With a powerful swing, Harkus sent his axe crashing into the nearest skeletons. He had begun the battle against the approaching skeletons. His swing wasn’t as simple as it seemed. It not only sent the frontmost skeletons flying backward, but also sent chunks of hardened earth flying in all directions.

  Harkus didn’t expect the skeletons to be weak especially since this was a trial within the tower, but even then, their resilience was beyond what he expected it to be. His swing had broken some bones, but they remained mostly intact. Most of the damage was in the form of chipped or cracked bones.

  And the skeletons not only tolerated the impact, but they also increased their resistance as Harkus dug deeper and deeper into their numbers. Eventually, as the power of his swings lessened, one of the skeletons held onto his axe.

  Having attacked in a reckless manner, Harkus now found himself trapped in the middle of the skeleton attackers. With one of the skeletons now holding firmly on to his axe, its hollow eye sockets locked onto Harkus’s own, more and more skeletons restricted his weapon.

  Harkus growled as he tightened his grip, trying to pry his weapon loose. But they held firm, refusing to let him swing it again. Realizing the axe was useless at the moment, he let go, sure that the skeletons wouldn’t even be able to lift it.

  Shifting stances, Harkus charged toward the nearest skeleton. With his massive frame, he began to punch and tackle wildly at the surrounding skeletons. Each punch was powerful enough to make the skeletons cease in place, if only for a second. Every tackle sent the skeletons flying backward.

  With one particular tackle, he singled out the one that had first gripped his axe, running it through with his horns and lifting it off the ground. With a savage pull from both ends, he ripped the boney enemy apart, its bones flying through the air.

  As the bones of the skeleton splattered apart in the air, Eric rushed into the fray. Grabbing the nearest skeleton by the skull, its attention fixed on Harkus, Eric yanked it back and shoved the sword through its spine. With his left hand, he lifted the now free skull loose and threw it backward, kicking the skeleton to the side.

  Feeling the mana course through him, as freely and as concentrated as it had ever been, he mowed through the skeletons with an ease that would not have been possible before he entered the tower. His vision allowed him to target just the right spot, while his increased mastery of the sword allowed him to reach said targets in the manner that he wanted.

  But it wasn’t only his sword mastery that was coming into play. At some point, he had gotten hold of a broken rib bone, and the skeletons were quickly turning to face him. When they began to overwhelm him, he began to respond with standard close quarters combat. It was slowly coming back to him. While he hadn’t practiced it in years, his body remembered and it became a part of his fighting method.

  He would dispatch the skeletons with a single strike, or at least incapacitate them by removing an entire limb. Then he would disable them in a more permanent manner when he got close. But if he began to get overwhelmed, than he would retreat to standard CQC, creating distance and returning to using his sword.

  “You’re a sword wielder?” Harkus asked, surprised. He was almost done with the skeletons around him, and he noticed Eric’s fighting.

  “Not really, but it does feel like it’s currently what I’m best at,” Eric answered, keeping his stance ready as he took a couple steps backward, also finished with the skeletons he had taken on.

  “Hmm. That’s not good,” Harkus said, shifting his attention to his axe. “Unless you want to dedicate your life to the sword, I would suggest refraining from strengthening your connection with it. It’ll muddle your ascension and fill your path with unfinished debris.”

  The giant skeleton that loomed in the intersection, its eyes vacantly observing, twitched almost imperceptibly, but both Harkus and Eric managed to notice it. Then the holy light that engulfed its bones began to intensify, becoming a visible aura that enveloped it.

  The same holy light that covered the angel skeleton began to shoot up from the ground, engulfing every single piece of bone, no matter how far it was from the rest. Then slowly, the bones began to vibrate and move close to each other.

  “Oh boy,” Harkus said, retrieving his axe and making his way back to Eric.

  No matter how small the bone was, it made its way back to where it came from. Chipped bones became whole once more, and those that were completely broken were restored to their original state. Eventually, all the skeletons were reformed, but there was one difference, they now wielded weapons made entirely of holy light. During the entire process, the looming skeleton had remained completely immobile.

  Unfinished debris? What the f— Eric thought, completely oblivious to what had occurred.

  “Hey, hey, boy!” Harkus shouted, demanding Eric’s attention.

  “Then what am I supposed to the in the meantime?” Eric asked casually.

  “What?! Can’t you see—” Harkus was thrown for a small loop. “Until you can pick a path, stick to only strengthening yourself and imbuing your weapons with mana. Don’t go deeper than superficial strengthening until you can see a path for yourself,” Harkus added, readying himself.

  Get to the other part! Eric thought, sure that there was something more. He had already noticed the skeletons, but this seemed more relevant.

  “That being said, it does look like you’re still building your foundation. You still have some way to go and can still experiment with every weapon you want to. And you’re lucky, there is no better place to do that than here, in the tower. Now let’s go!” Harkus said with a roar. With a powerful leap, he jumped forward, burying his axe deep into a skeleton, parting it in half.

  “Thanks!” Eric said, his expression unchanged. “So, just continue as I was?”

  Though his external appearance was one of indifference, there was an internal change, a great one. Eric, having consumed so much media, guessed that people on the path of cultivation only truly dedicated themselves to one combat style. It didn’t necessarily mean a single weapon, but they did tend to go hand in hand. And now, Harkus had told him that while that was the case, he still had some time before he had to make the decision.

  That small realization fully opened a gate. It was already open to a degree, but it had stopped at some point, his own doubts preventing the flow from being as strong as it could be. But now, he could feel that he was more open to learning. He knew that if he didn’t make a decision in due time, this problem would arise again, but there was hope for another possibility. His class told him so.

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  Fully jumping into the fray, he found the skeletons considerably harder to fight. It wasn’t only because they were armed now, but also because of the level at which they wielded the weapons they now possessed.

  They fought a level or two higher than the ghosts he fought in the seventh trial. There was also some sort of mana enhancement going on. Or is it holy reinforcement? A buff maybe? Eric asked himself.

  They were bringing Eric and Harkus to the limit of what they could do. Even if the skeletons didn’t become overwhelmingly stronger, the small increments they received began to stack up.

  A swing that should have sent them backwards, now only made the pause in place. A blow that should have made them pause in place now did nothing to them. Considering that this was the whole basis of Harkus’s fighting style, he was quickly becoming overwhelmed.

  And Eric was in a similar situation. He could now no longer allow himself to be surrounded, his close quarters combat would only put him at risk, especially with what little he remembered. Distance was his friend and ally, and soon, even that left him.

  First, he was cut by a sword. That simple wound on his back was all that was needed for the anger to begin to act, and the heat began to build. When a shield hit him in the face, the anger began to bubble. Even as he was being beating and battered, Eric noticed the cause.

  As he felt the holy axe dig into his shoulder, the anger began to rise to the surface. It’s the holy weapons, Eric told himself, his head being clouded by thoughts and feelings that weren’t his own.

  Finally, when a spear pierced him through the abdomen, the anger spilled over. Eric could feel something else reach out, it wasn’t for control, it was demanding more power.

  In a fraction of a second, Eric felt the anger within him reach out to his mana, overriding it. Then, as if saying that all his hard work was for naught, his mana channels were being forcibly shifted. The pain lasted only an instant, but it was so intense that for that instant, Eric blacked out.

  Reaching for the holy spear that was embedded in his abdomen with his free hand. Eric began to cycle the mana around his body in a way that he had never done before. It circled around his heart, seeming to gain more power, and in an instant, it traveled to his arms.

  Pulling the spear out was a matter of pulling lightly, at least that was how it felt. When he swung his sword upwards, cutting through the skeleton like air, it felt like that was natural. Was it supposed to be more difficult?

  The rage still hadn’t settled, not even close. Now that it was so close to the surface, it was more aware than ever of the holy energy that was present. Mana began to shoot to his limbs, increasing his speed to unprecedented levels. The magic seals across his body began to light up slightly.

  Where the mana had only being making a single circle around his heart, it was now making two. The strength that he was releasing wasn’t much greater, but its effects lasted longer. The energy seemed purer, cleaned by each cycle around his heart. But Eric quickly became aware of a problem. I’m burning through all of my mana.

  The skeletons fell with such ease that the problems he had dealing with them only moments ago felt like a distant memory. Even his worries for mana vanished. Why would such weak creatures ever be a problem?

  “Watch out!”

  Turning to Harkus as quickly as he could, his vision became obscured as the winged skeleton appeared before him. It didn’t make its way toward Eric, there was no movement, it was just there.

  Being so close to the giant winged skeleton filled Eric with existential horror. Like he was witnessing something that was beyond him. But as the horror fought for space within his mind and body, an incredible sense of disgust began to bubble within him, merging with the anger and completely suppressing the feeling.

  Eric tightened his grip on the sword as the angel skeleton’s eyes began to shine with greater intensity than before. His head twitched, something was trying to burrow its way into his mind, a message, an order, a warning.

  Seeing no success, the giant skeleton slowly rose to its full height, towering over Eric, its bones clacking as they shifted into place. It stood still, holding its gaze toward Eric, either waiting for something or analyzing him. And then, with a sudden crack, it appeared before Eric in a lunging position.

  Eric barely sidestepped the first strike of its massive arm, holy light shooting upward as its hand struck the ground. The anger within Eric grew, and another circle appeared around his heart, causing physical strain.

  The power that used to be all over his body, was now concentrated. Microbursts of power appeared here and there, each crucial for his fight. This isn’t me, is it? Do I even know how to do this?

  Setting his sights on the angel’s joints, he began to attack. A microburst of mana toward specific areas of his legs, increasing his speed. Another toward specific locations on his arms, increasing the power of his strikes. No mana was being wasted, but damage to the surrounding muscles was inevitable.

  Eric stabbed toward the angel’s knee, trying to dig his sword in, but its speed was superior, and he instead caused a crack on its kneecap. The creature recoiled slightly, but its massive arms were already moving.

  With barely enough time to react, Eric rolled on forward, tightening the grip on his sword. Landing slightly behind the skeleton, he quickly pivoted and struck at the angel’s spine. The sword dug deep, but before Eric could do any more damage, he was sent flying by the angel’s bony wing.

  Feeling that his mana was beginning to reach its limits, the three circles around his heart began to spin faster and faster and he suddenly felt his mana reserves being filled again, the mana in the air being pulled inward. But just as mana entered his body, so too did blood pool in his mouth, his heart straining to continue beating.

  Every strike that Eric landed made him feel like he was fighting a losing battle. The most he had managed to do was crack a kneecap and break his sword. But the anger that was guiding him—was him, refused to give up.

  The giant skeleton’s eye sockets began to glow with holy light while it simultaneously struck Eric, sending him flying toward a wall, and while the force was more than enough to destroy an ordinary one, this wasn’t an ordinary wall and Eric just hit it with great force, bouncing off of it.

  While Eric’s mind momentarily went blank as the wind was knocked out of him, his body kept cycling mana, increasing the strain on his heart. The anger was flaring up even more, preparing itself for something.

  The skeletal angel advanced, with each step the intensity within its eye sockets grew, but nothing was happening. When it was only a few steps away from the still gasping Eric, the burnt halo mark on its head began to flare up with holy power.

  Now that it was directly before Eric, it lowered its head, holy power blasting from its entire body. Its gaze was fixed on its target, bewildered by how unaffected he was.

  Eric felt something prickling against his skin but ignored it as the least of his problems. Raising his head to face the skeletal angel, he could feel the anger within him reach for his mana once more.

  Mana surged through his entire body and blood began to run down his nose, mouth and eyes.

  Locking eyes with the skull before him, Eric lunged at the skeleton. His strikes were more powerful, so powerful that the seals throughout his body began to light up and burn.

  Eric managed to grab one of the skeletal wings and while the skeletal angel was still flaring with holy power, its attention diverted to something else, it was still capable of struggling. But then, a snap was heard, as Eric held the wing in both hands.

  The skeleton staggered backward, the holy power faltering for a second and Eric felt the prickling cease for a moment.

  As it visibly tried to regain its concentration and flare up with holy power once more, Eric hurried forward, grabbing the skeleton and with even greater power than what he used to crack it, he stepped on and broke its cracked knee.

  Struggling to stand, and reaching for purchase, Eric grabbed its arms and broke them too.

  For a brief moment, Eric stood eye to eye with the skeletal angel and the look on his face was one of utter contempt. There was no hint of the struggle he had been facing when it came to expressing emotions, what he was feeling was clear as day.

  Then, he lunged at the skull, one hand on each side, pressing inward. The mana seals began to flare up with even greater intensity, now basically being seared into Eric’s skin.

  With a loud crack that echoed through the halls, the skeletal angel fell to the floor, headless.

  The anger had long since gone over what was normal and before Eric realized it, he took it as his own. Once more, like when he gave a speech, experiences that weren’t his own engulfed his words.

  "Parasites, even in death."

  Then, with one final blow, he stepped on the fragments before him, turning most of them into dust.