Aurum dumped all his Aura into his bone greatsword as he made a deep sigh, the excitement in his body coursed like lightning. To anyone on the outside, this event looks like a fucking catastrophe. The Standar were not the best warriors, they were traders by profession.
Going up against monster invasions sounded like something their allies the Renacida would do. Yet here he was serving as the vanguard for a caravan charging forth into a large group of beasts.
In his path twenty 30-meter snakes, Jormungandrs were menacingly preparing to strike. Behind them, an even bigger 50-meter behemoth with eight legs known as a Goliath dragoneater spider sat waiting for the caravan to come closer.
Among the horde in front of him, numerous Hercules Antlions, Desert dragons, and five-tailed terror scorpions charged towards them. To most such odds would be impossible. Yet the son of Standar didn't have a drop of fear in his eyes.
Aurum like most boys loved the legendary tales of knights besting dragons and saving the damsel. Most nobles prided themselves in being descendants of such heroes. Unfortunately, his father lacked the temperament to be a warrior. However, even he never forgot to share tales of their once proud ancestor.
"Remember my son, you must be noble and just. In you flows the blood of Caelum Standar, the strongest knight that followed Dius Valorious as they saved the continent from demons. His feats of courage and bravery are the pillars that make the world what it is today. So take pride in the name we carry."
Since then, Aurum tried to learn everything he could about Caelum. How he dressed, how he acted, what he ate. The man tried to chase after his ancestor as a role model. But life did not turn out like he wanted, his father's mistake derailed his present path and even their very lives.
Yet fate had yet to abandon him. A whisper brought him to the Wolfen butcher, the man granted him the power to not only resist the strong but to dominate them. He even managed to triumph over Tino Malosi. The terror of the underworld.
"Right, if you told anyone a level 19 brat would kill over level 40 monsters people would say you are insane. A level 35 winning against a level 75 is also an impossibility."
Yet, the man did both. Against the unimaginable the son of Standar prevailed over all of them. Like the wind against a mountain, Aurum did not succumb to fear and fought will all his heart and soul. If he started out a gentle breeze, he could now be called a powerful gale.
Slowly but surely he would reach for his goal: Caelum, but right now he chased after Hiro. Aurum started to desire strength after the auction, to be strong to the point you controlled who lived or who died. The feeling was addicting. And if he wanted more, he needed to climb higher.
However, today, as he saw what he would go up against, fear started to enter his heart. What if I fail? What if I die? How can I survive? Can I just run? Human nature wanted to safeguard one's own life, cowards live longer and that is a fact. Consequently, the debilitating fear slowly but surely made the blond warrior's body tremble.
*Slap*
"NO! The son of Standar died in the auction. Didn't I end Tino? I am strong! I am Aurum a descendant of Caelum Standar. And I will never run away from anyone ever again! The others are similar, if I do not do this I will be left behind! If a mountain stands in front of me then I will become a hurricane and rip it into dust!"
The young man slapped himself to drive out the fear. What most fail to realize is that even the brave feel fear, but the difference between the courageous and the weakling is that the weaklings are terrified into inaction while the brave push forward despite the fear.
Aurum sucked in a deep breath and roared! "I AM AURUM STANDAR! DESCENDANT OF THE STRONGEST KNIGHT CAELUM STANDAR! GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU WEAKLINGS!" He then made a running leap into the Hercules Antlions and executed his strongest skill.
"[HAMMER SPIN]!"
Due to the high adrenaline and Aura surging around Aurum's body, his blows cracked the shells of the Antlions like nuts. Alerts flooded his vision indicating his gains, yet the blond hurricane did not stop. He moved to ensure the last blow would hit a Desert Dragon.
Despite wielding a greatsword due to the effect of [Bloodline of Steel] with a thousand points of Aura the weapon grew denser and allowed for more powerful strikes. Mass, density and weight all contributed to increasing the power of weapons when swung.
Hiro's buff compounded on one another. You get an increase in ATK if you fight a marked enemy, kill it and you gain more exp, learn about its anatomy and you gain even more damage.
The Butcher's new reality [On the Other Side of Suffering] turns pain received into power. With all those buffs the Antlions and Desert dragons who only are at level 40, didn't stand a chance.
*BOOM*
Like a bomb, the dragon exploded from the inertia of the blow. Unfortunately, the skill had a drawback. When Aurum froze, he lay vulnerable. And the beasts around him knew it. In just seconds the man's body got torn into shreds from the mandibles of tens of antlions ripping his flesh apart.
He used his defensive skills like [Aura Armor] to focus on his vitals, something he learned from seeing Hiro's [Mana Molding]. As he incurred pain most would already go into shock from, the son of Standar kept focusing on his next steps.
'Not yet, endure. I need to take the snakes and the dragoneater. But how?' When he could move again he drank some blood and used his added ATK bonus to slash the Antlions around him into confetti.
As he noticed the caravan quickly approaching he grew irritated. 'Shit, I need to clear the way! I cannot waste time with the small fry!' Inwardly complaining about the absurdity of running while fighting a large army. Aurum charged while Slashing as many of the monsters as he could.
The man then saw the snakes moving closer to block the road. 'NO! I won't make it in time! Even if I take down the snakes the dragoneater is still behind them! If we do not clear this demon invasion many will die!' His fighting style due to its simplicity, lacked any meaningful way to engage enemies at a distance.
'What can I do? Even If I engage them, the spider will block the carriage. I need to clear a path. Fuck! What can I do ancestor Caelum? What would you do?!' The Son of Standar liked knights because of how noble and just they were. Growing up with scum he naturally wanted to add to the light instead of darkness.
As he grew desperate, Aurum failed to notice more and more Aura coming out of his body, amounts that would normally have already squeezed him dry. He raced towards the snaked and intended to leap and smash them towards each other using [Hammer Blow].
What he failed to realize was another energy awoke in his body.
Suddenly he saw a memory akin to a playback video. It showed Caelum fighting against a massive horde and a single horseman running to escape them. Aurum's ancestor held his sword as he chanted a skill that reversed the tide of battle; Thereby ensuring the safe passage of the rider.
'A memory? What was that it felt so real! Never mind, I don't have a better plan. If this works, then I can clear the way.' Aurum leaped into the air not attacking any monster and chanted his Ancestor's skill. Aura and Spirit surged from his body as he chanted his skill.
"[Gales Turn Into Hurricanes]!"
The winds around the plains all then suddenly started to converge behind Aurum. Gales rotating at intense speeds caused them to become visible. They eventually coalesce into a gigantic 40-meter avatar of Aurum from the waist up.
Hiro who saw the giant figure couldn't help but quip, "Is that a motherfucking stand?!"
