Alsvid lay weakened on the ground with Nyxarios towering over him. He could feel a build-up of unknown energy within his body but hadn't figured out how to access it. Pushing through, he forced himself onto his feet and threw out a fist, his body exploded with what little essence he had managed to recover as he activated an essence burst with his fist.
As with all the other times, it disappeared right before it could deal any real damage to the creature. Nyxarios enlarged its arm and wrapped it around Alsvid as firmly as it could without killing him.
Feeling weak and desperate, Alsvid tried to resist knowing full well that it was a useless struggle, he still tried nonetheless. In his desperate situation he finally managed to tap into the foreign energy as it burst forth filling his entire being with power. Due to Nyxarios not trying to kill him and it not expecting a random burst of strength, Alsvid was able to force his way out of the creature's arm as the foreign energy slowly built up while he was still being empowered. Before Alsvid could land on the ground,
Bang...
Nyxarios slammed its hand into the ground and kept it there to see if it hit anything.
Pow...
Nyxarios staggered as it felt something hit its face. Alsvid had tried to punch it away and got a somewhat decent hit Nyxarios roared in anger as its arm increased size. He then slapped Alsvid across the battlefield before charging up a beam of essence and firing a warning shot that wouldn't have killed Alsvid if it landed. Thinking quickly, Alsvid fired of an essence burst and rolled out of the way.
Boom...
The beam tore through the essence burst and exploded upon impact with the ground missing Alsvid by the skin of his teeth. At this critical moment, the foreign energy hit a new level as its intensity solidified as if always being a part of him.
[Class skill activated]
[Class skill: Apex]
[The class skill allows its user to gain superiority in all aspects over its intended being]
[Duration: 5 minutes]
Being momentarily distracted by the system, Alsvid failed to see the giant arm of Nyxarios heading towards him up until it slapped him across the battlefield, again.
Nyxarios dashed after Alsvid and didn't give him a chance to land before crushing him into the ground with its arms. It was about to begin a relentless assault when a sudden force sent it flying backwards. Alsvid got back onto his feet with bearly a scratch on him as he could feel all his lost essence rushing back into his body with vigor.
He lifted his his hands in shock and admiration as Nyxarios virtually teleported in front of him. It made a swipping motion with its arm aiming to incapacitate Alsvid at incredible speeds. Alsvid gracefully dodged the swipe and kicked the large arm of the creature. The creature skidded across the ground for a while before coming to a stop.
It then started growing at an alarming rate. Before long, it was as gigantic as a skyscraper and its mere presence caused the grass to start withering. It roared, sending its aura in all directions as it erased virtually everything on the battlefield and beyond. Alsvid's barrier activated and wrapped protectively around his body but even it started to wither.
They both looked at each other waiting for the other to make a move so they can react. Alsvid's background made him incredibly adaptable to circumstance and situation.
Swoosh...
They both vanished. The battle begun. They met at the center of the battlefield. A fist for a gigantic crushing force. Their every clash caused large sections of the land to be destroyed. The battle was by no means fair. Alsvid had the superior power and speed but lacked the experience for it to matter. It was a battle between a lion and a cat.
Two minutes of battle passed. Alsvid's barrier finally gave out as his skin started withering from Nyxarios's aura. Nyxarios intensified its assault trying to overwhelm Alsvid. After a thorough pummel, Nyxarios tried to clasp both arms around Alsvid. Having been exposed to Nyxarios's aura for too long and Alsvid having repeatedly channelled his essence into the creation of a new barrier, his barrier skill stabilized and evolved.
[Skill evolution complete]
[Abyssal shield - Dark presence]
[Dark presence: The user is protected by the aura of darkness and becomes untouchable but is rooted to the ground and won't be able to move until the skill is deactivated]
A sudden burst of essence darkened the area around Alsvid and stopped both of the creature's arms dead in their tracks. Nyxarios tried to clasp its arms together but the resistance grew the more force he put into it.
Whoom...
Alsvid unleashed an essence burst at the creature. As always, it vanished but he didn't give up and sent essence burst after essence burst. In order to remain untouchable, Alsvid was forced to stay in the same location as an entire minute of essence bursts passed. The more Alsvid used the skill the more he understood the skill. Soon he started focusing the power of each essence burst at a singular point which was Nyxarios's head. An essence burst was a literal explosion of essence. It sent out a wave of destructive energy in any direction the user wanted but was uncontrollably once cast. The new way Alsvid was using it was by gathering and centralizing as much of the force as he could for a more focused attack.
This development started showing results as the essence would destabilize the creature's aura, allowing for the force to affect the creature itself. The damage wasn't much but it was something. Having been damaged for the first time since the battle begun, the creature got desperate. It started applying all its might to try and grab Alsvid but this caused the resistance from the skill to grow to a point that it was prying the creature's arms open. Seizing the opportunity, Alsvid gathered an essence burst and put every bit of focus he had into centralizing the force and essence. Once he fired it, he realized that the skill was no longer an essence burst. It was something more.
[Skill evolution complete]