Return Of The Strongest Player

As Neon explored the depths of the ravine in which Dino had fallen, he was not able to discover the latter's corpse. Neon wished to extort and loot the latter, but it wasn't possible if his body was lost.

After a few minutes of searching, the man was forced to give up.

'So much work for nothing,' said Neon internally, clicking his tongue. Then, using the momentum conjured by condensing mana near his feet, Neon swiftly escaped the ravine without a single problem.

At least there was one less competitor.

Although Neon hadn't been able to make any gains, one of his problems had now faded. 'Well, that's technically a gain.'

Neon headed towards Heather's location with a few gemstones in tow.

*

The incarnation of Joel, whom Arthur referred to as Joel Junior, bared its peculiar set of fangs while releasing contaminated, black energy from its moist, gooey skin. It short forwards, relying on temporarily formed, soft bumps on its skin to traverse.

Its movement was not reliable, but it was certainly terrifyingly rapid.

Arthur and Joel Junior exchanged blows rapidly. The latter attacked using the small bumps on its skin, extending them and using them as limbs. As the latter swung its whip-like limb towards the crimson-eyed man, Arthur avoided a collision by lowering his head.

Following that development, Arthur threw Skofnung towards Joel Junior. Instead of absorbing the impact, Joel Junior's skin suffered a shallow cut. It let out a low, pained groan before roaring in anger.

'There we go,' thought Arthur, praising himself internally. Joel Junior's skin was not invincible, and could be affected by an awakened Skofnung if there was enough strength behind the attack. An example was a flying projectile.

Skofnung spun like a boomerang, returning to Arthur's hand. A dark, gooey substance remained on his blade.

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' advises you to wipe the disgusting substance from its body.]

Arthur let out a faint chuckle, refusing to wipe it.

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' curses at its wielder. It mumbles angrily and comments on how its wielder is an incompetent, ungrateful fool.]

'Is that how we're going to play?' Arthur inquired internally. He then evaded another whip, throwing Skofnung towards Joel Junior again. It delivered another shallow cut, drawing a black, gooey substance which seemed to be its blood.

As Skofnung returned to Arthur's hand, it was drenched in Joel Junior's bodily fluids.

[The Demonic Blade 'Skofnung' threatens its wielder. It wonders whether going to sleep is the best option.]

Arthur quickly wiped the falchion using the soil beneath. Teasing Skofnung was a great source of entertainment, but he couldn't risk losing his sole method of offense during a battle in which the threat of death loomed.

Skofnung was his only method of offense, and Arthur's speed, too, was lacking.

Joel Junior sped across the infertile soil, traversing at immense speeds. [Mana Step] was struggling to maintain superiority, and was simply a method that consumed too much mana to use.

'I need a better movement skill…' Arthur concluded, gritting his teeth. He wasn't certain whether it was possible to survive the battle without an upgrade in his arsenal. His mana was being consumed at a rapid rate.

Moreover, he was only able to deliver a handful of cuts on Joel Junior's body, which was far from enough to render him useless. Most of all, Arthur's foe–a newly formed organism–was growing.

Not only physically, but also mentally.

When Oscar perished, Joel Junior was born. As it emerged from its cocoon, also known as Oscar's physical body, it gained intelligence. However, it was limited to basic functions, such as speech and movement.

Now that it had been exposed to the external world for a few minutes, Joel Junior was undergoing evolutions while engaging in battle.

Its battle intelligence, battle performance, regular intelligence, and survival instinct were growing during battle. 

A person who was incredibly strong beforehand was not the most dangerous.

The most dangerous foe was one that grew using its experiences during battle, attaining power through repeated movements.

The latter's potential was limitless.

'I can't let it absorb more…' Arthur concluded. His eyes contained the determination gathered over several decades of hard work and struggle. Only in his peak had he managed to surpass the Divine Rankers.

However, he had also learnt something.

The more stable one's foundation is, the higher their peak can progress without danger of collapsing.

Arthur couldn't allow Joel Junior to develop a stable foundation. The crimson-eyed man possessed knowledge, but his latent talent was inferior to a lifeform born solely for the purpose of growing infinitely.

If a human and a machine competed to see who could absorb the most information, it was natural that the latter would secure victory. It wasn't because the human was directly inferior to a machine, but because a machine was forged solely for the purpose of absorbing and handling information.

Arthur and Joel Junior's situation was similar. The former simply couldn't compare to the latter in terms of growth potential.

'So, let's nip it in the bud,' said Arthur internally, nodding. 

To do that, he needed a movement skill.

Immediately, he willed the mana in his body to condense near his feet. He then caused it to spill on the infertile soil beneath his feet. Using his mana circuits to familiarize himself with the actions, he crafted a flat, circular plate of mana.

Connecting the plate to his feet, Arthur slipped on the ground.

'It's kind of life ice skating,' thought the crimson-eyed man, testing out the skill while desperately evading projectiles. He was consuming an extensive amount of mana in order to casually evade projectiles.

However, that was only temporary.

As his mana reserve decreased, his performance would quickly follow. Then, it would only be a downward spiral.

After a few sets of trial and error, Arthur successfully crafted a movement skill superior to [Mana Step], which operated similarly to ice skating. It was an unusual and unorthodox concept, but it incorporated both the supernatural aspect of reality along with day-to-day activities of commoners.

[User has created a new skill.]

[Choose a name.]

'Ethereal Glide,' thought Arthur. A few seconds passed, and a skill window opened up.

[Skill 'Ethereal Glide' has been created.]

[It is registered in your status window.]