Author: Eradira

Chapter 7: Swords, Skills and Sarcasm

Kyros stood at the forefront of the elven army, his golden aura shining brightly as he gazed out at the approaching horde of monsters. Eira and Seraphina stood by his side, readying their weapons.

"So, what's the plan?" Kyros asked.

"We hold our ground and protect the kingdom," Eira replied, "We can't let them breach our defenses."

"Easy for you to say," Kyros muttered. "You're an elf. You've got 700 years of experience. I'm just a human with a fancy skill."

"Your skill is what gives us hope," Seraphina said, her voice steady. "We need you, Kyros."

Kyros replied sarcastically. "Great. No pressure."

The enemy army moved forward, a tide of twisted creatures and dark magic. Kyros drew his dual swords, shimmering with a light that seemed to match his aura.

"Let's do this," he said.

The battle had begun.

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 0%]

Kyros charged forward, his dual swords flashing in the sunlight as he slashed the enemy army. He ran through the them, his blades slicing through monsters with ease. But despite his skill, his swords weren't meant for this kind of battle. They began to show cracks spreading across the blades.

Just as he finished off a giant troll, a dark knight charged towards him, sword raised. Kyros raised his own swords to block, but they shattered under the impact.

"Damn it!" he said.

The dark knight sneered, raising his sword for the finishing blow. But Kyros just grinned.

"Kyros Brightblade!" he declared, his voice ringing out across the battlefield.

The golden aura of the Chosen One skill blazed to life, blinding the dark knight and sending him stumbling back. Kyros took advantage to kick the knight in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Ha! You can't handle the power of the Chosen One!" Kyros shouted, as he dodged another attack and triggered the skill again. "Kyros Brightblade!"

[Passive Skill: Chosen One has been activated 2 times. Your aura has increased by 1000 points.]

The aura flared up once more, sending enemies flying and giving Kyros time to catch his breath. He glanced around, looking for a new weapon, but all he saw were the broken remains of his own swords.

"Well, this is just great," he muttered.

He then remembered the random item reward he had received earlier - an A-rank sword. He summoned it from his inventory, and a gleaming blade materialized in his hand.

"Time to try you out," Kyros said, charging back into the battle.

The sword sliced through monsters with ease, its his movements fluid and deadly. Meanwhile, Seraphina and Eira were holding their own against the enemy horde. Seraphina wielded her massive two-handed battle axe cleaving through dark creatures like a hot knife through butter. Eira, standing around the edges of the battle, aimed her bow and shot multiple enemies, killing them with 1 attack.

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 30%]

The enemy army was beginning to falter, their numbers dwindling as Kyros, Seraphina, and Eira cut through their ranks. But a dark presence that seemed to be drawing the very light out of the air had been observing.

Just as the trio thought they were gaining the upper hand, the figure emerged from the shadows. He was a towering monstrosity, his body a twisted mass of dark flesh and razor-sharp spines.

"Behold, the Devourer of Light," the dark figure's voice boomed from the distance. "The greatest creation of my lord, forged from the very essence of darkness."

The Devourer charged forward, its presence seeming to draw the light out of the air. Kyros felt his vision dim, his strength weakening as the creature approached.

"Kyros Brightblade!" he shouted, triggering his Chosen One skill in desperation.

The golden aura blazed to life, but the Devourer laughed, its voice like thunder. "Your little trick won't work on me, Chosen One."

"We need a new plan, let the Elven army fight the smaller ones!" Seraphina clenched, her battle axe slicing through the Devourer's defenses but barely leaving a scratch.

"Keep its attention," Eira shouted, "I'll try and find a weakness!"

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 40%]

Kyros raised his sword to block the Devourer's attack, and for a moment, the two forces locked in a struggle that seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth.

Then, in a flash of insight that felt almost too obvious, Kyros thought, "Wait, I'm the Chosen One, right? I'm supposed to be good at this sorta thing."

[Passive Skill: Decision Making has been activated]

Time around Kyros had been paused as thought. "Hmm. Well since my sword doesn't work on him. What now? If only I had a skill to adapt to my enemy."

As if on cue with what he was thinking, he heard a ring.

[Skill Awakened: 'Adaptability' - Your weapons will now adapt to your enemy to deal 10% more damage. Haste will increase by 10% when this skill is activated.]

[Skill Awakened: 'Blade Echo' - Your sword attacks now have a 20% chance to resonate with the enemy's frequency, dealing bonus damage and stunning them for 1 second.]

Kyros blinked. "Oh, cool. That's a thing now."

Without hesitation, he swung his sword at the Devourer, and this time, the blade seemed to be able to cut it. The attack landed with a burst of light, and the Devourer stumbled back, its eyes wide with surprise.

Seraphina and Eira stared at him in confusion. "Kyros, what just happened?" Seraphina asked.

Kyros shrugged. "No idea, but I think I just leveled up or something."

Eira raised an eyebrow. "Well, whatever it was, keep doing it. We need all the help we can get."

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 45%]

The Devourer stumbled back, its eyes wide with surprise, but Kyros knew better than to think it was defeated. Sure enough, the creature's body began to twist and contort, its flesh rippling like a living shadow.

The Devourer's body split open, revealing a dark, abyssal void within. Tendrils of shadowy energy erupted from the void, lashing out at Kyros and his friends.

"Seriously? A second phase? He's like an annoying game boss.", Kyros mumbled, throwing up his hands. "Can't he just pick a form and stick with it?"

Seraphina shot him a sideways glance. "You're complaining about the boss's design choices in the middle of a fight?"

Kyros shrugged. "Hey, it's a valid concern. I mean, who does this guy think he is, Godrick the Grafted? 'Oh, I'll just add some extra limbs and a void abyss, that'll show them'."

Eira facepalmed. "Kyros, focus."

"Fine, fine.", he said, dodging a tendril. "Let's get this over with.

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 50%]

As he dodged another tendril, he slashed the devourer and muttered, "I swear, Devourer here is like the Dark Lord's version of a participation trophy. 'Hey, good job showing up, here's an extra phase!'".

Eira sighed but Seraphina chuckled as she cut off one of the tendrils.

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 55%]

As the battle raged on, Kyros started to feel a bit overwhelmed. "Seriously, can't we just have a simple fight for once? You know, the kind where the bad guy just stands there and takes damage?"

Eira shot him a look. "You know that's not how it works, Kyros."

He sighed. "I know, I know. It's just...can't we have a nice, quiet boss dught without the drama?"

Seraphina chuckled. "You're starting to sound like a grumpy old man."

Kyros shrugged. "Hey, someone's got to keep things in perspective around here."

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 60%]

Just as Kyros was starting to get the hang of the Devourer's second phase, the creature suddenly transformed again.

"Seriously?!" Kyros exclaimed. "How many forms does this guy have?!"

Eira rolled her eyes. "You'd think he'd run out of ideas eventually."

The Devourer's new form was a giant, swirling vortex of darkness, with tendrils shooting out in all directions.

"Well, this is just great," Kyros said, dodging a tendril. "Because what we really needed was a boss fight that's also a tornado."

Seraphina laughed. "At least it's not boring."

Kyros glanced at her. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Seraphina grinned. "Maybe a little."

"Wait a minute," he said, a sly grin spreading across his face. "I've got an idea."

[Quest: Defend the Elf Kingdom from the Dark Lord's army. Progress: 65%]

Kyros then ran to the devourer, dodging all it's tendrils.

"Wh-what are you doing!?", Eira shouted, concerned if he was crazy.

(Use all aura to upgrade Chosen One skill)

[System: Passive Skill: Chosen One has been upgraded to level 5]

He jumped into the void and sunk deep into the abyss.

At the top of his lungs he shouted, "Kyros Brightblade!" The golden light of his aura outshone the darkness in the devourer's core, completely consuming it.

"Kyros... Kyros... Kyros!"

He woke up and saw Seraphina and Eira calling his name.

"D-did we win?", he asked, his vision unblurring.

"Yeah, thanks to you.", Eira smiled gratefully.

[Quest Complete: Rewards have been sent to your inventory]

The rest of the Elven army were cheering as they came to cheer Kyros on as they lifted him up and threw him into the air.