Chapter 5 - Newfound Strength

One bull came charging at him, while the rest of the bulls stood at the back. Their horns on the forehead began to glow in different colors, and it was mesmerizing to look at. But for Lucas, that was the biggest threat right now. "They're using it so soon, never expected this to happen", he screamed in his head.

As the bull neared him, he put his hands out, grabbing the bull with both of his hands. He then used the momentum of the bull to lift it and slammed it on the ground. "Their head is the weak spot, I have to hit it repeatedly. After it dies, I can use this as a body shield and cover myself from those elemental attacks", he thought and began to execute the plan.

He pulled his fist back and punched the bull on its forehead. He repeated it a few more times and blood began to spray on his hands and tee. But he didn't care, for all he wanted was to quickly use it as his body shield. "MOOOO!", came an agonizing cry as the bull fell dead. Lucas used this moment and picked it up as the energy beams shot off the horns of the other bulls.

The bull which he was holding began to sizzle under the fire of the other bulls. After a few moments, the sound stopped and he looked at the bull he was holding. The side which held the brunt of the attack was charred black, and there were some spots where the layer of the skin was burnt over.

"Alright, if I have to save my stamina, I have to finish this quickly. I have a legendary beast to defeat", he thought as he pulled out the dagger from his waist. He threw the bull to the side and stood there with the dagger in his hand. He activated [Surreal] and then he threw both of them. Then, he activated [Shadow Copy], making ten copies appear from the two daggers. Each of them pierced a bull and all of the bulls fell in one swoop.

"Round one has been cleared. Time taken: 00:02:15. Round two will commence after five minutes", said a robotic voice from above. Lucas sighed in relief as he needed to catch his breath. After five minutes, a loud buzz came and he stood up. "Round two will commence now", said the voice.

The gates opened again, and in came three tiger beasts. They were three times taller than Lucas, and they looked very intimidating. Their teeth were protruding out of their mouths like a snake's fang. "Not these tigers", he thought as he gulped down his saliva.

[Intermediate Level Beast: Sabretooth Tiger]

[These tigers are large and they can move extremely fast. Their fangs carry a deadly poison, and their claws have poison in them as well. Highly resilient against physical attacks]

He placed the dagger back to his hip and pulled out the swords from his back. "My normal agility isn't going to be enough. I'm going to need a boost from these swords", he thought as he held both the swords in his hands. Then he activated the skill of the silver sword, increasing his agility.

There were three tigers in front of him. He began to think fast. He moved towards the tiger that was on his left swiftly. With his increase in speed, his movement speed was faster than ordinary. The tiger lifted its front paw, swiping it towards him. Even though he was fast, it was slow in the eyes of the tiger. Lucas saw the paw coming towards him and tilted his body slightly to the left, evading and closing the distance between the two.

He thrust the silver sword into the gut of the tiger and activated the dark sword. The increase in strength made it easy for him to slash both of the blades across the gut of the tiger, killing it instantly. The other two tigers quickly moved around him, circling him in the middle.

He switched the ability back to the silver blade and stood ready to face both of them at the same time. One of the tigers opened its mouth, spewing a long line of poison from its mouth. Lucas jumped back and ended into the paws of the other tiger. The armor which he was wearing stood the brunt of the hit, stunning him for a second. He then looked at the position of the tigers and then activated the skill [Whirlwind].

He began to spin at the place he stood, as a tornado began to form around him. "So I am the eye of the whirlwind, huh?', he thought as he began to spin uncontrollably. The tornado around him began to send out invisible slashes, made of the wind element. He heard the sound of the tigers roaring in anger. He increased his grip on the swords as he reached maximum speed.

The wind slashes cut the tigers into pieces, leaving blood everywhere on the floor. After finishing the skill, his head was spinning wildly. He clutched his head as his vision began to return to him slowly. He looked at the massacre he had caused and sat down on the arena, catching his breath. A buzz sounded and the announcement began. "Round two has been cleared. Time taken: 00:05:26. Round three will commence after ten minutes", said the voice.

He began to pace his breathing. After some time, his stamina began to recover. "Now, the advanced beast is going to be the same, resilient to physical attacks. Then, I must be prepared, this fight will be a little bit longer than the last one", he thought as he looked at the timer, which reached zero. "Round three will commence now", said the voice.

The gate opened up once again to reveal two tortoise-shelled beetles, walking towards him on two legs. The forelegs and forehands had razor-sharp teeth along their sides. The tortoiseshell covered its body, like armor. Its eyes were red and gave a piercing gaze at Lucas. The screen above him popped with the details.

[Advanced Level Beast: Razor Shell-Beetle]

[Their shells are very hard to crack. Their razor-sharp blades can cut through armor below the advanced level like butter. Their eyesight is twenty-five times better than an average human. They can also spew acid from their mouths, which is extremely corrosive. They are resilient to fire, water, and physical attacks]

Lucas took both blades from his sheath and looked at the beasts that were coming towards him. He readied his mind and body, for an intense battle. "If this one tires me out, there is no way I can fight against the final monster. My weapons can give me an advantage over here", he thought. He activated the silver sword and the skill on his boots, [Dash].

He moved forward towards one of the beasts in a flash. The beast's eyes were wide open as it wondered how Lucas came next to it in an instant. Its reflexes were fast, and it sliced towards his neck quickly. Lucas parried it with his silver sword and delivered a blow to the shell with the dark blade.

The sword chipped a small part of the shell off but didn't do much damage. The beetle opened its mouth, ready to spew acid. Lucas moved to the left, as he dodged the acid which fell onto the second beast. The second beast roared in pain.

Lucas knew that he had to save his stamina for the legendary beast. He knew it was going to be hard from this point and thus, wanted to finish this as soon as possible. The next instant, the beast that was injured disappeared. Lucas increased his vigilance to the maximum and sensed something coming from his right side.

He ducked down in instinct, and the razor grazed past his hair, slicing it. "Phew! That was close!", he thought as he rolled away from where he stood. Just as he was about to stand up, he saw both of them coming from both of his sides.

"Ah, crap! Both [Whirlwind] and [Dash] are in cooldown", he thought as he activated the dark blade, increasing his strength. He parried both of them and his hands begun to feel numb. "Is this my limit? Can I never surpass this limit? But Master can defeat them all easily. Oh well, he has aura too", Lucas wondered as he was parrying.

"Is that what I think it is?", said Ben as his eyes widened with shock. Leon looked at Lucas and saw a Dark blue aura shrouding him. "Looks like the boy has finally awoken his aura. But this, I never expected it to be this one", said Leon to Ben.. "It's the aura of a Weapons Master", said both of them at the same time.