If Arthur was ever to be asked what his most useful ability was in the entirety of the game and what he relied on the most, he would answer instantly without any hesitation that it was his instinct.
That single aspect of the game- even though it had no quantifiable stat to measure it- was by far the most important aspect of a player’s fighting style and even the way they interact with the Divine Realm.
The stronger a player gets, the sharper and wider their senses become as it is directly linked to personal strength. The instincts could do countless things like sensing danger, measuring the strength of an opponent, scanning an area and even giving a new angle to look at things.
It was the player’s third eye that he needed in order to survive and Arthur fully relied on it to save him countless times. After all, his senses were perhaps his strongest side. It gave him an advantage over everything else.
No matter the situation, those senses were always there to unravel the truth and show him what to do. Yet, Arthur had never expected that one day, this very strong power he had would be rendered completely useless.
His strongest eye had been blinded and he didn’t know how to face that change nor did he ever prepare himself for a time when he couldn’t see beyond what his eyes could perceive.
*CLING*
The sound of Arthur’s sword rang in the entire room as the fight continued. But, all of its tides had suddenly shifted in Sloth’s favor. Arthur was put in a completely defensive position as he tried to dodge the rain of attacks coming at him from every single conceivable angle.
Sloth’s teleportation ability made it completely impossible for Arthur to detect where the attacks were coming from. If he felt that the attack might come from the left, Sloth would appear on his right. If he expected a swing, he would face a thrust, and if he thought that Sloth was going to punch, he kicked.
It was as if the man was reading Arthur’s thoughts and doing the exact opposite. Yet, even when Arthur tries to do the exact opposite of what his guts tell him, Sloth ends up doing the opposite again.
In a matter of seconds, Arthur sustained countless attacks, chipping away at his health. He was thrown left and right, smashing against the walls and getting many small cuts across his entire body. The Sharded Skull Armor Set was able to deflect many of these attacks as Arthur infused it with an immense amount of mana.
‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Where is he coming from? I can’t see!’ He thought to himself as he looked left and right in a hurry. Arthur was completely clueless as to what he was supposed to do.
“What? Can’t you deflect any of these attacks?” Sloth asked as he stabbed from behind Arthur, making the boy jump to the side, only to disappear the next moment and appear somewhere else.
*CLING*
“AGH!”
The hit blasted Arthur back, rolling on the ground like a ragdoll as he hit the wall. The hit had knocked the breath out of his lungs and made him gasp desperately for air.
‘God… dammit…’ He thought to himself with wide eyes.
“I can see that your senses have truly been carrying you this entire time. You must’ve thought they would never betray you.” Sloth strolled slowly toward Arthur. “Many make the same mistake you did. They think their senses will always be right and they end up relying on it as their main defense mechanism so why wouldn’t they? After all, it works like magic.”
Rising up slowly, Arthur stared at Sloth silently, his eyes filled with endless anger and coldness. However, the man ignored that look and continued talking.
“They go their entire life thinking this is more than enough. But… They always forget one thing that ends up being the cause of their demise.” Stopping for a moment, Sloth tilted his head a little as a weird, terrifying grin appeared on his face. “People like me exist.”
Arthur felt a chill run down his spine seeing that wicked smile on the man’s face. Those words felt as if they were a knife moving across his neck.
“I can read you. I can read everything in your mind. I know everything you want to do. Your senses could never save you from me. All you can do is anxiously wait for the sword to stab your heart. Hahaha, as I expected, Gifted Ones aren’t all that dangerous. You lot are the same foolish idiots we have here. You will never take control of this city.” Sloth said.
“…”
Arthur stared silently at the man, hearing everything he was saying as clearly as ever. Blood was dripping from his injuries to the ground and he was breathing heavily. Sloth expected an enraged response from Arthur. But, the boy instead remained completely silent.
‘Did he finally give up? It must’ve crushed his excitement seeing how stronger I am.’ He thought to himself as he picked up his sword and held it with both hands. Then, he did something that completely took Sloth by surprise.
Arthur slowly closed his eyes.
“…” Sloth squinted slightly when he saw that. He didn’t understand why the boy had suddenly done that.
‘Is he trying to fight me blind? Does he think that will work?’ Sloth was completely confused as he stared at Arthur for a few seconds. He wasn’t dumb to think that Arthur was simply giving up, the boy definitely had some kind of plan and it could turn out really bad for Sloth if he underestimated it.
Whether he liked it or not, that boy was extremely dangerous and the fact he was that strong at that age made him quite terrified of what he will become in a few years time. His talent was simply monstrous.
‘Whatever he is thinking of… Nothing can make him defeat his own senses. He will end up relying on them and I will end up reading his mind.’ Making up his mind, Sloth vanished again as he charged toward Arthur.
Then, he appeared again behind Arthur stabbed with his sword, hitting his side. The boy groaned audibly as he was pushed to the side.
‘What? He didn’t try to deflect or dodge?’ Sloth felt extremely confused as he appeared behind Arthur again and kicked him forward, making the boy stumble on his feet.
Yet, the boy didn’t seem to attack or defend at all as he stood there as if he froze in time. His eyes closed shut and his sword held with two hands as he kept his fighting stance.
‘Wha the hell is wrong with him?’
Sloth clenched his teeth as he continued attacking Arthur relentlessly, chipping away at his health as it slowly reached a critical state. But, the boy didn’t seem to mind at all as he took everything.
At this point, Sloth was starting to believe the boy had lost his mind from fear. He had never seen such a behavior before. Yet, he still didn’t feel at ease at all and that was why he kept ambushing him instead of delivering that last, killer blow.
He could easily stop and stab Arthur in the neck or face. But, every time he considered that, his senses told him not to even think about it and he didn’t know why. The boy was doing nothing.
At this point, Sloth simply wanted him to move as that would at least tell him the boy was doing something.
But, still, his attack continued and his intensity increased as he stabbed Arthur everywhere. A minute passed and Arthur still didn’t move and the bloody injuries on his body had doubled. He was completely covered in cuts and bruises.
‘He will die. There is nothing else he will do. I guess I overestimated this kid.’ The man thought to himself, feeling a little irritated that Arthur had made him terrified for no reason.
However, at that moment, when he was about to stab Arthur’s neck and end the fight, something unexpected happened. Something that completely took Sloth by surprise.
Arthur’s body moved suddenly, in an explosive manner as his sword turned around and stabbed Sloth, aiming for his face. ‘What?!’
For a moment, Sloth felt as if his entire life flashed before his eyes as he quickly pulled his head back, only letting the sword stab his nose.
The man vanished and appeared a little farther from Arthur, with his hand on his nose.
‘What was that? Was he aiming to finish the fight with a sudden attack? But… At that moment… I couldn’t read his intentions…’
Sloth was making sure he was ready for any sudden attacks and yet, Arthur seemingly moved without any intentions at all. The boy’s sword simply moved on its own.
As he was contemplating what just happened, Arthur turned around slowly and then aimed his sword at Sloth. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes again.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3