Arthur could feel it. All of it. His heart beating as if it were about to explode, his blood rushing through every corner of his body, his muscles tensing up and ready to burst. The sweat slowly dripping down his temple, the texture of the sword hilt he desperately grasped, the earth at his feet soft and bloody. He could feel it all.

He could hear them, too. The sounds of anguish, the wails of pain, the sound of blades rending through flesh and bone. They all merged to form a harrowing cacophony, impairing his senses even more than the mist of blood that floated on the battlefield.

This was war.

Not the war of the powerful, who brimmed with Aura and could evaporate their enemies without getting a single drop of blood on their clothes. Not the war of the nobles, who sent orders from thousands of kilometers away. No, not at all.

This was the war of the weak. Like vermin writhing on the ground, the two armies desperately engaged in melee battle, fighting tooth and nail for every inch of territory. There was no storm of Aura in the heavens, nor did the air tremble with power. A single blow did not hit everything within ten meters, let alone kilometers. Even the strongest warrior from each side could be overwhelmed in an instant, dying a dog’s death in this lawless wasteland.

Arthur looked a few tens of meters ahead of him as the world seemed to move in slow motion. Figures from various species met his eyes, roaring in fury to try and hide their eyes filled with terror. The enemies were not covered in pristine armor, nor did they possess powerful weapons. Many were even bare-handed, dressed in nothing but rags. They were not warriors or fighters. They were not soldiers or proper citizens.

They were slaves.

The lowest of the low in the Kingdom of Luweth, the weakest of the multiple species the Kingdom had summoned over the years. However, as he gazed upon them, Arthur did not feel pity or compassion. He had no room to do so. It was because the only thought going through his adrenaline-filled brain was to survive.

With a primal scream to shake off his fear, Arthur charged forward, unwilling to recognize the similarity between himself and his enemies. He was soon followed by his companions. Some were soldiers, others had been nothing but office workers before the Tutorial. Men and women. Humans. Weaklings.

CLANG

Arthur’s sword clashed against the claws of the beastman in front of him. The humanoid dog’s eyes darted from side to side, as if they were surprised at their own ability to block the attack. For a moment, the beastman froze, unsure of what to do now that he had survived the first clash.

Arthur didn’t hesitate. Swinging his sword to the side with all of his strength and pushing the claws away, he hurriedly struck the beastman’s chest with the tip of his sword. For a moment, he encountered some resistance. Gritting his teeth, he poured his weight into the weapon, shattering the bone in its way and reaching the beastman’s heart under the creature’s wide eyes. The organ’s collapse was felt by the youth through his blade. He felt as if he had crushed the heart with his bare hands. Such was the feeling he had. As disgust and self-loathing flashed through his eyes, Arthur pulled back the sword, letting the gushing blood hit his chest. The light in the eyes of the humanoid enemy slowly dimmed as they fell forward. Sidestepping the falling corpse, Arthur quickly raised his sword, placing it against the right side of his body.

BANG

The incoming fist hit the blade like a freight train, pushing it against Arthur’s side and damaging his ribs.

“Ugh!”

He fell to the ground with a grunt, hurriedly trying to scramble to his feet, looking at his attacker with shaking eyes.

‘Shit! It’s an ape!’

The alien, which looked like a mix of a human and a gorilla, roared towards Arthur, displaying its deadly fangs. Ape-type beastmen were uncommon on this battlefield. As for the reason, Arthur didn’t know. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the ironclad principle that had been established ever since this battle began: if a human met an ape-type, they could only accept their fate. The rest of their short life would be better spent praying to whatever god they worshipped.

The beastman charged towards Arthur as the young man steadied himself on his feet. Running with all fours, the alien roared once more before pulling its hand back and clawing at Arthur’s face. As its claws touched the fragile human’s head, the ape’s eyes were filled with glee. This emotion soon turned into confusion.

WHOOSH

Instead of tearing Arthur’s face apart and ripping his head from his neck, the attack simply phased through it as if it did not exist. Caught off-guard, the ape couldn’t help but complete the swing, leaving their side open. As they gazed into Arthur’s cold eyes, the confusion turned into dread.

With shaking hands but a firm expression, Arthur slashed at the beastman’s side, coating his sword with Aura and creating a large gash on their hide. He felt the weapon tear through their skin, ripping apart their muscles and severing blood vessels. The creature screamed in pain before a very faint yellow hue took shape around its body. Seeing this, Arthur hurriedly circulated his Aura throughout his entire body as well.

The reason he hadn’t done so from the beginning was simple. He wasn’t strong enough to keep his Aura activated at all times, constantly empowering him. Neither were his enemies, for that matter. As such, both sides would only use Aura when their lives were in true danger, as a last resort. If their Aura ran out, they would die to some Aura-wielding soldier before the end of the battle. Conservation was key. The fact that the ape had begun to use their Aura meant that they either planned to end the battle quickly or felt that their life was in danger.

The true battle was just beginning.

Both fighters returned to a neutral position, recovering from their blows. Then, they moved at the same time. Arthur’s eyes widened as he barely had time to activate his Personal Attribute before a fist went through the middle of his face, momentarily covering his line of sight. He ducked to the side, trying to regain vision, but the beastman was relentless. It swiped down, phasing through Arthur’s neck and torso.

SLASH

Arthur’s sword dug into the creature’s neck muscles right afterwards, tearing them. Nevertheless, he didn’t manage to sever the creature’s head, as its muscles were too thick. With a bad feeling, he tried to pull the sword out, only to realize that it was stuck. The tensed-up and flexed neck muscles of the ape made it clear that it was done on purpose. With a savage grin, the enemy launched a barrage of blows towards Arthur’s chest. With a cold look, Arthur stepped to the side as the attacks phased through him. His previously stuck sword was moved effortlessly as it was dragged within the range of Isolation. Jumping back, he created some distance between himself and his enemy.

The ape, instead of following his movements, simply stared at him with cautious eyes. Arthur could feel his throat getting dry, his chest moving up and down quickly. The higher the number of attacks he avoided with Isolation was and the stronger those attacks were, the higher the energy consumption. Since every single one of the ape-type beastman’s swipes could pierce through his defenses and kill him outright, the energy consumption had been very high. Even though he hadn’t avoided more than a few blows, he was already feeling tired.

Nonetheless, he couldn’t stop now. He would die if he stopped fighting. Gritting his teeth, Arthur shot forward. The ape immediately reacted with a horizontal claw swipe. As if he had been expecting it, the youth ducked while simultaneously slashing diagonally with his sword. A large but shallow wound appeared on the beastman’s leg as Arthur passed by. Turning his body and trying to face his enemy again as quickly as possible, Arthur was met with the vision of an approaching hand, mere centimeters away from his face. He had no time to react or even think. That did not mean, however, that his Personal Attribute didn’t activate.

The large hand phased through Arthur’s skull as his Attribute automatically activated to protect him. With a frustrated roar, the beastman wildly swung its arms, as if trying to catch Arthur beyond the barrier that separated them. Even though it was unintentional, it was also the best plan to deal with Isolation. Arthur tried stepping back and to the side, but the ape followed him accordingly, dishing out an unceasing barrage of attacks that phased through his body at blinding speeds, as if trying to release all of their frustration. Arthur could feel his endurance fizzle out with every breath, making him grow tired in real-time. With a wildly beating heart, he realized he wouldn’t last ten more seconds if he continued to endure this.

It was then.

With the sound of a blade tearing through flesh, the ape widened their eyes, rotating their body and swinging their left arm. Their attack met its mark. A human figure was flung to the side. Arthur looked at the enemy’s back, which was now turned to him, his gaze zeroing on the two daggers stuck to its back muscles. His eyes trembled before he slashed with his Aura-coated sword, unwilling to lose this opportunity. Trying his best to imitate Alexander, he put the entirety of his weight into the downwards swing, taking advantage of gravity to strengthen the blow. Concentrating his Aura on the edge that would hit the ape instead of throughout the entire blade, he swung down with a primal scream.

Skin and muscles were torn until the sword hit solid bone. The bone slowly cracked, before giving way amidst a storm of blood. Nerves were severed, making the ape howl in agony. It rotated again, but this time its arms found nothing, as Arthur had already stepped back, running towards the figure that had been flung just before.

“David!”

The figure slowly dragged himself to his feet, limping and with his left arm hanging uselessly to the side. David gritted his teeth but couldn’t help but let out a grunt. Arthur approached him, eyeing the ape warily while he did so. Still in shock due to the pain, the enemy wasn’t paying any attention to them. Arthur stood in front of David and, without turning back, started to speak.

“We need to get out of here! Forget your weapons! Come on, let’s go!”

David was silent for a few seconds, making Arthur grow even more anxious. Just as he was about to turn around and face his friend, he heard the teenager’s voice.

“It’s an ape-type. It can catch up to us in no time, and nobody’s going to get in its way to help us.”

David’s voice was surprisingly calm, considering that he’d had a breakdown over almost dying some time ago. Arthur paid no heed to this, however, as he was far more concerned with the genuine worry he could feel sprouting in his heart when he thought of staying and fighting. He wasn’t worried about his own safety, but instead… About David’s? As this realization hit him, Arthur was too shaken up to answer properly. His eyes only focused once more as he noticed David’s stumbling figure making his way towards the ape, as if trying to sneak up on it. The boy’s voice dug into his ears.

“I’ll distract it. Run, Arthur. Don’t look back.”

Pulling another dagger from his last sheath, David took on a stance and stared at the ape, which had now turned to look at them. Still, he couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes. Without thinking twice, Arthur grabbed the boy’s healthy shoulder and pulled him back, making him cry out in surprise. With a trembling voice, he spoke.

“…Stay behind me. We’re doing this together.”

Without giving David any time to protest, he ran at the ape beastman, engaging in a desperate melee struggle once more. From the corner of his eye, he watched David running in a circle, in the direction of the enemy’s back. Trying to hold its attention, Arthur pushed his Aura to its limits, using Isolation without care, dealing as much damage as he could. Even as he felt his muscles scream at him to stop lifting his sword, he did not stop. Even when he witnessed the enemy’s roar of fury as they lost an eye, he did not falter. It was for this single moment.

David’s figure appeared from behind the ape, jumping at their head, his eyes bloodthirsty and decisive. The dagger accurately pierced the skin above the ape’s skull, but then…

…It froze.

In nothing but instants, David’s previously bloodthirsty eyes were filled with nothing but fear and shock. He had failed to pierce through the enemy’s skull.

“AAAAAAH!”

As the beastman began to turn his body and lift his arms, Arthur screamed, making his Aura surge accordingly and thrusting his sword towards the enemy’s throat. Once more, the sword dug into their neck, accurately cutting their throat. Blood gushed, but he protected his eyes with his arm. He knew it wouldn’t be enough. The vitality of an Aura-wielding ape-type beastman was nothing to scoff at. Even with a severed throat, they would still manage to fight properly for no less than ten seconds. There was only one way to finish this battle now.

He gazed deeply into David’s shocked eyes, which were also looking into his. The difference was that Arthur’s eyes, on the other hand, were filled with determination and even trust. They seemed to be screaming, “You can do it!”

Visibly gritting his teeth, David then opened his mouth to release a throat-rending scream. An indigo hue suddenly surrounded his dagger. A moment later, it pierced through the ape’s skull and cut its brain in half. The enemy froze in place before the light in their eyes went out. It collapsed. A worthless death in a worthless place. David’s elated expression was clear to Arthur. He raised his still glowing dagger in Arthur’s direction.

“Arthur! This… Is this…?!”

With complicated emotions in his eyes, Arthur replied.

“Yeah. It’s Aura.”

A wide smile made its way to the teenager’s face. Even as he smiled back, Arthur’s thoughts were a mess. It was naturally because of the things he had felt just moments ago. Even if only for a moment, his desire to protect David and the trust he had put in the boy had both been genuine. He could have run away by himself, yet he didn’t. He decided to stay for David’s sake. He had believed in the boy, trusting that David wouldn’t run away as soon as Arthur engaged the ape in battle again. After all, if David had simply run away as Arthur leaped back into the fray, he would have safely escaped, while Arthur would have perished.

‘No. The amount of trust he put in me is higher.’

David had been the first one to suggest staying behind to delay the ape’s chase. If Arthur had taken up his offer, he would have simply died, as well. Both had trusted the other with their lives. It was a new feeling for Arthur, especially because the other person wasn’t Liam. Still with a complicated look in his eyes, Arthur took David’s extended hand and was pulled to his feet. Even so, he couldn’t help grinning as he looked at the clearly happy expression of the teenager,

In the middle of the battlefield ravaged by humans and beastmen slaves, two men realized their relationship had grown closer without them noticing.