Michael finished his chant.

"Magic Crescent!"

Twin half-moons took shape in front of him, draining his mana. Each was over thirty meters long, but they still felt incredibly tiny compared to the strength of his opponent. Still, Michael sent them toward Veilthar. They cut through the darkness, but the Umbra didn't even move. Instead, he only tilted his head at the incoming projectiles. The first Crescent crashed against his torso, from shoulder to waist, and simply cracked. A moment later, the entire Skill fell apart as if it had met an immovable object, disappearing in the darkness without having achieved anything. The second Crescent suffered the same fate. Michael took this in with narrowed eyes.

I can't get through his defenses with area-of-effect Skills.

Ironically, Arcane Missile, which had evolved from his very first Active Skill, seemed to be the one Skill that would be most reliable here. That did not mean, however, that Michael wouldn't try and use the others, even if only to see the outcome of doing so. Would Earth Spikes work in a place like this, where there was no earth? Was it even possible to cast Wind Blades in a place where there was no air?

Calm down and think. You can do this.

Unhindered by the collapse of his Magic Crescents, Michael cast Earth Spikes. Unexpectedly, the mana that left his body and resonated with the environment gathered and solidified into pure stone, which then pierced at Veilthar. The same went for the Wind Blades that followed.

Michael took in this knowledge like land after a drought in the face of rain. It was then that Veilthar's figure, which had been standing in place and staring at him, suddenly disappeared as if it were a lie. Michael widened his eyes.

Lightspeed!

Pure light coursed through his entire body, supported by draconic magic. All his senses were amplified, making him able to perceive the incoming attack, but not react to it. The kick landed on his right side dead-on. Just like before, the immense force that he couldn't cope with sent him flying like a broken doll. In mid-air, Michael forced himself to gather himself and landed lightly, vomiting blood.

"Heal. Heal. Heal," he muttered under his breath, ignoring the metallic taste on his tongue and the pieces of destroyed flesh and organs in his mouth, keeping his eyes on the Umbra. Lightspeed remained active, as it was his only hope to somewhat react to the opponent's attacks.

There was no room to take advantage of Edge of Desperation's passive effects. Every single one of the Umbra's blows was enough to almost kill him, and not healing the damage would mean his doom. However, that didn't mean he was out of options. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Michael activated both Edge of Desperation and Resonance. It felt like a grenade had exploded inside his head – he felt much stronger than before.

It was then. Veilthar suddenly disappeared again. Michael grinned through the immense pain, his teeth completely bloodied. As if he had been waiting for it, his hands and feet pushed against the ground and made him fly to the side. Veilthar's foot went right through where his stomach had been, hitting nothing but air. Michael vomited more blood because of the abrupt movement, but continued to cast Heal. Once he was in a decent enough shape to move, he stood up and ran, still casting Heal. His eyes were fixed on Veilthar.

"Not bad," the Umbra said with a slight grin. "It seems you're getting used to this. I should try harder."

Michael smiled, even though Veilthar's words had sent a shiver down his spine.

"I can do this all day."

Veilthar smiled and disappeared once more. This time, Michael felt the incoming fist before he even saw it, likely because of his Hybrid Skills. It was aiming straight at his chin from the right. He felt like the world was flowing in slow motion.

You can do this.

These words were endlessly repeated in his mind, like a mantra. Michael widened his eyes and suddenly leaned backward, finishing his chant.

"Arcane Edge."

The Umbra's enormous fist pierced through the air right in front of his nose, almost close enough to touch it, but that didn't matter. He had avoided it. Now, he needed to fight back. Michael looked at Veilthar, who wore a surprised expression. At the same time, his blue-and-gold mana finished gathering around the Elder Chief's Staff to create a sharp edge. Michael unhesitatingly swung it at the Umbra's chest, supported by Lightspeed and his physical stats. The blade reached its mark and dragged itself on Veilthar's chest, failing to inflict any damage, but Michael thought this was enough.

I just need to hit him enough times. Eventually, he will bleed.

Lightspeed's time limit didn't matter. His own lacking stats and the sheer difference in power between them didn't matter. Resonance's risky side effect didn't matter. For his own sake and for the sake of his family and loved ones, he needed to succeed here. Death wasn't an option.

And so, the deadly dance continued.

Michael repeatedly attacked Veilthar's entire body, taking advantage of their difference in size to land as many slashes as he could. He narrowly dodged the Umbra's fists as he struggled to keep attacking. Was it because Veilthar had said he would try harder? Each fist now held the power to crush his bones and kill him in a single hit. Their speed had even marginally increased. Michael felt like he was trying to break-dance on a tightrope with three sniper rifles pointed at his head and five others at everyone he cared about.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Veilthar looked down and swung his hand, palm facing forward. The palm landed straight on Arcane Edge's blade, which then crumbled like it was made of fine dust. Without even blinking, Michael continued to chant as he leaped backward to avoid another attack. No thoughts ran through his mind. There was no longer even a single distraction in his perception. All he could see was the enemy in front of him. Even though his body kept feeling hotter, his skin redder, and his muscles' complaints got increasingly louder, he didn't stop.

It was a strange sensation. As the seconds ticked by, each feeling like a year, Michael's remaining sliver of awareness began to notice something. Every time he cast a spell, his casting time got a little faster, and the spell's power increased by just a bit. The effects were so minute that he had only started to notice them after this long, but as they continued to add up, they soon became obvious.

He was getting stronger in real-time.

This realization caused Michael no joy or relief. There was no room in his mind for such feelings. All that mattered was that they made him more able to keep fighting against the Umbra, even if only by a bit.

The feeling of danger never diminished. No, it grew over time. As if to match Michael's growth during the battle, Veilthar's attacks got progressively faster and stronger. Once Resonance was getting too dangerous, Michael deactivated it. Whenever he could, he activated Edge of Desperation and mixed as many spells into his offensive as he could. After a certain point, the punches and kicks mixed with the attacking darkness. Michael was forced to avoid enormous spears of darkness, pushed to run to the side as fast as he could to avoid being crushed by nearly-invisible masses, and still needed to find ways to counterattack.

It was as if every battle that he'd gone through in the Tutorial had been for this moment alone. Everything he'd learned melded together in his mind at the very edge of his consciousness, keeping him going. Memories of the times with his mother and friends only solidified his desire to overcome this.

Meanwhile, his body continued to get even hotter. By now, the smoke drifting off his skin was clearly visible, despite the infinite darkness, and his skin itself had gotten much redder. None of it mattered.

After a certain point, once Michael had lost count of how many attacks he had dodged and how many seconds he had gone over Lightspeed's limit, there was another change. He felt like every time he cast a spell, his consciousness tried to split into two. He grabbed onto that feeling like a starving man in the face of food. As he focused on it, it grew increasingly more intense.

Michael leaned to the side to avoid Veilthar's enormous fist, focused almost entirely on the splitting feeling. All he needed was one last push. The seconds ticked by. It happened as he was forced to block an attack that broke his left arm under the pressure. Michael felt like the 'river' that was his mind had split into two 'currents.' He barely registered the System window that appeared at the edge of his vision.

[You have learned the Active Skill 'Dual Casting (C).']

Michael smiled savagely, his teeth bloodied. In his mind, he chanted Heal. However, the words he spoke were for a different spell. He finished both chants at the same time.

Heal.

"Arcane Missile."

A wave of green mana coursed through him to mend the ruined left arm, while his mana gathered in the shape of a longspear in front of him. It shot forward, but Veilthar merely slapped it away like he were swatting a fly. The spear shattered, but Michael didn't even blink.

"Congratulations on learning Dual Casting, Michael Gray," Veilthar said, sounding a bit pleased. "But will that be enough?"

The darkness around Michael moved. Without Lightspeed, he ran around to avoid the incoming dark spikes. A realization struck the surface of his consciousness as a few of the spikes grazed his skin, drawing lines of blood.

They were slower.

He didn't know why or how, but they were slower than when he was under the effect of Lightspeed. That fact allowed him to just barely dodge them. Even as a few tore through his skin and flesh, Michael didn't even flinch. Another wave of green mana mended the wounds that had just been created, and he triggered Edge of Desperation.

Now that he'd acquired Dual Casting, everything changed. He could finally fight as he had always wished to. Michael smiled and pointed his staff at Veilthar.

Fireball.

"Wind Blades."

Part of his mana ignited, while another gathered in the shape of half-moons of sharp wind. As they flew toward Veilthar, the spells met each other in mid-air. The Wind Blades caught on fire and grew in size, which only fueled the fire's roaring fierceness. As one amplified the other, the spells landed on the Umbra's body. Under the veritable storm of flames that rapidly rushed over the 'ground' for an unknown distance, Veilthar narrowed his star-like eyes.

Simultaneously, Michael could feel his heart thundering in his chest. The pressure to succeed and the elation at his improvements had mixed together to create an unknown emotion. He tilted his head. An arrow of darkness scratched his cheek, making crimson blood slide down from the wound. A wave of green mana later, the cut disappeared as if it had never existed. A System window appeared in the edge of Michael's vision.

[Your blood continues to burn.]

It was a message he had never expected to see again. But it did mean that he was close to reaching a new level of power. Michael smiled. He guessed that he should be happy to see it.

The fight continued. Just like before, Veilthar's attacks were strong and fast enough for Michael to just barely react or defend against them. They were heavy, but no longer too heavy. Fast, but not to the point where he would unconditionally be hit. Of course, there were injuries. Michael had long lost count of how many times his bones had been broken or how many muscles had been damaged. At the very least, he hadn't lost a limb or flat-out died. Any amount of pain was bearable if it meant protecting the ones he cared about.

Veilthar's front kick slammed onto Michael's guarding left arm, breaking it again and sending Michael flying backward. The darkness around him moved, piercing at his organs from nine different directions.

Lightspeed.

Michael stepped on the ground and pushed against it to leap right over the arrows of darkness. In mid-air, he cast Wind Blades, which then pushed his back and made him land back down. He let out a breath and looked at Veilthar. The emotions in the Umbra's star-like eyes had changed, but Michael couldn't quite tell which ones they were anymore.

[Your blood continues to burn.]

"It seems like we are close," Veilthar suddenly said.

Without any more words, the Umbra disappeared. Michael turned to the left just in time to feel the opponent's enormous foot slam into his stomach.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.