Chapter 22- Connor!

My fire sword and his steel blade collided, the clash echoing through the forest. Sparks flew as I swung downward, but he blocked effortlessly. With ease, he flicked his sword through the air, parrying all my attacks. He switched hands smoothly, blocking each of my strikes.

It was incredible. Flames burst from my sword as I slashed, but he turned sideways, my attack missing him by an inch. He looked at me calmly—what a freaking monster.

Bang! I was hit in the chest, and my sword fell to the ground. I didn't even see the blow coming. My sword disappeared, but I quickly created another and slashed horizontally. He was already within reach, grabbing my arm.

I jumped back cautiously, noting the calm look on his face, the look of belittlement I had seen in only a few people. Another sword appeared in my other hand, and with twin blades, I pressed the attack. I slashed downward, but he stepped back, avoiding it. I threw my sword at him, and he flicked it away effortlessly.

I leapt into the air, grabbed my sword, and landed on him. Our swords clashed, and I stabbed with my other blade, but it bounced off his armor. Expecting it to burn through, I jumped back and invoked my skill, Twin Flame, summoning a duplicate of myself. A quarter of my mana was gone.

Gritting his teeth, Gob bent his knees, eyes serious. With his right hand on his sword hilt and his left on the blade, he stood up straight.

What is he doing? I wondered.

My clone was suddenly cut in half, a clean slice. I didn't see how it happened, only that I wasted a skill.

But I didn't waste time. I flew around him, fire trailing behind me, swinging my sword. He spun and slashed at me, blood pouring from my chest.

At point-blank range, my flames turned blue. I struck at him, watching in slow motion. He lifted his sword, cutting through my attack. My blue flames split in half, their heat dissipating. He stabbed me in the shoulder.

So he can cut mana. What an interesting skill.

I laughed and grinned. "I got you now," I said, freadying my attack which he didn't see. He would never see it coming i smiled.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"Where is who?" I replied irritably. Who is he talking about? Does he think I can read minds?

"The black monster."

Then it clicked. He meant Connor. A creeping smile spread across my face. "Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about your village," I said.

He looked around, seeing nothing. "Look up," I told him. I didn't need to see his face to know fear was written all over it. The attack upon his village would leave everyone dead, burned to bits.

He didn't know me. He didn't know the sins I had committed. He didn't know how far I would go to survive. I would burn down the whole world if I had to. His little, filthy village was nothing.

"Fallen Flame," I muttered.

He pulled his sword from my shoulder and ran towards his village. He might not make it in time. But seeing the way he jumped from tree to tree in that armor, maybe he would.

I took my eyes off him and looked at my wounds. Now I had a scar. I didn't have the healing capability like Connor, and my tent was not a healing tent.

"Now, where is Connor?" I thought. Being with him was just great. There was this feeling that he would not let me die. I had seen it multiple times—him checking if I was okay. If there was anything I wanted, it was to be with him at the end of the world.

Oh, Connor!

Connor! Old man!

A sweet old fossil.

I am coming, Connor, dear friend.

Pov of Connor

The green liquid burned right through my essence armor, but then it clicked—I could just use Faze. I activated it immediately, my body turning into a black mist. The acid passed right through me, and I dashed out of the way, watching as multiple puddles of green liquid landed where I had been.

With quick steps and my body brimming with essence, I entered a state where I looked like a blur. I cut through the forest in a blink, pushing off the ground so forcefully that it cracked beneath me. Air pressure pushed my dreads backward as I landed on the six-eyed spider, climbing up its body. The moment I reached one of its eyes, I used my skill, Internal Destruction. The spider screamed and shook its head, causing me to fall off.

I landed on the ground, expecting it to come down, but the magnificent beast just stood there, its green eyes glowing. Worry gripped my chest. "That should have worked. Internal Destruction never fails me, and I wasn't holding back."

I replayed what happened in my mind. I had purposefully climbed its body and attacked close to its eyes, knowing that the brain is usually located right behind the eyes in most creatures. Internal Destruction sends a rush of energy to damage internal organs. In simpler terms, it's an abundance of energy that slams against tissues and muscles.

So, either its brain isn't behind its eyes, or something is preventing Internal Destruction from causing damage. While it did cause some damage, it was no longer a one-hit kill. The realization hit me hard—a skill that had carried me through so much had been stopped.

But I didn't let those thoughts deter me. I had a mission to complete. The mission said survive, but I was going to kill everyone. I combined death mana and Internal Destruction. The mini-spiders started to scatter as I pushed toward the breeder. The moment the pink core tore her leg, her body dropped in slow motion.

With perfect timing, my fist, loaded with overbearing essence, landed on her head.

Bang.

Her external shell cracked under the impact, green blood splattering everywhere, all over me and my nice red pants. Then the recoil hit, my hand flew backward, feeling numb and even reddish. I had overdone it.

It died. I knew for sure. I didn't need any notifications to tell the dead from the living. I was the Primordial of Death for a reason.

Level 51 -> 53

I pulled my hand from its massive head and leaned on it, healing essence restoring my hand to its original black color.

I paused for a moment, waiting for notifications, but none came. That meant there were more to come. I started walking again—staying here wasn't a good idea. Green blood dripped from my body. I found myself on top of a mountain, then through a swamp up to my knees.

I had been walking for about an hour when a sharp pain hit my chest. I was tired and needed something to eat, but there wasn't anything around. So, I turned back—the spider would be lunch.

I had faced two problems today: hunger and the disgusting smell. The spider meat stank horribly, and even when I tried to cook it with lava, it wouldn't cook properly—rocks seemed to cover it.

So, I tried something else. I attempted to burn the dead trees, but they wouldn't catch fire for reasons I couldn't fathom. When they finally did ignite, they released a green smoke that was clearly lethal.

Regret hit me for not choosing fire mana, but that was fine because I had fire crystals from the tent.

Which led to my next problem: how to take fire in a solid state and turn it into gas. I tried everything—hitting it, rubbing it against other crystals—but nothing happened.

Defeated, I went back to my tent, the best thing on this plane. Inside, the temperature was perfect, and the air was clean. I had forgotten about the energy pool. It did something to me; I didn't feel hungry anymore, so I didn't have to eat that disgusting meat.

After a shower and a quick nap, I woke up to see that I was surrounded, according to my radar.

Red dots, hundreds of them, were getting closer to my location. I ran outside my tent, closed it with a command, and put the tent stone in my pocket.

I stood outside. There didn't seem to be anywhere to run. The system truly meant what it said when it commanded me to survive. The herd that was coming was going to kill me.

Whoever I messed with didn't like me killing one of their breeders. There seemed to be a hive here—a hive of spiders. But what was most interesting was why the system put me here. There had to be a reason.

It did say it was a trial.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I glanced at my status again:

Race- Human: 53

Title - Primordial Human, Dungeon Diver

Class- Death scavenger

Health- 100/100

Energy:

-Essence - 37:

---healing essence-(8)

-Mana- 23:

—— death mana 8

-Spiritual energy- 27:

---fire spiritual energy(6)

Attributes:

-Body- 31+26

-Core- 15 + 10

-Mind-16+10

-fire resistance

Class skill: Heven, Essence Absorption 2 Faze 7, soul strike 1

Skills: Internal destruction level 20, Identify level 10, Quick Feet 17, body armour 7 Promise

Passive skills: Mortality Empathy level 4, Alert level 9

Bloodline: The bloodline of primordial Williams( Fear not, Death is not the end: 

The bloodline of Primordial Williams: Fear not Death, for Death is not the end. Williams are a human race that does not fear death. Recklessness is in their blood. But fear not, Williams are survivors. +14 body attributes, +8 core, +6 mind, + death skill, + healing essence, + fire spiritual energy.

death is a promise to all. And you have made you promise.T"Promise of Death," signifies your unwavering commitment to the inevitability of death. By embracing this fundamental truth, you have unlocked latent potential within yourself,

9 body attributes, 2 core attributes and 4 mind attributes . Bloodline skill: Promise

I closed the status window and took a deep breath. My status wouldn't help me now. I learned that in the dungeon. No matter how much I looked at it, it didn't change the impending danger.

As a mountain of hideous six-eyed spiders rushed toward me, the ground shook. Beyond them, massive breeders entered the frame.

I raised my hand in excitement and shouted, "Come! Death welcomes everybody. It doesn't discriminate!"

A smile crept upon my face. Today would not be a trial, but a carnage. Today, I would cement who I am.

Today, I would not hold back. I would not conserve. I had a skill that allowed me that.

With quick steps, the ground beneath my feet cracked. I was a blur as I arrived in front of my first victim. My fist slammed into his face, strengthened by essence.

I called it "strengthening essence" because I focused it inward, to strengthen my muscles and bones. It worked perfectly, unlike skills that wasted essence on things like recoil punch or body armor.

My first victim turned into a bloody mess. I swung my leg, crushing whoever was coming next. I sent another punch, my vision a blur of motion.

I jumped into the air, essence gathered in my fist. When I smashed into the ground, it cracked under the impact, sending a shockwave that pushed everything backward. This gave me enough room to go on the extreme offensive. I started hunting down whoever was close to me.

A spider leaped at my face. I grabbed it with my mouth, bit into it, and swallowed.

The taste was bitter and disgusting, but it didn't matter. My instincts were in overdrive, and the essence was flowing through me. I felt invincible.

I leaped from enemy to enemy, each move fluid and precise. My fists were wrecking balls, my legs sledgehammers. Every strike was calculated, every motion deadly.

A massive spider lunged at me, but I sidestepped and grabbed one of its legs, using its own momentum to swing it into a group of smaller spiders. The impact sent them flying, and I didn't waste a second, charging into the next wave.

With each kill, I felt a rush of power. My essence was burning brightly, fueling my rage and strength. The ground was littered with bodies, but more kept coming.