Wulfrin

"Yeah I agree," Wulfrin whispered back to Nym, hoping the system could translate it for her. "The good news is I'm prepared to handle whatever comes our way so there shouldn't be any danger." The growling from the cave made Wulfrin start to second guess that sentiment. Whatever was hiding in there, he didn't want to tangle with, but he was prepared to in the off chance they pressed in. Sheepishly Adelyte asked if Wulfrin would take over getting them back. "Sure thing," Wulfrin said with a chuckle as he led them the exact opposite way Adelyte had taken them, essentially making the tri

The battle was over as fast as it had started. Wulfrin's swift opening had rendered the croc incapacitated long enough for Freyd and Solaris to land heavy hits of their own. Wulfrin let out a small chuckle at Freyd's small jab at the champion's behest. Wulfrin stepped forward and unleashed one final sword art into the Sando's hide, the emerald green light bursting on impact and fracturing what few bits of armor the croc wore. It wasn't as grandios as the crowd had wanted. There were clearly more boos than cheers in the crowd. a quick check of Abdullah's booth revealed the aristocrat talking in

"It was nothing," Wulfrin said as he accepted the thanks form Jomei. "I also don't think either of us will be seeing the weapon in action. As far as I recall, there is nothing that will be attacking us on this leg. Now that's not to say we can't go straight for the first boss. I have a vague recollection of where it's lair is, so we shouldn't get too lost." Wulfrin's attention was drawn to the section of bark that Jomei was pointing to. Wulfrin pulled up his menus and frantically searched them for anything he could from his notes. When he eventually found where he was keeping track of his

"Finally decided to not do the minimum?" Master Yunxiang said as he approached Wulfrin. "I'm proud of you for pushing through it." "Thanks," Wulfrin replied as he watched his newer tag-a-longs continue their training. "New guys aren't doing half bad either." "You always struggled with patience. These two seem to understand that you wont get very far if you only do what is required." "Yeah. I've been told that. It's something I've been working hard to improve." Wulfrin stood with his arms crossed as he observed the trainings happening below. He watched as Kageryu got into a

"Ohhhh Kaaay," Wulfrin watched his tag-a-longs' attempts at the physical challenge. "Good start, but clearly room to improve. Luckily this quest is less about if you can succeed at the tasks and more about how patient you are. The third task is the most important one, but that will come later. For now, sit under the waterfall as long as you can. Time to see if your will is made of sterner stuff or if you want to keep trying have at it. System wont let me participate in the first task anymore. After you've finished attempting this one, meet me up there." Wulfrin pointed up a small stair case at

"So," Wulfrin said as he strolled up to the supposed event location. "I wonder who else got the invite?" It didn't take long to get his answer as he spotted Morningstar, and a plus one from the looks of it, sitting down under the shade of a palm tree. When in the hell did that happen? Wulfrin asked himself. Had he known about them, Wulfrin would have extended the wedding invite to her as well. Lord knows his friends list was a short one. Accompanying them was a less familiar face. Wulfrin could have sworn he had seen the face before. It was the meeting dumbass. His shadow's voice echoed t

"So," Wulfrin's shadow took physical form next to him as Wulfrin made his way towards the teleport gate of Floor 24. "You've proven you haven't lost your edge physically. What's next?" "Simple," Wulfrin responded with a slight air of confidence returning. "My next stop on my comeback tour is Floor 6... again." "You're headed for the waterfall aren't you?" "That would be the plan. I've cleared my first task, now it's time to hone my mind." Wulfrin arrived back in Coral on Floor 22, where he would head home and add the small medal he was rewarded in a chest of other meaningle

A couple hours of rest was allotted for all parties involved before the award ceremony at the end of the of the day's festivities. Wulfrin was led to the center of the arena, this time not to fight, but to stand face to face with Auron. The previous champion held out a hand in congratulations as the crowd cheered. "You fought well," Auron said as Wulfrin took his good hand in comradery. "Easily the best challenge I've had in a while." "Likewise," Wulfrin reciprocated. It felt odd to have the man who was just out to kill him a few hours ago being overly friendly with him. "I hope our

"NOW!" His shadow ordered. Wulfrin charged forward, his blade glowing the vibrant gold of his Nova Ascension Sword Art. Wulfrin unleashed a volley of heavy sword slashes, each carving deeper and deeper into the champion's form. He didn't dare slow down, partially because the system wouldn't let him, but mostly because he knew that if he did, Auron would recover and press back. Auron desperately attempted to shield himself from Wulfrin's onslaught, but Icingdeath continued to find purchase in the champion's digital flesh. Wulfrin's combo ended with a massive upwards arc that sent both he a

"Let's dance," Wulfrin said as he charged forward, locking blades with Auron, Coliseum Champion. The sounds of steel rang throughout the arena, Wulfrin had found his stride and he wasn't about to lose it. Blow for blow, Auron matched Wulfrin's pace and skill. Auron prepared to go for another sweeping slash, but this was the moment Wulfrin was waiting for. As the massive sword was about to take out his ankles, Wulfrin jumped, narrowly clearing Auron's head. Mid air, Wulfrin unleashed another of his shattering arts. One look at Auron as Wulfrin landed revealed everything Wulfrin needed to

Wulfrin recovered from his stun just in time to see the blade of Auron coming down to meet his form. "Shit!" Wulfrin shouted as he rolled narrowly rolling out of the way. As he rolled to his feet, he surveyed his current situation. Two of his gladiator allies were down and unmoving. Thankfully Wulfrin had activated his Brawler skill at just the right moment, allowing him to take just a bit more damage than he normally would. The last remining gladiator was managing to keep pressure on Auron, but Wulfrin could tell they were fighting a losing battle. "Keep hitting him," His shado

"I know you're probably still ignoring me," Wulfrin's shadow spoke in his mind. "But it would probably be in your best interest to let me help you with this one." "No," Wulfrin responded. "I think I got this." Wulfrin did not in fact have this. Wulfrin pressed the attack further, landing yet another impactful strike against Auron's form. The more he connected the harder he hit thanks in part to the sword art he picked up from facing the Monkey King. The gladiators followed suit. They weren't really doing much but the extra damage was welcome. What they didn't know was this was quite

The gate to Wulfrin's holding area opened once again allowing him access to the arena once more. As he made his way to the battlefield, the other three gates opened revealing the three gladiators he had bested in the previous rounds. Something was odd though, he was told there was supposed to be some big time champion fight happen for the preliminaries. The three gladiators and Wulfrin grouped up at the center of the arena and simply stared at each other sharing a collective look of confusion. Then the gong sounded. Following shortly after, was the sound of a heavy impact. Wulfrin turned to fa

"That's the preliminaries out of the way," Wulfrin said as he sat on the bench in his waiting area, the flickering torchlight only barely bright enough to create dim light in the room. "All that's left is to claim the title of champion." "You've done well," His shadow said in agreeance as it materialized into a physical form across the room form him. "You're learning quickly to harness our power. Though you should remember The Whisper's warnings. If you take on too much too fast, you will see yourself become the void." "Yeah I know. I'm also just trying to get a grasp on everything.

Once more Wulfrin danced around his unwavering opponent. The gladiator refused to fall despite their dwindling HP. Wulfrin carefully deflected attack after attack, not letting a single one hit his form. He ducked, he weaved, and he dodged just as many strikes before finally leading the gladiator to the center of the arena. The entire time, his eyes fixated on the mob's HP gauge. It fell lower and lower with each tick draining away each of his lingering effects. Had he timed his attacks well? Wulfrin was about to find out. With one final sidestep, his right hand found Icingdeath's hilt and his

Time ticked on and on as Wulfrin continued his victory tour around the arena. He made it a point to return Icingdeath to its scabbard as to not cause any more unnecessary damage to his foe. It was time to put his newest skill to the test. In an instant Wulfrin's shadow and the gladiator's merged into one, metaphorically linking the two together. The gladiator took no head and charged forth with reckless abandon, only to find the Wulfrin before them to fade into shadow. The real Wulfrin materialized behind them, having traveled via shadow to avoid the strike. With elegant grace, Wulfrin simply

The gladiator broke free from the icy shackles keeping them in place and rushed Wulfrin once more. This attempt went no better for it than the last. As the gladiator's blade came to bare down on Wulfrin, it was met with only shadow as Wulfrin plunged Icingdeath into the gladiator's back. His foe's HP bar drained rapidly and lit up with the various icons of his DoTs. Once more the ice began to encrust his enemy's form as Wulfrin began to work the crowd even more. Cheers and roars were erupting through out the stands. Wulfrin continued to parade around the battlefield as he waited for the last o

The third gladiator came from the right gate this time. Wulfrin was feeling the crowd and pumping them up the whole time as the gladiator, great sword in hand charged at Wulfrin. Wulfrin skillfully dodged the swipe by turning his body ninety degrees allowing the lade to move past him with no issue. In the same motion, he jabbed forward with his own blade dealing a sizable chunk of damage to the gladiator's dominant side. A layer of ice formed on its body rendering it immobile as Wulfrin continued to parade around the arena. These battles were becoming less about honing his skills and more abou

The gladiator picked themselves up from the sandy ground, crimson fractals of data dripping from its wounds like blood. It picked up its spear and began to rush Wulfrin again. For Wulfrin it was an easy attack to counter, as the gladiator was staggering and on the verge of falling. Wulfrin's strike was targeted at the arm carrying the spear. The spear splintered with the blow and was sent flying across the arena. The gladiator, knowing it was defeated, both by its HP being at just above 0 and being rendered completely useless, fell to its knees with its hands raised to the sky in surrender. Wu

Wulfrin recovered from the blow as he put some distance between himself and his gladiatorial combatant. The crowd was roaring. The fact that he had gone the entirety of the first round without so much as a scratch was playing into his favor a bit. The crowd was excited to see a hit finally make contact with Wulfrin's form. He began to work the crowd once again, bringing the attention back to him. The crowd began to roar louder as the gladiator charged Wulfrin once again. This time Wulfrin predicted the attack. With a skillful dodge, the gladiator missed their strike and landed face first into