"Haah... Haah... I-it's finally over."
On the ground lay a small boy, holding a chipped sword and bloodied all over. His expression was like he was about to close his eyes anytime soon, and any passerby, in this scenario, would surely think of him being at death's door.
Despite the grim look, Xavier was fine. Well, almost. Sure, the blood all over him was the wolf's, but the exhaustion was real. Right now, every breath felt like doing a push-up after failure, and lifting a finger felt like lifting a mountain. It was a state of complete drain that if any other child were to experience it, they would rather die.
'Using those sword techniques in this frail body... I'm truly lucky that I didn't die. Let's not use those, and try to think of other ways. But still, 'Level 1 Complete!', it can only mean I passed this round.'
Indeed he had cleared this round. The trial consists of many sub-levels, each harder than the previous one. Just the difficulty of the very first level had made it obvious that it would only get much, much harder from here on.
**************
Level 1 Complete!
Deaths Taken: 1
Activate Recovery?
[Yes] [No]
Note: You will be instantly transported to the next level.
**************
'Well... Not much choice I have here, do I? Let's just get on with it...'
Xavier imagined selecting 'Yes' in his mind, as he couldn't even lift his finger to touch the screen. Unsurprisingly, it worked, and Xavier blacked out.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing in the same position where he started his match against the wolf, without any of the fatigue or damage he incurred. He miraculously healed from injuries that would take years for him to heal and worse yet, permanently paralyze a normal boy.
Just, there was one small problem.
"Hmm? Where the fuck is my sword?"
The sword did not come with him. Instead, all he had this time were twin daggers. They were of perfect quality, but still, they were daggers.
'Don't tell me... The weapons are randomized?! What the fuck am I supposed to do if I get some weird-ass weapon like a bow? This shit just became a million times harder now!
Luckily, daggers aren't hard to use for me. They are similar enough to a sword to apply basic techniques, and my experience and skills can make up for the rest.'
Xavier twirled the daggers around to get comfortable with them, instinctively getting into the best position for them. It was a stance that experienced dagger users wouldn't be able to appreciate, but it was easy for Xavier. He was someone who had reached the highest peak of the mythical Archons with just a sword in hand, so someone of his caliber could easily use the concepts of one weapon onto another one, given that it's similar enough.
*CREAK*
Alas, he heard that dreaded sound he anticipated. He knew that he would not truly die, but death was still something he wished to avoid in any circumstances.
'I have died twice, still, I fear death. Those foolhardy braves who charge without any care for their lives, it may seem like 'courage' to a layperson, but I know... They are simply ignorant of the horrors of death.
Cheating death has not relieved my fear of it, instead, it has made me respect it more. It represents not just the end of life, but the end of your story, your ability to change your fate. When one dies, it's all over.
...That's why, I'll try my best to stay alive. I'll die more, that's a given, but not one life of mine will be used without me trying to desperately survive. There will be no 'sacrifices' to gain more info about my enemy, none at all. Because if I don't do so, I fear I'll get used to dying... I'll get used to treating my life without worth, and I may make an irreversible mistake someday...'
*ROAR*
The cries of the magic beast bellowed out, blowing dust everywhere. It was surely beyond the realm of rank 1, that much Xavier was sure of.
*Thump* *Thump*
Heavy footsteps resounded out, a giant silhouette behind the screen of dust and sand. From the danger he was sensing, this monster had to be peak of rank 2, or maybe even beyond.
The dust settled, and from it came out a 10 feet tall disgusting humanoid creature, the same color as the sands. It was holding a trunk-sized club and had a bone necklace around him. It was a desert ogre. A rare variant of the ogre monsters who thrive in the dry deserts instead of the lush forests. Apart from their regenerative capabilities, they had high defense as well as poison on their claws and fangs.
'Shit! It's just the second stage, but it's a damn ogre! And a rare variant at that! This monster should be peak rank 2, but fighting it unprepared can easily feel like rank 3... I'm not even fucking initiated yet, did this damn trial forget that?!'
*sigh*
Xavier took a deep breath and cleared his mind, because this was a battle he could not have any distracting thoughts in between. It was already a hard-to-kill monster and any shallow strikes would heal almost immediately, and give the ogre a chance to punish his careless attacks.
'Luckily, I have slayed millions of your kind in the great forest... And they were 'true' ogres, half-immortal brutes instead of a one-trick pony like this... I can kill it. No... I will kill it.'
"Supreme Demonic Style:
Advent of Insanity."
Xavier dashed around with a high speed impossible for someone his age and rank, trying to befuddle the ogre, but it wasn't working too well, as the ogre seemed to keep up and follow up with his eyes. Xavier noticed this, but still kept up his rush.
'Look at that focus, he is keeping up, but barely. Once I get into its blindspot, I'll be good as gone for him. Now, let's lose him.'
Xavier stopped hopping around and headed straight for the ogre. It was caught by surprise, but it tried to smack the bug foolishly heading towards it by swinging its huge club.
*BOOM*
A cloud of dust bloomed, hiding everything inside it. The ogre once again swung the club to regain its sight in panic, but it was too late. Xavier was gone, out of its sight. Before it can even look around to find it,
*KIEEEK*
A sound of pain burst out of its mouth, and the ogre realized that the bug had slashed its Achilles tendon. It was enraged, and it jumped high up despite its injuries. It had regained its sight of the bug, and anger filled its eyes.
Xavier, on the other hand, was in no condition to celebrate this strike.
'Shit! The wound was too shallow! It even jumped up despite me cutting the very muscle used to jump. It's even healed already...'
The ogre was now lunging towards Xavier, much to his despair. He reacted quickly and dodged, but doing so made him lose all his advantage in terms of momentum. It was back to square zero, but Xavier was at a huge disadvantage, with him being exhausted and the ogre being enraged and cautious.