Ever since his transmigration, Arnold didn’t have a lot of chances to test out his skills.
He had some bizarre skill called [Speed of Sound] which allowed him to break the sound barrier. He had forgotten by now where he got the skill.
There was also his most recent skill, [Sword Tribulation]. Its name was unfamiliar since the game never delved into Forbidden Arts that much. The main writers only mentioned them here and there. Martial artist players could learn these techniques but only if certain conditions are met.
Of course, the current Arnold was a newbie when it came to martial arts. He also wasn’t a martial artist when he was a player so it was impossible to know everything just because he played the game. There were too many classes, techniques and skills in the game.
If not for Arnold’s body being accustomed to Flow of the Tide then he would’ve died in all those fights he’s been in.
As mentioned before, Sebastian was Arnold’s martial arts instructor so the previous Arnold probably had Sword Tribulation as a hidden skill behind those question marks. Otherwise why would the system say that the skill was “unlocked”?
He only had two high tier skills out of the vast majority of skills Arnold von Berkley learned throughout the years.
The quest he obtained for Lyra was still pending. The good news was that he could get any number of skills unlocked if he completed the quest. Of course, his completion rate will determine what he gets and how many skills he unlocks.
There was probably a low possibility of Arnold having more S-class skills somewhere in his arsenal. If not then he was way too OP for just his early years in the DLC.
Luke didn’t even have his own martial skill yet but Arnold had several. Luke also didn’t have a martial art that he could call his own. Only those he learned.
The difference between a martial art and a martial skill was that the former was a way of fighting while the latter is a derivation of a martial art.
This can be proven by observing the nature of Arnold’s [Flow Of The Tide] that could be linked to [Storm Of The Water Dragon]. Both had elements of water style since the latter was derived from Arnold’s martial art. He had two other martial skills derived from his martial art. It was hidden somewhere in those question marks.
“Come, Uranus,”
Arnold spoke as he stood on the bank of a lake.
Uranus was the name of his armour, well, the demon lord’s armour.
The purpose of summoning the armour and amplifying his strength was to see if his skills underwent a partial skill evolution during his demon lord state.
This was because his [Flame Gauntlets] back when he killed those demons was far more powerful than when he used it in his normal form.
Skill evolution was something similar to class evolution. For example, if a skill of yours was F-rank and you trained it for a certain time period then it will evolve to E-rank.
Skills had various methods of evolution. You could buy a Skill Evolution grimoire from any of the seven Magic Towers on the continent or just use your skill a certain number of times.
Partial skill evolution was almost the same, though the methods were different. Your power only increases for a certain period of time but returns to normal afterwards. Boosters was a popular “skill evolution” item for the players. They cost a hefty amount of SP but they were worth it for dungeon diving and relic tomb exploration. They came in various shapes and sizes.
Arnold’s demon lord form was a better alternative even if it had uncertain backlashes.
Jet-black armour manifested itself on Arnold’s body, giving him an air of malice. The helmet which gave him access to his system appeared soon after. His entire body was oozing with his aura that was tainted with demon aura, giving it a much darker and redder colour.
‘Hmm, my blue aura is very compatible to demon energy so it just increases my aura’s power. Am I supposed to feel happy?’
All that meant was that the armour recognized Arnold as some demon lord. Bragging about being similar to demons wasn’t something he wanted to do since it was a strange feeling being seen like that.
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Arnold lifted one of his hands. Immediately after his dark blue Aura Sword manifested in his hand.
‘The colour stayed the same. I guess my soul isn’t being affected by this power. That’s a good thing.’
Aura Swords are soul weapons, after all. If a person’s soul changes then their weapon changes as well.
Arnold pointed the sword above the body of water. The monsters that roamed the lake had long since ran away and cowered when they felt Arnold’s overwhelming presence.
“Despite being this strong, I was almost defeated by a guy who wasn’t fighting seriously with me. If we go by an artifact’s common sense then it’s impossible to upgrade the stats of equipment unless there exists an enchantment item of a higher tier.”
Meaning that the armour couldn’t make him any stronger. There was still more to the armour’s power which Arnold hadn’t unlocked yet but he was certain that the peak of its power wasn’t that much.
So what did this mean in the long run?
“I can’t use this armour forever.”
Though he was powerful in his demon lord form without the armour, he had no way of knowing how he would go about increasing his strength. Even though he felt stronger after levelling up so much, his stats as a demon lord didn’t increase at all.
It was a fixed power.
Did he have to be in his demon lord state while killing monsters to level it up? If so then what kind of stupid developer would make such a requirement?
‘Demon lord armour also can’t be upgraded by enchanting or armorsmithing.’
“Let’s just forget about it for now. What’s important is finding out how strong I am in this form.”
He wanted to test out his [Speed Of Sound] as well. However, the armour he was wearing heavily impacted his agility given its weight. He wasn’t as nimble in it as he was without it.
Arnold took a deep breath, the holes in his helmet spewed cold mist. Ice particles formed which was different than usual. The temperature seemed to have dropped immensely.
Arnold lifted his sword and pointed it towards the lake.
He shouted: “Storm Of The Water Dragon!”
· A skill evolution has been granted to 《Storm Of The Water Dragon》. It shall now be changed to 《Leviathan Storm》.
“!?” His eyes widened when he saw the floating message that appeared in front of him.
Arnold felt a powerful weight push him back so he stomped down his leg and grabbed the sword with his other hand. A sound similar to a waves crashing resounded in his ears.
He could picture something in his mind mere moments before the skill was unleashed.
A draconic monster, far larger than any recorded in history, spread its majestic wings that was the colour of blood. It had the body similar to a dragon with armour-like jet black scales and a dark red mane. It had gigantic horns that exuded a radiant red light.
Its eyes was a deep red that seemed to suck his soul into its body.
Its brilliance and majestic body exuded the aura of a “Lord”.
His mind quickly cleared up when the skill was unleashed.
A ferocious roar, far more terrifying than his skill in its original state, resounded.
A whirlpool shot out of his sword, it rapidly twisted until it formed a blueish serpent dragon.
He didn’t notice it until now but everything was shaking uncontrollably.
Some mountain ranges in the distance were even falling apart. Cries of animals echoed in the forest.
The demon lord armour’s gauntlets were beginning to crack just from trying to hold the sword that vibrated so violently.
The dragon shot out at incredible speeds and landed on the face of a mountain.
“…..”
A gigantic hole was left in the wake of the dragon’s power after it vanished. Arnold could even see the other side of the forest through the mountain.
Arnold looked at his hands.
They were shaking.
He had never felt such power before ever since the time he almost went berserk with Aether.
A mild ringing was echoing in his head but he was fine despite letting out so much power for the first time.
“With this power there’s no threat in this dungeon that can stop me,” said Arnold as he smirked and clenched his fists.
◇◇◇
Arnold spent the night next to the lake before leaving the next morning.
He didn’t get that much sleep(just like before) but he was feeling better at least. He was also feeling pretty confident.
“If my skills can be upgraded while in my demon lord state then maybe I can do the same with my martial art?”
Perhaps he could even use [Fury Of The Trench(EX)], which was the evolution of [Flow Of The Tide].
“No… too risky.”
He wasn’t confident that things will be the same as it was with his martial skill.
Maybe the backlash was even more severe than a simple mild headache. His head was still pounding as he walked.
“It would’ve been nice to have a map. Haah…”
He had been following the sun’s setting path ever since he decided on his destination. However, that didn’t mean he would always find water if he took a straight path.
He didn’t have any large water pouches with him so he had to drink his water little by little. Though he had a lot of food, it was dangerous to only eat food without taking in enough liquids. A simple sip every now and then wasn’t enough.
He couldn’t use his martial skill to make water since it wasn’t as convenient as using magic to do it. A simple water magic spell was all he needed.
Of course, that was impossible for him.
Another option was to drink his potions but he will only use that as a last resort.
“I’ll need to hurry to the floating castles—” was what he said just before he climbed up a hill…
Arnold looked far into the distance. He infused aura into his eyes and saw what he had been searching for.
Hundreds of castles were flying in the sky, with a single gigantic palace standing still in mid-air. The palace belonged to none other than the Sky God himself. In fact, he was buried somewhere inside the palace.
Arnold sighed in relief.
He expected the journey to take a lot longer but he overestimated the world’s size. Though he was near the end of the world, there was only yellow sky past the castles floating in the air, and not deep, dark space as he had expected.
Anyway, his priority right now was to head towards the palace.