Black String of Fate

"Hmm... You know, I would be very panicked if I saw you in the previous round. I basically have no hope of damaging you, and your speed can quite literally rip me to shreds if I let my guard down for even a single second. You truly are a final boss, one meant to give despair to its challengers.

But... There's nothing to worry about now. You see, there is something up my sleeves too. Something that is reserved for hopelessness-inducing opponents like you. A desperate attempt to match, and surpass that power of yours, despite being weak. A deal with the devil, one that comes at the price of the most precious thing a man can hold..."

Xavier muttered while getting into position for his strike. The final move of his prized arts can only be used when all the other techniques are active and running.

'Supreme Demonic Arts:

Advent of Insanity'

"The sacrifice of the body."

'Supreme Demonic Arts:

Forbidden Bloodlust'

"The sacrifice of mind."

"And finally,

Supreme Demonic Arts:

Desolation's Requiem"

"The sacrifice of the soul."

*WOOOSH*

A cold energy rushed through the body of Xavier, empowering him beyond his limits. It was making him remember his battle with the hero, as it was one of the very few battles in which he had used this technique, but he had still lost. It didn't mean that this technique was weak, it meant that the hero party was that incredible.

The energy, which could neither be called mana nor qi, kept rushing into Xavier's body seemingly out of nowhere. It was cool, unstable, explosive, and highly dangerous. This power was felt by the Death Raven, and it chilled the bird to its soul. It hurriedly rushed towards its opponent, just because there was no way of escaping this damned battle arena.

"Ah... It's no use. Forfeit your life, as I have forfeited mine."

Xavier now channeled all the collected energy into his weapon, which started to glow in a silver light. It was concentrated with the mysterious energy, now holding power far beyond what even Xavier should be capable of in his current state.

He swung it around, and gathered momentum, making sure that he didn't miss. Though frankly, he knew he couldn't miss. It is an attack guided by the soul, to the soul.

"Desolation's Requiem, UNLEASH!"

*BOOM*

Xavier flung the scythe at supersonic speeds towards the raven. The bird had no time to react, and the scythe plunged directly into its heart, smoothly like it was a fluff toy.

It didn't stop there, as the scythe had made a huge hole in the body of the peak rank 3 monster and was still going forward. Xavier could not let it end there, because if that raven stayed alive after this strike, it would spell his certain doom. He pulled on the chains to make the scythe curve for a rebound attack, which led to the bird being split in half.

"Haha... To defeat a half-step rank 4 monster so easily as a malnourished child... The power justifies the price."

Xavier, who had successfully killed the Raven without any effort this time, now once again started facing the backlash. His body started shivering with coldness, he felt himself become weaker and weaker. It was not a feeling of pain, but just weakness.

His already thin body started to dry more, his skin started to get rough and wrinkled, his eyes became droopy and lifeless, and his hair became white and started falling off.

'Hah... So this is what it feels like to become an old man... I stayed young and vigorous at the age of 80, but I experienced old age at the age of 8, how ironic.'

Breathing was getting more and more difficult by the second for Xavier, and he knew that he didn't have long.

This was the price of the ultimate move of supreme demonic arts. The most precious sacrifice for the most potent of powers. It consumed your soul, your lifespan, and your potential to give yourself unmatched power for the moment. It was simple, but it was the strongest move to have ever existed in the world.

'As expected, I could not control the degree of sacrifice. Even in the worst-case scenarios, I would only sacrifice a part of my lifespan, but never have I ever sacrificed the entirety of it...

Now, I can only depend on the system to recover me. I just hope it can recover the soul, otherwise, my second life is screwed.'

*******

Critical condition detected. Auto-activating recovery.

*******

With his dying body, Xavier felt as if the essence of life itself was filling him up. He felt renewed strength once again on his limbs, a vigorous vitality bursting forth from him. The degree of injury sustained by Xavier was deep enough to reach the soul, so the system, or rather the Trial's power was intimately felt by Xavier.

'This... This is simply divine. No mortal can exhibit such powerful, potent, and pure energy... This energy, in all ways, is just perfect. There is no trace of conscious creation in this, rather it feels as if it's a fundamental part of the world. It's raw, simple yet infinitely complex...

There's now no better proof than this, these Trials are made by some 'God-level' figure, just like the one who gave me a second chance at life.'

********

Levels of Death: Cleared (100%)

[Death] taken: 1

Completion time: N/A

Grade: S+

********

"What?! Just a 'S+'?! Then again, I did die once... System, show me the grading criteria for this trial."

********

Grades are based only on [Death] count. The higher the deaths, the lower the grade.

Grades:

EX: 0 [Death]

S/S+/S- : 1/2/3 [Death]

A/A+/A- : 5/7/9 [Death]

B/B+/B- : 10/15/20 [Death]

C/C+/C- : 25/50/75 [Death]

D/D+/D- : 75/100/125 [Death]

E/E+/E- : 150/200/250 [Death]

F/F+/F- : 250/500/1000 [Death]

After 1000 Deaths, the challenger is considered to have failed, and 1001 [Death] would become a 'real' death.

********

"Hmm... I reckon I did pretty well, but it kind of sucks that I wasted one death on such a foolish thing. That monster was one of the weakest I faced, yet I died due to my arrogance. Is there any way I can re-take this trial, or improve my grade?"

Xavier asked the System with absolutely no hope. These trials did not seem like something he would be offered a second chance at, but it didn't hurt to ask.

********

No. The decision of the trial is final-*bzzzt*

.

..

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[ERROR{(*@#$%^&*()]

[ADMIN ACCESS OUTSOURCED.]

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..

...

< Yo (^o^)/ >

< Nice to meet you! I'm someone you don't need to concern yourself about too much, so relax a bit. I saw the way you impressively beat those OP monsters with your level of measly power, and I too regret the fact that you did such stupidity in your first attempt. It kinda rubs me the wrong way, missing out on witnessing a perfect record like this, so I'm here to give you a chance! What do you say? >

*********

"W-what? What the hell?! Did some guy take over the System?! That's crazy... But, did he talk about a second chance? I'm interested."

*********

< That's the spirit! There's actually a secret bonus level, only accessible with my permission. It's wayyy harder than any of the levels, and it will give you a run for your money. In that level, your number of deaths or time taken won't even matter, you just have to defeat your foe. You can give up anytime, but it has a price... >

*********

"What price, and before that, how can I trust you? What do you want from me?"

*********

< Trust? Me, wanting something from you? Pft. Xavier, there's nothing you can give me that I want. As for trust, it's your choice. I'm not going to go out of my way to prove my credibility to you.

Think of this conversation as me putting my nose where it doesn't belong because I'm bored.

Now, as for the price, if you give up, you would be considered to have failed the whole trial. You will get no rewards and say goodbye to these trials forever. However, if you somehow clear the bonus level, you would have 2/3 Trials at the unprecedented EX Grade. Now, make your choice. Will you play it safe, or will you risk it all? >

**********