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As Apollo looked at his foe, he was startled by the fact it seed to be humanoid, yet sothing was missing to confirm this. He took a few steps in retreat to thoroughly examine it, but he had yet to co to a sound conclusion after many monts.
The unfamiliarity of it stumped Apollo.
'What is this thing?' Apollo wondered, conjuring a scythe of Hellfire. The only way to obtain answers now was by verifying them through contact.
anwhile, almost as if it was programd to do none other than attack, the humanoid figure dashed back towards Apollo. This ti, there were two daggers that slid down to their palms from within their sleeves.
Watching this, Apollo digested so of the signs, 'It doesn't seem to move quite like a human. There is a delay in its actions. It seems to be following so type of script.' After his assumption, Apollo matched the opponent with a dash.
Before it could attack him, Apollo jumped and spun on the figure before landing and delivering an apt slash to its back. This action had two purposes. One, he wanted to determine the limits of its response ti. If it was closer to his level, then he would entertain the idea of summoning his Demons. If not, it was the perfect ti to hone his own technique.
Fortunately, its spontaneous response seed to be lacking. On the other hand, Apollo also verified this figure was not human. There were no organs, there was just a dim crystal in the middle with infrastructure resembling veins, connecting to its extremities and head.
"Is this so type of puppet?" Apollo muttered. This was the only conclusion he could make. All of the signs pointed in this direction. Not only was there the fact that it moved as if it was programd to follow a certain succession of movents, but there was also the lifeless appearance.
More importantly, the infrastructure confird this. However, be that as it may, it didn't answer questions. On the contrary, it made Apollo pose many more questions. 'I wonder, just who made this puppet; perhaps it's the sa individual responsible for the construction of this place.'
Though he was onto sothing, he didn't have enough ti to continue pondering the matter. The attack dealt to the puppet didn't diminish its combat capabilities in the slightest. This was a trait it overpowered a human in. Granted, it almost presented similar weaknesses.
For example, Apollo's gaze shifted towards a small hitch in its connective joints before moving. 'This must be so type of prototype or just so imperfect creation that was ant to be food. Nevertheless, I just need to destroy it to advance,' Apollo determined, entering a completely focused state.
In his eyes, there was just him and the puppet rushing towards him. For a mont, ti seed to freeze and Apollo's perception sped up many tis over. Although he didn't move, he received a large amount of information.
Finally, the sound of tal grinding together echoed within the clearing. Apollo twirled the scythe around his body, moving in fluid, unpredictable patterns to disrupt the opponent's flow. Once he achieved that, he began experinting with the puppet.
Due to the lack of information given, he needed to find out the limits of this thing for himself. After all, he was almost certain the task he was warned of couldn't be a single opponent. Thus, if he wished to prepare himself, it was best to do so from the start. Waiting until later was just an inefficient utilization of ti.
Slowly, small pieces of the puppet fell off under the continued strikes of Apollo. Although he withheld a large portion of his strength, the outer material of this particular puppet seed to be brittle. Even if he removed the weight from his strikes, the Hellfire alone was enough to damage to outer shell.
With ti, Apollo soon gathered enough information. When he dealt damage to the puppet, the crystal in the middle would pulsate and release a wave of energy to account for the damage suffered to the puppet.
Even though it didn't repair the puppet, it reinvigorated its movents. This discovery made two things clear. The first being the crystal was ultimately their weakness. In fact, it was their largest weakest.
anwhile, the other matter Apollo learned of was even more disturbing, 'If the puppets grow in strength, then a battle of attrition isn't desirable. If their reserves are larger than mine, then they can support their maximum output longer.'
But, after Apollo shattered the puppet, the crystal remained. This was even after directing his last attack at the crystal. While in shock, a voice rang throughout the clearing.
[First Stage, Phase One cleared. Elapsed ti: 24 minutes and 32 seconds. Grade 1 Inferior Puppet Defeated. Reward: Fractured Inferior Source.]
Upon hearing this information, Apollo stared at the crystal on the floor, "So this is an Inferior Source? What are its uses?" Apollo questioned quietly. Picking up the dim crystal, he inspected it over and over. To him, there was no difference between this source and a Spirit Shard.
However, as he retrieved one and compared it, the energies within seed attracted to each other, but they repelled one another right before they touched.
"I rember this phenonon. It happens when Spiritual Essence and Natural Essence tries to fuse. Does this an...does this an this source spoken is just purified Natural Essence? No, purified doesn't seem right, it's too dim to be called purified," Apollo mumbled, producing multiple conclusions in his mind.
Sadly, his research session was cut short. Unlike before, the voice announced the beginning of the next stage.
[Stage 1, Phase Two comncing in 3 seconds. Opponents: 3 Grade One Inferior Puppets.]
Apollo stood up in response and prepared himself. Three doors opened on the ground level, revealing three puppets that advanced. Compared to before, while of the sa grade, they weren't geared the sa. One held a sh9ield, another was equipped with a long sword while the last one was equipped with a shield and a long sword.
'Interesting, each of them seed to be specialized. Their creator must have had so advancents in their progress at the ti of their making,' Apollo surmised. Subsequently, he shifted his foot and dispersed the Hellfire scythe.
Since it had been quite so ti since he engaged in close combat, his body was itching for a stretch. After confirming this type of puppet was incapable of damaging his body, it was also revealed there was no need for a weapon as of yet.
Even the weapons used by the puppets were of inferior material.
Once again, the two sides clashed. However, it was much more difficult than facing a single opponent. Different from the puppet from before, these 3 appeared to be programd to act as one. Hence, they attacked from three angles simultaneously.
Even though the attacks weren't powerful, Apollo was still accumulating fatigue nonetheless. The repeated attacks were bound to increase his stamina exhaustion rate. Luckily, he wasn't in a predicant warranting extra movent. In this fight, his style was barbaric, receiving blows to administer them.
Soon enough, this trio of puppets was smashed to bits.
Whereas the first stage gave a good amount of ti to recover, the next ssage appeared for the start of the third phase. Moreover, the difficulty skyrocketed, even Apollo felt it.
Nevertheless, Apollo was still enthused by the outco. It appeared this realm operating on the principle of "you eat what you kill." After all, he was able to retain the source from every puppet killed thus far.
[Stage 1, Phase Three comncing in 5 seconds. Opponents: 5 Grade One Inferior Puppets & 1 Grade Two Ordinary Puppet.]
At the ntion of an ordinary puppet, Apollo's eyes narrowed. Every ti an unfamiliar term was ntioned it would put Apollo on edge. Until he gathered sufficient information, Apollo was liable to be cautious. He had learned before, complacency is the death of man.
Once again, the doors opened, but this ti, one of the doors on the second level opened, and a puppet with a much more life-like appearance ca forth. As it moved, its gait retained a semblance of an expert's deanor.
From this, Apollo was able to glean sothing. 'I guess I can expect exponential climbs in difficulty as opposed to gradual increases. Nevertheless...let's do this.'
Apollo exhaled and made his move. Since he lacked the numbers, for now, it was in his best interest to snatch hold of the battle's montum. Granted, this was only possible if he possessed an overwhelming advantage.
Sadly, the mont he moved, so did the one atop. Furthermore, from the way it moved, it seed like an assassin. It was many tis faster in comparison to any of the puppet faced up until now.
'BOOM!'
Their clash was more impactful than the others. Apollo even beca serious when he noticed the increased durability of this puppet. It was at least 4 tis harder than the inferior one. Despite their collision, there wasn't a crack found on their forearm.
Not to ntion, there was an almost human expression in this puppet's eyes as it monitored Apollo. It opened its mouth which surprised Apollo.
At first, he thought it was going to speak but warning signs arose in his mind, prompting him to react quickly. The mont he ducked, three tal projectiles shot from the puppet's mouth, impaling the wall behind Apollo.
The penetrative force behind the attack confounded Apollo. 'This thing has hidden weapons now?! Alright, playti is over!'
"Fwoosh!'
Apollo released a billowing aura, reinforcing his body with Demonic Anima. Instantly, he rushed forward and punched through the torso of the ordinary puppet. Additionally, he also grabbed its head and smashed it into the ground.
As for the rest of the puppets, Apollo swung his arm in an arc, firing a Demonic Massacre Wave. The third phase was cleared in a few short monts.
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