Too Stubborn to Die

The assistants didn’t waste any time forcing the action, despite the fact that Aaron noticed a small pang of worry on the leader’s face.

They shot toward him with the ferocity of a rabid dog, but with [ Gorgon’s Soul Vortex ] activated, Aaron could see the strikes coming at him in slow motion. Although, in truth, he barely needed it. He knew exactly where their strikes would be coming from and dodged accordingly.

Still, due to the massive speed imbalance between them, time dilation was a necessity. Otherwise, he’d have been fighting blind. Relying entirely on muscle memory. And even with it, he was constantly forced to phase through attacks, as he simply wasn’t fast enough to dodge everything.

Not only that, but time dilation made timing far easier.

Attacks barreled through the air toward him, and he started with a dodge to the left. Then he moved right, ducked, and bounced backward. Then, he planted his feet and weaved, relying on head movement. Circled right, disengaged, watched his left, and dodged right. It was a chain of constant action, perfectly placed steps, and well-memorized actions, all so that he could land a single strike. And when the stars aligned, and he was in the perfect position, he sprung his attack.

With a burst of energy, he leaped forward into a superman punch, striking an assistant at the rear, who hadn’t been expecting anything. His fist passed straight through his chest and detached inside.

A [ Spectral Rush ] took him out of range, and an explosion followed.

It was magnificent. His [ Bombardier Fist ] heated into a glow of red at the center of the assistant’s chest, and then rippled outward spectacularly, expanding in an instant, and turning the assistants into a meat piñata as the powerful force of the shockwave blasted outward, showering both himself and the remaining two assistants in blood.

The first of his targets was down, but this was exactly when things got interesting. Immediately, he backed off as light shot down from the cracking clouds above and enveloped the two remaining assistants. In a previous attempt, he had tried charging them before they were empowered by the light, but it never worked.

He had fought this fight countless times, and if one truth was undeniable, it was that he did better on the defensive.

Then again, he had learned long ago that this development wasn’t all bad. The fight changed after the first assistant fell, and it wasn't just the power of the light. After he took out the first one, the two remaining assistants became positively enraged. And this was without a doubt a benefit to him.

His enraged opponents served his style perfectly. He would take speed and ferocity over calm, calculated movements any day of the week. Especially when his opponents were already so much faster than him.

With rage fueling their attacks, the assistants grew increasingly sloppy, even if they were incredibly fast and powerful.

Weaving through the onslaught of attacks that followed, Aaron began to circle again, throwing out a [ Bombardier Fist ], followed by a deluge of [ Spectral Bullet Punch ], in an effort to slow his enemies as he retreated back.

This was all about creating space and finding an opportunity, and that’s exactly what he did.

As he ducked, weaved, and dodged while shooting an absolutely apocalyptic rain of spectral fists, his enraged enemy only got angrier and angrier, which was exactly what he wanted.

This was when they started to tank his weaker attacks. But this fed straight into his plan. It didn’t truly matter if they dodged and gave him ground, or if they tanked his weak attacks, because Aaron could work with both scenarios.

Damage-wise, his attacks were negligible. But they weren’t inconsequential. Crashing into the body and face of the assistants, his spectral fists could unbalance and even stagger them if landed right. And this was exactly the trap he had set a hundred times before.

But they weren’t aware of that, or at least they didn’t seem to have an answer. Because the two assistants followed him doggedly as they attempted to land their own strikes, eating his spectral fists as they did so.

It wasn’t easy, though. He dodged countless strikes as he landed, and phased through any he was unable to avoid. But even his weak, little attacks accumulated into something greater.

He could see the assistant fading. Weak punch after weak punch slamming into his face. Bloodying up his nose and knocking him around.

In truth, the punch didn’t need to be strong. Because what it lacked in power, it made up for in quantity. And when it landed perfectly on the nose dozens of times in a row, its effect was plain to see. His enemy was well and truly disoriented.

This attack had essentially become his jab, except that, unlike a normal striker, he could fire his jab at range if he wanted.

The dizzy, staggering assistant was now completely open. Swinging wild, unaimed haymakers in frustration, and blinded by their own blood. It was superficial, of course. A bloody nose wouldn’t do jack shit to somebody of their strength, but it wasn’t about raw damage.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

For all their speed and strength, they were amateurs. Unable to see the trap he had set. And as long as Aaron played his cards right and avoided strikes coming his way, strikes that could end him in one, this fight was his.

The assistant stubbornly trudged forward, blood pouring down his face. His nose must have taken a hundred spectral punches before Aaron decided to capitalize on it, and when he did, the man barely reacted.

Off-balanced, and in a daze, the assistant could do nothing as Aaron landed a gut punch that severed his hand, and exploded a second later, bisecting the assistant at the hips.

“Two down, one to go.”

The final assistant roared in rage as his second companion was killed before his eyes. And the light around him flickering and then grew stronger, and brighter.

This was it. The final boss. And it made Aaron grin widely.

Lightning shot down from the crackling sky above as the assistant flashed forward, reaching Aaron in a split second.

But of course, he had seen this before. He knew exactly where the assistant’s attack would fly, and he dodged—

What?

Instead of swinging for his head, a knee came for his stomach, landing hard, and was followed up by strikes aimed at his head. This was bad. He had the smallest fraction of a second imaginable to do something, or be creamed into oblivion. And worst of all, he was well aware that J’kayden was on his last legs.

Aaron had no time to think. This was instinct and muscle memory. He released a burst of energy and aether, pouring all of it into his [ Spectral Rush ], and activating it to phase through and counter the devious assistant.

Skill Mutated: [ Spectral Rush ] = [ Wraith Phase ]

He would have blinked if he had time. But he didn’t. Nor did he have to have time to analyse his new Skill. Not that it mattered.

There was no description of the inspection needed. The moment he used his new Skill, he could feel the difference. The assistant’s punches sailed straight through him as he phased.

Once, twice, thrice.

“RaaAAGH!”

The assistant roared as he laid down with a lightning fast combination of epic proportions. This was the man’s chance, and he just kept swinging and swinging. And they just kept passing through, and through.

It was immediately obvious what had changed. This new Skill wasn’t just avoiding physical damage, but all damage. However, he immediately noticed that it came with a downside.

He had intended to shoot through the assistant as he attacked, and then counter to the man’s flank. But [ Wraith Phase ] hadn’t sent him forward at all.He was right where he had been standing. Attack after attack phasing through him.

Now wasn’t the time to panic, though. But nonetheless, he realized that he had inadvertently traded a travel Skill for a defensive one. This was no doubt because he had gotten used to using his Skill in an almost entirely defensive way recently.

Then again, he still had free slots for now, and he could always push for a new travel Skill. Especially, considering how good this Skill appeared to be.

Also, he was hardly in a situation to worry about that at present.

A blurred flurry of attacks was exchanged. His new Skill allowed him to phase through literally hundreds of attacks at a time, without taking an ounce of damage, but it wasn’t completely straightforward to use.

The longer he held the Skill activated, the more energy it used. And it could be damn energy hungry if he wasn’t careful. And so, to use it efficiently, he had to flick it on and off quickly, which meant the Skill required perfect timing.

Luckily, this was one of Aaron’s strong suits. He had been training his timing against stronger foes ever since he first entered the trials, and so there was no better person to unlock this particular Skill.

The assistant went into a furious rage, growing increasingly angry as he was unable to land an attack. But that hardly seemed to dissuade him, as he continued to throw everything into his attacks.

Unfortunately for the assistant, Aaron welcomed just that. And he expertly switched between dodging, creating space, and phasing through attacks as necessary.

But there was one more thing he hadn’t forgotten. It was how this fight ended.

The assistant clearly had some kind of epic finisher that killed everyone. He had seen it a few times before. A powerful beam that traveled down from the sky, and wiped them all out. And his plan for defeating it was a simple one.

He just needed to land one attack.

Stealthily, he poured energy into his left fist, growing it in size and power as he kited the infuriated assistant around. And steadily, it grew larger, and larger, and then—he struck.

The attack was delivered at the tail end of a dizzying combination thrown out by the assistant, all of which Aaron made dodging look frustratingly easy.

And it was all said and done, he returned with a fist that sailed straight into the assistant’s head. And it was all over in an instant.

However, there was an obvious drawback to losing his travel Skill. As his fist exploded with incredible power, completely obliterating the assistant in an instant, it blasted out with an incredible shockwave.

He phased for a moment, escaping the initial blast, but the reverberating shockwaves struck him a moment later as his energy reserves failed, flinging him away.

Aaron ragdolled, bouncing and tumbling along the ground until he crashed into the barrier with a thud.

J’kayden, on the other hand, had just enough energy to block the explosion from striking himself. And the old man turned to Aaron with wide eyes.

“You… you actually did it,” he muttered in disbelief. “Three assistants… I– I saw it. So long ago through the threads of fate. I knew it was possible. And yet… I– I can’t. It’s, it’s something else entirely to see it with my own eye,” he shook his head.

“Yeah, I suppose it wasn’t half bad, huh?” Aaron groaned and then fell backward into a heap of himself.

He was drained dry, but he was alive.

Bonus Experience rewarded for killing special entities!

The killing of special entities is a serious matter in the multiverse. The System has taken notice!

[ Empty-Handed Energy Monk ] has LEVELED UP!

101 → 106

Quest: Put an end to the conflict brewing among the natives: COMPLETED!

Reward: 10 auction points!

Experience rewarded for completing a quest!

Passage to the next floor, opening…