CHAPTER 61: THE GRIM REAPER INCARNATE

"Wait, what does he think he’s doing?" a youth shrieked, his eyes filled with distress.

"It’s no use. Just run while you still have the chance," another chimed in.

"It’s inevitable... I think he just decided to join in to put himself out of his misery."

"Makes sense, I would do the same—wait... where did he go?"

***

Murmurs rippled across the battlefield as Aurelian’s figure came into view, but he gave them no mind. His form blurred, appearing in front of the level 23 acidic slime. Both blades wrenched deep into its torso, giving it no chance to process what was happening. The corrosive energy hovering around it melted its innards, its soul already severed as it drifted into his blade, now glowing faintly.

Then he moved to the next. The whole ordeal only taking a few seconds.

***

"Look there... he’s impaled both blades into that slime that ate the others!"

"What does he think that’ll achieve? Tickle them to death? The blades are useless..."

"Holy fucking shit... what the hell is happening? Are you seeing this?"

"Yeah... the slime. It’s degenerating and frozen in place... and it’s dead?"

"He stabbed it to death with blades? Am I missing something here?"

"How did he do that?"

Murmurs erupted as the youths broke into commotion, shock rooting deep inside them.

A creature that would have taken their combined effort, even at their peak, had been defeated so effortlessly. It shattered their perspectives, restructuring them once again.

Lena breathed, her eyes widening further as she took in the sight. "Those blades... they’re different," she whispered under her breath. Were they mystical artifacts? Treasures? Her mind raced—it was the only way to explain how the cloaked figure could slay such a beast so easily.

***

Ding! The host has slain a Level 23 Common Acidic Slime! 2,300 dungeon points awarded!

[Level 25: 6,600/45,000]

"Weak." Aurelian snickered, staring at the notification blinking before him. Weak beasts at this point meant fewer dungeon points.

Time to change that.

His pace quickened, his figure leaving mirages in his wake. Wherever he passed, a blade slash cut across the frame of an acidic slime. Before long, a horrendous sight unfolded before all watching.

Mirages blanketed the battlefield, and wherever they passed, lifeless slime bodies collapsed to the ground. The most terrifying part was the only mark left on them, a single slash from the blades the cloaked figure wielded.

***

"He’s leaving just a single cut... and it’s killing them?"

"How the fuck is he doing that?"

"And his speed? He’s so fast he’s leaving mirages behind!"

"Is that the full potential of a warrior’s class? Damn it! I knew it... why did I have to be a stupid archer? That could’ve been me right now!"

"Stop spewing nonsense. I’m a warrior too, aren’t I? You don’t see me soloing those fucking slimes, do you? That’s a goddamn genius at work!"

"Yeah, he’s right... though those abominable, cool-as-hell blades aren’t something a normal warrior can conjure. I say he’s a freaking mage!"

"Everybody stop blubbering and help him!" Lena yelled, her black eyes glimmering with rekindled hope. This was it, their shot to come out on top again. With the cloaked figure on their side, there was a real chance to survive this.

"Huh?" Her eyes narrowed suddenly, blue hair fluttering behind her. She whispered slowly, "What the fuck..."

The cloaked figure released his grip on the blades. Before anyone could speak, they hovered mystically in the air, then, in a display of entrancing power, lit up brilliantly in a resplendent black hue. They dissipated into wisps of energy, and then the true terror broke forth.

From the dual blades came two more, then another two. Two became four, four became eight, until rows of twenty-four blades hovered before the cloaked figure menacingly. With a single command, he breathed:

"Go forth."

What ensued was nothing short of a massacre. The blades streaked through the acidic slimes, some tearing straight through their flesh, others slicing shallow marks across their surfaces. Yet the result was the same: wherever they passed, the slimes collapsed lifelessly.

***

"That’s it... my whole life’s been a lie! What’s the point of growing stronger if freaks like this exist?"

"Calm down, buddy. Comparing yourself to him is giving yourself way too much credit. Your whole existence was already a lie..."

"Shut the hell up!"

"I knew he wasn’t a warrior! Look at that! That’s a goddamn spell allowing him to split his blades like that. Only mages can wield such godly power!"

"Cut the crap. I don’t care anymore. The power he wields... he’s like a death... reaper!"

"You dare give our savior such a stupid name? Courting death! With the magnificence he’s displayed... he’s the Grim Reaper Incarnate!"

"You’re fucking damned right he is!"

"Wait, how do you know it’s a guy? For all we know, it might be a girl, and you’re disrespecting her!" a short-haired girl squeaked, her hands gripping her bow tightly.

"Huh? What do you mean it’s a girl? I’d be damned if I couldn’t tell one apart even if they were turned to ashes!"

"I agree. To call the Grim Reaper a girl?! Pure heresy!"

***

"How is this possible?" Lena blurted. How could one person wield so much power so effortlessly? Even casting a single skill should have exhausted him, yet he stood unfazed as the blades tore through wave after wave.

And as she continued watching, a growing sense of awe boiled deep within her. Was this what the elders back at her clan meant, when they said there was always someone better out there? It could only be.

Yet as her thoughts spiraled, her eyes suddenly narrowed. A monstrous seven-meter slime charged at the cloaked figure.

This was bad! A quick scan with her hidden skill revealed the slime was Level 24—uncommon rank. She had to do something. With his blades deployed, he was left defenseless, or so she thought.

The slime crossed the five-meter mark, and as if he had eyes in the back of his head, the figure suddenly turned. Holding out two fingers, he poked at an odd spot near the bottom of its torso.

Huh? He poke it?

What unfolded next froze her breath. Faint cracks spread across the slime’s body, locking it in place before it exploded into bits of flesh and blood. The shockwave blasted back his hood, revealing his face.

Everyone froze, dumbstruck.

Aurelian, meanwhile, smiled genuinely for the first time as notifications flickered before him.

***

Ding! The host has slain a Level 23 Uncommon Acidic Slime! 23,000 dungeon points awarded!

Ding! The host has slain a Level 20 Common Acidic Slime! 2,000 dungeon points awarded!

Ding! The host has slain a Level 21 Uncommon Acidic Slime! 21,000 dungeon points awarded!

[Level 25: 45,000/45,000]

Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring the required dungeon points! Evolution to E-rank has begun!

Ding! The third Supreme Record stirs awake! Awakening will commence after evolution to E-rank!

"Finally." Aurelian breathed. It was about time.