Nothing is Impossible

Atlas woke up and almost immediately went outside, not bothering to talk to anyone (Partly from fear of leveling up his Eloquent Articulation skill to much, as he still didn't know what it did) and passed by all the training areas to head inside, ordering some bread and cheese, with some ale to wash it down.

As Atlas bit down on his makeshift cheese sandwich, he glanced around, it was still pretty early in the morning, but the Guild was in full swing already, people laughing and gearing up, some already going up to the stairs to get some tasks and some already on their way out the door. It seemed like being up with the sun was common among adventurers, which made Atlas glad, it only reinforced the idea that these were his people. He belonged here.

Atlas gulped down the rest of his ale and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, standing up and heading back outside. Just as he was about to exit the main room and go through the back door, someone grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Atlas flinched in surprise and lifted up his hands, gathering mana in case whoever was grabbing him meant to do him harm.

Atlas found himself face to face with a man covered in shining plate armor. The man released his shoulder when he saw him gathering mana. "Woah there! I didn't mean any harm man, I just wanted to talk to you!" He said, raising his hand up apologetically. "I was just gonna ask if you want to fight with me for a little bit, I noticed that you are almost my level and am itching for a fight." The man said it so calmly, but a fire in his blue eyes burned brightly, showing Atlas just how much he wanted to fight with Atlas.

Atlas thought about it. There was no reason not to, and he checked the man's level.

Paladin

Tier: 3 Level: 145

Only a little higher than himself, but it was still enough to make a significant difference in power. He shrugged, it was a mock battle, so he had nothing to lose, so why not? "Sure, I'll fight you."

The man smiled widely, slinging his arm around Atlas. "Then let's not waste time! To the arena!" He opened the door and marched out, forcing Atlas to march with him.

Atlas let himself be dragged and examined the man more closely.

He had a large stature standing almost 6 and a half feet tall, with wide shoulders and a broad chest. He was covered in shining metal armor, and had a greatsword and shield attached to his back, though they seemed to be held in place magically. He had a handsome face with short blond hair and shining blue eyes. He was constantly smiling, flashing dangerously bright teeth everywhere he looked.

After being dragged for a while, they finally reached the arena, having to wait for one of the four zones to open up before the paladin threw Atlas into the arena, marching after him and drawing his sword and shield in one smooth motion, smiling widely the whole time. Atlas smiled in return, summoning his scythe in a flourish and adjusting his tie.

Are both combatants ready?

Yes/No

Atlas selected yes.

Both combatants agreed, starting the battle in 3…

Atlas and the paladin walked closer to each other, until they were only 20 feet away from each other.

2…

Atlas activated Avatar of Slow Profitable Death turned his head slightly, staring at the paladin. "What's your name?"

1…

The paladin smiled wider. "I am Lars, you?"

"Atlas."

Fight!

Atlas and Lars lunged at each other without even a moment of pause, Atlas used Manifestation of the Archdragon right of the bat, spectral wings jutting from his shoulder blades, long curved spectral horns from his helmet, and his body was covered in spectral scales, which were covered by Avatar of Slow Profitable Death. His speed skyrocketed, and after not even a half second, Atlas and Lars, whose armor was now shining with a bright golden light, clashed into each other.

Atlas's scythe and Lars's sword clashed into each other, sending sparks flying and causing Lars to stumble back slightly before he pushed the advantage, slashing horizontally with his scythe to deal more damage to Lars.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Lars raised his shield, easily blocking the blow and shouting "Light of Conquest!" before swinging his glowing sword at Atlas, forcing Atlas to duck the blow or risk losing his head. The air thrummed with power as Atlas and Lars went at it, trying to force each other on the defensive, neither of them letting up with powerful attacks that ripped through the air.

After exactly 20 minutes of fighting, Manifestation of the Archdragon ran out, forcing Atlas to retreat as he had lost his most powerful buff. Atlas used Misty Step to flee, appearing in the sky and forming a platform of air some hundred feet in the air. Atlas then started raining down rocks coated in fire and debuffs, sending them hurtling at Lars.

Lars's eyes widened when he spotted Atlas sending fiery death his way, narrowing his eyes, light started to erupt from inside of him. He held his shield up, glowing brightly and forcing Atlas to look away for fear of blinding himself.

He continued his assault, glancing down every so often to make sure he was still shooting at Lars. He was. The man didn't move, he just stayed there, glowing brighter and brighter as time went on.

After almost 2 minutes of bombarding, Atlas decided he had enough time to make an even bigger rock. He held up his hands, creating a rock almost 10 feet in diameter. He then covered it completely in the hottest fire he could manage without robbing himself of all his mana,, and then he shot it down at Lars.

Atlas couldn't look to see what happened, as Lars was now brighter than the sun, but he heard the boom! Tentatively, he glanced down, finding Lars standing there definitely, shield split in two and armor cracked slightly but still standing strong. With a wide grin he shouted "Divine Smite!" Atlas cursed, glancing up and finding a giant beam of light descending from the heavens directly above him, but as he tried to flee, he found his feet bound by cords of bright light, preventing him from taking even a single step. When did he do that? Atlas thought, right before the light slammed into him.

***

Atlas came to facedown in the sand. He pushed himself up, spitting out sand and brushing off the sand on his face and suit. A shadow came over him and he shielded his eyes glancing up at the imposing figure of Lars.

There was a tense second as they both looked at each other, assessing the power level of the other.

Lars suddenly laughed out loud, extending his hand and lifting Atlas up. "You're pretty good, but I'm undefeated, you didn't stand a chance." He told Atlas, smiling and brushing his hair out of his face.

Atlas looked up at him confused. "How have you beaten people higher tiers than you? I'll admit you're good but not that good."

Lars nodded as though he had expected Atlas to ask that. "If you challenge someone or are challenged by someone of a higher tier, their power will drop to that of when they were the final level of that tier. Makes it so that people won't usually challenge people outside their own tier, as its not beneficial. I have, however, beaten two people that were higher in tier than me, it was hard, but to be honest with you, the only thing they had going for them was their levels."

Atlas nodded, and they both fell silent. Atlas noticed notifications waiting in the corner of his vision and pushed them away. He didn't want to see them till his training was over. It was a little prideful, but he wanted to see massive improvements instead of all the little steps. "Again?" He asked Lars, there was a nod and they began once more.

***

21 fights later, and Atlas lay once more on the soft sand. He had lost every single fight, but he grew closer and closer to beating Lars with every attempt. He had realized after the fifth fight that it was stupid to not understand his new powers, and he checked his notifications after every battle after that. He wanted improvement, and that wasn't possible if he didn't know what to improve.

"Again?" Atlas wheezed, pushing away his newest notifications and looking over at Lars. Lars shook his head. "No way man, I'm done, not only is it lunch time, but you are getting dangerously close to beating me, I feel like you become stronger after every fight! It's ridiculous, and quite scary if I'm being honest." Lars said, pushing himself up from his knees, heading for the exit.

"See you later I guess." Atlas called out, and Lars held up a hand as a way of response.

Atlas pulled himself up, hacking up sand that had wormed its way into his mouth. "Time to see what I got out of all that." Atlas said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Results of Atlas's Intense Battle Training -6 hours-

Eloquent Articulation (A) -> Eloquent Articulation (S), Epic, Passive Skill, Physical

Scythe Mastery (SS) -> Scythe Mastery (SSS), Legendary, Passive Skill, Physical

Elemental Control (Z) -> Elemental Control (ZZ), Mythic, Active, Magic

Pure Mana Monarchy (Z) -> Absolute Mana Monarchy, Mythic, Passive, Magic

Training Techniques (Z) -> Battle Training Techniques (ZZ), Mythic, Passive (Situational), Physical and Magic

Demonic Avatar (SSS) -> Demonic Avatar (Z) , Legendary, Active, Physical and Magic

Mana Turret (Z) -> Charged Mana Turret (ZZ), Legendary, Active (Charge), Magic

Ultimate Debuff (Z) -> Multiplying Debuffs (ZZ), Legendary, Active, Debuff

Ultimate Mirror Defence (Z) -> Absolute Mirror Defence (ZZ), Mythic, Passive, Physical Defence

Misty Step (SS) -> Mind Step (Z), Mythic, Active, Magic (Transportation)

Supreme Damage Resistance (SS) -> Ultimate Damage Resistance (Z), Legendary, passive, Magic and Physical Defence

Consuming Light (S) -> Consuming Light (SS), Legendary, Active, Magic

Regeneration (S) -> Fast Recovery (SSS), Legendary, Passive, Buff