Return Of The Strongest Player

Chapter 166 Inheritance Ground: First Stage

After taking a quick bath, Arthur exited the inheritance ground. Since his clothes were tattered and dyed in blood, wearing them was not an option. It didn't take long before the crimson-eyed man discovered the corpse of a man who had been killed during the explosion.

Quickly, he stripped the man of his clothing, slipping into the purple-white tunic and the brown, leather pants of the dead man. He realized that the clothes were quite comfortable, and didn't seem to restrict his battle prowess in the slightest.

He navigated through the tunnels using [Mana Sense], arriving at the inheritance ground in mere minutes.

He quickly entered, rushing through the initial stages before arriving at the area where the tests or trials were conducted. The area was rather barren and had only a sign fixated into the soil beneath.

The sign read, "Turn back."

But, Arthur naturally ignored it, continuing to tread across the pre-designated path without many obstructions. [Mana Sense] assisted in maintaining his vision within the darkness, and was a valuable addition to his arsenal.

Finally, as he approached a dark wall, something caught his eye.

'An undead…' Arthur muttered internally, realizing what the entity before him was. The scent of death was prominent and sent a shiver down the crimson-eyed man's spine. Undead were tough foes.

The undead's body was akin to that of a zombie, while a few body parts were devoid of flesh, and only contained bones. Its flesh was slightly green, but still contained some of the peachiness of human skin.

'Am I supposed to kill that thing?' Arthur wondered, observing the undead from afar. The entity seemed mindless, controlled by nothing but its undeveloped instincts. It was worse than a broken marionette.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. He found several openings he could abuse, and a few that could instantly be fatal. Not only could he exterminate the undead in barely a few moves, but it also seemed to be the only one of its kind.

The crimson-eyed man unsheathed Skofnung, awakening it instantly. Attempting to test something out, he activated [Searing Gaze], causing his crimson eyes to emanate a stronger aura.

The undead's attention latched onto Arthur, but as the former gazed into the latter's eyes, it froze. Arthur took advantage of that, rushing forward before decapitating the undead with a single motion of his arm.

It was incredibly quick.

Its head fell on the floor, but the undead was not dead. Arthur quickly stepped on its skull, crushing it beneath the weight of his body. Blood spewed in all directions as the crimson-eyed man received his first kill.

[You have slain an undead.]

[Qualification for the inheritance increases slightly.]

Arthur nodded, observing his trait with widened eyes. [Searing Gaze] seemed to be able to freeze those significantly weaker than him, which was an enormous assistance during battles of a larger scale.

Arthur was not certain whether those were its only capabilities, but the trait certainly hadn't disappointed him. More importantly, it could heavily support [Judgment Regeneration], as in order to activate the skill, Arthur needed to touch his foe.

He continued forward, navigating through the tunnels with a calm mind. He simply needed to complete the first part of the inheritance.

Slash! Thud! Slash! Thud! Slash! Thud!

Using his abilities to their full potential and attempting to adjust to them, Arthur decapitated several zombies, traversing at least a few kilometers through the dark tunnels. He finally arrived at a large space.

His surroundings were dry, which was a total contrast to the pool of rushing water he encountered earlier. Using [Mana Sense], he gained insight, and could easily see in the darkness of the caves.

The dark space was filled with zombie-like undead.

'This might take a bit…'

With a boom, Arthur exploded forward, using [Ethereal Glide] as a method of traversing incredibly quickly. Since the movement skill consumed comparatively less mana compared to others, it was beneficial in delaying the deterioration of his mana circuits.

Landing before three undead zombies, Arthur swung Skofnung, decapitating one of them. The other two extended their arms, attempting to rip the crimson-eyed man's skull from within his head.

However, Arthur reacted quickly, ducking down and thrusting Skofnung diagonally, piercing one of the zombies' throats.

Suddenly, a leg flew towards him at terrifying speeds, forcing Arthur to conjure a barrier before him. The barrier shattered in an instant, leaving him vulnerable. As the leg collided with Arthur's chest, his ribs suffered most of the impact, which knocked the wind out of Arthur's lungs for a split second.

As he recovered, a fist approached his face.

'That'll only work once, buddy,' Arthur scoffed internally, parrying the strike with a swift motion of his bare hand before slicing it using Skofnung. The Demonic Blade smiled viciously, absorbing the blood voraciously.

It was black blood, but the sword did not seem to mind.

It could even absorb the aura of death.

[You have slain 3 undead.]

[Qualification for the inheritance increases slightly.]

Arthur smiled deviously at the system message, initiating a massacre. He cut down zombies as if they were fragile trees, absorbing their blood and gaining qualification. The first part of the inheritance was surprisingly easy.

Arthur was almost certain that he could complete the entirety of the first part in a mere day.

Since that was the case, he relaxed. Casually slicing the necks of his opponents, Arthur conserved his energy, making sure not to expend too much stamina or mana, so as to delay the destruction of his circuits.

An hour passed, and the entire space had been cleared out.

Arthur stood in the middle, completely unphased by the carnage around him. With a cold gaze, he allowed Skofnung to absorb the black blood while wiping it off his own body.

He once again commented about [Searing Gaze]'s usefulness, praising the system and himself for having received the trait.

As he continued his travel once again, he encountered more zombies.

However, after a few hours, he saw what made the inheritance almost unclearable.