Chương 226

The cool ocean breeze swept over the rocky shore of the thirteenth island. Rudra sat down on the sand and pulled up his status window. His health and mana were full, but a small golden icon in the corner of his vision was grayed out. His legendary immortality passive was on a strict 24-hour cooldown.

"We are setting up camp for a bit," Rudra told the group.

"I need to rest for some time and my safety net needs to come back online before we hit the last two islands." Chief Thalassa and High Priestess Neria nodded, too exhausted from the Leviathan encounter to argue. Rudra found a quiet spot on the beach, opened his system menu, and logged out. The gaming capsule hissed open. Rudra stretched his stiff neck and climbed out into the dark, quiet room. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a plate of pre-made chicken wraps.

Stuck to the plastic lid was a yellow sticky note in his mother's handwriting. Mom: "You haven't slept properly in three days. Eat these, take a shower, and get a full night's sleep before I unplug that machine." Rudra smiled slightly. He ate the wraps cold, took a quick shower, and crashed onto his bed. He slept for eight solid hours. When he woke up, he didn't rush back into the game. He went through a heavy home workout—push-ups, pull-ups, and core exercises until his stomach burned.

Only after a heavy breakfast did he climb back into the capsule. Welcome to Satisfy. Rudra opened his eyes. Over thirty in-game hours had passed. The beach was peaceful. Neria and Thalassa were sitting by a small fire, happily eating a pair of beautifully roasted fish. Rudra recognized the cut and the seasoning. His clone must have dropped off a fresh meal for the NPCs before its timer ran out.

It seems like when I'm not actively controlling it, the clone just runs on its own AI that matches my thought process, Rudra realized. He had wanted the NPCs fed, so the clone simply did it and vanished. Kratos was nearby, casually crunching on a massive fish bone. The grayed-out icon in Rudra's vision suddenly flashed gold. His immortality was back online.

"Alright," Rudra said, cracking his knuckles.

"Let's get moving." They rowed the boat through the dark waters until they hit the fourteenth island. The environment here was completely different. The shoreline was covered in sharp, calcified white coral. Rudra stepped off the boat, his heavy boots crunching on the coral. Kratos took one step, felt the sharp edges poke his paws, and immediately retreated back into the boat with a huff.

"I'll handle this one," Rudra laughed. He walked up the jagged path alone. [You have entered the Fourteenth Trial of the Orca Archipelago!] There was no roof on this temple. It was an open-air colosseum built entirely out of jagged white coral. Standing dead center in the arena was a towering figure. It wasn't a monster. It was a ghost. The ethereal warrior wore heavy, ancient plate armor. He held a massive tower shield in his left hand and a heavy broadsword in his right. [The Iron Bulwark, Kaelen (Lv. 465)] [Kaelen stands as the guardian of the fourteenth trial. His defense can never be broken.] [Be acknowledged by him to pass this trial!] The ghost didn't speak. It just raised its massive shield and settled into a heavy, grounded stance. Rudra dashed forward. [Avalanche]. He brought Extortion down in a heavy overhead smash. CLANG. Kaelen didn't just block it. The ghost perfectly angled his tower shield, deflecting the heavy dark metal to the side and shifting his weight to push back. It was a perfect counter.

The sudden deflection completely ruined Rudra's rhythm. His [Saint's Momentum] immediately reset to zero. The ghost stepped forward and thrust his broadsword. Rudra pulled his staff back to block the heavy blade. BANG. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Rudra's boots slid backward on the coral. Something was wrong. His staff had successfully stopped the sword, but a violent shockwave traveled straight through the metal, up his arms, and directly into his chest.

[You have suffered 28, 000 internal damage!] Rudra coughed. He had blocked the attack perfectly, but the force completely bypassed his physical armor. Kaelen didn't pause. The ghost pushed forward, bashing his tower shield directly into Rudra's guard. Another shockwave blasted through the staff, rattling Rudra's internal organs.

"Okay, that hurts," Rudra grunted, using [Abyssal Step] to kick backward into the air and gain some distance. He couldn't rely on his raw stats here. No matter how much he swung in the paths his [Super Sensitivity] was choosing, Kaelen's perfect counters shut down his combo mechanics entirely. Rudra's eyes flared with bright light. [Legendary Sage's Eyes]. He rushed back in, engaging the ghost in a rapid, brutal exchange. He swung, Kaelen countered. Kaelen slashed, Rudra blocked and took internal damage.

While he fought to survive, his glowing eyes constantly scanned the ghost's movements, dissecting the exact flow of mana traveling through the heavy broadsword and shield. Five minutes into the grueling brawl, a golden prompt appeared. [Your understanding of the target's skill has reached 100%!] [You have acquired the skill: [Shatter Point]!] [You have learnt a Unique-rated knowledge!] [All Stats +3] [Wisdom +5] [Shatter Point (Lv. 1)] [Passive] [Rating: Unique] [Your strikes carry a heavy blunt force. - Attacks against a blocking target deal 30% of the damage as internal shockwave damage bypassing the user's defences] Rudra smiled, wiping a drop of sweat from his chin.

"Thanks for the lesson." He gripped Extortion tightly. His [Physical Manifestation] passive worked overtime, ensuring his staff would directly impact the ethereal ghost's body with full force. He charged again. Kaelen raised his shield, expecting another easy counter. [Avalanche]. Rudra slammed the dark metal staff right into the center of the tower shield. This time, the sound was different. A deep, heavy BOOM echoed through the coral arena. Kaelen's block held, but [Shatter Point] triggered.

A visible ripple of shockwave damage passed straight through the shield and blasted into the ghost's chest. Kaelen staggered backward, his perfect stance breaking for just a fraction of a second. That was all Rudra needed. Because the counter wasn't perfect anymore, [Saint's Momentum] stayed active. Rudra spun the recoil and swung again. BOOM. Another internal shockwave. Kaelen tried to swing his sword, but Rudra's swing speed was accelerating. [Avalanche] stacked. His momentum ticked up by 5%, then 10%, then 20%.

He became a blur of dark metal and compressed air. Every time the ghost tried to raise his shield, Rudra battered it. The internal shockwaves kept ripping through the ghost's armor, chunking away at his massive health pool.

"Break," Rudra commanded. He triggered [Manifestation of Will]. He poured his sheer willpower directly into the staff, ignoring all resistance, and brought it down in a crushing overhead strike. The staff smashed into the tower shield. CRACK. The ethereal shield shattered into a million pieces of glowing light. The heavy blow carried straight through, crashing into Kaelen's chest. The ghost of the Iron Bulwark froze. He looked down at his shattered armor, then looked up at Rudra.

The ghost slowly bowed his head in deep acknowledgment of the strike before dissolving completely into the wind. [You have defeated the Iron Bulwark, Kaelen!] [You have gained experience!] [You have leveled up!] [You have cleared the Fourteenth Trial.] [You have exceeded the limits of the trial by completely shattering the guardian's absolute defense and earning his ultimate acknowledgment!] [Reward: All Stats +20] Rudra exhaled a long, heavy breath and let his staff rest on his shoulder.

Suddenly, the rune carved into his hand burned hot. [The Rune of Analysis has reacted to the defeat of a Named NPC!] [Analyzing the target's ultimate defensive combat art...] [You have created a new skill!] Rudra opened his menu and read the text. [Complete Counter] [The ultimate evolution of absolute defense. - Allows the user to perfectly parry or deflect exactly one incoming physical or magical skill. - The deflected skill is immediately redirected back at the attacker with 100% of its original power. - Using this skill flawlessly maintains your current stance. It will not break or reset your ongoing momentum mechanics. - Resource Consumption: 1, 000 Mana, 100 Staff Energy. - Skill Cooldown: 10 Minutes.] Rudra stared at the blue window. This was completely broken. Not only could he bounce an attack right back at an enemy, but it wouldn't even interrupt his [Saint's Momentum] chain. He closed the window and turned around. He walked back down the jagged coral path toward the boat.

Chief Thalassa, Neria, and Kratos were waiting for him.

"Did you clear it?" Thalassa asked, standing up quickly.

"What was inside?"

"It was a ghost," Rudra said, climbing back into the boat.

"A guy in heavy plate armor. He had a massive tower shield and a broadsword. He was able to counter or block every single one of my attacks till I finally managed to learn his skill." Thalassa gasped, his eyes going wide.

"A tower shield who was an expert in countering? It must be the Champion Kaelen."

"You know him?" Rudra asked.

"Every child in Seabreak Town knows the stories," Thalassa said softly, looking toward the coral colosseum.

"Five hundred years ago, a warrior named Kaelen passed all fifteen trials and became the Champion. They say when he finally died of old age, his soul returned to the archipelago to guard the path for the next generation. He was said to be only one step away from becoming a legend." Rudra looked out across the dark, still water toward the final horizon. He had one monster down. He was about to face another who would probably be even more tough than the last one but Rudra wasn't worried.

"Only one left," Rudra said.

"Let's finish this."