Chapter 57 - The First Adventure - The Tower (Part Four)

'Boss Round will commence in fifteen minutes', read the hologram. Michelle grabbed her scythe and readied herself. Her scythe had a long curved blade on one side, and a staff that connected it. It was a bit taller than her, and she began to swing it around her like she was warming up.

"What kind of monster will the boss be this time?", she thought as she spun her scythe. After the fifteen minutes were over, the ground rumbled, startling Lucas awake. "Are we at the boss round?', he thought as he grabbed his head, which was throbbing. He got out of the room, and looked at a determined Michelle, ready to face what was coming towards her.

[Intermediate Tier Beast - Hobgoblin]

[Hobgoblins are a larger version of the goblins, similar to the Bugbears. They boast insane defense and have high HP. They are weak against Magic attacks. Their main weapon of choice: a club]

After Lucas saw that. he saw a very muscular Goblin, and it had a full set of armor. It had a helmet, chest piece and covered its lower body with armor too. It hit its chest as it roared out loud. It pulled out a shield from its back and banged its club against it.

The bang was deafening. Michelle gulped as she saw the large monster standing in front of her. It was standing at seven and a half feet tall! She then crouched to the floor and held the scythe behind her back. "She kind of looks like Spider-Man", thought Lucas as he eyed her pose.

She then jumped from the place, and surrounding her was a black aura. "The Aura of Death", he heard a male voice from his side. He turned to see Robert standing there, admiring her. He could see his eyes sparkling. "Why would someone develop that Aura though?', he asked. Robert began to explain.

"The Aura of Death is something which develops when a person has become one with the Scythe. Scythes are a weapon of Death or the Grim Reaper. Thus when someone becomes one with the scythe, they gain The Aura of Death. I'm sure she still hasn't brought that Aura under control", he said as he frowned.

The Aura that was surrounding was at first, a translucent black. Now, it had turned pitch black, and her eyes were shining red. The smile she was showing was also sinister, and the scythe was pulsing a dark red. "The more blood the scythe absorbs, the more chaotic her aura becomes. She hasn't signed a pact yet. We have to stop her before it's too late", said Robert.

Michelle began to laugh out loud. "I will devour your soul", she said as she cut an exposed part of the hobgoblin. Robert held his head in his hands as he looked at her. "No, NO. She has lost control", he muttered. He then placed his hands on Lucas. "You have to stop her. Or else, every one of us here will die to her blade", he said in a trembling voice.

Lucas smiled. He took the hands off him and walked towards her. He was stumbling a little as he was weak, but he didn't falter. He looked at her and then was about to jump into battle. "You weak human! Do you think you can stop me? You can stop Death?! Such Insolence!", she said as she lunged towards his neck.

Lucas didn't move and he stood there, as he saw the scythe come towards his neck. Everyone was about to jump and defend, when they saw the scythe stop right on his neck, drawing blood. But it was just a minuscule amount of blood.

Lucas smiled as he stepped back, and motioned for her to finish the monster off. Before she left, she turned her head back and spoke to him. "Lucas, I've got it under control now. Death still doesn't listen to me, but thanks for the help", she smiled as the red in her eyes faded away.

He stepped back and watched the fantastic show of acrobatics. It looked like she was dancing with the scythe, and the hobgoblin attacks were getting more random. It jumped back and let out a roar again. "ROAAAAAR!", it shouted and threw its shield towards Michelle. But she jumped and ran on top of it, gaining momentum for her final strike.

The shield didn't stop, as it headed towards the group that was standing behind her. Robert scoffed as he stood in front of everyone. "Tch! Muramasa Blade: Third Form", he closed his eyes. A dark red hue surrounded him. After he opened it, one of his eyes sclera turned black, and his iris turned red in both of his eyes. "Kuiarasu!", he muttered as he did a quick slash.

If one didn't look at him, one would think that he didn't move a bit. But he did his swing in one motion, and at such speed that to the naked eye, it looked like he didn't do anything. He did a quick draw technique, and combined with his Sword Aura, sent out a thin slash, and sliced the shield that was coming towards them.

The shield split and went past them while flying towards two sides. Everyone was amazed by his swordsmanship. "Just how many forms does his blade technique have?", thought Lucas as he looked at the shield behind him. Lucas asked Robert to which he smiled and replied.

"Many people have mocked the art of Iaijutsu. Well, Iaijutsu doesn't have many forms. Only three. But Our school has a total of ten forms, and they all focus on the basics of swordsmanship. And if you think you can use them too, I suggest you switch to one-handed blades. Only then will you be able to learn", he completed his explanation.

Lucas was stunned. "But you don't look like a person from the country of Kyoto", he said. Robert let out a laugh. "Long ago, a man from Kyoto came to Alexandria, in search of a worthy person to pass down all of his knowledge to. He was a Wandering Master, just like the one who taught you. He didn't disclose his name, and we all call him First Master. After he found a worthy successor, he taught him everything he knew, and left in his possession a book", he said as he looked towards the ceiling.

"That book contained First Master's many wise words and the techniques which he spent his life trying to perfect. This is how, the Kyoto techniques came into the possession of our family", he said and let out a sigh. "That should be enough information for him", he thought as he looked back at Michelle.

The hobgoblin was bleeding, and it was weakened. Michelle stood there panting as she spun her scythe, getting rid of the blood that was on it. She closed her eyes and stood still. "Dance Of Death: First Form. Call Of The Soul", she muttered as she opened her eyes.

What followed was something that could only be described as a dance. Michelle swung her scythe behind her, as she began to twirl around it like she was dancing. She then began to climb up the hobgoblin, and she covered her scythe with a pitch-black aura. She then lodged it into the heart of the hobgoblin, but it neither screamed nor said anything.

After that, she pulled out her scythe as she jumped down from the hobgoblin, and spun her scythe. "Did I do well?', she asked as she skipped towards everyone. Everyone was relieved that she wasn't the killing maniac from before, and the normal person that she is. "Guess everyone has their dark sides", smiled Lucas as he looked at everyone being happy.

The ground then rumbled, and they moved to the third floor. 'Floor has been cleared. Points rewarded. +3000 each. Setting new record time, +1500 each. Floor Three will commence in ten minutes', read the hologram. "What? There was this too?', thought Lucas as he looked at it. "If we clear it at such a pace, then I think we will need to face some consequences from now", he muttered.

Everyone that was around heard what he said. "So do you mean it's only going to get harder from now on?', asked everyone. Lucas nodded his head. "Well, that's a good thing. I was getting bored anyway. And I haven't had my chance to show off yet", said Tobias.

"But...", and he was stopped by everyone's smiles. "Oh whatever, We can overcome this", he thought as he looked at the countdown, ready to slaughter any monster that came their way. The countdown was up, and the floor rumbled.

"Get ready everyone, we might have quite a hassle on our hands", said Lucas as he activated his armor and boots, ready to face what was coming towards them.