Once Human, Now a Parasite 153 Chapter 150 : A Meeting With The Demon Lord

Arthur thought this tactic wouldn't work as she inferior to the Death Knight in Lvl and most likely in stats too, however, to his surprise, the leg guards and the bones were cleanly cut by those short blades.

As the Death Knight lot its balance, Taliya grasped this opportunity and magnificently yet ruthlessly cut both of its arms then stabbed its skull, finishing it off once and for all.

From the look on her face, she didn't seem to be exhausted by the fight, she the first strike of the Knight, which was also the last and defeated it in just three moves.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

"That's good."

Arthur clapped his hands as he stared back at her, who coldly glared at him, prepared to leap with her blades at any second.

"Sir, please follow me to the castle."

Taliya assumed that she had won the little bet, she turned around to started walking away but unfortunately, Arthur still wanted to see what her limits are so with a flick of his fingers, the defeated Death Knight which had all of its limbs cut off and its skull pierced, slowly got up while a black fog reattached all the missing parts.

In just two seconds, the Death Knight was reanimated but compared to the previous one, this one was stronger. Of course, she had won the bet but Arthur made it look like it's still not done. He would politely follow her to the castle when this matter is done, he lost the bet after all.

"Humans are truly despicable..."

The maid coldly said that whilst raising her short blades and preparing to fight yet again.

"I never I was Human. You guys must have assumed that on your own."

"What part of you does not look Human?"

No matter how long Taliya looked at Arthur's appearance, every inch of him resembled Humans except for his gray hair and blood red eyes. There is the chance of him being a Vampire but that Race is almost extinct and there are only a few secluded Vampires on Astria and from his behavior and demeanor, it doesn't match with the Vampires.

"Maybe this?"

Arthur raised his hands in the air and in a matter of seconds, the two hands transformed into long green vines that danced in the air. It was one of the perks of the Plant Magic, they are not as resistant as his normal hands but they could be useful in many ways.

With another thought, his chest erected sharp thorns that had some poison leaking out of them.

"A druid?"

The head maid inspected the vines and thorns with astonished eyes, her master, the Demon Lord thought the Human Empire sent a strong individual in here to carry out a secret plan but maybe it was not the case, maybe it was just baseless assumptions.

"Still wrong.... anyways, you should look behind you, the battle has already started."

Hearing Arthur's remark, the head maid did a backflip and evaded the horizontal sweep of the knight's sword. Her thighs landed on the wide shoulders of the knight, then without hesitation, she stabbed both of her blades on the opponent's skull.

It was supposed to be a clean stab that finished the battle, however, the Death Knight was not just sitting idly and awaits for its death, it grabbed the maid's hand and slammed her body on the ground, crashing the ground and creating a small dust cloud.

The Death Knight soon followed by a swing of its sword which was aimed at Taliya's chest. The attack contained a special skill of the knight as its dark long sword whistled in the air and emitted a loud battle cry.

Facing the imminent danger, all she could do was raise both of her blades to block the incoming sword, she didn't have enough time to dodge as her body was aching from the earlier slam.

Just as the clash was about to happen, the long dark sword suddenly halted in mid-air, only a few inches away from the maid's blades.

"That's enough, you're not bad."

It was a very short fight and Taliya appeared to be the physical type due to not using any magic, or maybe she was keeping it for a life-saving situation but it was unlikely as her life was threatened just a moment ago.

It's her bad luck that Death Knights have an incredibly strong defense and are strong warriors. Moreover, this reanimated Death Knight was Lv750, so that's to be expected for her to lose.

She silently stood up and cleaned the dust lingering in her clothes due to the fight, then she shot a glare at Arthur, it was apparent that she was not willing to admit defeat but from the earlier fight, it was obvious who is stronger. He didn't even lift a finger and let his Death Knight fight yet she couldn't beat the second one so what qualifications does she have to fight him personally.

Nonetheless, she achieved her goal as he was going to follow her back to the castle but the bitter feeling of defeat still wouldn't leave her. She is the head maid and an expert in fighting, for her to be defeated this easily proves that this person has a strength matching the Demon Lord, or so she thought.

"Please follow me."

Begrudgingly, Taliya said that and started walking toward the Demon City. Arthur followed after her while riding his Dark Cloud and in no time, the two of them started running, or more precisely, the maid picked up the pace and the walking turned into jogging which soon became full speed running.

Since he was riding the Dark Cloud, Arthur didn't have to run but he had to admit that her speed was quite fast. Prior to his earlier judgment, she was really hiding her power as her current speed is at least double the one she used in the previous battle.

Nevertheless, no matter how fast she was, it was a simple thing for Arthur to follow her, his Agility was in the millions so he wouldn't be left behind whether it's flying or running. If he used the Lightning Form, arriving at the Demon City in seconds would be a feasible thing.

Since the Demon City was not that far from the place they met, it didn't take them long to arrive at the gates. They passed it without stopping and headed for the huge black castle situated north of the city.

The weather was quite cold since it's the Northern Continent and the snow was covering the roads, people were either at home enjoying some warmth or at the bar drinking some ale.

"How about you switch masters?"

After saying that, Arthur received no response so he thought it might be because she is running which led to her being unable to hear what he said. He waited until they entered an area devoid of people and with noise around and repeated his sentence

"How about you switch masters? I think you're quite capable."

".... I beg your pardon, Sir?"

Arthur was in no way interested in her romantically or sexually, he would not even dare to have such absurd or obscene thoughts or Lucy's damnation would befall on him. It's just that he was feeling lonely and bored, a bit of company would not hurt so much. After experiencing a few days with Robin, it was not so bad to have someone to talk to, especially after those long dreams which made him feel even lonelier.

If he stayed alone until he found Lucy, it may lead to dire consequences as he began feeling frustrated at sudden times and felt like behaving evilly for whatever reasons. Maybe it is his rage from back then or it is his loneliness but not staying alone is definitely not a good thing for him right now.

If he knows for sure that he'll find Lucy in a month or two, he'll definitely bear with it but the problem is, he doesn't know that. What if the weird occurrences of the dreams keep happening, then he'll be doomed. To have someone to chat with, pass the time until he meets Lucy, then he wouldn't mind but then again, Lucy will kill him if she ever sees him with the maid, however, he was prepared for that, if he could see her again then whatever is going happen let it happen.

Although he should be worrying about Taliya's safety and not his, Lucy would most likely accuse her of seducing him and not the other way around.... well that is if she agrees to his offer in the first place.

Since he couldn't hear him properly, Arthur used Telekinesis to lift her mid-air and float her on board the Dark Cloud. His actions were met with a red dagger flying straight at him but unfortunately, it was easily caught by his two fingers.

"Relax, I'm just doing this to make the trip faster and to chat. Stop being so aggressive."

She was still glaring at him, she glanced at the caught dagger between his fingers and couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. Of course, she didn't show that on her face as it was kept emotionless.

Purposely, Arthur made the Dark Cloud go slow to be able to talk about his offer with her. Well, he picked her because she seems strong and the loyal type, if she refuses, he could still go look for another person, even a talking pet wouldn't be so bad but that's very rare to find.

Feeling unsafe, Taliya stood up on the Dark Cloud and faced Arthur with both of her blades raised and pointed at him. From the look of it, she didn't trust him one bit.

"Why are you pointing those blades at me when you're the one who invited me to the castle?"

Arthur played with the red dagger in his hand as he talked to the maid, who still taking a defensive stance. After a moment of silence, the two short swords were lowered but Taliya remained standing and her glare never left him.

Arthur had no choice but to sigh and give her back the red dagger, since she was so cautious around him, he even used Telekinesis to pass the dagger because if he approached her, she would definitely freak out and slash both of her blades at him which would break her weapons and that would be such a pity.

"We'll arrive in a few minutes, why don't we chat in meantime? It's basic courtesy for any maid to entertain the guest... isn't it?"

"...."

He was only met with silence but Arthur still didn't let the matter go.

"Do you love the Demon Lord?"

Arthur wanted a companion for the time being but he wouldn't forcefully take her. Loyalty can be changed after time but love is harder, if she loves the Demon Lord or has a family then so be it, he'll just search for another one. Jackob or Anastassia won't be a bad choice too but since they are the ones taking care of his sect, then it's better to leave them out of it.

There's Robin too but she has to manage her company too. Aside from those, there's nothing else. Azure Bai would have been a good pick too, it's a shame he can't go back to the Underworld for numerous reasons.

Flustered and stunned by such a sudden and weird question, the maid retorted almost immediately.

"What are you saying? I'm but a servant, I'm a loyal subordinate of the Demon Lord and I have no right to love or have any special feelings towards my superiors, be it my master or anyone of the royal family!"

'Hm? Did I hit a soft spot or does she respect her master that much?'

"Since you're so optimistic if it's about your master, then tell me more about the Demon Lord."

Except for a few known facts about the Demon Lord, such as him having one fully grown horn indicating how much strong he is, or his good ruling and how much he is loved by his kinsmen, Arthur knew nothing more.

He didn't even know how he looked like. He never had the time to come here and sightsee with Lucy but since he is going to meet the Demon Lord anyway, he might as well ask him about Lucy when the time comes. If there is a chance in a thousand he could find her parents, then he would try his best to do so.

"..."

Taliya didn't talk anymore albeit hearing him question her about the Demon Lord. The atmosphere returned to its usual boring silence which Arthur didn't like. He was not the talkative type but he would rather chat than remain silent forever.

With nothing to do but wait for the Dark Cloud to arrive, Arthur picked up the pace and increased the speed by multiple times so they could arrive faster. Taliya wasn't willing to discuss his offer, it was a blunt rejection so he could only ask the Demon Lord, maybe if her master agrees, she would too.

...

Three minutes later, the Dark Cloud entered the vicinities of the huge black castle and various guard patrols could be seen walking around the wide garden around the castle. Be it Humans or Demons, it seems that their Royalty likes to have a luxurious castle and a wide beautiful garden around it.

Arthur contemplated the garden and made a not to possess a few flowers that were unique. Lucy was a fond of flowers and thanks to his Race and Nature Magic, every plant he possesses he would be able to grow it back again whenever he feels like it. Of course, it would cost him a bit of Mana but the amount was so little that he could recover it all in just a second.

Seeing Taliya with him, the guards backed off and let the weird Dark Cloud pass the gates and enter the black castle. Although it had quite a unique appearance from the outside, the interior of the castle was honestly breathtaking. With pretty decoration and a cozy furniture.

Unlike the mansion of the Human Emperor, this one didn't have any guards inside of it, it was devoid of any guards, there were butlers and maids but no guards patrolling inside.

A few seconds after the Dark Cloud entered the castle, a teenager boy with a small horn excitedly came down the stairs and seemed to be eagerly waiting for Taliya.

"Taliya! Practice time has already started, I've been waiting for half an hour!"

The boy had short silver hair and a handsome face, one look and you can guess he is from the Royalty. No one knew why but the majority of the Demon Royalty had silver hair, which is why Arthur had a strong guess that Lucy had some relation to them in some way or another.

Even if it's the Demon Lord, if he is really her father and he abandoned her, he is not going to forgive him. He would kill him but he would make him regret his decision then he'll drag him to Lucy and let her deal with him, if she wants to forgive him or kill him, either way, he'll support her.

"Young Master, it's not the time for practice. We have an important guest and I have to lead him to master."

"Jeeee! That's no fun, you promised to teach me."

The young man started pouting with an unhappy look but one cold glare from the maid made his face stiffen and his pouting stop. He scratched his head in embarrassment and left as quickly as he came.

She may just be a maid but her position is surely high for her to be able to talk to the prince like that. Taliya jumped off the Dark Cloud and led Arthur to a room deep into the castle.

It's been a while since he saw any butler or a maid around which means that this area is probably restricted. However, if it's a trap laid by the Demon Lord, he wouldn't really care much as they do not have the power to imprison him.

His [Sixth Sense] was constantly spread around him so he could feel several presences lurking in the darkness but they must surely be some special individuals guarding the area against any sneaky invaders.

"The Demon Lord is already expecting you, please come in."

Taliya stopped in front of a metal door and showed Arthur in. Behind the metal door was a room, devoid of any windows with a round table in its center and several elderly figures sitting around it.

'This must be the council of the demons.'

He read in a book that the Demons have a council of elders that decide about the political matters of their race. Obviously, the Demon Lord has the highest authority but these elderly also have some saying in the matters. If they oppose a decision made by their leader, things could become troublesome.

There were exactly seven people in the room, excluding Taliya and Arthur. Five old men and one middle-aged man, last but not least is a woman who appeared to be in her twenties, she was sitting next to the middle-aged man. All the present people had silver hair but the old men had a darker color, probably due to age.

"Master, I've brought him."

Taliya gestured for Arthur to enter and then bowed to the present people. She was a maid so she had to show some respect, the maid then turned to leave but an invisible force pressed down on her and a quiet voice rang in her ears.

"Wait for just a second, this matter includes you too."

Arthur didn't use too much force with the Telekinesis, he just stopped her movement for a bit then let her go. Unfortunately, she turned a deaf ear to him and continued heading out of the room.

She only stopped when the middle-aged man, who supposedly was the Demon Lord, finally talked

"Ah, Taliya... good job. You can stay in the room."

As per her master's orders, Taliya walked behind the middle-aged man and stood there, motionless.

"Esteemed guest, please sit."

The middle-aged man gestured for Arthur to sit in the only empty seat left. He had an amicable smile hanging on his face and he seemed to be friendly.

Zadahl (Race: Demon): Lv599

Mikayla(Demon Lord) (Race: Demon): Lv794

'I see now... I see... hahahaha'

Arthur laughed inside of him when the results of the appraisal were displayed in front of him. From the look of it, all present people seemed respectful towards the middle-aged man but the System would never lie or falsify information.

When someone is worshiped by many, such as a God or a Demon Lord, a title would be shown just like this one so the blue window in front of Arthur clearly shows that the woman was, in fact, the Demon Lord and not the middle-aged man. He didn't know why they were acting as if she's just the loyal wife but he wouldn't blurt out that out of the blue, he was curious but he did not want to cause a ruckus and raise suspicions.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Now onto the serious matters, could you enlighten me while would the Demon Lord himself personally invite me here?"

Arthur sat comfortably on the chair, with his back leaning on it and his arms crossed, quite an ambiguous stance but it's not like he cared that much at this point.

"How could you talk to our Lord like that! Behave yourself! Filthy Human!"

One of the elderly men stood up and angrily shouted at Arthur. It was just a Lv210 old man with old bones and wrinkled face, despite his level, Arthur was sure that a blow of wind could take his life. He did not like to be underestimated and he was certainly not a rash or reckless person but he did not like being yelled at by weaklings either.

Combining the invisible threads and Telekinesis, Arthur ruthlessly crushed the old man's vocal cords without mercy. Having created his own humanoid body, Arthur's human anatomy was matchless. Demons were a bit different to Humans but if it's about the body, they were exactly the same except the location of the heart which was the opposite of the Humans.

The old man started coughing blood nonstop, his hands were holding his throat as the pain was too much to bear. Only a few seconds passed yet the old man was already unconscious on the ground.

Taliya was the first to react as she took out her blades and was about to jump at Arthur when the middle-aged man raised his hand and blocked her.

"I don't like being talked at like that by someone who is only good at running his mouth and when it comes to fights, he's the first one falling.... pathetic."

Arthur didn't even spare a glance at the unconscious old man. The other geezers were fuming but none of them dared to speak or complain. Seeing that the Demon Lord himself did nothing meant that this guest is not a normal one. Moreover, they didn't even see or how Arthur managed to cut the man's vocal cords and this only made them feel more afraid.

Even the middle-aged man gasped for a second, he knew Arthur was so strong but it's the first time he sees him act. The only one unfazed by this was his wife, the real Demon Lord. She had a long silver hair and a breathtaking appearance, young facial features with two black eyes. She maintained an emotionless face and stared at Arthur whilst remaining silent, she didn't even bat an eye when the old man was wailing from agony.

"Please excuse the rude behavior from our part."

"No problem. I took out some competition from the play.... don't you think? Demon Lord~~"

Arthur talked to the middle-aged man but he glanced at his wife for a second, it was but a glance yet it was instantly noticed by her, who had her eyes glued on him since the second he stepped into this room. From the outside, what Arthur said was directed to the middle-aged man but Mikayla knew it was directed at her, just from that one glance.

Arthur could easily guess that the council was like a second Demon Lord, so getting rid of one of the old men would benefit her, but he didn't do it for her sake but because he didn't like the attitude of that annoying old man. He didn't want to go too far and kill him or else it would have been interpreted wrongly by the Demon Lord.

With the usual friendly smile, the middle-aged man nodded and was about to say something when Mikayla leaned her head and whispered something in his ears.

"Let's talk privately."

Her voice was so low that no one but her husband could hear, or so she thought. Arthur easily heard that due to his Dexterity. Excluding his Dexterity, he could come up with at least five skills that enhance his hearing, he just didn't need to use them since his stats are so high, it would just be a waste of time.

The fake Demon Lord nodded to his wife and after coughing a few times he looked at the elderly present and said

"Thank you for granting us your audience, we'd like to talk with our esteemed guest privately."

He didn't need to say anything else for these wicked bastards to understand his meaning. They were afraid of Arthur so they didn't linger there any extra second.

Very soon, the room was empty of any elderly, there were only four people remaining and the atmosphere was silent and a bit awkward.

Looking at the middle-aged man, Arthur noticed the horn erected to the back, matching the color of his hair. The woman didn't have any horn which was confusing but he didn't question it albeit being a bit intrigued.

...

When Taliya ascertained that the old men left, she whispered something to the fake Demon Lord but he just waved his hand and gestured for her to directly tell his wife since he too came to know that this 'esteemed guest' found out about the real identity of the Demon Lord. Just from his wife's actions, it was easy to conclude that.

Even the council didn't know about that matter since it was their trump card and the one and the most important secret they had to keep.

"What do you want?"

Listening to the soft voice, Arthur was a bit surprised since this voice came out from Mikayla's mouth. He was stunned due to how contrary her voice is to her appearance. Usually, a person with cold eyes and emotionless face, just like Lucy, for example, would have a cold and chilling voice except in unique situations but this Demon Lord had a voice softer than any other person Arthur have ever heard, which is why he was momentarily surprised.

"What do I want? Last I heard, it was you who invited me in here."

Seeing Arthur talk disrespectfully to her master, Taliya was going to leap at him in any given second, it was a pretty funny sight, to be honest, Arthur was barely holding his laughter as he glanced at Taliya who displayed a serious face yet was in a funny pose.

"Speak your mind, no need for riddles."

Still insisting he voice out his thoughts, Arthur could only shrug and dive into the matter. He wanted to know why they invited him but if the Demon Lord is going to insist then why not?

While pointing at Taliya, Arthur gazed at Mikayla and casually said

"I want her."

A moment of silence passed quickly as Arthur corrected his sentence.

"Don't get me wrong, I want her to be my follower not as a toy or whatever you thought. I already asked her but she won't reply, so I'm asking the master instead."

The smile on the middle-aged man's stiffened, he tried to keep it but he couldn't as he was dumbstruck by what he just heard. As for Mikayla, she was as unfazed as ever, it's either she was expecting that or it just wasn't that surprising to hear that from Arthur.

"Taliya is not an object to be given to anyone, she's a loyal servant for our household.... she is also my sister."

'Is that so.'

Arthur didn't expect this but his intentions still didn't change, if she is willing to accompany him then it'll lift some burden off him. He just needs someone from the time being, and it's for the better if it's a strong person and someone you can trust.

He didn't trust Taliya but judging from her behavior, she isn't a bad person, after some time, maybe he'll learn to trust her a bit. The people he really has confidence in and fully trusts can be counted on one hand.

Arthur was prepared to talk again when the surroundings suddenly blurred and his vision darkened. Nothing besides that occurred yet it was enough for him to know that it's happening again and he'll have to endure for another 7 years.

...

Unlike what he thought, Arthur found himself in a white space with nothing but him around. He looked around and tried walking in all directions but it leads to nowhere.

Seconds... minutes and even hours passed yet nothing happened. It was just Arthur roaming the endless white space. At some point, he even thought he might have died but the probability of that being true is extremely meager.

"Hello there, Arthur."

Another figure, exactly similar to Arthur suddenly appeared in front of him. It had the same facial features, same hair, eyes, and nose. Even calling him his doppelganger would be an understatement, the figure in front of him is his literal copy.

Arthur had one guess in mind, it's that person who possessed him when he was unconscious after fighting the Gods in the Underworld.

"Who are you?"

It was a bad idea to follow this person's advice and Arthur was truly angry at him but he still maintained a calm attitude and politely asked. For a person to cut him off reality, invade his mind and even possess his body, it's better to be not aggressive against him for the time being, at least until he found a way or a solution to get rid of this invader.

"I'm Arthur."

"With my appearance and my name? Who are you?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed as he stared at his smiling copy, he couldn't even use any magic or create any weapon or he would have beheaded this smiling bastard although it looks exactly like him, it is not him.

"Who am I? I told you I'm Arthur hahaha"

While barely holding the urge to punch himself, Arthur coldly glared at his copy and said

"Why am I here? What are you doing here?"

The Arthur copy put his hand on his chin and closed his eyes as if he was pondering about something. After maintaining that pose for a couple of seconds, he laughed again and replied

"Hahaha, did you really think I'm here? This is just a message I left but I could guess what you're going to ask so I gave you early answers hahahaha.... now onto the serious stuff."

'There is no way this is me. He's so lame....'

"You see how wide this white space is? I created it. It's literally endless so that you can fight at your heart's will."

"Fight?"

Confused by what he heard, Arthur sensed a foreboding danger but he couldn't fathom from where. There were only him and the douchebag in front of him.

"Now before you complain, listen to what I have to say. Did you ever wonder what's that ARK thingy in your status window? No? Well if you did, then you're going to have your answer, and if you never wondered... well it's a shame but you'll also be forced to learn to the truth whether you like or not."

The Arthur copy raised his hand as if he was holding something in it then he resumed talking

"The ARK is something I created to help you specifically. It does not any kind of Energy, neither does it rely on Magic and keep in mind I'm talking about real Magic. It is purely scientific and its only goal is to help you."

A cubic object appeared above his hand, it floated in the air and had countless small lines engraved on it. The lines would turn from blue to red every now and then but aside from that, its appearance was quite normal.

It was a bit bigger than a fist and was white in color with countless lines on it. Arthur couldn't fathom what's so special about it.

"I know it looks ordinary but the appearance doesn't matter. One of its many functions is to train you, and that is why I'm here today. This message is scheduled to set off when your body has met the minimum requirements to support the weight of the ARK.

Since all of this is new to you, we'll start off easy and just to let you know, your Energy, Health and Stamina Recoveries are increased to 100%. All your stats are lowered to 100 for the sake of the training and your weight is increased by 15 times. All the skills are disabled except the basic ones such as weapons masteries. There is no time limit and no matter how much you're here, not even a second will pass in reality.

Oh and don't die, alright? Having a 100% Health Recovery doesn't help if you're instkilled, right? hahaha"

Arthur could not even process the first part before his copy suddenly disappeared, leaving the cubic object rotating slowly.

*Countdown beginning: 10..9..8..7*

"Countdown for what?"

Arthur trying shouting for the robotic voice to explain what's going to happen but there was no response. The countdown reached 0 at last and what's about to happen finally happened.

TITLE: MEAT GRINDER / SEEKER OF KNOWLEDGE / ONE WITH THE SWORD / ARK HOLDER

Level ????

Class: Dark ARK Parasite

Realm: Immortal 5th Grade-

Strength:100

Intelligence:100

Agility:100

Wisdom:100

Vitality:100

Dexterity:100

Health:100 / / Health Regen:100%

Nether Energy:100 / / Nether Energy Regen:100%

Mana:100 / / Mana Regen:100%

Stamina:100 / / Stamina Regen:100%

Creation : 0

Attack:100

Defense:100

Magic defense : 100

Enigma abilities : Telekinesis / Ancient Threads / Sixth sense / ARK(ACTIVATED)

Mental Power : 100

Elemental Resistances:

Fire: 0%

Water:0%

Wind:0%

Earth:0%

Light/holy:0%

Shadow0%

Lightning0%

Ice0%

'It really changed!'

Even his infinite Stamina was turned back to 100. He trying clenching his fists but the godly physical power he previously had disappeared. Since he entered this space, he could still feel his power but he couldn't use it but now, it literally all went away in just a split second.

From the clean white ground, a big silhouette popped up. It was a three meter tall white humanoid creature. From head to toe, it was all white with no facial features or clothes, it didn't even have a gender.

*Please pick you weapon.*

*List:

One-handed Axe: 10 attacks.

Two-handed Axe: 25 attacks.

Small Shield: 5% block, 5 defense.

Large Shield: 15% block, 25 defense.

....

A long list of weapons was displayed in front of him, the list was so long that he had to scroll down for a couple of minutes. There were all kinds of weapons but their disparity in attack and defense was not that large.

Arthur just chose a katana that looked similar to Makaze and closed the transparent window. He can wield other weapons but he was more comfortable with swords.

*Are you ready?*

'No.'

Arthur clicked no and spent some time getting used to the katana. He still had his sword mastery but the peak mastery is lost which is a shame or else he wouldn't have to worry even with such low stats. What's more is that his Stamina will run out so quickly so he can't drag out the fight for very long.

'Alright, I'm ready.'

*User approval obtained. Countdown beginning: 10..9..8..7..6...*

Arthur tightly held the katana and faced the weird white thing humanoid creature in front of him. It didn't wield any weapons but it still had a tall height and a big size which was worrying a bit, especially since Arthur had a very low Agility and Dexterity.

*Battle: Start!*

At the robotic voice's sign, the white creature charged at Arthur and stomped its feet at him. It's been forever for Arthur since he fought this slowly and struggled against such a weak enemy. He may have lost his skills and stats but at least he still had the experience he gained from all the countless battles he had to go through, whether it's in reality or in those 14 years.

Arthur side-stepped away from the incoming foot and slashed his katana horizontally at the white foot. He was expecting to deal some damage but the Katana easily cut through the foot as if it was tofu. It was met with absolutely no resistance and the foot was cut off instantly.

Losing its balance, the white creature fell on the ground but albeit being unable to stand up, it still did a grabbing motion, trying to crush Arthur into minced meat.

Arthur didn't miss this opportunity, he avoided the hands by rolling in between and then did a vertical swing with his katana, cutting off the neck of this weird creature.

*Congratulations! You passed the first phase.*

Arthur was going to breathe a sigh of relief when the other copy of him suddenly appeared.

"Hi, there! If you're seeing this then it means you successfully passed the first phase. It was pretty easy, right? Hahaha, I knew you could manage it. Well, there are two other phases left to finish the beginner phase but it'll come with benefits, trust me. For the second phase, your stats are increased by 10 times but the enemy's strength is multiplied by 50. You can also use the physical skills but only the basic ones, you can check them before fighting. Oh and here's a precious advice; Don't die! Hahahahaha"

'Lame fucker...'

Arthur cursed his copy repeatedly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat down to rest. For some reason, his Stamina decreased by more than half just by doing three moves which are not a normal thing. He had infinite Stamina since the moment he possessed Zodaik so he never felt tired no matter how much he fights.

The only thing remotely similar to fatigue he experienced is whilst activating all those passives and having to bear with the endless pressure pressing on his mind and causing him mental pain.

...

Another creature appeared, this time had a normal humanoid height but it was still strangely white. It took a stance similar to the karate from Earth, either way, it resembled a martial art stance.

*Please pick your weapon.*

*List:

One-handed Axe: 100 damage.

....*

Arthur picked up his Katana and the second he touched it, the robotic voice rang in his ears again.

*Available skills for swords: Cross Slash Lv1/ Hole in One Lv1/ Dance Harmony Lv1/ Enforcement Lv1...*

A list longer than the weapons appeared in front of Arthur. He didn't even bother reading all of the skills, he picked a few that seemed useful in critical moments and ignored the rest. To read all of those skills, even a day wouldn't be enough as the list kept refreshing and increasing every second.

*Are you ready?*

'... Ready..'

Honestly, he didn't even know why he had to do this but for now, he had to take his copy's word and hope these phases would give him decent rewards when he's out of this space and his stats better come back to normal or else he's screwed.

"Come at me, whitey"

Since they are all white, Arthur decided to call it 'whitey', it suits them and he isn't going to waste time to pick a name for each one of them if there's going to be multiple phases then more of these weird creatures will pop up.

A burst of wind was heard as whitey charged at Arthur with incredible speed. Seeing the opponent coming, Arthur didn't just stay idle, he raised his katana and used [Singular Point].

It's a sword skill that allows the user to see what's the weakness of the opponent at the cost of 150 Stamina. As Arthur expected, it was not just one red point, the whole white figure was in red so it appears that wherever he strikes, it'll deal lots of damage.

[Cross Slash] was executed and two sword arcs made from sheer sword energy were thrown at the incoming whitey, which marvelously evaded the arcs and appeared on the left side of Arthur.

Having no time to dodge, Arthur swung his katana at whitey, performing a backward slash which failed due to it only hitting the air. Whitey crouched down to avoid the slash and did a fast roundhouse kick that sent Arthur flying 5 meters in the air.

Whitey didn't even wait for Arthur to fall on the ground, it dashed at where he's going to fall and kicked his exposed back, sending him stumbling on the ground which was dyed by the blood coming out of his mouth.

Fortunately, Arthur was able to stabilize himself and quickly got up. What's more, his Health was instantly recovered but the pain was still agonizing him. His broken bones were repaired in just a second but the pain was way slower and it took more than a second for it to disappear.

...

*Congratulations! You passed the second phase.*

"Hi again! It seems you're owning this beginner phase! I like that! To motivate you more, the stats will be raised ten times but the next enemy will be 25 times stronger. All your attributes will be unlocked but you won't be able to abuse the strong skills, only basic ones will be available. oh and by the way, after you defeat the next enemy, you won't hear another message from me, you'll just earn you rewards.

You can leave if you want after that but you can also train in this space, it cost a bit but you'll find it worth it I think... anywayyyyyy I got distracted for a second. I'm going to give you three warnings. One, don't mess with the System or provoke them or even fight against one of them, the fact that you're doing the beginner phase shows how weak you are currently.

Two, it is really unlikely but if you ever meet someone named 'The Joker' then don't mess with him, don't even talk to him, he's one of the only remaining Magic users and you'll just die by his hands, just pray you don't meet him.

Three, Don't mess with the Dragon Race, don't anger them or steal anything from them. That is all I can say, good luck and don't die!"

Arthur was sitting and panting heavily as he barely managed to beat whitey. The martial arts it used was pretty basic but it hits pretty hard and he was sent flying in the air for more times than he could count. Now came the warnings of his copy which left him startled and confused.

He never intended to mess with the Joker after witnessing him fight, neither did he plan on angering the dragons. He fought one in the past but apparently, that was not a real dragon. As for the System, Arthur was skeptical about it, it helped him in many ways but he still found it a strange existence, it even had a universe of its own. Thinking back to Astria, it's probably in the System's universe since all people on it have access to the System and are able to use it.

It was previously said that this beginner phase has only three phases, he just finished two so there was only one remaining. Thinking back to the previous enemy he just faced, Arthur decided to rest a bit and get used to his stats a bit more.

With the attributes added, Arthur can now fight more efficiently. Once he checked the attributes he could use, he was delighted to find out that the fire attribute is switched to the ancient fire attribute but there was no Dark Magic, no scrolled down but there was no sign of the Dark Magic.

Cursing the smug face and lame attitude of his copy, Arthur closed the window and picked a weapon and started preparing for the last fight.

'This better be worth it or I'll swear I'll beat the living hell out of him if he shows up in front of me again.'

Chapter end