33%
The bar in Rex's view pulsed, indicating that it had reached a milestone, the action pulled him from his dance of undead wreck, the exhaustion of his action hit him like a truck.
He had torn through dozens of Dark skeletons in few minutes with 'Overlord's Rage'. It was a stamina-demanding skill, he was no longer under the infinite health rule of the test, where he was able to use it as much as he desired.
Using the pause in battle Rex observed the battlefield. The dark skeletons were down by more than a third, his actions had greatly changed the pace of the battle.
Larger teams of fighters were being formed to better resist the undead. These teams were formed by groups of fighters who Rex had torn through their undead foes during his reign on the battlefield.
A chant was slowly gaining traction in the battlefield, a chant that filled him with a desire to battle, to triumph over enemies.
"You did it!, You did it!"
Amidst the chant, Luna shouted at Rex from a distance. As if on cue, a pulse struck his body, reinvigorating his being as his fatigue receded. Malhric the first mother had used 'Vigor' on him.
Rex waved at Luna in response to her scream, behind her Balhrok was barely holding back the two Humongous creatures that had stepped out of the 'Tear in Reality'. To Rex Balhrok needed help, but to Luna who was meant to be focused on assisting him, he was doing just fine.
Rex moved his head in silent contemplation as he observed the development. It was at that moment that he noticed developments he had overlooked.
'The 'Tear in Reality' was gone!'.
There was no sign of it having ever been, as he took note of this, further realization came to his mind: the purplish fog that had covered up the deathfield after the meteorite descended had greatly lightened.
"It really is over" Rex muttered to himself as he dashed in the direction of Luna and Balhrok, one-shotting Dark Skeletons along the way. He felt nostalgic as the skulls of the dark skeletons shattered in one blow, earlier he had to unleash a barrage of blows to do this, but with his fusion skill, he was now leagues above the Dark Skeletons in ability.
*****
55%
The progress bar pulsed.
Rex was now meters away from Balhrok's exchange, to his left was Luna who was grinning like the battle was already over. Rex smiled back, her actions always had a way to make him feel relaxed.
Dumm!
Balhrok narrowly dodged a slam from one of the Humongous bulbous flesh of undead, an action he did intentionally, he employed the slammed bulky arm of of flesh to avoid a wide sweep attack from the second humongous undead. Weaving through the narrow triangular shade created by the slammed limb of the undead.
Slash!!
His Axe bit into the slammed limb, carving off huge chunks of repugnant flesh. Alien to the norm, the carved out flesh rapidly healed as squirming flesh moved in to replace the shaved off portion of flesh.
Balhrok had come to better understand the humongous creature during the course of their battle. They were near invincible to any strike that did not cleanly cut through their squirming flesh. They rapidly healed any incomplete cut and even slowly regenerated cleanly cut limbs.
Referring to the one he had killed with Rex's assist, he had come to the conclusion that the only way to kill the creatures was by beheading them in one strike, like he had done earlier.
All alone, he had not being able to achieve that, the intense combat did not leave any space for that.
Swooshh!!
Rex shot past Balhrok, and landed a heavy kick on the limb of the humongous creature that was slowly healing itself. Before Balhrok could acknowledge his return, the Humongous creature that had smashed downward fell with a thump, its limb dislodged.
Balhrok was too much of a seasoned warrior to miss the opportunity, his Arma, a two handed axe shone with a reddish glow and in a single clean cut, decapacitated the head of the falling abomination.
77%
The timer pulsed, but Rex did not pay it any attention. Under the effect of 'Overlord's Rage', he was holding back the second 'Corrupted Pile' single-handedly.
True Sight had revealed the details of the monster to him:
[Corruptile Pile: Level 4]
[Boss Monster (Rare)]
He effortlessly weaved through the strikes of the Corrupted Pile, punching in between dodges, each of his punches causing the Corrupted Pile to take several steps backward.
Bahlrok couldn't help but remain stunned at how well the young warrior was handling the Humongous creature, his current ability was as great as his. He had only left the battle briefly and yet he had returned with abilities that greatly exceeded his expectation.
"Boom!!!"
Rex punched the "Corrupted Pile" heavily on its torso causing it to take several steps backward. Following the heavy punch Rex reinforced his feet, shooting upward and delivering an uppercut.
83%
The Corrupted pile lost its balance and fell with a heavy thud, he dived in immediately and started a barrage of strikes on the fallen pile. Fatigue was slowly creeping in, the demand 'Overlord's Rage' had on stamina was astronomical.
On the battlefield, the intensity of battle had dropped enough, for many warriors to observe Rex's barrage, in their eyes the Humongous monster that had stepped into the battlefield was the manifestation of despair. Seeing despair suffer under the punches of the unclad young warrior whose body glowed with violet-lit markings.
Their battle chant reached an all-time high, as they chanted away with all their heart. Balhrok stood back and observed, his Arma ready to deliver a lethal strike if the situation of Rex's battle with the humongous creature changed, but he did not have to.
Under Rex's barrage, the head of the Corrupted Pile was slowly turning into mush.
'Dumm!"
With one last punch, the head of the humongous monster splattered across the floor, it was no more.
97%
The loading bar pulsed continuously as it neared its end.
Rex turned back and took in his surroundings as much as he could. Residents of Alderom stared at him with reverent gazes and praises in their mouths, as the last of the Dark Skeletons were felled, an outcome preceded by his barrage on the death field.
Malhric the First Mother was in a meditative pose still locked in on observing everyone and offering support as much as she could. Balhrok gave him an acknowledging nod as he dashed back into the battlefield, barking orders to his guards and people.
Luna was grinning like a kid, she seemed to be mouthing something, something Rex felt to catch.
'She's really cute'
A single phrase resounded in his mind, a product of the subconscious department of his mental faculties.
'What the hell man, you have to focus." Rex chastised himself.
100%
The progress bar was complete.
Res turned and stared at Luna like his life depended on it, trying his best to etch the image that had triggered his subconscious to form words. His action emboldened by the encouragement of his inner voice, 'Who knows if you will ever see such beau again, make the stare count.'
Then everything turned dark in an instant, at the perfect time.
Any more and Rex would have further grown brazen in his ogling, he was already considering screaming 'You are really cute', as such action would not count once his quest ended or so as he thought.
. . .
Rex was back in the dark emptiness where he had met the light entity earlier. He did not have any time to appreciate the familiar devastatingly featureless emptiness.
He was rapidly pulled in the direction of the light entity, the speed of the pull continued to increase until he was dragged into the light.