Not long after, Leon encountered another [Spider of Darkness], this one roaming alone through the ruined street below.
âTime to test something.â
He didnât hesitate.
Slash!
He dropped down and attacked immediately, his sword cutting downward toward the creatureâs abdomen.
Clang!
The impact echoed sharply, but just like before, his blade failed to pierce through the spiderâs defenses completely, the thick silk coating absorbing most of the damage.
Still, that wasnât his goal. He was waiting for something else. For his passive to activate.
And yet... Nothing happened.
"As expected," Leon muttered calmly as he stepped back, narrowly avoiding a counterattack from the spiderâs massive legs.
Even after all this time, Leon believed there might be some conditions behind [Celestialâs Might] that he didnât understand.
But now that he confirmed this last thing, he was actually confident that he knew everything about the passive.
[Celestialâs Might] activated when Leon fought an opponent stronger than he was, reducing their [Combat Power] by 30%.
He needed to attack them directly with his sword for the passive to trigger, as spells didnât apply.
But the ability didnât activate just because his opponent was stronger.
There were specific conditions to it, as it required a certain balance.
If reducing the enemyâs [Combat Power] by thirty percent brought it too far below his own, then the ability simply wouldnât trigger.
Which was exactly what was happening here: it didnât work on the [Spider of Darkness] before him because its [Combat Power] would reach 875,000, which was much lower than Leonâs.
But earlier, when he fought multiple at once... That was different.
[Celestialâs Might] did actually trigger against the group of spiders before!
The reason for that was just a simple: if Leon fought several opponents, then as long as their [Combat Power] didnât go too far below Leonâs, then [Celestialâs Might] would work.
If Leon attempted to fight four [Spiders of Darkness] with 1.2 million [Combat Power] each, it would be impossible, but if he fought four of them with 875,000, then it was considered "fair" due to the number advantage.
[Celestialâs Might] also didnât activate depending on if Leon had companions or not.
If Emilia and Celeste were here, it might not activate depending on if the passive judged the battle to be "fair" or not.
Basically, [Celestialâs Might] wasnât a cheat that made every Leonâs battle insanely easy.
It was mostly there to make sure every battle was possible, and nothing else, as Leon would still need to fight and win.
Leonâs lips curled into a faint grin as the realization settled more firmly in his mind.
âSo thatâs how it works...â
Which meant that if he wanted to make full use of it in this situation, he needed more enemies.
His gaze sharpened as he looked at the spider in front of him, which had now fully locked onto him as its prey, its body lowering slightly as it prepared to attack again.
âGuess Iâll have to deal with you the hard way.â
Even without his passive, Leon wasnât the type to back down.
And if the spider decided to call for help... His grin widened just a little more.
âThen that just makes things easier for me.â
Slash!
The spider lunged forward, its massive legs striking toward him with brutal force as Leon raised his sword to block, the impact sending him sliding back several meters across the ground.
The strength behind the attack was undeniable. But Leon held his ground.
"Krkrkrkr!"
The creature let out a sharp, chittering sound, its body beginning to glow faintly as dark energy gathered around it, its crimson eyes flickering as it prepared to escalate the fight.
Leon steadied himself, tightening his grip on both his sword and staff as he faced it head-on.
If anyone had been watching from afar and witnessed a player willingly stepping into a fight against an opponent with over three hundred thousand more [Combat Power] than himself, they would have immediately assumed that person had completely lost his mind.
Because in a world like this, such a gap wasnât something you simply ignored unless you were either desperate or suicidal.
Even Leon, who was the one standing there with his sword raised and his eyes locked onto the massive [Spider of Darkness], understood just how dangerous this situation was.
No matter how confident he was in his own abilities, he wasnât blind to reality, and the truth was that his chances of dying in this fight were far from low.
And yet, despite knowing all of that, despite understanding every risk involved, there wasnât even the slightest hint of hesitation in his movements.
He didnât consider retreat. Instead, he moved forward.
Slash! Clang!
The moment the spider lunged toward him with its massive legs, Leon reacted instantly.
His body twisted just enough to dodge the first strike before bringing his sword up to block the second, the impact sending vibrations through his arms as the force behind the attack pushed him back slightly.
The creature didnât stop. It attacked again. And again.
Its eight legs moved in relentless succession, each strike coming with enough force to crush steel as Leon was forced to continuously evade and defend, his movements sharp but clearly strained as he tried to keep up with the overwhelming pressure.
The street around them was wide and open, giving them enough space to move freely, but even with that advantage, the fight was far from balanced.
Leon was struggling.
"Krkrkr!"
The spider let out a series of sharp, unsettling noises each time it attacked.
Its crimson eyes locked onto him as it pressed forward without giving him even a second to breathe, forcing him to retreat step by step as he searched for an opening.
Powerful Fireball! Torrent of Lightning! Ice Spikes!
Leon didnât rely solely on his sword.
The moment he found even the smallest gap, he raised his staff and unleashed multiple spells in quick succession, filling the battlefield with bursts of elemental energy as flames, lightning, and ice all converged on the creature at once.
Boom! Zap! Clang!
The fireball struck first, exploding against the spiderâs body with a burst of heat and force, but the creature simply raised one of its legs and blocked the attack entirely, dispersing the flames without taking any real damage.
The lightning followed immediately after, dozens of bolts crashing down onto the spiderâs body in rapid succession.
Their impact crackled through the air as they struck repeatedly, but while the attack did cause a slight stun, it wasnât nearly enough to turn the tide of the battle.
And then came the ice.
Spikes erupted from the ground, aiming to pierce through the creature from below, but the moment they appeared, the spider reacted instantly, swinging its legs downward and shattering every single one before they could even reach its body.
Leonâs expression tightened slightly as he took a step back.
âIts [Combat Power] is too high... it can tank almost everything I throw at it,â he thought, his mind racing as he analyzed the situation in real time.
This wasnât going to work. Not like this.
The [Spider of Darkness] wasnât just strong, it was intelligent, reacting to his attacks with precision and adapting quickly, which meant that simply throwing abilities at it wouldnât be enough to secure a victory.
If he wanted to win... He needed to end it in one decisive moment.
At the same time, the spiderâs body began to glow faintly with dark energy as it gathered power, its legs tightening as it prepared to strike with even greater force, clearly intending to overwhelm him completely.
Leonâs eyes sharpened. If it was going all in... Then so would he.