A Duel in the Dark {Part - 2}

[THE PLAYER HAS SUCCESSFULLY UNLOCKED THE INNATE CAPABILITY OF THE SCYTHE OF A SHADOW SOLDIER! 

DAMAGE: +50

POISON RETENTION(VOLUNTARY): +50

THE SCYTHE HAS LEVELED TO A TOP Z-CLASS ARTIFACT!]

Remirg gaped at the message which had just appeared on the interface. It was as exciting as it was helpful in the situation he was in. He could do nothing but admire in awe at the too powerful system of leveling he had achieved.

Meanwhile, the Nightly creatures, unaffected by the untimely injuries inflicted upon them were already on their feet and closing in on Remirg once again, following the very same strategy which they had used earlier.

Being careful to not make any mistake, Remirg carefully activated Prana presence, once again. And the results were quite astonishing. 

Though the monsters still did not possess any prana core, what was more starkly visible was the "core" of the scythe right in his hands. Its purple prana had become a deep purple. Running homogenously throughout the scythe's matrix, the prana intertwined with his own via his palms.

He had achieved about 92% of compatibility. Not bad.

Feeling a new power surging within himself, he concentrated hard on the creatures' movements. The haphazard maneuver of theirs was somehow starting to make sense. A definitive path was something too extreme to say, but predictable at least. Predictable by Remirg.

Pulling his right feet behind his left, leaving a foot's gap between them, Remirg shifted his center of gravity a little bit downward. Pulling back his hands, maneuvering the scythe right above the shoulder blade of the other arm, Remirg accommodated more visibility and effectively increased his attack speed.

Abandoning his defensive position, he rushed forward, with an incredible speed as well, loose linen fluttering in the air, giving him a majestic look.

Lowering down a bit more on the ground when reaching a distance of a meter from the creatures, Remirg hurled his arm forward, unleashing a massive slash, with quite a sweeping edge and attack speed. 

The creatures were caught off-guard at the advent of such a sudden attack. The slash had emanated a purple reminiscent giving the impression that it cut right through the air.

The effects of the slash were quite effective and desirable.

The slash was effective enough to knock one of the creatures off the island. 

Though it somehow managed to grab the very plinth of the floating slab, Remirg paid no heed towards it. Stomping the withered arm with a massive blow from his left foot, it made the creature lose his grip, letting it fall into the endless void beneath.

The ping announced a new notification from the Simulator.

[THE PLAYER SUCCESSFULLY KILLED A NIGHTLY CREATURE!

CREATURES KILLED: 1/5]

"Now that's where we need to go!", Remirg thought inwardly, quite proud at his triumph.

But he had not time to waste. What worse could happen happened. In place of the dead spawned another nightly creature but more menacing, about two inches taller than its comrades. What was more disappointing that its movements were double the speed of the previous ones, making Remirg say just one word, involuntarily.

"Shite!"

The scenario was intending to slap him right across his face. 

Letting out a disappointing sigh, he rolled his eyes upwards in a very unsatisfied fashion. This was becoming more and more complicated. 

It was not long before the newly spawned abomination was right in front of him. It was a bit different as well. It was somehow not producing rhythmic gurgling sounds like its comrades. It had somehow brought Remirg upon his consideration the moment it spawned.

Unleashing a massive raw blow on Remirg from its hand, Remirg was compelled to push the scythe forward grabbing both of its ends with each of his arms, blocking the massive blow with all of his might.

Though he managed to do that, he could feel the suppressing effects as well. If it were not his scythe, the blow would have killed him instantly. 

He needed to get this situation under control quickly before it escalated too much. The one thing he knew he needed to do was to kill the big one first. Killing the smaller ones would put him in a serious disadvantage as more big ones would spawn in their place.

He needed to keep a constant eye on their movements and knock the big one off first.

Activating prana presence once again, he was dumbfounded at the sheer prana the being possessed without even possessing a prana core. It was just.... raw power pitted against him. It was as if nature itself was testing his powers.

But Remirg could not falter now. After how much he had achieved, it would be a devil's choice to give that all up. No sane person would do that.

With a raging look, Remirg roared with all his might,

"SHISU KANNAS!"

It released so much power that the nightly creature was borne five meters into the air above ground. Remirg could feel the power surging inside himself. The scythe lying by his side in his other hand pulsed menacingly as his prana density increased.

The big one tried to move midair but to no avail. Its movements were restricted to an extent that he couldn't even flick its fingers. 

Remirg, whose eyes were involuntarily glowing purple due to the intense release of massive amounts of prana, did what he needed to do.

With a shaking right hand, he directed the being right over the edge of the island, letting it free fall.

And as it fell, Remirg furiously slashed the living corpse with the scythe, cutting its head clean before it fell into the void as well. The head soared high in the air before falling right at the top of the singular stone monolith in the center of the island, resting right upright over it.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY KILLED A NIGHTLY CREATURE!

CREATURES KILLED: 2/5]

Remirg could see that the smaller ones had already reached his side when the fourth creature spawned.

Instinctively retracting the blade of the scythe back into the handle, he fashioned the scythe in the form of a baton.

Mercilessly, he thrust the end of it right into the chest of one of the creatures, its end bursting right through the center of its back. Rotating once, he gained enough momentum to swirl the impaled creature once, before throwing him off into the void as well.

Though it was untimely, saving his life was a priority above the fact that he needed to kill the big ones first. But that didn't matter anymore. Remirg was burning with a rage he had never felt before. He could likewise feel the presence of immense power inside him as well.

He felt like cutting, slashing, decapitating and beating. Malevolent intentions were enshrouding his mind. He seemed to have forgotten his very own presence. Only one objective was driving him.

To kill.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY KILLED A NIGHTLY CREATURE!

CREATURES KILLED: 3/5]

When the notification appeared on his screen this time, he paid no heed at all. He just rushed forward, producing the blade of the scythe back, right into position.

Letting the purple blade dance in the air, he let the other creature, as tall as its predecessor, approach him at a great speed. With him attacked the smaller one as well.

Rotating the blade ninety degrees in the air, he fashioned it parallel to the ground, its opposite ends facing the creatures rushing towards him.

Closing his eyes and spreading his legs, he used the basic manipulation spell level 1 in its "failed" state he had achieved the first time using the spell. 

Purple blasts of prana emerged from the ends, piercing the creatures right in the solar plexus, knocking them back a few feet. But that was still not enough to defeat them. Picking their pace back up, they started closing in again, with a regained momentum.

But this time, Remirg was already ready with another plan, which was just pure instinct. An instinct of a warrior. He finally activated the artifact which he had purchased from the item shop.

[THE PLAYER HAS SUCCESSFULLY ACTIVATED "THE EYE OF THE SKILLED KNIGHT". THIS ARTIFACT CAN ONLY BE USED ONCE!]

Instantly upon the appearance of this message, his other eye started to glow the brightest of green, contrasting with the purple glow of the latter eye.

Even though he had used the eye before inside the room, it was not counted as a "use" because it was not aimed at an opponent.

But now, he could clearly see what he needed to. Right behind their hunched backs, Remirg could see a spot, right below their nape which was glowing the slightest green. He found what he required.

Leaping up high into the air, he handled the scythe in both of his hands. Pulling it right behind his ears, he brought it down in the ground, smashing. The effect it produced was immediate. Even though the ground was unaffected and unfazed as ever, the shockwave it produced severed the limbs of both the remaining creatures.

As the creatures fell, losing their balance in an instant, Remirg was already done with what he needed to, as he landed back on the ground.

Two prana bullets, the product of the basic manipulation spell, shot right through the nape of the two creatures, ripping right through them.

The effect it produced was desired. Their movements instantly stopped as they started to wither away, vanishing into thin air.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY KILLED A NIGHTLY CREATURE!

CREATURES KILLED: 5/5

THE QUEST HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED!]