Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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[DING]

[Under the boiling pressure of your Vitality, your body is reshaped to a new vessel]

[Tempered anew so it may compel to your wishes]

[The Mind commands, the body follows, adapting so it may prosper]

[As you beckoned, your Vision manifests]

[DING]

[Skill, Aura 1.5-Star manifests]

With the chime of the System, came the changes.

The berserking energy surrounding his body vanished, gathering instead at the tip of his blade, creating a purplish gleam so strong it could contend with the sun's light.

Strong enough to blind if stared at.

His skin also gleamed, but it was hard to notice with his armor. From within its gaps, rays of light shone outside, creating a heavy atmosphere for all onlookers.

"!"

'Finally.'

Dale quickly felt the difference, taking hold of it before he even processed the System's notification.

With the pressure released from within his body, like a clogged valve, his Aura could now flow unrestricted and smoothly throughout his body and surroundings, allowing him to control it effortlessly and efficiently.

It wasn't near what he could actually do, but for his current skill level, his body was already being pushed well beyond what it was supposed to tolerate.

Anything more than this without proper rest would only lead to extreme injuries, maybe even fatal, just like when he forcefully opened his Heart Gate.

'From here on out it's a rush to reach the peak I was before. But before that…'

Dale raised his head, looking at the mountains as they shook from the winds caused by his Aura.

'I'll take care of that.' He thought as his eyes shone with conviction

/Jump!/

Without wasting any more time, Dale jumped from Caladbolg and into the ground.

/Swoosh!/

Immediately after, his sword followed suit, flying straight into his hand without delay.

/BAM!/

Like a comet, Dale crashed onto the sand, splashing it all around as he created a crater with him at the center.

'Finally some actual solid ground.' He thought as he tapped his foot on the stone

After a dozen meters of sand came the rocky ground, buried for a century if not more under layers upon layers of compacted sand.

From this angle, Dale couldn't see the mountain anymore, he could only see a wall of cascading sand, the blue sky, and the sun atop his head.

But there was no need for him to see anything else as he already knew where he would swing his blade…

"My Aura's ready, now… To gather momentum…" He mumbled as he adjusted his breathing

/FLASH!/

This time, something strange happened to Dale's body.

From every crevice of his armor, reddish gas was spewed strongly, rising to the skies before dissipating into nothingness.

His eyes turned red, clouded by this same mist, as his expression even turned beast-like as if he was being possessed by a foul monster…

Pain and anger filled his expression, a true Devlish-like stare…

/BOOOOM!/

But one thing's for certain, his Aura increased a few fold if even for a short moment!

One may question the origin of such power, but it wasn't anything special.

Many weeks ago when he raided the Office of the Commander of the Corps, Dale acquired many techniques and books from all sorts of practices.

Some he read mostly to expand his horizons, a few he inherited, others he mastered…

This was nothing but one of them, a simple Skill he learned towards the end of his training phase, sometime before his trip to South America.

This Skill was called, Aura Rampage.

To explode his Vitality so his Aura may rampage with great intensity outputting greater power than otherwise possible!

It is no surprise the Corps would possess knowledge in such a field, how could they not with their vast array of masters and grandmasters?

For an ordinary player, this was naught but a simple Berserk Skill, Dale thought the same when he first saw it...

But now, after extensive training and research, he was now very much aware of the depth of these books, there was a reason they were in the Office of the Commander.

With due time, he would grow to have a great understanding of them and one day, relay their contents to others.

But for now, he could only master a few, one at a time...

"Phew…"

/Grasp…/

His grasp over Caladbolg tightened to an inhuman degree as his muscles clasped in preparation for what was to come.

/Baddum…/

His heart entered the correct rhythm, synching with his lungs, pumping lifeforce throughout his flesh.

/CRACK!/

Relaxing his mind as his body tensed, Dale stepped forward, crashing his foot onto the earth, caving it in as the stone crumbled under his feet!

His back bent and his shoulders moved as Caladbolg moved in the air, pointing towards the skies, reflecting its light in an array of colors that painted the crater's walls in a grandiose display of beauty.

"A-Arg…. C-Can we rest a little? I'm afraid that…"

/SLASH!!/

Despite David's fears for what was about to transpire, Dale did not stop moving in the slightest, slashing his sword horizontally at the wall of sand without even a display of hesitation!

/LIGHT!/

What came after was a flash of bright white light, taking over the desert like the sunrise, albeit, from the North…

From afar, one might see it as violet, maybe even blue… Some would attest to it being red…

A mixture of energies was released together, producing a catastrophic reaction.

Like a powerful bomb detonating, all of this energy was released as a wave in front of him, following the arc of his blade that acted as a powerful of catalyst.

And after the flash, came the sounds and tremors.

/BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!/

/TREMBLE!!/

""?!""

From afar, several kilometers away, some noticed the strange phenomenon in the desert, the strong light followed by the very weak earthquake that shook their walls for a split second.

They could only wonder what was transpiring deep in the desolate waves of the golden sea…

They had heard stories of the creatures that dwelled there, but could there be anything as horrendous as the Devils they faced in the forest?

For the Villagers, they feared for the peace and the prosperity they had managed to cultivate, unaware of the dangers lurking right underneath them...

"..."

Some, on the other hand, discerned something else, narrowing their eyes as they witnessed the shaking lights.

Not all could physically see it but they could all feel the strange energy surrounding it.

It was strong enough for them to do so.

…

/SLASH!/

Back in the desert, Dale swung Caladbolg with such speed and precision that it seemed the sword teleported from one side to the other.

Everywhere it cut, a vacuum was cleaved in the air, pulling in sand and more air, causing it to ignite in flames!

/BLAST!/

After the silence of the light, a powerful air wave shook his surroundings as everything was razed to the ground by its mighty pull, causing David to close his eyes in despair as he felt himself be tugged into the depths of the mayhem, fearful he would be buried forever, never to be seen again…

/Grab/

Alas, there was little to fear as Dale was quick to take hold of him, pinning him place amidst his fingers, even if that meant shoving a finger down his eyes.

/BURN!/

The entire world seemed to burn as the flames of the heated air ravaged the sand, turning it into glass before scattering it onto the horizon...

/SHUAAAA!!/

With his arms crossed, Dale waited for the world to calm down so he could witness the product of his efforts, David still taking deep breaths within his arms.

Despite the chaos around him, nothing fell onto them, as if an invisible barrier had been raised with Dale at the center.

[DING]

[DING]

[DING]

[DING...]

But of course, within the chaotic scenario, time passed on.

With his slash, thousands of creatures perished, and massive boulders the size of skyscrapers were torn apart, causing them to rain hundreds of meters into the distance.

Dungeons were scrapped and ancient grounds were uncovered as the purple flash pushed everything onto the skies.

If anyone could witness this event from up close, they would see a massive wave rising from the desert like a wall of sand and gravel with beams of light breaching through it, hitting the other nearby mountains, causing them to break and collapse as well…

Finally, the wave fell on those same mountains further North.

And as everything came to a standstill, Dale scratched the back of his head, or tried to but his helmet prevented him from doing so.

Upset, yet amused, he cranked his neck as the gears in his head spun to form a line...

/CRUNCH!/

"Hm... Maybe I overdid it a little…" He said out loud awkwardly as he plunged Caladbolg onto the ground

"You think?... Pfft!" David said ironically as he spat some sand onto the ground

"Cough... There's sand everywhere..."

"Just look at this... You're the first to ever attempt such reckless... Stupid... And nonsensical destructive action!"

"..."

'It's not really that bad... Right?'

In front of them, a wide expanse of smooth, carved land rested, as if a giant leaf blower had pushed everywhere above the bedrock...

On the sides, sand cascaded downwards, trying to fill the hole Dale had created in the environment.

Following this were the mountains, now covered in even more sand and debris than before, some of them broken and wounded…

To a certain extent, it was as if nothing had changed, the mountains were still buried in sand and soon enough the dunes would take over this portion of land as well…

The only problem was that in the blink of an eye, an entire mountain vanished, leaving behind only its foot, if it could be called that…

Dale had cleaved a mountain!

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Notes