Chapter 3: Ardion

"A boy?! This is one strange boss... But for some strange reason, I feel something is off... Every boss would have already attacked me... And what did he just say? Chosen one?! That expression was never used in this game, ever!" Thought Adam as he raised his hand.

He pointed at the child before him, and then out of nowhere, a blade materialised into his grip. It was seemingly made of some sort of purple crystal, but it was polished to perfection, as it was not only slightly transparent but at the right angle; it could be seen as a mirror as well. As the sword appeared in his grip, the boy stepped closer to him.

"So, Adam... Are you surprised to see my true self? To tell you the truth, you have been my favourite from the very beginning, and it seems my initial judgement proved to be accurate. You are indeed the most formidable out of everyone! Thus I have very high expectations! Do NOT let me down!" Stated the boy with a childish yet serious tone.

The child's eyes started glowing brighter as he finished talking, and he instantly pointed his blade at Adam, which instantly started burning. And once the glow died out moments later, the previously plain dull metal sword had turned into the exact replica of Adam's blade. Adam's only reaction was that he raised his eyebrows.

"You are a unique one, it seems... Strange, but I hate it when others try to copy me or my items! Especially if I am about to face off against him... Ardion!" Stated Adam with a cold and serious tone.

A few seconds went by without any of them making any move; however, once the wind weakened in the area, the two kicked off at the exact same moment. With one mighty clash, Adam sent the boss flying backwards. The boy, as he hit the ground, rolled back but stood up as if nothing had happened.

"Fascinating... Is it due to caution and rumours, or perhaps this is part of your character? Either way, I like it." Stated Ardion as he dusted himself.

Ardion took a deep breath and then vanished, appeared behind Adam, and wanted to slice off his head with a swift cut, but Adam was prepared and blocked Ardion's blade. Although he slightly slid back, he was unharmed.

"Just as I expected, you are not using any sort of assist... Fascinating, it seems you are quite a serious one, unlike most who have challenged me so far... I was right to choose you!" Stated the boy, and then he chuckled.

"Again... This strange unrelated conversation; it feels as if I am playing a different game... Did they screw up his AI or something?!" Thought Adam.

The boss dashed after Adam, who was just standing still and observed his opponent. And as soon as his target stepped within his range, he grabbed his weapon with both of his hands and unleashed a powerful cleave.

"What the hell?! I am unable to use attacking skills?! I hope I can still use anything else which is not meant to attack..." Analysed Adam.

The moment Ardion noticed the incoming slash, He quickly raised his blade and deflected Adam's sword, and before he could do anything, the boss kicked at him. Adam managed to evade at the last moment, but still, his dress was caught in the kick.

"What?! Bosses or mobs have never ever been able to perform a parry... I must take him seriously..." Deducted Adam, and he started grinning.

Without hesitation, Adam thrust his weapon at Ardion as he was evading the incoming kick. Although his attack went through and hit Ardion, it didn't deal much damage. Only a tiny cut was left on Ardion's body which was bleeding.

"So this is the power of the best player... Not bad, in that case, I will take things seriously as well!" Stated Ardion.

Ardion instantly dashed back and jumped high up in the sky. From his body, a sudden surge of energy erupted, which was so bright that it temporarily blinded Adam, but it only lasted for a few seconds.

"For you have proven yourself worthy; for you have proven yourself a formidable being, I shall allow you to witness my true form, Adam! Furthermore, you deserve my blessing in your future adventure, so let us continue our fight." Stated Ardion as the light vanished.

By the time Adam regained his vision, Ardion had already been standing on the ground, a few meters from him. Although Ardion was wearing the same clothes as he did before and had the same weapon in his hand, he had a golden halo above his head and a pair of golden wings made of energy on his back.

"What is going on?! Is he even an AI? His manner of speech, his actions... His entire atmosphere feels like he is a living being!" Mumbled Adam as he glared at the boy before him.

"Correct... I am no mere NPC in this game... I am a god, and I just found my next game!" Stated the boy, and he started grinning menacingly.

Adam gulped and took a deep breath. Meanwhile, Ardion proceeded to walk closer to him. Adam kept staring at him, and suddenly the two fighters simultaneously jumped at one another; they slashed at the exact same time, and their swords collided at such an incredible speed and power that the impact it created cracked the area around them. And Adam was blown back. He quickly performed a spin mid-air and landed on his two feet, and although he was sliding, he managed to keep his balance.

"This will be tough... Although I blocked that attack, I still suffered a considerable amount of damage... I thought I would mow him down with medium difficulty, just like I did with the previous bosses... But no... I think despite the fact that I have reached the maximum level, unlocked every possible bonus, and have probably the best armour, I am still weaker than him... Well, I still have a few cards up my sleeves, that is, if my other skills, which are not meant to deal damage, are usable." Thought Adam while he was slowing down.

Ardion slightly tilted his head to one side, then to the other, and then, at an incredible speed, dashed at Adam, who, although weaker, was ready to engage in another clash.

"Supreme Cathedral!" Shouted Adam.

A yellowish glow surrounded his body, and as he clashed with Ardion once again, he was able to hold his ground and didn't even move back. Seeing how Adam stayed in place, Ardion unleashed a barrage of slashes at Adam, who kept on blocking or deflecting his opponent's attacks.

Despite the large number of powerful attacks, he stayed in place, that was due to the skill he used. Supreme Cathedral is a high-level skill. The skill was mainly a defensive skill, as it drastically reduced the knockback effect of incoming attacks and also increased the user's defence significantly. However, it had one drawback, for its incredible defence, it considerably decreased the movement speed of the caster. Also, the skill had a holy attribute as well, which allowed the user to heal while using the skill.

"Great timing... Everyone before you relied too much on their party members, but you are a master of your skills; you are a perfect solo player, Adam!" Stated Ardion.

Adam only smiled upon hearing his opponent's compliment, and in a split second, he propelled his blade forward, aimed at Ardion's throat. Although the boy reacted, it was too late; the blade hit his throat, caused a tiny cut on it, and pushed him back. Ardion took a deep breath and crossed his eyebrows, and with incredible speed and force, slashed at Adam, who just barely was able to block, and despite his active skill, he was slightly pushed back. But he was not ready for the next attack. While keeping pushing on Adam's sword with his weapon, Ardion used his free hand and drove it through Adam's chest.

Adam's skill instantly faded, and his eyes widened. Ardion pushed him back with great force. Adam coughed blood and hopelessly fell. Although he was unable to move, he still kept on gripping his blade. Meanwhile, Ardion stepped closer to him and kneeled down next to him. Adam just glared at him, and then a grin formed on his face.

"You were a lot tougher, I give you that, and for that, you deserve..." Commented Ardion, but he was stunned.

"Reverse!" Shouted Adam.

In a split second, the hole in Adam's chest vanished, and then, he jumped up and cleaved up words. Ardion was just barely able to react, and he suffered a slight scar going all the way from his crotch to his forehead.

"You claimed to be a god, but you forgot that I unlocked every skill in the game, so you should be aware of this Reverse skill. It allows me to have a second life, technically... After all, this is an Ascended tier skill!" Stated Adam with a girn, and he pointed his weapon at Ardion.

"I admit, you caught me; still, I am the one who has the upper hand." Proclaimed the boy with a smug smile and crossed arms

"Soulmancer." Stated Adam

The grin on Ardion's face suddenly faded as he unconsciously dashed back. He was able to feel the sudden power-up that was granted by the skill Adam used, Soulmancer. Soulmancer is a unique racial skill. It boosts the user's stats based on the amount of Souls and Alpha Souls they have collected.

"You see... Dear god... You made on dire miscalculation... You underestimated me! I am a shadow, meaning this racial skill allows me to defeat you! I wanted to defeat you with the usage of only a few basic skills, but you left me with no choice!" Voiced Adam, and his glare grew angrier.

Suddenly Adam dashed at Ardion, and their swords clashed once again. This time, the tables had turned; Adam was on the offensive manoeuvre while Ardion was being pushed back. Adam's speed kept on rising, and he managed to cut Ardion more and more time,s but he was only able to leave a few cuts.

"Fuck... He has so much HP... I keep cutting him, but he is barely even damaged, and my MP will soon run out!" Thought Adam as he kept on slashing.

As time went on, more and more cuts were inflicted on Ardion's body, and despite him being the one who was being pushed back, he started slowly smiling, which then grew into a diabolic grin. Suddenly, Ardion dashed back at an incredible speed, and whit his smile still on, he once again pointed his weapon at Adam. Seeing Ardion's taunt, Adam instantly dashed after him but came to a quick respite as the boy dropped his weapon and put his hands akimbo.

"Bravo! You managed to exceed my expectations! I declare you the winner of this fight; you have defeated me. This is the first time I felt such excitement. So I believe a reward is due... For my new game!" Stated the boy.

Upon hearing the last part of Ardion's declaration, Adam glared at him, but the next moment, the boy snapped his fingers, and the world around Adam vanished. And then, almost instantaneously, he found himself sitting in his chair in his own little hut, and there was a small, battered wooden chest in his lap.

"That is anticlimactic... What even is this chest? The reward he was talking about? Well, it sure is quite shoddy... I hope it holds something valuable." Said Adam and touched the chest.

Suddenly the chest started glowing brightly, and Adam was forced to close his eyes. After a few seconds, the glow vanished, and Adam finally opened his eyes, but the chest had vanished when he opened his eyes.

"What the fuck?! Is this some sort of joke?! This is... w-wait... W-why am I feeling... so...sleepy?!" Mumbled Adam as he leaned back in his chair and fell asleep.