The enemy, who appeared to be so young that he barely stepped out from a teen’s age, looked remarkable… for a person who craved to appear as cool as possible. Tight black coat on a lean figure. Wider near the bottom, it partly covered the two weapon handles that were hanging from both sides as if they were guns. Black leather pants and heavy metal-toe boots. The very same color was also used for gloves with cut-off fingers.
The man himself was thickly pale as if he tried to create the hugest contrast between him and his clothes. However, the color of his hair was another change in this monochronic person. Bright red, it was raised upwards, almost forming hundreds of tiny spikes, as if he was a hedgehog. The eyes of the person with a “flaming” head were another oddity that stood out from the overall appearance. Saphire blue, they were almost radiating the light amid above-average facial features. And of course, he had a scar. Vertical, it cut through his eyebrow and chick in such a straight and perfect line that it looked like a result of surgery, but not a combat wound.
And there was an expression that the owner couldn’t hide underneath the mask of indifference. It was a mixture of arrogance, with a barely noticeable smirk that wandered on his lips, and a confidence that was surely touching the edges of overconfidence. It felt as if he was already a winner, and the Tower and the whole world itself just failed to realize. Or at least that was what the young man tried to show with every single motion, gaze, and expression to the surroundings. And that looked pathetic as any attentive eye would notice a few things that would ruin the image.
Too tight a grip on the handles as if the man couldn’t decide where to put his hands to look better. Or his forceful calm expression that was meant to hide the set of teeth braces. Or the gaze that stopped on Rob’s figure only for a short moment before going elsewhere as if the owner was uncomfortable keeping eye contact with anyone, even the enemy. Still, the young man was strong. Such Combat Power couldn’t be a result of a mistake. From Rob’s observation, each rank of a skill added 10 points to that number. And with so imposing name of the class, it had to be at least Tier 2, resulting in 3 or 4 skills. It might leave enough points to upgrade basic attributes to Robert’s level.
I bet he added quite a few into Strength and Agility, completely neglecting Body. With such an attitude he would definitely build himself like a glass cannon. Maybe also Magic? The “Ghostly” had to mean something… Okay, he started to move. Yep, here it goes – two katanas. Not surprised at all.
Spitting out the toothpick that he was holding in his mouth, the opponent made a first step. Crossing his hands over his chest, the young man pulled both his weapons in one swift motion not even pausing for it. It felt so organic and fluid as if the man had trained it a lot. Maybe he did, but Rob had no desire, nor ability to ask, focusing on the attacking enemy. The latter was fast. Sprinting from his spot, he shortened the distance between them in a blink.
The metal clang didn’t stop resounding through the air when a new one followed. Acting like a real propeller, the young man continued to hit without pause. The attacks were quite simple and straightforward, but their sheer quantity was insane. Just after a few blocks with a shaft of his mace, Robert had to reform his weapon into a second shield. The enemy was constantly changing the level of strikes, striking his legs only to aim the tip of the second blade at Rob’s face a moment late. There was no delay between each swing, clearly showing that the Ghostly Slasher was an ambidexter.
The smirk of superiority was planted on the katana wielder’s face, who was throwing a literal hurricane of attacks against a bigger enemy, completely overwhelming it. Pushing his blade into a thrust, he skillfully avoided the shield. There was a grinding sound of metal against metal when the sharp side of his katana slid across the protective gear. Despite being infused with magic energy, the weapon failed to cut through the runic equipment, making the young man focus on gaps in the defense. That was what he did as his katana barely missed the face of the enemy, a few centimeters short of entering the hole in the helmet’s visor.
However, his second blade was already moving in a quick slash. Cutting through the air, it tried to cut the leg of the bulkier opponent. Aimed at the knee above the greaves, it, unfortunately, crashed into the metal, when the enemy clumsily moved backward. That led to another inward curse about the luck of the Boss. Not that it would change the outcome that the young man prepared for the enemy. Fainting the attack with his first katana with the name of “Sunset”, he once again repeated the attack to the knee with a “Dawn”. But this time it was also faint, putting the bigger warrior in a desired position, when there was a clear opening between both shields.
Feeling a success, the young man smirked. The sudden change in his katana’s trajectory appeared to be a surprise for the Boss. Still, it was too late to react as both blades were already in thrusting motion, ready to penetrate the neck of the enemy. The latter attempted to turn his body and raise his shield, but there was not enough time for that. The young man was already prepared to feel the familiar sensation of the blade that was cutting through the flesh but instead was met with a loud clang and strong recoil when his katanas hit the breastplate. His mind only started to proceed with what had happened, but his body was already in motion. Putting his foot against the surface of the nearest shield, the young man made a backward somersault.
“How are you so lucky? Okay, then meet my Double Iaijutsu!”
The young man shouted, before putting both of his weapons in sheaths. Lowering his posture and focusing on charging his skill, he completely ignored the lunge of the enemy. On the contrary, he was patiently waiting for the Boss to come closer and to meet his attack head-on. And the giant wasn’t disappointing him, as his huge figure was approaching in a charge with both raised shields. A moment later those shields turned into a huge glaive that was cutting through the air and aiming to behead the young man in one motion. The “Slasher” had to immediately release his skill and duck down to avoid death.
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Hastily executed, two energy arcs blasted the air above the Boss's head before crushing into the wall behind his back. Still, one of them managed to cut through the glaive, giving space for the katana wielder to dodge the body of the giant. Rolling to the side, the young man used a single arm to push himself upwards. Making a pirouette through the air, he landed gracefully. Following an inertia, he made a wide rotational swing with two katanas to keep the Boss in the distance. However, when he caught a balance a second later, the young man was met with an odd gaze coming from the enemy. The giant didn’t even try to follow him, instead looking at him like he was some kind of circus monkey.
“I will wipe that expression from your ugly face!”
Lowering his posture as if he was trying to repeat the Double Iaijutsu, the young man baited the enemy into another powerful, but predictable attack of a glaive. However, this time, instead of dodging, he simply pushed himself forward. The incoming blade of a polearm’s variation was ignored as if the threat was non-existent. The man only concentrated on the following set of motions. Right before the Boss’s weapon would cut him, he finally activated his prominent skill.
“Ghost!”
Instantly his body seemed to lose any brightness, turning into a pale copy. The moment later a blade moved through it as it was made from a haze. For a blink, his image had a gap that cut him in two, but it was soon reformed again, as he started to move. Another moment later the colors returned, signaling the end of the effect. The young man was already in motion. Sliding underneath the reverse swing of the glaive, he slid on the floor, pushing both his katanas forward.
Aiming at the unprotected crotch, he thrust with the weapons only to see how the metal appeared right in front of his blades. The recoil from the impact was compensated by a swift roll to the side. Trying to stand up, the young man used both his katanas to stop the wild swing of the mace. Putting the blades against the shaft, he still had to make a step backward. Fainting the dodge to the side, he jumped in the opposite direction, finally distancing himself from the Boss.
“I admit you are stronger, but it will not help you. Not it, nor your anger. Right now I know your ability to change the form of your equipment, so I can be ready… And now you are going to die.”
The giant in front of him slowly lowered his now empty hands. Covering them with vambraces, the Boss defiantly summoned a metal mace with a short handle. Raising it up, he weighted the spiked ball in his other palm, as if checking the weapon. The glare behind the cage's visor was filled with an open provocation. That somehow immediately triggered the wave of anger inside the young’s man mind. The wave that would soon crush the enemy into oblivion. He already understood that those clumsy movements or “accidental lucky” blocks were just a play. The daring play from the Boss with a much smaller CP! From the random mindless mob! The walking experience, whose purpose was only to become fuel to his own strength!
“Double Iaijutsu! Merge!”
Not having any obstacles for proper activation, both blades moved out from the sheaths at an insane speed. Forming a cross in front of the young man, they released two shining arcs of mana. However, in a mere moment, those two were merged together in a single wide crescent line of devastating energy. The latter was already flying towards the figure of the Boss, who was charging forward without any shield. The moment later the Ghostly Slasher understood why, seeing how the giant created pillars underneath his own feet. Despite being aimed at the center of the torso, the energy arc was cast from the lowered posture. Therefore, the approaching Boss had only to raise himself a meter above the floor to completely avoid the magic strike. And that he did, turning into a stilt walker for a few seconds.
Dispersing the metal under him the moment the arc cut through his support, the giant jumped. Stretching his leg into a narrow line, which was a bad parody of a perfect kick from martial arts, he still cut through the air like lighting. The young man barely was able to drop to the side, dodging a huge barefoot with the size of his two heads that only slightly missed his face. Pushing himself upwards, the Slasher had to use his phantom ability to avoid the quick slash of the knife. Ethereal and invincible form gave him so needed time to calm his mind and finally get ready to fight. Therefore, when the effect had ended, the young man stroke.
His katanas flew like a predator’s lunge… only to meet the vambrace. The failure didn’t stop its brother, but the effect was the same. “Sunset” and “Dawn” were constantly in motion, thrusting or slashing. However, the result was the same. With simple and short movements, the Boss easily deflected each of the attacks. Sometimes the protective layer appeared by itself, frustrating the young man even stronger. The blades, which previously easily cut through most of the thick monster’s fur or skin, right now were clanging powerlessly.
“Then I need to add more power!”
Raising both his katanas above his head, he focused on the last variation of his Double Iaijutsu skill. Fueling the remnants of his mana into a magic attack, paused for a moment to finish the activation. The activation that he never happened as the Boss stomped his foot with a spiked boot, crushing the bones despite the metal toe. The pain almost threw him off balance, but the Slasher acted on instinct, using his Ghost state. It appeared a perfect choice as the knife cut through his ethereal throat a moment later, not able to wound the young man. However, such safety had a short time frame as his mana was nearing the bottom, while the Boss’s spiked mace was already in motion of overhead swing.
“I REFUSE TO LOSE!”
Loudly shouting with all his lungs, the Ghostly Slasher crossed his both katanas above his head, trying to stop the hit. He managed to do it already, confirming that he had enough points in Strength. The plan was instantly formulated in his head. Deflecting such a straightforward strike, he could immediately slash the opened chest of the Boss, while jumping backward. After gaining some distance he had to rely on his agile move set to win some time until his mana would… The strong hit crushed from the above, cutting all his thoughts. The young man tried to resist the insane force, but it felt like a giant rock was dropped onto him. The next moment everything went dark.
You know, you just can’t win against gravity in some games.
Congratulations on finishing the floor!
Attention! As you were assigned a non-challenger role, you can’t get a reward for finishing your first floor.
Proceeding to the next stage…
Your role for a current floor is to become a Mysterious Gladiator, who was hired as a mercenary to help the Overlord’s forces capture the city. This floor is a single-timed event with multiple challengers. The city will fall even without your contribution, but you will need to meet a hidden threshold of your own merits to be deemed worthy. Finish this task successfully to progress further! Good luck!
Wait! My loot!