: 629/1066
Mana: 04/04
Stamina: 296/296
Strength: 131 + 101
Dexterity: 16
Magic: 01
Endurance: 131+ 64
Resistance: 01
Speed: 131
Status: 75
Hand Axes Refinement Lv 40
Bonuses: Strength + 64, Endurance + 64
Skills: Rage Lv 28 (Efficiency Lv 43), Roar Lv 22, Body Slam Lv 10, Destroyer Lv 29 (Power Lv 100)
Passive: HP Plus Lv 27 (Efficiency Lv 50), Brute Strength Lv 25 (Efficiency Lv 50), Pain Resistance Lv 25,
Improvement Points: 00
Accumulated Experience: 15
Coins: 3.980
Inventory:
Absorption: 0/1000
processing: 0/1000
Reset
Aion checked his parameters and learned why he survived… the damage he suffered in the last attack made the skill HP plus level up five times. People make their own luck, so Aion decided to think that he won because he was more resourceful and not stupid like a door.
In any case, Aion was feeling quite hungry and sluggish, so he wondered how much time had passed since the fight. He could recover his health at one point per hour, but he was healed while he was unconscious, so it was hard to say…
Regardless, Aion achieved his goal. Now he just had to consider his next steps, so he used that peaceful time for that. A couple of hours later, Artemisia woke up and began to cry while hugging her son. That hurt a little bit, but Aion felt that he deserved that much punishment for making her worry. Still, more punishment was waiting for him after one hell of a lecture, and then he had his ears pulled a little bit.
"How do you feel, my stupid son?" Artemisia asked. "Does somewhere hurt? You have been sleeping for five days, so I will ask someone to make some food for you."
"That would be good… more than anything, my ears hurt, and my eardrums as well," Aion replied. "Sorry for worrying you, mom. What happened while I was on the dreams land?"
"Nothing much… your father and brothers came a few times to check on you, that was all," Artemisia said. "It seems that you won and Horis died… but you looked like… it was hard to describe using words. All in all, you returned here like you were a massive pile of wounds over each other."
"I am glad that my handsome face is back to normal then," Aion said.
"Don't move from here. Your father told me to call you as soon as you wake up," Artemisia said. "It looks like he has some serious thing to say."
Aion nodded… while wondering what it was about. Would the king change his mind now? Would he be stupid enough to get on the wrong side of someone who defeated that fucking monster? While Aion wasn't strong enough to be a problem for several armies like Horis, he sure could take more than a few dozen men, even more, if he used magic.
Regardless, after a while, Lexus appeared with his mother, and he had something like bed hair. It was hard to say, but it looked like Aion woke up in the middle of the night. That was why the mansion was so quiet. Despite that, it looked like Lexus was genuinely relieved… even though his son had just killed one of his bosses. Come to think of it, Lexus probably will be promoted, so things weren't so bad for him.
"It seems that you are fine… your healing speed astonished us," Lexus said after a long sigh. "It doesn't look like you want to waste time talking about this, so I will cut to the chase. You obtained your goal, and you can take your mother to that territory I mentioned years ago. However, there won't be a reward ceremony. While your fight changed the minds of many people about you, a lot of them still now hate and fear you."
"That was fine. If I had the chance, I also would skip something as boring as an awarding ceremony," Aion said. "Regardless, how will things play out for the Kresnik family after I killed that guy?"
"You don't have to worry about that; while even he had a family and loyal followers, nothing major would happen," Lexus replied. "For a while, many people have tried to find a way to make Horis retire… while he was strong, in recent years, his strength only brought the challenge. The recent invasion of Caellis was caused because he wanted to fight Horis. His loss is a pity, but most people knew that he lost in a fair fight… even though you two pulled some weird weapons in the middle of it."
"Is that so… that is fine then," Aion said and then began to relax to sleep again. "It would bother me a little if my actions were to cause problems to those uninvolved."
"I see… thank you for your consideration," Lexus said. "Regardless, you should rest for a while and start your trip only when you are fully recovered. It will be impossible to hide the results of the tournament and now those that wanted to defeat Horis will probably come after you."
Chapter C69 Travel
Aion had to wait for two more weeks before his body was finally back to normal. The fact that his health was back in full after one week didn't help all that much. He learned that abusing his body that much would make him deal with lasting damage, and that was quite dangerous… healing magic could help a bit, but only a bit since his health was already full.
In any case, that seemed like a common event for the family. So, in order not to make Aion feel left out, everyone reunited at the entrance of the house to say their farewells. Artemisia was feeling quite uneasy since she had been treated like air for over ten years, and that was farewell was mostly for his son. Not to mention, she had never left the house in a very long time… despite that, Aion's brothers at least smiled at her and said goodbye. It was the only courtesy they could offer, considering that there were some ill feelings in the family regarding her. All because of the past that she wasn't involved in…
"Life doesn't become stupidly easier just because you got stronger," Lexus said. "You need to keep your guard up at all times since there are many people in the world, and they will do everything to reach their goals."
"I will keep that in mind," Aion said.
The king didn't hesitate for a second about sending Aion away since many people saw him as a ticking time bomb. Moreover, his territory is pretty close to the western border… few people of the realm will show their hatred toward his mother, but other problems are there as well.
"Once we have the chance, we will pay a visit," Henri declared and then offered a handshake.
"I will get stronger too, so prepare for to be challenged… let's not fight to the death, though," Philip said.
"You are a good inspiration to me. I hope that one day I can become a hard worker like you," Elio said.
"Don't be a stranger and send some letters if you need help with something. You just need to say," Georges said.
Aion nodded and accepted their handshake before jumping to drive the carriage. His mother was already inside waiting… in the end, it didn't look like Aion would ever make progress in the relationship with his sisters and their mothers, but that was fine.
There was no such a world where everyone could get along with everyone… people would have to become mindless drones for that to happen. Some people couldn't learn from the past, and they could only recall the bad memories since they were the hardest ones to forget.
"Until later, Aion," Lexus said.
"Yes, father," Aion said. "Don't let your old bones rust too much. See you around."
Lexus sighed as he watched his son, making the horses pull the carriage. Aion wasn't planning to return to the capital, and they wouldn't go to the western border unless something happened, so that might be a farewell for many years.
While the carriage was crossing the capital, Aion noticed many people looking at him, but they didn't try anything and always avoided his eyes. It wasn't like he was that bloodthirsty… Regardless, Aion paid a visit to the arena the other day, and he saw that most of it had been destroyed, mainly because of Horis, but everyone assumed that it was his fault as well.
In any case, Aion didn't care about those people, and the feeling of being feared by those he hated for their prejudice was pretty refreshing. The guards at the gate of the capital also reacted pretty much in the same way. Those guys hadn't had a good fight in years, so they were as rusty as they come, and they feared those who were really strong. It was quite crazy that those people protected the city Aion lived in for ten years.
"We have left the capital, mom," Aion said. "You don't have to hide anymore."
"I will wait here until we arrive. Many people still link blond hair and blue eyes to my family," Artemisia said.
It looked like Artemisia would need some time to get used to having her freedom back. In any case, the trip to the territory would take at least one week. Even considering the fact that they wouldn't stop in any city, town, or village to rest. With that in mind, Aion will have to keep himself cautious of bandits and monsters…
"I guess I can deal with most monsters and low lives since I didn't reset Berserker," Aion thought. "Still, I should be focusing on leveling up the other classes for a while. I won by relying on that class, but fighting like that and trying to end things as soon as possible doesn't suit me. Moreover, I end up leaving myself wide open to most attacks from the sides and back."
While Aion was thinking about that, he also recalled the things that he had heard from his father regarding the territory that he had to manage. Since it was close to the border, it wasn't hard for bandits or monsters to show up, attack the people and destroy the fields. He had to do something about the security level of the place.
Aion also will have to make a point to those who will work for him, those who show any signs of prejudice will be kicked out. They might call him a tyrant, but he was the new lord of the area, and he had that power. It might become troublesome if he kicks out too many people, though…
"I guess I will use one thing to help the other… That should make things easier for me," Aion thought.
The area that Aion was going to rule had one town and six villages, so he would have to do a lot o of traveling. Fortunately, there was a dungeon nearby the border, used mainly by the people of Rosberg kingdom… Carlos the Tainted's homeland.
Chapter C70 Lord
In the end, the experience that Aion had as a firefighter that had to sometimes work on turns of 24 hours ended up helping a lot along the way. Staying awake late was hard with that body, but it was only a matter of willpower and taking naps and sleeping when the horses were sleeping and his mother was looking after them.
Thanks to that, they didn't find any problems along the way. The only thing that bothered Aion was his ass which had to endure most of his weight all day. Still, he managed to kill time by watching the terrain of the kingdom. It was mostly green in the areas that Aion crossed. It was easy to find towns and villages near the roads, but they decreased in number after a few days.
"Your father said that the territory used to have another town and five more villages… It seems that the attacks of Caelis made many people move," Artemisia said on the morning of the sixth day when they saw an abandoned village in ruins.
"If we are already in the territory, it will be difficult to move around every day," Aion said. "I guess I should pay a visit once a week then."
"For starters, you should stay in each one for a few days to get a good feel of how things operate in those places," Artemisia said. "Those that stayed behind over the years are loyal to the Kresnik family, but problems might arise if you give them orders without knowing what they need and want."
"Right," Aion said.
Before coming, Aion tried to look for maps of the world and of the kingdom, but he only found one that was complete. Naturally, it was of the Zaera kingdom… But at least it had half of the area of the neighbors. While it wasn't perfect, the kingdom had the format of half bottom of the bottom of a wheel, but thicker… Thanks to that, several families guarded the borders, and the Kresnik family guarded the central area of the western side. It was a pity that he couldn't use the coastal areas, but at least he was the closest to the dungeon.
While no one measured the size of the territory, Aion confirmed that it was at seventy kilometers long from east to west when he reached the first village. The people there were waiting for the new lord, and they had heard rumors about him, but they truly couldn't believe that a ten-year-old boy was the lord and that he had defeated Horis.
"Who is the village chief?" Aion asked while looking around.
"I am, my lord," a man in his fifties that was wearing a long gray cloak stepped forward and said. "My name is Jorn."
"I am Aion Kresnik, and it is nice to meet you and your people," Aion said. "Today, I just stopped to give a brief greeting. In one week or so, I will return to talk about the management of the land. It seems you are doing well so far, but it will be better if we talk about it in more detail in due time."
"Certainly," Jorn said.
It was going to be a pain, but Aion knew that he would have to take his time organizing things around. He could see some fields around the village and some cattle, but it was too small in scale to be considered profitable. Now that Aion had to live there, he would make things grow and then eventually fortify the whole area against monsters and attacks. That will make more people move there, and then the economy will improve.
"The richer I become, the stronger I can get, after all," Aion thought.
Aion had planned to visit all the villages that day, but when the sun was setting, he had only visited three. It would be nice for him and his mother to sleep in some beds after so long. Moreover, they had to check the town they were going to stay in from now on, and it would be difficult to do that late at the night.
When they saw the town in the distance, they found that it had some ten meters tall walls and they looked pretty reliable, but the town wasn't that big, probably had around five thousand inhabitants. Aion will have to spend most of his time working there, and he will have to be fast in order to have as much free time as possible for training and doing his exploration of the terrain.
Only five guards were at the gates, and they frowned when they saw a carriage approaching that late, but they recognized the design, it was the same as the previous lord used. Despite things, they saluted Aion when he stopped.
"Is the captain of the guards around?" Aion asked.
"He is off duty, my lord," one of the guards replied.
"Tell him to report in the morning to my state," Aion said.
"Understood," the guard said.
Aion wasn't used to giving orders, but he wouldn't hesitate, and he had been trained to do that while he was learning tactics. The more unreliable and insecure you look, the fewer people tend to follow you. That was pretty much a logic that applied in all worlds…
Few people were on the streets at night. It was hard to find people willing to enjoy nightlife near the border. Still, the sound of carriages was relatively unusual, so some people left their houses to check things. They also had heard that the new lord was coming, so they were curious… It was too dark to see anything, though.
Eventually, Aion found his new house in the distance.