Nero’s Struggle, A Dazzling End! 

Somewhere within the Greater Plains was an area filled with savage-looking creatures, monsters that were more than thrice the size of their variety seen on Earth. There was a sea of four-meter giant wolves with dense silver fur and tree eyes, each of which was bundled together as a pool of blood spread out for a vast region.

Looking at these wolves, one would notice that they had each died from the same wound, a large gaping hole that was visible at the center of their head. A blond-haired youth stood silently within this crowd, at the top of these creatures as if he had stacked them together to form a lookout platform.

Those nearby who saw him while venturing towards different quests couldn't help but shrink back in fear as they hurriedly scampered off.

"Aaaand... I'm lost, I have no idea where to find him?" Ryo said with a helpless look on his face; he sighed as he thought, 'So troublesome, I am supposed to be focusing on my Inheritance Quest, I really can't keep wasting my time in these lower leveled regions. Che! Maybe I should head back to the nearest town and try my luck there instead...'

As he made his decision, Ryo then no longer hesitated; he jumped from the mountain of wolf corpses and had begun to leave the Greater Plains, venturing towards the closest town from these regions.

****

A distance away from that scene, within the ever so quiet but uncanny Bamboo Grove. The sounds of clashes between different individuals were heard, as if one peered through the mist, they would see a spectacular scene.

Shing! A flash of sharp white lights would flicker now and then as it seemed as if it were dancing around the region of mist. Wherever this light went, it was followed by the whooshing of the wind, and footsteps, as if something big dashed about at high speeds.

Looking closer, the silhouettes of three of apes would become more clearer as their actions were simply amazing. They bounced from the ground, narrowly avoiding the flurry of sword attacks from a haggard young man, as some duck and rolled while others swayed to the side as the sword cut apart tiny strands of their hair.

As these apes avoided each fast sword swing, they would retaliate violently. The ape, which ducked and rolled, used its rapid reflexes and speed to try and grasp the sword, but as if the young man sensed this action before it was made, his feet tapped the ground as his body slid backward avoided its range.

While sliding backward, the young man's eyes shifted to the side as he hurriedly fastened his grip on his sword with both arms and chopped his sword once more, leaving behind the trailing arc of white light.

Fwoosh! As if it something was hurled through the wind, a hairy fist which was as large as his face struck towards him like a blurry shade.

His eyes, which had shifted to the side, could barely even catch its trail as at this moment, everything around him was solely reliant on his senses. The sword that made a graceful arc chopped against this fist, but as if the other party expected it, a sneer came on the ape's face as its arm blurred, creating a series of after images.

"Oh shit!" The young man exclaimed as he saw his sword had only cut an afterimage; before he could even react, the ape's fist had struck him in his torso four times, causing his body to bounce back as he spat out blood.

"Ouff! Damn!" Nero cried out as he rapidly stabilized himself, by doing a backflip and crashing his feet into the ground to reduce the impact force.

After sliding back and leaving a trail for a few meters, Nero held his gut with one of his arms and vomited out a bit of blood while trembling.

'Shit, this isn't good, I've been injured too badly, and my Magic Power is similarly running low. Not to mention that I am still not their match,' Nero thought to himself as he panted heavily, his core stats showing before his eyes.

[Health 40/140]

[Magic Power 70/140]

...

As Nero thought this, he checked his time and saw that its already 2 pm as he had been fighting against these Martial Apes for no less than two hours. His face was covered in sweat as he was panting heavily, with one of his eyes closed. The blood from his wounded forehead seeped down as it fell onto his wounded torso, shown beneath his torn martial uniform. If one even looked further, one would also see areas that had multiple bruises and bloody wounds.

Nero wanted to find a way to escape, but right at this moment, a change occurred. Suddenly, the tree Martial Apes looked at each other before their playful expression changed. They now carried a look of coldness, as they spread out surrounding Nero from all corners.

OOH- OOH-OOH­-OOH!

Following a resounding battle cry by all apes, they adopted a martial stance, as both of their arms were placed before them at different heights with their palms clenched into fists. A long breath came out of their mouths, leaving a visible mist trail. When this happened, a vague power gathered over their bodies.

Nero's eyes shrunk as he saw this, his arm holding the sword trembled as he thought, 'Is this it? Am I going to be defeated like this? I haven't even made it to the boundary of Birgime. This really sucks...'

He knew that he wasn't their match before, but now that they've gotten severe enough to warm up such a technique, it is evident that they have grown tired of him.

Adult Nero watched in silence, before shaking his head and speaking, "Is this your limit? Has your pride ended here? Or were your previous words only for bravado?"

When Adult Nero's words sounded in Nero's mind, his eyes flashed as he recalled his earlier words, the image of his sick mother became prominent in his mind causing him to grit his teeth. He conjured all of his remaining Magic Power into his body, causing his eyes to glow in a silvery light.

"Hmph! Like hell I am, I'm not finished yet!" Nero yelled as fighting spirit reignited, he slanted his body and readied his sword by sheathing it as he pushed every ounce of magic power into it to use his [Flash Cut] as his last attempt at victory.

The Martial Apes didn't seem to mind Nero's outburst, they were already dead set on finishing him off. In merely an instant, they had acted at the same time.

Swoosh! They bounced from their position and flipped, appearing at each of Nero's flanks in a few seconds. Not long after, a sinister red glow shone from their eyes as they struck their arms towards Nero, leaving behind many fist remnant shades, some being too fast for his senses to catch.

Nero acted in the very instant the apes did, his eyes showed a ruthless look as his blade shimmered in a cold ray.

"DIE!" Nero yelled as he ignored the many fists coming from all directions and cut his sword with a full swing leaving behind the brightest silver flash he could ever release. The sword's cry echoed as the world around him grew slower, every ounce of his actions was visible to him.

He could hear his unique breathing method from the [Foundation Body Refinement] technique, as he could even sense the way he used his sword, knowing all of its previous imperfections and its flaws. In this instance, he became capable of understanding many things, including the very difficult [Four Point Unity Steps].

Nero ignored everything else, as his moment, he became his entire world. He thought to himself with a look of realization on his face, 'I... I understand now, these techniques, and the way they were meant to be comprehended.'

Ding!

[You have achieved full mastery of the Foundation Body Refinement Technique!]

Ding!

[You have achieved full mastery of the Weapon Control Technique!]

Ding!

[You have reached the 4th Stage of the Four Point Unity Steps Movement Technique!]

Ding!

[You have achieved the 3 Stage of the Flash Cut Skill!]

...

Following those notifications, the silver glow was beginning to recede, and Nero could even see the fists that were slowly coming towards him. He thought to himself, 'They've grown slower? No... I've grown faster... much too fast... and strong.'

As Nero came to that conclusion, his slow-motion senses were rapidly fading, but he knew that his battle was already at its end with that uncommon swing he used previously. With a swooshing sound, his body blurred and vanished from the Martial Apes attack range, appearing a meter away.

The scene once more returned to normal, but the Martial Apes were now standing in front of each other with confused looks on their faces.

They turned at saw that Nero was standing not too far away from them, but before they could even react in shock or anger, something happened which caused them to feel another emotion.

A line that wasn't there before had slowly started to form around their torso, by the time it made a full circle around their entire body, they had known their fates.

Nero looked at them with his back turned as he spoke in a cold tone, much like his older self, "Death is a wonderful thing, it is the only place the weak can find salvation. Quickly be off on your way to the netherworld…"

"Hahaha, now that... was splendid!" Adult Nero said as he laughed like hell as he recalled himself being like this early before growing it out, or so he thought. However, unlike him, the apes now had to face their fate with dying lights in their eyes, bringing an end to the previously impossible this quest of the Bamboo Grove.