Michael didn't expect them to even wield a [Unity Defense].
"You're kidding around," he muttered in the air, addressing ChatJK4.
The soldiers then reached down onto their shadows on the ground and retrieved a new sword from it.
These weapons glowed with power, something that Michael was extremely familiar with. In the moment they wielded it in their hands, their cultivations soared into the next star realm, pushing them to 6-star fighters.
These were none other than Mithril Artifacts!
But then, his surprise didn't end there. They then reached down into their pockets and took something small and spherical.
Michael realized it immediately. Those were 35% concentrated chocolate pellets!
Once the soldiers swallowed these snacks, their powers surged, almost reaching the 7-star realm, only a half-step below it.
As it turned out, the highest difficulty setting that ChatJK4 could create was just him fighting a normal Rebornian soldier.
"I guess I reap what I sow," he said.
He took out his own chocolate pellet from his pocket and consumed it in one go.
Power coursed through his veins, reaching even greater heights than normal. Thanks to his [Superior Sugar Rush] skill, just one pellet was enough to push him to the Flarecorp soldiers' level, making the battle even.
He floated in the air and raised his [Unity Gun] towards them, ready to fight. They raised their Mithril Artifacts and took their stances.
And so started the toughest battle that Michael had ever experienced in both of his lifetimes; including battles he had seen in anime and media.
He truly realized now how much of a threat his own Rebornians were on the battlefield. Their power to control all eight elements, their [Unity Defense], their Mithril Relics, their [Sugar Rush] was a nightmare to defend against. Everything amped up their skills to the max and even beyond that.
And with ChatJK4 controlling all of these soldiers, their powers were efficiently used with the best tactics and attack patterns that Michael had ever seen. They were bombarding him with the most unique and creative spells that were casted with extreme precision and accuracy.
He would concentrate on defending himself against their attacks before finding a small gap in their defenses, allowing him to use his [Unity Gun].
But even then, his shot would only destroy their [Lesser Unity Defense] that would regenerate after one minute. So, he had to take two shots in close succession in order to defeat one soldier. So far, he had yet to defeat a single one.
"Haa…haaa…" Michael breathed heavily as he looked up at all five Flarecorp soldiers floating in the air.
His clothes were tattered, messy, and bloodied. Fighting five soldiers with the powers of ChatJK4 was almost certainly a herculean task.
This was the first time that he felt that he would lose in a battle.
Every spell he used, they could counter. And every time he tried to escape from them, they would find him.
The only way he could injure them was through his [Unity Gun]. Yet the limitation of only being able to shoot one bullet at a time was a serious deterrent that left him unable to seriously wound them. Their [Lesser Unity Defense] would always regenerate before he could hit them with another clean shot.
Each of the five soldiers raised their swords up in the air, conjuring large magic spells that emanated the power of a peak 6-star spell.
Eventually, mana erupted out of the tip of their blades, forming into a large snake-like dragon that swam through the air like water.
All five dragons were made out of different elements, Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Lightning.
They soared through the heavens, asserting their dominance in the air. Their tails left behind a stream of mana, creating a circular formation in the middle of the skies.
Michael felt the wind blow in their direction, picking up in speed as the mana gathered around the formation.
Eventually, the dragons crashed through each other, with their elements combining and creating an even bigger dragon that incorporated all five elements.
As it reached its full length, the dragon looked down at Michael, ready to finish the job.
Michael knew that this could be the end.
Fatigue, exhaustion, and coupled with the fact that he had been fighting these soldiers for hours on end, made him completely forget that this was only a virtual simulation. Nothing was real. Even his pain was only an illusion made by ChatJK4 to make it look real.
But still, Michael felt the pressure of life and death on his hands. He felt that if he didn't defend himself against this large dragon, this could spell the end for him.
Even his [Unity Gun] seemed wholly ineffective against a behemoth this large. And it certainly wouldn't be able to defeat the five soldiers that created it.
But it was his only choice.
RAWWRGGHGH
The large dragon, made out of equal parts Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Lightning, broke through the large cumulonimbus cloud in the skies and surged towards Michael.
Its power was immense, unrooting trees and destroying the forest from the mere wind that was created by the dragon.
It dived down towards Michael, its jaws roaring as it opened to consume him.
Michael raised his hand, with the power of Unity gathering at his fingertips.
In this moment, where all seemed lost, Michael felt his heart pump with power. It was beating irregularly, with the GodForge pieces inside it starting to dance with intensity.
He could feel this new power start to course through his veins.
If Unity power was as hot as boiling water, then this new power—this Aubility—was as cool as ice. It was the exact opposite of mana.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Virian watched from the sidelines as Michael stood in place with his eyes closed.
From her perspective, he had only been doing this for a few minutes at most. But for Michael, hours had gone by.
Still, at this very moment, she suddenly felt a change in her surroundings.
It felt like the leaves on the trees were rustling, even without the presence of wind. It felt like she heard water sloshing, even without a river nearby.
Eventually, the mechanical robotic hand shimmered above Michael. This Diva was only up to its elbow, still incomplete.
The Diva was starting to move, like an ancient monster awakening from its deep slumber.
Virian held her breath, watching everything unfold hoping that she wouldn't disturb Michael from whatever he was doing.
She didn't know how, but he was starting to get a grasp of his Diva even though he was only in the first stage of Body Formation! The fact that he was able to manifest it without using his [Unity Gun] meant that he had progressed faster than she had even thought.
Usually, a Diva or an Aubility would only awaken through practice or through combat, but Michael was doing it just by standing still!
But still, this wasn't enough for him to awaken his Aubility.
Usually, a person's natural talent would only awaken through a trial of life or death. This would allow them to push through their limitations, transcending the normal.
So, she thought that Michael would need more than this to awaken his Aubility.
Just then, the metal slag behind her started to levitate upwards.