Chapter 39

Max charged in explosively, his golden sword up and descending. His last step landed and the sword was just above the man's neck.

A massive boom of pink aura rose from the ground below Max. A thick pillar of pure energy sent the player into the thick rock above. Max hit his back against the rock, cracking and breaking the stone, large pieces falling to the ground.

He was stunned, lying motionless on the ground.

'I didn't even sense it!' He thought. His sense was active all along.

Manuel was the first to throw his spear at the now waking enemy, but it seemingly got swiped out of the air by the pink aura, missing the man who stood up right after. His eyes were that of dread and anger. Manuel charged in, right hand out, ready to reclaim the spear and fight the mage in close quarters.

"NOOO!!" The enemy screamed. "WHY WAKE ME UP?!"

He sent a thick beam at the approaching Manuel, who flew away a dozen meters. His repaired Awakened armor sustaining the blow.

Thomas summoned his wings for protection. He crossed the wings and felt a massive force hitting him. He slid across the ground, knees bent and maintaining balance.

Max got up and tried to escape, he was chained to something. He couldn't even slash at the mage, out of his range. Eliyah send a blast towards the enemy which was diverted towards Max, who parrued it with the charged Virtonia.

He sensed the aura chaining him, and severed it instinctively with the chaotic aura of Virtonia. A small explosion happened which the enemy sensed before it happened and shielded himself against with a shield of aura that flowed outwards at a barely perceptible level of speed.

Max was hit but he still bolted out of the cave, wings appearing on his back in white sparks.

"You woke me up from my dream! For the love of Santerlis, how long has it been? I'm fucking shaking." The enemy looked like he was freezing.

"What fucking dream?" Max yelled. His health at 65 percent, he had a couple negative status effects.

Eliyah helped Max recover from side effects by giving his regenerating aura to him.

Manuel came back, shield and spear at the ready. "We'll get you back to sleep, don't worry."

"Why must I come back to this world?" Tears fell down his face. "Now I have to drain myself to go back there, AGAIN! AGAIN!"

The squad of players simply stood. Silent and focused.

"You!" He pointed at Max. "What's that aura on your sword? In all my years as a mage, I've never seen that property."

"Chaos. Not from Mirlia."

The man nodded. "Well, why did you attack me in my sleep?"

"You killed all those people." Max said.

"Huh? Oh." His face was completely expressionless. "It's their fault for waking me."

"Why? What's up with the dream?" Max asked, curious and stalling to recover.

"It's a better world. Full of bliss and fulfilled dreams. The people I love that I lost, my best experiences repeated and new ones created. It's the ideal world."

A short silence ensued. The enemy looked at each one of the players.

"You guys are gonna have to pay. With your soul cores. I need them." The enemy said. Pink aura enveloping him.

Thomas and Manuel sent an aura barrage at a close range.

An explosion of aura under the mage sent him upward after he noticed the wings bending back. Many shards hit rock, cracking it. Lodging themselves in it. Small pieces of rock flew everywhere.

Max bolted upwards towards the enemy, not wanting to give him breathing room.

A large hand of aura broke his trajectory, with the arm grown out of the enemy's back. Max immediately send two aura slashes from each sword. Which were broken by a blast from the mage, creating an explosion.

A thick whip of aura extended from the mage, with the end being a hammer. It hit Max from above who cross his swords above his head, preventing a head blow. He was sent down, hitting the ground hard. Stunned again.

The mage didn't pursue him, and attacked his teammates. Manuel shielded Eliyah with his shield and wings. The mage sent them flying, but not without Eliyah landing a sneaky hit at his feet, sent from below the shield and wings. The mage tripped on the ground and Thomas sent a charged arrow at him.

The mage shielded his right side as he got up, glancing at Max who just recovered. He sent away Thomas and then refocused on Max.

They looked at each other and Max sent powerful aura slashes from Virtonia which were dodged with bursts of aura accelerating the mage.

The mage sent a simple blast which Max dodged easily.

As Max landed away, he was tripped by an unexpected attack at his feet, the same one Eliyah used.

He fell on the ground. The mage made two massive whips of aura which swung at Max. He simply stuck out Virtonia in front of him as he couldn't move.

"Fool." Said the mage.

But Virtonia did something surprising. It literally absorbed the whips of aura. Max's sword now glowed bright and pink. He rotated and sent a slash from the recharged Virtonia. And then a barrage from the wings which the mage ducked by using some ability that forcefully sent him down to the ground much faster. Strays were blocked and deflected by an outward blowing shield.

More whips were made and pummeled Max, who shielded himself with the wings. The mage didn't even use his hands. The whips were summoned at his sides and controlled mentally.

Max then dashed explosively with the unmastered Advanced technique, towards the mage who sensed it with his own superior sense of aura.

The mage narrowly dodged with an Aura Leap and Max slashed up with Virtonia, expending the remaining aura.

The blows were all deflected with powerful swipes of the Awakened aura much stronger than Max's.

"Shit. You're one loaded fucker." Said the enemy.

Max's wings were damaged somewhat.

"I'll just have to break through your wings."

He sent a beam from above which Max tried to dodge, but was chained in place, again.

He absorbed the hit as the mage landed away from him, sending the powerful whips at him.

Max shielded himself and slashed at the strong aura chain impeding him. The wings were starting to crack in places.

The blows shook him to the core, but he endured with his precious wings.

Again, Max used the technique. He dashed very explosively, almost faster than an Awakened should and the mage leapt up again. But then Max followed him up. The player leapt, swords up.

A neck breaking, whipping blow came to deflect the player's trajectory, but he impossibly dodged, in air, with no foothold. Max had activated Phase.

Wide-eyed, the mage hurriedly set up a shield, but was slashed into by the Awakened player. The aura shield cracked in less than two seconds.

Chaos aura and the poisonous sword dug into the mage. He turned yellow from the slashes somehow and burst open like a melon thrown from a large height. Max's armor was dyed red. The mage exploded as if a bomb detonated inside of him.

[You have slain an Awakened human: Traviskan Virlosen!]

[You have slain a wanted historical figure of an executed Virtonian nobility!]

[You have gained 5000 EXP!]

[You have received a title: Dream Breaker!]

[You have received a title: End of the Line!]

[You have leveled up!]

He fell down, exhausted, a mere 20% of his aura remaining due to the repeated use of the super technique. If it was mastered and used like how Levent used it, he would've been drained completelely. It was a noticeably weaker version.

The squad had been watching the fight, trying to help Max as he was hit by the whips. But the arrows and blasts were easily defended against as the whips struck. Manuel couldn't approach because of the said weapon. He had sent out a barrage recklessly before as well.

On one knee, Max threw down his broken wings, discarding them. He took off his helmet.

The Awakened knew his ability inside out and experimented with it many times. He'd jump in the air and have someone throw a pebble at him, for example. The description of the ability said that the player will dodge any and all single target attacks as long as the player did not use another ability and did not attack in any way. It always worked without exception.

"I'm sorry we couldn't help much." Said Manuel. "If it was a monster, we could've done more..."

"No worries bros. I should be sorry for being reckless. This was a hard fight, very dangerous." Max looked at the broken wings. He probably wouldn't be able to get them fixed. It was something likely beyond blacksmiths.

"You can't use them in Virtonis anyway, since we'd get recognized, probably." Eliyah said.

"Yeah, I guess. Though I would've liked having them in the next floor." Max sighed, staring at the cliffs ahead. "I guess we'll walk from here on out, unless you guys can carry me like Eliyah."

Manuel chuckled. "Maybe I can try."