Mysterious Lady I

"I promised the strike, so here it is." Tanner, spotting the Grade 4 Bronze Skinned Golem, immediately flung from his position.

"Precise Control!" Using his mana to the peak, a vast swathe of water appeared beside him. The water seemed to tremble, and it shifted into five huge great swords.

"Gathering The River!" the five swords gained a vast and boundless aura, and they increased in size by several folds.

"Boundless Sea's Transformation!" The swords split even further,and they formed a ring around Tanner, circling him constantly.

"Omnidirectional Strike!" On his fourth move, he had reached the golem already. His swung his arms, and the twelve odd swords went in all directions. Some golems were struck, and turned into powder immediately.

Three swords head toward the golem, and it roared violently punching the swords and releasing a Bronze Qi.

Shockwaves blasted Tanner away. They rippled violently, almost tearing through the air. Tanner somersaulted three times before dispersing all of the energy from the shockwaves.

"Parting The Rivers!" The vast river behind him suddenly trembled and split into four parts. Tanner made three steps and three afterimages were produced, each with an aura of the vast river.

"Second Gatherings!" The swords which had dispersed, suddenly flew back into his palms. The three afterimages repeated the action, and a similar scenario occured.

"Boundless River Energy!" The swords, with renewed energy, flew out and struck the golem, which was still recovering from the aftermath of his previous attack.

"Yes! Heavenly comprehension! Profound Sea Strike!" The vast river behind him alternated between river and sea constantly. However, it seemed a bit unstable.

The sea seemed to feed him with energy, and he radiated a vast and boundless aura. He trembled, and hurriedly stuck out with a fist, "Die!"

The golem, which was caught off guard, could only send out a similar punch. However, as they collided, the golem was immediately blasted into bits.

"Ah!" Tanner fell to the ground.

Roar!

All this took only five breaths of time. The other Grade 2 golems which had survived had not even had time to act. Once they saw their destroyed leader, they roared in rage and their eyes became red, indicating they had turned berserk.

"Phantom Armor!" As he could not activate a skill in time, a golem punched him, sending him flying like an arrow.

Pu ci!

A Phantom Clone separated from his body midair and held a trident. Controlling it directly, Tanner destroyed the seven odd golems, and the clone disappeared.

"Ow...." Coughing out a mouthful of blood, Tanner felt his organs churning. After regenerating for a while, he extracted the Cores from the Grade 2 Earth Golems, and something suddenly happened.

[Level Up!]

[User will now evolve]

"Phantom Clone! Ahhhhh!" Just before it started, Tanner released a clone from his body.

His skin started to decay, and it fell off rapidly, revealing his muscles and vessels under his skin. His blood seemed to tremble, and it revolved around his body. His muscles rapidly died and regrew, increasing in quality each time.

This process went on for an hour. After that, his body started to regenerate quickly. The decayed muscles grew rapidly, his heart started to pump quickly, and his skin regrew.

Tanner, who had endured pain for what seemed for an eternity, stood up. His skin seemed to have hardened, and his body became lighter.

"Wh–What happened?" Tanner recovered his wits and immediately checked the system.

[Data]

Name: Michael Tanner

Level: 1

Mana: 450/450

HP: 100/100

EXP – 0/3000

[Stats]

Strength – 1

Agility – 1

Speed – 1

Intelligence – 1

Energy – 400/400

[Magic]

Water

– Advanced realm

– Beginner stage

[Miscellaneous]

Points – 0

Stealth – 1

Magic Control – 1

Charm – 1

Bravery – 1

Resistance – 1

As he read his stats, a video suddenly projected in front of him.

"Tanner, apologies. If you are seeing this, then you have evolved, taking the first step to godhood."

"Although your stats have reset to one, in your world, they have doubled. I congratulate you. You are not still strong enough, though. Be safe and don't die on me." A vague hand waved as the video ended.

"Well..... I'm just speechless at this point." Tanner sighed.

___________

Tanner had stayed in the battlegrounds for over a week, comprehending the moves and getting familiar with his new body.

After a week and five days, Tanner returned to the exchange center. However, he did not meet the team but a scroll delivered by one of the manservants of the center.

"Gone to the inner zone. Meet us here." Tanner read and unfurled the scroll, revealing a map. A huge X was imprinted in one of the areas, marking their position.

"Inner zone, huh?" Tanner inspected the map. After a while, he sighed and furled it, storing it in his spatial ring.

Getting supplies for his travel, he immediately set off at dusk. He intently went in the way of beasts, so as to test his new body. When recuperating, he would release a Phantom Clone to protect him.

"Precise Control!" Swathes of water appeared in the air and transformed into circular rings. Swinging out his arm, the ordinary rings struck a Grade 2 Earth Golem, and it split into half.

"I need an able opponent. Most beasts can't even withstand a move." Tanner sighed. It was time to head to the inner zone. He had long shed his astonishment over the periphery.

___________

The instant he crossed the barrier blocking the periphery form the inner zone, a subtle force pressed on him and he grunted lightly.

Releasing a thin layer of mana, the force subsided. He smiled faintly, "The inner zone truly deserves it's reputation. Just staying here enacts a pressure on me."

"Hmm, a random beast here is at least Grade 4. The terrain here is also weird." Tanner stared at the ground. Cracks, which were filled with lava stretched out like a complicated spiderweb pattern, spreading everywhere.

Tanner walked towards the area depicted in the map. He had spent a day testing his strength in the periphery, and most beasts could not even survive one move from him.

Skee!

"Oh? This worm looks different. However, it is still a worm!" Tanner inspected the worm.

This was a Grade 4 Lava Veined Worm. Several veins which pulsed with life were spread all over the worm. Staring at the seemingly weak human, it did not even bother to burrow into the ground.

It screeched, and several jets of lava flew at him wildly. He maintained his carefree smile, and executed the Maelstrom Technique.

"Precise Control!" A swathe of water appeared, and spread into several swords, which glinted with sharpness. He swung his arm, and the swords flew out, colliding with the jets of lava. Steam rose up wildly, and spread out in all directions.

Tanner smiled. "Gathering The River!" A vast river appeared behind him, looking extremely realistic. If one looked, they would spot several fishes swimming about happily in the river. He moved his hands rapidly, and the water from the river surged in his palm. Of course, he could not drain a river, so the boundless river remained behind him.

Skee!

Tendrils shot out from it's body. The tendrils were orange, and gave off an extremely powerful heat wave. As they got within ten metres, part of his river evaporated, but his smile remained on his face.

"Boundless Sea's Transformation!" A sea appeared behind him. It radiated an ancient aura, as if it had been there for several millennia. The sea and river were separated by a thin barrier, which seemed like it would break. The river water became thick, condensed shields and blocked the tendrils assaulting endlessly.

"Omnidirectional Strike!" the shields flew everywhere, moving in all directions. However, under influence of his Energy Manipulation skill, the shields off course corrected their path and flew towards the worm.

"Parting The Rivers!" Tanner took five steps, and with each step, the vast sea and river split. After he had stopped, the river and sea had split into six portions.

Skee!

A sonic boom resounded in his ear, and he suddenly lost his concentration. The river clashed with the river, causing pillars of water to rise up. The opposing currents formed a vortex, and he vomited out blood.

"How hateful! Water Curtain!" A curtain of water spread out in front of him, and several thick beams of lava struck it, releasing steam.

"Another mage? Alone?" Tanner shot off from his position, evading more beams of lava shot out from the worm. At a point in time, a mage appeared atop the worm, holding a long saber.

The saber gleamed with orange light, and occasionally, drops of lava would fall from the saber, merging with the ground below.

"Who are you?" Tanner stared at the figure. It was actually a woman. She held a saber up to five metres long. She stared at him coldly, and shot out from her position, frowning heavily.

"Oi! What is the reason for this?" A trident appeared in his arms, and he swung his trident, blocking the saber strike.

"Anyone who attacks my pet must die. Erupt!" She suddenly disappeared, leaving an extremely vague trail of orange particles trailing behind her.

Tanner reacted late, as the move had brought back some memories to him. A small gash appeared on his hand, and blood poured out.

"You did not die.....odd. Erupt, Second Chain." She disappeared again, and the trail was even harder to follow.

"Hmph. Precise Control." Tanner created a large swathe of water, and it rapidly formed, uncondensed and became a shield. The saber strike and his shield collided, and his shield gave way. Reacting quickly, he blocked with his trident.

Skee!

The tendrils shot out again. Thus time, they instantly reached Mach 2, reaching him almost immediately.

"Gathering The River." Calmly executing his next move, a vast river appeared behind him. He moved his hands quickly, and the water condensed into his palm. It's might was a tad bit weaker, as his water he gathered with his first move had been sliced apart.

"Boundless Sea's Transformation!" A vast sea appeared alongside the river, and a thin barrier split them apart. The water gained more form, and rapidly split into several condensed shields. It shielded him from all directions, and several sparks were generated as the condensed crystal like shields blocked the attack from their directions.

"Omnidirectional Strike!" Without any time wasted, Tanner pushed out, and the crystalline shields shot out with great force, slamming straight into whatever blocked their way. The woman was caught unprepared, and she was blasted to the ground. Before having a chance to get up, a trident pointed directly at her neck.

"Move and see what happens....." Tanner squinted his eyes.

"Hm..." She stared behind him. Her worm shot out a massive beam of lava, which he didn't seem to notice. She smiled faintly and disappeared, leaving an obvious trail this time.

"Hmph! Parting The Rivers!" Tanner stepped forwards five times, a ten meter distance each time he retreated. Each afterimage held the trident in a different way.

[Author Note: I used 'forward' here as he was facing backwards in the direction of the beam. So he actually ran forward, rather than retreating.]

The afterimages seemed to gain more substance the more they remained, rather than disappearing. By the time the lava beam reached five metres, the images had turned into vague water clones, raising their power.

"Go!" Making a stabbing motion, water instantly erupted from his trident, gushing endlessly. The move instantly destroyed the clones, however, they had also released might a quarter as equal to the tide he created. Gushing furiously, the ride and lava clashed, and intense fog spread out in the surroundings, not dissipating despite the intense heat.