Chapter 847: The Start of an Unstoppable Chain of Events
Although his sense of perception had been cut in half, Ourami could still sense the sudden emergence of the overwhelming killing intent headed right for him.
"He never planned to use five moves!" Ourami thought to himself when he felt the strong killing intent.
In his current condition, the move Izroth used may not be enough to claim his life; however, it was not something he could casually ignore.
Ourami believed that Izroth never intended to use five moves in this bet. Instead, after using some trick to affect his senses, it was more likely that he used one of his strongest moves right from the beginning to catch him off guard.
Ourami detected the power behind the attack being aimed at him. After doing so, a menacing grin formed on his face.
He immediately concluded that Izroth's current attack did not compare to the domineering energy he displayed earlier. This meant one of two things.
The first was that with little to no ethos, Izroth lacked the energy to use an attack on that scale again.
Another reason could have to do with the strain such a technique placed upon his body.
Even though he did not show it on the surface, Ourami could tell that Izroth was not in perfect condition. After all, even if the attack he just used was strong, the power and speed he showed earlier were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing this further reaffirmed Ourami's thoughts of Izroth's mind being poisoned.
If he was unable to defeat him with his previous strength, what gave him the courage to believe that he was capable of doing so now?
In the end, a wounded dragon was still a dragon. How could it be beaten by a stray dog?
Woosh! Woosh!
Ourami crossed his arms out in front of him to defend against the incoming blow.
At the same time, faint silver energy emerged from the body, releasing a small burst of wind. The wind contained pressure heavy enough to cause the ground beneath Ourami's feet to cave in and give way.
It was not a special technique or some type of defensive ability. Rather, it was from Ourami's natural physique.
However, after breaking through the main layer of his natural physique during their first fight, Ourami's defensive capabilities had been greatly reduced.
«Critical Hit»
-388,780
[+23,327]
The miasma from Izroth's Ruthless Slaughterer: Unbridled Kill Count washed over Ourami.
The moment it did so, Izroth instantly regained the 40% HP he lost as a requirement for activating the skill.
In addition, Izroth managed to land a critical hit on his first blow. However, Izroth did not stop there.
In the following moment, Izroth gained a massive burst of movement speed, which allowed him to instantly shrink the distance between himself and Ourami.
Right when he arrived next to Ourami, Izroth swung his blade out at a terrifying speed. It was to the point that his attack seemed to take place at the exact same time as his movement.
This combination of attack and movement in the same motion came from a skill Izroth learned after being trapped in Aurie's Dream Domain, Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death.
«Critical Hit»
-23,760
+1,426
The damage was not as high as his first attack; however, Izroth's main goal was not the damage itself, but to reach Ourami without giving him any time to react.
BOOM!
Out of nowhere, a heavy force descended onto Izroth's body as though he abruptly stepped into the center of a high-level gravity pocket.
Ourami utilized his Epithet of Force to create a zone within the circle that immensely weighed everything down.
Even those of the Megada ancient race who were known for their abnormal strength and tenacity would find it difficult to stand under this kind of pressure.
"It was never mentioned that I must simply sit back and take your attacks without retaliating. As long as this zone is in place, no matter how fast you are, it is useless. I gave you a chance to beg for mercy, yet you still dared to raise your hand against me. Well, it's fine—since you can still crawl without legs!" Ourami stated as his rage exploded.
Izroth's first attack caused a bizarre wound to appear across Ourami's chest that pulsed with a faint dark red color.
To be wounded in such a manner by someone he viewed as an inferior being—Ourami's anger had returned to full throttle!
Meanwhile, as Ourami was being consumed by his own madness, Izroth was inwardly shocked.
'He didn't avoid it?'
Given the coverage area of his first attack, Izroth knew that unless Ourami stepped outside of the circle, there would be no way for him to avoid it. However, his second attack was different.
It was true that the attack and movement happened in near-perfect sync with Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death, but if anyone could evade it, it should be Ourami!
During his previous battle against Ourami, Izroth did not notice any usage limits to Ourami's precognition skill; therefore, it should not be a cooldown issue. Then, could it be that it had somehow been broken during his battle against Astratis and Tal'Nis? Or, was the second strike simply negligible in his eyes and not worth avoiding?
'No... With his personality, how could he be willing to let himself be struck by an attack twice in a row when there is a chance to avoid it?'
Izroth did not believe that someone like Ourami would intentionally let himself be hit after just receiving a wound on his body.
Initially, Izroth linked Ourami's slowed reaction time to his plainly weakened state. But, what if that was not the entire truth?
'Did something happen with his precognition skill since our last encounter?'
As Izroth pondered over this thought, he did not remain idle.
While Ourami loved listening to himself talk, Izroth took a quick moment to glance over the new skill he received from the system after his perception stat reached 15 points.
As for the pressure from Ourami's Epithet of Force, due to the Earthly Golden Bones from his Heavenly Golden Body, Izroth was able to withstand it without much issue. While his overall speed would certainly be affected, it was not enough to prevent him from taking action.
'This is...'
When Izroth read over the effect of his new skill, he was almost thankful to Ourami for providing him with such an opportunity.
Izroth thought it would be a skill similar to Deep Insight meaning that while it possessed combat potential, it was severely limited in its early stages. But, that was not the case at all for this skill.
Skill Name: Time Dilation
Skill Level: 0.00%
Skill Rank: Unique*
Requirements: Be the first player to achieve a Perception stat of 15 or higher.
Active: The user will perceive everything at [1% to 99%] of its actual speed. The longer this effect is active and the slower the user perceives everything, the greater the burden placed upon them. This burden is lessened the higher the user's skill level. Over usage of this skill can permanently damage one's perception.
Cooldown: None
Special Note: This skill has no direct effect on the user's actual speed or reaction time.
Time Dilation allowed Izroth to perceive things at a portion of their original speed. If it was just 10% or 20% slower, that would already be a huge difference. But, this particular skill let him perceive things at 1% of their true speed—that was a one hundred times difference!
Not to mention, there was not even a cooldown attached to the skill.
But, Izroth was no fool. He knew that there was no way such a miraculous skill could exist without some shortcomings. Even though the effect was game-changing, what stood out most to Izroth was the final line of the active description.
Since the skill did not clarify what was defined as over usage, it was the system's way of telling the player to figure it out themselves.
'Then, shall I test it out?'
〈Battle Alert: You have activated the skill «Time Dilation»!〉
〈Battle Alert: Due to the effects of «Time Dilation», you will now perceive everything at [95%] of its original speed!〉
The instant Izroth activated Time Dilation, everything in his eyes moved slightly slower.
It was only set at 95%, but Izroth could clearly feel the difference with his heightened perception.
Even though the actual speed of everything moving remained unchanged, to Izroth, it was almost like the world began to flow to his will.
As for the burden placed on him, Izroth could feel himself becoming slightly fatigued. But, with the rejuvenating effects of his Ocean Spring Pill and the increased recovery rate from physical irregularities from his Might stat, it was barely noticeable.
Izroth was tempted to test the upper limits of the Time Dilation skill; however, he quickly reined in his curiosity. After all, the risk of permanently damaging his perception was too deep a cost.
BANG!
Ourami threw a swift punch at Izroth as the faint silver energy that encompassed his fist carried with it a destructive momentum.
Zeeeut!
Izroth used a charge of his Enhanced Instantaneous Movement to avoid the punch at the last second. But, he did not go far as he reappeared right behind Ourami.
Simultaneously, an overbearing aura surrounded Izroth's Sword of the Storm as he swept downward at Ourami with a flawless stroke.
Then, without pause, Izroth activated another charge of his Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death. But, instead of moving towards Ourami, Izroth retreated exactly four meters with a huge burst of movement speed.
Upon coming to a halt, a terrifying sword intent left Izroth's blade that unleashed an overwhelming killing intent that drowned out everything in its surroundings.