Just call me Thor

"Thunderclap Strike!"

Facing Ares, Mike didn't hesitate. He unleashed his most powerful lightning attack, striking with full force!

Before entering, Mike had stacked thirty layers of Charge Up and applied Blessing of Lightning to himself. The highly boosted Thunderclap Strike was also his hundredth spell, activating [Perfect Aim]!

"Guaranteed hit!"

Boom—

Under the Thunderclap Strike, no one could survive.

The Slaughter Stele had a fatal flaw—the projections couldn't use talents. For Supreme Beings, their SSS-grade talents were their ultimate trump cards!

Even though Mike often complained about his [Eye of Truth], he had to admit it provided significant help. Without SSS-grade talents, even with a 100% attribute boost, the projections' combat power was greatly reduced.

Mike had faced Ares' projection once before. That was in the Combat Power Test hall, where Shadow Nine had activated the projections left by the Supreme Beings.

At that time, Ares had used his talent to negate the damage from Mike's fully charged Thunderclap Strike, exhausting his own energy and dissipating.

This time, Ares' projection had no talent ability, meaning he had to face the full brunt of Thunderclap Strike's damage, with [Perfect Aim] ensuring he couldn't dodge!

The Thunderclap Strike engulfed Ares' figure, flooding the entire space with lightning. Mike watched Ares' health bar plummet until...

[HP: 1]

Locked at 1 HP?

Cheating, huh?

Mike's eyes widened.

"He didn't die?!"

Mike swung his staff, ready to follow up with another Thunderclap Strike, Wind's Reach, Meteor Fire Rain... Against Ares, caution was paramount. Ordinary bosses might need two follow-up attacks, but an opponent like Ares might need twenty minutes of follow-up attacks.

Before Mike could act, Ares flicked his sword, producing a clear ringing sound, accompanied by his gentle voice,

"At level 100, I have mastered a sword technique known as Fate's Reversal, capable of turning the tide."

Ares had two messages?

Mike raised an eyebrow. Why was Ares always comprehending sword techniques?

At level fifty, he had comprehended [Void Tremor], capable of slaying Battle Chiefs. At level one hundred, he had comprehended [Fate's Reversal].

Though Mike didn't know the specifics of this sword technique, it sounded formidable.

Mike couldn't afford to be surprised. Although he was in [Lightning Phantom Form], Ares' sword still posed a significant threat! This sword strike could very well be true damage, ignoring defenses!

"Fate's Reversal!"

Ares raised his sword and slashed forward.

So fast! Ares' sword seemed to transcend time and space, ignoring distance, and slashed directly in front of Mike! Nightmare's Breeze behind Mike emitted a light, and a shadow darted out, sacrificing itself to intercept the sword light, instantly being torn to shreds,

"Tripod—"

Even so, Cerberus couldn't delay the sword light for even a millisecond.

Facing the terrifying sword light, the deadly threat, the suffocating pressure... Mike didn't dodge; instead, he charged forward!

A true man faces Ares' sword head-on! Come on, if you can kill me, you win!

Boom—

[Fate's Reversal] struck Mike, dealing massive damage, but his health bar remained untouched! A shield with a value exceeding a hundred billion appeared on Mike!

Before challenging Ares, Mike had challenged with Maxen Stoneheart and Joseph Windrider. It wasn't out of boredom but to stack shield values, precisely for this moment!

The two previous battles, spaced less than five minutes apart, had allowed Mike to use two [Blood Feast Gems].

His lightning not only instantly killed Maxen Stoneheart but also filled his shield with the overflow damage. The shield value exceeding a hundred billion came into play, absorbing the high-damage strike!

Boom—

The shield value plummeted but held firm! [Fate's Reversal] couldn't penetrate Mike's shield!

Meanwhile, Mike's continuous attacks depleted Ares' last bit of health, and the projection dissipated like foam.

"Good thing I made some preparations!"

Mike bowed slightly towards the dissipating Ares projection, showing respect. If both were at the same level and had their talents, the outcome would be uncertain.

The Eye of Truth provided a prompt.

[Your probability of losing is 50.01%]

Shortly after the projection dissipated, Mike exited the challenge space.

"Whew—"

Back at the Slaughter Stele, Mike exhaled deeply. That was close.

Quickly regaining his composure, he thought, "[Fate's Reversal] is a powerful move. If only I could learn it!"

Mike resolved to find a way to learn this technique from Ares. The five skill books Ares had given Mike didn't include [Fate's Reversal].

"Getting more skill books from Ares might be difficult. I need a breakthrough..."

For some reason, Maxen Stoneheart's image popped into Mike's mind.

That's probably not a good idea, right?

Mike felt like an angel and a devil were arguing in his head.

The devil said, "Use Maxen Stoneheart as a breakthrough to learn [Fate's Reversal]!"

The angel said, "Yes, yes."

Alright, that's settled.

"Defeated [Ares], gained 33% Exploration Rate!"

The moment Mike won, the name [Ares] on all Slaughter Steles flickered simultaneously! People near the Slaughter Stele immediately noticed this detail.

"What happened?"

"Someone defeated Supreme Being Ares' projection!"

"Thor, it must be Thor!"

"Don't be surprised. Projections without talents are much weaker. Some have defeated [Ares] Supreme Being's projection before, summarizing that as long as you withstand Fate's Reversal's damage, you can win!"

"Heh, you try withstanding it."

"..."

Historically, only six people had defeated Ares' projection. Even Maxen Stoneheart had defeated Ares. The real challenge was [Morpheus] and [Apollo]!

Since their projections were inscribed on the Slaughter Stele, they had remained undefeated. Even though Maxen Stoneheart had defeated Ares, his ranking was lower because he didn't stop there and went on to challenge Morpheus, resulting in a significant defeat that lowered his rating.

Now, the same dilemma faced Mike.

"Should I continue?" Having defeated Maxen Stoneheart, Joseph Windrider, and Ares, Mike had accumulated 83% Exploration Rate.

He only needed to challenge two more projections to easily achieve 100% Exploration Rate and, with the Blessing of Truth, secure an SSSS rating.

But...

"It feels like something's missing."

Mike looked at the remaining two Supreme Beings' names, feeling conflicted. "I've come this far; it wouldn't make sense not to try."

Apollo was out of the question for Mike. As for Morpheus... Due to Shadow Nine, Mike had a natural affinity for this Supreme Being he had never met. Now, with Morpheus' projection before him, he couldn't resist the urge to try.

Besides, if he discovered any embarrassing past of Morpheus in the projection, it would be highly amusing to Shadow Nine.

"Let's give it a shot."

Mike took a deep breath and first challenged someone in the top ten, using the overflow lightning damage to stack his shield value back to a hundred billion.

Against a Supreme Being, caution was paramount!

Thirty layers of Charge Up, complete.

Perfect Aim, ready!

...

Fully prepared, Mike raised his right hand, touching the topmost name: Morpheus!

Swish—

The familiar suction pulled Mike in. This time, he entered a pitch-black space! A chilling voice echoed in his ears,

"Tell me, do you dare to face your nightmares?"