MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1627: Breaking Barriers: The Fourth Trial (4)

”...Raaagh!”

Whoosh!

...

Step. Step. Step.

”Damn it...”

Taking a few steps back to stabilize his footing, Ataraxia gritted his teeth as he glanced at the figure before him, its combat intent more than palpable for anyone to sense.

”I was so close!”

Briefly glancing at the figure for a bit longer, the young man eventually voiced out his defeat to Aeramis, who immediately removed the figure’s energy the moment he heard it.

Swoosh!

Thud.

Seeing that he did not have to fight the figure any longer, it was only then did Ataraxia start to relax, slumping on the ground as he allowed the pain he’d been suppressing to wreak havoc all over his body.

”Kgh...!”

Gritting his teeth to the point that it felt like they’d eventually snap, the young man soon let out a long exhale, calming down as he took out a health potion from spatial bracelet.

”[Intermediate Heal].”

Pulling out the stopper from the flask, Ataraxia showed no hesitation in downing its contents as he accompanied it with a couple of his healing potions.

With that, it only took a few seconds for the young man to return back to his peak condition... though whether the same could be said for his mindset was still uncertain.

”Are you alright?”

Giving Ataraxia all the time he needed to compose his thoughts, it was only after he felt like the young man had returned to normal did Aeramis come closer, looking at the young man with concern written all over his face.

In response, the former looked back at him with pure hatred in his eyes, the feeling of self-loathing mixed with a hint of killing intent faintly suffusing out of the young man.

Fortunately, before the aura surrounding the young man could get any worse, the young man swiftly retracted the aura out of his own accord, only to then let out a low sigh as he returned the man’s question with a bitter smile.

”What do you think?”

After gaining an idea of what he needed to do after being defeated by his 4th opponent during his first attempt, the young man spent a lot of time refining the methods in which he integrated his movement skill into his combat style.

At first, he aimed to match the level his prior opponent had reached when it came to integration, considering that the latter had shown him a level of seamlessness and ingenuity he had never come up with before.

However, as he spent more and more time refining his methods, the young man eventually realized that the 4th opponent’s integration was superficial at best.

And so, he aimed for the essence of the integration.

Spending a total of 12 hours towards this endeavor, Ataraxia’s level of integration had massively improved compared to the first time he attempted the fourth trial.

Although the level he reached did not give him any confidence that he would be able to defeat the final opponent awaiting him at the end of the trial, he was still confident that he’d make it at least midway to the entire trial itself.

After all, if his current level of integration was already approaching the realm of having both movement skill and combat indistinguishable from another, how much further did he need to go to reach the limit?

...Apparently, a lot more than he thought.

Though his improvements had allowed him to defeat the 4th opponent without even breaking a sweat, Ataraxia eventually met his match by the time he got to the 8th opponent of the trial.

However, unlike his first attempt, where he was defeated by his opponent in a couple of moves, his fight against the 8th opponent seemed more like a stalemate, exchanging over 30 moves against one another with full ferocity.

Unfortunately, whether it was due to a lapse of judgment or due to a lower level of comprehension, his opponent eventually broke the stalemate between the two of them, rendering the young man defeated just five moves before reaching the threshold Aeramis had set.

”Huu...”

Letting out a long exhale to calm his restless emotions, Ataraxia closed his eyes for a bit as he reflected upon his fight against the 8th opponent.

Of course, thanks to [Perception of the Grand Origin], it did not take long for him to understand why he had lost against the figure, realizing that there were some parts of his understanding that he had misinterpreted along the way.

’...I see.’

With that in mind, the young man briefly gave Aeramis one more look before deciding to spend some time further honing his methods of integration.

’At the very least, it seems like he’s using the defeat as fuel to further improve himself,’ thought Aeramis, inwardly wondering for a bit if he’d be able to achieve the same thing the young man did after experiencing defeat amidst what felt like eventual victory.

Faintly shaking his head in response to the question he came up with, the man soon shifted his attention towards the young man, noticing that the latter’s integration between movement and skill greatly improved with every passing minute.

Although this discovery undoubtedly caused the man to become expectant of what could happen during the final attempt, being the creator of the trial Ataraxia was currently tackling, he also knew that the final opponent of the fourth trial might just be the hardest obstacle the young man would face in his conquest.

’If the early levels of integration expands the range in which you are able to fight your opponents effectively, reaching high levels of integration gives you the ability to fight your opponents as if they were within the confines of your domain,’ muttered Aeramis to himself inwardly, his expression solemn.

’Yet... against someone who has fully integrated their movement skill into their combat style...’

The man faintly shook his head at the thought.

’It’s as if you’re confined within the sturdiest prison to ever exist, every movement you make already accounted for.’

’...I sure hope he’s able to fight against the final opponent at least even for a little bit.’

’...’

’...Then again, even if he fails to defeat the final opponent in this trial, I still plan on upgrading his title regardless.’