…
“Do you only know how to run away?!” Haazan shouted as he lashed out with his serrated blade.
Zeeeut!
Izroth’s figure vanished in a flash as he used Enhanced Instantaneous Movement to avoid the strike and retreat to a safe distance.
Haazan was frustrated by Izroth’s fighting style. After Haazan intercepted his first attack, all he ever did was dodge without even attempting to fight back! Unable to land a solid hit on Izroth infuriated Haazan.
However, as Haazan was about to follow up with his next attack, he sensed a large build-up of magic energy as the wind in the surroundings picked up. Then, just a few seconds later, Haazan noticed that the presence of the netherworld creature disappeared from the battlefield.
That’s when it suddenly dawned on Haazan. From the beginning, this guy had no intention of fighting him. He was merely stalling for time!
“Useless weak trash…! All the bragging and you get done in so easily?!” Haazan internalized as he grit his teeth in anger.
Haazan glared at Izroth, who currently had a carefree expression on his face and seemed to be totally unfazed by the events that transpired. Seeing that carefree look caused Haazan’s killing intent to pour out.
Izroth, on the other hand, paid no mind to Haazan’s killing intent.
It was just as Haazan thought. Izroth never intended to face him in a direct confrontation. Izroth did not fear fighting against Haazan. He simply had his focus placed on a bigger picture.
〈System Alert: You have received x10 «Spirit Voucher»!〉
〈System Alert: The following Bonus Objective(s) have been completed. [Difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard, Impossible]〉
〈System Alert: You have received x40 «Spirit Voucher»!〉
〈System Alert: You have received x1 «Restricted Supreme Spirit Voucher»!〉
〈System Alert: A hidden Bonus Objective «Defeat Obsidian Death Neksiazon without receiving any damage or attacking him» has been cleared. An additional reward will be provided.〉
〈System Alert: A new feature for the «Netherworld Exchange» has been added.〉
〈System Alert: You have received x3 «Netherworld Exchange Token».〉
The reason Izroth concentrated solely on avoiding Haazan’s strikes was to clear the impossible difficulty bonus objective.
With his stats reduced by 50%, Izroth understood that he could not risk going on the offensive if he wanted to succeed in clearing the impossible difficulty bonus objective. Therefore, he utilized his battle experience, Energy Vision Sense, and movement-type skills to constantly stay just out of reach of Haazan’s attacks.
‘A hidden bonus objective? Interesting.’
Izroth was surprised to discover that he managed to clear a hidden bonus objective. In addition, he earned additional rewards from the system related to the Netherworld Exchange.
‘A new feature… I do remember a few sections of the Netherworld Exchange being restricted. And, these Netherworld Exchange Tokens—are they a more valuable version of Spirit Vouchers?’
Izroth had several questions flowing through his mind. But, first, he still had one more problem to take care of.
Empyrean casually returned to Izroth’s side without a single scratch on him.
“It is done… Should I take care of him next?” Empyrean asked as his indifferent gaze landed on Haazan.
“Sure. After all, we have already wasted enough time here.” Izroth replied as he sheathed his Sword of The Storm.
Izroth had not forgotten about his true purpose for traveling to O’Tohelm. If the circumstances were different, he would have used Haazan to test out what Selene was capable of firsthand. However, his people were still being hunted down by Siren! He did not have time to play around with the likes of Haazan.
When Haazan saw Izroth sheath his sword and Empyrean’s sights set on him, he wanted nothing more than to tear both of them limb from limb. As if stealing the treasure gifted to him was not enough, now they were speaking openly like he was some nobody!
But, as much as it pained Haazan to admit, he knew that he was no match for them. And, after having witnessed Empyrean’s speed upon his descent onto the battlefield, Haazan understood that withdrawing was not an option. Therefore, Haazan was left with only one choice.
“If you let me leave this place, I am willing to tell you who is after your life!” Haazan said as he contained his rage. It was humiliating having to lower his head before some unknown nobody; however, all he had to do was survive. As long as he did that, one day, he would be sure to return the humiliation he felt severalfold!
“There is no need. I already have an idea as to who sent you. Let’s see… I believe his name was Zouren.” Izroth revealed as he gauged Haazan’s reaction.
Haazan’s expression remained unchanged; however, his muscles tensed up when Izroth mentioned Zouren’s name. And, even though he hid it well, Izroth saw the brief moment of shock that flashed within Haazan’s eyes.
With this, Izroth was able to confirm his suspicions. Without a doubt, the one who sent Haazan to claim his life was Zouren, the person who placed third during the second team’s selection.
‘The master sending his dog willingly to his death—how foolish. Our paths are bound to cross at the Lustrum Imperial Bout. When that time comes, I will make sure you understand the consequences of stepping on my path.’
After Izroth turned down Haazan’s offer, Empyrean flapped his silver wings and flew towards Haazan.
“Wait-!” Haazan tried to call out, but before he could finish doing so, Empyrean brushed past him without stopping.
Haazan fell silent as a long thin cut appeared across the front of Haazan’s neck. The next moment, his head shot away from his body as it was effortlessly severed!
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Haazan.〉
Just like with Neksiazon, Empyrean eliminated Haazan with little to no effort.
Haazan had already received a bit of damage from his clash with Neksiazon over who got to claim Izroth’s life. But, even if he was in perfect condition, his survival was still not guaranteed!
Since Empyrean used magic to deal with Neksiazon, he still had the built-up bonus damage generated by the effect of his skill, Sky Culling. The greater distance he traveled without lowering his speed, the more damage his next physical attack would deal to its opponent upon impact.
In order to reach Izroth, Empyrean flew thousands of meters nonstop. Naturally, this increased the bonus damage from his Sky Culling to an absurd amount—something Haazan had no hope of surviving against.
As Izroth observed Empyrean’s fighting style, he became somewhat concerned regarding his Soul Avatar’s current growth.
‘As of now, he is able to overwhelm his opponents with raw power since he has high magic power and a large pool of mana to draw from. But, in the future, he will meet opponents that cannot be overcome with raw power. His battle experience is severely lacking and his methods seem to be straightforward. I suppose it is partly my fault for having him focus on gathering resources. Well, it should be fine. Since he absorbs knowledge quite fast, I just have to find a way to provide him with the right challenges.’
As Izroth was in his thoughts, Selene descended from the sky and landed on his shoulder.
“Coo?” Selene leaned her head to the side slightly as she carefully examined Izroth.
“I’m fine. Though I appreciate your concern.” Izroth said with a carefree smile as he sensed Selene’s concern through their Soul Link.
“Coo!” Selene became cheerful after hearing Izroth’s response. She then flapped her wings and made her way over to Empyrean, resting on top of his head.
Empyrean was unbothered by Selene’s presence. By now, he was already used to the young bird making herself comfortable on his head.
Izroth was glad to see that the two of them were getting along well. When they first departed, Izroth held some worries because of Empyrean’s inexperience in the world; however, it seemed that they were unwarranted.
After gathering his thoughts, Izroth set his sights to the north. In that direction was his destination—the place Siren’s main headquarters was located—Devil’s Sanctum!
‘Now… Since you’ve been showering my people with so much attention in my absence, I will be sure to return the favor a thousandfold.’
“We’re going,” Izroth said as he began his journey north through the forest of O’Tohelm.
At the same time, Empyrean, along with Selene, took to the skies, following Izroth from above.
They were on their way to the Lawless City of Dreams, Devil’s Sanctum!
…
Three hours later…
‘It’s much livelier than I expected. It seems like I made the right decision by having Empyrean and Selene keep their distance for the time being. They would have drawn too many eyes.’
At the moment, Izroth was walking through the streets of Devil’s Sanctum wearing a hooded cloak that hid his appearance.
The atmosphere in Devil’s Sanctum was a bit rowdy but surprisingly calm for a city that was supposed to be lawless. The streets and buildings were also maintained fairly well. It was nothing at all like what Izroth imagined it would be.
However, one thing immediately caught Izroth’s eye while walking the streets of Devil’s Sanctum. No matter where he looked, there was no one lower than level 48.
On average, most of the people Izroth inspected through the system had question marks next to their level. And, unless every one of them possessed a special item to conceal their level, it meant that they were all above level 60!
If the average player visited this place and upset a random person on the street, they would probably be beaten to death!
‘I should be hearing from Azalea soon. In the meantime, I will find a place to lay low.’
