Chapter 626: Ability Advancement!
At first, the tempo of the battle was slightly in the Abyssal Dragon’s favor as he boasted an insane reaction speed.
However...
’This was unexpected.’
With the passing of each minute, Leo’s speed kept climbing up. It didn’t just stop at catching up to the Abyssal Dragon; it was attempting to surpass that peak!
[You are no human...]
The person standing in front of him was almost too bloody to look at.
The dark armor that originally covered his entire body was reduced to a shirt that only covered his torso.
Everywhere else, his skin was broken all over.
Yet at the same time, the Abyssal Dragon himself was in a much worse state.
There were too many marks on Leo’s body, but they were all grazes left behind after the armor did its job before dissipating alongside a little bit of timely evasion.
On the other hand, the Abyssal Dragon’s body looked more like a corpse with bones sticking out from several parts of its body.
The black scales that looked like they would cover the world in darkness were in tatters, with many already peeled off.
Seeing its reflection in Leo’s eyes, the Abyssal Dragon had the urge to cry. He felt like he had been reduced to an ugly lizard, being completely stripped of his prestige as the strongest.
In fact, the Abyssal Dragon could see that the intense focus in Leo’s eyes had shifted away, as if he no longer viewed him as a proper opponent.
But in reality...
’I wasn’t exactly aiming for this, but it’s great news all the same.’
[ Book 3 ]
Name: Cassian (Leo Lock)
Age: 28 (18)
Role: Reader...
__________________
Personal Abilities:
-----------------
- ’Shadow Mastery’ - Law - 5/5
= ’Shadow Movement’ - Law
= ’Shadow Domination’ - Peak
= ’Shadow Armament’ - Peak
= ’Shadow Nightmare’ - Peak
= ’Shadow Copy’ - Peak
= ’Shadow Pocket’ - Advanced
= ’Shadow...’
= ...
__________________
Since exactly one moment ago, Leo’s attention had been taken by his Personal Book.
He was simply mesmerized by what he saw. This was the very first branch Ability he had pushed to the Law Level!
Although it wasn’t the direct boost in firepower he hoped to obtain in order to face the final boss, Leo’s delight was genuine.
No matter what, gaining something when planning for nothing was always a great feeling, especially when it came to an Ability as convenient as Shadow Movement!
’This should prove helpful for the next ordeal.’
[You...]
Even the Abyssal Dragon could tell that something had changed.
[You have had a breakthrough!]
The speed at which Leo disappeared and reappeared almost doubled in an instant!
This wasn’t something that could be chalked up to battle practice; this was nothing short of an enlightenment!
"Thanks for the acknowledgement."
’It’s a shame, but I don’t think I can gain much anymore.’
Looking at the beaten-up Abyssal Dragon, Leo felt a slight hint of regret.
He didn’t attack anymore, yet he was now ahead of his opponent by almost two steps.
The battle with the Abyssal Dragon had been definitely helpful given the results, but this was where things had to stop.
He might have been able to push his Swordsmanship into the last page, given enough time. Yet, now that Shadow Movement had taken that step first...
’Too late.’
The pressure was no longer there. Keeping the battle going would still be beneficial, but the value of that benefit would take too long to form something calculable.
Obviously, the Abyssal Dragon didn’t seem like it would last that long, and even if it could, Leo didn’t forget the true purpose of his entry into this Gate.
"Goodbye."
It was time to end this.
[You-]
Despite everything in front of the Abyssal Dragon telling him it was the end, his spirit refused to give up.
Unfortunately, his spirit wasn’t the decisive factor in this matter.
The human he tried to resist had already disappeared. By the time reacting crossed his mind, Leo’s greatsword had already made contact with the Abyssal Dragon’s neck, sealing its fate.
{ Level 100, cleared. }
The Abyssal Dragon’s death had been confirmed, but the last sliver of his consciousness questioned his life decisions, and the conclusion he reached was...
’It was worth it.’
He didn’t like the fact that he died like this, but he had to accept this inevitable death.
Sure, if he hadn’t signed up with the Multiversal Arena, he wouldn’t have died in this way, but the truth was that he might have died even earlier.
The deal he made with the Multiversal Arena was the procurement of an extremely precious gem.
For every challenger he decimated, he would receive one Pure Dragon Heart, an astronomical price for the little effort he had to make.
Considering that a Dragon had to die to create that gem-like elixir, and the fact that not every Dragon could produce the ’Pure’ version, resisting such an offer was impossible for the Abyssal Dragon.
In fact, he had never once regretted it. If not for such a bargain, he wouldn’t have become the Dragon King of the Abyss as quickly as he did.
Even if he knew that the follow-up cost was the possibility of meeting a freak like Leo, he could only accept it.
In fact, now that he was breathing his last, the Abyssal Dragon understood that he would have made the same choice even if time went back.
Coming to such a realization, he could finally let go as the sudden chill that Leo felt dissipated like a gust of wind.
’Is it not over yet?’
Seeing that no other message had appeared after the Abyssal Dragon’s body burst into light, Leo wondered if the Multiversal Arena was malfunctioning.
The clear message had made its way into his ears a dozen seconds ago, so this couldn’t be a magical trick created by the Abyssal Dragon. This was...
{Hmmm...}
A faint hum rang out as the obsidian stage split open right at the center, spitting out a ball of black matter.
{Did I arrive at the right place?}
Once the ball landed on the stage, it broke open as it grew into something as tall as Leo himself.
’A silhouette?’
{Oh, hello! I have an offer for you. Would you like to hear it?}