Crystal Core

Inside the spacious room, two figures clashed and grappled, their movements producing a continuous succession of violent crashes.

A moment later, the corpse of a woman, deathly pale, was sent flying again, crashing heavily to the ground.

Seeing his enemy fall, Arthur didn't take the opportunity to press forward. Instead, he stood his ground, his expression grim.

After a long, drawn-out battle, he was drenched in sweat. His right hand, gripping his sword, trembled faintly, while his left hand clutched the scabbard just as tightly.

His expression was grave. Even as he watched the corpse get sent flying time and again, he didn't dare let his guard down for an instant.

Sure enough, the next moment, the woman's corpse rose again as if nothing had happened. Wounds writhed all over her body, drawing out tiny strands of flesh that stitched the horrifying gashes back together.

Arthur's expression darkened at the sight.

The monster that had been a corpse was bizarre. It was not only immensely strong and fast, but seemed to have boundless stamina. Even now, after fighting for so long, it was still full of energy and hardly looked any different from when the battle began.

Even more terrifying, the creature seemed immortal. No matter how badly it was struck, it healed rapidly. It was nothing like a true living being.

Arthur had never heard of such a bizarre creature, either in his previous life or in the world he had lived in before this one.

The humanoid monster roared again and charged at Arthur. Its wounds had completely healed, leaving not a trace.

Arthur watched the monster before him coldly. He twisted his sword hand slightly, shifting into a more energy-efficient stance, then thrust forward.

The two figures tangled once more, battling fiercely in the cramped space and leaving chaos in their wake.

As for the three locals who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, they were utterly dumbfounded.

The two inhuman monsters were fighting head-on. Every heavy blow shook the room and left a crater one or two meters across in the solid ground.

Arthur was as valiant as the knights celebrated in poetry as he battled the humanoid monster. Every swing of his longsword brought a howling rush of wind and carved deep marks into the surroundings.

To avoid getting caught in their battle, the three had been forced into a small corner of the room, where they watched the two inhuman figures fight from a distance.

"What a powerful warrior! He's actually able to hold a Corpse Spirit at bay head-on!"

Watching the two figures locked in combat in the distance, a feverish glint appeared in the young man's eyes. "So a warrior this terrifying can emerge from among us humans, someone who can stand and fight against even the most dreadful supernatural creatures!"

"He must be a genius from one of the top knight families. I once read similar descriptions in historical records. They say some powerful knights could fight a hundred men on the battlefield. I always thought that was exaggeration and hearsay, but now I see those records were absolutely true!"

Excitement flashed in the woman's eyes as she watched Arthur in the distance, as though she had spotted a priceless treasure.

On the other side, the middle-aged man leading the group felt a hint of worry amid his excitement as he watched the battle.

Of the three, he was the oldest and most observant. Even in his excitement, he hadn't forgotten to study the fight.

From what he saw, Arthur's stamina was steadily diminishing. As time passed, he was gradually losing the upper hand.

No matter how powerful the other man was, he was still human by nature. Though he was strong enough to fight a Corpse Spirit head-on, he was still made of flesh and blood. He could grow thirsty, hungry, and tired.

As the battle dragged on, even the mightiest knight would eventually be worn down and killed by the creature's immortality.

Arthur understood that, of course.

His stamina was rapidly running out. He had started out with an overwhelming advantage, but now he could only keep the creature slightly suppressed.

A ruthless look entered his eyes as he watched the Corpse Spirit and sprang fiercely toward it.

A faint green glow enveloped his sword. The Life Seed inside him was boiling, its Life Energy rapidly pouring into the longsword forged from Black Rui Steel.

Seeing Arthur charge, the Corpse Spirit jerked its head up. Madness and savagery mingled in its eyes, which brimmed with negative emotions.

It didn't dodge or retreat. Instead, it reached out to grab the sword, as if trying to seize it.

A sharp shriek burst from its mouth, like the terrified cry of a woman in her final moments, striking deep into the soul.

A flash of pale green light swept past. The blade struck the outstretched arm and severed it cleanly.

The Corpse Spirit stood motionless, its face blank and grotesque, its body deathly pale.

The lower part of its right arm had been cut off by the sword. A little black blood slowly seeped from the wound.

For the first time during their long battle, the wound didn't heal.

It works!

Seeing the change in his enemy, Arthur felt a rush of relief as his pent-up anxiety eased.

He raised his sword high and rushed forward while the creature stood dazed. Brilliant light flashed across the blade in his right hand.

The Life Seed inside him vibrated rapidly. The Life Energy in his entire body was being drawn out and poured into this one strike.

A pale-green flash of sword light swept across the room. The woman's corpse, which had stood motionless before him, slowly toppled. Its hideous head separated from its body and rolled to one side.

Arthur secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After fighting this long, even his Knight Rank physique was beginning to give out. If the battle had dragged on, he would have had no choice but to activate his Life Seed.

But the price of activating the Life Seed was too high. Arthur didn't want to resort to it unless absolutely necessary.

He turned to look behind him, intending to inspect the corpse on the ground, but suddenly froze at the astonishing sight.

A pale, headless corpse lay motionless on the ground, its appearance somewhat horrifying.

Under Arthur's gaze, the corpse began to change.

Faint light slowly seeped from its body, burning over it like some kind of flame, as if it would consume the corpse entirely.

"Host affected by unknown force. Physical attributes beginning to improve!" The Chip's mechanical voice echoed repeatedly in his mind.

A warm current flowed rapidly through his body, slowly spreading throughout him. Under the influence of some unknown force, his depleted stamina was also recovering, restoring some of his strength.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Faint heartbeats sounded again and again in Arthur's ears. In his heart, the Life Seed seemed to have been affected by something, growing by an imperceptible amount.

When it was all over, Arthur looked at the ground again.

The corpse, once deathly pale, had changed completely. The pale flesh seemed to have been consumed by the flames, leaving only a woman's skeleton lying motionless on the ground.

Arthur frowned at the sight.

He crouched down and carefully examined the bones on the ground.

There wasn't a single mark on them from the fire. They looked as if they had naturally weathered over a long period of time, ancient and undisturbed.

His hand moved slowly over the skeleton, finally stopping below the chest.

There, he felt a very small protrusion.

It was a black crystal, only about the size of a fingernail. A faint light shimmered across its surface, giving it a mysterious appearance.

As he held the crystal, the Chip's familiar voice sounded again in Arthur's mind.

"Unknown energy detected in crystal. Direct use may produce beneficial effects!"