Queen and Su Yan's expression darkened at the sight of the begging blond knight.
'Damn it, we just recruited him and you're planning to annoy the hell out of him already?!'
Salvator and Spectre merely looked away, as if they didn't see anything.
"Oh?" Sky was taken aback for a second before smiling. Moving his arm, he raised his hand and looked at his clean fingernails. He then blew air on 'em as he said. "My international bank account number is AC024XXXXXXXX"
"Eh?" Kyle was dumbfounded.
Sky grinned in response. "Where else can you find such excellent power-leveling service at this stage of the game? For the right price, your leveling speed is guaranteed to skyrocket! Miles ahead of countless of players!"
'Haysss... The monthly rent for the dojo is about to come and I've no money left.' he thought as he sighed. 'Where did that old man get the money to buy the gaming capsule anyway? He had enough money to buy such a thing but none for the dojo?'
Actually making money could be said to be incredibly easy for him. However, he had given his word to his master that he wouldn't use his martial arts for any kind of profit.
At that moment, he remembered the old master's words.
'Little brat! Trust me, making money will be easier very very soon. Remember to play the game that'll come out!'
*****
A few hours later, the fifth Demon Spawn they encountered—
Roarrr!!!
"Provoke!" Salvator yelled as he smashed his shield at the Demon Spawn's stomach. Immediately after, he jumped back, barely dodging the demon's claw.
[You have dealt 92 damage to the target!]
Infuriated, the monster's attention was fully focused on him.
Gruaaaaa!!!
Thud, thud, thud!
The demon ran after him as its gigantic feet crushed the ground, leaving the earth vibrating after each step.
Fireball!
Whoooooosh!
What followed his attack were multiple flaming orbs that exploded upon contact with the demon.
Boom boom boom!
[You have dealt 330 damage to the target!]
[You have dealt 300 damage to the target!]
[You have dealt 316 damage to the target!]
"Let's go!" Kyle laughed as he used [Charge], causing his figure to rapidly rush towards the Demon Spawn's flank.
At that moment, the Demon Spawn suddenly turned around, suggesting the taunt skill's duration was gone.
The demon smiled malevolently as it swung its arm at the knight.
"Nice try!" the blond knight sneered. Right before getting hit by the attack, Kyle canceled his skill midway and spun around, brandishing his sword in a fluid motion.
Tiiiing.
A humming sound was heard when his greatsword glowed with light as it slashed at the Demon Spawn's arm.
[You have dealt 295 damage to the target!]
Following that, Kyle, with his body lowered, dashed at the demon's right side and swung his sword from the side.
As the greatsword moved in the air, the weapon's blade flashed with blue light.
It was the skill [Chop]. He had bought a skill book of it from a swordsman trainer in EverGuard for 10 gold.
It was expensive since gold rarely dropped from low-level monsters.
[You have dealt 310 damage to the target!]
At that moment, Sky, who was wearing a new black-colored armor, appeared at the Demon Spawn's rear out of nowhere.
His eyes were calm as he also used [Chop].
[You have dealt 1,450 damage to the target!]
He followed it up with a barrage of attacks, releasing two slashes each second.
'It's a pity that my attack speed is still slow.' he thought.
[You have dealt 1,005 damage to the target!]
[You have dealt 910 damage to the target!]
[Critical hit!]
[You have dealt 1,310 damage to the target!]
'Faster!'
[You have dealt 1,120 damage to the target!]
[You have dealt 1,030 damage...]
'Faster!!'
[You have dealt...]
[You have...]
[You...]
[...]
Right then, a notification window popped up, taking his attention.
[The War God is looking at you.]
[The War God is curious about you.]
'War God? Lakas?' he thought as he tumbled to the side, dodging the Demon Spawn's claws by a hair's breadth.
The scenes in the introduction flashed past his eyes as he recalled that dominating figure that slaughtered countless demons and multiple Great Demons.
'Interesting...'
Just as he was remembering those scenes that seemed too realistic, a delicate voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Sky!" Queen called out.
Roarrrrrr!
The Demon Spawn's cry shook the Devilwood Forest as black smoke suddenly appeared at its claws. The demon then pointed at Sky, who was momentarily distracted.
"Damn it."
[You have been cursed with the skill 'Affliction'.]
A skull-shaped mark appeared above Sky's head at this moment.
[Your health will decrease by 800 points every second.]
[Your stats have been reduced.]
[You feel stagnated.]
[You feel exhausted.]
The terrifying skill that nearly took his life during his first battle against a Demon Spawn presented itself once more.
However—
[The Blessed Necklace has purified the curse 'Affliction.]
[You have resisted.]
Sky sighed in relief when the [Blessed Necklace] activated. Unless he used all the [Intermediate Potions] that he had, he would've died in less than 10 seconds due to the DoT.
He then jumped away from the Demon Spawn and focused.
"Oh? The skill didn't affect you?" Spectre's blurry figure suddenly appeared and asked curiously when he saw the skull mark that was above Sky's head, disappear.
"I have an item that gives me a certain chance to ignore debuffs." Sky smiled before rushing towards the monster.
Spectre nodded and blended into the darkness once more.
Queen sighed in relief when she saw Sky resist the debuff.
'Fighting a Demon Spawn without him... we would've team-wiped if he died.' as she thought of this, she leaped towards the demon and stabbed towards its head.
Just like this, time passed as the monster's health bar started draining.
*****
[The enemy has been slain.]
[You've killed a minion of the Great Demons!]
[You have received +100 World Reputation for your Combat Achievements.]
[All stats +1.]
[You have received 95,233 experience points.]
[You have obtained 1,100 gold.]
[Your level has risen,]
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
[You have obtained: Cursed Blade.]
[You have obtained: Cursed Chestpiece.]
[You have obtained: Demon Spawn's Meat.]
[You have obtained: Demon Spawn's Skin.]
[You have obtained: Demon Spawn's Bones x3.]
]You have obtained...]
[You have...]
[You...]
[...]
[...]
"That's the fifth one," Queen said with a bitter smile. "Only 95 more to go..."
Hearing her words, the party groaned.
"Ugh, only 95 more..."
"That's a yikes."
"This quest will take forever!"
"Should we just garrison in a different kingdom..."
Sky looked at them who were all complaining.
However, as they complained, the determination in their eyes didn't waver.
It was clear that they didn't mean what they said.
Sky smiled. He felt good.
"Boss, Imma log out for now. I'm pretty tired, phew." Kyle groaned as he arched his back exaggeratedly.
"Me too, I'm getting hungry," said Su Yan as she extended her arms up and stretched body charmingly.
Her features displayed the epitome of oriental beauty.
It was a beautiful sight.
"Pretty... hey!" Kyle whispered in a daze only to be whacked by Su Yan.
"Okay, let's rest," Queen said. "That's all for today. Leave a message in the group chat when you're gonna play."
Although her gorgeous face was expressionless, it still betrayed the hint of exhaustion in her eyes.
She then glanced at Sky. "Since we're in each other's friend list now, I'll also add you in the group chat."
The group chat that she talked about was the integrated app within the gaming capsule, which could be accessed in-game and outside the game.
The app allowed one to message, call, or video-call anyone who had the app. Of course, there were also tons of other features that needn't be mentioned.
It was developed by Destiny Group way before the opening of Everlasting World.
Linking the app to the gaming capsule and Everlasting World was a smart idea and made the communication between one another easier.
"See you later, Sky!"
"Cya tom. bro!"
"Nice meeting you!"
"Okay." Sky nodded his head as he saw them log out, their game avatars blurring before eventually disappearing.
"Now, what should I do about this..." he whispered as he looked at certain notification windows.
[Due to continuous exhausting activities, you are in a state of hunger.]
[Stats have been reduced by 60%.]
[Movement speed has been reduced by 50%.]
[You are hungry.]
[You feel exhausted.]
[Your status might worsen if you do not satiate your hunger.]
"Hmm..."
He looked at his inventory for anything that could remedy the situation, only to find it futile.
"The Intermediate Potion only heals my HP, it doesn't remove any status ailments..."
At that moment, a certain item that he previously found useless caught his eye.
____________________
[Demon Spawn's Meat]
A chunk of flesh from a Demon Spawn. Edible.
____________________
"Hmmm..."