Return Of The Strongest Player

Arthur and Kai reached the center of the ninth floor, approaching the floor tower before teleporting to the First Floor's Residential Area. It was a swift teleportation, and when they opened their eyes, the scenery had changed.

"So this is the first floor of…?"

"Heaven's Spire," replied Arthur. "The Heaven's Spire is a skyscraper, or a tower that's established in the center of the universe. It's runs through the bottom of the universe to the top, from Hell to Heaven."

"Hell? Heaven?"

"Two bases of afterlife. Supposedly, you go there after death."

"Ah… That's scary."

"Scarier than the thought of simply floating in the abyss after death?" Arthur inquired somewhat jokingly, smiling at Kai's innocence. However, he raised an eyebrow at the child's response, which he hadn't expected.

"Yes, much scarier," said Kai. "Floating in the abyss, away from all things scary… that's the best visualization of what happens after death. Away from all problems, life, social awkwardness… it's much better than staying with other dead people."

Arthur's expression turned solemn. He didn't speak, but a sense of pity arose yet again in his heart. To prefer eternal isolation over Heaven or Hell seemed utterly crazy to Arthur. It was absurd.

"L–Let's go," said Arthur, leading Kai towards the outskirts. They headed in the opposite direction of the remains of Gargo and Lijkao Villages, spending over ten hours simply walking away.

Finally, they arrived in a lush forest littered with moisture from dew, and, of course, beasts.

"Why are we here?"

"You're going to fight a beast," Arthur announced, smiling faintly. Kai's simply nodded, with not a shred of an expression. Arthur chuckled internally, looking forward to the realization of how difficult it would be.

Arthur spread [Mana Sense], quickly locating an Infant Beast with 3 Beast Marks. The beast had an affinity to light, and had the appearance of a baby wolf. It was quite a cute creature for Arthur, but would definitely be vicious for someone like Kai.

"When do I start?"

"Now," Arthur announced, luring the wolf towards him by essentially manipulating it using [Mana Sense]. The crimson-eyed man retracted his sense, plopping down on a nearby branch before assuming a meditative stance.

He would only react when Kai was on the verge of death.

Kai withdrew a small dagger Arthur had given him. The dagger was around eight to nine inches, with a sleek, dark, incredibly sharp blade that could pierce even metal if wielded correctly. Emphasis on "wielded correctly."

Killing intent shone in his eyes, which surprised Arthur.

The wolf suddenly leapt from the bushes, landing only a few meters away from the child with fate-related abilities. The beast was almost as tall as Kai, even as a mere infant. It had black-white fur, and was incredibly fluffy.

Its eyes were lined with crimson streaks, while its tongue released saliva every few seconds.

Kai glanced at Arthur. "Do I start?"

"You don't have to ask," replied the crimson-eyed man.

Kai nodded yet again, rushing forward with clumsy steps. There was virtually no confidence in his movements or face, and his appearance seemed akin to a robot at that moment. The wolf rushed forward, releasing particles of light with each step.

Its gaze shone with intensity, and a flood of light escaped its paw.

Kai raised his dagger, channeling his pitiful mana through it. Mana–too–was foreign to him, as he only faintly remembered using it a few years ago. He grasped the faint sensation, using it to his advantage.

Mana particles spilled from his dagger, and due to his pathetic mana control, the light passed through his weapon.

Szzzzz!

Kai breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the particles of light hadn't collided with his face. Instead, they brushed along his hair, burning a few strands in the process. He hadn't realized he was so weak.

"How strong is this monster?"

"The weakest in the entire tower," replied Arthur. "Perhaps only a few other monsters are weaker than this one. Do you sense the 'marks' on the beast? Yeah, a few monsters have hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million of those."

Kai nodded. He was weak. Useless.

Gritting his teeth, he poured more and more mana into the dagger, planning on destroying the beast solely using raw strength. Arthur shook his head internally, commenting on how Kai did not possess such destructive, raw power.

It was a useless endeavor.

His mana exploded, and in the heat of the moment, Kai rushed forward. The wolf summoned several swords of light that flew towards the child, while the beast itself rushed forward with the intent to kill.

The explosion of mana did virtually nothing, but Kai still had enough momentum to perform a last-resort attack.

"Fuck!" Kai shouted as an intense pain assaulted his arm. As he turned his head, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. His expression–for the first time–displayed the sheer pain that coursed across his body.

His entire arm had a gash running across it, with an enormous amount of blood spewing in all directions. Moreover, the wound was also burnt as a side-effect of the light magic which the wolf deployed.

Kai–however–did not give up. With a heaven-shattering scream that originated directly from his lungs, he coated the dagger with unstable mana before bursting from his location, wearing a determined expression.

'Perfect way to make him display expressions… But this might worsen his detachment with other emotions… such as happiness.'

Arthur was conflicted.

Kai rushed forward with confidence, but as soon as the wolf realized the boy's attempt at approaching, it snorted. With a display of excellence and glory, the wolf roared, shaking the entire forest.

Many beasts reciprocated this, howling back.

With a swift movement of his claw, the wolf shattered Kai's confidence, propelling his body like a broken puppet several dozens of meters back.

Kai released a painful groan, laying on his back while screaming in pain.

Attacks using magic were incredibly painful.

Arthur quickly obstructed the wolf's path as it attempted to approach Kai. Placing his hand on the beast's head, Arthur quickly overloaded its body with mana.

[Mana is being sucked from your body.]

[The beast you are touching is being overloaded with mana.]

[The target's body cannot support such a quantity of mana.]

[Initiating mana overload.]

[99%... 100%...]

[Mana overload complete.]

Splash!