With a simple swing, the four armed foe killed four more soldiers. His attacks continued to be exact. Mathew noticed unless he was about to swing that ball and chain, his sword never went beyond the body of the last person he killed.

Each and every movement between the General and the Progenitor were exact. Meanwhile, the footsoldiers were only able to get in a single, maybe two attacks before they died.

“All this death, just to defend their King?” Mathew almost couldn’t believe it.

If it was armies versus armies, then he could easily understand. Yet, this was a single man. Even with the difference of fifty levels he should have been overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

“Unless his stats are boosted by other means. Like Titles, Axioms, and other methods I might not even know of. Hell, I’ve only eaten a single fruit that boosted my stats. How many could he have acquired by this point in his life? How many does The General have?”

The General was about to leapforward, then suddenly he jumped back. Just in time to avoid a spiked rock from penetrating the air he was just standing.

He spared just a moment to look around him. At all the blood and dead bodies.

Mathew was curious how he was going to win this. So far, the sole fighter has but a few scratches and marks on him. Hell, he hasn’t even broken a sweat yet. Meanwhile, The General looked exhausted.

“Just what is your plan here? At this point, he must realize he is doomed to die unless he runs away. So, what are you stalling for?”

“You almost got me with that cheap trick.”

“Cheap tricks? Nonsense. This is a battle of life and death. There is only do or die. A falling tree does not care what lies beneath it when it lands. Whether it is the grass, a small animal, or a pair of young lovers. You are in my way. I do not care how you die, you will die if you stay here.”

The air seemed to grow in density. Mathew watched as The General’s skin started to change color from its pale green to a golden hue. It almost reminded him of when Leo activated his ability gifted by his God.

“Fine then. If we are going all out, then I shall ensure, for the safety of Ostguard, you die here.”

They both moved at the same time. The chain and ball was yanked forward. The General side stepped its path.

Mathew watched as a pillar of rock shot out from the ground, allowing the chain to bend around it, changing the path of the spiked ball.

Somehow, the General detected its change from behind him, and jumped upwards. As he came down, he swung his halberd. Mathew now realized the weapon’s bladed edge had almost doubled in length.

Its edge was sharp. Merely looking at it caused him to feel death looming over him. As it came down, Mathew saw for the first time the Progenitor have a moment of fear. In a blink of an eye, he slid sideways, the ground where he went was in ruins.

As the General crashed into the ground, his weapon split open the earth for several feet. He stood up, power wafting off of him. “Oh, so I see you are taking this seriously now that you realize what you are up against.”

He spun his weapon around, and two copies of it floated in the air next to him. “Don’t be upset that I didn’t warn you. You are going to die if you don’t stop.”

A smile crossed the four armed man's face. “Is that excitement, or is he cocky?” Mathew wondered.

“I’m not upset at all. In fact, I am glad you are taking me seriously. That shows you care for your King. You will die with honor. You and your men.”

The two dashed forward in a blink. Their movements have increased in speed. Mathew could no longer keep up with what was going on now.

“They were holding back that entire time?!” Mathew fully thought they were fighting at least somewhat seriously. Yet, right now, he knew they were merely testing each other's limits.

A small bead of sweat went down Mathew’s back. He was truly realizing what his future held if he could fix his soul. Even then, he looked forward to it. The power these two held was beyond his comprehension. Witnessing the power these two held was eye opening.

The way they fought was perfect. Nothing went to waste in their movements. A single movement that went too far would be punished with death.

As the two forces battled, Mathew tilted his head to the side. “The way the General fought was fluid. He constantly moved forward, never stopping. Meanwhile the other’s movements, while precise, were heavy. Thick. Like a mountain. Each attack had a weight to it that forced him to stop moving for just a moment between attacks.”

Mathew couldn’t help but see a river and a mountain. The General was slowly whitteling him down. Eroding him. It was a fighting style Mathew resonated with. When he first was fighting, he would cause his enemies to start bleeding with his knife. Letting them slowly die as he continued to pepper them with attacks.

He knew if the General got hit a single time by a direct attack, the battle would be over. Mathew noted that all the other soldiers had stopped fighting and were standing to the sides. Some were giving medical attention to those that were injured.

Looking back, Mathew saw that a new group had been formed. Banners with black and purple markings were being handed out. And a pink energy surrounded them all. Mathew was able to follow the energy up into the sky for some distance before it faded from his sight.

He turned back to the fight. He realized now what this was for him. Two energies in his mind turned and started to resonate. This was a teaching moment. He was to discover or maybe strengthen his knowledge of his previous two Axioms.

But what did he want to do?

His mind was distracted by so much, he couldn’t focus right now. “I need to wait till this finishes. I need to meditate. Time to focus and understand. This place is too chaotic for me. I can’t keep my mind from wandering.”

The [Trinity’s Manual] did cover Axioms and how to reflect upon life experiences to help develop them. Glints were not true Axioms. They were the building blocks for the truths in the universe. Hence why they were simple concepts. [Piercing], [Sharpness], [Structure], [Restraint], [Gust], [Metal], and [Persistance] were a few examples given in the book.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

It detailed that along one’s path, you might experience visions, grand natural events, and much more that will allow you to learn the truths in the universe. Mathew had paid close attention to this section as he wanted more Axioms. The stat boosts were powerful, but the usefulness of them were the real use.

It detailed that having an Axiom can help you realize when you were close to strengthening one, or understanding another. Mathew was experiencing that right now. Yet, at least three different options were laid before him.

“I need to memorize every detail of this vision. Once I leave here, I’ll instantly jump into meditation. If I can improve [Piercing] that would be fantastic.” Mathew returned his attention to put his whole focus on the fight infront of him.

He watched as the spiked chain grazed the leg of the General, sending him into a spin. As soon as he landed, he rushed to the side, avoiding yet another swing from the sword. The battle had gone on so long that Mathew had no clue which side would win.

The General alone had nothing to compare to with his raw power. Yet, the soldiers in the back that were empowering him and acting as damage sponges were helping him. The Progenitor was also a powerful force. He clearly had dozens if not hundreds of years of fighting experience. Each of his movements that Mathew could see showed it.

The two forces continued to battle, drawing out more powers. The General at one point seemed to teleport behind his enemy, leaving behind a deep cut between the two sets of shoulder blades.

Yet, at that moment, the earth started to rapidly move. Pillars rose up with spikes coming out of them all. They looked like odd cacti. That seemed to slow down the General in his movements. He was smart though. The ball and chain had less area to build up momentum, and the pillars also acted like shields.

In Mathew’s opinion, it was a bad move. The General was too fast, and could get behind a pillar. That was, until Mathew realized the true reason for the pillars. The four armed enemy let go of his ball and chain, throwing it forward.

Upon doing so, the pillars started to spin. Catching the chain and whipping the ball around before letting it go. Mathew’s eyes went wide at the insane idea. The General also seemed to have the same reaction.

He was now fully on the defensive. With an extra free set of hands, he rushed The General trying to either grab him or swing his sword at him.

It was a genius idea. The General now had to avoid getting stabbed, bashed, cut ,and grabbed. A plan that Mathew would be dead if he was caught up in. Changing the environment to suit your needs, adapting it to your fighting style, then changing everything to throw off your enemy is something he would strive to be able to do.

Mathew’s eyes glistened with greed. “I have to reach this point at the very least.”

Everyone was focused on the battle. So focused, that Mathew barely realized what happened next. The General teleported once again, but ontop of one of the pillars. He raised his halbered into the sky, a sorrowful expression on his face.

The Genreal then smirked as a beam of purple crashed down onto them all. The Progentior didn’t even have a moment to react. Mathew even less so. Even in his spectral form, he was thrown back over a thousand feet. He felt pain and almost blacked out.

Halfway through his tumble, he churned his own defensive Axiom, that seemed to alleviate some of the pain. Mathew floated upwards, to get a view of what just happened. He now understood that was the weapon that was mentoined in the command tent. The Atmosphere Annihilator.

Dust and rocks continued to slowly settle. The crater left behind was ginormous. It was the size of a city, if not larger. Mathew was continuously flabbergasted at what he continued to see. His perception of what was power continued to be reinvented.

He floated forward, only to see the entire army was now dead. Bodies laid scatered around. Mathew found it disappointing. Around a million soldiers died just to kill one man. At that point, was it even worth it?

Mathew continued to examine the leftovers of destruction. He knew instantly that if he was there physically, he was dead. This was a vision to teach him something, not kill him. So long as he didn’t do anything stupid, he was safe.

Rocks started to move closer to the center of the destruction. A figure stood up. “No fucking way anyone survive that!”

Standing was the General. His entire body was battered. He was missing his left arm, and half his body was mising skin. “Ha. Bastard thought he could beat Ostguard. We are a clan that does not give up.”

He looked around and saw no movement. “I guess he did die. I can’t detect his mana. Good riddance.” The General turned and started to walk away. However he only made it three steps before a pillar of stone pierced him through his back.

His eyes went wide at the surprise, and Mathew watched the life fade from them.

The Progenitor rose from the ground. He was battered, but looked mostly whole. He was breathing heavily, and blood was runing from his nose. There were no words from him. Standing there for a moment, Mathew watched him slowly stand upright. Bones cracked with his movements, and Mathew realized his body was battered beyond what was possible.

“If his bones are that shattered, how is he standing?”

The four armed enemy walked forward, picked up his ball and chain. It disappeared, more than likely ending up in a storage device. He continued to look at all the dead soldiers, ensuring each of them were dead. Once the last of them was checked, he looked toward the same direction he was heading in before the battle even began and continued to walk.

Mathew just stood there, trying to understand how he survived. Mathew knew he saw the man get blasted head on by the attack. Yet he survived without any outward injuries. His surroundings slowly changed, and he awoke back on his bed.

Instantly Mathew jumped out and rushed out of his home. It was the dead of night, and there was only one place he wanted to be right now. The Workshop was quiet at night. Barely a few people were working.

Ragnork was supervising someone weaving something when he saw Mathew. “Hey Kid, what are you doing-”

Mathew just pointed upwards, not saying a work. Ragnork apparently realized that Mathew wanted to go up there, and didn’t even bother him with anymore words. The staircase was lowered.

Marching up into it, Mathew didnt’ even care if it was closed behind him. He went to the center of the area ontop of the marble slab. He pulled out a simple mat he sat on when doing rituals and placed it down.

He sat down lotus styled, and closed his eyes.