Level Up Legacy

"It seems your fame has inflated your arrogance," said Erin with a grin. Then, he unbuttoned his shirt to take it off, revealing scars all over his body. "These are the scars you gave me after breaking almost every bone in my body."

Arthur could see healed incisions, scars, and disfigured muscles all over his body. His last attack before exhausting all of his mana, although it couldn't kill him, seemed enough to injure him seriously.

"Give cockroaches some survival lessons, Erin," replied Arthur with a smile. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"I asked myself this question every day," said Erin Voldor as he wore his clothes back. "Your hand was on my neck, and a single snap could have ended it. So what reason did you have to spare me? Are you foolish enough to believe that killing me was wrong?"

"I killed before that point," said Arthur, remembering the assailants from Thiria. "After what Jin and you did to me, I had no reason to spare you other than one. At that moment, I could only think of a single thing: I didn't want you to die."

"And the reason?" asked Erin with a grin, his arm outstretched to the side.

"After realizing what you did to me, and all the things you put me through," said Arthur as he raised his arm. However, he couldn't summon any mana here. "I thought that dying instantly was showing you mercy."

"This is more like my cup of tea, Arthur Silvera. You and I are the same." Erin Voldor was grinning from ear to ear. "I heard your speech in Kera, talking as if you are their ally. However, we are both fueled by rage against the world."

"I had to suffer countless ordeals without reason while you lived your life as a rapist prince who gets away with it all. I committed no crime for selfish reasons, while everything you do is fueled by selfishness. Don't fucking dare group us together."

"The reasons can be different, but I deserve the privileges I obtained," said Erin Voldor while blood chains began to wrap around his arm. "The hard work and countless hours I trained are all for this freedom!"

"Freedom at the expense of others makes you nothing short of a villain, but I'm not here to discuss morals with you," said Arthur. "If you don't want your bones broken again, move aside."

"Don't be in haste. I waited your arrival for a long time, so how about a rematch?" smiled Erin Voldor while clutching his arm, and the red hue fused with his body. At that moment, his muscles bulged, and his veins throbbed with power. "You are here as a part of the rebellion for this forger, right? So fight me for him."

Arthur was silent, but he saw the man behind Erin open his eyes when he heard about the rebellion. His tired and bruised face turned toward Arthur, staring at him with increasing recognition. Then, he started laughing weakly.

"I cannot believe that Arthur Silvera himself is here," said Gray before he glanced at Erin. "Be careful! This man ensured no mana can be used in this underground prison!"

"Thanks for the warning, but I can already tell," said Arthur with gratitude. "However, if so, what is the source of those chains?" asked Arthur with confusion since Erin was using his berserk ability.

"That is the wrong question, outsider," mocked Erin as his blood chains wrapped around his body, feeding it with power. "It is the other way around. These blood chains are why no mana can be used here!"

Boom!

Erin Voldor stomped on the ground, and his foot destroyed the hard stony floor. He bolted toward Arthur with unprecedented speed while Arthur was trying to understand the meaning behind his words. As he raised both of his arms to block Erin's fist, Arthur remembered what Rolan had told him earlier.

The ancestor of the Voldor family was the Protector Guardian, God of Destruction. However, Arthur didn't know that this guardian was another guardian's brother. If so, then their abilities might be similar.

Crack!

Arthur heard a distinct crack from his arm as the fist slammed into it like a train, sending him flying and slamming to the walls. Pain shot from his arm, and Arthur could tell it was fractured with a single glance. His mana circulated through his body to heal his arm, but it suddenly disappeared.

"Agh," winced Arthur with pain as he failed to understand what was happening. This was different from the Enders, as the mana couldn't even channel through his body.

"The First Trial has a limit on how strong a participant can be, and we were all limited at the rei-rank. However, this is the real world, Arthur Silvera! Don't believe you will defeat me ever again!"

The blood chains manifested again behind Erin Voldor, and he started walking toward Arthur, who fell to the ground. Each step he took crushed the stone underneath it, leaving deep footsteps underneath it.

Arthur raised his other arm and tried to use his mana, but it dissipated when he did that. Arthur was confused because his mana was gone before even leaving his hand.

"What is this ability?" asked Arthur with confusion as Erin Voldor kept walking toward him. Then, the berserk sent a flying kick toward Arthur, and slashed the walls in half as it traveled toward Arthur's head.

Arthur slammed his hand and jumped through the air, dodging the attack at the last second. Erin Voldor was about to attack him again, but Arthur kicked the wall behind him to fly above the berserk's head.

Boom!

The walls crumbled down due to Erin's punch, which did not stop there. Dust fell from the ceiling as the underground prison started to shake, a consequence of the berserk's attacks.

Arthur landed in front of the chained forger and grabbed the chains, tugging them and breaking them. The forger was free, but Arthur couldn't teleport the two of them using his mana. He had to pass Erin, who blocked the door, to leave the underground prison.

"We cannot fight this man, Arthur Silvera!" Gray said after falling to the ground. Arthur pulled him up without answering, watching Erin Voldor turn toward them. "We can only defeat him by using physical stats, and neither of us matches his berserk stats!"

"I know that, so shut up," said Arthur while watching the chains around Erin's body. "His increase in stats and the no-mana zone are related, so this might be it."

"You have it wrong. As long as the energy leaves your mana essence, it will dissipate!" warned Gray before he pulled Arthur from behind. "I will hold him down while you run away!"

"I came here to rescue you, not to use you as a human shield," said Arthur as he processed what the forger said. "Does that mean I can't use mana even within my body?"

"That's what he said," said the forger with a nod. "That bastard forced me to use my mana until it was all gone. All I can offer is this life of mine, so let it be of use!"

Arthur ignored the man who seemed eager to die. Instead, his mind raced with theories as to what was happening and how Erin could render them unable to use mana at all.

"You came to Ilios just to be cornered like a rat?" asked Erin Voldor as he turned around, his eyes full of disappointment. "In the real world, I am a deme-ranker. This prison is my domain and your grave-to-be!"

"A domain?" realized Arthur, the reason he couldn't use mana even before meeting Erin. However, a domain was a manifestation of an ability. If Erin could render them helpless in his domain, he wasn't using another's powers! This was his ability!

"There is no time to waste, Arthur Silvera! Use me to run away!" Gray said as he stepped toward Erin, but Arthur pulled him back. "Let me go!"

"A domain… the God of Destruction… A sibling of the Elemental Guardian, and this sworn enemy… Dissipating mana…" muttered Arthur repeatedly, his eyes staring at the ground. Then, realization flashed through them as he turned back toward Erin Voldor.

"The God of Destruction used the mana in the elements to strengthen himself, opposite to his brother, who used mana to control the elements."

The moment that Erin heard his words, his expression crumbled. Arthur could see it being dyed with rage and confusion as to how his ability was figured out and his lineage.

Arthur knew this was nothing more than a hypothesis, but he couldn't see a different answer. A sibling that hated his brother would do everything to disable his powers.

"You can guess all you want," Erin said, regaining his composure. "In the end, there is nothing that you can do about it. Your arrogance led you down these stairs, thinking you could fight without mana. Let me show you the price of that arrogance."

Arthur was quiet as he pondered the situation and straightened his back. A smile returned to his face as he thought of a method, which he had never tried before, to defeat these unfavorable odds.