LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 73: Plan Successful!
Recovering from 'death', Aurelianne felt mentally drained.
Although she hadn't actually died, for some reason, every time she was teleported back to the starting point, she felt as if she had 'died' once.
It was as if mocking her failure.
Aurelianne didn't want to fail.
She began to quietly contemplate.
Each time after 'dying', everything would start over.
Her condition would be restored, and the monster before her would also have its strength replenished by the teacher.
It was as if telling her:
'You must defeat it in one go.'
This was a test.
Aurelianne told herself this.
She rallied once more, drawing magic formations from her body, casting various weak enhancement spells on herself while the demon was restrained.
The moment the demon charged, she released the black mist again...
Viktor, concealed in the sky, watched all of this.
Whenever the boss was about to deal a potentially fatal blow to Aurelianne, he would use teleportation magic to send them both back to the starting point.
Incidentally restoring the Forest Demon and Aurelianne to full health.
He never tired of this.
Vega looked down at the scene below. When the blue light flashed, Aurelianne and the Forest Demon were once again teleported back to their original positions. It couldn't help but comment:
"Does she have a grudge against you? You're torturing her like this."
"Although it's quite interesting."
After all, Vega had never seen such a 'novel' battle scene before.
The powerful monster could never kill the enemy, while the enemy repeatedly revived, challenging it over and over again.
It was like a playful game.
But Vega didn't think this approach was useful.
Strong individuals are forged through constant battles with equals.
The gap between this monster and the princess was simply too great; Aurelianne could never kill it.
Unless she could reach Viktor's level of abnormality.
Thinking of how Viktor had battled Calamity for three days and nights, only getting injured once, Vega found it hard to comprehend.
If even Calamity could be completely understood by him, what couldn't Viktor do?
Viktor, as if seeing through its thoughts, spoke in a detached tone:
"You asked me before why, as a mage, I still have such exquisite close combat skills."
Vega was slightly stunned, looking at Viktor.
Though his expression remained coldly impassive, there was an indescribable nostalgia in his eyes.
"I, too, engaged in endless combat in an environment similar to this."
"Once, twice, dozens of times, hundreds of times... even thousands of times."
"Fail once, start over from the beginning."
Viktor's gaze gradually became intense. In his words, Vega seemed to see an epic scene.
A sky-obscuring giant dragon floated in the air above. Viktor could only look at the mighty beast, embodying both power and pressure.
Its left claw held a thunder spear, its right claw gripped a wheel ring, and its other two giant claws cradled a massive thunder drum.
It was an apocalyptic scene. Beneath the floating, shattered islands was a dark, surging sea of corruption, constantly forming all-consuming whirlpools. The sky above was devoid of any rosy glow, a stifling, oppressive atmosphere filling Viktor's lungs.
In his hand, he held only a silver blade, the Pure Light Sword left behind by the previous hero who had slain tens of thousands of magical beasts. But beneath that giant dragon, its feeble light seemed so small, so fragile.
All around were endless flames spontaneously ignited by lightning striking the rocks, capable of completely annihilating Viktor with just one hit.
Once failed, start over from the beginning.
Die, stand up, die, stand up.
Endless repetition.
Finally, he stood atop the giant beast's head, severing its head with his blade.
He won, but at a terrible cost.
Vega couldn't understand.
In such a lopsided battle, why would anyone keep repeating it?
Even with only a one in ten thousand chance of victory, they still charged forward like moths to a flame.
"... Don't you get tired?"
Countless deaths, countless falls, all for one hard-earned victory.
What was the point of doing this?
"Tired?"
Viktor suddenly smiled.
It was the first time he had shown such a smile, as if it was a relief, or as if he had found his long-lost self in such a scene.
"You only need to win once, that's all."
Suddenly, Vega's eye caught sight of Aurelianne below.
A red light glowed in her hand, a wispy red flame appearing on her palm.
Almost pressed against the boss's body, Aurelianne struck hard on the monster's form.
For the first time, the Forest Demon let out a painful howl!
It angrily lashed out with a chain entwined with thick vines, sweeping Aurelianne away with one hit.
Aurelianne seemed prepared, one hand glowing with intense light to block this attack.
"I did it!"
She had just shown joy at her success, but the demon's giant claw came swooping towards her body.
Whoosh!
A blue light flashed, and she and the monster were back at the starting point.
Aurelianne was dazed, looking at the number on the ground.
"11".
The eleventh failure made Aurelianne feel somewhat defeated.
She had become complacent after landing just one hit on the opponent.
This shouldn't be.
Feeling her body's magic recover, the monster's injuries also fully healed.
Another round of battle began.
She stubbornly bit her lip, assuming a fighting stance.
"Continue!"
"12".
"Continue!"
"20".
"Con...tinue!"
"30".
"40".
"50".
Who knows how much time had passed.
The number kept updating, death scene after death scene, yet it left Vega somewhat shocked.
"Why?"
She was still persisting, as if she absolutely had to defeat the opponent.
From barely lasting ten seconds at the start, to now lasting longer and longer each time.
It was as if she was constantly getting used to the opponent's attack patterns and methods.
On the sixtieth attempt, the Forest Demon's injuries became more and more apparent. It was panting heavily, with a hint of retreat in its eyes.
Even though the opponent was as weak as a worm, why couldn't it kill her?
The demon's intelligence wasn't capable of higher-level thinking.
"Is she going to win?"
Vega's voice held a hint of surprise.
However, Viktor calmly said,
"The closer you get to the end, the more you can't relax."
Sure enough, from Viktor's perspective, the demon's health was nearly depleted.
Just two more effective hits were needed.
The Forest Demon would die.
But the demon's inclination to retreat made Aurelianne sense an opportunity. In her eagerness, she rushed forward, completely forgetting that...
The Forest Demon was always faster than her.
Its lunge missed Aurelianne, but the spiked chain in its hand was already poised to strike.
One thrust, and Aurelianne 'died' again.
But as long as Viktor was there, it was destined never to kill Aurelianne.
Once more, a teleportation spell swapped their positions, magic mutually restoring their health.
"61".
This time, Aurelianne's mood was near collapse.
She had been so close.
Yet the enemy seemed forever unbeatable.
Her body's injuries had healed, but mentally, she was almost at her limit.
Suddenly, Aurelianne remembered what Viktor had said at the beginning.
'Should I... give up?'
The stubborn Aurelianne never wanted to give up.
She raised her hand, as the Forest Demon lunged at her, a magic formation lit up.
The enraged demon pounced on her, crushing countless tree branches, but when it looked up, it had only caught empty air. There was just some fine ice dust on the withered branches.
[First-tier Magic: Ice Clone]
It was an almost perfectly timed dodge, followed immediately by her fire magic...
In the sky, Vega watched the scene below.
For the first time, it sensed 'an even match' in Aurelianne's battle.
Though she hadn't become much more agile, it was as if she had completely adapted to the opponent's attack patterns.
Her steps were steady, anticipating the boss's moves.
Dodge, then strike.
One hit and done, never greedy, quickly retreating.
Perfect battle rhythm.
Finally, under Aurelianne's magic harassment that was like a pesky fly, the demon completely lost its reason. It flipped over onto the dense forest and began to roll and jump continuously.
Aurelianne was forced to retreat, waiting for an opportunity.
Under the demon's indiscriminate rolling, it kept moving towards the direction Aurelianne had retreated.
Aurelianne knew this was the best moment.
[Second-tier Magic: Fire Scatter Shot]
In an instant, red formations began to form continuously in the air.
Although this was second-tier magic, it required simultaneously constructing many fire bullets in the air to concentrate the attack and achieve extra effectiveness.
For Aurelianne, this was the most effective way to strike.
But its preparation time was also excruciatingly long.
Soon, countless patterns began to intertwine, the patterns between several formations starting to connect.
The moment the formation was complete, countless fire bullets flew towards the demon.
Boom!
Instantly, dust and smoke rose!
The demon also stopped its useless rolling, continuously throwing rocks and dead wood at Aurelianne, its giant chain also constantly swinging towards her.
These attacks, all seen many times before, were easily dodged by Aurelianne, countering each move.
At this moment, it was the twentieth minute of their fierce battle.
"This is the longest she has persisted," Vega said in surprise.
But suddenly, a series of footsteps outside the barrier caught Vega's attention.
Looking through the white mist, it saw the Royal Knights, with Gwen at the forefront.
And the princess's royal guard was there too.
How did they find their way here?
Could it be?
Vega suddenly had a guess.
Countless people rushed through the white mist, and at this moment, everyone saw the scene before them.
The huge monster broke through the thick smoke, carrying fine ice crystals, its body burning with fierce flames.
Like a giant flaming meteor, it rushed towards Aurelianne.
"Princess!"
Everyone was stunned in place; at this distance, they couldn't possibly save the princess in time.
Gwen dismounted and drew her sword, ready to rush in front of the princess to protect her with her body, but then...
Aurelianne raised her hand, a magic formation covering her left arm.
[First-tier Magic: Repulsion]
A slight repulsive force made the monster's arm pause momentarily, but its strength was too great, and it still struck Aurelianne's left arm.
In that instant, an overwhelming pain filled her left arm, making Aurelianne feel as if it was about to be crippled.
But, having experienced so many 'deaths', this level of pain was nothing.
She gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, her gaze becoming fierce and dangerous.
Her right hand transformed into a blade of light, aimed at the demon's barely visible chin.
Stab!
The erupting blade pierced through the Forest Demon's vulnerable jaw, completely impaling its head.
Blood spurted, staining her clothes and body red.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, kicking up a dust cloud several meters high, the demon's enormous body finally fell to the ground, collapsing in front of Aurelianne.
She looked at the demon's now lifeless eyes, panting heavily.
As if not fully recovered from the battle, the power from using magic was slowly healing the injury on her left arm.
But the countless people who witnessed this scene were almost simultaneously stunned in place.
Including Gwen, who had tried to save Aurelianne.
The number on the ground was frozen at "61", gradually fading away.
Vega widened its single eye.
"With such a huge disparity, how could she win..."
Suddenly, Vega's voice trailed off.
Yes, the gap was so vast.
How, then, could Viktor defeat a calamity that was like a natural disaster?
Viktor didn't respond to Vega.
This was the environment he had prepared for Aurelianne.
You can defeat me countless times, but...
I only need to win against you once.
At this moment, Viktor saw the level next to Aurelianne's health bar.
The number that had been fixed at lv15 increased—
lv16.
Seeing this, Viktor nodded slightly.
"Well then, the experiment was successful."