Chapter 315 (2/2)

It made them strong too, these beliefs.

“Do you see their strength…? You pick it up faster than I would have expected. Good, your heart is open to other paths than your own. That will help you, when you hit that final wall that is ‘The Calamity.’” Aemont said simply, glancing over his shoulder towards Randidly. Then he began to move forward, increasing in speed.

Randidly hesitated for a second, then shook his head. These men were already dead anyway. But he still muttered, “Rest well,” before cutting into them with abandon.

After walking for about 3 minutes in the deepest parts of the fighting, they came to an area where the men were thinner, but more well armed and serious. These fights were brutally quick, displaying a level of skill that caused Randidly to pause. But Aemont walked forward through the gauntlet, his casually placed spear making the warriors around him look like children.

Randidly swore under his breath before following. He really needed to stop apprenticing himself to these overpowered monsters. Sure, they provided great benefits, but the things they expect from their students were absolutely ridiculous. This man…. had no real concept of difficulty.

So Randidly could only force his way forward, battling against these warriors. Truthfully, they preferred to fight each other more than him, but they were still determined and vicious if he came over towards their area. And their physical prowess was a level higher than the previous fighters bodies, and they had the skills to back it up.

Luckily, it seemed that Randidly’s two years in Shal’s world had still given him a slight edge, and he was able to beat them in skill, even though he felt like he was just barely below them in stats, even though he had just received a huge boost in stats. It instilled a sense of awe in Randidly, because that meant that the stat total of these fighters was absolutely monstrous, and not due to grinded skill levels.

After around 10 minutes, Randidly finally made it through, wincing. It did still seem that his passives were working. Bacterial Regeneration quickly restored the small wounds he had earned against the souls in those hard fought 10 minutes. Aemont stood, waiting for him, and didn’t comment on the time it took him to get there. Instead, he turned and walked forward.

“The System will interfere if I say anything specific, but… The skill I want to leave to you is my own small answer to the Calamity. And it wasn’t enough…” Aemont whispered without turning, continuing to walk rapidly forward.

Now, the crowd was completely gone, and there were only 4 figures. A man in gold armor on a hill, and three men below. Aemont stepped, and with a single step, moved across the battlefield, arriving next to the golden armored man. Then he turned and beckoned towards Randidly.

Randidly groaned.

What followed were probably the hardest fought 30 minutes of Randidly’s life. In terms of stats, they were another order of magnitude higher than the previous enemies, absolutely smashing apart his guard, shrugging off his attacks and lashing out with their weapons with expert precision. Randidly felt an abrupt pressure. Although the people he had fought in the tournament were powerful, they were not powerful like this. This was…

Just the pure difference in stats. Although he was skilled, it took about 4 skill levels to equal a single stat. It was an unbelievable difference in efficiency. Although it could be said that overall, a Skill level would increase performance across the board, both mental and physical, a single stat would be useful in every skills.

And these 3 had skills equal to Randidly’s own.

For the first half of time, Randidly attempted to force his way through. This produced no benefits. Then his strategy shifted to turning two of the juggernauts against each other, which worked slightly better. After 10 minutes of struggle, one grew annoyed and landed a direct attack against the other’s back, sending the other stumbling. In that hole, Randidly advanced.

And so, panting, Randidly arrived before Aemont, who stood before the golden armored man. Aemont glanced at Randidly.

“Would you like to give it a try?”

Randidly didn’t even need to ask what it was for. It was to strike the man in front of him. A man who was likely another caliber of being higher than those three below. Another huge difference in stats. A monster, in every sense of the word.

The air around the golden armored man was heavy. A thick stillness weighed down on the several feet to each side.

Randidly shook his head slowly. Aemont chuckled. “... you might be surprised, by I am not my son. I respect that you recognize your opponent is beyond you. It takes a certain awareness… and a certain self control.”

But Aemont stepped forward, and continued. “Now watch boy, the move that changed my fate. The Breath of the Spear Phantom.”