"Um...Okay. But no talking. I'm not in the mood for it."
"That's okay, it's just boring to level alone eh heh..." said Kaiden as he began pondering where he wanted to level.
'Where exactly should we go? I think she started late as she only Level 36 but it also seems as if her combat ability is good. I mean that kick she dealt had a certain precision to it.'
"Can I ask a question?"
"If you want to know what caused my state, I'm sorry but we're not close...I don't want to disclose my past to you. We are business partners that is all."
'Wow...her cold demeanor returned twofold.'
"Nothing like that, I won't be overstepping my boundaries. I would just like to know if you've trained in the real world? Doesn't seem you are a novice when it comes to body usage."
"Yes. Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Muay Thai… I've trained in those."
'Oh FUCK! She's dangerous.'
"Then you should be able to hold your own. We'll be heading to the Crescent Gale Valley. If you haven't been, it houses the Lv.50+ monsters."
"Okay...wait, you kill monsters over 10 levels higher than you?"
"Yeah" Nodded Kaiden as he began the journey towards the Crescent Gale Valley. It had been a few days since he came here. Although he had Kairo's Teaching to continue—he needed a stress reliever.
…
Due to his quicker movement speed than the previous time coming here. Kaiden was able to arrive here in under 20 minutes. That was shocking given the large distance between map sections in World's Destiny.
Lv.52 [Lunar Orc] (Normal)
Health: 310,000/310,000 (100%)
Lv. 51 [Lunar Orc] (Elite)
Health: 380,000/380,000 (100%)
Many orcs littered the field, however, Kaiden ignored their presence. He was aiming deeper in the valley as these normal and elite wouldn't provide the pressure he was looking for. He was aware of his own combat ability after having already faced these orcs.
Swinging Angurvadal, Kaiden executed Sword Wave - Dispersion which was now Level 4 thanks to his mastery.
[Sword Wave - Dispersion] (Special) – Lv.4/10. Gathering force in your body sends out 5 sword lights successively. Deals 200% of Attack Power in a 7x7-meter area and each successive strike increases by 25% until 300%. Cooldown: 25 seconds. Skill Proficiency: (960/8,000)
The billowing sword lights caused the area in front of Kaiden to clear as Sword Wave - Dispersion split the sea of monsters. Instantly, more than 180,000 Health disappeared from the surrounding orc due to the effects of Angurvadal and his mastery.
When Kaiden realized this he paused his step.
'If I already dealt this much damage. Then it would take no effort at all to simply slay them all.'
Behind him, although still perturbed by Kaiden—Snow Bunny was still slightly shocked at the damage capabilities of Kaiden. This was obscene. One wave of the sword yet he annihilated over 50% of the monster's Health.
Besides the monsters of the games that could be easily named, who else could be capable of these feats. Looking at Kaiden, Snow Bunny's gaze scrutinized him in an unpleasant way.
'You have potential… but I still see you as an asshole.'
Drawing the Nightfall Blade, Sword Force now flowed through this weapon as well. It was becoming a habit to have 'Sword Force' active in the passive state to increase DPS. This was only possible because of Kaiden's Profession. For if this skill was learned when he operated on Mana, this skill would have been reduced to a situational skill.
Most of Kroxus' techniques were made to operate on Energy and not Mana. In their era, Energy was dominant over Mana. As a result, most ancient practices needed Energy as its fuel. Additionally, the 'True Path of the Sword' mastery existed as another permanent damage modifier contributing heavily to his damage boost.
With the continuous activation of Sword Force, Kaiden was always gaining proficiency with Sword Force. However, unlike his other skills, this one required a mountainous amount of Proficiency to level.
Brandishing Angurvadal, Kaiden executed 'Illusive Sword Torrent' which further shocked Snow Bunny. The glint of Kaiden's sword hinted that this wasn't a normal ranked skill.
-167,497 [-41,874]
With over 200,000 damage being dealt instantly, the surrounding orcs disintegrated into Experience and Loot. Because Snow Bunny didn't land a blow instead of a 50/50 split. The experience was divided into a 70/30 split with Kaiden receiving the majority.
"That skill, what rank is it?"
"It's an Epic Rank skill."
"Oh...you have an Epic Rank skill already? Must be lucky. No wonder you clear those dungeons." muttered Snow Bunny as she dropped her hood.
"It's from my class, I'm not exactly a swordsman. Let's continue. We haven't reached our target yet."
'Is he trying to loosen the tension between us by establishing familiarity? Hmph, it's not that easy.' thought Snow Bunny as she ran behind Kaiden.
Being a Rogue, her movement speed was very high. Although not faster than Kaiden, the conversion ratio of her Agility was much steeper than Kaiden's class. Of course, this was due to Rogue being a class that relied heavily upon attack and movement speed to deal damage.
As they traveled deeper into the Crescent Gale Valley, Kaiden began seeing monsters that would be worthwhile on the experience side.
Lv.55 [Lunar Orc Shaman] (Rare Elite)
Health: 780,000/780,000 (100%)
Lv.56 [Lunar Orc Gladiator] (Special Elite)
Health: 1,160,000/1,160,000 (100%)
Lv.56 [Bone Spur Orc] (Special Elite)
Health: 1,340,000/1,340,000 (100%)
Compared to the other orcs, besides these orcs having a deeper blue color. Some were dressed in harshly made cloaks and carried an amethyst staff. Others were covered in horrifying bone spurs which jutted from their joints and head. The last type wore war gear with broadswords and very sparse armors.
"Uhm, don't you think their health is a little high for us?"
"Nope, they actually pale in comparison to the dungeons."
Once inside a dungeon, the increasing difficulties began to put the field monster's health and stats to shame. This was a reason why the fields to dungeon ratio were so drastic. While fields were easier to locate, dungeons provided better loot and experience when cleared at a higher difficulty.
With that being said, Kaiden dashed forth without hesitation as he felt no qualms with diving headfirst into this mass of enemies. Whenever he could, he would be using a ridiculous amount of monsters to hone his sense and perfect his subpar control.
*ZING* *FWIM* *SWOOSH*
Weaving through using blades to execute an occasional parry or block, Kaiden used a specific set of strikes to damage these various orcs.
"Don't stand there Ms. Blair, join in." said Kaiden.
Regaining her composure, Snow Bunny unsheathed two short twin swords. This was a weapon her class held mastery over. They had a high attack power than daggers, however, due to the slightly longer reach it sported a lower attack speed.
Spinning the twin swords in her hand, Snow Bunny snatched the hilts of the weapons in a dextrous motion. It could be seen she was well trained in combat leaving one to wonder what she did after her world broke.
Raising his eyebrow Kaiden nodded.
'If she wasn't already a guild master I would have did my best to snatch her into my guild. She's better than Despotic.'
However, that comparison couldn't really be made. Although they were the same base class, they selected different subclasses. One was an Assassin while the other went the Rogue route.
Accelerating, Snow Bunny's twin sword gleamed with a purplish hue. With slithering motions, she arrived in front of an Orc Shaman. However, in the next moment, she disappeared as an empty cloak fell before the monster.
*SPLICH* *BANG *BAM*
In practically no time at all, Snow Bunny pierced the rib of the Orc Shaman with a Vital Stab dealing 2,400 Critical. Although her damage was low. What came next was a fluid uninterrupted combo. Spinning she delivered a spinning kick to the Shaman's jaw. This was a skill and also a technique.
Concussive Blow (Rare Skill).
Rotational Amplification (Advanced Combat Technique).
Holding her swords in a reverse grip she landed, making a vertical slice while jumping dealing 1,800 damage.
Slicing Uppercut (Rare Skill).
Flipping in the air, she extended her leg performing an abrupt dropkick.
Heel Drop (Rare Skill).
After her combo, she stunned the Orc Shaman for 3 seconds. Still holding her twin swords in a reverse grip, she held arms close as she turned.
During the turn, she danced around the Shaman executing multiple stabs. Above her, a combo counter appeared that now read '8'.
This was a system unique to a rogue. As the combo counter grew a Rogue would receive increased damage with each blow as well as proficiency. Additionally, they would receive combo points.
As she danced around the Shaman delivering precise blows; before the stun duration ended, she planted her hands on the ground before the monster and kicked at the Shaman's jaw.
Disorienting Kick. (Rare Skill)
At this point, her combo counter raised to '16'. Additionally, she had 4 combo points currently. At this moment, she used Assassin inspired movements. Appearing behind the Shaman she stabbed her twin swords into the neck of it, dealing a 4,000 critical.
When her combo counter reached 20, she executed a big skill she had been holding off on. Her twin sword shimmered with a silver light as she dealt 6 slashes, sacrificing all her combo points to increase the damage of the skill by 500%.
Lunar Arc Slashes (Special Skill).
Immediately 124,000 damage vanished from the Orc health as it regained the ability to move.
On the other side, Kaiden spectated the battle at the corner of his eyes.
'Those movements! Damn, if only I got to her before she made a guild. Wait...what am I saying, this isn't the end.'
In an hour, the 60 monsters that were previously here was annihilated by Kaiden and Snow Bunny. As a result, while Kaiden experienced raised to 60 percent—Snow Bunny leveled up to Lv.37.
Because she wasn't wearing at her cloak at the moment, Kaiden was dumbfounded as he stared at the enchanting Snow Bunny.
"Can you stop staring at me? Direct your eyes elsewhere." spat Snow Bunny as she once again wore her black cloak."
'My god...so that's what she's hiding.'
If Kaiden was to describe her then all he could say was that she was simply enrapturing. While none of her curves were overly exaggerated—Kaiden thought she looked perfect. Her leather equipment perfectly accentuated her shapely hips and plump bust. Kaiden believed he just found his ideal shape.
"Ahem… I'm sorry...Didn't mean to stare. I just wasn't aware you were so beautiful… My apologies." awkwardly chuckled Kaiden as he rubbed his head.
Trembling for a moment, Snow Bunny glared at Kaiden. "Hmph, empty words. You still are an asshole."
Turning away, she slowly proceeded deeper into the valley leaving Kaiden to smile bitterly.
'Just what is her past experience for her to harbor such negative feelings toward me over what I said…'
....
As they proceeded slightly deeper in the valley, the duo was confronted by a mass of players.
"You guys there halt! Return to where you have come from. This is the territory of the Sunset Triad. I suggest you comply lest we have to resort to force." grumbled a Tier 1 Berserker.
"Oh? I wasn't aware that you could own a leveling field. Seems interesting. I wonder just how you guys will stop my advance?" taunted Kaiden as he crossed his arms.
If there was one thing Kaiden hated it was the complete abuse of power as well the belittling of him. As a result, his defiant side would instantly present itself much like the negotiation between him and Snow Bunny.
"Hmph, let's see if that attitude stays when I call our leaders." chuckled the Tier 1 Berserker.
"I don't care who comes or who you bring. I would love to see exactly how you will force me to move from this area." spat Kaiden with a cold, imperious look in his eyes. As if the one he was currently talking to was insignificant at best.
To his side, Snow Bunny turned. She noticed his demeanor was changing and a dangerous aura was lurking around him.
'This presence...I was right...He's a monster who hasn't received any guidance. If he were to ever gain the proper direction...It would be the start of tumultuous times for the gaming world.' concluded Snow Bunny.
"Hmph, insignificant annoyances." chuckled Kaiden.