Chapter 1754 Crown [11]

Chapter 1754 Crown [11]

5 years.

'Five years too long.'

By the time August found himself in a state where he could confidently challenge the First Dragon Emperor and aim to land that blow, it had been five years since he first arrived in this realm.

He was now sixteen years old. He was the same age as his friends who were always far older than him. It was unbelievable, really. In the short moments of respite that he had between training and challenging, he sometimes wondered if it was necessary to grow as fast as he did.

However, he knew that there wasn't another option. The situation in Arulionn was too urgent for him to slowly grow and develop into who he needed to be.

He started to understand why Damien had him spend his childhood in that small village in the middle of nowhere. There, far away from his problems, August actually got a chance to experience what would have been otherwise impossible for him.

When August entered this realm, he was at the beginning of 4th class but could display power matching someone halfway through the same rank. Now, however...

He was far, far better than he was back then. If he had to face Eris again, he was certain that he could end their battle in ten moves or less.

That was the kind of strength he had to accumulate in order to even stand in front of the First Dragon Emperor with confidence.

Time passed and passed and passed, and he got better and better and better.

Now that five years had passed, now that his attempts were falling short by just a hair's breadth, August knew that the end of his trial would come soon.

'No, it'll come now.'

It was the same thing he said to himself every time he challenged the former emperor, but it was motivating nonetheless.

[Child, have you come again?]

The First Dragon Emperor had become quite fond of August in their short time knowing each other. He had provided a separate area for the young genius to train and occasionally told him stories of an era long forgotten to pass time.

He had truly taken August as a future successor, though, until August achieved what he was striving for, he didn't need to know that he'd practically already passed the First Dragon Emperor's test.

"I'm back. This time, you won't be able to catch me off-guard," August declared strongly.

[Hahaha! How long have you been saying the same thing? What makes you think that today is the day?]

They weren't malicious words. The First Dragon Emperor was truly curious about what August had planned.

"You'll find out soon enough."

Nevertheless, August didn't speak. Nor did he utter a single thought about what he was going to do. He lost too many times because the former emperor was able to understand his entire plan through his thoughts.

That was enough for that particular attack, but the First Dragon Emperor's breath wasn't like any other. As August arrived below the beam, countless smaller beams of light illuminated the sky. Thousands of densely packed light columns extended from the original beam, creating a maze that August needed to find his way through.

'Left. Right. Left. Down. Spin.'

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! August expertly avoided every single auxiliary beam. He knew exactly where they would appear. He died 43 times to learn the pattern of the first area alone, and another 68 times as he memorized the further patterns.

The light maze was a large portion of the First Dragon Emperor's attack pattern. They would continue for over ten minutes, tracking August so that he could never escape their golden-white walls.

Still, once he'd memorized it, the problem disappeared.

Rather than a difficult attack to get around, this one was an opportunity for August to get close.

As he dodged and whirled, maneuvering through every single beam that appeared, he got closer and closer to the First Dragon Emperor until only a kilometer separated them.

'Now.'

VOOOOOOOM!

August opened his own maw and gathered a ball of mana. It soon transmuted itself into water, and as a sudden unfamiliar property worked its way into the element, it took on a translucent white color like a hologram.

XIUUU!

It whizzed in a high-pitched tone as its speed reached untold levels. By the time it reached the former emperor, it was also an attack capable of leveling a city in one go.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A golden shield covered the First Dragon Emperor, and the breath attack faded.

'Okay.'

The first phase was over. August now had a chance to get as close as possible before the second phase began.

Usually, he would only attempt to attack in the short break between the second and third phases, but he had a different plan in mind this time.

The First Dragon Emperor was going to assume that he was following a similar pattern because his head was empty, but he emptied his head precisely to form this kind of assumption.

The break between the first and second phases was barely noticeable, but it was a window that August knew he could exploit.

Perhaps this battle would end faster than any other that had taken place in this realm.

However, for the first time since his arrival, it would end in August's win.

Or, at least, that was the goal.