CHAPTER 85: VISIBLE RISKS

Glowing wings hung behind him as he covered the entire sky with feathers of golden light, pure like a newborn’s first cries that birth a fairy.

He hovered there, suspended in brilliance, while the arena trembled beneath the weight of what was about to unfold.

The opponent, mechanical and calculating, stared with flickering eyes and humming processors, staring at him with its deep red eyes, the processing units still analysing the things that were happening around the arena.

On one side was the young man with the wings of light, a halo on his head, and on the other side was the Lady with glowing purple eyes, her hair floating, her entire body covered in a powerful Mana force.

There was a gem floating before her one stretched out palm, a few of her black hair turned silver.

On the other side from the two stood a single small bird, a creature that didn’t have individual battle prowess, however, with the help of an artifact gun that channeled environmental energy into an offensive attack, she was a threat just as big as the rest of them.

The battle had gone on for half a day.

They had used all the means, all the tactics, all the weapons in their arsenal against this being, and yet, what they achieved at the end was laughably pitiful.

[Durability: 2,999,910/3,000,000.]

90 points of durability. That was all.

That was all the two of them, along with unity’s help, even while using the items they were saving for something more serious, were able to achieve.

They had done everything they could. They had poured everything they had into this battle.

KiRA was using his final skill, he had poured out everything in that one attack.

The skill was conditional, yet through the use of his Authority, he was able to use it in that moment, against this mech Crabby, the threat unlike anything he had ever faced.

Izzy was using her unique skills to the fullest to help him with that one attack. The energy that they had poured into it was the last bit of what they had left in them.

They had used potions and magic scrolls throughout the battle, and yet the results were nothing satisfactory.

"Aghhhhh!"

Still, KiRA had a smile on his face right now. A smile on a blackened face covered in cuts and bruises.

Many bones in his body were shattered and he knew if he did not stop at this point, the energy channels throughout his body would explode!

-Oooooooooooooooong!

He knew the risks, and still gave everything he had, learning in the process just how weak he still was...

But that did not mean he was upset.

{ "Ding!" }

{ "Danger to a vulnerable area detected. Deploying shields." }

As all the feathers of light landed on the now shielded part of the mecha, as the wings of light vanished and he fell to the ground, there was a smile of absolute content on his face.

-Booooooooooooom!

The attack was a total failure. Every single but of those energy attacks were blocked by the strange hexagonal red protective shields that appeared around the vulnerable parts.

There was no damage. There was no reduction to the existing durability.

The enemy was still the same... However, both KiRA and Izzy were now on the ground, defeated, exhausted, and smiling like fools.

They knew they would die if they stayed there any longer. The battle may be over from their side, but it wasn’t over from the side of the opponent.

{ "Recalibrating..." }

The attacks resumed immediately and another set of missiles were ready to be launched.

Crabby wasn’t done training the two. There was still some more it wanted to teach them, so the weapons were prepared.

[{ "Damn we’re weak." }]

However, just before the mecha Crab launched the attack, both Izzy and KiRA raised their white flags— Actual white flags that they had been carrying with them since the start.

{ "Ding!" }

{ "Surrender detected." }

{ "Force Stopping training mode. Calculating progress..." }

The projectile weapons were all shut down and retracted. Crabby put them back and as the red light in its eyes returned to a calmer blue one, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

[{ "Come here... what are you doing all the way there." }]

The two of them stayed there on the ground, utterly exhausted and without any energy to even move.

But she still wanted him there, beside her. Being alone like that wasn’t fun at all.

[{ "I can’t move even if I wanted to. I can’t even speak... I broke a few ribs so I don’t think I can roll over there either." }]

Blood continued seeping out from the small wounds and the bruises needed some attention as well. But he could not even move his hands to produce some healing potion from his arm guards.

He just stayed there, maintaining his consciousness so that he doesn’t pass out.

[{ "This training method is too risky, Kai. How will the other guild members face this?" }]

The main reason they wanted to keep this place hidden was to turn it into a guild specific training ground.

There was no better training method than practical experience, and experience where they were risking their lives was the most precious.

[{ "The risks are obvious, I know. But there’s something that makes all of this worth it." }]

KiRA waited for Crabby’s calculations to finish while looking up at the bright ceiling covered in the glowing stones.

Each of these big chunks of crystals were worth around 2000 IX and if he could mine even a fourth of the supply present here, he would have more than a few hundred million coins in hand.

It would take time, but he had more than enough time to renovate this place.

And the crystals weren’t the only precious thing here.

{ "Progress rank: Gold." }

{ "Challengers will now be rewarded for their hard work." }

Crabby had access to a special storage space filled with all kinds of things. It was a very special ancient relic that contained items from old times for those who trained under it.

The relic rewarded those who suffered thanks to it fairley. Defeating it meant losing access to the storage that it used.

And there were simply too many good things in that storage for him to lose it just like that.

{ "Secondary reward: Partial recovery." }

{ "Primary reward: Enhancement box." }

{ "Rewards will be given to the challengers..." }

A smaller crab like mecha flew from the bigger floating AI and landed right before the two of them.

-Oooooooooooong!

With a healing light much stronger than the potions, something comparable to the healing of the priest, the mini-crabs healed the two of them enough for them to at least move around.

They weren’t in a fatal condition anymore. However, they were still hurt badly.

{ "Entering healing mode." }

After the mini-crab returned to the main body, the two of them watched as the 90 points of durability that they had taken off after their hours of battles was healed away in a matter of seconds.

Crabby was back to its top condition, however, both of them were moved out of the arena platform by the mini-crabs, meaning stepping back up there would mean another battle.

"Phew. Now that... is what I call training."

He was happy. Not just with the outcome and her new knowledge, but also with the rewards that they ended up receiving.

"You just love gacha, dummy. And don’t even call that thing training!"

The two of them almost died.

It could have been pretty dangerous, but thankfully, they were alive.

And now that they knew about the actual and visible risks, they were ready to plan the training methods with this relic for their future guild parties...