Return Of The Strongest Player

The defense was ready.

The Corrupted Beast traveled across several hundreds of meters in barely three seconds, closing the gap almost instantly. Its body twisted, but it pulled its "leg" back, as if preparing for a kick.

However, instead of pushing it forward, the beast instead planted its foot on the ground, halting its advance. Its body stopped only a few centimeters away from Arthur's barriers, which emanated a powerful glow, as if to intimidate the beast.

The Corrupted beast pulled its body back before opening its palm. "Grrr."

A thin layer of purple energy wrapped around the palm, swirling as if it were a miniature version of a hurricane. Its sclera emanated a sharp, white color in order to temporarily blind the crimson-eyed man.

But Arthur averted his gaze hurriedly, instead glancing at the beast's palm.

'If I get hit with that, I'm dead,' thought Arthur, gritting his teeth. He immediately sucked whatever mana had recovered, pouring it towards the reinforcement of his barriers even further. The barriers solidified, exuding a more solid color.

The Corrupted Beast pushed his palm forward, and the thick, purple energy swirling around it caused even the air to detonate. Arthur continuously poured more and more mana into the barriers.

Blood escaped his lips due to biting his lip. His gaze was confined on the Corrupted Beast's palm, his eyes sensing the approaching calamity. His pupils never left the palm, continuously calculating the force that would strike his barriers.

Boom!

The palm collided with the first barrier. An explosion rang in Arthur's ears, numbing one of his senses. The purple energy, when colliding with the barrier, immediately escaped the beast's palm.

Half of it attached to Arthur's barrier, crushing it due to the pressure, while the other half shot back to produce more force.

The first barrier shattered.

The second barrier shattered.

Finally, a single barrier separated the Corrupted Beast from utterly ripping Arthur to shreds. But the latter couldn't allow that outcome to prevail. If his former self could defeat a Corrupted Beast, so could his regressed self.

Twisting his feet, Arthur immediately escaped the firing range, but the Corrupted Beast–too–shifted his target. The palm shot diagonally, approaching Arthur–who had escaped the confines of the third barrier.

But instead of tanking or deflecting the palm, Arthur reversed the twisting of his feet, returning to his original position. The Corrupted Beast–having already released the powerful attack–was not able to shift its trajectory.

Whoosh!

Arthur shifted the direction of the barrier as the air around the Corrupted Beast detonated, obstructing the debris that shot towards him immediately after the success of the attack. 

Boom!

The barrier survived.

Arthur immediately re-absorbed the barrier's mana, allowing it to flow towards the activation of Sword Spirit. Orange, black, and red aura swirled around Skofnung, and Arthur raised the sword with a passion.

The Sunlight seemed to reflect off Skofnung's blade, reinforcing it as Arthur swung it towards the Corrupted Beast. This time, the beast did not have enough time to react, and was struck by the devastating attack.

Slice!

Skofnung sliced through the Corrupted Beast's "flesh," but blood did not spew. The Corrupted Beast's body did not have blood.

'What–' 

Before Arthur could process the information, a streak of light passed through his eyes before his vision was dyed white. His consciousness floated in the light-infested abyss, unable to discern the concept of directions.

Time stopped.

Suddenly, darkness encroached on the white abyss, but the white fought back. Eventually, the darkness prevailed, as the white could not prevent its invasion. Arthur floated between consciousness and unconsciousness.

But it was obvious that a deeper meaning lay within the vision.

He simply could not discover it.

Flash!

Once again, he entered unconsciousness for a few seconds before his eyes opened, revealing the battlefield in which he was engaging in battle. The Corrupted Beast had recovered, and was swinging its claws towards the crimson-eyed man.

The beast had already lost an arm, but its strength had not decreased at all. It was truly a confusing beast.

It did not fit the laws of the world.

It truly suited its name; corrupted.

Its eyes were dull, as if it did not contain life. But it wasn't dead, either. Was it a state of limbo? Arthur couldn't tell.

Neither life nor death.

Neither creation nor destruction.

Neither good nor evil.

It just existed.

Arthur retracted his body, attempting to escape the Corrupted Beast's claws, but the latter was simply too fast. The claws collided with the crimson-eyed man's chest, ripping a part of his flesh and damaging his bones.

Arthur let out a shriek of pain, immediately activating [Ethereal Glide]. 

Alas, the Corrupted Beast had already bared its teeth.

Boom!

Arthur's body shot backwards like a broken puppet, while his consciousness flickered. His eyes turned dull and lifeless for a split second before recovering. Arthur immediately activated [Judgment Regeneration] in order to heal his wounds.

A crimson energy encompassed his body like a warm blanket, but not before he performed a rough landing.

Before he could recover, the Corrupted Beast shot forward, the purple energy swirling around its palm. Strong winds blew due to his approach, the ground cracked beneath his feet, and the density of the mana in the surroundings flickered.

'What the fuck… how is it changing the mana density without using mana…'

Arthur was flabbergasted by the occurrence, but did not have leeway to process it. The palm was too fast, and the crimson-eyed man did not have enough mana to resist the attack for a second time.

'Am I going to die here…'

The possibility of death was very real, now. Unlike previously, Arthur did not have enough mana to tank the attack, and was incredibly vulnerable in that moment.

'Nothing in the tower is impossible.'

Suddenly, a thought appeared in his mind, opening his eyes to an entirely new possibility. Did he need mana? Mana was the essence of Heaven and Earth, but was it truly needed to produce powerful attacks?

[Your understanding of mana has decreased.]

'Fuck that.'

'That's what Attainments are for.'

An involuntary smile blossomed on his face, and he pulled out the miniature Sun. A few seconds remained before the impact, providing him with just enough time to forcefully activate the Blessing of the Sun.

Power was power.

Was mana truly needed to draw all the power in the world?

It was definitely important, and contained a large part of what it meant to manipulate the world into doing your bidding.

But was it the only source of power?

[Your understanding of mana has decreased.]

Arthur did not care.

A bright light burst from the miniature Sun, and before long, the energy contained in the item flooded Arthur's body, settling in. It did not contest the mana, and simply increased Arthur's understanding of the specific element.

Arthur's eyes burst with a yellowish-white light.

This was the Path of the Sun.