Chapter 82 - Battling One’s Inner Demon
Adrian immediately took distance in order to prepare himself for combat against his doppelganger but was unable to do so because it seems that the doppelganger became faster than him by a little bit. His doppelganger managed to hit him but he managed to barely block it by immediately activating Geoforce and crossing his arms to block the hit. Even though he managed to block the hit from his doppelganger, Adrian was still sent flying and had been damaged by a lot.
You have received 101 damage from your Inner Demon.
Adrian received about a hundred damage which is astounding because a block decreases the damage received by a player to only a quarter of its original damage which means he was supposed to get four hundred damage with his defenses that decreases damage. Adrian suddenly got a chill in his spine and got a premonition that fighting this inner demon was not a walk in the park.
Adrian’s inner demon then used what is similar to Adrian’s ‘Assault Charge’ skill and went hurtling towards Adrian like a comet. Adrian who was still knocked away spread his wings and used the same skill as that of his inner demon. Adrian even used his pair of wings to propel him faster toward his inner demon. The two clashed mid-air and both cancelled each other’s skill but Adrian noticed the difference.
Adrian and his inner demon was both knocked back due to their clash but the former was knocked back farther by about half a meter. Adrian now knew that he lacked in the strength department or more specifically in the status point department. He was lacking in both strength and speed which means the only thing that would separate him from this inner demon would be his way of thinking.
Adrian now had to outsmart a better version of his game avatar since this inner demon seems to be fitted with a special artificial intelligence like his soulbounds. Adrian started the battle once again and his inner demon was surprised because of the sudden change of attitude from its original self or host. Adrian the started a fist fight with his inner demon to check whether the inner demon has specific attack patterns in that sense.
Adrian started with a punch to the gut while his inner demon retaliated with a strike towards his right shoulder. Adrian cleverly used his debuff skill ‘Chrono Lag’ to delay the punch headed towards his right shoulder. The inner demon was going to block Adrian’s strike using its left arm but it was also delayed using the debuff skill Adrian used.
You have dealt 352 physical damage to your Inner Demon.
The inner demon was knocked back a few inches due to the force of Adrian’s blow but with that strike alone Adrian was able to deduce by how much the differences in stats lie since both of them are wearing the same equipment. His inner demon probably has a skill that increases his damage by a variable of 10% or decrease damage by 10%.
Even if 10% might seem a small percentage to some people it was still a game changer that decides whether you win or lose. You might come short on a damage for a boss when both of you are fighting with both of your health bars in the red but you only managed to do a hundred damage and leaving the boss with ten health points left. The boss was able to defeat you because you were a little bit short on the damage you dealt thereby leaving with you the regret of losing because you were only lacking a bit.
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Outside of Adrian’s consciousness, his body was in a meditation position and was floating about a feet above the ground. His soulbounds were spread out and was guarding him especially in the case of Sirius and Kanlaon as they looked imposing guarding Adrian. Adrian looked like a demon god because there was a faint aura surrounding his body that was gray with specks of black in color. The picture looked perfect except that Saena was perched on top of Adrian with a look saying “I am the most beautiful bird in existence”.
There were also some of the Daemos race children trying to play with Adrian’s soulbounds as they thought that Sirius and Kanlaon looked cool. Some of the children already interacted with them during the times Adrian walked by the town square so they do not fear them as much and they also did not go near Adrian who was meditating because of his aura. Some kids tried to come close but they suffered from weakening when they were about two meter near him.
When the patrolling officers spotted what was happening just outside of the city proper, they immediately told the children to go somewhere place else to play since their elder brother over there is having a very important moment in his life. Even the patrolling officers themselves were shocked because they could feel the strong aura surrounding their fellow demon. The aura surrounding the imp that was meditating was fierce unlike his look that he has on him because a cute fat bird was perched on top of his head.
The elders say that the darker the aura surrounding the demon undergoing their personal trial the more it jumps on difficulty. According to the statements of other demons, their trials are different and is dependent on the type of color the aura they spread during meditation. Some take only minutes but some are said to even take days in conquering their first inner demon and the second inner demon is even more egregious than the first one which is why only the elders are the only arch demons in the Paradox Planes. For becoming a Noblesse, it would only be a pipe dream as only the most determined could become an existence that is close to a god.
The patrolling officers warned all the other residents not to disturb the young imp that was undergoing his personal trial as it might derail him of his chance becoming a fully pledge adult. As age does not matter towards the Daemos race as they do not age beyond a point and cannot die due to old age, they determine someone as an adult when they ascend to become a greater demon. A greater demon has a more likely chance in surviving the outside world when they are caught by the other people in this world since they are considered as enemies that must be exterminated at all costs.
Adrian had a vague idea why demons or the five Asmodian races were considered as enemies when the war ended and it was that someone manipulated behind the scenes to make it happen. This idea popped in his head when he listened to Ascalor’s ramble that it was dangerous in the outside world for them since they have been deemed as a must eradicate existence. Alas, Adrian put that idea in the back of his mind since he had a lot on his plate when he thought of that idea and he would never really know that he was so close to the truth but that story is for another time.
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In a certain mountainous area, a woman could be seen in tattered battle armor and had a messy look to her but that did not hide her beauty and elegance from showing. She held a long spear with a tip that was chipped that one could doubt if it could even do damage to an opponent. She had cerulean blue eyes that looked like a sparkling pure lake and gold color hair like that of the mineral itself but was not shining due it being covered in dirt. If any person was to see her they would only say the word beautiful to describe her as she was truly like a goddess descended from the heavens. Her body proportions were perfect for her height that was 175 centimeters and she looked like an international model if people were to guess what her job was if asked. This woman was non-other than the most famous and most powerful female player in the game, Frey.
Frey is considered as one of the top female players not only for her beauty but also for her unyielding battle style. She was given the title ‘War Goddess’ by the Pandemonium community because of her being in the frontlines and slaughtering enemies during a castle siege. She charged towards the front and decimated her enemies using a spear bigger than herself and even mesmerized her enemies because she was seen as if she was dancing with her spear on the battlefield.
She was in Eir Mountain range because of a pre-requisite for her second job class advancement which was ‘Valkyrie’. She must reach the peak of this mountain in the condition that she must not change her equipment or even use potions to heal herself as Valkyries in myths were said to be the most powerful women warriors that could even use a pebble to kill a great monster. She used about a month in real time just to conquer the mountain and she was relieved that she finally conquered it.
She sacrificed not only her epic grade equipment but also five levels which decreased her rankings in the leaderboard but she did not mind those minor details as she was only a few steps away in becoming the first player hopefully to earn a unique second class advancement.𝑖𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ𝘮.𝒎
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