Chapter 929 A-Rank Skill
Arthur looked around the forest for another prey, but his battle scared them away. Most of them ran back to where they came from, portals that remained open between Alka and Earth. Although he wanted to close them down, he did not possess the Isotox like in the alternate timeline.
The only way to close a dungeon is to destroy its core before it connects to the other world. If a dungeon is cleared, no monsters will resp.a.w.n there, and it would be nothing but a pa.s.sage that could be closed. However, if a dungeon breaks, its core becomes a part of the world, and it would be impossible to destroy it.
This is why Arthur created Ascent: to clear the dungeons with the highest chance of breaking. The efforts of his guildsmen would delay the apocalypse, where the split would be undone, and every dungeon gate in the world would break open simultaneously.
Arthur kicked the air, and he launched himself soaring into the sky, reaching an alt.i.tude where he could see the battle of his army against the ogres. It was in full swing, with the ogres putting up a great fight against the tiny humans.
Then, a giant as big as ten meters walked between the ogres. It was their boss, which was a one-eyed Cyclops. It held a giant sword, which seemed too refined to be the works of monsters. Arthur looked surprised as he sensed the sword had runes on it.
The one who came out to fight this giant was Ilia Perli, the strongest follower Arthur had. The rest of the knights backed away, as did the ogres, after their boss ordered them to retreat. Then, the Myth-Tier monster advanced to fight Ilia Perli.
Arthur used his teleport rune and appeared beside Ilia Perli, and the Astra-ranker was not surprised. He remained his gaze on the cyclops that wore armor better than his.
"His sword is a genuine artifact, Ilia. His armor seems durable too, and his rank is similar to yours. How confident are you about winning?"
"I will not lose, even if it proves to be a difficult battle," said Ilia Perli as he took out leather gloves and put them on. Arthur watched him with interest, making the stoic man explain. "These isolate the lightning I use from leaking to the ground."
"I remember that your powers include lightning," muttered Arthur with realization before looking at the book in his hands. The runes were glowing again. "Wouldn"t a lightning resistance skill help with that problem?"
"I had to train my body to resist lightning effects because that skill is rare, and even if a monster is found with it, they would never drop it. An A-rank skill would sell for hundreds of millions, and every guild would fight for it."
"Take this," said Arthur as he threw the skill book, making Ilia catch it with surprise. Confused, he stared at the leather book before looking at Arthur. "Open it."
Ilia did after a slight hesitation, and light exploded from the book. It drew the soldiers" attention; most thought their commander was attacked. However, their worries eased when the light disappeared, revealing the shocked Ilia.
"Guild Master, this book is…."
"Can you tell what it is?" asked Arthur with a smile. "It dropped from a monster in the forest. I thought it was a one-usage item, but that seems far from the case. I used it too, and now you did."
"A permanent A-rank skill?" muttered Ilia Perli with shock as he heard the monster roar with rage as he slammed his sword to the ground, splitting it in half. However, he was too shocked. "Guild Master, this would sell for billions of dollars."
"I don"t plan on selling it, and it is not big of a deal as you think. However, resistance skills are rare, so it should be quite the reward for the guilds."
"It will be," said Ilia with a smile before he presented it back to Arthur. "Thank you, Guild Master. Since I have this now, I will easily take care of this monster."
Arthur retrieved the skill book with a nod, and Ilia Perli took out his sword and turned toward the Cyclops. It gave him a snicker of disdain, which Ilia Perli returned with an explosion of lightning.
Boom!
Zzzzz!
Lightning crackled around Ilia Perli as his entire body was covered in lightning. The heat melted his gloves, but the lightning did not harm him. He looked at his hand with curiosity as if he could not believe the resistance he had obtained.
Arthur watched intently as the lightning reached dangerous levels, but Ilia was unharmed. His limits to tolerating his powers seem to have been raised by the skill he gave him.
It was a reminder even their powers could harm them, similar to how Eragon harmed Arthur and his powers of creation. It seems that combinations of abilities that work together would yield stronger capabilities.
"Kekekeke," laughed the cyclops at Ilia Perli even after he showed his powers. He raised his sword high and infused it with mana. Its runes glowed a bright, earthy hue as the sword buzzed.
Ilia Perli stomped on the ground and rushed forward as the Cyclops brought down his sword. The sword slammed to the ground, evaporating it. Ilia Perli seemed disoriented as he got closer, and the Cyclops used this chance to slam him with his fist.
Arthur stared at the battle with interest. The sword this monster used had runes that sent ultrasounds in high frequencies, shattering anything nearby. Even the ground beneath it disintegrated after being slammed with repeated sonic attacks.
Ilia was disoriented because his ears could not handle the sound waves, which allowed his opponent to slam him flying. However, Ilia was not harmed and landed back beside Arthur.
"You need to end this fight in one attack, Ilia."
"I realized that too, Guild Master," said Ilia Perli as he sheathed his sword and summoned his astral art. A long lightning spear appeared before him. Ilia grabbed it and turned it into lightning itself.
Boom!
The man disappeared as he turned into a streak of light that shot toward the Cyclops. The monster roared and brought down his sword again, but even as it cut through the lightning, it could not stop it.
Ilia pierced through the monster and came out the other end, leaving a giant hole in the Cyclops. The monster staggered before it crashed, causing cheers within the army.
"Lightning G.o.d! Lightning G.o.d! Lightning G.o.d!"
The soldiers cheered for Ilia, who materialized a distance away. His thin mustaches were raised because of the lightning, making Arthur snicker. Then, the astra-ranker walked toward the cyclops and dragged him toward Arthur before bowing.
"I return victorious thanks to your blessing, Guild Master."
"Don"t undermine your abilities, Ilia. There is not an astra-ranker who has what you have. You are destined for greatness."
"There is no greatness that could fulfill my ambitions."
"Our ambitions," corrected Arthur, making him smile with grat.i.tude. The soldiers were still cheering, and Arthur patted his shoulder before leaving. "Eradicate what remained from the ogres. We cannot leave any to harm traders."
"As you command."
Arthur used his rune to soar toward the Runic Dome in the sky, which opened its gates. Although he could teleport into it, it was more to show the soldiers that they still had this giant artifact on their side.
Julia, who received him in the first layer, seemed to hold some bad news. She came while Arthur took the corpses from his subs.p.a.ce in the first layer.
"Have you seen what the world has to say about us?" asked Julia with a frown as she stood far away. Arthur did not answer. "We used to have the support of the citizens, but now they hate us."
"And how does that affect our upcoming battle?"
"Even if we win, we will not be looked upon favorably like what happened in Ilios. Maybe we must negotiate peace with Runera and pay what they demand to get into the ruins."
It was at that moment that Arthur paused and turned toward her. His frown seemed threatening since monster corpses and their leaking blood surrounded him.
"I gave them a choice, just like you wanted. This is more than just wanting to enter the ruins, and you know that. Runera is what Diana left for my sake. I cannot let it rot in the hands of a few self-centered geezers."
"You are not alone anymore, Arthur," said Julia as she stepped forward. "You have fifty thousand lives in your hands. You promised them glory, but the world sees them as bloodthirsty animals. Please, consider compromising."
"I compromised all my life, and I will not do it again," said Arthur with a frown. "I wanted to avoid bloodshed at every turn that the world thinks of me as a pushover. If not, then Runera would have surrendered. Do not attempt to dissuade me from what I want to do."