Vansouden had been hiding in stealth the entire time as he waited for the perfect opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
He knew that Izroth was bound to let his guard down the closer they became to the forced relocation, therefore, he decided to wait until the last few seconds. That way, even if his attack failed, he would be teleported away without paying any kind of price for his failure. Not only that, but those dangerous purple lightning swords had finally vanished!
In truth, Vansouden did not expect Izroth to be such a fierce opponent, but something felt off about him. In the end, he could not put his finger on it, but that no longer mattered to him. He knew that using his Nightmare Arts: Dreadful Sacrifice, even if Izroth did not die instantly, his chances of surviving after the relocation would be a near impossibility!
"Die!" Vansouden roared as his daggers became pitch black and a stream of dark energy flowed throughout his body. There were veins that became visible on his skin and one could see that the color of the blood had changed from red to black! A terrifying energy rushed towards Izroth and wanted to devour him whole.
"Then, I'll also give you some friendly advice." Izroth said to Lances as an overbearing aura pushed back against Vansouden's dark energy and completely overwhelmed him in the process. At the next moment, Izroth's hand was pierced through Vansouden's throat. However, instead of a hand, it seemed more like a sharp and deadly sword filled with destruction!
Vansouden eyes widened in belief. He could not comprehend what had just taken place. Why was the person in front of him still standing? Why could he not move his body? That was the moment realization crept in.
"Those who've blocked my path have never met with a good end." Izroth stated as he did not spare Vansouden a single glance. It was as if he were swatting a fly that was buzzing around the room.
Izroth withdrew his hand, however, one could still feel a lingering sword aura around it. He had just used the swordless form of the First Baneful Sword: Destruction. But, given how sharp the aura was around his hand, one would never think that he actually attacked without a weapon!
"Good, very good!" Lances said with an excited look on his face that he found hard to hold back. He could tell from the look in Izroth's eyes that the words he spoke were not just that of pure arrogance, but absolute confidence. For some reason, he believed that this person before him would continue to surprise him throughout this selection. It was just a gut feeling of his, however, rarely was his gut feeling wrong about someone.
Vansouden eyes were filled with hatred as he faded into countless particles. His place in the selection was not the top 100 as he planned, but instead, it ended with his death in the first 30 minutes. For this, he would curse Izroth all the way to the Nether Realm! Just as Vansouden's particles finished dissipating, a magic symbol appeared above and beneath Izroth's feet. The same thing happened to Lances as well. It was due to the very first relocation taking place.
"Try not to die before we cross paths again, Izroth." Lances said with a smirk on his face.
〈System Alert: Beginning Forced Random Relocation sequence.〉
Zoom! Zoom!
The magic symbols collided with one another and immediately after that happened Izroth, as well as Lances suddenly disappeared.
…
Meanwhile, back at the platform…
"The first round has passed and it's only down to 827 people. Isn't that a new record for the second team selection?" Kayn questioned.
Zushuatri nodded with a gentle smile on his face as he replied, "Indeed. Usually, the number of casualties are a lot higher before the first relocation takes place. I believe last time it was already down to 502 participants. That just goes to show that the batch this time around is quite good. I'm pleased."
Kayn watched the magic screen and a few moments later a frown appeared on his face.
"Hey, old man, didn't you say that the relocation is done at random?" Kayn asked.
"That is the case." Zushuatri responded.
Kayn released a sigh as he shook his head, "Then, I'm afraid his luck is pretty bad."
Zushuatri set his gaze towards the area Kayn was observing and it caused his brows to furrow slightly.
"Isn't that guy also one of the people invited by that person? Maybe he'll surprise us." Kayn said.
On the magic screen, one could see Sphinx stand only a few meters away from another participant. It was the other individual who was invited by that person to participate in the selection along with Izroth! It looked like their fight against Sphinx was inevitable.
…
Meanwhile, somewhere in RML…
〈System Alert: You have acquired x1 «Utopia Flower»!〉
〈System Alert: 10/10 Collect «Utopia Flower» at the outer edge of «Whistling Cliff».〉
"That was the last one. Thank you, Ayanellia. You made this quest a lot easier." Reilei said with a gentle smile on her face.
The young doe of creations Ayanellia, who stood next to Reilei, rubbed her head up against Reilei's leg.
Mew!
Xiao Liang jumped down from Reilei's shoulder and crashed into Ayanellia headbutting her in the process.
"Xiao Liang!" Reilei gasped when she saw Xiao Liang headbutt Ayanellia.
Mew! Mew!
Xiao Liang had a smug expression on his face as he looked at Ayanellia. As for the young deer, she lowered her head slightly and a pitiful look found its way onto her face. A small and sad whimper could be heard coming from the young deer.
"Xiao Liang if you keep bullying Ayanellia then I'll get angry." Reilei said with a small pout on her face. She reached down to pick up Ayanellia and held the young deer in her hands.
"Ayanellia, don't be saddened. Xiao Liang is just not used to having company yet, that's all. I hope the two of you can get along well." Reilei said in a comforting tone. This caused Ayanellia to cheer up and her previously sad expression had turned to one of joy.
Mew…
Xiao Liang, on the other hand, looked as if he had just been wronged.
Reilei shook her head inwardly when she saw Xiao Liang. She knew how he loved to put on acts in front of her. However, even though she knew it, she could not find it within herself to stay upset with him.
When the young deer first awakened, she immediately clung to Reilei. It may have been due to the fact that her mother, who she had not yet met, was nowhere around and Reilei was the only one nearby. Therefore, the young deer imprinted on Reilei. Of course, what Reilei did not know was that there was another reason behind this and it was the skill she received from Ayanelle, the Blessing of the Doe of Creations.
In the end, Reilei formed a Soul Contract with the young deer and gave her the name Ayanellia to carry on a part of her mother's name. Since then, Ayanellia had never left Reilei's side and was quite attached to her. However, every time Ayanellia got too close to Reilei, Xiao Liang would headbutt her! It was as if he were saying, "Hey, brat! I was here first!".
But, Reilei did not truly blame Xiao Liang. While she did not know for a fact if age was relevant in RML when it came to Xiao Liang and Ayanellia, she understood that both of them were relatively newborn creatures. Therefore, dealing with Xiao Liang was almost similar to dealing with a child who threw tantrums.
"But, Jin has always been so well behaved… What should I do…?" Reilei muttered to herself with a troubled expression. Since Jin was so well behaved, she had no idea how to deal with Xiao Liang besides the occasional scolding.
Before she even knew it, Reilei had already considered Xiao Liang and Ayanellia to be like family to her in RML. The way Xiao Liang and Ayanellia interacted with one another was like an older sibling taunting the younger sibling.
"Hey look, there's a player over there. Why don't we just invite them?"
"Where- Oh, you're right! Eh? Those creatures… It looks like they're a summoner. Are summoners any good?"
"Idiot! Don't you know the guild leader of Hypers Symphony, Wang Ping, is a summoner? That's one of the top ten guilds! Why would a guild leader choose a class that's bad?"
There was a group of players not too far away from the Whistling Cliffs that stood before a cave entrance. In total, there were five players gathered by the cave entrance, four males and one female. From their equipment, among the males class types was a warrior, two rogues, and a fighter. As for the female class type, she was a cleric.
Mew!
As Reilei was thinking to herself, Xiao Liang released a small sound to try and get her attention.
"Hm? What is Xiao Liang?" Reilei questioned as she looked down at Xiao Liang. He nudged her slightly before turning to face forward.
Mew! Mew!
Reilei looked over in the direction Xiao Liang faced and saw that five players were approaching towards her direction. She instantly became somewhat cautious. After all, the only previous experience she had with running into players out in the open was far from being a friendly and pleasant one.
"Hey there, summoner! Would you like to join our party? We're trying to clear this dungeon but we don't have a magic caster. Of course, we'll split the loot depending on member contribution. Sounds fair, right?" One of the players who approached Reilei said. It was the male warrior who appeared to be the leader of the party.
"Party? Dungeon?" Reilei responded with a surprised and confused expression on her face. She was glad that they did not seem to have any bad intentions, however, what did he mean by joining their party? Also, what was that strange talk about a dungeon?
"Yeah, it's much easier to gather experience together as a party. Hey seriously… Don't tell me you've never been inside of a dungeon before?" One of the rogue players said with a shocked expression. He then shook his head and sighed.
Reilei shook her head and replied, "I don't think I have. Is it something important?"
The party of five had blank expressions on their faces when Reilei asked that question. Was it important? Dungeons were hands down the best way for the average player to rack up on experience and loot. Even the most inexperienced gamer would know what a dungeon was and the importance it held for players. Yet, this person before them seemed to be completely clueless. How did they manage to take it this far?
The fighter sighed and said, "This is a waste of time. We should just go in with the five of us."
"Then, what if we come across a monster with high physical resistance? We need magic!" The warrior responded.
The healer approached Reilei with a friendly smile on her face and said, "You can call me Phoenix, nice to meet you. Are those your summons? They're so adorable."
"Ah, my name is R-…" Reilei was about to respond with her real name until she remembered where she was.
"I'm called It's So Realistic…" Reilei spoke in a quiet and low voice.
"Hm? What did you say?" Phoenix said.
"I said I'm called It's So Realistic." Reilei said in a voice that was loud enough for Phoenix to hear. However, the embarrassment in her voice was apparent.
"That's a… Unique name?" Phoenix said with an awkward smile on her face.
Reilei truly wished that she could change her name! Why did she have to be stuck with such a strange name? It was embarrassing just hearing herself say it out loud!
Things settled down a few moments later. In the end, the group decided to invite Reilei to the party. After all, having nothing but magic or physical damage could end up being a headache in certain situations. Therefore, it was better to be safe rather than sorry.
With this, Reilei had officially joined her first party in RML!
