Return Of The Strongest Player
chapter-97

It was a massive wasteland.

A crimson tint surrounded the atmosphere, interfering with Arthur's eyes. His entire existence seemed to blend with the battlefield, which reflected the color of a certain viscous liquid that covered the ground.

His eyes shone with curiosity as he observed his surroundings. There wasn't a single entity visible for miles upon miles. The horizon was draped in darkness. It was either night, or the world did not have an atmosphere.

'The latter isn't possible.'

The soil was crimson, akin to Kurukshetra. Arthur bent down, allowing the soft dirt to flow through his fingers. Its texture was strikingly similar to sand, and so was its consistency. 'This is a weird world.'

It was like crimson soil was all that existed in the entire world. There weren't any mountains, hills, craters, water, or greenery. However, Arthur was quick to spot four shadows in the far distance.

He squinted, trying to view the shadows with clarity. However, they remained blurry, unable to be identified.

Arthur immediately shot forward, traversing through the crimson soil, towards the shadows in the distance. As he closed the gap between them, he realized their bodies were similar to large wolves.

However, instead of fur, their body was covered in a dark aura.

'Necromantic beasts,' thought Arthur, unsheathing Skofnung. They were slightly different from what the hologram had displayed, but quite similar. They were slightly smaller compared to the hologram.

As he approached the beasts, their heads turned to face the crimson-eyed man.

Their eyes shone white, with red streaks running through their scleras. Their heads were enormous, and their teeth protruded outwards. The tips of their teeth were incredibly sharp, akin to that of a vampire.

'Is this all?' Arthur wondered, observing his surroundings. If these were his only obstacles, the second trial would be much easier than in his former life. There were two tiers in his former life, too, but the first tier was not this easy.

The wolves were foes capable of being taken down by his former self, too. They had around 13 beast marks each.

Then why had he struggled?

Arthur pushed the matter to the back of his mind, letting out a sigh. He then slowly approached the beasts, preparing to use [Mana Step] in case they suddenly struck. Retracting Skofnung, he shot forward.

Using [Mana Step] to close the distance, Arthur immediately slashed horizontally, delivering a deep cut on one of the wolves' hides. It shrieked in pain, but Arthur didn't relent. He dug Skofnung into the wolf's torso before pulling out.

A pool of blood spewed from the wolf's body, rendering it dead after a few seconds.

He then effortlessly striked two other wolves, bringing them down in mere seconds. Then, only one wolf remained.

"I just realized something…" Arthur muttered, staring at the last wolf. He displayed signs of fear, and the property of death surrounding his existence faded, revealing a brown-fur wolf strikingly similar to a normal one. "I can extract your teeth to make souvenirs."

Since necromantic beasts were consumed by death itself, their teeth could provide benefits when dealing with other necromantic beasts. It was like using a tiger's tooth to stab another tiger.

Arthur then moved his feet at terrifying speeds, decapitating the fourth wolf in an instant.

'Was that it?' Arthur thought, scrunching his eyebrows. Usually, the first tier of the second trial was based on one's own strength. Arthur believed his power had surpassed the extent of these beasts long ago.

Although he didn't complain, the tier was too easy.

However, after waiting for a few seconds, the system message for teleportation did not manifest, and neither did forced teleportation occur. Arthur remained on the empty planet, with only a soft breeze and red soil to accompany him.

But, suddenly, the death aura in the surroundings rose exponentially. Arthur's eyes narrowed, and he let out a chuckle. "Of course, it could never be that easy."

Following those words, three bears arose from the crimson soil. Their bodies were covered in the same aura that the wolves emanated… the aura of death. They were necromantic beasts, but much more powerful than the four wolves.

'So they decrease in number and increase in power as I kill them,' Arthur concluded, locking eyes with one of the bears. It bared its fangs.

"All right, then. Come."

*

'I'm getting the hang of this mana shit,' thought Dino. His body was covered in blood, but it wasn't his own. One bear stood before him, along with two corpses behind it. 'I can infuse my weapons now.'

For the past few weeks, Dino had been learning to manipulate mana. Finally, after several weeks of hard work, he could finally use Mana Infusion and a few other techniques that were taught in Arcadia Academy.

His abilities as an assassin had improved, too, but it felt out of place. It was like he couldn't truly adapt to being an assassin.

Without further delay, he shot forward, using his sword to impale the bear in its torso. Dino tried using a dagger during training, but he couldn't master it in such a short period of time. So, a sword was the most versatile option.

The bear groaned in pain, raising its hind legs to stomp on Dino. However, before its feet could collide with the crimson soil, they were sliced by Dino's sword. Blood spewed from the enormous wound, and the bear's eyes lost their luster.

At that point, Dino was out of breath. The continuous battles were difficult. Moreover, the beasts were designed to perfectly match his true strength, which made it impossible to slack off for even a second.

If he didn't display his full power at all times, it was only a matter of time before he was eaten. The beasts he fought had around 9 beast marks each.

As the bears faded into nothingness, two more aura arose. They were the auras of Necromantic Eagle Beasts.

'For fuck's sake…' Dino muttered, gazing upon the majesty of the beasts.