The moment Ares stepped onto the 9th floor, he was greeted by a breathtaking sight.
A vast, seemingly endless field stretched before him, carpeted with grass as blue as the summer sky.
The grass swayed gently in a breeze that seemed to come from nowhere, shimmering under the ethereal glow of an unseen light source.
Ares paused, his usually calm expression flickering with awe.
Ares crouched, running his fingers over the grass. It was soft, almost silken, yet it sprang back instantly, full of life. He couldn't help but marvel at its vivid colour.
"Blue grass...?" he muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. "How is this even possible?"
He allowed himself a rare moment of wonder, his usual stoic demeanour giving way to a spark of curiosity. But that moment was short lived.
Roar!
A roar—deep, guttural, and earth-shaking—ripped through the air, shattering the tranquillity.
Ares' head snapped up, and his hand instinctively went to his sword. He turned toward the sound, his sharp eyes catching sight of a massive figure barreling toward him.
It was a gorilla—no, something far more terrifying than an ordinary gorilla.
The creature stood five metres tall, a hulking mass of raw power and menace. Its body was covered in thick, black armour that gleamed like polished obsidian under the strange light of the field.
The armour wasn't just for show; it clung to the beast's form perfectly, giving it an air of invincibility.
It's crimson eyes burned with a terrifying intelligence, and its teeth, sharp and uneven, were bared in a snarl that promised only destruction.
Ares' grip tightened on his blade as the weight of what he was facing settled in his mind.
A greater Primordial fragment...
He recalled what he knew about Primordial fragments and their ranks. They were classified into five stages based on the level of the Primordial zone that birthed them.
The first stage were Lesser Fragments. They were the weakest fragments but still deadly to most beginner awakened.
Then there was the Greater Fragments. They were a step above, with abilities and strength that could crush even the skilled awakened. This stage had a steep power curve, and the strength of these fragments at the late levels were terrifying.
Next were the Rare Fragments, followed by the Legendary Fragments and then the Refined Fragments. Ares didn't know much about these as their informations were not available to the public.
Everything he had faced so far on the lower floors had been peak Lesser Fragments.
They were strong, but manageable with skill. This gorilla, however, was a low Greater Fragment, and its presence alone radiated danger.
There was no time to waste. Ares straightened, his focus sharpening like the edge of his blade.
He drew his sword with a quiet hiss, the blade catching the strange light of the field, and held its sheathe firmly in his left hand, ready to use it as both a weapon and a shield.
His heartbeat steadied, his breathing slow and deliberate.
The gorilla roared again, its massive fists slamming into the ground and shaking the field.
Ares noticed a faint glow on its armour, the light shifting between red and blue. His mind worked quickly, trying to piece together what that meant. 'What kind of ability is that?'
Without warning, the gorilla leapt, its massive fists crashing down where Ares had stood a moment earlier.
Boom!
The ground erupted in a shower of dirt and blue grass, but Ares had already moved, his Burst technique propelling him sideward in a blur of speed.
The fight had already began.
Ares moved quickly, circling the gorilla and testing its defences with a quick, precise strike.
Clang!
His blade glanced off the armour with a clang, sparks flying as if he'd struck solid metal.
'Impenetrable? No... there's something more.'
The gorilla roared and spun, its massive arm sweeping toward Ares like a battering ram. He ducked low, sliding under the blow, and aimed for its unprotected inner thigh.
Clang!
The blade bounced off, sending Ares skidding back. He frowned. The armour on that spot had glowed blue just before impact.
'The blue glow... it must repel attacks!'
The gorilla didn't give him time to think. It charged again, its fist smashing into the ground as Ares flipped backward, landing gracefully on his feet.
He smoothly switched his stance, holding his sword in a reverse grip as he darted forward, feinting left before slashing upward.
Dum!
This time, the armour on the gorilla glowed red, and his blade stuck to it like glue.
'F*ck! Red light traps anything it touches!'
Seeing this, the gorilla grinned—or at least it looked like it—and swung its arm, dragging Ares along with it.
Ares was forced to let go of his sword at the last second, twisting midair to land on his feet, and used the sheathe to parry the next blow.
Boom!
It was like blocking a falling tree. The impact jarred his arms and flung him back aggressively.
The gorilla pounced after him madly, not giving him any time to rest. Realising he needed a breather, Ares activated his Bloodline Ability: Switch.
Ooooom!
In an instant, his body flickered, and he vanished, slipping into a parallel world.
The gorilla looked around, confused, pounding the ground in frustration.
From his hidden vantage point, Ares studied its movements, memorising the rhythm of its attacks.
He quickly deduced that the armour had 3 modes. The black mode was it's normal mode with any special effects.
The red mode had the special effect of trapping things. Any thing that hit the armour while it was at this mode would be stuck to it.
The blue mode, which was the last, had the special effect of repellency. Unlike the red which trapped attack, this mode bounced it back with more force.
Ares noted all of this and quickly formulated a plan before deactivate Switch as it used a lot of force to stay in the parallel world.
He had already mastered the rhythm of the color switching by the armour.
When he reappeared, it was directly beside his fallen sword. He picked it up in one smooth, graceful move and flowed into a strike aiming for the back of its knee where the armour was thinnest.
Boom!
The gorilla howled in pain, staggering as its leg buckled. It's armour had been on the black mode, so there were no special effects.
Now that he understood the armour's mechanics, Ares adjusted his tactics.
He waited for the black glow, striking only at unarmoured spots to avoid the powerful armour.
When the red glow activated, he used feints to evade the gorilla's rampage, while also exhausting it's stamina in the process.
The beast's roars grew more frantic as Ares' strikes became more precise. He moved like a shadow, always one step ahead, his sword flashing like lightning.
But the gorilla was far from defeated.
In a desperate move, the gorilla's entire body began to glow, alternating rapidly between red and blue. It charged at Ares with reckless abandon, its movements wild and unpredictable.
Boom!
Ares braced himself, his mind racing. He couldn't afford a single mistake.
The beast lunged, and Ares activated Burst, his body moving faster than the eye could follow.
He slid under the gorilla's legs, twisting mid-motion to deliver a powerful upward slash along its unprotected crotch.
The gorilla roared in agony, collapsing to its knees. Ares didn't hesitate. He leapt onto its back, driving his blade deep into the base of its skull.
The creature let out one final, ear-splitting roar before collapsing, its massive frame shaking the ground.
Ares stood over the fallen beast, his chest heaving as he caught his breath.
The field was silent now, the only sound the faint hum of energy as the gorilla's body began to dissolve into glowing motes of light.
He felt a surge of energy course through him, a reward for his victory from the tower.
He wiped his blade clean and sheathed it, his expression calm but his eyes burning with determination. This was only the 9th floor, and the trials ahead would only grow harder.
"Greater Fragment," he said softly, a rare smile tugging at his lips. "Not so great after all."
_____
Power stone Goal!
50 PS - 1 Bonus chapter
100 PS - 2 Bonus chapter
200 PS (Quite an achievement as of now) - 3 Bonus chapters.