Levi was prepared; his nano gauntlet vibrated with high frequency in his hands. But he was still caught unaware.
Riven's blade cleaved through his thigh, amputating him in a single strike.
Endless regeneration activated, growing his legs instantly.
Riven was not surprised; he expected it.
He moved again, his dagger drawing an arc of lightning and fire in the air as he cut through his arms again.
Once again, they grew.
Riven continued, but with each passing moment, it took longer. Levi was adapting to Riven's attacks mid-battle.
Riven's daggers came down, but this time they did not reach.
A shield formed over Levi, blocking the strike. Levi's fist shot forward at a blinding speed.
Riven moved, retracting his daggers just in time to block the punch.
Levi's hand was reconstructed, forming claws. He grabbed the dagger and yanked it with all his strength.
Riven was left with no weapons, but he did not waver. Flames coated his arm as he lashed out, catching Levi by surprise. His fists connected, hurling Levi across the plain like a rag doll.
Levi stood up with a smirk. "Is that all you can do?" He asked, his frame fading and reappearing before Riven.
Riven stood there unmoving as Levi's claws snapped forward. As they reached Riven, Levi felt a distortion. Before anything could register, a punch landed on his face.
Blood spilled from his nose uncontrollably, but he did not care. His mind calculated what had happened at a rapid pace. 'He did not move,' he thought. 'What the hell happened there?'
Then he remembered. 'Haze.'
Haze was one of the 3 mind elements, and it messed with a person's cognitive ability. "I see, your mind element is haze," he said to Riven, who stood over 20 meters away, with an unnerving calm.
Rive looked at him with surprise. He was shocked Levi found out immediately, but that was all. "Even if you know, there is nothing you can do," Riven retorted.
Levi smiled. His eyes shone with a silver light as a golden crown appeared on the iris.
The claws transformed, forming a spear.
Levi lunged, the earth cracking beneath him as he reached Riven.
Riven's hand darted out, meeting the spear mid-air. As the spear hit, Riven disappeared, and a punch flashed from behind Levi's head.
A grin tugged Levi's lips. He knew from the start that the Riven in front of him was a fake, thanks to his bloodline skill, the Eyes of Truth.
Nanites weaved seamlessly behind him, blocking the punch. Just as Riven was about to move back to re-strategize, he discovered he had been trapped.
Nanite arrows floated behind him, their frames pulsing with mana. Thick grey chains held him down to the ground.
The sky was filled with thick grey clouds of nanites that were ready to devour him at any moment.
Seeing this scene, a bead of sweat dropped from Riven's face. He was strong, but even his elements seemed to have failed him at this moment.
Levi turned back, his gaze locking into Riven's like a god of death. "No, it is a spar, you don't have to kill me," Riven pleaded, but Levi did not listen.
His spear came down, detaching Riven's head from the neck in a single strike.
Riven closed his eyes, a single thought surfacing. 'I was betrayed, once again.'
A wild laughter cut through the plains. Riven furrowed his brows, then instinctively, his hands went to his neck.
"What just happened?" He asked, his tone filled with dread.
Levi wanted to talk, but the laughter was just too much. He held his stomach from pain.
Riven looked at him, the feeling to hit him arising. But he was not sure if his head was going to drop this time, so he left him.
After laughing for over 3 minutes, Levi finally stopped, wiping a year from his eyes.
"Who would have thought someone like you was scared of death, even going as far as to beg," he teased.
"Let me take a guess, your mind element was nightmare," Riven said.
"Yep."
"When was I affected?"
A smile formed on Levi's lips. "Since you used haze the second time."
Riven nodded, then went to another side. His mind was already replaying every moment of the battle, his flaws and where he needed to improve.
Everyone was not like Levi who would instantly adapt or improve his style.
Levi saw this, and did not disturb him. He went back to the wolf's side.
"How long till it finishes?" Levi asked the system.
[2 minutes] The system replied. Levi nodded as he sat down to check himself.
"I reached Master stage 3," he muttered.
He activated cloning again, and sent the clone to the pocket dimension once again to assist the other clones.
"System, can I fuse my elements now?" He asked, expecting a denial.
[Yes, the host's body can now handle it.]
Levi's lips twitched slightly, before the smile erupted. "What would the fusion of time and Nanites be?" He thought with excitement.
With a thought, his time and nanites sigil appeared on the back of his palm.
Fusion, he said with a low, but anxious voice.
Instantly, the sigils swirled at an insane speed. After 3 minutes, they began to slow down, and finally stopped.
Levi looked at the new sigil that formed. The new sigil was an infinity sign formed from tiny wheel-like particles.
"Chronite," he muttered.
As he wanted to dive deeper, he felt a sudden surge of energy spread.
His eyes moved towards the wolf immediately.
The wolf was no longer where it was. Levi furrowed his brows as he checked around.
Then a flash. A blinding light streaked past his face, and stopped mere meters away from him.
As the light faded, a wolf was revealed.
Silver furs that radiated elegance, and golden paws that glowed with each step.
The wolf stopped before Levi, and crouched submissively.
Levi's hand landed softly on the fur, and he stroked it slowly.
"Let's see your attributes, shall we?"