20 Chapter 19

[Second Part : Strength of The Worthy]

The next moment he opened his eyes again, Nex found himself standing in the middle of an arena inside a large coliseum. It appears to be a normal, standard arena but the huge metal gates on each direction were more imposing than usual. Strangely enough, there was no one except for him.

While Nex was still looking around, a message containing the details of the quest popped up.

[To prove if one's strength is worthy, the player should win three rounds in the arena.]

[Every round, the number of opponents will increase by 2. (First Round : 1; Second Round : 3; Third Round : 5)]

[There will be a 10-minute break after each round.]

[All opponents will be at Elite Rank Level 15.]

[Are you ready to begin?]

"Oh, so it's like that. Okay, sure. Accept!"

After checking the contents of the quest, Nex felt relieved, so he didn't think twice and accepted. Even though he is going to fight against Level 15 Elites, it won't be as stressful as the previous quest wherein he needed focus in conserving his mana all throughout the entire battle.

It should also be pointed out to him that the one who caused all of the stress he had suffered was no one else but himself. Alas! No one was present to do this job!

[Round One]

With the prompt came the sound of grinding metals. The metal gate on the northern side slowly opened. A large man carrying a giant great sword over his shoulder appeared. He donned on a bulky metal armor and exudes an undeniable aura with his every step.

[Swordsman(Elite) LV : 15]

"So it's a simulated person and not a real one huh?" Nex muttered as he stared at the approaching warrior. He was totally ignorant of the danger and just further surveyed his opponent leisurely.

Both sides of his lips curled up to form a mocking smile. "It's a little weird for them to call someone who carries that thing a swordsman. He can probably only clumsily swing that thing."

"Hmph!" With a snort, the Warrior kicked the ground and began to run towards Nex at a speed that was more fitting for a thief rather than a heavy-armored warrior.

This nimbleness didn't bother Nex in the least. The mocking smile still hadn't left his lips. He even had the audacity to gripe.

"Work every time."

Just as the complaint left his lips, the Warrior appeared in front of him and swung down his weapon with great momentum.

*Bang!*

With a deafening sound, the Warrior's strike managed to smash a deep crater on the arena floor. Nex who was supposed to be standing on that spot wasn't there though. Not even a mangled corpse was present.

Seeing that his opponent had vanished, the Warrior became more vigilant that when he sensed something had appeared behind him, he immediately aimed his sword sideways while he turned around. His sword hit air.

There was nothing behind him.

'[Martial Secret : Vanishing Step]'

"Too bad for you kid, I have more than enough mana to end this quickly."

Those were the last words the Warrior heard before he felt a blade going through the gap of his armor where his neck is located.

Nex pulled out the sword from the dying Warrior's neck while nitpicking, "They don't train fighters well in this world either."

[Round One Finished!]

[In 10 minutes, the Second Round will begin!]

Once the messages disappeared, the swordsman's corpse also vanished. The arena returned to its previous pristine state.

Nex didn't pay any heed to all these. When the break began, he sat down at once and began to do breathing exercises. This one though is different from the prior breathing techniques he did.

Instead of using the normal one that can regenerate mana while he is conscious, this time, he used a technique that will put him in a pseudo-coma state. This type of technique restores back MP in an explosive state! He only dared to do this as he knows he won't be attacked while on break.

As fast as a couple of minutes, he opened his eyes with a completely full MP bar! He didn't do anything unnecessary but stood up and crossed his arms. He also closed his eyes back and stayed like that until a message popped up.

[Round Two]

Once again, the clanging sounds of metal filled the air. This time, not only one but three of the doors opened simultaneously.

Out came three figures. The first one is a thin-looking thief dressed in black clothes akin to that of a ninja's. He held a menacing dagger in each hand and had a blurred aura around him that camouflages his presence.

[Assassin(Elite) LV : 15]

The second one is an Elven archer wearing green leather clothes with a bow that looks very exquisite. Clearly, it wasn't made from just any common wood.

[Archer(Elite) LV : 15]

When he saw the last person, Nex let out a small laugh.

[Swordsman(Elite) LV : 15)

"Came for a second beating, I see. What a masochist!"

Although Nex couldn't see the Warrior's face which was under a helmet, he was quite sure that his opponent is pissed. Contented with his teasing, he turned to the other two and asked, "Sooo… When are we going to sta---"

*Swish*

*Tang*

Nex wasn't even allowed to finish his query when he had to tilt his head to avoid the arrow that came straight for it. Just barely finishing this action, he had to parry the Assassin's daggers that were about to stab his chest. The moment he did so with [Intermediate Enchantment] in his arms, he did a counter by delivering a kick to the side of the Assassin. This made the Assassin fall a few meters to the side, right in the way of the running Warrior.

The moment the Assassin and Warrior are momentarily out of commission, Nex made his way towards the Archer while activating [Intermediate Enchantment] on his legs. He was closing in on the bow-wielding opponent rapidly.

*Swish*

The Archer wasn't imbecile enough to remain idle. He started firing arrows non-stop at a frightening rate. Despite this violent barrage, Nex still managed to continue his onslaught. He was a brilliant sight to look at when he dodged and avoided the arrows, seemingly knowing when and where each arrow will hit.

He was at a distance of a few steps in front of the Archer in no time but he did something unexpected. He turned around and stabbed the air behind him!

"Kuhk!"

A sound echoed as the air seemed to change. The empty space slowly revealed the figure of the Assassin with Nex's sword deeply embedded through his chest.

"That's what happens when assassins rely too much on their stealth." He shook his head condescendingly while he pulled his sword out. He then grabbed the dead body and threw it towards the Archer, blocking the arrows the latter is sending his way.

"Now, for the next one..."

Nex jumped sideways without even looking, dodging a furious attack from the Warrior. He pulled out a knife from his inventory and pumped mana to it. He then took aim and threw it at the gap of the Warrior's armor. Once again, he pierced the swordsman's neck even before the latter had managed to land a proper attack.

These set of actions happened in just a flash. It didn't even reach a 1-minute mark.

"And for the last one…"

Nex slashed his sword sideways while activating [Intermediate Enchantment], cutting an incoming arrow into two, from the tip to the tail.

"Ever heard of the little Elf who tried to run?"

♦♦♦

Pulling the sword out of the Archer's forehead, Nex discontentedly complained as he shook the blood off. "This little elf isn't good at running at all."

[Round Two Finished!]

[In 10 minutes, the Third Round will begin!]

Nex did the same as before. He sat down at once and began using the pseudo-coma breathing technique in order to replenish his mana.

Just as before, his mana completely recovered before the break was over. And just like before, he did the same thing again, crossing his arms while standing with his eyes closed.

[Round Three]

This time, all the gates had opened. On the eastern gate, two shared the same exit while the other gates only had one.

As expected, his opponents from the previous battle came. There were only two new ones.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised about that. Recycling is indeed important." Nex muttered while turning his head to the two new faces.

[Priestess(Elite) LV : 15]

A lady is dressed in a black and white tunic, with a scapular, cowl and a veil. This outfit clearly resembles that of a nun but it was customized to be more suitable for a battle. She held a small wand and a book. What caught Nex's attention wasn't the costume nor the little trinkets in her hands but the large amount of holy power that came pulsating out of her body.

"So you're not just a normal healer huh?"

He then glanced on the other new face which was also a female.

[Mage(Elite) LV : 15]

This one was wearing common mage clothes but with higher quality to the cloth. She held an ancient-looking staff in her hand and similar to the other members of her party, she too had undulations of power coming off her.

"So, I see they finally brought out the casters."

"…"

Receiving no reply, Nex shook his head in disdain, "What a boring bunch! Never mind! Just come at me, you pompous bunch!"

It's as though they had received the signal they're waiting for, the group began to split around, acting as if they had planned this ahead. The Warrior charged directly at Nex, while the Assassin blended into the shadows and disappeared. The Archer began to nock arrows into his bow and started firing at once. The females began to chant their spells.

Nex didn't panic. He started meeting the Warrior's charge while sidestepping and dodging the rain of arrows. Sometimes he had to parry some but all his moves were lithe like a feline's grace. It just took a short amount of time and he was right in front of the Warrior who was brandishing his giant sword at him at a frightening speed.

In the face of this massive sword, Nex smirked and swung his glowing sword.

'[Advanced Enchantment]'

Nex's hand that was holding the sword disappeared for an instant and appeared quickly a few inches away from where it originally was. Without warning, the Warrior's body froze and began to slowly fall into two halves.

He didn't stop just yet as he saw the Mage and the Priestess were about to finish their chants. Continuing to parry the arrows with his sword, he extended his other hand at their direction and said one word.

"[Hush]"

To these casters, it's as though their vocal chords have stopped working for a second. Their chants that were almost at their ends were cut off unceremoniously. As a result, the energy from their chants violently rampaged inside their bodies, nearly causing their internal organs to explode.

Ignoring the acute pain in his arm that held the sword, Nex then turned his gaze away from the injured casters and fixed it on the Archer instead.

"Let's see if the little Elf can run better this time."

He already cut the distance between him and the Archer when he was done with his teasing. With the additional speed boost from using [Intermediate Enchantment], he arrived in front of the panicking Elf. The latter desperately tried to run but didn't even manage to get far.

'[Intermediate Enchantment]'

*Slash*

Nex's sword went through the Archer's back and scattered all the arrows he had in his quiver to the air. At that moment, the space next to him began to tremble and out came the Assassin who was aiming his daggers towards Nex.

"Finally decided to act, I see."

Towards this imminent danger, Nex wasn't alarmed at all. He grabbed one of the falling arrows with his left hand while using [Intermediate Enchantment] and stabbed the arrow through the Assassin's hand with such force that the latter was thrown completely off balance.

"Argh!"

During the time that the Assassin was incapacitated, Nex's right hand finished his slash through the Assassin's chest at an impossible speed. The slashing happened so fast that the Assassin didn't even have the chance to block or avoid it.

Pulling the sword out of the dead Assassin's chest, Nex then turned and started to walk towards the Mage and the Priestess.

"This is why casters are useless in their early stages. You stop them during their little chants and they become worthless." He shook his head and then stared at the two injured ladies with cold eyes.

"No worries, ladies. This male here is the most exemplary gentleman in all lands. I won't let you suffer any longer and end this quickly."

♦♦♦

[Round Three Finished!]

[Congratulations! Quest Completed!]

[HP and MP restored!]

[You will be passed to the next part in five minutes.]

♦♦♦

After 5 minutes, there was a flash of light.

Nex found himself once again in a completely different place.

This time, he was inside of a hall that looked like a throne room. In that ceremonial chair sat a young man who was dressed in elegant battle clothes and held a sword that was so fancy it almost looked ornamental!

The extravagance and ostentatiousness of everything inside this place made Nex amused but when he saw the details of the man, his face turned grim in an instant.

[Fallen Hero(Lord - Boss) LV : 15]

[Final Part : Will of The Worthy]

[Defeat the Fallen Hero]

"Damn game! All of these just to let me learn a f*cking profession!" Nex spat out while removing items from his inventory for him to wear.

[Corruption Bane Necklace Equipped!]

[Corruption Bane Bracelet Equipped!]

["The Impossible Man" Title is in effect!]

When he was done with his preparations, Nex lifted his gaze towards the Boss in front of him.

"No more Mr. Nice Guy."