"Limit Break." Alden muttered softly.
His strength spiked by one whole minor level.
'I have sixty seconds to end this.'
Ren felt the change imdiately.
A shift.
Ren's grin widened. "Now we're talking."
Alden t his gaze.
Then,
They both disappeared.
The battle had truly begun.
Alden's body was moving before thought, instinct taking over.
His sword sliced through the air, aid directly at Ren's chest.
Ren twisted, but..
Just at that mont, Alden activated his shadow manipulation to bind Ren's body.
'Shadows?' Before Ren could teleport.
Slash.
Blood sprayed.
A cut ran across Ren's side, his dark outfit was now stained red.
Ren stumbled back, his breath rough.
For the first ti in this whole trial, he was injured seriously.
Alden didn't give Ren any mont as he dashed forward, his sword glowing with mana.
Ren's eyes shone with thrill despite the pain.
"You really—" he exhaled, clutching his wound, "—are sothing else."
Then,
He vanished again.
Alden's senses scread.
Behind.
A blur of motion, Ren appeared, his dagger aiming straight for Alden's heart.
Alden barely raised his sword in ti.
Clang.
But the force was much higher than before—
Alden was launched backward, crashing through the ground, dirt flying.
'Damn it—he's still this strong even after taking a hit?'
Ren's breathing had beco rough, wiping the blood off his chin.
But his smirk never faded.
"Looks like I need to end this fast."
The atmosphere shifted.
Dark energy surged from Ren's body.
His wound?
It was still there, bleeding.
But his power, It was growing.
The air trembled.
The ground cracked beneath him.
Alden clenched his sword.
This pressure, it was suffocating.
Then,
They both vanished again.
A storm of shockwaves erupted across the battlefield.
Clash after clash.
Strike after strike.
Neither of them held back. They nearly exchanged hundreds of strikes in less than five seconds.
Alden's sword sliced through the air.
Ren's daggers flashed with deadly precision.
Each attack could kill.
Each dodge was a fraction away from death.
Alden's speed pushed past his limit.
Ren's technique grew sharper.
But, even with [Limit Break], Alden was still barely keeping up.
His breath was ragged.
His vision blurred.
His mana was depleting too fast.
'Damn it—I won't last at this rate.'
Ren noticed.
His smirk widened.
"You're reaching your limit, aren't you?"
Alden gritted his teeth.
Then he saw it,
Ren's stance had changed.
A final strike.
He was going to end it.
Alden's grip tightened.
If he didn't counter this, he would lose.
Ren vanished.
Alden's instincts flared.
Above.
Ren descended like a reaper, daggers glowing with dark energy, aiming straight for Alden's head.
Alden only had one chance. He poured everything into this last attack. He had a smirk on his face as he swung his sword.
All this ti the [Flowing strike] was active, and he was now going to unleash all the montum he had stored from the clash.
After reaching initiate rank, he could now store montum up to a hundred strikes with ease. But he didn't just swing his sword mindlessly.
He activated his [Shadow Manipulation] as well.
Shadows rose.
From beneath Alden's feet, tendrils of darkness erupted.
Ren's eyes widened.
The shadows coiled around his limbs, halting his movents for just a fraction of a second.
Ren tried to teleport but Alden had also activated his [Predators Gaze] freezing him just for a mont.
But that mont was all Alden needed.
[ETERNAL SURGE] He activated.
Silence.
Nothing happened for a mont before the sword connected with Ren.
'Boom'
A shockwave huge enough to shake the whole area resounded as Ren flew back.
His chest had a huge slash.
His mind blanked from pain for a mont as he crashed into trees one after another.
The dust settled.
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Ren finally stopped. Blood was constantly dripping from his a deep wound severing through his ribs.
Ren looked up as he saw cold, crimson eyes staring at him.
Alden's condition didn't look that great either, as his whole body was covered in blood.
Blood was constantly flowing out of his pores as he had used [Eternal Surge] at the highest possible level while his [Limit Break] was active.
His body was under a lot of pressure.
But he didn't care about the pain, only excitent surged through him.
"…Looks like you win."
Alden didn't respond.
He was too exhausted to speak.
For a mont, there was only silence.
Then
Ren laughed.
A genuine and amused laugh.
"I haven't felt this excited in a long ti."
He looked up at Alden, his abyssal-black eyes now returning to normal. "You really are a monster, Damien."
Alden exhaled.
"Well, we'll et again, my friend." Ren said "And at that ti, I will be the one winning."
Ren's body turned into golden particles.
This was not due to him giving up but due to the artifact given to him by his family.
It teleported him directly to the family.
"Until next ti, Damien." He said it before he completely vanished.
As soon as Ren vanished, a system notification popped in front of Alden.
[YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BROKEN THROUGH A SMALL LIMIT.]
[REWARDS ARE ISSUED]
[YOUR STATS WILL BE INCREASED SLIGHTLY]
Alden blinked.
Looking at the glowing text hovering before him.
'What… the hell?'
His mind, sluggish from exhaustion, tried to process.
'Stats increase? Since when did I have this ability?'
A thrill ran through him.
But right now, he was too tired to care.
'I'll check it out later.'
For now, he just needed rest.
–
There were only ten seconds left for the duration of [Limit Break] to end.
If Ren had stayed for only that long, Alden wouldn't have been even able to resist.
He quickly took out a healing potion and gulped it. But he wasn't foolish enough to check the door yet.
The Chaos Art could wait.
He needed to be at full power before facing whatever was behind it.
He was going to get a good rest before inheriting the Chaos Art.
He had to move for now.
He couldn't rest in the open where who knows how many monsters road.
Alden sprinted, his surroundings blurring as he activated Shadow Steps in quick succession.
He crashed into the cave he had stayed just as his limit break tir reached two seconds.
He collapsed down on the cave floor.
The penalty for using [Limit Break] would be coming any mont now.
His wounds had already healed due to the healing potion.
He lay on the ground as he waited for the penalty.
The penalty didn't make Alden wait long as a feeling of weakness washed over him with unbearable pain.
But Alden didn't even flinch.
This much pain was not enough to make him react anymore. He closed his eyes as he let sleep embrace him.
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