Fist fighting was one of the things Harley carried on from his past life... That, and his talent for observation.
Harley didn't get a chance to breathe as the other lizard had gotten up from his position. He vanished from his spot, making the lizard slash thin air...
There was a blur beneath the arm, followed by a force hitting the lizard backwards.
Harley appeared where he stood previously and ran to the side, grabbing the sword which he had used previously and throwing it to the creature with all his might.
*Bang!*
Harley heaved a sigh, staring down at the ground where he stood. Ahead of him was the lizard, pinned to the stone walls which seemed to even have cracked from the impact of the sword.
"Not bad."
Harley turned around, seeing Vernox staring at the creatures he had just killed. Then his eyes went to where his partner fought and he saw that the other two were already killed.
And Vernox...
'He didn't even break a sweat.' Harley nodded his head.
'Would my life be easier if I was raised in a noble household?' He couldn't help but think to himself, remembering the only prominent baby memory of how his father didn't want him in this world.
"Have you received an artifact?" Harley asked, recounting that the Oracle didn't reward him for any of his kills.
"No, it seems the oracle's being stingy... Or it wants the trial to be hard," Vernox said with a convinced tone.
Unlike Harley, he seemed to have accepted that the trial was designed as such to kill them, not to make them pass and gain power. Well, he was trained in a noble family after all.
"Are you guys official knights of Knave, the raven? You guys are good. Forgive us for not being of any use," Lesley asked, scratching the back of his head.
Vernox looked at Harley, who simply ignored them and headed further into the tunnels.
"The entire nest is a recent one, so that's why there aren't too many creatures here for now," Lesley spoke, looking at the walls.
The small orbs of light that followed them around had been very much useful. Deeper into the cave there was an awful stench coming from within.
"Ugh, I guess we're close to the heart of the nest now." Lesley covered his nose.
The elf seemed to only give Lesley a glance before turning around and bringing out a bottle and some cups.
"How about we wait a while and replenish our energy?" Lesley took the bottle, sitting down on the ground.
Harley turned to see that Vernox had also stopped for a while and he frowned, walking forward in strides towards Lesley.
"We're in the middle of a goddamn monster nest?! What are you doing?!" He snatched the drink, glaring at Lesley in the eyes.
"We're supposed to be preparing for the worst, or are you prepared to die? Why are you even in a nest like this, and why aren't you fighting with us? You wanted to come, right? You all are weak, that's why. From now on, why don't you just praise us while we display our awesome skills?"
Harley bombarded the man with questions left and right until a hand rested on his shoulder.
"That's enough. What is wrong with you?" Vernox spoke with a deep frown, his golden eyes glaring at Harley.
Harley only shrugged his hand off, giving the bottle back to Lesley.
"Be lazy all you want." He walked deeper into the dungeon, leaving the others behind.
Sooom, Harley was deep into the nest and from here, there was an open entrance that led down into what seemed like a real nest.
'Woah!' Harley was shocked. It was as if he was looking at a real lizard nest that was his size.
There were what looked like balls made of sand, but if he was to guess, the eggs were within those balls of sand, and from a single glance...
'One... Ten... Thirty... Over fifty!' He swallowed, counting the eggs in the cave.
Apart from that there was a singular creature walking around, along with another sleeping in the middle of the eggs.
The lizard was green in colour, but was much bigger than the ones that they killed earlier. Its scales looked tougher, and he had to guess that it was the queen.
Then there was the lizard that walked around, holding a bone that was sharpened. It had a sharper gaze in its eyes and its muscles were defined.
It was an actual humanoid lizard.
'I have to wait for them to catch up.' He moved away from the entrance.
The light from a hole in the middle of the nest fell to where he was, so he summoned his script, the world record.
—–— World Record –——
Name: Harleyquin -------- -----------
World of origin: World 09 - Earth (Collapsed)
Current world: World 02
Race:
Essence Rank: 1st echelon, scheme 7
Artifacts: 0
Fate flags: 0
Tales: Wolf in sheep's Clothing
——– Story Profile –——
-Information Hidden
——– Attributes –——
-None
——– Abilities –——
- Unwritten Presence, Borrowed Tongue, Omniscient Perspective
——– Recorded Kills –——
Creatures killed - 46
Story fragments - 38
Unfinished Subjugations - 0
Sealed stories - 0
——– ~~~~~ –——
"Kneel, and be remembered." He whispered, and he felt the wish locked vibrate subtly before a flood of essence surged through his body.
It was more than any that he had absorbed; his body instantly went numb from the pain.
After five minutes, the pain suddenly vanished and a new, cold sensation spread all around his body.
"Wow." He couldn't help but whisper, looking at his fists.
'I'm definitely a lot stronger now.' He smirked, and just at that moment, the Oracle decided to speak.
{You have broken through scheme 7 and formed an essence circuit. You have reached Scheme 8.}
{Scheme 9 is your cap for this trial}
Nodding to himself, he sat down and he really wanted to test for how long he could stay invisible. He couldn't make himself invisible while fighting but he could for any slowed down movement which turns him into a blur.
Now he just had to wait for Vernox and the others to get here...
...
"Have you been waiting long?" Vernox's voice reached Harley and he turned, standing up.
"You guys really took your time." He smiled, looking at Lesley who was behind Vernox.
"Hope you didn't drink with them. I need you to fight with me." He looked at Vernox with intense eyes and asked and Vernox only shook his head.
"Good, now let's go."