War is delightful to those who have no experience of it.

"Grit your teeth, motherfucker. I'm about to unleash a can of whoop-ass on you." His brown eyes didn't waver, and his expression twisted up into one of anger. It was far from the fiery, but playful outbursts he had before. His face felt hot, and his heartbeat thudded in his ears after seeing the broken state Alda was in.

'What the fuck did I miss while I was underground?'

Tinder's staff glowed following the usage of her skills. She sensed something off about the man. Whether it was instincts warning her or the weariness of consecutive battles, the succubus knew that an unpredictable variable had to be dealt with immediately.

"Phantasmal Lover."

The most potent bewitching skill in her arsenal, even those prepared for the attack had little choice other than succumbing to the effects of the spell. Those with high mental fortitude would hold out better, shortening the length of the spell, but nobody could completely resist the succubus' charm. Empowered by the progenitor of the demonic succubus race, Lilith, she raised her seductive aura to the absolute limit. Kang and two other foot soldiers raised their weapons, trying to make quick work of the incapacitated fighter. Alda tried to shout, but her voice failed her.

At the last moment, Kang took a step back and narrowly avoided the spikes that punctured anything within a foot of Chester. From the chain he held in his hand, it moved like a snake as it shifted forms. It pierced through layers of hardened leather, fabric, and flesh as the foot soldiers ran into the Attainium.

"I've never seen a spell like that before." The man shook his head lightly, watching the disturbed expression of Kang and the impaled soldiers. He ignored the obscured faces of the foot soldiers as he pushed the spikes in deeper, favoring the idea of staring down the more powerful rogue and assessing his abilities. "For a second, I saw Megan Fox in front of me and didn't even question it. Forgot I was in a death battle."

You have slain Human (level 13)

Chester Everheart's voice held an edge to it, despite his lighthearted words. Seeing him murder someone so callously while maintaining a monologue put his threat level a notch above what Kang had previously assigned. The assassin noted the man's display of strength and assumed he was a melee fighter. Tinder was astonished at the fact he broke through the spell within a few seconds of experiencing it.

'Attainium along with a melee class. Perhaps a second stage class? The file we have on Damien Rose's aide isn't detailed...High mental fortitude, possibly a magic-melee hybrid? I suppose he's wearing some artifacts to boost his skills. Great, just what we need.'

"Hey. Why aren't you coming towards me?" The curly-haired man repeated. His eyes were wide, finishing off the second assailant impaled on his iridescent weapon. As soon as the body went limp, it returned to its original form. "If you won't, I'll go first."

He launched himself toward the shadowy assassin with reckless abandon. Kang activated his Infusion skills and deflected the spiked end of his flail. Despite bracing himself, the impact sent waves of pain through his weakened body and he fell back. Tinder snapped out of her stupor and immediately recast some spells to support the rogue, knowing there was zero chance of beating him individually when they were in such a weakened state.

Both their mana reserves had been depleted, and they faced off against a threat of who they had little knowledge of. It would've been easy for them to retreat, but their actions showed no thought of falling back.

"Pickpocket."

You have unequipped Stealth Charm.

"What the-? I paid good money for that, you bastard!"

'No wonder his equipment wasn't showing anything. I'll need to use my observation ite-'

Kang dodged a fast-moving projectile thrown by the opponent. For a moment, he had thought it was a simple pebble to distract him and he kept his eye on the fighter. But the glint on the thrown object made him look a little closer and notice it was a perfect cube.

"Adventus."

Within a fraction of a second, the instant cube had expanded to its full size. It displaced Kang from his original position, sending him even further back as Chester turned to offense. The massive deposit of Attainium he had increased the range of his weapon two-fold. Whipping the flail at the stumbling assassin, he narrowly grazed Kang's greying hair with the spiked end and left a crater on the marbled wall of the palace behind him.

"Mirror Image!"

Multiple copies of both contractors spawned into existence much to Chester's bemusement. They shuffled amongst themselves, buying whatever time they needed to get themselves together. Instead of chasing after them, the flail-wielding fighter approached Arber Fistpig and slapped him.

"Hey! Wake up, you tub of lard." Chester enjoyed putting in an unnecessary amount of force as he roused the legendary blacksmith from his slumber. Barely beginning to open his eyes, the first thing Fistpig was met with was a slap across the cheek.

"What in Welton's name...Where is Alda? Did we win?"

"No." The human said flatly. "I'm taking care of them right now. So; I want a deal from you."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The legendary blacksmith got up in a seated position, keeping an eye on the numerous duplicates that were frozen, waiting for Chester to make a move. He turned his gaze wearily at the human he had made a laughingstock of, noticing the iridescent material in his hands.

"Is that the Attaini-"

"Zip it. I'm the one making demands here." Chester pointed at the enemies, who flinched upon the sudden move. "Once I rescue your sorry asses, you better give me a commission. Is that clear?"

"Is this really the time fo-"

"Alda, let me negotiate in peace." The man turned to face Arber fully. His face was completely serious. The legendary blacksmith couldn't believe he was being extorted at this moment in time. He had expected this sort of behavior from the invaders, not an esteemed guest of the Palace. "I'm putting my neck on the line, and for what? To get a heartfelt thank you? No, no, no. I want goods."

Alda knew of the man's temperament. She didn't think he was insane enough to do this at such a critical moment in battle. The worst part of it all was that she wasn't even sure if Arber would agree to the terms. A prideful and eccentric man, Arber had almost caused several wars whenever he adamantly refused to create equipment for certain people. Even when he had been begged or bribed with a king's ransom, his answer always remained the same.

A few seconds went by, and the invaders had enough of being sidelined. Kang and Tinder rushed the kneeling fighter with several foot soldiers. It was then that Alda could see Arber close his eyes and nod as though he was giving up his firstborn child.

"I will. You have my word. Please, save Welton."

Chester whipped his head around, staring down the approaching enemies with a calculating gaze.

"Darkness."

A wide dome of shadows encapsulated the area, catching the entire group off-guard. Kang activated his Blindsense once more, seeing the mana signatures of everybody within but only seeing five people within the dome. He briefly wondered if the fighter had a skill that made him undetectable through magical means, but the theory was quickly dispelled by Tinder as she worked to destabilize the darkness.

As soon as the veil of black lifted, the foot soldiers which attacked alongside them were struck by a massive blade over three meters in length. The razor-thin blade, which had been spread out to extend the length, shouldn't have been able to pierce hardened leather armor. The brute strength he had swung the weapon with had buried the weapon halfway through the off-guard invaders' arms. It was only thanks to Kang's adamantium-plated breastplate that the Attainium didn't pierce his heart.

"Ugh!"

The succubus winced as cold, metal gauntlets grabbed her by the wrists. Her arms creaked in pain, and Kang spotted the fighter who had managed to sneak up behind their most vulnerable caster during the chaos. The unpredictable patterns of the Attainium prevented him from diving in to interfere.

"Cool clones. You have some balls, putting yourself in harm's way like this."

Chester could tell from the most minute details that the clone staying further away from the battle was merely a trick. The succubus voluntarily put herself in danger, knowing that most opponents would assume she was a clone. It didn't make sense, after all; why would a squishy backliner be in the midst of a battle anyway? The risky strategy failed, and Tinder became desperate to escape her imminent death.

"Dream Infiltration!"

Running out of ideas, she dove into the fighter's mindscape. She knew there were many restrictions on her powerful skill. Once the target was attacked or moved, they would awaken and break the link between them. But in such a dire situation, she didn't know if any other skill would work on the mentally resistant man. There was no time to summon or control another soldier to separate herself. The tendril of mana erupted from her head, connecting it with the man's own. Due to their proximity, he couldn't avoid the connection and his vision faded to black.

'It'll only buy a second of time, but I can cause him some form of mental damage in the minute I have in the dream! Time doesn't elapse at the same rate. Kang better have a knife placed at his throat by then.'

Appearing in a secluded, ethereal world, Tinder couldn't help but note the black waters that composed the fighter's mindscape. He stood at the center of the dream, watching the succubus with a raised brow. She smirked, knowing that she held all the power in this illusory world. The background began to shift almost immediately into a dark red atmosphere resembling blood.

'I've been using this to break the minds of targets for years. If he thinks this is a simple illusion, he's done for.'

She used her skills to impale the man on a massive cross. Every spike had a jagged edge, carving and twisting up whatever it had been placed in. Making herself larger, Tinder got ready to unleash hell upon the clueless fighter. As the woman remembered the most devious ways to break someone's spirit, she noticed the man looking on with a blank expression, unimpressed. His hands were crossed together as a wooden spike was jutting out from his mid-section.

"It's really unfortunate." Chester removed the stake impaling him to the cross, but he didn't wince. It was as though he didn't feel a single thing from the mental attack. Tinder Loveborn knew there was no chance of her skill malfunctioning. Even Arber Fistpig wasn't able to resist the barrage of tortures she crafted in the mindscape despite his long life and high mental fortitude. "You ran into the only person who would know how to use the Dream spell. I think I'm the only one that knows the full extent of what you can do in a dream-like state."

He grew even larger than her avatar. Her breathing was shaky as he continued to expand and fill up the space. The floor below her began to fall downward, but she remained in place; as though she were held back by an invisible hand. The realization dawned on her just as she was only the size of his pupil. With knowledge of the strengths and weak points of her skills, it was clear to see why the man had a counter for her every move.

"You're an illusionist?!"

His gaping maw opened up, and Chester swallowed her whole.

You have broken through Dream Infiltration.

New skill unlocked! Mental Resistance (level 1)

Chester opened his eyes to a blade made of shadows flying towards his face. Only half a second had passed, not even enough for him to fall to the floor unconscious. His dynamic vision had increased to the point that he could react within an instant. He had chosen not to use the shell-shocked succubus as a shield, thinking that his experience points would be stolen if someone killed her instead.

Instead, he tilted his head for it to barely graze his cheek and withdrew the Attainium into his arm. The iridescent weapon slithered around his gauntlet, and the man formed a dagger and held it up her throat. For a millisecond, he stared at the woman and wondered if killing was the answer. He had never been the sort to worry about laying his hand on a woman, but seeing his enemy not even conscious made the man hesitate. Killing wasn't second nature to him, it didn't come easily. He could vividly remember every person he had killed so far.

A clueless bandit in the town of Pesodonia.

An Idil soldier drunk on his power.

The faceless footsoldiers that had tried to attack him less than a minute ago.

He didn't know why. Maybe it was the fact she wasn't actively resisting. The fact she was a woman. When it wasn't under pressure or an accident, the act of killing felt extremely personal in this situation and Chester's heart wavered.

His thoughts drifted towards the events of the battle. Dead bodies of acquaintances with whom he shared pleasant conversations within the taverns. The palace which had given him a place to rest in tattered ruins. Alda's resigned and broken expression. The enemy's gleeful face upon entering his mind, ready to torture him. Chester knew what he had to do.

Before Kang could act, the small dagger in the illusionist's hand cut into her throat and a river of blood cascaded down from her neck. For a scant few seconds, her hands shakily went to where the incision was. The succubus' eyes were wide open, but the life soon faded from her blank expression and she thudded to the floor, covering the palace in silence. His lips were set in a thin line, and his eyes unfocused at the grisly sight. There was no comedic punchline, no snarky comeback. The illusionist stared at the dark red liquid staining his newly-crafted gauntlets.

Chester had always avoided trauma as best as he could. Drowning himself in whatever pleasures to forget the bad memories and focus on the good. But as the blood pooled down his feet of the woman he murdered in cold blood, he knew there was little chance of him forgetting this event for the rest of his life.

You have slain Half-Succubus (level 54)

You have leveled up! You are now level 31.

You have leveled up! You are now level 32.

There was no victory, only violence.