“Challenger, it is about time I get a little serious. I assume you know of the Demonic Art's first skill?”
“…I’m familiar with it, yes. The fourth pupil was kind enough to show me. It’s an energy wave made of your mana, right?”
The man's head swayed at my words. “It is not just an energy wave made of mana. It is a combination of our deepest emotions with mana. Rage, fury, love, hate, contempt… We project those emotions outward, whether it be as small as a simple tidal wave, a calm waterfall, or a raging tsunami. The Demonic Arts is a martial art that uses our deepest emotions as fuel. The stronger your emotions and energy, the more devastating the output becomes.”
“…Why are you telling me the secrets of your Demonic Arts? Isn’t that like, forbidden or something?”
He was quiet for a moment, pondering my words as he shrugged his shoulders. “I have no clue why I am telling you all of this. Maybe it is because I’ve acknowledged your strength as a fighter maybe? Who knows. Either way, we should finish our battle, correct?”
“If you want to finish our fight, I’m guessing you’ll be using the Demonic Arts?”
The third pupil simply cracked a smile, ignoring my comment. That was when 'it' happened. The temperature of the room dropped dramatically to the point where goosebumps invaded my body. My shoulders shuddered, and my teeth clattered like a jar of jellybeans. Why was I freezing at a time like this when I had the [Frost Resistance] mastery?
Solgac, on the other hand, wasn’t shaking like I was. She was calm and resolute. Her posture was relaxed and her colorful eyes showed not even an ounce of fear. In fact, she was salivating as the corners of her mouth had drool coming out. When I turned my attention back to the third pupil, I felt every one of my senses screaming at me to dodge. The space around the man darkened as if a shadow was cast over his enormous body. His eyes flared up like a lit flame as a misty cloud escaped his breath.
“What you see now is the second skill of the Demonic Arts: Vortex,” he said, his voice now echoing. I felt my chest constricting the longer I was close to that weird shadow. For whatever reason, my mana was leaking out of my body- like someone had just poked a hole into a paper cup filled with water.
“I see you’ve noticed the effects,” he smirked, revealing pearly white teeth.
This is bad… If this Demonic Art actively sucks the mana out of my body like a vacuum, that means time is not on my side! I’ll have to pull out all the stops and end this quickly. Adjusting my mana output while fighting won’t be a problem for me.
Not wasting a single second, four blades of mana materialized above my head. They hummed rhythmically as they hovered, waiting for my orders. No one made any further movements as we stared each other down. All I would hear was erratic drumming in my ears and unsteady breaths as I watched my opponent. The third pupil still had his lips curved upward, his stance wide and palms open as he awaited. He was bidding his time since knew I’ll have to move sooner or later...
I commanded the blades to steer to my left while I dashed at the opposite end for a pincer attack. Since I don’t know if my mana blades will instantly disintegrate if it comes into contact with that weird shadow around his body, I’ll just do a little test ru-
“Kyuu!”
Without warning, I felt something light leave my shoulders. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Solgac had just leaped off my body and was gliding through the air with her small wings- flapping like a baby bird taking flight for the first time. Solgac had a hungry look on her face as she opened her drool-dribbling mouth wide, revealing small fangs.
“Solgac! What are you doing?” I cried out desperately. The baby dragon was actively flying straight toward the man who was caught off-guard by the sudden actions of Solgac. Though he was aghast, it was only for a moment, and he immediately snapped back into focus.
“Though you are this dragon’s master, I will not hold back. Those who hesitate in battle are doomed to fall.” He stared dead ahead at the dragon. He took on a stance identical to what the fourth pupil used when she unleashed an energy wave.
“Demonic Arts First Skill…”
A steady stream of energy was being condensed into a single point of origin, right in front of his two palms. Knowing what was going to happen next, I bolted toward the glassy-eyed dragon.
“Energy wave…”
The dark power of the Demonic Arts was released right at Solgac. A flow of immense power even stronger than the fourth pupils. I could only stare in terror as Solgac dove headfirst into the power, her small, cloud-colored body engulfed by the darkness. Before I could register this series of events, a screen I’d never seen before opened before my very eyes. Instead of the blue screen that showcased messages, or the red screen that had our Status on display, this time it was an orchid color.
[Your pet has activated one of their Skills!]
[Gluttony Skill has been activated!]
Right as I finished reading these new messages, the sound of whistling air enveloped the room. The energy wave that Solgac was inside of was growing smaller and smaller while the vacuum-like noise persisted. A few moments later, the silhouette of Solgac was seen again. I could only look at the dragon with a dangling mouth. Solgac was sucking in the energy wave inside of her small body. Both the man and I watched Solgac consume every single drop of energy until it was all gone.
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“Fyuu….”
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Solgac had completely neutralized the Demonic Arts First Skill by consuming it whole! It was all possible through her skill, [Gluttony]. I wasn’t even aware that Solgac had skills too! It must work similarly to masteries if that’s the case. That message from before… it must be because I have the [Dragon Tamer] mastery that I was able to know Solgac was using a skill.
Oh-my-god! I have completely forgotten about it! With the new S.O., we’re able to go into greater detail in each mastery just by tapping on them on the Status screen! If I tap on the [Dragon Tamer] mastery, it’ll probably tell me what exactly it is. I’ll get more information related to Solgac as soon as I access it, but that will come at a later time.
A chucking voice from the third pupil my thought process. “It seems I am still ignorant when it comes to the ways of battling. I should always expect unexpected variables and be wary. That is what the dojo master has taught us pupils. I am ashamed to have forgotten the dojo master’s teachings.”
While I was watching the man from afar, Solgac took that opportunity to zoom toward me when I wasn’t paying attention. I felt a smooth nose rub against my cheeks and the heavy tail swishing along my back.
“Solgac! Don’t you do that ever again without my permission!” I hissed, lifting the dragon under her front limbs. Instead of sulking or acknowledging what she did was a mistake, Solgac drooped her eyes and gave me a pleading look.
“That’s not going to work on me, little missy!”
“Kyuu?”
“I thought I told you to be careful! You should know better! You know what? I’ll lecture you later.” I glared at the dragon one last time until I placed her back on my shoulders. Ever since we entered the Tower of Strength, Solgac has been such a handful. What’s gotten into her lately?
“Hey, you,” I called out to the man. “Why haven’t you attacked us while we were in an argument?”
“…”
Did he not hear me? Or is he purposely ignoring me? I’ll call out to him one more tim-
“I yield,” he announced.
“Uh, excuse me? I think I might be going deaf. There’s no way you said-"
My voice trailed when the familiar notification appeared in front of me.
[Congratulations, Laila, for defeating the fifteenth opponent. Please proceed to the next floor.]
[+200 Points Gained for defeating a Pseudo-Boss!]
“You’re giving up just like that? That’s surprising…”
“I know when I stand no chance of victory.” He shook his head.
The third pupil sauntered over to me and said, “I know when I stand no chance of victory. I had a feeling I would lose. Your dragon only solidified that feeling when it consumed the energy I released into the air. Without my Demonic Arts, it would only be a matter of time until your speed overwhelmed me. Also, the weapon you wield is of high quality. Relying on only my skill and trained body is foolish in those circumstances.”
“The Damastril rapier… You said that Venny might’ve been Hephaestus because only he was able to handle Damastril and fashion a weapon out of the metal.”
The man nodded and said, “That is correct. I assume you have more questions pertaining to the gods?”
Of course I do! I have a ton of questions! I know for a fact that he isn’t lying at all after all I’ve seen and experienced.
“So Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and all the other gods are real, correct?”
The pupil raised one of his eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t the Olympians be real?”
If they’re real, then how come there haven’t been signs of their existence outside the Tower of Strength? That’s the one mystery I’m curious about. He probably wouldn’t know what I’m talking about since they still exist in his time period and would regard me as a psycho. The question I should ask next would be-
[Please proceed to the next floor. You have ten seconds until you're automatically disqualified.]
Now is not the time for this! I’ll have to finish asking my question as quickly as possible!
“Hey! Other than the Olympians, have you heard of the Pillars?” I shouted as I hurried over to the next door, my hand resting on the doorknob.
“The Pillars? I have never heard of these… Pillars…”
[You have five seconds until you are automatically disqualified.]
“While I don’t know about these Pillars, there is one god who goes by ‘Pillar’ from time to time.”
[You have two seconds until you are automatically disqualified.]
Ah screw it! I’ll ask the next person!
“The one sometimes named Pillar is a god called…”
The door was already pried open, and I was ready to enter the next room as I listened to the man speak. Just before closure, there was one name that I thankfully heard just as I shut the door.
“…Demos.”
The name I wanted to hear so badly just to be proven right was the name I was glad to hear, as disgusting and infuriating as it sounds. The third pupil just confirmed that Demos, the one leading the Pillars, was alive during that time. That much is evident that these Greek gods existed alongside Demos. If that wasn’t true, then how would he of the past know of Demos? Unless this whole Tower of Strength was somehow fake and Demos was twisting information through the S.O. I would like to believe the former. Anyways, the third pupil mentioned that Demos was the only one known to be a Pillar. Does that mean that the Pillars weren’t formed until later? Demos would be the first member, and he later recruited the others for reasons still unknown.
For what purpose did he create the Pillars though? Also, I have never heard of Demos, Luna, or Artoic in Greek mythology. Spritsies, demogres, or the Demonic Arts haven’t been mentioned in it either, as far as I'm aware. The only conclusion I can come up with is that our understanding of 'mythology' back then is skewed. Either the history that was written through word of mouth has been twisted greatly than what we know of today, or someone or something had a hand in rewriting the history to their image. I am learning a lot of information in the Tower of Strength. Before I entered, I decided that I would end my climb as quickly as I can, but there has been a change of plans.
I will do whatever I can in the pursuit of knowledge to better understand the current world, and the world previously through the pupils of the Demonic Dojo and the dojo master. I’m sure they will have the answers I seek. Understanding everything about the Pillars will take us one step closer to defeating them. Knowing little of your enemy will lead to failure. Defeat in our case is the death of all those we care about. I will learn everything I can, even if I must force it out of their mouths. I will not take no for an answer.
Be prepared, pupils of the Demonic Dojo… for I will be at your doorstep. What awaits you is a woman on a mission, and nothing will stop her. But before that, I need to read up on this damn [Dragon Tamer] mastery since I don't know what the hell is going on!