Unlike the first nine levels, the tenth wasn't barren and blank. Instead, it had the same intricate decorations as the Blade Tower's exterior.
My body was sore after four months of staying still while healing. The mimic on the ninth level was at the Sovereign stage. And even though I hoped the stimulation would help me finally break that bottleneck, it remained as stubborn as ever.
I thought the opponent on the tenth level would be another mimic, but it wasn't the case. Farbauti stood in the middle of the hall, spear and shield in both of his hands. His eyes landed on me, and he blandly said, "This is the final level. Complete it and the blade is yours."
"What must I do?" I asked, although I could guess what my task is.
"Defeat me."
I winced. To my dread, my guess was correct. I looked at him and made sure to convey my annoyance in my tone as I said, "This has to be a joke. This isn't a spar. You're one of the most powerful people in the universe, so how do you expect me, who isn't even a Sovereign, to defeat you?"
Even when we sparred back at the Mansion of Night, he always managed to defeat me. He threw me a sharp glance and replied, as calm as always, "Patience. Lord Richard has instructed me to lower my power base to the Sovereign stage."
I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry, "I still struggle a lot when fighting opponents with a higher level than mine. I am sure you watched my performance during the nine levels and saw the difficulty that I faced on the latest one."
"Struggle is part of any growth." He waited for me to say something in response to his wise words, but I remained silent, so he continued, "You only have one attempt to succeed. No more."
He looked at his spear and shield and explained, "These weapons were gifted to the Spartans of Greece by Ares. They were a reward to the greatest soldier that the Spartan army ever had. At that time, I thought it was an honor to get such a gift from the god of war, but they are stained with the blood of many people, foes or allies alike."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I didn't know that Farbauti was from Sparta. All this time I thought him a Jotun, as his name suggests, the father of Loki and husband to Laufey.
I locked eyes with my Senior Brother and asked, "Will you kill me if I fail?"
"Orders dictate that I must attack with the intent to kill."
"That's a yes, then."
"Yes."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I experienced a moment of fear for my life, then it disappeared without a trace. I opened them, resolve glittering in my light blue pupils, and said, "Alright then, let's do this."
Farbauti nodded and readied his spear and shield. Then, with a big leap forward, he thrust the spear into me. Naturally, I dodged the attack. Little by little, I noticed that the moves were the ones used by all the mimics on the first levels, which include the special attacks.
Despite learning all of those attacks and move patterns beforehand, I still had a lot of difficulty, as he is freakishly fast for someone of his size. Due to that, I ended up with a lot of injuries, even though my dragon body has a lot of durability.
After two days of nonstop dodging, deflecting, and attacking, I felt something in me break. Not in a bad way, no. The bottleneck, which has stopped me from getting more powerful, has finally been broken.
I was overjoyed at this sudden change, even though I knew it was coming sooner or later. Energy started to overflow my veins, making me stronger and faster than I ever was. From the brief moment separating me from these two levels, I realized how weak the Divinity stages are. The difference was like the one between heaven and earth.
Farbauti noticed the change in my attacks immediately, but still, he was too late to react. A flurry of sword attacks managed to disarm his spear, forcing him to use his shields only. Shield stances can be broken, so I used one of the moves that I recently learned that was suitable for this type of situation.
His shield arm was forced backwards, making an opening for me. I thrust the sword as if it were part of my arm and stopped it a hair away from touching his Adam's apple. I chuckle and declare, "I win!"
For the first time ever, I got a small smile from the big guy. My sword retreats, and I put it back in its sheath on my waist. Farbauti straightens himself and confirms the outcome, "You have passed the test."
Just like on every level, a round staircase appeared to take me upwards. And even though I was confused about the higher level, considering it only showed ten from the outside, I climbed them. There, in a smaller hall with the same decorations as the last one, a crude metal shard was hovering in the air.
I grasped it and fused it with my sword. The fourth piece of the Pangu Axe was now in my possession!
Somehow, I was back outside the tower. Farbauti was standing in the same spot where I had seen him three years ago. I look back and am surprised to see that Tulip was here. I shook my head at her, "You stayed here the entirety of the three years, didn't you?"
She nodded but remained silent. I glanced at Farbauti, and he instantly said, "She is stubborn."
I looked back at her and said jokingly, "I gave you an order."
Oh yes, she punched me. This time, I caught her fist to avoid hurting her. But there was something strange... that punch contained a lot of power. My eyes widened, "You are at the second level of the Sovereign stage?!"
She chuckled, feeling good about herself. I winced; it took me so long to finally break through, and here she does it while sitting in the snow. In any case, I was happy for her, and not a hint of jealousy was in my heart.
The voice of Farbauti, bidding us farewell, brought our attention to him, but when we turned to him, he and the Blade Tower were nowhere to be found.
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Updated on: 26/7/2025
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