Chapter 3 - Black Mask

Book 3 – Chapter 3

Theldon Continent, The Under Cave

Slayer moved his arms through the Fallen Gods Piercing Lance technique, launching a massive piercing blow at the three-tailed scorpion. Although Slayer had not been aware when Dale learned how to use this Art, Slayer still retained Dales memories, and was able to use the techniques he learned. The scorpion, sensing the danger in the massive piercing blow aimed at it, swept its three tails forward, in a powerful slashing manner, covered in its silver aura.

The blows collided, creating a small shockwave of force, throwing both Slayer and the giant scorpion back. Slayer felt his ribs creak, absorbing the powerful impact. The three-tailed scorpion, however, had taken far worse injuries. It had lost two of its three tails, with its third one being badly injured, barely hanging on. Its beady eyes glared at Slayer, in anger and fear.

Slayer immediately leapt at it, launch blow after blow towards the creature. Thanks to his growing control of his Aura, Slayer was able to throw punch’s that would travel over a hundred feet before running out of force. Slayer beat the scorpion backwards through his sheer, powerful Aura, smashing it against the back wall of the huge cavern, causing several large cracks to appear. The cave wall was resilient, however, and did not completely crumble.

The scorpion, though, was a Silver Core monster, and couldn’t be killed by something like this. The moment it touched down on the wall, it skittered up the side, jumping away from Slayer. The formerly-three-now-one-tailed scorpion fled towards the other side of the huge cavern, rapidly retreating. Slayer threw blow after blow, infused with his aura, after the scorpion, but to no avail. It was simply too agile, and managed to dodge all of his distance attacks.

Slayer was enraged at his failure to kill his target, and chased after it, using his powerful Earth Movement Art. Within the next four seconds, the scorpion had reached the end of the huge cavern, running at an impossible speed, and exited via one of the several cave entrances on the side.

Slayer chased it all the way to that cave exit before stopping, becoming more cautious. As much as he wanted that monster dead, with its delicious core in his hands, he refused to put himself in unnecessary danger.

Slayer stared down the dark corridor the scorpion had fled to, running away from Slayer in terror. He decided against following it, and returned back to the lakeside. The risks of chasing a creature in the Under Cave far outweighed the possible reward. He settled down by the lakeshore, focusing his energy on repairing his body. Though he took no serious damage in the battle with the three-tailed scorpion, any amount of weakness could result in his death, and Slayer refused to allow that to happen.

After recovering his energy, Slayer drank his fill again from the lake, and left the large cavern, slowly exploring the cave beyond him. He traveled down several different connecting caves, following the traces of monsters that had been here previously.

As he walked, Slayer took note of the many kinds of moss and lichen growing on the sides and walls of the caves he explored. He noticed several small mole-like creatures that fed on the various glowing mosses in the cavern. After watching several feed on a large chunk of moss, Slayer slowed time and dashed out, throwing a precise punch at one of the large mole like beings. With a soft squishing sound, the creature collapse, its head pulverized. The other creatures immediately dug into the cave ground, fleeing.

Slayer grabbed the mole creature from the ground, tearing meat from its body, devouring it. It tasted stringy, like beef with no fat, and wasn’t altogether unpleasant, he concluded. If he couldn’t find any food, he would turn to them for nourishment. His bestial mind kept alert while he ate his meal.

Over the past month of exploration, Slayer had killed several powerful attribute beasts. One of them happened to be an Iron level Cave Tiger. It had sharp talons, perfect for stabbing or digging. Slayer had cut off one of its claws, and fashioned it into a small knife, which he used to slice the rest of the meat off the mole, preserving it for later.

Slayer continued walking down the corridor, and exited into a slightly larger cavern, filled with rock outcroppings. As he sensed the environment, he felt the force of an arrow, whipping through the air aimed at his chest. Without even looking to see if it was still coming, Slayer dropped to the ground, slowing time as he went. He felt more than saw the arrow fly by, piercing where his heart should have been. Thanks to his Perfect Balance, he had managed to sense and avoid the potentially fatal attack.

Rolling to his left, Slayer quickly confirmed the outcropping the attack came from. About 80 meters to his right was another cave entrance intercepting this cavern. Slightly raised up from the floor, it was covered in medium sized rocks, a good location for an archer to hide.

Slayer activated his Earth Movement Art, smoothly running directly towards the hidden archer. Slayer felt another arrow launch towards him, and slightly moved to the left, dodging it at a narrow margin. The arrows were moving much too quickly for him to see them, and the only reason Slayer could even dodge them was thanks to his Perfect Balance.

Slayer rapidly approached the outcropping where the archer hid, having already covered two-thirds the distance. The hidden archer abruptly stood up, and Slayer got his first look at his newfound enemy.

The archer was wrapped in dark leather armor, covering him from his neck to his feet. His face was obscured by a black mask that seemed to have a number 8 carved into it. Slayer, covered in his powerful aura, threw himself at the archer, launching forth a powerful attack.

The black masked archer walked forward, and seemed to shiver, disappearing from Slayers sight.

However, despite his odd movement, he had yet to escape Slayers notice. Due to his constant fighting with enemies above his level, as well as constantly being in Perfect Balance, Slayer had rapidly developed his proficiency in tracking his enemies. While his eyes might not be able to follow the speed of their movements, nothing escaped his perfect sense of balance.

He saw his enemy shiver and disappear, but more accurately, he felt his enemy move forward at an astonishing rate. Slayer instantly recognized that this figure was on par with a Black Gold Core commander, and opted to flee immediately, compressing time to the maximum he could as he retreated down the way he came.

However, just as Slayer was turning to flee, before he even managed to move a single step, an extremely powerful punch slammed into the side of his head, throwing him across the cave. Slayer landed hard against the cave wall, raising several large cracks. Momentarily stunned, he nevertheless stumbled to his feet, trying to flee and escape.

This was not a creature he could contend with yet, Slayer’s instinctual mind felt. Slayer felt more than saw the black robed archer approach him, instantly appearing behind him.

Knowing instinctively that there was absolutely nothing he could do to dodge this creatures attack, Slayer moved the entirety of his Aura into a protective shield on his back, focusing himself fully on defense when…

“WHAAAAAAAMMMMMM!”

“CRAAAACCCCKK!”

Slayer spun through the air before slamming into another wall of the large cave, his back sinking in several inches as the rock itself broke before the force that hit him. He felt several of his ribs crack, blood spattering out of his lips as he assessed the damage inflicted upon him.

Slayer glared at the black masked archer hatefully, spitting up blood, as he slowly worked his way free from the wall, cracking the stone itself. As he broke free from the caves embrace, the black masked archer stood watching.

The archer looked at Slayer with a curious glint in his eye, and then said something to him. Unfortunately, Slayer had gone into a berserk rage, accepting the fact that he could not escape this black masked monster, deciding to fight it out till the end, and die in a Titanic battle of glory.

It is said that the human brain takes 13 milliseconds to register something before a human can react. Thanks to Slayers ability to slow time, this reaction speed was reduced to 11 milliseconds, a miracle in itself. In those 11 milliseconds, however, it could be said that Slayer left himself completely open, and even a child could kill him.

0.001 seconds later

The black masked figured seemed to shiver, abruptly disappearing from where he had stood.

0.003 seconds later

The black masked figure reappeared behind Slayer, standing absolutely still. Slayer did not react, still staring at the spot where the figured had been standing. The ground where the man had stood earlier had gained two large foot sized imprints in the ground, with several long cracks starting to spread out

.

0.005 seconds later

The black masked figure knocked Slayer lightly on the chin, moving his arm at an impossible speed. The blow itself wasn’t very powerful, but the precision behind it was immaculate, applying the perfect amount of force necessary to knock Slayer unconscious. The cracks in the ground continued to spread.

0.009 seconds later

The black masked figured disappeared again, reappearing back where he had been originally standing. Cracks appeared in the ground next to Slayer.

0.011 seconds later

Slayer’s eyes started glossing over as he felt an extremely precise blow slam into his chin, knocking his brain around hundreds of times in his head. Unable to force himself to stay awake, Slayer fell to his knees, staring at the black masked man in confusion, unable to tell how he was attacked.

He tried to scream in rage as darkness overtook him, but couldn’t even manage that, slipping into unconsciousness.

Bristia continent, Moradonya, Oryx’s home

Commander Oryx led Myra to his private library after giving her a small tour of his residence. The duo had just left Count Iriz’s manor, tracking all the way back to the business sector to find Commander Oryx’s home.

Commander Oryx lived on a large property, similar to Count Iriz’s manor. It had one long, mansion like building, containing several dozen different rooms, including a dining hall, a kitchen, several different bedrooms, a weight training room, and two separate practice rooms, as well as a private library.

The rest of his home lay outside his manor, but still in the gated square, and contained a small garden and a large collection of trees, planted seemingly at random and scattered across the estate. Oryx’s home was very similar to the rest of Moradonya, with a dark grey roof and somber tones covering it inside. There were two separate guards standing in front of Oryx’s home, both giving off a steelish Aura. They saluted proudly at Oryx when he walked by, accepting his familiar nod to them. They ignored Myra.

After showing her where everything was, Oryx brought her into his private library, where several high level Arts laid hidden, as well as historical documents, and more. It was a large room, filled with several large racks of books on the wall. In the center of the room lay three large desks, one of them covered in books.

Oryx began speaking,

“I understand that it’s difficult to accept your new life as a shade. I took the liberty of preparing several different books for you to read, about our history as well as proper etiquette and manners. Once you read through these, Iriz has arranged for several different teachers to begin visiting you, to help you assimilate into our society. In order for you plan to be a success, you must perfectly assume your role as our future shade leader.” Oryx said, his eyes filled with passion. He gestured the small mountain of books on the third desk.

Myra nodded, looking around. She had yet to accept the fact that she was completely a shade, but she figured she would go along with it till she could figure out a solid plan.

She walked up to the desk and pulled out the chair, sitting down. She grabbed one of the larger books in the pile, pulling it close and reading the title “Dizelsf’s History of Moradonya: Volume 1.”

Opening the book, she began to study…

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