Growth

Distant from the rays of the two suns of this world, a boy was frantically breathing for air.

Gasping around as his body came near death just for a moment and then leaving it behind forever.

His hands clutched into the dirt, breaking apart the stronghold of grass on it. Transparent red sweat fell from his head.

It was mixed with the coagulated blood on Licht's skin. He felt every fiber of his existence being chewed on by ants.

He didn't get the nack of the integration process no matter how much he did it, he always suffered in pain, gritting his teeth on a piece of cloth while sweating and bleeding from all of his orifices.

But he always looked forward to the moment it would finally be over, and just as he expected, the pain finally went away.

His convulsing body finally went into a rest state as he felt soft, cold winds blowing around him.

The long trees provided a canopy which in turn provided a breezy and shady atmosphere.

Groaning in pain, Licht overturned his body. "Ugh, this never gets better,"

"Well, at least all my wounds heal after this process."

"This much pain is just slightly, very slightly better than spending those hard calamity souls,"

Licht's eyes looked at the beautiful scenery before him. This world was something he always wanted to see and live in.

Yet, it didn't exist on Earth. Even if it did, he didn't know anything about it.

'Maybe that Judge and bloody hypocrites would have known….'

'Meh. It doesn't matter now, does it? Earth is already done for while I will be living in the zone for god knows how long,'

Suddenly sunlight seeped through the cracks of the canopy. Licht put his hand forward in an attempt to block it when he saw hundreds of scars all over it.

Another bout of silence occurred near him as he kept looking at his hand as if bewitched by it.

But his hand gazing stopped when the annoying ding sounded beside his ear. The system was showing the time left for the next trial.

The last trial of this legacy-based series of trials.

››

[Trial: Twin sword of Dusk and Dawn.]

[Legacy trial for the Emperor Sylvestia.]

[You will be automatically transported in nine minutes.]

[Category]: Sub (Not possible to reject)

[Difficulty]: Mortal+

[Clear Conditions]: This is the legendary legacy trial of Emperor Sylvestia of Dusk and Dawn, the reckoned one under heaven and Earth. The twin swords hold the same fame as the trusted weapons of the Emperor.

Each of them holds great power, capable of changing destiny and conquering fate.

Complete all three of the trials to gain access to the Dawn Sword, the first legacy of the Emperor.

[Time Limit]: N/A

[Compensation]: Dawn Sword(Sealed).

[Failure]: Memory wipe, elimination from the trial.

››

[You will be transported in nine minutes.]

››

'Hah, I guess the break ends with this,'

'I hope I can clear the last trial as well. This new reward seems to be too good to let go.'

Licht sighed. Looking at the screen for some more moments, he remembered something.

'I haven't seen my stats in days…Dang, have I been that busy?' he thought as his other hand moved, clicking and gesturing at the screen.

Finally, the familiar blue screen appeared before him, giving him a tinge of joy that he hadn't felt in days.

===========

[Host Attributes]

[Name]: Licht Vanrir

[Race]: Human

[Spiritual energy]: 9

[Martial Arts]:

[Monster]: Aspect of Devil

__

[Strength]: 14

[Endurance]: 12.8

[Agility]: 10.4

[Stamina]: 13.2

[Mentality]: 10.1

===========

[Calamity Soul]: 7950

'Oho, my mentality has finally been surpassed by another stat,' Licht stood up in a rush.

He was really happy after looking at all of his stats being above ten. He didn't know how much every integration raised them, but this was phenomenal.

Jumping around and sprinting, Licht tried to test the current limits of his body. He wanted to know how much more he could exert before the expected breakdown.

Each of the steps felt lighter. It was like he could run with the wind, and even the jumps were more than 3 meters.

When he tried to test the strength, the tree he tested it on broke. The tree which had been alive for hundreds if not thousands of years by its size, broke just after one punch from Licht.

The qualitative change in his power was far more than he had expected. He reckoned if he fought the bear after integration, maybe. Just maybe he could defeat it without the help of the bombs.

'Alas, what is done is done. I can't change the past,'

His gaze shifted to the timer that slowly decreased, counting down to the start of his last battle, 'But I can change the future.'

Focusing on his hand, the gauntlets manifested around his hands. Just this time, Licht also manifested wrist guards around the arm.

He didn't want to take any unnecessary risk that could be avoided. The Sentinel's Armor dimly shimmered as if agreeing with his thought process.

'Does this armor really have a soul or something? Feels quite weird having a sentient object,'

'Though, it somewhat eases my loneliness,'

Patting his armor with one hand, Licht manifested the katana with another. For more help, he bought two more bombs. If the bear was this dangerous, then the next opponent would be equal or greater in power.

"Oh wait!" Licht suddenly ran towards the corpse of the bear.

He had forgotten to store it for a moment, and instead of spending souls on food, it was better to use what he almost got for free.

But time wasn't in his favor, as he got transported halfway through the process.

"Shit!" He cursed as dizziness overtook his mind for a few seconds.

The world kept spinning until his vision came back, and what he saw with it was quite a horrifying creature.

The one in front of him was no doubt a real abomination…

The creature was conjoined with two warriors, one half-wielding scimitar and the other with spiked clubs.

Its four legs made the ground tremble every time it galloped. The place it was connected from made Licht dread.

Intestines, pus, and even worms crawled out of the conjoined place. The eyes of both warriors were shut behind masks made of metal. Its weapon shone under the dim lighting of the room.

All of a sudden, the spiked club warrior's face turned towards Licht as his eyes met with the hollow sockets in its mask.

And the warrior roared, rushing in Licht's direction.