Kai felt the blood rushing up his throat and couldn't help but to spit it out. Most of the organs in his abdomen were critically damaged while the rest were destroyed. Both kidneys and stomach were pierced through with the spear, Kai had to take care of his wounds but he needed time to use Greater Self-Healing which could heal him in a minute or less.
He couldn't move. The javelins that had been lodged into his body pierced through the floor which prevented him from moving, there were also some that pierced his legs. He could try and fly but with the mysterious aim of the javelins and arrows, he would be a sitting duck. And, he didn't want the figures to learn how to fly. It appeared that they adapted to each situation so if he flies, then there was a high possibility they could copy him and do the same.
But Kai didn't worry, he now had access to his best item- the pendant.
A single tap on his pendant and a rectangular shield appeared. It was taller than himself and had runes inscribed all over it. One look at it and a person would get the feeling of a mountain in their path. He removed the javelins that had been stuck in his body, a pool of blood formed below him.
"SK-00 material shield, Enchanted Gear: Adamantine."
Kai spoke while covering himself from the incoming javelins and arrows.
DING DING DING
None of the javelins or arrows could pierce through. His arm was strong, but it wasn't a shield, he didn't add runes to make it as strong as a shield.
"[Barrier, Medium: Adamantine]."
Kai stabbed the shield into the floor and then sat down.
"[Greater Self-Healing]."
Kai's body became covered in a flame-like green aura and his wounds that were enough to kill any normal human was closing at a visible speed. The figures took this as an opportunity to launch more javelins but they were all blocked by a barrier that surrounded Kai. The source was the shield in front of him, the barrier wasn't being damaged because it used the shield as a medium. As long as the shield wasn't broken, the barrier would stay strong. But that meant that any damage taken by the barrier was transferred to the shield, that was why couldn't use this before.
All he had on hand were trees and tree branches which could be destroyed in the blink of an eye. He could use ice but because the figures had Immortal Slaying Ki, it was futile. But an Enchanted Gear designed to protect would do the trick. The metal on his arm was even stronger than SK metal but the magic circles and circuits weren't strong enough to withstand the ki so the arm itself wasn't damaged, just its functions. This means that Kai has to fight the figures with only one arm.
"No matter. Since I can access my pendant, anyone on the same level as me will have no chance."
As Kai healed his wounds, the figures used all of their powers to break open the shield with their weapons. Swords, axes, bows- anything they had at their disposal. They showed a variety of techniques but all of them were moves that Kai had used before. The figures were not only copying him, they were improving it more.
About fifteen seconds of attacking from a dozen figures left a crack in the shield. It was only a crack but when something begins to crack, it's a lot easier to break. When it reached the twenty-five second mark, the crack began to spread more. At its current pace, it would break before the minute ended. The figures themselves only had strength at Kai's level but their weapons were definitely a lot stronger- even stronger than Enchanted Gear.
But Kai didn't need an entire minute; he didn't need to heal himself completely. All he needed was enough power to fight- a little more than half a minute was all he needed.
As soon as his organs were back to normal and his wounds were mostly closed, he stood up. It was fine for the shield to break but he wanted it safe as much as possible. He was quite cheap. His body wasn't completely fine and he still had wounds all over but he was confident he would be able to win.
Kai stood up and after a moment of hesitation, tapped his pendant while covered with a golden glow. The golden glow covered the entire area, it was impossible to say how far the golden glow reached- it seemed as if it stretched through the entire world when looked at inside the golden glow.
But it wasn't only a golden glow that came from what he took out of his pendant, it was enough to make the world tremble, as if Kai was using Abyssal Wolf but this wasn't only at that level- it far surpassed it. The figures were stopped in their tracks, it was the same as what happened when Kai used that technique for the first time. But what kind of weapon would it take to produce that level of power?
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Kai's Enchanted Gear were all strong enough to make him nearly undefeatable in battle but none of them were even near the level of Abyssal Wolf. None of his techniques, none of his prosthetics, or any of his arts were strong enough even when combined. That was the power of Abyssal Wolf- a technique that grows along with its user. At Kai's level, it was at SS-class, the highest peak of the human's recorded class though not exactly the peak of that level, it was certainly enough to be considered as SS-class.
With that technique, Kai could kill all of the figures but wouldn't be able to move, that meant that if any further threats were to attack, he would be vulnerable. He couldn't use it without a companion or if he was sure that there were no enemies left- but neither of those available.
The golden glow faded and showed Kai holding what seemed to be a golden scabbard made with leather and metal. Both ends, the chape and mouthpiece of the scabbard were made of golden metal and the body was made of leather with golden accessories. The lustrous shine of the gold was the most emphasized part but the strange thing was that it had no sword, it was only a scabbard.
Kai held the mouthpiece and aimed the other end towards the figures.
The figures weren't perplexed by Kai's behavior; they were focused on the scabbard in his hands. It sent out an aura that made them tremble in fear despite being objects with no emotions. Instinct was all these figures relied on, and their instinct was screaming out that the scabbard was dangerous- far dangerous than what Kai could ever produce.
But even though they were afraid- if they were capable of feeling it, they still charged forward. All of them attacked at once, the threat of Kai's scabbard was too much for them to take. Their instinct was screaming at them to kill Kai now.
"Fly."
Kai swung his scabbard with a force not too heavy or too light, it was just a casual swing enough to move a sword. But that simple movement was so terrifying that the figures were sent back over a hundred meters away just from the wind alone, they crashed into the hundreds of trees in the forest and some of the figures were even destroyed on the spot.
The wounds on Kai's body began healing- it was a healing power even stronger than Greater Self-Healing which was his strongest healing spell. But that single swing of the scabbard left Kai feeling exhausted and he had little to no mana left. The strangest thing was that the mana in the surroundings also disappeared- something that should've been impossible, especially in a place like the spirit world where mana was very abundant.
A golden scabbard was pushing back the figures who held strength above the level of the members of the council, what was the scabbard made of? Who would've imagined that it held this much power? During the first attack, it not only pushed back the figures, it even destroyed some of them. But with all the attacks landed, the figures still couldn't feel the pain and charged forward like mad bulls despite the clear difference in power.
Kai had a pale face, making it evident that he could only swing the scabbard once more even if he pushed himself. He did exactly that, he got into position and slashed forward once despite the fact that the enemies were coming from all around him. The scabbard unleashed such amazing power the first time but the second swing was evidently a lot weaker than the first.
Even so, that weakened sword strike was still too much for the damaged figures to handle, it still held power on par with Abyssal Wolf.
CRACK
A strange event happened, the space that Kai was in cracked. It was a tiny crack and it only lasted for an instant before being mended but the sound was loud enough to mistake as glass being broken right next to the ear and there was nothing to shatter, so what was it?
Even for Kai, it was the first time that he saw that and he stood dumbfounded for a few seconds.
"This is the spirit world... If this trial is just one big world like the illusion world, then that explains what cracked but if that was not the world but reality... I don't even want to think about the consequences."
The moment that the last figure shattered, an ancient voice filled the air.
"What is the reason why hierarchy exists even among Gods and Supreme Beings? For humans, it is order, to avoid chaos from people thinking they are stronger but why do Gods, beings who can destroy worlds, have a use for hierarchy? It is to maintain their positions, to prevent other beings from rising up to power. But inevitably, though it only happens once in ten thousand- or even a hundred thousand years, there are humans who approach the power of Gods and even rarely, become one of them. These beings are given titles by Gods. There are many of them that are known even to the human world such as the Chaos Emperor, he who has bathed in the blood of his enemies and created chaos in the human world for uncountable years."
The voice stopped, giving Kai time to process what he had been told.
"All of the ones who have reached the power of Gods hold medallions that signify their talent. The Supreme Being-level medallion is the highest form that can be given on Gaia and most other planets but there exists other medallions though of lower value like the God-level medallion. But a medallion above the level of a Supreme Being also exists, it's called the 'Monarch'- he who is fit to rule over everything. At any point in time, there can only be one. Talents like these always hold Ancient Gear- much like the one you hold right now though it's only part of it."
Kai looked at his scabbard with knowledge that he already held one.
"For reasons unknown to anyone, fate seems to favor you... a lot."
Kai thought it was just a prerecorded message but now, it seemed like a live message.
"The other part of the Ancient Gear you're holding is in this world- it fell into this world when the last wielder fell in battle, you can't find it normally but let me give you a hint, it's a place that no normal human can access without machines and the necessary preparations."
...
"LIKE HELL THAT'S A HINT!"