HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 246: King Slayer

Axel got into the line where the warriors were registering for the Tests.

As he waited, he watched the Screenings of other applicants. By observing them, he can get an idea of the general level of the people in this world.

If there was a rating scale, then average students of Hogwarts would come at 5, and trained wizards would come at 10.

The Elite level figures he faced like the Chinese and Russian Ministers would be around 50.

Then, average Atlantian warriors would also not be low, around 30.

Powerful and Talented Atlantian warriors would be 100, through bloodlines and Septise Magic.

Relic Wielders, meaning those of Relic Wielder Division and the Overseers would be 500 onwards. But it's really subjective. They have weaknesses, but they have absolute dominance in certain fields.

A Figure like Aslot would easily take 500 'without' a Relic, and 2000+ with a Relic, because, well, can even take down 2000 wizards without breaking a sweat, and he was able to defeat the whole Relic Wielder Division by himself.

Based on this rating scale, (which is neither too accurate nor reliable), these warriors in these trials are around 100 to 500+ (Reaching Relic Wielder Level even without Relics).

The races in this world are much more strengthened and evolved due to the presence of Magic, and they have received training and magical education that is far more mature and complete compared to the Wizards on Earth.

Another thing to be noticed is that they can use the magic in the Environment as well, which the Wizards on Earth cannot do due to the lack of magic, also contributing to vast the power difference.

Also, according to this rating, the beast [Void Stalker] that Axel had killed can be considered more powerful than most of these warriors, and that's why no one messed with Axel after he had thrown out its carcass.

So, being much stronger than even Aslot (2000+) now, Axel can be considered quite strong in this world.

But the upper ceiling is not clear here, as he saw from Valerion the Archon, who took him on even when injured.

This makes Axel's current situation a bit tricky.

<How much should he show here?>

This was the question.

In order to be a scout of Aetherworld, he has to show off a lot of his power, but doing that is also likely to bring troubles.

What to do in this situation?

'Let's hide it for now,' he decided. For now, he won't show off too much.

Having thought things through, he continued watching the Trials of other applicants.

Most of the people were trying out for the positions of Basic Warriors and Mages and even other test had decent traffic. Except for the Giant War Qualifier.

The number of people were small, and yet, it seemed to garner the most attention. There didn't seem to be any concept of taking turns, as everyone was attacking the Giant together.

As he watched, an Orc Warrior also joined the fight.

This Orc Warrior seemed to have a reputation since some of the orcs in the crowd seemed to recognize him and shouted his name.

"It's Oracius!"

"GO! Oracius!"

Hearing the cheers, the participants waiting in line with Axel also got curious.

"This one seems to be good enough."

"How rare to see someone actually strong these days."

"Yeah, almost all of the capable warriors have already joined the Allied forces. Only the dregs are left now."

'These… are dregs…?' Hearing their casual discussion of the applicants waiting in line with him, Axel was a bit stunned. These warriors are already strong enough, but it seems that they are not much impressive compared to the real deal, which have already joined the Allied Army.

The Orc's face was quite serious. He took out a cylindrical piece of wood with intricate carvings and slammed it into the ground.

Then, something surprising happened. The surrounding energy was attracted to the pole and directed into the orc. The Orc's muscles swelled and a fierce aura surrounded him.

"Strength Totem…" Someone behind Axel murmured.

"Such an increase with a single totem, he really deserves his fame," said an Orc in the line.

So, it seems that the Orcs aren't a mindless race and do have a power system of their own, which are totems.

Now that he was aware they could be a threat, Axel studies the orc race more carefully. Their bodies seem similar to humans, only much stronger and bigger. In fact, their face is not much different either, except for the protruding nose and teeth, making Axel compare them with pigs and their ears, which were pointy.

Seeing the discussion of the people, a Goblin standing in the line snorted. "It's powerful, but not enough. Physical attacks do work on Giants, but they need to be extremely precise and strong. Otherwise there is no chance."

As if knowing what the Goblin knew, Oracius the Orc didn't stop there, as he took out yet another totem, this one flashing with lightning and the eyes of the face carved in it were glowing blue.

"The Lightning Totem! He actually has it!"

Further discussion spread around Axel, and listening in, Axel found that magic doesn't seem to have any effects on the Giants due to their natural resistance, except Lightning Magic.

But the Lightning needs to be on a high enough threshold in order to have any effect.

Oracius raised his hands in the air, chanting in a strange language and the clouds gathered out of the arena.

Lightning fell on the totem, getting transferred to Oracius.

And then—

BOOM

Lightning fell on the Giant, making it let out a cry that shook the arena. It sounded like a deep, reverberating voice that would continuously impact your eardrums and even cause vibrations into the ground.

To put things into perspective, Axel was not even the size of the Giants thumb. That's how huge its body was.

Though the Lightning was powerful, it seemed to fall short in front of the Giant's defense. The Lightning managed to hit the Giant once on the head, but then, a layer of magic seemed to on its whole face, blocking the rest. Shielding its head with its arms and retracting the magic, the Giant turned its attention from other warriors and glared down at Oracius.

!

It let out a loud roar which actually had magic in it. The sound waves hit the large area encompassing Oracius.

Using lightning, Oracius escaped the strike zone but it seems that his eardrums were still impacted, as he stumbled and covered his ears.

For outsiders, the voice seemed to be muffled due to a barrier covering the area of Giant Trial, but it seems that the rest of the Participants had to bear the impact as well.

"Even he can't do it," someone muttered after seeing this.

"The Giants really are in a league of their own."

"Yes, but he managed to damage the Giant. I'm sure he'll be included in the Giant war."

"He will be included, 'if' he manages to stay alive till the required survival time."

"Yes, with how he has managed to irritate the Giant, I'd be surprised if the Giant let him survive."

It seems that defeating the Giant is not an absolute requirement for selection, rather it is being able to damage the Giant and being able to survive.

"Postion?"

"The Giant War Qualifier."

At this moment, the tall figure said these words in response to the Goblin who was doing the registrations, attracting everyone's attention.

After the registration was complete, the person shrugged off the Cloak, revealing a conspicuous pair of purry ears, his head and muscular body.

"A Lycan?"

"He doesn't look weak."

"It seems that there's more to watch."

Silver colored magic gathered in his legs before he jumped, landing directly in the Trial Field. The Lycan let out a howl and silver magic fell down on him. His body enlarged and morphed, turned half wolfish.

On his body, which now had white fur, markings began to light up, on layer after another.

"Four layers? Who is this Lycan?"

The Lycans have a different magic system. They get a majority of their power from the moon, called Lunar magic. And that power is harnessed through the markings on their bodies. The more layers you light up, the more power you can use.

Obviously, four layers is a decent amount, since Axel could feel the Lycan's power skyrocketing to a rating of at least a thousand plus.

'What incredible muscle power,' Axel was impressed.

The Lycan's claws elongated, glinted with magic. A silver streak flew across the Giant's leg, landing on the other side.

Blood spurted out from the giant's leg, causing it to stagger. Oracius used this opportunity to fire several more lightning bolts at the Giant.

The other participants, who were still alive, also started to bombard the Giant.

The Lycan made it look easy, but from the attempts of the previous warriors, Axel knows that the Giant's skin is extremely tough to pierce.

The Lycan must have enormous muscle strength and extremely sharp claws to be able to pull this off.

The Lycan continued the offense, attacking the Giant from different angles. For a moment, it seemed that the Giant was going to die.

But then, it let out a loud roar. The whole arena started to shake.

Axel realized that the vibrations were originating from the Giants body. Despite the barrier, he could still feel a huge amount of power brewing inside him.

"By the dark dragon King… is this Giant…?'

"Yes! It looks like it's a Warrior Giant."

Ordinary Giants can't use magic, but the warriors of the race can.

The frequency of vibrations kept increasing as dark magic rays began to escape from the cracks of the Giant's skin. And then—

!!

A huge explosion rocked the Arena, causing everyone to stumble. And that was despite the barrier blocking almost all of the blast energy.

Those inside… weren't so lucky, many getting incapacitated or dying.

And now, it was finally Axel's turn for registration.

Once again, it was a Goblin who was sitting at the counter.

"Race?"

"Vampire."

"Name?"

"Valex."

"Identification?"

"Thrall.... Phoenix Coven," said Axel, lifting his sleeve.

When Axel mentioned Thrall, the interest of those around him faded, until he mentioned the Phoenix Coven.

Obviously, it wasn't an ordinary Coven, being infamous to the point of being known by other races despite all these years.

Thralls are Vampires who are lackeys of the main members of Covens. They don't know the core heritage of the Clan, meaning even though being from Phoenix Clan was a big deal, it was not something that would bring him too much trouble.

Axel decided to keep it like this for now, until he could safely reveal more.

a Thrall mark of the Phoenix Coven, the Goblin and everyone else who was listening in were shocked.

Not quite believing his words, the Goblin checked the Phoenix mark with a mark detector, a tool specifically designed to identify Vampire Coven Insignia.

When the mark did indeed turn out to be real, a murmur spread through the line, everyone having a lot of questions.

'System, you really played me,' Axel couldn't help but say, seeing the reaction of the people.

The system had informed him that he would be able to get the Thrall mark of a reputable Coven while being the only member, which would have been enough to get him a smooth energy.

But it didn't mention that he would actually become the Archon of an infamous Coven and have the ability to change the mark between Thrall's, Main member's, and Archon's as he pleased.

"Trial?"

"Giant War Participation."

The Goblin had to look up at Axel, scrutinizing him as if wondering how soon he would die. But there was also curiosity, due to him being from the Phoenix Coven.

"A Vampire against a Giant?"

"Even after what just happened?"

"Even a Thrall?"

Behind him, Axel heard low comments of the people. Obviously, after watching such powerful warriors fail, they just don't feel like Axel can really make a difference.

Using his magic, Axel quickly signed the security waiver that said he was responsible for his own death in case he dies that everyone had to sign.

"Take him," said the Goblin, and Axel was escorted towards the huge section of the arena where the Giant was bound.

In the stadium, cheers arose when a new participant entered the Giant Arena under the lead of the Guards. They opened up a small gap in the barrier and Axel was in.

Inside, the remaining contenders were struggling. A sort of dark magic had covered the Giant, protecting it from all damage. Beneath the layer was its thick skin, which was already almost impenetrable.

Seeing Axel's white skin, the others already knew his race. "Hey, Vampire! Distract the Giant with your tricks for a while. I'll kill it with the Lycan!" Shouted the Orc.

It seems that Vampires have some stereotypes among different races. No one seems to think that he can pose any threat to the Giant.

But it's understandable. Vampires' bodies aren't too strong, meaning they can't do physical combat. Their main strength lies in magic, since their blood can store a lot of it. But the problem here is Giants are resistant to magic.

That's why no one really expects anything from him.

"Oi Sucker! Do it already!" Yelled the Lycan, running from the Giant's stomps.

!!

At this moment, a familiar vibration travelled throughout the space. Axel looked up, and sure enough, the Giant was gathering its magic once again.

Seeing the disdainful attitude of the two warriors, Axel felt a bit miffed.

'I know I'm not too strong here, but…'

Axel disappeared.

High in the air, a whirling spear of blood formed in the air, crackling with energy. Before anyone even saw the source of the light, it was launched, straight into the Giant's eye.

The sphere penetrated the outer layer of magic so fast that the Giant didn't even have the time to blink.

!

Blood rained as the unprotected air was pierced, causing the Giant to roar. Usually, the spear should stop here since the Giant's interior was tough, perhaps even tougher, and it was constantly absorbing the magic from the sphere, trying to make it lose its momentum and energy.

But the problem was, Axel still had full control over it. Once in contact with the Giant's blood, it took over control over it as well, and Axel manipulated the blood to continue the rotation while also compressing it further.

The spear continued to pierce the bony orbital cavity before entering the frontal lobe, causing the Giant to go mad and almost release all of its energy.

Axel raised his hand and clenched his fist, causing the blood to compress. Then he released it, causing an explosion.

The dead Giant slowly fell to the ground, and Axel appeared on its head, still covered in his cloak.

He glanced at the two weaklings who had tried ordering him around.

!

The Wolf's tail drooped and Orc also lowered its head.

With that, Giant war selection came to a close for the day.

In this last session, Axel, the Lycan, and the Orc were selected, while the rest, who were still alive, were told to apply for other trials.

As Axel exited the Arena,

…

A.N.:

Excerpt: "It's quite long and thick. I've never seen one like this."

"What next?"

"Next, I'm going to shake it. When it leaks the sap, I'm going to collect it."

"Do it gently!"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"It's coming!"

"Hm… this juice is actually quite delicious. I love it."

After curfew, in the abandoned Greenhouse, Axel and Daphne were on the ground…. collecting the ingredients that Axel needed for his diet.

While picking up the magical herbs, Daphne also highlighted a few features about them as well as the correct ways to harvest them, which would help Axel find them in the future.

....

This is from the version I'm posting on Royalroad (ch 24).

While keeping the plot same, I'm adding a few more Daphne/Axel and other scenes which I couldn't before, fixing some holes and error, removing redundant things, and making it overall better.

I'm inserting a few chapters like this ch 24 which is filled with Axel-Daphne interaction.

So, in case you want a re-read someday, go follow it. Just search Arcane Thief on Royalroad or follow the /fiction/99323/the-arcane-thief-harry-potter-litrpg

POWERSTONES