Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

Sumo immediately slashed in Tristan’s direction, but just like he had appeared, he vanished, appearing at the spot he had been.

Although he was standing right in front of Ark, right inside of his domain, it was as though he wasn’t there.

Ark was tempted to believe it was an illusion. Maybe the real Tristan was somewhere back in the association sipping on a cup of freshly brewed tea...

But he knew that the man in front of him was no illusion. He had simply mastered his class to the point that he had become no different from the darkness he commanded.

’Alright...’

If Ark could not sense him, then the only thing he could do was create a situation where he had eyes at the back of his head.

"Inquisitor." Ark sent a silent command to the knight. He unhooked his dagger from his belt, before tossing the shadowy weapon to him.

Ark grabbed the dagger and weighed it. It felt solid, just like a regular dagger would feel.

Inquisitor and Mountain vanished into the shadow underneath him, while Sumo stepped beside Ark.

Tristan raised a brow. "Do you really think you can take me without them?"

Ark did not respond. He was conserving every ounce of energy he had, keeping his mind as focused as it could be.

"Very well..."

Tristan once again vanished, and this time, he appeared right above Ark.

He flung a steel needle right at his skull, but as the weapon came right at him, Ark suddenly shifted his foot and swung up.

Clang!

The needle was sent spiralling into the air. Tristan’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he stared at the ground underneath his feet...

"I see—"

Tzzz!

Lightning raced at the sky, flying right at his face. But Tristan vanished, appearing at another spot in the air.

But the lightning followed him. He was moving so fast that it was as though he was vanishing and reappearing, all while the lightning took apart the room.

And then he appeared in front of Ark—

Steel met steel, sending sparks drifting into the air. Tristan was blocking his attack with a single needle, his feet firmly planted into the floor.

While Ark’s legs shook from the pressure he was applying, Tristan was as unmovable as a fortified brick wall.

Swish—Bang!

Sumo swung his axe at his neck, but Tristan blocked with another needle. They broke off their clash, before exchanging a series of blows, each one ringing through the night, and filling the area with metallic sparks.

They met once again in the centre of the room, but this time, just as Ark’s sword met the needle, and Sumo had struck with his axe... Ark switched the position of his dagger and drove it up towards his jaw.

Tristan smiled as he tried to jump back, only to discover that his feet had been held in place by Inquisitor and Mountain.

’Got you!’ Ark mused as the dagger flashed upwards.

But instead of meeting soft flesh, they met solid steel.

"Huh?"

Tristan had brought out a needle from his mouth. Did he swallow needles as part of his training?!

He spat out the needle at Ark’s face, and just by that minor action... it was as though a shotgun had been unleashed at point blank range.

Just like when one was at the brink of death, everything slowed. Ark could see the wind rushing past the needle, the hum of mana that empowered it, and the sharp point that was inches away from his head.

He had already activated phase, so his body was vanishing part by part, but it was not fast enough!

The needle scratched Ark’s skull, already boring a hole in it before the rest of his body vanished.

He had survived, but...

[Your Summon had been destroyed.]

It had happened so fast that Ark did not even know how or when Sumo had been crushed.

’Damn it!’

How was it that everything about the bastard was built for murder?! Luckily, he was still using phase...

The ’phase’ state felt like seeing the world through an oily lens. Ark dashed to the side, hoping to catch Tristan by surprise.

But a sudden realisation filled him with dread... Tristan’s eyes were following his every movement.

’What the fuck?’ Could Tristan... see him?

As if that was not bad enough, Ark’s heart sank as Tristan reached out and grabbed him, pulling him right out of phase and tossing him into the air.

It shouldn’t have been possible...

Nothing was making sense, but perhaps that was how it felt to face a Mithril Rank player.

Ark landed so hard that a dozen bones cracked from the impact alone, his body rolling several times on the floor.

He quickly got to his feet, only to see Tristan rushing towards him like a hypersonic missile, his needle driving towards him.

Ark knew that if that attack sunk... he would die.

Thankfully, this was never a one-on-one situation. People seemed to forget that a lot—

A large, blue fireball suddenly rose from behind the Phantom Assassin, an attack that even he could not predict.

VWOOOSH!

Tristan was swallowed by the ball of fire, but Ark did not wait still to see the result, he launched a ball of Destructive Flames into the mess of fire, watching as both flames clashed, reducing everything to smothered.

The ground was ripped open by the attack, the inferno rising up to the skies.

Ark’s shoulders rose and fell, his entire being shaking from exhaustion. He could feel his domain crumbling piece by piece. The only reason he had been able to keep it active for so long was because of the hotel’s buffs.

But even that was fading; he would not last much longer.

He stared into the hole that had been created by the attack, his eyes searching for Tristan.

Perhaps the entire hotel had been cleared out because the room below was empty. Tristan was nowhere in sight either...

[Your summon has been destroyed]

Ark’s gaze immediately snapped towards Jenna, and then he gritted his teeth, his arms clenched tightly. Tristan had stuck a needle into the back her head, the tip bursting out of the front.

"You bastard..."

Tristan’s pristine suit was no longer as pristine as it had been. But there was not so much as a scratch on that irritating face of his.

"The comprehension level of your skills is simply... disappointing, to put it lightly."

Jenna’s body crumbled with a wave of shadows.

He began walking around the hole in the centre of the room, while Ark walked around it, the two of them slowly approaching each other.

The tension in the room grew wilder than the storm outside it...

"You have a natural talent for battle, that is very much true. But your understanding of your skills is pitiful."

Ark stared at him as they both stopped about fifteen feet from each other.

Tristan’s hands were tucked in his pocket, while Ark’s dark fingers were tight around his blade.

"Do you know why, apart from the dark domain, I haven’t had to use a single skill against you?"

’What?’ Ark could not believe what he was hearing. Had he really not used a single skill against him?

Tristan slipped out a needle from his pocket.

"It is because my understanding of my abilities is on a transcendental level. But you... you haven’t even learned to crawl."

A few seconds passed in tense silence.

"At first, I thought your skill was mimic. But it seems I was wrong..."

Tristan smiled.

"You can steal skills, can’t you?"