Varian's nerves tensed up, and he got into his fighting posture but realized the Abyssal knights weren't moving.
With a cautious mind, he surveyed the room with his peripheral vision. It was larger than any room in the facility.
The Abyssal knights surrounded the strange altar and guarded it from being smashed by the debris.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The Abyssal Knights waved their weapons and pushed away the falling adamantine blocks from the ceiling.
A Level 2 Awakener had the power to break large chunks of rocks. Adamantine was no rock, it was a top-notch defense material. So they had to exert a lot of strength to even push it away.
'They're protecting the altar.'
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Three Abyssal Knights shot at the blocks of adamantine and secured the aura crystals.
"Ting!" An aura crystal was blasted off and fell at Varian's feet.
Varian saw that even though the Abyssal Knights were glaring at him, they showed no signs of moving in his direction.
The reason?
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
They're protecting the altar and aura crystals.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he picked up the aura crystal. It was a black crystal with an irregular shape. Inside it was a white gaseous substance.
Varian focused and felt something familiar inside the crystal.
Aura.
Aura arrived on earth after Blink. It was present everywhere. All planets, all moons and all space had aura.
Humanity learnt to use the aura and progressed in the Divine paths. Advancing from one level to another had two requirements.
First is fulfilling the requirements of the level itself.
For instance, for Varian to breakthrough from Level 1 Space to Level 2 Space, he'd need to master his current skills: Space Binding and Short Teleportation. This would give him mastery in Level 1.
At the same time, to progress to Level 2, he'd need to "sense" the surrounding space.
Second is aura requirements.
Any Divine Path needs aura. Advancing into a higher level or even progressing in the same level needs aura, and it only increases the higher the level. Usually, all awakeners use the aura in the atmosphere.
But after humanity discovered aura crystals in an accident, they realized it was far more efficient to just absorb aura from aura crystals.
This increased the training speed and let an awakener reach their full potential in a shorter time. But…
'Aura crystals are expensive. Only the rich kids can afford to use them for everyday practice.' Varian sighed inwardly, but his eyes brightened looking at the heaps of aura crystals.
'Since I don't know where the exit is, and these Abyssals are locked by their own duties, it'd be a shame to not make the best use.'
He rushed to the nearby heap and grabbed a handful of aura crystals. He put them into his space ring and continued until it was full.
A big smile was plastered on his face...but it soon froze.
The Abyssal knight that chased him earlier now returned. Its wounds were less severe. Even though he was still injured, he looked far more vigorous. Varian's instincts screamed at him. This enemy was nothing like his former self.
The Abyssal knight rushed at him faster than Varian expected.
'Damn…' Varian cursed his situation.
This time, he wouldn't be able to escape the Abyssal knight. He considered his options.
There were two exits to the room. First was the one which Varian entered through, it had only one narrow path connecting it.
Second was where the majority of Aura crystals were present. The Abyssal knights were guarding that region. Going there would be suicide.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The debris continued to fall. Varian dodged the falling chunks of ceiling, hoping all of it won't collapse at once.
As if answering his prayers or mocking them…
"Creeeak!"
Varian felt the ground under him shake. This facility was inside a hill and for it to shake,… someone or something was shaking up the entire hill.
'I must find a way out!' Varian gritted his teeth and rushed toward the single Abyssal.
Varian didn't know how strong it was compared to its peak, but he surely was not at his peak.
The continuous chase outside and inside the city cost him significant aura. Plus, awakening in Space Path also took aura from his body.
As he dashed at the Abyssal Knight, he glanced at the status:
[Body Path Level 1: 50/100
5.5% Greater Human
Space Path Level 1: 0/100
Space Binding
Low Teleportation]
'That's right! I have two powers.'
"Die!" The Abyssal Knight closed the distance and threw a punch at Varian.
On the narrow path, Varian didn't have much room to dodge. The fist covered in the menacing red armband arrived at his chest in the blink of an eye.
Varian side stepped and barely dodged the attack.
"Shuuu"
The punch cut the wind with a sharp sound.
As he suspected, the Abyssal Knight wasn't at his peak. But even his current strength was significantly higher than a Level 1. Enough to kill Varian.
His red armbands were made of a special material and it gave him the defense to go against the spikes of his gauntlet.
'But this is my only way out.'
Varian shifted his position and punch, the spikes of his gauntlet aiming for his opponent's neck.
The Abyssal punched back. Varian gritted his teeth and retracted his fist in the last second.
"Click"
Despite that, his hand shook, and he almost broke his bones.
'I can't go head to head with my body level'
However, he wouldn't be able to dodge forever. His opponent had a faster speed and Varian's edge in agility was restricted by the narrow location.
He had to fight head on.
'But how?'
The Abyssal dashed ahead and closed the gap between them. Varian could only move back before another punch came for his chest.
'I have to try!' He punched back with full force to connect with the Abyssal knight's fist.
The Abyssal Knight smiled. He knew he won. Even if he was not at his peak, his punch would still break every bone in Varian's arm, and this meant only one thing. Death.
Varian smiled back.
Right before their fists connected, Varian channeled his space power and solidified the space around his gauntlet.
The Abyssal's fist encountered a great resistance but, due to its sheer momentum, it passed through the solidified space and hit Varian's gauntlet.
"Cling!"
The clash of sound echoed in the path, startling even the Abyssal Knights in the room.
Due to the resistance of space, Varian was barely able to take the punch without breaking his arm.
However, he still felt a numbing pain right from his fist straight and up to his shoulder.
Blood dripped from his hand and dyed the floor red.
Varian didn't look tired. In fact, he was delighted in succeeding at applying Space binding to combat.
And one more pleasant surprise.
[Xp + 10
Body Path Level 1: 60/100]
His body path which was stagnant for 5 days, was finally showing progress.
"Even if you are a Dual Awakener..." The Abyssal knight muttered in disbelief.
The application of space binding just now was too subtle and required the perfect timing, else Varian would first slow down the momentum of his own punch.
Varian replied with a punch.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Creaaak!"
The ceiling continued to collapse; the hill continued to shake.
"Boom!"
The adamantine collapsed behind him, blocking Varian from entering the room. Now there was only one way out.
Varian didn't worry much. He was confident in winning the fight as long as he advanced to Level 2 in Body Path.
'Nothing can go wrong, right?'
And it did.
"Boom!"
Three blocks of adamantine dropped onto him, covering the three directions, spare the forward occupied by the Abyssal Knight.
If he was hit by them, he'd die without doubt. He had no choice but to do a move that was considered fatal in a battle.
He jumped and dodged the adamantine.
"Got you!" The Abyssal Knight grinned and appeared in font of Varian in a flash.
Still in midair, Varian had no way to dodge.
Varian could only stare as the grey fists in red armband magnified and about to break his neck.