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Volume 3
Chapter 32: Anger MAX!!!
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«Disintegration» Function variation:
«Element Wall»
Not the 'element' as in fire, wind, and water, no. The element here is the 'elements' that composed the full form of the Dragunov. The small-sized particles are the very weapon itself, disintegrated into that size to serve as a channel and as well as a vessel.
When Siva first thought of the concept behind the Dragunov, what he initially wanted was an ability that can give him an opening to deal a massive blow to any large monster's attacks. Meaning, something that can deliver a powerful blow that is outside the limitation of the cool down system.
Thus the «Disintegration» function of the Dragunov.
It relies to the electric charge provided by the Electric Stun Grenade (E-Grenade) to function and to take a form, Siva uses magic ability: Telekinesis to do it.
RPG: Terroa's system only allowed him to take this function because of the materials of the weapon.
In Terroa, Material grade will allow you to use certain functions and upgrades on an equipment. The higher the monster material's grade, the better the options available for the user.
What makes the Dragunov unique in all aspects is that perhaps it is the first of its kind, the first equipment made from 'Dragon' materials.
With the «Disintegration» function and the AOE effect of the junction system of his magic ability, Telekinesis, spending manna to control the form of the particles was the key. Within 20m radius from him, he can use the particles to stretch out like a path walk and when he activates The Heart to 'connect' the lines, a 'charge' percentage is spent and the «Lightning Step» is used.
But when in the «Disintegrated» form, the Dragunov's superior durability is reduced to its lowest and every time he uses the abilities that comes with the Raijin Skill Set, a some particles also gets lost.
To restore it to its integrity, Siva had to simultaneously use items through his Quick Item Pocket (QIP). These items are the nano repair cube (or just nanocube), and the E-Grenade to charge the function.
And not just a few, for the Dragunov is an S-rank gear, every time it is repaired four Z5K nanocubes are used, thus the reason for Siva to maintain a high number of these items on his inventory —costing him more Zentra and forcing him to hunt more monsters for money.
But in the «Element Wall», even if he uses the concept of a lightning's ability to reject a certain amount of damage, the force of the impact is still one to be wary of. Because it's a shield-type ability, the impact of the attack is still felt and trice the amount of nanocube is also used to repair its form and durability.
This is the same variation form that he used to survive Cassiopeia 's attack on him. But the area it can affect is very limited and it had a very short span in a sustained activation.
Using all the charge, with the help of the Telekinesis magic, he can maintain the form of the barrier shield for four seconds tops.
The attacks came and Siva felt the impact on his body.
His whole arms hurt as he felt the heavy blows. Unlike the ones with Cassiopeia who had weak strength but many in numbers, Karim's and his gang's attacks were all too powerful and weighed a lot. Numbness crept on his arms and he was thrown away.
"Siv —Kyaa!!"
Agatha was behind and she caught him but they were both knocked off their feet from the force of the attack.
Karim don't want to give him a chance to recover as he and the three heavy swordsmen with him followed up for a finishing blow.
They dashed off, weapons on the ready. Downward to side, one player at a time in a zigzag line.
"Tsk." Siva saw them and clicked his tongue. He rolled in twice, jumping over Agatha, before he found his balance and summoned his sword.
Black Ender was on his right hand, reverse grip, and Eibon on his left hand. He used Dragunov to kick the ground once and he was accelerated in front of the four who was struck surprised.
With a twist of his body, his feet skid over the dust and mud, leaving a trail of flying soil in the semi wet and dry forest floor.
He swung his sword diagonally from the upper right but was blocked by a heavy swordsman so he fired multiple shots at Karim who was in front of him to stop his advance. But there was a flash that came from his left side of vision so he used the angle of his strike and let the attack slid off the Black Ender.
With the first one he attacked regaining his balance, the last heavy swordsman together with the first and Karim delivered a three prong attack.
Siva was left with no choice and he jumped and twisted his body in midair to deliver a blow to Karim's chest with a mighty fast kick.
From the back of his right foot, an accelerator was activated. The sensors on the front side sensed the target's surface and released the Air Blast.
An explosive sound of compressed air suddenly being released echoed in the short deadlock and a gust of strong wind came that made Agatha cover her face.
The attack was a success but the swordsmen's reflexes were also good and so they blocked it with their swords in a smooth angle.
Siva broke free as the they all took their space to breathe and chase their rhythm.
"Che."
He landed on his four and switched styles to his double guns. With one foot at the back, he released a barrage.
The three with Karim was dodging the angle of the bullets but even when it hit them, Siva's bullets only made a damage on their thick armors and bounced off.
"You!"
Anger swelling in his chest, Siva's mind started to go beyond his promised threshold.
[You are inside the Killing Zone. You defenses are down by 70%]
With the appearance of the message, Karim's face grew with the look of surprise. He lent out a hand and the men on his command stopped moving. Volt and the others have been dragged further away and only Agatha was there with Siva to listen to their conversation.
"This ability... are you perhaps a unique skill holder?"
In that statement alone, Siva also paused but didn't put his guard down.
"You haven't answered my questions and yet you dare to ask me another question. Why are you attacking!?"
"I told you, didn't I? Your mission is a hindrance and you are a hindrance yourself."
Karim left the question he asked and the four of them took another stance to unleash an assault. Siva looked back and saw Agatha. She was holding her hands in her chest and looking like a flower who wanted to do something but couldn't do so.
"You bastard."
And that's when a loud roar came and they all looked up to hear foot falls falling in the ground fast.
"Siva!" Agatha called behind him.
"Agatha, support Hawk and the others. I can handle this by myself."
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"But..."
"Just go. Monsters are coming! You'll only be dragged in the fight and wouldn't be able to do something!"
Agatha's feet moved as she understood what was coming. She turned her back and ran towards the inner forest, giving Siva one last glance before she equipped her wing set and floated beneath the trees.
In the cold forest night, Siva and Karim's group was in a pause.
Their stances ready, waiting for the heavy monstrous footfalls to come near their location.
"You will take on four of us?" Karim grinned. "You're conceited. I give you that."
"I've fought and survived much worse situations than this one."
Karim scrutinized Siva and he looked behind his right shoulder, the direction where the incoming monster is coming from.
"Now that I think about it, your fight with the Lapis looked like a fight straight out of guidelines. Focusing on attacking the monster on its most vulnerable parts is a basic lesson from the Book of Monsters."
Siva's eyes widened. Such powerful observation skills are truly frightening, especially when it was from a guy who had real skill using the spear.
It only proved that Siva's doubts about this man was all real and he was a real martial artist in the real world.
"So what if it was?" He said and glanced left to check the distance and time until the monster reached them.
Karim smiled. This time, it was a genuine smile that told Siva Karim's real gladness and joy.
"Hmm, it's funny because as far as my experience go, I am sure that 99% of the players of Terroa wouldn't be spending their time in the library reading boring books about monster weaknesses. They would play this game normally like any other people who spent cash on it."
This time, Siva also smiled as he equipped his Flight Armor. He can't use the leg parts of the Dragunov when he's wearing the Flight Armor but his plans for wearing it wasn't concerned with the fight.
"You're surprisingly talkative. What changed?"
Karim's weapon began to take another bright red color and Siva prepared himself to dodge at full speed.
"Nothing changed. I just remembered someone from the Walled City of Aarun a few months ago who fought just like you..."
Then, Karim unleashed the attack and the three heavy swordsmen who had repaired their weapons dashed on towards the slightly surprised Siva.
He dodged left, gaining a five meter jump boost with the Flight Boosters.
"—in fact, I also remember seeing that man spent a few weeks in the library reading books and searching for information in the Book of Legends upstairs."
"...!"
The nearest swordsman reached Siva and he was left with no choice but to jump away with his guns pointed at the man.
Firing off bullets one after another, the man's armor was torn to shreds as the chink and chips from the accumulated numbers began to pile up. A shadow came from his right side and Siva summoned his equipment window, changing his gears manually into the black clad martial arts gear.
He did all that without looking at the panel, only his hands moved, relying on the memory of its location on his heart.
The Dragunov's arm gears snapped on his arms in a second and he twisted his body, receiving the falling slash with his left armguard, diverting it from him. The giant sword's direction was changed and that's where Siva's reflexes and experience began to work as he grabbed the sword and twisted his body left side.
With a counter kick to the face powered by the Flight Armor's boost, the swordsman's face met with the shin and the man was rendered outbalanced as Siva dragged his face to the ground.
The man was knocked down and Siva jumped away.
In just five seconds, all of that happened and Karim was left speechless as he recovered his pose.
"Paradigm Shift, hyper melee expert, precise moves and accurate attacks, you really resemble him."
Siva looked at his direction. Again, he manually changed his armor using a summoned semi-hologram panel only he could see.
He disintegrated the Dragunov and wore back the flight armor, putting the talisman on his neck inside his white polo garb. He continued to manually change his gears, wearing a cloak and even changing his mask.
From the black one, he wore the white mask. From being The Destroyer, he presented himself as the Volume Hunter.
Seeing this, Karim laughed out loud.
"Hahahaha... I knew it. It's you! In the OZ Forest, I saw you fighting Herons and Landsharks! I saw you in the library, reading books day and night! I know it's you the moment I saw your fight with the Lapis Lazuli but I just couldn't confirm it until this day!"
The men with Karim looked at him with frightened eyes and they began to step back as if he was some guy who lost his sanity.
His speech pattern changed and he sounded like Cramer but only Siva knew that and he felt that the stakes suddenly went higher.
Karim's hands were shaking, he was looking at the muddy forest floor and the dusty grassy area.
The mud was created by the bloods from the monsters that attacked their group earlier that day. And the hot compressed, unmoving air was the reason why the ground felt dryer than usual.
Paired with Siva's use of his Air Blast earlier, the hot condensed air that he released blew away whatever wet atmosphere that surrounded the area.
With the roaring monster approaching from the north horizon, Siva's last gamble lay on the strategy on his mind. He still feel the fear from overusing the Raijin's «Lightning Step», but if he wanted to win this fight against being outnumbered, he had to at least bear the consequence of what he's about to do.
He equipped the «Artemis MOD» and then he glared at Karim. The other swordsmen was on the side, on their guard stance.
"I wanted to fight you! I wanted to experience killing a strong martial artist! Only then that I will prove that I am strong!"
Karim's halberd with an anvil hammer took another change of form. This time, the bladed side became thin and long, it's now an undeniable weapon belonging to the staff-class.
Nagitana.
A weapon with a single katana long blade equipped in a long staff's end.
The only difference it had from a normal Nagitana is that Karim's version was longer and it had two blades on both ends.
From his pose, he really looked like a real martial artist and their was no denying that he had an intimidating air.
The monster's roar came and the last part of the forest that separated them and the monster was breached, revealing a horde of B-ranked monsters called Bing.
Bing, a monster that can easily be compared to chicken with its distinctive bird-like head and an opening with a gem on its forehead. The gem was a light refracting weapon that can blind enemies. Even the S-ranked Lapis Lazuli wouldn't be able to properly defend itself when struck by surprise from the Bing's main weapon.
There were six of them who came and their short wings and dark purple scales became blue in the dark of the night. The heavy swordsmen prepared themselves as Siva and Karim also did the same.
But the two of them didn't mind the monsters as their attention was fixed on each other.
"One last time, tell me why you are attacking me?"
Karim took a masterful stance and Siva felt the sheer killing intent coming from the man. Under his cloak he had the Black Ender, lowered in a relaxed position, its blade facing the ground.
His left hand was open, manipulating the «elements» to form an invisible shield.
Unless he activates them by powering The Heart, it'll remain unseen until the final moment of activation. It's going to be his final straw, his secret weapon. And until he can properly utilize that ability, he would use all his might to fight the man head on.
It was all planned.
Karim summoned 6 camera balls and it floated around them in a circular manner. He was planning to film this entire event like a souvenir and so Siva braced himself to be photographed.
He was ready now. But as the monsters began to charge at their location, it was then that he heard it.
"I will bury you with your lamp. And Helium will take Excalibur."
Siva's eyes widened in surprise.
"What did you just say?"
No answer came as Karim stretched his hand. Siva felt a giant hand had grabbed him and pulled him towards the man who twisted his body like a tornado. He saw a whirlwind and Karim's after image in the dark night.
With only the dim light of the bonfire coming not too far, Karim's body became dark by the speed of his execution.
Siva's instincts kicked in, he used Black Ender to take a hit on his chest.
Just in time that he positioned it, he felt a strike hit the blade along with a force so powerful, Siva felt like he was punched by a giant fist.
"Gwah..!"
A painful groan escaped his mouth, he flew back like a rock thrown into the lake.
But not a second passed that he was in midair, he also felt a tingling sensation on his nape and he twisted his body to meet another strike with another of his own.
CLANG!
A loud sound of metal hitting metal came and from his upward slash partnered with his twisting motion and arm strength, a reverse slash from Karim's Nagitana came like a whip.
Karim only took a step and from his flexible moves, he was able to change his attack's direction from a side slash into a haymaker arching blow.
What saved Siva was his sense of danger, he met the sharp blade with the Black Ender's own.
But even with his directional momentum, arm strength, and his body's twisting motion, the force of that single attack was still a force to be reckoned.
It countered his force and he was rendered a floating target. Siva's instincts kicked again and he saw Karim wearing a wicked smile. His body became blur, and Siva tried his best to follow his movements and block each powerful blow.
"Tsk."
Siva clicked his tongue on every blow he parried.
His arms and hands hurt each time he blocked an attack and what more, on each attack he blocked, his entire weight was rendered useless. His feet never even touched the ground once.
Left, right, from above, from below, diagonal, slanted, clockwise, counter-clockwise, each blow was so strong that Siva's senses were becoming dull each time.
GASP!
Until finally, he failed to defend successfully and so a blow had made it into his left flank and he was blown off with a sharp wound.
"Gah!"
He rolled four times and even broke a tree until he was stopped by a second that he almost broke with a dent.
He left a trail of dust clouds and Karim was on the other side of his view, smiling, grinning at his failure to defend his attack.
"Is this all you can do?"
Karim magnificently played with his weapon and rested it behind his right hand.
Siva's vision started to blur, he felt tired just by the mere fact that he defended all the attacks for who knows how many seconds.
Not being able to land to make a proper stand on the ground took its toll on his balance and he used the Black Ender as a cane to steady his position.
But his mind was somewhere else.
Despite his damage, his injuries, and the trouble of the monsters that miraculously came to their senses after receiving the attacks of the heavy swordsmen, his mind was focused in a rather more important detail.
"What... did you say you were taking?"
"Ah, you heard me." Karim stopped and lowered his body. "We will take Excalibur and Helium will rise as the top tier Guild under the influence of The Union of Seven Nations."
"Ex... calibur..."
"Hmm? Were you really this weak? Hmp. I guess the rumors about you winning against Cramer with luck is true after all."
"First that bitch, then you guys..."
"Murmuring, eh? I guess you already lost it. Time for you to die by my blade."
Karim's lowered stance came to take a step.
With a stretched hand came another one of that giant hand's sensation. Siva was lifted off his feet and was pulled towards Karim.
It was going to be a repeat of what happened earlier.
But just when Karim's strike was about to be released, a message came to his vision that made him pause for a split moment.
[You are inside the Killing Zone. Your defenses are down by 70%]
Along with that was the unified roar of the monsters and Karim's balance was interrupted and he was just in time to protect himself from a beheading slash.
He used his Nagitana and blocked it but with his whole balance shaken off by the roaring monsters who was on their way to them, Karim was shaken aside and failed to see in time the gun barrel pointed at his face.
Four bullets were released and Karim did his best to dodge the gun that was fired in point blank range.
Two bullets grazed his face and he kicked Siva to gain distance. With blood from the wound, he saw the man in black mask again.