Soul of Blades - chapter 53: Demonic Mastery (Patreon)

A cry pierced the settlement. Alex skidded around a corner to a stop. There, an armoured woman was trapped under fallen debris. Her eyes locked onto his.

One quick glance. Nothing around. He lunged forward.

Muscles strained under the weight of the wreckage. The woman scrambled free, tears streaming down her ash-covered face as she recovered her weapon. A nod of thanks. A shared glance of understanding. Time was a luxury they didn’t have. He was off again.

The light from the red beam grew stronger. The world was on fire.

A handful of people in the distance. Twenty, maybe? Engaged in battle with a monstrosity. A towering demon, horns scraping the sky, eyes a maddening, bloodshot red. People scattered, tripped, fell. The stench of death was in the air.

His eyes took in the scene quickly. Desperate faces, swords clashing against the hide of the demon, and bodies littering the ground. They were losing. His chest tightened with realisation. The smell of fear and death was overwhelming. Magic raced through the street, buildings had begun to burn, But there was something else – a spark of resistance.

One warrior, brawny and brave, lunged at the demon. He was swept aside.

A maiden, her eyes ablaze with defiance, charged, only to be smacked away.

A mage, distant and aged, unleashed spells that fizzled harmlessly against the demon's hide.

They needed help.

Alex activated Phoenix Leap, his form a blur of speed and movement. Propelled through the air, he landed among the chaos and observed, hidden amongst the rubble for a heartbeat.

The ground trembled beneath the demon's monstrous steps. It was a beast, a devil, a godless creature of destruction. Its size dwarfed the warriors around it. Its eyes were level with the roofs of the surrounding buildings.

Alex watched the turmoil, cloaked in the shadows of destruction, the bronze blade poised and ready, aimed at the creature's distant eye. Mana coursed through him, a tide swelling, then pouring into the metal, consumed by the bronze blade to imbue it with purpose. It shot forward at speed.

In the span of a heartbeat, the blade transformed, extending far beyond its original form. It instantly matched a greatsword's reach, still extending, then the length of a spear, then a pike, until it surpassed any known blade in length. A bronze streak cut across the battlefield, a fleeting comet against the dusk.

The demon, its attention snagged by the blur of movement, turned its head, sending the blade crashing into skin and not sclera. As the sword met hide, a shower of sparks erupted, the weapon deflected by the sheer toughness of its hide, veering off course. Alex cursed under his breath at the sight.

“The hard way it is.” He muttered in irritation before settling into a stance.

Alex took a moment, an infinitesimal pause. He decided to try something different. Inner Focus kicked in as he tapped into the ever-present sensation of the skill to delve deep within— to observe the workings of his internal mana, something he had overlooked until now. The world slowed at the strange sensations. He felt the pulse and movement of his mana, the rhythm of his magic.

“Mana Blade.”

The skill activated at his words, accompanied by a surge of power burst from his heart, the sheen of the impossibly sharp edge. His blade, now much more than just an extension of his arm, flared with brilliant mana. His fingers tightened around the hilt as he sensed the magic flowing through him and into his weapon.

Sharpening it further.

Alex launched himself forward. Time blurred around him as he flew through the air, his blade ready to strike. It met with the demon's skin, an orchestra of sparks flying off. He rebounded, using the momentum to retreat.

It bellowed in pain and surprise. Its eyes locked onto Alex, a new threat amidst the chaos.

His mana continued to dwindle. He couldn't keep this skill up for long. Inner focus told him he had about seventy percent of mana left.

He hadn't known it could do that.

Boundless Dodge. He danced around a swipe of the demon's claws, his body moving at an impossible speed. There was a shockwave where he had just stood. The impact of pressurised and heated air sent him flying.

He landed some distance away in a crumpled heap, his high endurance absorbing the brunt of the damage. He groaned as he sat up and looked forward and made to re-enter the fray.

A brawny man launched a savage attack on the demon but was effortlessly swatted away. Undeterred, a courageous woman charged forward, only to be thrown back by a single swipe of the demon's claw. A wave of heat billowed outward, pushing all of them back, as an old mage raised a strange staff and released a burst of magic. It petered out harmlessly against the demon's resilient hide.

Each blow they landed was met with a shrug. Each spell, a dismissive wave. Their numbers were dwindling; some lay wounded, others exhausted. The tide of the battle was not in their favour.

"Mana Blade," Alex muttered. A blue glow enveloped his blade, humming with deadly energy. He dashed towards the demon. Boundless Dodge activated. A boulder flung his way exploded into dust as he slipped past it like a gust of wind.

Wham!

His blade slashed against the demon’s armour-like skin. A roar, an angry backhand, and Alex was thrown back once more, a Phoenix Leap halted his tumble.

He shook off the dizziness and entered a stance. Time to double down.

A thought, and his bronze blade disappeared, stored in his inventory. Another, and ‘Weightless’ the white blade replaced it, its weight-controlling form settling into his fingers.

His senses sharpened. He focused on the sensations of his new passive skills. Inner Focus. Outer Focus. The mana within him, the mana of the world, he could feel it all. His blade was once more an extension of his will, a channel for the universe's truths. He could see how the demon's mana fortified its skin.

And where it was weakest.

But even as he rallied, Alex could feel a terrifying amount of mana building within the demon. His Outer Focus tingled with warning. He moved.

high into the sky, he flew. His weightless blade shone white, a beacon amidst the fallen, a light to split the red sea. The blade Increased in density with each moment of his long swing.

In an elegant, fluid arc, he struck again. “Mana Blade” he spoke words that spelled death. As the skill took hold, using inner focus, he urged more mana to pack into the blade, to escape through his palm until the blade began to emit a bright, almost blinding light. A boom, the sound of a mana-bound sword as heavy as ships meeting flesh as hard as anchors. His sword, shining with intensity, carved a swath through the demon's defences. A moment of surprise flashed in the demon’s eyes. Then, a piercing scream ripped across the battlefield, and the demon reeled back, wounded.

A notification flashed before him, another discovery.

[Mana Blade - Mastery: 0 > 5%]

[Inner Focus - Mastery: 0 > 12%]

[Outer Focus - Mastery: 0 > 12%]

Huh. That was new. Alex wondered what would happen when it reached full mastery.

A cheer rose from the ragged defenders, interrupting his musings. Their spirit reignited, they lunged back into the fray, the promise of victory within their reach.

Not good. He couldn’t and wouldn’t let them steal his prize.

In the crowd, Alex spotted a familiar face. Lyra, she seemed to lack stats but still moved with expert precision, untouchable. He could tell she was a seasoned warrior. Her lips parted in a battle cry, drawing the demon’s attention. A broadsword swung in her grasp, cutting down smaller demons.

He took a breath and leapt again, landing amidst the battle-weary warriors. A brute with a great axe stood his ground, attempting to cleave through the giant demon's thick hide, only to be thrown back by the sheer force of the demon's counter.

Then a younger mage, staff ablaze, let loose a volley of searing fireballs towards the demon. Yet, the spell seemed to do little more than annoy the behemoth, who swatted the magic away like irritating flies.

With the large demon distracted, Alex's blade slashed through the air, a tangible line of mana in its wake. He deactivated his skill pre-emptively. No enhanced sharpness from Mana Blade, no, not now. His strike aimed to hurt, not to kill.

Frustration rumbled through the demon, its attention divided between the swarm of defenders and Alex. A chance. A risky, potentially foolish chance. But a chance.

Barely a moment's hesitation and Alex concentrated on the sensations of Inner Focus. His senses narrowed, turning inward, pinpointed onto his own mana. Its warmth, its pulse, its... potential. The battlefield noises dimmed, leaving only the resonance of his own power.

"Your turn, big guy," Alex muttered, leaping towards the monstrous demon, blade ready.

Centering himself, he invoked his Dao of True Immortality, a deep connection to the universe flowing through him. With each breath, each pulse of his heart, he was one with the life, death, and change of the world around him.

He moved in again, his blade humming with his Dao's essence, it seemed to shift in the light, changing. The demon, perhaps sensing something, turned to face him. As it turned its tail swept powerfully in an arc to knock back the defenders.

Their eyes met.

The demon charged.

Boundless dodge. Alex sidestepped. His blade cut a luminous arc through the air. The Dao-infused strike bit into the demon's thigh.

Blood spurted. The demon roared.

Next, it was the arm. Sovereign Executioner. His blade cut through sinew and bone. The executioner pierced its eye. The demon's mana-infused and hardened skin shifted away from his Dao on contact.

The demon shrieked.

Their struggle drew attention. The fallen soldiers looked on, their eyes widening in disbelief.

But the demon was not defeated yet. It lashed out with wild abandon. A woman went down, her side gashed open. A brawny man collapsed next, a cry tearing from his lips. The wizard's spells grew weaker and weaker as it rampaged. They were losing ground.

Alex’s gaze never left the demon. It charged again.

This time, his blade found the demon’s chest. His blade had sunk deep into the demon's chest and continued up to his elbow. The resistance, the eventual surrender of flesh and bone to his weapon, to his will, brought a chilling satisfaction.

It was over.

The demon's fall reverberated across the battlefield, a palpable wave of shock and disbelief among the fighters.

They had won.

He had won.

[You have defeated level 62 Astral Demonfiend: incomplete variant - additional experience points due to the level difference]

[Level 41 > Level 50]

[Strength +36, Dexterity+36, intelligence+54, unassigned stats +36]

He dumped his free stats equally into endurance, strength and dexterity. Each stat would be crucial for what was to come.

[Name: Alex Ironwood

Level: 50

Race: Human - Rank F

Primary Class: ̷̷͎̠̠̖̳̮̿́̏̄͝͠Sys̵̞̈́͆̓̓te̸̪̟͇͕͂mic SwO̷̟̮̙͚̔rd So̶̼̲͋͐͋͂ͅve̶̷̵̴̲̳̱reign

Sub-class: Locked

Strength: 277 (191)

Dexterity: 306 (211)

Endurance: 128 (88)

Intelligence: 386 (266)

Wisdom: 41 (28)

Feats: First Encounter, Pioneer, Pinnacle IV, Survivor, Warrior, Champion

Active skills: Phoenix Leap, Mana Burn, Mana Blade, Boundless Dodge, Duȅ̷̳̮̄͝͠l of C̷͎̠̠̖̿́orruption, Sovereign Executioner, FlameBody,

Passive skills: Inner Focus, Outer Focus, A̷̶̵̴̲̳̱l̸̢͉̗̣̑͐͛à̸̶̵̴̶̷̶̺̥̮̯͇̲̳̱̼̲͒̈́̈͛͋͐͋͂ͅͅ ̷̷̶̴̵̶̷̸̴̶̷̵̢̳̮̲̳̱͉̗̣̲̳̱̏̄̑͐͛͝͠Ω̴̵̶̷̲̳̱ ̶̶̯͇̼̲̈́̈͛͋͐͋͂ͅ ̷̷̶̴̵̶̷̴̶̷̵̳̮̲̳̱̲̳̱̏̄͝͠g̵̶̷̴̲̳̱e̸̪̟͇͕͂e̶̷̵̴̲̳̱E̵̴̶̷̶̵̴̶̷̷̸̸̢̲̳̱̼̲̲̳̱̟̮̙͚͉̗̣̺̥̮͋͐͋͂̔̑͐͛̀͒ͅͅ ̶̷̶̴̵̶̷̯͇̲̳̱̈́̈͛ ̷̸̴̶̷̵̳̮̪̟͇͕̲̳̱̏̄͂͝͠M̷̶̵̴̲̳̱m̸̵̴̶̷̸̷̸̴̶̷̵̢͉̗̣̲̳̱̪̟͇͕̟̮̙͚̺̥̮̲̳̱̑͐͛͂̔̀͒ͅ ̶̯͇̈́̈͛ ̷̸̶̢̳̮͉̗̣̼̲̏̄̑͐͛͋͐͋͂͝͠ͅO̷̟̮̙͚̔o̶̼̲͋͐͋͂ͅᾯ̴̵̶̷̵̴̶̷̷̸̸̸̢̲̳̱̲̳̱̟̮̙͚̪̟͇͕͉̗̣̺̥̮̑͐͛̀͒ ̶̯͇̈́̈͛ ̷̶͎̠̠̖̼̲̿́͋͐͋͂ͅ ̷̳̮̏̄͝͠ ̷̶̴̵̶̷̵̴̶̷̴̶̷̵̲̳̱̲̳̱̲̳̱, Inventory, Bestial Senses, BladeBody,

Dao: True Immortality - 0.06% Progress

Unassigned stat points: 0]

As Alex felt the warm rush of stat increase engulf him, surprised by the wealth of growth. The first time he had defeated something 200% levels higher than him— at twice his level, the system had only given him an increase of 5 level-ups. Now, he had just defeated something 150% his level but had experienced an increase of 9 levels. The only reasoning that made sense was that while defeating higher-level enemies would net him more experience, the higher his level became, the more experience he would need to level up. And if he wanted to avoid any penalties, he would have to do it alone. If that were true, it would mean the most efficient route to power would be to constantly seek out equal or higher-level opponents.

“Astral Demonfied…Incomplete?” he muttered, studying the fading panel. He found himself wondering, If that monster was an ‘incomplete variant’, then what would a real, complete one be like? How strong would it be?

Maybe he should close the incursion as soon as possible.

He wasn't quite sure how, but he knew the answer lay in the center of the pillar of light.

He pressed on, past the crowds of injured warriors, past the groups congratulating him, even past Lyra's call to arms. Forward, he moved, towards the center of the inferno, the pillar. His enhanced stats turned him into a blur amongst the flames.

With each step he took, the knot in his gut, the bad feeling he’d had this whole time, ever since the quest notification, grew stronger.

There was something in the center of the hellscape.