RE: LORD OF TIME

William’s entire arm went numb, and he slid backward for nearly five meters before coming to a stop.

ROAR!

A powerful roar once again reached his ears, and he finally got a clear look at the culprit that had nearly dislocated his arm.

It was a two-and-a-half-meter-tall bear standing on its hind legs. The bear was covered in dark brown fur, with fire-like veins spreading across its entire body. Its eyes were deep red in color and were currently fixed on William, as if the monster wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.

The aura around the bear was at the Early Stage of Star Commander. However, compared to a normal Star Commander, it was far more powerful.

’It’s a Lava Bear,’ The spirit’s voice echoed inside William’s mind. ’Be careful. Lava Bears are known for their monstrous strength and defense. On top of that, they possess exceptional talent in using fire-related skills.’

’I can tell...’ William responded as he had just experienced the formidable strength of the bear firsthand and his entire arm was still numb.

On top of that, the monster had successfully parried his earlier attack using only its sharp claw, showing just how powerful its defense was.

Under the effect of Time Perception, William processed all the information about the monster in just a second.

And in that brief second, the Lava Bear had already taken a step forward and was rushing toward him again, as if it had never intended to give William any room to breathe.

William sneered when he saw this, and the next instant, he willingly charged toward the monster.

The Lava Bear was stunned when it saw this. However, a fierce light soon flashed in its deep red eyes, and it smashed its claw downward at the two-legged beast that dared to charge toward it.

Rumble!

As the bear’s claw came down, the surrounding air trembled as if it had been solidified by some strange force.

William, who was rushing forward suddenly felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, causing his body to stagnate for a moment.

The Lava Bear’s claw came down at precisely this moment and struck his head.

Bang!

William’s figure was instantly smashed into pulp, and even after smashing him, the monster’s attack didn’t lose any momentum and continued downward, striking the solid ground.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A violent force tore through the solid ground, which was harder than concrete, and chunks of black stone flew in every direction like bullets.

However, the Lava Bear didn’t show any joy after smashing the invader who had intruded into its territory. Instead, a look of confusion appeared on its face because it couldn’t see any trace of the invader.

No blood, no flesh, there was nothing.

Moreover, when its attack had landed earlier, it had felt that something was wrong.

Just as it was feeling confused—

Woosh!

A sharp sound of wind being sliced apart reached its ears from behind, and it quickly tried to turn around.

However, before it could fully turn around, a sharp sword light struck the back of its neck.

CLANG!

Sparks erupted from the impact.

The Blood Moon bit into its thick hide, cutting through layers of fur and flesh before finally stopping against its powerful defensive muscles.

William’s expression changed slightly as he hadn’t expected his attack to fail to penetrate the bear’s flesh even after being enhanced by Sword Dominator and the Wind Cutter battle art.

ROAR!

The Lava Bear roared in anger after being played by William, and its enormous claw swept sideways with terrifying speed.

William didn’t even bother trying to pull Blood Moon out of the monster’s muscles. Instead, he immediately used Phantom Steps to retreat.

BOOOOOOM!

The Lava Bear’s claw swept through empty air, but the force behind the attack was so terrifying that the surrounding air exploded, sending shockwaves in every direction.

William appeared ten meters away and, with a thought, called Blood Moon back into his Sea of Consciousness.

Because Blood Moon was a Soul Armament, it was connected to his soul, allowing him to call it back as long as it wasn’t too far away from him.

Once Blood Moon returned to his Sea of Consciousness, he summoned it again.

Holding the sword, William glanced at the shallow wound on the bear’s neck and narrowed his eyes.

’Its physical defense is too high.’

The Lava Bear didn’t give him much time to think and the instant it saw William appear in the distance, its blood-red eyes glowed, and it opened its enormous mouth.

ROAR!

A terrifying roar erupted, and a crimson wave of energy spread outward from the bear’s mouth, causing the surrounding air to distort violently.

William’s expression changed, and he quickly activated Time Perception and Time Acceleration.

The crimson wave that was rushing toward him slowed down in his eyes. Just as it was about to touch him, William twisted his body backward, and the energy wave brushed past his skin.

Even though the energy wave didn’t touch him directly, William still felt a scorching pain across his skin, as if someone had poured boiling water over him.

He stopped using Time Perception and Time Acceleration, and everything in his eyes immediately returned to normal.

BOOOOOOOM!

The instant he stopped using the skills, the crimson wave struck the ground behind him.

The black volcanic rock instantly melted, forming a deep trench that stretched dozens of meters into the distance.

William gulped audibly when he saw this because he knew that if he were struck by that attack, it would be game over for him.

Even after launching such a terrifying attack, the Lava Bear didn’t stop and suddenly stomped its foot against the ground.

Rumble!

The entire ground trembled, and a strong sense of crisis surged within William’s heart.

Boom! Boom! Boom! — — —

Suddenly, the ground within a hundred-meter-diameter area around them split open, and pillars of blazing lava erupted from beneath the surface.

Without hesitation, William pushed Phantom Steps to its absolute limit and turned around to run.

But the Lava Bear’s attack was too fast, and before he could rush out of its attack range, a pillar of lava erupted right beside him.

Using Phantom Steps, William successfully avoided being turned into ash on the spot.

However, the impact of the explosion still launched him into the air, sending him flying several meters upward.

ROAR!

A violent roar once again reached his ears, and William saw that the Lava Bear had somehow appeared right beside him at some point.

He was still in midair and had no way to dodge.

The Lava Bear’s deep red eyes were fixed on him as it swung its enormous arm.

BOOOOOOM!

The surrounding wind exploded, and the giant arm of the bear grew larger and larger in William’s vision.

Just as the arm was about to smash his head into pulp, the storage ring on his hand glowed slightly, and the next second, a shield appeared in his hand.

It was the Uncommon Grade treasure he had obtained from Roran when he had entered the Astral Rift in the Kolva Mountain Range.

The Lava Bear’s arm struck the shield, and a tremendous force surged through it, nearly knocking the shield out of William’s hand.

At the same time, because he was in midair, the force attempted to blast him backward.

However, a dark-brown energy enveloped William’s entire arm holding the shield. He immediately circulated his earth-elemental Aether Energy and used the shield to withstand the entire force without being knocked away.

RIP!

Because he didn’t allow himself to be blasted backward and instead forcibly endured the impact, the tremendous force ripped open the skin and nerves of his hand, causing blood to flow from his arm.

But William didn’t pay any attention to his injury and his eyes remained fixed on the Lava Bear, which was also in midair.

The shield he had obtained from Roran possessed a reflective property. The instant the monster struck it, a portion of the force was reflected back at the Lava Bear, causing it to lose its balance in midair.

’This is my chance...’

William still held the shield in his left hand, but Blood Moon disappeared from his right hand.

He clenched his fist, and before the monster could recover its balance, he threw a Shockwave Fist, striking directly at the top of the monster’s head.

Bang!

The Lava Bear felt as if it had been struck by a gigantic hammer.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Its massive body was smashed into the ground from midair, creating a pit over four meters in diameter. And as the vibrations from Shockwave Fist drilled into its head, it instantly felt dizzy.