……

The Grand Centipedeus went into a rampage as it received a beating from the three.

Leonard bravely challenged it head-on and exchanged blows without backing down. He stood in front of it and threw a series of punches at the giant centipede while dodging all the attacks of the monster or countering them with his attacks.

The huge apparition of the Thunder Lord also kept on appearing behind him for every move he took. But it was also throwing punches after punches that were reinforced with lightning, exploding every time they hit the giant centipede. But instead of having the golden lightning that it was supposed to have, the mutated crimson lightning was the one appearing on its fists and falling from the sky.

At the same time, Shin and Diablo circled the other places and attacked the Grand Centipedeus from multiple angles.

The former seemed to transform into a black-and-white electric current that ran through the massive body of the monster, leaving deep gashes and wounds in the process, while the latter had become a purple shadow that appeared in different places and threw a series of attacks that greatly wounded the monster.

The two of them were moving so fast that the Grand Centipedeus was unable to properly defend itself, especially when it was already entangled with Leonard, who was aggressively challenging it.

It could only coil its body whenever it was about to receive a powerful attack, trying to protect itself against the three. Then it would spin around and use its massive body to sweep through the three, trying to attack them with a large-scale attack.

At the same time, it would also be spitting a venom mist from its mouth, covering the entire place it venomous mist that would prevent the three from attacking it freely.

But the three used their respective means to protect themselves while diving toward the venom mist and continuing their onslaught.

Thunderclaps erupted as Shin dashed through the mist with the black and white electric currents covering his body. Now that Leonard was constantly getting the attention of the Grand Centipedeus upfront, Shin was free to do whatever he wanted and attack with any sword technique that he could think of.

Crackle! Crackle!

As he moved at extreme speed, Shin executed a sword-drawing attack with the Primordial Lightning being the one that infused with his sword.

Shing!

‘Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw – Flash Final’

A flash of lightning flew forward and cut through the venom mist as Shin thrust the [Yamato] forward. Unlike the previous times that he had executed this sword technique, the feeling that he had gotten this time was more natural, making his attack much easier to execute.

Boom!

(-59,242,552)

The impact that was created when the tip of the [Yamato] hit the surface of the exoskeleton of the giant centipede was so strong that it blasted a huge hole in it. A large chunk of the health bar of the monster was taken out while a part of the hard exoskeleton was taken out by the explosion.

Crackle! Crackle!

Electric currents were inserted into the body of the monster and spread throughout its flesh, paralyzing it, and preventing the giant centipede from moving.

Shriek!

The Grand Centipedeus cried in pain as it received that attack.

Leonard and Diablo took that opportunity to throw another powerful move from their arsenal and deal with a huge damage of their own.

Leonard squatted his hips while lowering his right fist beside his waist. He slightly twisted his waist and pulled the fist back while placing his left palm in front of it.

Sanguine energy gathered around the right fist, which spun rapidly and formed a spiral around the fist and covered his entire forearm. The crimson lightning currents flickered around the spiral energy, producing a series of loud crackling sounds.

Bang!

He then kicked the ground and lunged forward, heading straight to the Grand Centipedeus, which was still crying in pain.

He leaped in the air and arrived beside the face of the giant centipede in almost an instant before swinging his fist and detonating the spiral energy that he had gathered in front of his fist.

This was a Martial Skill that just appeared inside his head after the bloodline awakening. He had not gotten the chance to showcase this skill until now since he was not good enough for it. He also did not have the right conditions to execute any of them, especially when he was lacking the right energy for it.

But after what happened earlier, when his bloodline seemed to have been brought into the virtual world, Leonard had just met the bare minimum conditions that he needed for it. He then took advantage of this situation to try this martial skill while combining it with the Blood Force and the inheritance of the Thunder Lord.

The effects turned out to be much better than what he just expected.

‘Supreme Blood Sutra: Asad Tribe Arts – Sanguine Lion’

Roar!

A huge head of a majestic yet ferocious lion appeared, surrounding Leonard, who threw the punch. It opened its mouth wide and bit the neck of the Grand Centipedeus. Its sharp fangs crushed the hard and thick exoskeleton and sank deep into the flesh of the monster, not letting go and spreading the crimson lightning on the body of the giant centipede.

If Shin’s Primordial Lightning had powerful penetrative and strong paralyzing effects along with decent destructive powers and absolute speed, then this crimson lightning that Leonard possessed had the true essence of destruction and overwhelming scorching powers.

Boom!

(-60,552,311)

Meanwhile, a cluster of dark energy gathered above the Grand Centipedeus, which was gradually growing larger. Strings of black mana came out from the shadows and flew in the air, fusing with this cluster of energy and creating spiraling vines of shadows.

Not long after, this cluster of dark energy formed a giant sword that was hanging in the air upside down and pointing its tip toward the giant centipede beneath it.

Diablo, who was standing a few distance away from the Grand Centipedeus, was currently wearing a deep frown as he extended his hand and made a grabbing motion in the air. “This is much harder than I think it will be.”

Controlling this much Power of the Shadows this way was much more difficult than harnessing a small amount of it and using it for a regular skill. He could not help but be amazed at Shin and Leonard as they seemed to execute such skills effortlessly.

After putting much effort into controlling the Power of the Shadows and maintaining the form of the giant sword, Diablo suddenly swung his hands down as if he were pulling something from the air.

In response, the giant Shadow Sword suddenly fell from the sky. It gradually sped up as it descended and slowly gathered its momentum until it reached its maximum strength.

Swoosh!

‘Shadowless Art: Judgement of the Shadows’

Boom!

(-55,245,819)

Shriek!

The Grand Centipedeus was impaled by the giant sword, making it waggle its body while crying in pain. Blood splattered everywhere, gushing out of the wound that the shadow sword had created.

Moments later, the giant centipede raised its head and released a deafening shriek that was much louder than the previous ones that it had.

Hearing that, the trio suddenly felt that the mana in the surroundings seemed to become heavier as a huge portal was formed in the air.

Then the three saw insect- and arachnid-types of monsters raining down from the sky as the giant portal was spitting them out. They varied from different size, producing loud sounds as they landed.

Shin and Leonard were about to make their moves to reduce the number of these monsters, but Diablo quickly volunteered for it. “I’ll handle these guys. You two focus on finishing that centipede.”

As he said that, he suddenly waved his hands in the air, exhausting his mana pool to summon hundreds of swords made from the shadow energy. Those shadow swords hovered in the air for a moment as they adjusted themselves and pointed toward their respective target.

When Diablo swung his arms down, the shadow swords quickly followed and started raining down and hitting slaughtering the huge insects and arachnids that were being poured out by the giant portal.

Shin saw it and nodded his head before giving an order to his two clones to assist Diablo. After that, he turned his attention back to the Grand Centipedeus and looked at its health bar.

At this moment, the giant centipede currently had a quarter of its total health after receiving the beating from the trio. It was already at the borderline where it could enter its enraged and berserk state.

Seeing that this was already about the end, both Shin and Leonard adjusted themselves before dashing forward and releasing a large amount of energy from their bodies.

Bang! Bang!

Crackle! Crackle!

The black and white lightning and the crimson lightning crackled through the air as they charged forward, leaving intense electric currents behind them.

…

Not long after, Shin could be found sitting on top of the massive corpse of the Grand Centipedeus with his sword left stuck beside him. His arms were resting on his knees while holding the mask on his left hand.

The final battle was much tougher than they had thought.

He was currently reassessing his performance in the battle and trying to remember the feeling of wielding the Power of Primordial Eclipse. He knew that this was the key to how he would be able to fully awaken all his innate attributes in the real world and also the clue on how he would form his Spiritual Force.

Leonard, on the other hand, was lying on his back while looking at the sky. His chest moved up and down as he tried to catch his breath. He was too exhausted to move right now. He did not know that trying to wield the Ancient Powers of the Primordial Beast would be this exhausting when it was used along with his bloodline powers and the inheritance of the Thunder Lord.

Regardless, he was quite thankful for this experience as he now had an idea of how to properly awaken his innate attributes in the real world. He might even form his unique Natural Force once he was done with it.

Diablo was in a slightly better state than the two. Even though the number of monsters that came out from the portal was huge, he still had the assistance of the two clones that Shin had summoned earlier, so the battle on his side was much easier than them.

Even though the quest scenario had already ended, and the Power of the Shadows had already been taken back from him, he still received a special item from the system called ‘Fragment of the Shadows’ that he could use to understand the powers that he was wielding earlier.

Once he had completed his Tier 3 Promotion Quest, he would be able to use that item with a special ‘Training Instructor’, who would personally train him to regain that power. Once he acquired it again, he would reach a new height that he never reached before.

Of course, he also felt indebted to Shin for receiving the two Martial Manuals that perfectly fitted his fighting style.

These manuals would not only help him grow inside the game but would also allow him to practice Martial Arts, precisely Assassination Arts, in the real world.

Glancing at the pair of clones cleaning up the battlefield, Diablo walked toward Shin and asked. “Can I have some of the materials from this Demon? I am thinking of creating a new set of equipment and a pair of weapons to replace my current ones.”

“What I am using right now is already outdated and can’t properly hold the advanced form of mana that I currently wield,” he added.

Shin looked at Diablo and chuckled. “Of course, you can. You are already a part of the Empyrean Talons. It is natural for you to get the best.”

He then tapped and knocked on the corpse that he was sitting on while saying. “Moreover, this guy’s remains are too large. I think it will take a lot of time harvesting it.”

“Although, I will not be helping you with that since I still have a lot of things that I need to take care of. But I can recommend you with the best blacksmith that you can find in the game.”

“I will be sending you the details on how to contact him. But make sure that I am the one who recommends you since that old dwarf has quite a temper when it comes to strangers,” he added before falling into deep thought.

After that, he suddenly said. “Make sure to give the rest of the materials to him since he will not be making you what you need unless there is something that piques his interest. He will not be receiving any form of payment other than these super rare materials and the experience of forging them into a unique set of equipment.”

Glancing at the series of notifications that he had received from the system, Shin ignored most of them before looking at the time.

He then turned to Leonard. “Hey, Leo! I will be leaving the task of reporting everything to Sister Adept Hands and Brother Tinker. I have to log out now since am already late for my morning routine.”

“As if you are the only one! I also have to do my morning routine as well,” complained Leonard as he remained lying on the ground.

“But I am asked to report to Professor Henry first before I can go to the class,” said Shin as he read the message that he had gotten from the real world.

From the contents of the message, it seemed to be about a new training regime prepared by Professor Henry. “Tsk! Tsk! More training. I wonder what it is this time.”

“I trust you to deal with rest, alright? I’m going now,” he said before quickly logging out, not giving Leonard the time to complain.

As for his clones, those two had already harvested enough materials from the corpses of the monsters lying around. They were already transferred to his inventory directly as he left the remaining ones to Leonard and Diablo.

Seeing that Shin directly logged out, Leonard could only sigh before looking at Diablo. He was about to say something when the latter immediately rejected it.

“I am just a new member. I still don’t know the ropes in your team. Moreover, I also need to properly gather the usable materials from this big guy. Do you think it will be easy?”

Leonard swallowed the words that he was about to say before sighing helplessly. “I guess I have no choice.”

He then picked himself up from the ground before looking around. There was a mischievous thought inside his head and said. “Then I will leave this job of harvesting the rest of the materials that he missed to you.”

Before Diablo could say anything, Leonard suddenly crushed a return scroll that sent him back to the Sacred Light Kingdom.

Diablo opened his mouth but was unable to say anything since Leonard had already disappeared in front of him. He then looked around, sweeping his gaze at the hundreds of corpses of the monsters that he and the clones had killed before, before turning back to the massive corpse of the Grand Centipedeus.

Felt that he was starting to regret joining this adventurer team. But he suddenly could not stop himself from smiling as he felt like he was already a part of them.

“I guess I have to start work now.”

……