Afterlife Dream

"Exorcism!" My opponent shouted. He launched at me with his Dark Moon Staff that had changed its appearance into a Dark Moon Sickle. Exorcism was a skill that was done by slicing the opponent into pieces using the sickle. The pointy edge of the sickle gleamed with spiritual power as it hung above my head, threatening to turn me into shreds. I turned my head to the side and held my Dark Moon Staff up, just enough to stop the attack. The pointy edge of the sickle hung precariously above my shoulder.

"Jaden" was strong. Very strong.

Not only that, he mastered all the skills perfectly!

I kicked at "Jaden"'s stomach hard, sending him a few meters into the air. He turned a somersault in the air and then charged back at me with the sickle.

I had no other choice but to grab my own sickle.

"Exorcism!" I said through gritted teeth, transforming my staff into a sickle. As soon as "Jaden" came near, our weapons clashed with a loud clang. The force from the encounter caused sparks to fly everywhere.

"Holy Dragon!"

I summoned my holy beast to help me, but Jaden also summoned his. Our holy dragons ended up keeping each other busy instead.

As we exchanged blow after blow using the sickle, I kept wondering what to do. I had long since changed my mind about seeing "Jaden" only as a cheap duplicate of myself. If anything, he was the superior one of both of us. He was fast, strong, and agile. Almost like...

Almost like the real Jaden.

"Jaden" put both of his hands around his sickle and it turned back into a Dark Moon Staff. "Apocalypse."

As soon as he spoke the word out loud, the clouds started to shake and the sky turned bright golden. I knew what was coming. Apocalpyse, bishops' ultimate skill! The dream skill of those who stepped into the path of Healers, including me!

Pillars of golden light shot from the sky and shot at me from all directions. When used for grinding purposes, these pillars would hit around 20 targets at once. Since "Jaden" used it with only me as the opponent, naturally all of the pillars would attack only me. No escape was possible. Not even using Teleport. The range of the attack was too big.

"Prayer!!!"

It was the only skill that I could think of to survive Apocalypse. During the one minute when I sat in the lotus position and endured the brutal attack, my past life flashed before me.

Back when I was still attending school, our school held a sports tournament every year. Held back one year due to my weak body, I was in the 7th grade while Jaden was in 6th grade.

Participation in sports tournaments was obligatory for all students, but the principal understood that my body was weak and thus gave me permission to skip the tournaments. I skipped for many years already, so that year I did not want to skip anymore. I did not know the reason for my obstinacy at that time.

Later on, I realized that it was because Jaden just happened to be selected to participate in the water polo tournament. Jaden hated the water polo tournament. I just happened to be quite decent whenever I took part in the school practices. I was sure that I would win against Jaden.

Unfortunately, school practices could not be compared to tournaments. I not only lost but almost drowned. To add salt to the wound, it was Jaden who ultimately rescued me. It was humiliating. Ever since then, I refused to participate in any tournament as long as Jaden was participating. I didn't want the same thing to happen. I did not want to lose against Jaden. It was my biggest fear.

My biggest fear.

The truth hit me like a giant boulder. I did not fear Jaden. I feared losing to him. It was because Jaden was the best kid I knew. He was smart and healthy and energetic. I wanted to be better than him. I had to be better than him. I needed to prove to the world that I was better than him, in whatever aspect. There had to be at least one aspect in which I was superior to him.

I had to win in Afterlife Dream!

The one minute was over, and so was Apocalypse. After the first one minute, I was able to move freely. Prayer lasted for five minutes in total. "Jaden" was busy wielding the words that kept shooting at him persistently. Meanwhile, I jumped to my feet and shouted, "Dispel!"

The spell caused "Jaden" to lose his Mana Guard and Divine Guard. As a result, the attacks from Prayer eroded his HP brutally. He had to heal and buff himself afterward, but I did not give him time to do so.

"Apocalypse!!!"

Between Heal and buffs, which one did he pick? Whichever he picked, it was not enough time to cast anything to resist the force of Apocalypse.

"Jaden" just stood there and did nothing. He looked at me instead with his lips slightly parted. As if he wanted to ask, "Brother, what am I supposed to do?"

Apocalypse mercilessly slammed him against the cloud surface. I watched as the golden pillars hit him one by one. Warm tears flowed down my cheeks while I watched. At the end of the attack, "Jaden" lay on the cloud with his eyes closed.

I knelt next to him and cried.

"Jaden," I called. "Jaden..."

I beat him, but why was I not happy at all? He was my brother. I didn't want to kill him. I pulled "Jaden"'s lifeless body into my arms and sobbed like a little child.

"Jaden..."

I hoped that the real Jaden was alright. I wanted Jaden to know that although I wanted to beat him, I really did love him.

The body in my arms became lighter. I opened my eyes and saw it dispersing before my eyes.

"Jaden..." I called again in exasperation. His peaceful face disappeared last. I remained kneeling for quite some time before the game announced the end of the trial.

"Congratulations on concluding the fourth job advancement, Adventurer!"

The game congratulated me, but I felt more like a loser than a winner. I kept telling myself that it was not the real Jaden, and that it was over. It was just a test. I did not really kill Jaden. But still, it was a horrible feeling. To kill even the shadow of my own brother... I was not willing to relive it again.

I opened my inventory again with a trembling finger and searched for another item that I procured from Kitty. A Skill Reset Scroll. I had avoided using the scroll during my second and third job advancement because the offense skills were not worth considering. The fourth job skills on the other side were exquisite.

With one click, all my skill levels were reduced to zero, and I gained 120 skill points that I could allocate at will. My end skill build looked like this :

0 point into Magical Ball.

1 point into Teleport.

20 points into Heal.

1 point into Prayer.

0 point into Spiritual Meteor.

20 points into Heavenly Blessing.

20 points into Divine Guard.

20 points into Mana Guard.

1 point into Purification.

1 point into Dispel.

0 points into Holy Arrow.

0 points into Holy Wings.

1 point into Resurrection.

20 points into Apocalypse.

1 point into Sacrifice.

1 point into Holy Dragon.

1 point into Prison.

20 points into Holy Arrow Barrage.

12 points into Exorcism.

After 8 more levels, I would have enough to maximize Exorcism. And then I could add more points into Holy Dragon for an added advantage during the battle.

After I was done with my skill setting, I marched back to the other end of the corridor. The wooden door was already there, waiting for me to go back. I opened the door and saw only a bright curtain of white beyond it. After one last look at the empty corridor, I stepped past the door.

Once I went through the door, I landed in front of the little hooded boy again. He smiled at me upon my return.

"Dear Adventurer, you have gone through the test and you are found worthy to bear the title of 'Bishop'. I wish you good luck in your future adventures. Never forget that the true strength comes from the heart."

True strength came from the heart.

Not long after, the congratulatory banner spread across the sky to announce the completion of my fourth job advancement.

[Antares has successfully completed the Fourth Job Advancement. Please send him your congratulations!!!]

As I looked up at the banner, congratulatory messages from my friends and guildmates flooded my chat screen.

I closed my eyes for a second.

A wonderful feeling washed over me as I reveled in the joy of my newly gained Bishop title.

Finally. Finally, I did it.

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