----


    As Apollo looked at his foe, he was startled by the fact it seemed to be humanoid, yet something was missing to confirm this. He took a few steps in retreat to thoroughly examine it, but he had yet toe to a sound conclusion after many moments.


    The unfamiliarity of it stumped Apollo.


    ''What is this thing?'' Apollo wondered, conjuring a scythe of Hellfire. The only way to obtain answers now was by verifying them through contact.


    Meanwhile, almost as if it was programmed to do none other than attack, the humanoid figure dashed back towards Apollo. This time, there were two daggers that slid down to their palms from within their sleeves.


    Watching this, Apollo digested some of the signs, ''It doesn''t seem to move quite like a human. There is a dy in its actions. It seems to be following some type of script.'' After his assumption, Apollo matched the opponent with a dash.


    Before it could attack him, Apollo jumped and spun on the figure beforending and delivering an apt sh to its back. This action had two purposes. One, he wanted to determine the limits of its response time. If it was closer to his level, then he would entertain the idea of summoning his Demons. If not, it was the perfect time to hone his own technique.


    Fortunately, its spontaneous response seemed to becking. On the other hand, Apollo also verified this figure was not human. There were no organs, there was just a dim crystal in the middle with infrastructure resembling veins, connecting to its extremities and head.


    "Is this some type of puppet?" Apollo muttered. This was the only conclusion he could make. All of the signs pointed in this direction. Not only was there the fact that it moved as if it was programmed to follow a certain session of movements, but there was also the lifeless appearance.


    More importantly, the infrastructure confirmed this. However, be that as it may, it didn''t answer questions. On the contrary, it made Apollo pose many more questions. ''I wonder, just who made this puppet; perhaps it''s the same individual responsible for the construction of this ce.''


    Though he was onto something, he didn''t have enough time to continue pondering the matter. The attack dealt to the puppet didn''t diminish itsbat capabilities in the slightest. This was a trait it overpowered a human in. Granted, it almost presented simr weaknesses.


    For example, Apollo''s gaze shifted towards a small hitch in its connective joints before moving. ''This must be some type of prototype or just some imperfect creation that was meant to be food. Nevertheless, I just need to destroy it to advance,'' Apollo determined, entering apletely focused state.


    In his eyes, there was just him and the puppet rushing towards him. For a moment, time seemed to freeze and Apollo''s perception sped up many times over. Although he didn''t move, he received arge amount of information.


    Finally, the sound of metal grinding together echoed within the clearing. Apollo twirled the scythe around his body, moving in fluid, unpredictable patterns to disrupt the opponent''s flow. Once he achieved that, he began experimenting with the puppet.


    Due to theck of information given, he needed to find out the limits of this thing for himself. After all, he was almost certain the task he was warned of couldn''t be a single opponent. Thus, if he wished to prepare himself, it was best to do so from the start. Waiting untilter was just an inefficient utilization of time.


    Slowly, small pieces of the puppet fell off under the continued strikes of Apollo. Although he withheld arge portion of his strength, the outer material of this particr puppet seemed to be brittle. Even if he removed the weight from his strikes, the Hellfire alone was enough to damage to outer shell.


    With time, Apollo soon gathered enough information. When he dealt damage to the puppet, the crystal in the middle would pulsate and release a wave of energy to ount for the damage suffered to the puppet.


    Even though it didn''t repair the puppet, it reinvigorated its movements. This discovery made two things clear. The first being the crystal was ultimately their weakness. In fact, it was theirrgest weakest.


    Meanwhile, the other matter Apollo learned of was even more disturbing, ''If the puppets grow in strength, then a battle of attrition isn''t desirable. If their reserves arerger than mine, then they can support their maximum output longer.''


    But, after Apollo shattered the puppet, the crystal remained. This was even after directing hisst attack at the crystal. While in shock, a voice rang throughout the clearing.


    [First Stage, Phase One cleared. psed time: 24 minutes and 32 seconds. Grade 1 Inferior Puppet Defeated. Reward: Fractured Inferior Source.]


    Upon hearing this information, Apollo stared at the crystal on the floor, "So this is an Inferior Source? What are its uses?" Apollo questioned quietly. Picking up the dim crystal, he inspected it over and over. To him, there was no difference between this source and a Spirit Shard.


    However, as he retrieved one andpared it, the energies within seemed attracted to each other, but they repelled one another right before they touched.


    "I remember this phenomenon. It happens when Spiritual Essence and Natural Essence tries to fuse. Does this mean...does this mean this source spoken is just purified Natural Essence? No, purified doesn''t seem right, it''s too dim to be called purified," Apollo mumbled, producing multiple conclusions in his mind.


    Sadly, his research session was cut short. Unlike before, the voice announced the beginning of the next stage.


    [Stage 1, Phase Twomencing in 3 seconds. Opponents: 3 Grade One Inferior Puppets.]


    Apollo stood up in response and prepared himself. Three doors opened on the ground level, revealing three puppets that advanced. Compared to before, while of the same grade, they weren''t geared the same. One held a sh9ield, another was equipped with a long sword while thest one was equipped with a shield and a long sword.


    ''Interesting, each of them seemed to be specialized. Their creator must have had some advancements in their progress at the time of their making,'' Apollo surmised. Subsequently, he shifted his foot and dispersed the Hellfire scythe.


    Since it had been quite some time since he engaged in closebat, his body was itching for a stretch. After confirming this type of puppet was incapable of damaging his body, it was also revealed there was no need for a weapon as of yet.


    Even the weapons used by the puppets were of inferior material.


    Once again, the two sides shed. However, it was much more difficult than facing a single opponent. Different from the puppet from before, these 3 appeared to be programmed to act as one. Hence, they attacked from three angles simultaneously.


    Even though the attacks weren''t powerful, Apollo was still umting fatigue nheless. The repeated attacks were bound to increase his stamina exhaustion rate. Luckily, he wasn''t in a predicament warranting extra movement. In this fight, his style was barbaric, receiving blows to administer them.


    Soon enough, this trio of puppets was smashed to bits.


    Whereas the first stage gave a good amount of time to recover, the next message appeared for the start of the third phase. Moreover, the difficulty skyrocketed, even Apollo felt it.


    Nevertheless, Apollo was still enthused by the oue. It appeared this realm operating on the principle of "you eat what you kill." After all, he was able to retain the source from every puppet killed thus far.


    [Stage 1, Phase Threemencing in 5 seconds. Opponents: 5 Grade One Inferior Puppets & 1 Grade Two Ordinary Puppet.]


    At the mention of an ordinary puppet, Apollo''s eyes narrowed. Every time an unfamiliar term was mentioned it would put Apollo on edge. Until he gathered sufficient information, Apollo was liable to be cautious. He had learned before,cency is the death of man.


    Once again, the doors opened, but this time, one of the doors on the second level opened, and a puppet with a much more life-like appearance came forth. As it moved, its gait retained a semnce of an expert''s demeanor.


    From this, Apollo was able to glean something. ''I guess I can expect exponential climbs in difficulty as opposed to gradual increases. Nevertheless...let''s do this.''


    Apollo exhaled and made his move. Since hecked the numbers, for now, it was in his best interest to snatch hold of the battle''s momentum. Granted, this was only possible if he possessed an overwhelming advantage.


    Sadly, the moment he moved, so did the one atop. Furthermore, from the way it moved, it seemed like an assassin. It was many times faster inparison to any of the puppet faced up until now.


    ''BOOM!''


    Their sh was more impactful than the others. Apollo even became serious when he noticed the increased durability of this puppet. It was at least 4 times harder than the inferior one. Despite their collision, there wasn''t a crack found on their forearm.


    Not to mention, there was an almost human expression in this puppet''s eyes as it monitored Apollo. It opened its mouth which surprised Apollo.


    At first, he thought it was going to speak but warning signs arose in his mind, prompting him to react quickly. The moment he ducked, three metal projectiles shot from the puppet''s mouth, impaling the wall behind Apollo.


    The prative force behind the attack confounded Apollo. ''This thing has hidden weapons now?! Alright, ytime is over!''


    "Fwoosh!''


    Apollo released a billowing aura, reinforcing his body with Demonic Anima. Instantly, he rushed forward and punched through the torso of the ordinary puppet. Additionally, he also grabbed its head and smashed it into the ground.


    As for the rest of the puppets, Apollo swung his arm in an arc, firing a Demonic Massacre Wave. The third phase was cleared in a few short moments.