Mixing It Up

Swords in hand, Aeon ran towards the beast, his steps silent. The creature was obviously able to see through the bright light because it adjusted its posture in response to Aeon's soundless advance.

Aeon was frustrated and he was feeling a bit uneasy. For someone like him, how could he not? He was basically an E-ranked mage, the lowest rank of all. Moreover, compared to his peers who already had a few years of experience the moment he met them, he only had five days. On paper, it didn't look like he had a chance.

Unfortunately, some things could not be avoided.

Tenro!

Everything slowed down as if giving Aeon the time to think. But in reality, he just processed every information he absorbed in a few milliseconds.

Two steps in, Aeon already had a plan in mind.

Of course, he had to take care of the wings first. The last thing he wanted to happen was to get harassed by the colossal beast from above.

Whoosh!

With the floor being flat, Aeon ran using his full speed. Despite this, his lightning balls didn't have any problems catching up. It didn't even seem like they were moving at all. They clung onto Aeon as if they were attached to his body, and their position remained relative to his.

It took Aeon four seconds to close in on the monster. He was able to do it safely because the beast looked away when he was only a few meters away. He glanced at the monster's eye once before he proceeded to scale its body. It couldn't stand the light up close just yet.

The creature began to move and shake, but Aeon's momentum kept him from falling. He ran swiftly all the way up to the center of the monster's back.

Aeon's swords fell.

Their target: the bonelike figure that connected the colossal beast's wings to its body.

Skrr!

The blades sliced through the hard, scaly hide of the beast, but after reaching the bone, they completely halted. Aeon couldn't cut it. Though he felt that his swords were able to do some damage, considering the size of the bone, it wouldn't be realistic to continue hacking at it until it broke.

Aeon wasn't discouraged. Proceed to Plan B!

Without a moment to lose, Aeon jumped towards one of the beast's wings.

Dance of the Celestial Swords: Midnight Waltz.

Like any other dances, waltz valued footwork. Unfortunately for Aeon, he had to improvise because his move, Midnight Waltz, was the most suitable technique to achieve his goal.

Aeon stepped lightly on the leathery part of the wing. His feet immediately sank because the flap couldn't completely handle Aeon's weight. Aeon was caught off guard by the softness of the wing, and he felt that he was about to lose his footing.

Thankfully, he was able to quickly adjust. He regained his balance.

Zing!

Aeon slashed upward with Verdure, the blade of his sword slicing through the part of the wing right next to his feet.

The beast groaned and wailed, feeling the pain.

But Aeon paid no heed to it. He lightly stepped forward, continuing his dance. Slash!

Slash after slash! Step after step! Aeon tore through the beast's large wing in a span of a few seconds. Although the monster had attempted to shake Aeon off by flapping its wing, it was fruitless. Aeon had already calibrated his steps, factoring in the wing's movements. He knew that its speed could never reach a point where Aeon couldn't hold on anymore.

Seeing that the human wasn't going anywhere, the beast had no choice. It bent all of its legs before jumping towards the closest wall.

Crack! Crsshh.

The beast attached itself to the wall and started climbing upward with even steps.

Aeon was about to panic when he noticed that the beast wasn't as nimble as he expected it to be. It had the strength, yes.

But it didn't have enough speed and agility!

Without thinking twice, Aeon jumped off. His feet tapped on the ground lightly before he rolled forward, neutralizing the force of the fall. Aeon dashed towards the fruits scattered on the ground more than 200 meters away from him.

Surprised, the beast changed its course. Although it wasn't as fast as Aeon had expected, its size made up for it. It traveled through the wall as it pursued Aeon.

Aeon hadn't even reached the fruits yet before the beast overtook him. It landed heavily in front of him, its wings retracted. Realizing what Aeon was after, it even stepped on five of the fruits with its huge feet. Contrary to its expectations, Aeon didn't stop.

Escape? Aeon didn't think about that.

He directly ran towards the fruits to show a false intent. He wanted to trick the beast into thinking that he was going to take the fruits and run away in order to force the creature to go down from the ceiling, an area he had no access to. His goal was still to defeat the beast. The fruits served as his bait.

The beast brandished its claws before it mercilessly fell towards Aeon. It had meticulously calculated Aeon's path, momentum, even, to make sure that even if the human changed directions, it would have enough time to adjust. With the speed at which its claw was coming down, even in the off chance that the human was really able to dodge, he would still be hit by the shockwave.

Even after seeing through the beast's move, Aeon still had the time to smirk. Actually, he realized something new. Something that he should've found out on day one. He temporarily set it aside as he decided to confirm it on the spot. After all, seeing is believing!

Aeon didn't act until the final moment. He just kept running. He only moved when the claw was already upon him.

Kekeke.

Aeon laughed inwardly.

Jump!

Instead of moving sideways to dodge, Aeon chose to jump. It looked reckless and seemed impossible to pull off, but in reality, it was his best option. The option that would make Aeon's work much more achievable.

Aeon whizzed by. The claw missed by a colossal beast's hair.

An explosion immediately followed suit, but Aeon was too focused on other things to actually take that into account.

The shockwave blew outwards. The ones that came from between the colossal beast's claws even assisted Aeon. It boosted his jump, giving it much more force.

Tap!

Aeon stepped on the monster's arm. Or was it its leg?

This time, Aeon was much bolder. He scaled the monster's arm all the way to its face and slashed at it! The beast flinched even though the damage was practically just a scratch given its enormous build.

Heh.

Aeon somersaulted in the air then landed on the creature's nape. He now held his swords invertedly. And they were coming down relentlessly.

Pfft!

Aeon's twin swords embedded themselves on the monster's flesh. The cave was immediately filled by the beast's cries. As if not hearing the sound of the creature's despair, Aeon twisted his swords.

Kreeeee!

Blood splattered once more after Aeon pulled out his swords. He then proceeded to move towards the colossal beast's undamaged wing.

At that point, the beast was already attempting to reach for Aeon with its claws, but it ended up hurting itself instead. Realizing that its efforts were futile, it tried another approach. It jumped forward while turning its body like a corkscrew. It was attempting to throw Aeon off. However, it didn't work as well. Aeon was prepared and held on to it tightly.

Throughout the creature's dilemma, Aeon continuously attacked its wing. It didn't take long before Aeon rendered it useless. It was now much worse than the other. A complete mess. Moreover, no matter what the beast tried in order to remove the pest that was Aeon, he seemed to be prepared about it.

If the creature didn't have anything else up its sleeves, it won't be long before Aeon's success was guaranteed.

Since the creature wouldn't be able to fly anymore, it was finally time to attack its body. Aeon jumped off on his own, making the colossal beast rapidly turn around to face him. Aeon didn't even spare the effort to look at it straight in the eyes. He just went off to attack its belly. Slash!

Verdure and Zephyr simultaneously slashed down. Streaks of blood spurted out of the cross-shaped wound. However, it was a bit too... shallow!

Aeon clicked his tongue. It turns out, it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Compared to the beast's wings, the skin on its belly was much, much thicker.

On the bright side, he had confirmed his assumptions.

Then maybe… maybe I could start mixing it up.

Aeon thought about his next course of action as he continuously dodged the attacks of the beast. It clawed at him, it bit at him, it swept with its tail, but every move was dodged by Aeon. Amidst the flurry of attacks, he was quite calm. How could he not be? He was picking at an easy opponent.

Well then, let's see what I can do.

Aeon suddenly jumped away from the colossal beast's reach, effectively dodging its most recent attack. Then, he assumed his fighting stance. Verdure in front of him, Zephyr behind. The look of determination was panted on his face. Aeon bent his legs as he closed his eyes and exhaled.

Ten...ro!

Lightning!

Aeon's focus multiplied as he felt his lightning raging inside his body, waiting to go berserk. The three balls of lightning started shaking erratically. They looked like they were about to explode, but in reality, they weren't out of hand. Aeon just decided to use the magic stored inside them.

Sparks emerged from the lightning balls zapping Aeon's swords and forearms. Getting struck by lightning, normally, the person would suffer immense pain. But in Aeon's case, he was just taking it back. He had achieved a new level of lightning manipulation.

The lightning traveled rapidly all the way up to his swords making them glow like two rays of light shining down from heaven. Adding the color of its blades, it only looked more prestigious. It was beautiful!

Weapon Enchantment: Lightning!

Aeon opened his eyes. Lightning danced deep within his pupils.

….