Return Of The Strongest Player

With 14 Beast Marks, the Corrupted Beast was on the lower end of Infant Beasts. However, the sheer absurdity and abstract nature of its power boosted its danger several fold, placing it beside a regular, low Novice Beast.

But even that was too low of a classification, as regular Novice Beasts could be understood.

Taking countermeasures against a Light Beast or a Dark beast was not difficult, as research had been conducted for thousands of years to produce the most efficient ways of dealing with them. It was common knowledge.

However, due to the sheer rarity of the Corrupted Beasts, it was difficult to pin-point their weakness, if they even had one.

But, although the Corrupted Beast before Arthur had intelligence, it couldn't respond using human language, which indicated a lack of communication skills. However, that might solely be due to its infancy stage.

The Corrupted Beast hadn't fully developed, couldn't yet communicate.

'Well, even a Spiritual Beast Emperor Corrupted Beast cannot communicate, so they probably do not have enough intelligence at any stage of their lives,' Arthur concluded, nodding in understanding.

If that was truly the case, Corrupted Beasts could not evolve infinitely, unlike what many players believed. 

Since their existence was shrouded in mystery, not even their physical characteristics were known by all. Only a few of the elites were aware of what the Corrupted Beasts' looked like, and even less had ever faced one.

Arthur rushed forward, immediately awakening Skofnung. A thin streak of crimson flashed across the battlefield, and the Corrupted Beast let out a soft groan. Skofnung roared, exuding immense killing intent.

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' loathes the presence of an unknown entity.]

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' advises its wielder to catch their prey, so that it can absorb the prey's blood.]

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' bares its fangs.]

Since even Skofnung was excited, how could Arthur allow the nervousness to corrode his mind? He dispelled all unnecessary thoughts, focusing solely on the battle that would decide his advancement.

His preparations weren't lacking, but he wasn't certain whether they could resist the Corrupted Beast's advance. Arthur fiddled with the miniature Sun in his pocket, cracking a faint smile as he imagined the possibility.

The Blessing of the Sun.

Once one achieved it, they automatically stepped onto the Path of the Sun. The Sun Set was also quite beneficial, but Arthur couldn't obtain it until he stepped onto higher floors and made his mark.

The Blessing of the Sun had yet to be activated.

Arthur used [Ethereal Glide] without restraint, allowing a steady stream of mana from the rock to invigorate his movements and attacks. He was full of vigor. Arthur's each step caused the ground to crack.

The plates of mana produced unpleasant sounds, but they allowed Arthur to close the gap within seconds.

The Corrupted Beast remained stationary.

'Sword Spirit,' thought Arthur as his pupils faded. Orange, black, and red aura burst from his body, painting his surroundings the respective colors. It was like time stopped. Skofnung roared yet again, approaching the Corrupted Beast's body.

The time was ripe to finish the battle in a single blow.

Arthur screamed, raising Skofnung as he somehow manipulated Sword Spirit. Its boost greatly increased the power and speed of the falchion.

However, when the falchion was only a few centimeters away from the Corrupted Beast's neck, it turned around. Its head disjointed, and cracks escaped its neck, terrifying the crimson-eyed man.

He desperately tried to withdraw the attack, but it was too late.

"Rar," the Corrupted Beast spoke, and a domain of purple light flashed. A sphere of intense power formed in mere milliseconds, encompassing Arthur's body along with the area with a diameter of ten meters.

It was just a single flash.

'Fuck,' thought Arthur.

He knew it was over.

Arthur poured all of his mana into conjuring a barrier. The rock was almost sucked dry in an instant, but before the domain of purple light could shrink and consume Arthur's existence, a tough barrier formed around his body.

The barrier was lime-colored, and contained an enormous amount of mana.

Flash!

The domain shrunk in the blink of an eye, utterly destroying Arthur's surroundings. The barrier shook violently, on the verge of cracking. Arthur's expression crumpled, and torturous pain assaulted his body.

Crack! 

The barrier around him shattered, subjecting his body to immense strain. Arthur endured it, not letting out a single sound as a few of his bones were crushed due to the impact. He couldn't give up.

Once the domain faded, Arthur immediately retreated as far as he could.

The Corrupted Beast, however, did not relent.

The domain it formed was entirely abstract. Arthur couldn't sense an element, but it wasn't pure mana, either. The attack itself was physical, but the idea or the explanation behind it was metaphysical.

Unable to be understood.

The Corrupted Beast's legs suddenly glowed, emanating a light shade of gray. The glowing energy seemed to camouflage with its "skin," and was incredibly difficult to spot if one was not focusing.

Without a single change in its expression, the Corrupted Beast jumped. It was only a minor vertical–about two feet–and seemed quite ordinary. However, as he landed, the beast's body bent.

Its knees curled, while its upper body leaned forward. 

Boom!

An explosion rang, and using the momentum of the jump along with a perfect landing, the Corrupted Beast detonated what seemed like mana, but seemed to be originating from a different source.

Using the detonation, it launched its body forward, splitting the air pressure apart without any trouble.

'Fuck.'

Arthur mouthed, forming three barriers by using whatever mana had recovered within the stone. Since the stone absorbed the surrounding mana at all times, it recovered several times faster than Arthur's body.

It was like a secondary set of mana circuits, but much more efficient.

'But it also eventually clogs one's mana circuits, so I have to be careful in using such a cheat item.'

The three barriers before Arthur were reinforced by Sword Spirit, which embraced Arthur's mana like a warm blanket.

The defense was ready.