Chapter Twenty-Six: Improvements
'Did she just say that witch Madonna rose to power due to the tablet of the god of darkness?' Dusken trembled, realization dawned on him.
The tablet he sought was with the Witch Madonna. A light burned in the depths of his eyes, the determination to get that tablet at all costs.
The thing, though, was that Madonna seemed very powerful. She had, after all, made kingdoms helpless according to Lillian's words.
He inhaled deeply, shaking his head in resignation.
"The tablet that Madonna wields, is it really the tablet of darkness?" his asked solemnly.
Lillian stopped walking as she turned to face him.
"Yes, she holds the legacy of the god of darkness and thus, she also wants that inheritance." Lillian's words were striking, not holding the least bit of doubt.
Dusken creased his brows.
"How powerful is she?" he asked as plans on how to kill her emerged in his mind.
To his surprise though, Lillian chuckled, her laughter ringing slightly like a small bell.
"If you think that you can kill her, cancel out such thoughts." Her laughter paused as she leaned forward. "Witch Madonna is a level nine awakened human, just a step away from the Preeminent Rank."
Dusken's expression changed, he felt many things, and one of them was his heart skipping a bit in flickering terror.
His body shook as all his plans were extinguished before being put into action.
Lillian slowly shook her head.
"Stop overreacting, she's just a level nine. Once we kill her, our strength will drastically improve. Breaking through several levels wouldn't be difficult." her words sounded nonchalant like it was a certainty.
Dusken stared at Lillian as if she had gone senile.
"Just? You say just? Do you know the difference? She has already formed her runic core while we're just children starting the path to power." His words were very right, humans with runic cores were tens of times stronger than those without one.
Creatures could form their runic cores at level one, but humans had to be level five to form theirs.
Even so, Madonna was already level nine. Dusken had reincarnated from Earth, and it was precisely because of this that he wouldn't overestimate himself.
However, to pass this trial, he needed that tablet with Witch Madonna.
'What was the god of darkness thinking? Now I understand why he is a deity over death,' Dusken thought as he recalled what the god of darkness had spoken to the candidates in the god's palace.
- - -
¬You all are armed and ready now. Whoever finds that tablet in the trial shall receive my legacy, and those who fail are doomed to die in the test, this is your choice, you chose me, thus, you chose death¬
- - -
Dusken smirked at this memory. Nothing was entirely impossible for him, as long as there was still a strand of life in him, he would attain his goals.
'Still, I need strength. I need to level up quickly,' He sighed quietly.
"Lil…" Dusken was about to speak out when suddenly, a viscous light glint ran through his eyes as he fiercely stared forward.
Lillian immediately became alarmed as she faced ahead; seeing nothing, she frowned.
"Is there any problem?" Her words held a questioning tone as well as curiosity.
Dusken remained silent. The shadow he had sent to scout ahead just noticed something. Fifty metres away, two beastly shadows were swiftly heading towards their location.
"Yes, two creatures are charging at us from ahead." Dusken had a dark expression on his face.
Lillian reacted immediately, gripping her claws tighter. Dusken glanced in the distance, his stare penetrating beyond.
Without hesitation, he called back his shadow. However, the creatures that were heading towards him moved rapidly.
Soon, a figure jumped out from behind a tree, while another one simply charged forward like a bull before stopping.
Lillian's grip on the claws tightened, and Dusken stretched his hands forward.
Dark light swirled around his wrists, and soon, a small card materialised. He grasped it with an unshaken grip.
Ahead of him were two Level One creatures.
One was a small beast with overflowing thick black hair; its tiny, bony hands ended with a set of long, dark nails that radiated plumes of black smoke, like a tool used for witchcraft.
Its leg was thicker than its hands, boosting great strength. From its tiny spine sprouted two small, but mature wings.
The monster's face was covered in hair, and only its two narrow dark eyes were revealed, burning with a strange, beastly calm.
The other creature was different, though, but before he could analyse any further, it charged forward. Its eyes glared with maddening, murderous fury.
I'm not handling that,' he thought, shaking his head inwardly. For some reason, he felt a strange attraction to the black-haired beast.
"Lillian, you'll handle that beast!" He shouted while charging at the other creature.
The black-haired beast screeched, and flapped its wings, shooting towards him at frightening speed.
The air whistled in the creature's wake. Dusken sidestepped, leaves rustling as his foot scraped the ground, avoiding the beast's trajectory.
He swung his blade in a wide arc, aiming for one of the beast's wings. His palm ached from the echoes of previous battles.
The creature twisted itself in the air, one of its nails shooting out with rapid speed. Dusken had to abandon his previous plan in order to defend himself.
'C-curse it,' he thought while avoiding the smoking nail.
What had just happened was dangerous. He didn't know what that nail held, it may have been a dangerous poison or something more sinister.
Without relaxing a bit, the creature spun in the air and shot at him. Following the movements of its shadow, he once again avoided its attack.
This time, however, his sword instantly swung out as a dark tattoo on his body swarm through his skin, entering the blade.
'Dark flame.' The steel on his sword darkened, cutting into non-resistant flesh.
The creature jolted due to the pain from the wound, sending hot liquid splashing on Dusken's hands.
With a thud, the beast fell to the soft ground of the desert but then stomped the earth with its muscular legs, pouncing back at Dusken.
It's dark nails whistled through the air, slicing at him with ferocious precision. He tilted his body a little to his right, missing its attack by a few centimetres.
His knee shot upward, connecting with the jaw of the monstrosity, sending it reeling through the air as blood spurted out of its wound.
'Easy. I've greatly improved from the earlier battles.' He thought while advancing, planning not to give the creature extra time to stabilise itself.
Arriving before the fallen beast, his sword tore the air apart in a downward slash with lethal accuracy.
Panic flashed in the beast's eyes as it flapped its remaining wing while shooting its nails at Dusken.
'Troublesome.' He grimaced inwardly.
Dark light manifested and swirled around him as a card materialised.
Spell card activation: Nightfall Whisper.
A silent whisper sounded, as his shadow rose, making a shield manifest, receiving all the stabs of the creature's nails.
Due to his earlier pause to summon his spell card, his attack had been disrupted, enabling the beast to escape fatal danger.
His opponent's eyes held beastly wariness as it stared at him, green blood constantly dripping from its wound as it roared furiously at him.
However, it didn't dare to attack.
'Damn it, I was planning not to expose my spell card; now Lillian would know about it,' Dusken was troubled inwardly, but still, there was nothing to regret. Who knew if those nails could have killed him anyway?
Hurriedly summoning his soul script, he glanced at his Abysmal points.
Abysmal Points: [30/1000]
'Great improvements,' He smiled inwardly.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he swung his sword in a round arc, aiming to cut down the creature, when something shocking suddenly happened.