Chapter 134: Reborn
Deep within the core of Midas’s body, darkness loomed. There existed a cocoon of pitch-black shadow. One that seemed to stretch on forever.
In this seemingly infinite black abyss, a star as bright as the sun shone brightly.
It was white in color, a luster of magic in the air. It was the soul of Midas.
At that moment, a crack of white light suddenly splintered through the dome of darkness above. It was as though a brick had hit glass.
A green, poisonous-looking gas flew forward. It was a curse. Urus’s curse, that had already made its way to Midas’s soul domain.
The gas of death swarmed around Midas’s soul, causing the soul to shine brightly with alarm.
During this time, Midas was at a complete loss in the outside world. It wasn’t as though he was unconscious, but as he felt Urus’s cold skin touch his forehead, he felt like he had lost the ability to move.
He wasn’t paralyzed, but rather, the orders he gave from his brain to move his body were simply useless.
He could do nothing... but think in his own mind.
Midas’s eyes suddenly flew wide open with an intense, fiery desire burning within his pupils.
Despite only being able to think... Midas did not think. He had the ability, but refused to use it. It was a total rejection of the outside world. Rather, he understood that it was a battle for his soul alone to partake in.
Midas’s soul did just that. It radiated from brighter to lighter, reacting to the cursed smoke.
The smoke was dispelled at first, cautious and seemingly surprised by the strength of Midas’s soul.
However, at that moment, a smile appeared on Urus’s face.
The cursed, poisonous-looking gas morphed into the robust shape of an arrowhead before shooting forward at lightning speed, leaving a trail of smoke behind.
The arrow instantly penetrated through Midas’s soul, shattering its outside luster as it began to quickly spread around within Midas’s soul.
Within seconds, the light of Midas’s soul dimmed substantially.
"It’s over." Urus said, "Now that my final touch has successfully contacted your true soul, it is a simple matter of law for me to win. According to the laws of boons... the one who has the greatest spiritual willpower will attain victory. My curse destroys the source of all of one’s spiritual energy, automatically making my ability triumph over theirs, while killing them in the process, of course." He began to chuckle.
Midas’s eyes... did not waver for a second.
His soul’s luminescence suddenly began to fume brighter. Like a fire being slowly fanned, its luster multiplied with each breath and blossomed grander.
Urus’s smirk slowly lowered as slight surprise and awe set in.
Within seconds, the light of Midas’s soul had illuminated the entire infinity of darkness that surrounded it.
The light expanded further, blasting out of the eye, mouth, nose, and even ears of Midas!
One of the rays of light grazed past Urus’s ear, lacerating the top of it within a millisecond and melting it into thin air.
Urus’s confident eyes sharply changed into one of distress and shock as his expression darkened into a quivering frown.
"Arghhhhh!!" Urus cried loudly in excruciating pain, his voice ravaging his throat.
Within that powerful light, Midas’s soul had evaporated Urus’s cursed gas.
Midas returned to his normal state as Urus jumped up and down with pain while clutching his ear.
’What... was that? I felt it all... it was almost too intense. What the hell did my soul just do? Is that in the realm of possibility? Surely not... surely that’s something supernatural.’ Midas thought to himself, at a loss.
*Ding*
[You have used your Primordial Boon.]
[You have unlocked special information.]
┏━━━Status━━━┓
[Skills]
> Status
>Eye Of Ace
> Scan
[Techniques]
> Nine-Breath Circulation, Third Breath
[Titles]
> King Of Star Island
[Blessings]
*> None-->Infinity*
[Evolutions]
> None
┗━━━━━━━━━┛
(Author Note: Letters that fall within (*?*) are highlighted for Midas.)
[Blessings]
>Infinity
>[Infinity description: Infinity is your Primordial Boon. It is a law over reality, suggesting your soul with the law of absolute sovereignty. In all realms, there exists no spiritual energy superior to the willpower of your soul.]
Midas’s eyes slowly widened with shock.
"W-what?" He muttered under his breath. "Surely not..."
His mind raced, forgetting that he was in the middle of a fight.
’A soul with a will that surpasses all else?’ He thought, at a loss. ’Of course... It’s incredibly good news,’ a smirk tugged at his lips, ’But can I really celebrate it just like that?’ He didn’t feel secure enough yet.
It was as though the information hadn’t clicked with his brain yet.
’So there’s no caveat? That’s simply my boon?’ A full-fledged smile appeared, ’I know boons can be impossibly powerful... like Dorhal’s boon of absolute indomitability. Even I don’t know the limits of that power. But to think that a boon so powerful, one that affects my soul to such a degree... would be my boon.’ He said to himself before slowly standing up.
He dusted off his pants and shoulder as Urus and Toshy continued to drown in their confusion and shock.
Urus looked to be at a loss for words. This was no mere shock for him. Seconds ago, there was no possible realm of reality where Midas would be breathing right now.
However... Toshy looked to be in an even worse shape. He was pale as a ghost and sweating profusely from all parts of his body.
"No..." He muttered, his breath shaky, "How can he not fall even after that? Just... who is... this guy?" He instinctively took a step back.
Midas hadn’t even made a move, and was still facing the ground.
But despite that, it felt like a massive tiger summoned from behind him, baring its sharp and menacing fangs right at Toshy and Urus.
Toshy felt like a small rabbit abandoned by its parent. Lost, afraid, and spotted by the apex predator of the jungle.
"Even a well-known player like Michael was embarrassed by him... there’s no way we can win in a fair fight," Toshy said as his feet continued to move backwards on their own.
"W-what are you saying!?" Urus suddenly yelled behind his shoulder, "We have to try! Don’t you think he can capture us if he wants to, if he’s really that strong? Our only chance is to try to kill him right here and now!" He faced front again, "I don’t know how he survived, but we can keep trying to use our combo until he succumbs!" Even Urus knew that he was lying to himself deep inside, but his outer pride wouldn’t let him admit it.
’We tried to kill him... so there’s no way he will let us off easily. But...’ Urus thought, suddenly smiling as though he had lost his mind, ’I won’t die here... right? No way... I will live until I’m old!’ He fantasized in his head for a second.
Midas grabbed his black reapers, but this time, he held them in a totally different position.
He changed his stance, holding his reapers diagonally across his face.
Out of nowhere, a rich, dark purple energy gleamed brightly from the center of Midas’s blades.
*Ding*
[Your mastery of Basic Goblin Sword Skills has reached its peak!]
[You are now a Master at Basic Goblin Sword Fighting.]
[You have now inherited Basic Goblin Sword Fighting.]
[You are now able to create your own skills within your martial art!]
Midas’s eyes widened as the same purple energy highlighted them with a flash.
A low, smoky breath slowly escaped from his lips.
"Goblin Sword Art..." He whispered, separating his blades so that one existed in front of him, and the other stretched back behind his head.
"Goblin Barrage!" Midas whispered, lunging forward as the purple energy expanded and covered his strides with a powerful and bright aura.
His sword oozed with the dark purple energy, leaving behind an electric cloud at its tail.
Within the tenth of a second, Midas had slashed through both Urus and Toshy and appeared on the other side.
For a split second, there was only silence.
But then, two long and deep lacerations slashed across Urus and Toshy’s torsos!
Blood gushed out everywhere, but that was not all. Before half a second passed, over a dozen similar slashes revealed themselves with their own bloody sprays.
Within the tenth of a second, Midas had slashed through flesh over 30 times.
Midas swiped his blades through the air, cleaning them of blood before sheathing them with a low, smoky, and slow exhalation.
[You have slain Urus Magicold!]
[You have slain Toshy Osestc!]
[You leveled up!]
[You leveled up!]
[You leveled up!]