?


    Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge, strike, dodge, dodge, cast, dodge, strike, strike, dodge...


    Eldrian''s dance with the Terror continued with only a distant end in sight. Its incessant rain of attacks from all directions forced Eldrian more often on the defensive than the offensive.


    Infuriating, perhaps. Eldrian wasn''t too frustrated with the battle itself. Yes, it was taking far longer than he had expected. But it was also quite fun.


    The two of them, elf and demon, were equally matched. As the match continued, it became a straightforward test of skill and endurance.


    And, most importantly, Eldrian didn''t need to worry as his fight drew on and on. He already knew what direction the battle as a whole was taking. It was not like other times when every second mattered. The most assistance he could provide was precisely what he was doing.


    Providing intel and distracting one Terror.


    It might sound like too little, especiallypared to when Eldrian caused massive damage and routed entire units of the enemies. But it was the help that Avgi needed.


    All this to say, Eldrian was having fun. For once, he didn''t need to worry about the after. He had already done all he could. All that was left was to fight, win, and enjoy the process.


    Still, Eldrian wasn''tpletely satisfied. This was a good test for his skills, but he didn''t feel like he was growing as the fight dragged on.


    ''Let''s try. Worst case, I''ll slip and get hit. But I can then simply rely on Incinerate to save me.'' Eldrian thought as he dodged another flurry of attacks. Taking two of the morphed tentacles as payment. However, the damage of his counterattack amounted to just a paltry 30HP lost for the Terror.


    Jumping back to make some space, Eldrian collected his thoughts into a unified path. Wishing for time to slow—or, at least, his perception of it to slow.


    By now, Eldrian was ustomed to the standard requirements for his bloodline to show its power. He needed to be cornered. Only then did it activate... Like some defense protocol.


    Sadly, simply being in a contested match of skill didn''t count as being cornered—no, even if Eldrian were being overwhelmed, it wouldn''t count. After all, a normal death meant nothing in ANW. He would respawn like any other yer.


    The danger was only present when he faced a being capable of damaging souls; or his friends were in danger.


    In his current situation, Eldriancked that sense of danger. Yet, he believed that it couldn''t be the only way to tap into the flow of time.


    ''I wonder, do Tranquility and my bloodline have something inmon?'' Eldrian pondered as he willed for time to slow.


    His question stemmed from what he had aplished against the devils and what Ziraili had said that the true essence of Tranquility was the stalling of time. Or at least the removal of all kic energy in the target area.


    There was a difference there, but to Eldrian, the end results were simr. And Wrath aimed to destroy and consume. ''But, can''t it energize?'' Eldrian pondered.


    The images of mes were undoubtedly also that of something with abundant energy. It was an exothermic reaction, after all.


    Eldrian''s thoughts couldn''t be tooplex, and he had to leave enough capacity to dodge, attack, and cast spells. Especially the spotlights; should they falter, the Terror would escape or even overwhelm him with its heightened powers in the dark.


    Still, even with his thoughts limited, Eldrian felt he had found something there. While he continued to push all the focus he could spare to slow time, Eldrian also called on his auras.


    ''Slow my perception and enhance my speed, all the while keeping my emotions calm.'' That was the list Eldrian thought he had to fulfill.


    ''Steady breathing.'' Eldrian chanted as he dodged. The cooling energy of Tranquility flowed into him and focused on his mind and emotions.


    '''' Eldrian continued, channeling Wrath through his body. Not out.


    At this point, both were still weak manifestations. Wrath was not feeding on anger, so it was only a vague concept. Tranquility was the same. It was not dominating Eldrian''s mind. Simply aiding in helping him keep a level head.


    And from their channeling, Eldrian could feel a difference. Sure, it was small. But this was already a massive step forward. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Not wishing to push his luck, Eldrian didn''t go further. Instead, he opted to fight while under his current condition.


    Using Tranquility to help him process information in a calm and clear mind while using the energy from Wrath—usually spent to consume all—to increase his speed and strength.


    This advantage these two gave Eldrian was enough to make a difference. After all, the Terror was already slower than him. With his auras acting as buffs, the difference became too much.


    What came as a flurry of attacks from all directions—came as simple attacks from all directions. Indeed, finding the right path to dodge and cut your way through was still a requirement to stay alive—but it was no longer challenging.


    Even though Eldrian had stopped before trying to slow time, he still increased his speed and reaction time. These twobined basically meant he had slowed time.


    It certainly wasn''t near the rate at which Chronos (his bloodline) influenced the flow of time. But it was too much for their match to continue as is.


    Eldrian slipped past the attacks, brought his sword to bear, cut himself a path to the Terror''s body, and released the spell he had prepared.


    des of wind with dozens of icicles mixed in tore through the Terror. In fear, it tried to kill Eldrian. But he cut down the attacks that came his way. No matter how hard the slime material could be, it was limited by the Terror''s own Tier.


    There was no way a Tier 8 de would fail to cut the morphed tentacles of a Tier 7 Terror.


    When the fight was over, Eldrian finally felt satisfied.


    He had aplished growth.


    That was the most important thing to him. He had found a new way to use his aura, one that did not consume him as a fight dragged on.


    ''I should remain warry—'' the system notification disrupted Eldrian''s thoughts.


    [Tier 7 Nychterninos Tromos killed — 218M XP gained]


    "So, it finally died," Eldrian mumbled. It had taken around a dozen seconds more after the fight concluded. The Terror had tried to y dead, but that would not work against a yer—nor someone who was constantly using mana sense to observe his enemy.


    ''Seems like so little for the effort.'' Eldrianmented on the XP gain with a sigh. ''Honestly, it hardly even makes a dent.''


    Eldrian had to admit that the Terror hadn''t been special. It had been a normal demon variant, and it wasn''t too intelligent, either.


    Sure, it could follow orders andmunicate to some degree with those on its side. But it hadn''t tried to talk, and Eldrian had never heard of them being able to. Technically, they should be able, given that they can morph their body into any shape. But perhaps morphing a mouth and throat was too much for them. Their attack did seem to often be simplisticrge weaponry.


    It also hadn''t tried toy any traps for him. Sure, it had yed dead. Though, perhaps it had been too cornered to try? Eldrian simply felt that the fight had been against a monster and not a human or devil. It hadn''t had that cunning.


    At most, it was equivalent to a Bloodline beast (mid-grade monster).


    Like the undead, it was challenging to defeat not because of its indomitable personal strength but because of its quirks. Like the undead, no, even worse than them, it had no weakness. They, at least, were weak to fire and holy magic.


    ''Though, Terrors might share that fate to a degree...'' Eldrian had to admit.


    Still, the point remained. They weren''t anything too special. During the day, they were pretty easy to kill. The problem was if they had shade or if it was night. At those times, they became monsters on a whole other level.


    Though, bringing them into the light would negate most of their strengths. Fighting them in pure darkness would be madness.


    ''But enough of that; I see I have another notification.''