Chapter 273 (2/2)

“What did you do with Regis?” I growled, looking for my companion

“The pup is safe This is a trial of your skills after all” The being stepped toward es so far but I sincerely hope that you pass this final trial”

“You’re right Ever since being thrown into this Godforsaken dungeon, it felt like all I’ve had to do is face trials” The edge of h my voice “At least, unlike the other monstrosities this place whipped up, you have the sentience to at least tell me some answers”

“And that I will,” he said as a spear of aether manifested into his hand “Given that you prove your worth, of course”

I had landed in this ancient dungeon after failing to protect Dicathen The only ones I could blame were far out of reach, and the only ones I could take er out on were bloodthirstyof high intelligence and strength that deemed himself the ‘final trial’

Prove your worth,the white dagger in my hand My blade was ain, the force ofcoravitational pull of an opponent that Cylrit, Seri’s retainer, had There was no delay or recoil that I could work off of

My attack just stopped

Stepping into my opponent, I followed up with a strike to his sternuh th and speed

Again My attack stopped just as it hit below his ribcage

However, I had noticed solowed slightly as he channeled aether through them

The two of us soon fell into a flurry of attacks, with er only as an extension of ed, kicked and punched with the beingevery one of e of blurring stabs fro spear, I used ht and used the momentum to launch a reverse roundhouse stab at his head

Like I had expected, his runes glowed once in the area he kneould attack And like I had expected, the tip of ht ear

He swung his spear, putting a distance back between us before lunging forward atdefense was beyond frustrating, I had to ad

The shaft of his weapon swayed and bent as if it werein the air with every stab and swipe he threw at me, as if his spear had come alive

However,to scoff at either and my asuran physique only supplemented my abilities I wove, parried and redirected his attacks until ere both at a stalemate

That’s what I wanted hi defense ’s eyes followed the er to block proved it

The entity aimed for my left collarbone as his spear rushed towardout of it, I dipped rabbed the shaft withthe entity’s spear toward ht hand

Again, the runes glowed and I could already sense the accu his stomach And that would’ve worked had that been my intention

Rather than strike at his sto forward and stabbed past hiht below his ar as I released a pulse of aetheric intent before letting go of round

I followed up i aether into the palm of my hand in preparation for a blast Suddenly, the entity, who had been lying on the ground right in front of me, was now over a dozen yards away

“What the,” I muttered

The entity calood I ed to land an attack”

With his brows furrowed in concentration, he stabbed his spear forward I sidestepped, expecting his spear to stretch forward and reach me—he was a user of aether, after all—but the tip of his weapon disappeared in front of him and a sharp pain exploded fro out of a portal made just beside me

Expect the unexpected, I re on s once more and rushed toward the tattooed hu any closer to him no matter how far and fast I sprinted

The entity stabbed forward once more into a se his attack There was a slight delay between the fluctuation of aether and the spear e from the portal

“Your technique and physical prowess is superb but your attack earlier was merely a fluke,” he stated as he prepared to stab forward onceaether flow freely from my core I could feel the ah every inch of e of ware that flooded into my head

Then, I stepped forward

And that single, divine, step broughtfro

“Is this a fluke as well?” I asked asdeep into the entity’s back