Looking at the guardian in front of him, Leo took a step back. The silhouette was very menacing and a lot stronger than he expected. Based on the aura he could sense in it, it was at the level of a Middle Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight like him.
He wasn't worried though. It was just that the intimidating appearance of the silhouette that towered over him, as well as the thick bloody aura made him take the fight seriously.
"The only thing I can help you with is tell you about the aura. Be very careful about it. Blood element aura is considered very dangerous because it has a tendency to suck away the blood of its opponents. The minute you are wounded, you gain a huge disadvantage." Nefrati warned him.
"Thanks," he said while charging toward the 7-foot guardian. Compared to it, he was only 5' 7". It was a decent height to be at for a 15-year-old, but it made him look like a dwarf next to his opponent. At least he grew up from his previous malnourished self. If he was still 5' 1", he wouldn't even be able to reach the face of the guardian.
Even though it was seemingly reckless that he was charging toward the guardian, it was actually a better move for him. After all, offense was the best defense. If he tried to stay back and defend the attacks that were going to be thrown at him, there would be a higher chance that he would let one slip through and wound him.
One of the Shadow Blades beside him was flung toward the guardian, who deflected it with its wrist shield. Leo clicked his tongue at that. The shield was going to be very annoying during the fight.
Since it was a compact wrist shield, it would give the silhouette an easy way to block the attacks while not hindering its movements.
After the first blade was blocked, he unleashed the rest of them while forming new ones with his aura. He kept his control over the blocked blade since he couldn't let it dissipate. The most important aspect of the battle was that he would need to maintain the five blades that he had started with.
If he had to create new ones, it would mean a higher aura consumption. For a single fight, it wouldn't matter at all. However, he still had 8 more tiles after the one he was on. If he spent all his aura on the first real tile, he wouldn't even get to the closest treasure. It would be pointless that he even came to the temple.
When the other four blades all swerved toward the guardian from different directions, it unleashed its own aura techniques. A blood-red barrier was formed around parts of its body. Its precision was perfect, deflecting the blades without needing to form an entire barrier.
Leo watched this with a frown. It was going to be harder than he thought. As he was thinking, a spear came shooting toward him. The silhouette had closed the gap between him and tried to attack him.
"Shadow Trail," he dodged the attack while getting to its side. Finally, he noticed the difference between him and the silhouette - speed. It was a lot slower than him. As it turned around, he quickly used the Shadow Trail again to get behind it.
Summoning one of the Shadow Blades, he hurled it at its back.
"Obsidian Blade!"
The blade sliced through the armor, lodging itself into the body of the guardian. He was about to throw another one at it, but it turned around, attacking him with its spear.
While its turning speed was slow, its hands were fast. The spear leaped toward him the minute it completely turned, forcing him to dodge it immediately. However, he had the upper hand in the exchange, since he finally damaged it.
The one aspect of the Obsidian Blade that he never got to use was finally helping him. Once the blade was lodged into the body of the enemy, or even made a small wound, it would steal away the aura of the wounded person.
Now that the blade impacted the guardian, it would slowly build into a larger advantage for him. As he made space, the silhouette released its aura, dissolving the blade. He was now left with the four blades hovering around him.
The spear came swinging down, making him jump up. When he did that, he put himself in a position where he couldn't dodge another attack. Even though the spear was below him, the guardian's left arm was free. A punch was shooting toward him and he couldn't dodge it.
"Clang!"
One of his blades deflected the punch as he landed on top of the spear. He jumped again, landing on top of its head. With a quick maneuver, he got behind it and then went between its legs to get back to its front.
Meanwhile, it thought he would stay behind him and swung its spear to the opposite side. It hit the ground leaving its back free to Leo. Another Obsidian Blade pierced into the guardian's back, this time going even deeper. He had chosen to focus his attacks on its back since the armor was already pierced.
At this point, the damage he had been doing to it was catching up. The movements of the silhouette were slowing down and its attacks had less power between them. But he still had to employ his movement techniques. Any attacks that he tried while facing it were easily blocked by its wrist guard.
After a minute of whittling away its energy, the guardian dropped to its knees. The blades had sucked away a major part of its aura, while the damage he did to it also contributed. When its knees touched the ground, they immediately melted into blood.
The entire silhouette dissolved into a pool of blood and was absorbed by the ground, going back the same way it came.
"That is a creepy way to make a guardian. Do all blood aura techniques use aura like this? It doesn't even look like aura anymore. It just looks like blood," he complained.
"That is what reaching the pinnacle means. The aura seems to be the element itself. You won't even be able to differentiate," Nefrati said. "Good fight, though. You seem very good at it, despite being slightly unpolished. If you have the right training, I think you will be on top of your generation in no time."
He smiled at her compliment. "Thanks. So now I just have to go forward," he said.
As he was about to move forward, Nefrati stopped him.
"Stop. You don't have to go that quickly. Since you properly cleared this tile, you can stay on this tile without a problem. You can use it to rest while preparing for the next one," she said.
"What do you mean properly? Did I not finish the previous tile too?" He asked.
"No, you didn't. You left half way in the middle. Well, no one stays for long in the traps anyway, but it doesn't count as a tile that you have cleared." She explained.
