475. Types of Skills

“Will this work, Daniel?”

Edithe asked, her lips pursed. The [Hero] paused. He turned to face her and gave her a reassuring look.

“It has to.”

He spoke in an ethereal voice. The redhead couldn’t see his face. But she assumed he had a reassuring look on, just by his words alone. He wore a helmet with its visor down— one crafted from his own white aura.

Daniel stepped forward, clad in this armor. Non-magical. Gifted to him by his own Essence. By a Skill. A [Hero]’s Skill.

“[A Hero’s Rage].”

He whispered. Edithe watched as the blade was coated in the same white aura, before expanding into a giant broadsword. Stepping forward, Daniel came to a halt just before the dome.

Edithe had once heard that a [Hero]’s Skill was quite similar to a Grand Skill. That it was, in fact, very much comparable. But she didn’t know whether it was exaggeration or hyperbole to demonstrate just how great a [Hero] was. After all, there hadn’t actually been any proper analytic comparisons made between a [Hero]’s Skill and a Grand Skill.

[Hero]’s were incredibly rare. And they tended to be rather aloof, too. As much as the Immortal King Alexander and Melissa the Oracle of Light were praised, anyone with a shred of knowledge regarding history was well-aware that both of them had been very much odd— even antisocial— individuals.

Still, at this moment, the redhead cast aside all her doubts. She took off her mask of skepticism and wore the face of belief. She believed that Daniel would be able to rip through the barrier. She hoped that it was enough.

Daniel Song raised the Sword of Alexander high as he yelled, swinging down once. She braced herself. There was a flash of light. A pulse of shimmering energy shot out, nearly knocking Edithe back. But she held her ground, and the shockwave dissipated.

Lowering her hand, Edithe looked up to see the [Hero] draw back. Daniel eyed the barrier where he struck. He blinked, and she saw it too.

There was a crack on the surface of the dome. A tiny crack. But a crack nonetheless.

Daniel glanced back at her, and she nodded.

“Do it again.”

She said as he swung once more.

“What is she doing?”

Helena Warshade glanced back once as she dove down with her nimbus cloud. Orgaf stood at her back. He was looking up towards where the silver-haired girl was flying. She refused to escape, even as both her remaining clones joined them.

“I don’t know what she’s doing. She’s going to get herself killed.”

Orgaf pursed his lips. He wore a worried look on his face. He almost paid no attention to where they were going. Fortunately, Helena did. Her eyes flickered as she made a sharp turn. The Great Tempest Archmage of Mavos Academy commanded her nimbus cloud to swerve to the left as crimson threads cut off her path.

“Do not fall off.”

She warned the Elite [Rogue] as she dodged around the rapidly oncoming crimson web. It was a death zone. Avoiding it all would have been impossible— but somehow, she went through it unscathed.

The Archmage realized that the threads weren’t focused on her. Nor did it come close to either of the Salvos clones. Instead, they flew back up towards the [Archarachne]. Like to defend the Primeval Demon. And altogether, they converged on a single target.

“Salvos…”

Orgaf whispered as he stared at the silver-haired girl. It was the full force of a Primeval Demon’s Grand Skill. Even Helena didn’t think she could survive such fury. And she was higher-leveled than the [Archarachne]. But still, Salvos took the brunt of it all.

The crimson threads wove into the girl. All at once, they crashed into Salvos from all sides. Helena Warshade couldn’t see the silver-haired girl amongst the mass of threads weaving in and out like the threads were trying to sew her open.

Helena Warshade lowered her head as Orgaf looked on with hope in his eyes. She had never seen the Elite [Rogue] act like this. He was typically incredibly brusque, uncaring, and even ostensibly disdainful of others.

But here he was, whispering Salvos’ name, hoping that she escaped from the threads. Helena shook her head.

“She’s dead, Orgaf. We need to focus on how to deal with that [Archarachne] now.”

“She isn’t dead.”

Orgaf replied simply. He raised a hand, whispering.

“Watch.”

“Orgaf—”

Helena started. And paused as there was a flash of light. A blue glow emerged from the coiling threads. There was a crackling of flames— blue sparks wisped outwards as the Archmage could only watch.

Salvos exploded out, surviving the full might of the [Archarachne]’s Grand Skill. The silver-haired girl flew forward, unimpeded by the threads, only focused on her target.

Ribbons of blue flame crackled around her body. Like sparks. A fiery barrier that repelled the crimson threads like they were air. Like they were not even there.

“How did she…?”

The Great Tempest Archmage of Mavos Academy could only gape in surprise. In shock and awe. She was left at a total loss for words. She turned to Orgaf, and he just grinned back at her.

“Told you.”

He shrugged.

“Don’t ask me how she does it, but she does.”

“[My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends].”

It was one of my two Grand Skills, and the only one I currently had available. My Divine Essence was currently on cooldown, so I couldn’t use it right now. If I had both my Grand Skills, I was more than certain that I could easily overwhelm this wild Primeval Demon through sheer brute force.

I dove straight through its crimson threads— the web no longer impeding my movements. It just barreled straight for the [Archarachne] as it hovered there, weaving its web together as the entire design continuously shifted.

“I got you now!”

I yelled right as I reached the wild Primeval Demon. I swung forward with my Divine Nebular Scythe—

And the blade cut through nothing but crimson threads. I blinked, looking up as the [Archarachne] swiftly and easily avoided my attack. It glided through its web with ease, circling around me before whipping down with its sharp legs.

I parried the first swing with my Divine Nebular Scythe, but for the second swing, I simply raised my left hand. The attack halted right before me, as I expected— my invulnerability still holding up. Then a ring appeared in my finger, produced from my [Fragmented Pocket Dimension].

The tip of the ring flashed. A light that seemed to suck in everything around it pulled, tugging at the [Archarachne].

Ring of the Forgotten Prison. I bared my teeth at the wild Primeval Demon as I tried to trap it in the Epic Grade artifact. For a single second, its entire form rippled like it was about to be yanked in.

Then the [Archarachne] pulled itself back. It leapt away from me, escaping the trap as it glided on its web to quickly give itself some distance. I blinked, lowering the ring.

“Huh.”

And right as the words left my mouth, the wild Primeval Demon was next to me again. It swung down with its scythe-like legs, but I took the hit. I was sent flying back as my blue flames sparked around me, protecting me from the attack.

“If that didn’t work, and I can’t hit it, what am I supposed to do?”

I wondered aloud. My Grand Skill wasn’t going to last forever. It probably wasn’t even going to last half an hour. The moment it ended, I was dead. I couldn’t defeat this [Archarachne]— not when trapped in its web of death.

And that wasn’t just it, either. Even now, it was rapidly healing from the damage it had incurred. I closed my eyes as the [Archarachne] caught up to my falling body and swung at me again, knocking me in the opposite direction. It continued to knock me around as I rubbed my chin in thought.

“I need to kill it fast. But I can’t get a hit on it, and I can’t trap it. What should I do?”

I caught myself as I was about to fly into the wild Primeval Demon’s swing again. I dove under the attack, swinging up with my Divine Nebular Scythe. But I missed the [Archarachne], and it easily hopped all around its nest.

“Its threads. If I destroy its threads, it won’t be able to avoid my attacks. How do I do that?”

I asked, and the world answered.

“Salvos!”

Orgaf’s voice called out. I glanced down to see Helena Warshade ascending with the [Rogue] He stood on her nimbus cloud, hurling his daggers up into the air as she sent a bolt of lightning up. The attacks glanced off the wild Primeval Demon as it turned to look down at them.

And that was when I had an idea.

“Destroy the threads!”

I yelled out.

“What?”

He stared at me blankly. I shook my head, flying straight at the wild Primeval Demon.

“Just do it!”

Orgaf and Helena Warshade exchanged a confused glance, but my clones promptly followed my command. They flew up past the two Elite Ranked adventurers, heading straight for the [Archarachne].

The wild Primeval Demon easily knocked me back as Orgaf’s daggers appeared back in his hands. He nodded at Helena, and together, they began to focus their attacks on the crimson threads, cutting down a large section of the web.

The [Archarachne] lost its footing as pieces of threads fell off, leaving nothing but open space for it to stand on. It quickly began weaving more threads to fix its web, but in that brief moment of distraction, my clones flew up next to it. Both of them bared their teeths as they clutched their chests.

“Boom.”

I spoke for them. And they exploded. Their combined blast burned straight through a significant portion of the web, leaving nothing behind. I was caught in the explosion, although it didn’t affect me. And fortunately, both Helena and Orgaf were out of range of the blast.

I looked on as the [Archarachne] fell from the sky with no threads and no web to stand on. Its carapace was burned and partially broken, although it was already regenerating. I grinned.

“Now’s my chance!”

And I charged straight at the wild Primeval Demon. It looked up at me— it realized it was vulnerable. That I was a thread. It raised its legs, trying to weave even more web—

“No you don’t!”

I shouted. And the wild Primeval Demon froze. It fell as its body stiffly curled up into itself, unable to defend from my attack. Finally, I crashed into its underbelly, assailing it with a [Barrage of Cinders] with my Divine Nebular Scythe.

“Take this!”

The [Archarachne] screeched as it regained control of its body. It tried to get away, but I continued flying forward, pushing it as I dove straight through the web. The wild Primeval Demon hissed, striking me with its eight scythe-like legs, but I didn’t move. I continued burrowing through the chitin until I began to see the first vestiges of black blood pouring out.

I raised the Divine Nebular Scythe once again, ignoring the desperate attacks to throw me off. I could already see the broken chitin repairing. I needed something strong— decisive. Something that could finish the wild Primeval Demon off.

We continued falling from the sky, tumbling towards the edge of the dome as I considered my options. I had a vast array of Skills I could choose from. But so many of them weren’t useful or available here. [Manifestation of the Old Gods] couldn’t help here, and while [Radiant Slash] was out of cooldown, it wasn’t enough. Maybe if I still had [Recall Skill], I’d be able to combine both .

I needed something stronger. I needed something that I could use to finish off the injured Primeval Demon right here and now. I raised my Divine Nebular Scythe again—

And I got an idea.

“Just… a little bit… more…”

Daniel huffed as he swung at the dome again and again. He was exhausted. He had put everything he could into breaking through. But even as the cracks continued to creep their way throughout the dome, it didn’t break. It refused to shatter.

Meanwhile, the white aura covering the Sword of Alexander was beginning to fade. Exhaustion was settling in. He was tired. But still, he pushed himself. He swung again, and more cracks appeared on the dome’s surface.

“Daniel…”

Edithe watched him as he continued to pick away at the barrier. The [Hero] wondered why he was pushing himself so hard. His [A Hero’s Rage] should have ended— it usually ended by now. But somehow, he forced it to persist, exhausting his own essence as he tried to break through.

Why was he doing this? Why was he pushing himself to the brink of passing out? It was simple. He was doing it for her. He was doing it for—

And Daniel blinked.

“Salvos…?”

He saw the silver-haired girl tumbling through the dome with the [Archarachne]. They came crashing down, falling straight towards the crack. The [Hero] stared for a moment, before a hand grabbed him from behind. Edithe yanked him to the side, and the two of them managed to roll out of the way in time.

Salvos and the wild Primeval Demon broke straight through the cracked dome, crashing into the ground. The silver-haired girl was mid-swing— her Divine Nebular Scythe wreathed in an iridescent aura. She ran across the giant spider-like Demon’s body, raking her weapon behind her as she screamed.

The [Archarachne] struggled as its body dragged across the white earth, frantically swinging back at her. But its attacks bounced of the silver-haired girl. Salvos forced herself forward, reaching the very top of the wild Primeval Demon’s body. The Divine Nebular Scythe halted— like it was lodged on something. And Salvos leapt up.

With a flourish, she sliced straight through the [Archarachne]’s head, and its entire body split into two. Daniel and Edithe stared as the silver-haired girl landed back on the ground, while the black blood of the Demon’s corpse rained around her.

Salvos whispered with a smirk.

“Divine Radiant Slash!”

The wild Primeval Demon’s body collapsed in two halves, the black blood pooling at the bottom of the crater. It was clearly dead. The dome— the sphere that encased Ertos— began to collapse as its intricate system of webs within dissipated.

Salvos stood back up and hefted her scythe over her shoulder as the last of the black rain fell around her. Iridescent flames wisped off her body like sparks as she raised her head.

And she blinked, looking at Daniel and Edithe. They both gaped at her. At how she defeated the Primeval Demon.

“Oh, hey guys—”

Salvos started. And the iridescent flames turned blue. She tensed up and collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain.

“Ooooooouuuuch. I shouldn’t have done that.”