The pain Devon felt wasn't purely physical, though getting hit by that ray of silver light did hurt like hell. It was more like the ape was attacking something inside, something incorporeal. Like it was attacking his soul directly.

He blinked his eyes several times and his vision slowly came back to him. He looked down at himself and scowled. The beam hadn't damaged his armor at all, it had passed straight through and only harmed his body. He couldn't see beneath his equipment, but a portion of his arm that had been caught in the silver ray was blistered extensively.

Devon focused on the pain he felt inside himself and found it wasn't nearly as bad as he'd first expected. It was extremely reminiscent of that night he'd played around a bit too much with his profession and the system had forcibly awoken his spirituality.

However, the pain he'd felt made it clear that, unlike that time, this ape's attacks were meant to harm him instead of awaken something within him.

Devon looked back towards the bone architect and noted with satisfaction that it was on its knees, leaning against one of its bone blades as it clutched its abdomen.

That's one down. Even if it isn't dead it's at least immobilized from the wound I gave it. I don't know what the hell the silver one is trying to do, but I certainly don't want to let it continue.

Since the bone architect didn't seem to be able to move Devon focused on the shining silver. But when he turned to face it he was surprised by what he saw.

Despite having the face of a primate, Devon could very clearly perceive the expression of complete and utter shock on the shining silver's face. Devon didn't know what the ape was so surprised about, but he also didn't care.

Devon dashed forward while the enemy seemed distracted. The orb it had expended to hit him hadn't regenerated yet either, so he wasn't going to get a better chance.

Huh? Something feels off.

Devon brushed aside the feeling as the shining silver visibly panicked. He disconnected the hammer attachment, leaving the spear free to use. He wouldn't need the raw power for the mage, the spear would be more than enough.

The shining silver screeched as he approached, and it held forth the second silver orb within its grasp. Unlike before when it had directed the flow of energy with its palm, it let the energies within the orb run wild.

Devon was forced to halt his assault and frantically dodge not one, but a flurry of silvery rays of light. Like a massive array of rockets, they burst forth from the silver orb. Unlike the earlier rays he'd been dodging, these beams of silver did not target him. Instead, they curved at wild angles and shot in every direction across the cavern.

He was sure if somebody looked in from outside the dome shield they would look like they were inside one of those plasma balls he'd messed around with as a kid.

So it wasn't a reserve attack, it was a defensive ace!

His close proximity to the barrage forced him to continuously duck and weave through the onslaught of magical attacks. However, he wasn't close enough that they were impossible to avoid, though with every dodge he felt more and more like something was wrong.

Still, it was an undeniable fact that the primate had messed up big time. If it had waited for Devon to get a little closer he likely wouldn't have been able to evade the dense cluster of rays that arced out wildly from the ape's hand.

He dodged one last wild ray of silver before the attack died completely, the energy within the silver orb spent.

Activate Amplification Gem. Activate skill; Lightning Thrust.

The ape had spent its defensive ace, and though it looked like the enlightened beast had recharged its normal attack Devon was sure it would only take a single decisive strike to finish the battle.

He stepped forward, preparing to cautiously launch himself forward and dodge the ape's last attack. However, he heard a small crunch under his foot. Distracted, he looked down and saw a small sliver of ivory white material underneath the rubble he stood on.

A bone? Oh shi-

He didn't have time to react before a dozen ivory needles shot up from the ground around him, piercing through him. The thin ivory spikes came up from around him and impaled him in several places.

His foot that he had unwittingly stepped with was completely skewered, as well as one of his arms that happened to be in the air above it. His legs were the worst off, with three separate spears puncturing through him. There was also one through his stomach, limiting the movement of his upper body.

He turned his head to where he'd left the crippled bone architect. The ape had shifted positions slightly when he wasn't looking and had its hand on the ground, touching something between the rubble.

Dammit! It waited for me to completely disregard its presence before it sprung its trap!

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He hadn't expected the primates to be so crafty. It wasn't unusual for monsters to have sharp battle instincts, but to set a trap in advance and wait until the perfect opportunity to spring it? It was almost absurd how far above all the other monsters in the tutorial they were.

Devon jerked his arm to the side, breaking the spear of bone it was impaled upon. The things had piercing power, but they weren't all that sturdy.

But before he could break any more of the ivory needles he saw the glow of the encroaching silver ray right as it slammed into him. Even as his body and mind were once again engulfed in pain he analyzed the situation.

So this was their plan. Pin me down and then hit me with everything they've got while I'm immobile. I have to admit, they're deserving of the title Enlightened. Still, if I can weather this then that means I'll be the one to come out on top!

He could vaguely hear his skin sizzling under his armor, and what had felt like a punch to his psyche before now felt like a blow from a sledgehammer. All he could do was grit his teeth and bear the pain. He was determined, resolute, that he wouldn't be beaten by some filthy primates that never dared to leave the comfort of their cave.

When the last of the silvery beam dissipated he emerged bleeding and burned, yet alive and unbound. Though the beam had no effect on his clothing, it had burned away the ivory pillars that held him in place. The last one that bound him was the one still embedded in his foot, where it had been too low to be touched by the magical attack.

Natural adrenaline coursed through his veins as he turned towards the bone architect, intent on finishing it before it could spring any more tricks on him. He ripped his foot off the spike that held him and dashed towards the arcane warrior.

Something is wrong.

He couldn't quite describe it any other way than that he felt distinctly unwell. He shrugged it off, of course he felt like crap after the beating he'd taken.

The bone architect tried to raise its sword in a weak defense, but there was nothing it could do against the speed of amplified Lighting Thrust. Devon's spear impacted the ape's bone mask with far more force than the ivory helmet could withstand, shattering it. But the speed of his thrust felt slightly unwieldy. His spear struck a portion of the mask's curved features, deflecting the blow so it couldn't properly pierce into the ape's head.

He spun around with the spear and smashed it against the ape's exposed head. The ape fell, seemingly unconscious. But Devon wasn't going to risk it getting back up again, and he quickly finished it off by stabbing through its skull.

Kill - [The Bone Architect, Enlightened Ape - Level 45] - 578 Talons

[Level up. Level 34 obtained.]

[Level up. Level 35 obtained.]

Devon whirled, ready to dodge another ray of light. He was sure the mage would have finished recharging by now.

But the shining silver wasn't where it was before and it didn't have any orbs of light in its hands. It'd thrown all of the enlightened dignity it had possessed away and was almost upon him in a crazed rush.

He saw the hand of the ape glowing with the same silvery sheen all of its other magical attacks had and instinctively knew he needed to avoid it. But his body was already overtaxed, and he couldn't will his legs to move with the urgency he needed. All he could do was raise his arms in a desperate guard.

It didn't matter. As soon as the ape's fist made contact with him it felt like a truck hit something deep inside his mind.

He felt the world shift around him until suddenly something disconnected.

Devon looked upon the world and saw it differently. All around him were streams of data, everything linking and interconnected. He looked at the ape and saw not only its physical form. There was something beneath it, something that was also linked to anything and everything around them. Linked to Infinity itself.

I see, so that's the soul.

It was fitting for the soul of a beast, enlightened or not. It radiated savage rage and hostility. Devon finally understood the sense of pain he'd been feeling inside every time he took one of this ape's attacks. It was attacking his soul itself. But there was more to it than that.

The shining silver's magic itself did not damage his soul. Rather, those silvery streams of light merely acted as a means to connect one soul to another so that it could connect one soul to another. Then it brought the strength of its soul to bear against the soul of the one its magic connected to.

He understood now why the ape was so shaken by the fact that Devon had survived both of its attacks so far. There was likely nothing in the tutorial that could walk away from one of its attacks, besides maybe the biome lords. After all, it was highly unnatural for an E Grade being to have awakened its spirit. The shining silver was like a playground bully, trampling on everyone else who didn't even know how to fight back.

But now someone bigger than itself had arrived.

Not only had Devon awakened his spirit, he'd nourished it since the earliest possible moment with Potential. An ape who'd only just started wielding its freshly awakened spirit could not compare. Devon still didn't know how to properly use his spirit, but that didn't matter right now.

Everything that lives has certain defensive mechanisms ingrained within them, and his awakened spirit was no different. He let his instincts guide him.

Devon reached his hands forward, grasping the ape so it could not escape its judgment. Then he pushed against the ape's soul.

A clash occurred between the two. Spiritual energies swirled and collided in a space beyond the physical realm. Devon's spirit was stronger, but it had been greatly weakened from the ape's repeated attacks.

Even so, he knew he wouldn't lose.

After a few moments Devon felt something within the ape's spirit crack, and in an instant the enlightened ape's soul was crushed into nothingness. The ape's eyes lost the spark of life, and it collapsed onto the floor at Devon's feet.

Kill - [The Shining Silver, Enlightened Ape - Level 47] - 652 Talons

[Level up. Level 36 obtained.]

[Level up. Level 37 obtained.]

Devon took a ragged breath, then puked out a mouthful of blood. He felt weaker than ever, and his stomach wound had caught up with him.

He looked over to where Eve had been fighting and his eyes opened wide in shock at the disgusting sight he beheld. He could see that the tithe of carnage from her battle would sweep him along if nothing was done, yet he had neither a weapon that could adequately deal with it nor the strength to keep fighting.

He looked to Eve and saw a weapon he'd never expected to see her using. She looked absolutely terrified of the horror that was developing inside the cavern, but within her figure he saw a possibility.

He started moving towards her as fast as his ravaged body would allow.