Chapter 181: [181] Braving The Storm

Ark heard his armour groan from the impact, parts of the alloy caving inwards.

His momentum had not even ceased when two clones appeared by his sides. He had heard them, but—

Stab!

He was not fast enough to react.

Mana defence activated at both locations. The amber shield was split apart, but the armour stopped the attack, just before a third clone charged and plunged her sword into his chest.

Ark hissed, feeling red dust rush out of his wound.

Cleopatra tried to pull away her weapon, but he held the blade firmly, keeping it where it was.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Ark could sense two others coming from behind him—

Cleopatra tried harder, the sword groaning between his fingers, only for steel webs to wrap around her back, and tug her forward.

Her eyes went wide.

"What are you—?!"

The other clones swung to slice the webs, but Ark tugged with all his strength, sending her flying and crashing into the two clones that had been approaching from behind him.

He immediately turned his attention back to those in front of him. Just in time to see a whispering blade.

CLANG!!

Ark blocked with his gauntlet, the force of the strike ripping deep into the piece of armour. Cleopatra Two slashed out at his abdomen, but he blocked with his scythe.

He spun the weapon and brought it down into the shoulder of the clone, sending her to her knees, even if for a brief moment.

The scythe spun around his body as he blocked an attack from behind him, leaning back underneath another attack.

Swords came flying from every direction, Ark was actively being pushed back, weapons digging into his body in different areas.

Fighting just one version of her would have been hard enough, and now he had to fight five!

Bang!

Ark took two steps back as a sword sliced past his eyes. Another clone was behind him, forcing him to move forward—

And then one clone launched the other into the air, the woman bringing down her blade with gravity intensifying her strike.

Clang!

Ark’s knees trembled, and worse of all, defending against the attack had left him open. The four clones around him stabbed their blades, leaving no room to escape.

[Phase].

One second. That was all he had. His body fizzled into nothingness as he swiftly escaped the attack.

"Have you now learned witchcraft?!" Cleopatra roared.

Ark appeared at her back, causing her to still. She immediately spun, only to receive a resounding blow to the face, sending her helmet cascading into the air.

The other clones hurriedly moved to intervene, but Ark grabbed her arms with strings and pulled her towards himself—

Slash!

The scythe cleaved right through metal, flesh and bones, spilling blood onto the marble floor. The clone crumpled to her feet, just before burning into ash. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Ark could see pain flash in the eyes of the other clones. It was almost as if the attack had slowed down their movements for a while.

"One down—-"

Before he could finish his sentence, they launched another barrage of attacks, this one far more vicious than the last.

Ark blocked two strikes, then immediately turned around to block the third, phased through the fourth, only to be caught by a kick that sent a jolt through his entire body.

He was launched to the other side of the room, his body pounding into the wall. Dust billowed into the air.

Cleopatra walked through the dust with a maddening smirk twisting her face.

"Have your days of bedding my sister made you weak? Answer me, ARK!"

Ark felt that a few of his ribs had been cracked by that kick. She had poured her aura into it, and even caved his A-Ranked armour in the process...

A bright, ashy-white fire began to glow within the dust as he slowly rose to his feet.

"You know... I think I know why your sister hated you."

With a wave of his hand, the dust cleared, revealing Ark with a gargantuan fireball floating atop his fingers.

"You’re one violent bitch."

VWOOOOOSH!!

Ark let the spell run wild. The entire room trembled as the fire ball ate through everything in its path. The room grew steaming hot, the walls ignited by the fire.

Cleopatra walked towards the fire, her armour clicking with each step, her long pony tail bouncing behind her. Her aura flared as she lifted her long sword and raised it into the air.

"Ah yes... violent! That was all I have ever been good at!"

’Is she going to—?’

Swish!

The air seemed to split apart. Ark immediately jumped to the side as a large, golden slash tore right through his flames, before slicing right through the wall at his back.

"Are you serious?!" She cut through Destructive Flames as though she was splitting air!

The clones charge forward and Ark pointed his hands at them, firing smaller balls of [Destructive Flames], but they cleaved through them all the same.

Even when he manipulated the trajectory of one of the fireballs, a clone spun around in time to cleave it.

"Alright, not bad!" Ark chuckled. Black lightning curved around his fingers, the air around him burned with currents, and the light in the room seemed to dim—

"What about this?!"

Tzzz!

"Enough with these tricks!" The closest clone tossed her sword right at the lightning bolt!

Bang!

The sword was flung to the side, and lightning ripped right through her head, leaving nothing but a smouldering spot where a head should have been.

The momentum of her attack drove the lifeless body forward, and just as it arrived, Ark delivered a round house kick that caved in her chest plate, sending the body flying back the way she had come.

He swung his scythe at the next clone. She blocked the attack, their weapons bouncing against each other, then she reached for his face with rage in her eyes.

Her fingers slipped right through his head as he vanished, and then he grabbed her arm, flipping her over his head and slamming her down hard.

"Kek!" Saliva spewed out of her mouth as the ground cracked underneath her body.

Ark raised his foot to stomp her head to mush—

Swish!

The third clone arrived, swinging upwards, tearing through his foot armour, and slicing off a few of his bony toes.

Ark staggered back a few steps, as more attacks came, each one dangerously close to his neck.

His scythe was sent flying out of his hands the moment the third clone joined the battle, and then two weapons plunged right into his abdomen region.

Now it was his turn to gasp.

"Keh—!"

[Ark’s health is at 50%! All stats will be affected!]

"Just die already, bastard!" Cleopatra’s sword moved so fast that it seemed to distort in the wind.

But dark laughter slipped from beneath Ark’s teeth. "If you want me to die, then you will have to take my head, my love!"

"Release!"

Bang!

A pulse of kinetic energy suddenly exploded out of his armour, sending both the sword and the two clones flying back.

"Shit!" Ark hissed, finally having a short moment of reprieve. "It looks like I will have to pull out the big guns..."

Ark sparingly used his S-Rank skills because they ate through his mana like a void.

The tutorial was not the type of place where he could afford to run out of mana. But he was running out of options.

He felt completely exhausted, his body was aching all over from having to fight five mad women. But there was no time to rest—

Colours burned in his vision. He tried to immediately dodge, but the wall was right behind him.

Clasp!

Another clone grabbed him by the face, her white hair fluttering in the wind as Ark met her demented gaze.

In the corner of his vision, he saw all the other clones vanish, and the strength between her fingers increased as all energy returned back to the source, magnifying her strength.

Bang!

Cleopatra slammed his head right into the wall, just before caving his body with a kick that sent him through it, into a dimension that was not meant to be part of the tower—

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