Inheritance Ground

He clears the inheritance ground, fighting a 3 headed cerberus.

As Arthur rushed towards North, the sun had already set, allowing the moonlight to seep through the gaps in the leaves of the canopy. His footsteps and movement were silent, moving expertly like he had been trained to not even make a single noise. 

'This inheritance was one of the ones that was briefly mentioned in the book, in chapter 5. John and Elizabeth had only discovered it from records left by another demon hunter. In truth, this was a missed opportunity for them. Lucky for me, I can plunder it, and still continue on with the plot. This way I won't make any changes to the plot like last time.' Arthur thought, stopping and scanning his surroundings. 

He knew not to make the same mistake again. If the book's events weren't truly fixed and could be affected by his actions, it endangered Arthur; the first story even went up in difficulty rating due to his exceptional performance. 

If the events he had knowledge of were only a possible future, he had to make sure those events would occur as in the book. He had to stick to the plotline! Not be a hero! Not do anything more than necessary!

If he had to watch as the village burned down and the people were all wiped out with it, he would. Arthur had a gut feeling it could all go to trash, if he affected the plot once again. In the final chapter he would even have to fight the Demon King, along with Elizabeth's help. If anything changed, there was a true risk of death. 

Finally the sight of a large boulder appeared in his view. Scanning around, he sighed in relief, when he realised it was safe to approach it. 

'The inheritance ground is actually under that massive boulder. Only issue is, do I have enough strength to move that massive thing?' Arthur leapt down from the tree, walking in front of the large boulder. 

Jumping up and down on the spot, he cracked his neck left and right, before pushing forward with his arms. He grit his teeth, pushing the boulder with all his might. Slowly and gradually, the massive rock began to shift; only after he had moved it a whole meter, did a dark passageway show itself, a spiralling staircase leading downwards into the darkness. 

'Well this is inviting, isn't it?' Arthur chuckled to himself, climbing into the small hole he had created and started to walk down the stairs. 

As Arthur descended, he found himself standing at the threshold of a colossal throne room, illuminated by the flickering glow of countless torches. 

Its expanse seemed vast; at the end stood a figure of a three-headed wolf-like beast sculpted into stone, it seemed to be situated like a guard dog. Beyond it loomed two grand doors, undoubtedly guarding the coveted inheritance. Yet, Arthur couldn't shake the feeling of an impending twist. Surveying the room, he found only rows of towering pillars, were there traps he would have to look out for? Were there beasts lurking in the shadows?

Picking up a few stones, he threw them in different directions, watching for a change in the environment, but nothing seemed to change. After making sure there weren't any changes, he stepped forward. 

Creak!

As Arthur stepped into the room, a door closed behind him with an ominous click, sealing his fate within. His heartbeat raced, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he scanned his surroundings with the intensity of a hawk, fingers hovering near the hilt of his sword.

A low rumble reverberated through the earth, sending shivers down Arthur's spine, intensifying his sense of dread. 

His gaze fixated on the statue of the three-headed beast, now cracking and crumbling before his eyes. With a thunderous growl that echoed through the chamber, a massive cerberus emerged from the ruins, its midnight fur blending with the shadows as it bared its fangs in a menacing display.

It was a Cerberus!

'It had to be this, didn't it? It couldn't be a puzzle or something?!' Arthur grit his teeth, unsheathing his sword. He charged towards the beast, as the latter now also did the same, fixating its 6 eyes on the target. 

Roarrr!

It let out a deafening shriek, swiping with its claws at an insane speed. Arthur blocked the claw strike with his sword, but he misjudged the strength of the beast, causing him to be sent catapulting backwards. Smashing into a pillar, his body slumped down to the hard and cold floor. 

'Damn. I definitely broke a few ribs.' Arthur grimaced, getting up and this time rolling to the side in time, as the beast relentlessly charged at him. 

He got up dancing around again, this time, his speed much slower. Arthur's arsenal of skills was still too low to handle such a beast, so he focused on counter-attacking only when a window of opportunity appeared. 

Aiming for the beast's limbs, specifically its ligaments, Arthur planned to impair and slow the beast down and finish it off.

Bang!

Arthur's body was again flailed towards another pillar, causing him to let out a grunt of pain. Although he was nimble and a small target, this freakish beast had 6 eyes on him, knowing his exact location at every move of his!

'I can feel myself getting more exhausted. I need to finish this off. Thankfully, it doesn't have 6 arms, it's just a large dog. I hope my body can take it once more, I'm already fatigued.' 

[Bookmark Activate: 'Rise of the Nobody Soldier']

As a wave of power washed over Arthur's body, he dashed towards the beast slicing at the tendons of one of its hindlegs, managing to sever it cleanly. The beast roared in pain, before gnashing with its jaws at the flickering figure, missing its target.

[Sword Qi]

Sending a few more slashes, Arthur leapt around, rolling and quick stepping, executing a hit and run tactic once more. This time, the damage was piling up at a visual rate, as the black fur of the beast was becoming stained red.

After a few minutes, the beast seemed to slow down. However, to Arthur's misfortune the beast was now beginning to heal its wounds. 

"As if I'd let you sit and heal back! You large dog! Die!" Arthur yelled. Charging in he leapt into the air, raining down on his target like a spinning hurricane. 

Thud!

One of its heads fell to the ground, causing the other 2 to move their heads around rampantly as the pain of losing a head was unbearable. The beast shook its heads searching for the culprit but Arthur was again in the air, above the beast.

Sending his last slash, he managed to slice another head, whilst he used his last ounce of strength and mana into a final move, severing the final head as he descended. 

Thud!

The body of the beast toppled over, dead. Huffing and puffing, Arthur also dropped to the floor, his chest heaving up and down. 

His eyes reluctantly started to seal, as exhaustion took hold over his body.