Chapter 216 - 216)Growth

[No return crystal detected!]

[Hardcore mode enabled]

[Intensity multiplied by two times]

[Number of possible mobs multiplied by two times]

[Damage dealt by opponents multiplied by two times]

[Trial intensity increased!]

[Trial intensity increased!]

[New challenge: Analyze and find the answer behind the previously attempted trial!

Condition 2: Clear the first condition to unlock]

[Rewards given at the end of the Phantom Trials multiplied by two times]

"Uhh…." Night was at a loss for words. Wasn't the fact that he didn't take a return crystal handicap enough? Why would the system make things even harder? That didn't make sense at all. 

It was like a man entering the ring to fight another man who was blind, and had a 30-kilogram chest weight on him, not to mention, one of his hands was tied behind his back. It was an impossible task to complete, if this was reality, Luke would have to rely on his inhumane side.

"You're back," Blade's voice echoed, making Night gulp as he turned around. This was the first trial he had to overcome, and perhaps a rather difficult one to overcome. "I am," Night had a sad smile on his face.

"So? You still don't have an explanation huh?" Blade asked as a tiny bit of his aura leaked. It didn't make sense, just what was the trial about? There was practically no evidence of ascenders, meaning every event meant to happen, happened. There were no difficult variables to calculate.

"I do not…unfortunately….it's as if we never existed in your world…." Everything moved a little too quick. As soon as he finished that sentence, Night heard a ding, meaning he had completed the first condition of the first trial. 

"Oh..." It's the story of Genesis. It was how everything would play out if the ascenders weren't involved, it was how the story would play out if Night wasn't a part of Blade's life.

[Condition 2: Kill your opponent in the duel]

'Hmmmm?' his throat felt dry. He had to try his best to just not let his thoughts overtake him. However, the new notification surprised him. Who was he supposed to kill? Who was his opponent?

Looking around, the room was the same. Nothing had changed. Blade was still there, silence overwhelmed the room, there was one particular thought that Night was avoiding. It was right in front of him. His thought and his opponent. 

"W-wait…." Before he could explain himself, Blade had already dashed forward to attack him. However, there was a clear difference in strength. Blade wasn't as strong as he seemed to be in the first half of this trial. His ability resembled the one that Night knew, however, just then there were more notifications.

[Hardcore mode detected! Multiplying opponents!]

[Damage dealt by opponents increased]

"....." Night deflected Blade's attack without much effort. He stepped back and waited in silence as he looked at Blade's body. Tiny dark particles slowly left his body, every second another body part was formed until finally, there were two Blades.

'F….' Night had a skill set that allowed him to be stronger than most people on his level. His domain skill gave him a huge advantage, one that allowed him to fight more than one opponent at once. Not to mention the fact that his Bloodline ability paired with his martial arts was the perfect combination.

In reality, in a duel without any abilities or weapons, the chances are that Blade would have the advantage, after all, he was more than 90 levels higher than Night, who was level 105.

Now, on paper, It may seem pretty straightforward, but the truth was far from what was speculated. Night had the potential to beat Blade without much difficulty. Although, this was only with his domain skill.

However, it wasn't that simple. He did have a change of heart, Night forced himself to make decisions that he would normally never do, but it was what was needed. Especially with all the changes that were occurring in reality.

"Fine….bring it…" he grit his teeth and prepared himself. He had to kill both of them. He had to end Blade's life. Not once, but twice. This time, with his own hands. "I'll do it, and once I reach the one who's behind all of this, I'll kill you too,"

He was angry. Naturally. He still hadn't fully convinced himself that he had to kill both the Blades. Even if it's Night, it's not an easy task for one to just jump to such a decision. Taking a life is a hard choice, especially if it's someone's who you care about. Not to mention the fact that the first condition of the trial just made Night blame himself even more.

"Glacial Balance" a double-edged sword that looked like it had two crystals instead of blades. "Guess I'm doing this," he sliced in front of him and watch as both the Blades jumped back to avoid the weapon.

In his right hand, he gripped the double-edged sword, an icy breath slowly emanated from his hand and covered his weapon. In his left-hand dark clouds slowly formed and took the shape of an orb. 

"Circadian Manipulation"

A scene that he had missed. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. Well, at least it felt that way. He activated Hermes Exploration and moved towards the Blade that was created out of nothingness. 

'I see….these trials weren't meant to be hard physically. At least, not only that much. The system's messing with my head huh?' his thoughts ran wild as he continued to beat down the other Blade. Night's ability to use his domain skill became better, he was more comfortable with it, he could activate and deactivate it as he saw fit. At some point, the entire scene was like a club. He could control the domain and either make it complete darkness or an entire field filled with nothing but light.

Although he never found the chance to use the alternate version of his domain skill, he could finally take advantage of this. However, his eyes didn't allow him to see under the burning blanket of bright light. It was blinding, even for the user. His ability only allowed him to see in total darkness.

The constant change in lights did more than just confuse the Blade's as to where Night was. It impacted their eyes, to the point where they had to rely on their aura to notice his presence. 

'The fck? Isn't this unfair? Why can I feel their aura? The Blade I knew couldn't do such a thing….?'

The one thing that worked to his advantage was the fact that it looked like both his opponents weren't exactly too proficient with the ability. On the other hand, Night had been using weapon aura nearly all his Genesis-life. It was something he could do with his eyes closed, literally.

"One down…." He muttered to himself. The second was an obvious fake, and when he dealt the final strike, instead of blood, there were dark particles. Slowly but surely, the fake Blade turned into nothingness. He now only had to deal with the "original" Blade. Night removed his domain skill and looked at his opponent.

Every step he took towards Blade, Night remembered the scene. Blade had a huge hole in his chest. It was an attack dealt by Neo Thallius, a Myth, even a touch would instantly kill anyone who wasn't at the Epic or Legendary Grade.

There was one skill Night had never officially used. Or one skill tree he had never accessed or even touched. It was something he had learned when he visited the Norse Kingdom. For some reason, he had this urge to use that skill, it felt fitting.

"Come…." Blade said as he dashed forward and clashed weapons with his junior. Something was different about this Blade. It seemed as if the system was switching his personality as it saw fit.

'He's weaker? Why? How?' it wasn't by too much, but Night noticed that Blade's proficiency in handling aura had dropped by a bit. He could no longer spread it thinly to detect his opponent's presence. Not that he needed to, considering Night removed the domain.

'And did he just speak? What's with the sudden change….?' Once again, his thoughts wouldn't stay calm. Every time he thought of something else, he would land another strike on Blade.

"You're quite strong aren't you…?" As soon as those words came out of Blade's mouth, Night felt a sudden pain in his chest. Every muscle in his body tensed up as his mind wandered all the way back to his first few days playing Genesis.

It was Night's first time entering the dojo. Blade was showing him how to use aura and slice the dummies. They were different from the normal ones, the first time Night tried to break one, his sword ended up breaking.

"You said….if I manage to break the dummies…before a month….you'll be my slave….." Night's voice quivered as he pointed the double-edged sword towards Blade's chest. "That means….you can never leave my side….you're not allowed to…" tears poured out of his eyes as he looked at his senior. "I still have….sss-soo..much to learn!…P-pplease!" he choked on his own tears, Night shut his eyes and looked down.

"Night…." Blade called out, his eyes met with Nights, and he smiled. It was the same old Blade. His pure and genuine smile. Blade's hand's grabbed the end of the double-edged sword. "You're so far away…." The weapon pushed into his chest as he continued walking towards Night, who was trying his best to remove the weapon. Blade's trembling hands slowly moved towards Night's face, most of his hand was covered in his own blood. Night felt Blade's gentle hand cup his cheeks. 

"You've grown…so…...so strong…"