‘Wh-Wh-What the hell is going on!?’ Froy's mind, which had yet to recover from the shock of seeing Kashi in the pit, nearly went dark at Ruse's demise. Even worse, Ruse's final words burned fear deep into the recesses of his stomach. He knew what those words meant. Ruse would return within the week with the main army, and he would raze everything to the ground, Froy included.
Froy wanted to weep. Had he offended Lord Razznik in some way? Why was everything going against him? From the beginning, any attempt to slay Ruse would have given the same result. Since when did Primates use clones to visit their subordinates!? What was this!? Was Ruse not too careful? Froy wanted to curse. Curse everything to hell! Right now, he only had one route to survival, and that was to flee to another primate's territory. Yes, yes, that was what he would do.
All these thoughts and more flittered through Froy's mind in a second. In the next, he had already spun around to flee for his life. It was at this moment that one of the ghouls appeared at his back. Sharp acute pain tore up Froy's back as a dagger slid into his back and tore upwards. Pain! Unimaginable pain flared up his back, but in the end, he was still a high priest of the Chaos Order. He bit down on his lip and focused on that pain instead. "Song of the Swift!"
The crystal earring pulsated with warm light, which then covered Froy's entire frame. His speed doubled, allowing him to dart across the room in a flash. Only when he reached the staircase did he allow himself a wary glance over his shoulder, just in time to see the accursed daeben leap out of the pit with the smaller one.
What's more, the ghoul that had struck Froy ripped off the bandage on its face to reveal the stern glare of a snowy-haired youth. Only now did Froy genuinely understand. He was tricked!
All of this, everything was staged by that daeben! Froy’s features contorted with explicit rage. All thoughts of running away disappeared from his mind. He would destroy this daeben! He would not allow that daeben's soul to return to the circle!
"[ Vengeance ]!" Froy bellowed. Cracks spread along the walls at the force embedded in his voice. The crystal pulsed again, but this time the glow was black and chaotic. It wrapped around Froy till the only things visible were a pair of red glowing eyes as guttural growls akin to a beast escaped his throat.
An eerily familiar voice distorted beyond recognition began to fill the room.
High Priest Froy (Elite Boss) Lv. 123
Under The Effect Of Vengeance:
Agility increased by 30%
Evasion decreased by 30%
ATK increased by 70%
DEF reduced by 30%
Kashi frowned. He knew this would not be an easy fight. His bow already equipped, he nocked an arrow in preparation as his eyes narrowed in concentration. Beside him, Zuri was down on all fours, teeth snarled like a wolf's. Shadow stealthily made his way in front of Lunette to act as a shield. Without a conductor, Lunette had no defensive abilities.
Meanwhile, Lunette's expression twisted as she listened to the eerie voice coming from the crystal. Unlike the others, she knew very well whose voice that was. Her brows knitted together as she glared at the crystal. A competition against herself? Perfect, bring it on! She would surpass her former self!
Zuri burst forward at Lunette's first note, supported on all sides by Kashi's arrows. To Kashi's shock, her speed on all fours was almost on par with the fastest land animals! Cracks formed on the ground as she kicked off like a bullet till her claws were just inches away from Froy's face.
"DAH!"
Zuri and the arrows were blown back as a tangible manifestation of sound slammed against them like a brick wall. Kashi swiftly advanced and caught Zuri before she hit the ground. Zuri licked off a faint trace of blood off her lower lip. "Strong," she confessed.
Kashi smiled as he ruffled her hair. "Who's the strongest?"
Zuri grinned back at him. "Kashi and Zuri, of course!"
Kashi laughed. "That's right!"
Froy did not sit idle while the two conversed. He dashed towards them as the song from the crystal changed. Sound waves pulsed around his advancing body, then switched to a whirlwind that blew across the room. To Kashi's shock, those sound waves changed properties to cold snowflakes. This all occurred in a tenth of a second, plunging the entire room into a blizzard.
Kashi cursed as he received a 50% penalty to his speed and a drop of 10 HP every five seconds. His resistances focused on fire and electricity. Ice still considerably slowed him down. But judging from Zuri and the other's reactions, he had gotten off light. The others had their feet frozen to the ground, and snow had begun to pile on their bodies. The only thing that prevented them from dying on the spot was Lunette's desperate song, which increased resistance to magic.
Kashi eyes narrowed at Froy, who steadily advanced, utterly unaffected by the cold. He threw a punch that connected with the priest's fist. The snow around them momentarily cleared from the impact between their blows.
Kashi winced as he was lifted off the ground. He flew for a few meters before he landed and staggered several steps backward. Kashi looked up at Froy, who had not budged in the slightest. Okay, Kashi admitted he was inferior strength-wise.
But battles have never been won solely by strength.
Kashi adopted a formal martial arts stance, completely disregarding the cold around his body. He waved Froy over. "Come."
Enraged, but confident in his superior strength, Froy rushed Kashi arm pulled back for another blow. Once in range, Froy's fist tore straight at Kashi's face for a critical impact.
However, Kashi simply took a small step back and, with the palm of his hand, slightly brushed the side of Froy's fist. This slight deviation sent the fist right by Kashi's face. Spltch! A small mark appeared on Kashi’s cheeks, but the daeben could ignore thousands of such little injuries.
Instead, Kashi made the most of the chance he had created. Even as Froy's eyes widened in shock, Kashi moved into the priest’s personal space and then directly connected a punch to the man's stomach.
Kashi grinned as Froy’s eyes widened in shock. Stupid, sacrificing defense for strength. Kashi fully intended to punish the idiot for his mistake. Kashi let loose a flurry of blows and kicks on the shocked Froy, who could not understand how the daeben could be so strong—especially considering the snowfield.
Kashi’s speed should have dropped below half!
Froy's shock was not without merit. Most people caught in the snowfield would find it difficult to move a single step, let alone fight as freely as Kashi did. Unfortunately, Kashi had always prioritized agility over strength while leveling up. And even more, he had the passive 100% buff to his movement speed from Angel Step Technique. Then there was his considerable Magic Resistance. Even if it were not specifically Ice immunity, most magic techniques would have their effects at least halved when he fought against them. If all of that still was not enough, when Kashi activated the Angel Step Technique, his speed almost tripled at 250%. All of this together made this entirely unfair for Froy, who depended on sealing his opponent's movements.
Despite the tides overturning so much, Froy deserved his title of High Priest. He immediately switched tactics, adopting a more defensive position so he could block Kashi's attacks. His overwhelming strength meant that now and then, he would knock Kashi back, but when he attempted a counterblow, Kashi would lightly guide them away and resume his barrage of blows.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
Kashi's frenzied attacks quickened when he saw his teammates' health bars cross the halfway line. Zuri's fell the fastest, almost reaching the critical stages. In a matter of minutes, she would be the first to die. Kashi had no desire to see that reality. Because of this, he rained blow after blow against Froy's body.
Froy noticed Kashi's desperation and laughed heartily, mocking him. "You think you can kill me!? Hahaha! Watch your friends die first! You'll soon meet them in the afterlife!"
Kashi clucked his tongue. Fuck! Even with his defense lowered, Froy was still one tough bastard. The title of Elite Boss was not for show! No wonder Froy could easily sacrifice defense for attack.
Despite Froy’s lanky frame, Kashi could not take his defense lightly. A resplendent glow emanated in Kashi's eye as he used [ Hawk Eye ] to search for Froy's weak point, but a brilliant shine from Froy's ears forced his eyes shut!
Only then did Kashi notice the seemingly inconspicuous crystal earring. He recalled what Lunette had told him about helping Froy with a power crystal, and a smile spread on his lips. Kashi immediately pushed against the ground, creating some distance between himself and Froy.
Froy was too relieved by the release in pressure to question Kashi's decision. No, he had already guessed the reason. "Hahaha! Did you tire yourself out!? Good, sit tight, and wash your neck!" Froy exploded forth, chaotic energy bursting off him.
Suddenly a glint caught his eye, and he barely had time to tilt his head to the side as an arrow filled with malice tore through next to him. The arrow easily slid into the rock wall until even its shaft was out of sight.
What an arrow! What speed! Sharpness! Strength!
Froy swallowed hard as he easily imagined what would have happened if that arrow had struck him. But having dodged it successfully, Froy was confident that his ice field slowed the speed of the arrows to a level he could easily evade. "You missed your chance!" Froy boasted as he chased after the daeben, who overlapped [ Automatic ] and [ Extra Round ] to release hails of arrows at extreme speeds.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Unfortunately, despite Kashi's efforts, Froy just continued releasing burst after burst of sound waves to knock away the arrows. From his calculations, Kashi could tell the ‘sound burst’ skill had a cooldown time of 2 seconds with minimal MP cost. The skills drawback was that it lacked enough force to harm the opponent severely. It seemed to be a skill intended to force distance between the user and an attacker.
Kashi released a frustrated yell as he nocked an arrow and drew on it. He then spun the bow in place, causing the string to twist on itself. Next, a steady stream of mana poured into the arrow till Kashi looked pale. "Drill through!" Kashi ordered as he released the bolt.
A sharp shrill tore through the air as a small whirlwind formed around the arrow, honed and refined. The mana choking in the arrow spread into the surrounding wind to create a black whirlwind with incredible power.
An arrow like this would have definitely gone off course, but Kashi used the first skill he learned, [ Straight Shot ], to force it straight while increasing the Rotations Per Minute (RPM) with the Drill skill.
It would not be an exaggeration to say this was one of Kashi's most powerful techniques aside from [ Asura ] and [ Gilgamesh. ]
Froy harrumphed and released a shout, which fired off a sound barrier. Froy's eyes went wide as the arrow slammed against his barrier. Rather than slow down, the whirlwind only seemed to increased in speed as it ground against the barrier. Froy blanched as cracks began to appear.
Impossible! Cracks wove across the entirety of the barrier before it ultimately shattered before the might of the whirlwind.
The ensuing explosion eradicated both the barrier and the whirlwind, but the arrow hidden within sped forth. Even though the explosion had significantly reduced the bolt’s speed, it was still a force to be reckoned with. Froy did not dare to be lax and swiftly dodged to the side. The arrow of considerable strength harmlessly passed him by.
"You missed!" Froy laughed at Kashi's pale expression.
"Did I?" Kashi asked with a small smile.
"Wha—AAAH!" Froy screamed as the arrow which he was sure sped past him suddenly ripped off his ear. His hand flew to the ear where the earring had been only to meet a bloodied stump. To Froy’s credit, he managed to reel in his shock as his eyes flew to the ear, which had begun dropping to the floor. He sprung into action and reached for the ear.
ZIIP!
An arrow whizzed by, pinning the flesh to its arrowhead. Before Froy could even begin to wonder, a small black hole appeared in front of the arrow. The priest's eyes instinctively flew to Kashi's side, where a similar black hole appeared. The arrow flew out from there at the same speed, but Kashi had already grasped it in his hand, preventing it from flying off.
Kashi yanked the earring off the piece of flesh and identified it.
Power Crystal (???)
Powerful magic emanates from this crystal, but you cannot understand it.
Class Restriction: Bard
Level Restriction: Lv. 100
Kashi frowned. He could tell this was a unique item. Regular power crystals gave a boost to some stat or skill, but he had never heard of one that had class and level restrictions. He could also tell that it was this crystal that gave Froy such a jump in power. As if to confirm his thoughts, the ice field collapsed around them.
Kashi glanced at Froy's disheveled appearance that stared at him with disbelief and fear. That's right. The priest could not fathom what Kashi had done. "It's quite simple, really," Kashi explained as he walked over to Zuri. "I have this ability called Dimension Break ." He smiled warmly at Zuri, who was scratching her head with frustration. She hated that she had become a burden. "It allows me to send my arrows through a dimension to another space. Well, I guess you can call it mini-teleport though they are not the same."
Kashi took out a potion from his inventory and handed it to Zuri. He patted her head then turned to Lunette and Shadow. Both of them nodded at him to signify they were fine. "It wasn't easy, you know. I was afraid you might expect a homing arrow or something similar, so I had to waste so many shots to get you used to my arrow's speed."
Froy's face was pale with fright. "Th-then that shout at the end?"
Kashi chuckled, even as his eyes stealthily watched his allies' HP rise. "Oh, you mean that desperate scream, right? It was to make you believe that was my final trump card. The pale complexion was real, though. I had to forcibly inject my mana into the arrow since I don't have the corresponding skill yet. Drained a lot out of me."
Kashi slung his bow over his shoulders. "You never suspected it might turn back. So many arrows had previously passed by you, and none turned back. It's simple psychology. Don't blame yourself. Even I might have fallen for it." As for why he used [ Dimension Break ] as opposed to [ Homing Arrow ] , the shot would have never traveled straight if he used [ Homing Arrow ] instead of [ Straight Shot ] . The arrow would have swerved toward Froy afterward, giving away the arrow's ability to change directions. Froy's guard would then have gone up, even against arrows that passed by him.
Kashi cracked his knuckles. "How about we see how strong you are without that crystal?" Kashi's feet exploded against the earth, and he appeared before Froy almost simultaneously. He then threw a punch aimed at the poor priest's head.
BOOM!
Kashi swiftly retreated as two weapons clashed between him and Froy. He looked up, his eyes shocked when he saw a black knight wielding a giant claymore. The figure that saved Kashi from being squished beneath Nadir’s claymore was the ever silent Shadow, who fell to his knees from the impact.
"K-kill them!" Froy screamed, his eyes a mixture of gloating, joy, and fear. "Nadir, Kill them all!" However, even as he gave the order, he had already turned tail, headed for the stairs.
"Like I'd let you!" Kashi called as he dashed forward.
The knight kicked Shadow away, then charged straight at Kashi, red hatred burning in its eye sockets. It swung down at Kashi, but the hit never connected. A small frame appeared below its sword and clapped the blade between its tiny hands.
Zuri iris contracted, then straightened similar to a feline's. Cracks rang out as her fingers reconstructed to resemble the paws of a wild beast, with her nails sharpened even further to resemble claws. Those nails dug into the sides of the blade to improve her grip as she glared at the knight. An almost primordial, instinctual cry rose from deep within her, [ Beast Soul: Soul of the Wolf! ]
Kashi beamed with pride when he saw her transformation. No wonder she was so strong. She must have somehow contracted a hidden profession like his. Only, hers looked much more cooler and battle-oriented that his. Kashi sighed. He really should stop complaining about his class. It's not like he had not witnessed the cheat-like abilities it gave him. "Shadow!" Kashi called as he rushed to the stairs.
"On it!" Shadow promised as he once again appeared behind the knight and drove his blade into its back. The knight's health dropped, but it did not feel pain. It released the claymore and then spun around to elbow Shadow's head, but the assassin swiftly ducked beneath the blow then pushed off to create distance.
Assassins were not good at direct combat as their defenses and strength were extremely low compared to other classes. They, however, made up for this weakness with increased critical hit chances and bonuses. It was not an exaggeration to say that critical hits from assassins were akin to mortal blows.
The black knight seemed not to care that it missed its strike. It had already turned back to the staircase to give chase. It was at this moment that a song floated into its ears.
Simply named Enemy, this song was designed to pull in monsters and enemies in a 20m radius. Maybe if Nadir was normal, he could resist the effects of this song, but as a mindless contortion of violence, it had no choice but to change directions and head for Lunette. Its claymore reappeared in its hand as it swung down at the songstress.
Lunette's eyes narrowed as a sword appeared in her hand. It was the sword Kashi had given her when they first met. At the time, Kashi had said it was merely a decoration, but Lunette handled it with the grace of an expert as she stepped to the side and guided Nadir's sword to slam into the ground beside her. However, no matter how skilled she was, she was still a bard. The force from Nadir's claymore plummeted her HP by almost half and flung her dangerously close to the pit.
Admirably, Lunette never stopped singing. She knew that the knight would chase after Kashi if she stopped. ‘ Let me use this sword to protect you.’
Kashi nodded and then disappeared up the stairs to chase after Froy.
Lunette, Shadow, and Zuri faced off against the monster, Nadir, each resolved to assist Kashi however they could.
----------------------------------------
Elsewhere, Zafree led a legion of soldiers to storm through the dwarven settlements in search of Kashi. The angry troops turned over tables, checked basements, emptied cellars, and so much more, but still, they could not find him.
Zafree rudely questioned one dwarf, and they found out the daeben was last sighted in the arena. As one, Zafree led the soldiers and ghouls into the arena grounds. True enough, they saw a cluster of dwarfs suspiciously hiding something in their midst at the center of the coliseum.
"The dwarves have rebelled!" Zafree yelled. "Surround and capture them!" The soldiers and ghouls did as ordered, and soon, the small cluster of dwarves was surrounded. "Shut the gates! We will not let any soul escape!"
The gates slid shut. Now there was no way for the dwarves to escape.
"What do we do now, sir?"
Zafree turned to the halben that asked that question. Zafree’s lips suddenly spread in a creepy grin as he dug both hands into the throats of the soldiers next to him. Bloodied hands displayed the windpipes he tore out as he replied with a creepy grin. "Now? Now, you all die!"
Zafree shimmered, then disappeared, leaving behind a grinning, silver-haired halben. A pair of laughing yellow eyes danced across the crowd he blazed through the soldiers, erupting fountains of blood wherever he stepped.
Syèl's maniacal laughter sent shivers down the spines of each of these battle-hardened men and women as he indiscriminately slaughtered his way through them.
The dwarfs at the center moved aside, allowing Kira, Shoko, and Hektor to dash into the surrounding soldiers. Almost instinctively, each one designated a corner of the arena to themselves so as not to interfere with the others' EXP gain (or fun in the case of the crazy ones).
Such was the confidence exuded by the Hopeful Maggots.
Such was the terror the enemies of the Maggots were destined to face...