Chapter 46: Don't care about them!
Before the fight could take place, Michu suddenly turned around. Within his eyes, a reflection of the witch spread. As he smiled, Michu called her out, "Sandra! Fight with me!" Fortunately for the witch, Michu didn't use any ambiguous words.
The crowd was so big Sandra had been feeling like she was in the stadium!
"Isn't it your battle?" She awkwardly replied, avoiding eye contact.
The monke raised his eyes, wondering what'd happened. Many whispers spread across the crowd, locking their eyes on Sandra. It looked like she became smaller and less significant and no smile could be seen on her.
Finally, Michu understood something, "Sandra! Just ignore them!" The crowd's eyes would be the same as the viewers' eyes, so the video Michu wanted to make would hurt Sandra if she were really conscious of others.
In his life, Michu had faced many people and he learned how to ignore them. He even sometimes responded to the insults. However, he never backed off if someone spoke badly about his family!
Sandra's anxiousness felt familiar, so under many players' eyes, Michu turned heels and approached her, "Tomorrow, they will all forget about us." He smiled, "Do you remember the faces of each bystander?" It was valuable advice that Michu kept close to his heart. It was given to him by Nana. "I am sure she would be happy if she knew that it helped you too. Nana likes you!"
Feeling her hands held by the rough monke's hands, Sandra raised her eyes and looked at him while biting her lips. She would have never expected that the monke would gather this much attention; at least on early levels.
It was different from the dungeon where parties were split and every player's eyes were forced to look around cautiously.
In this place, the crowd either looked at them or the Sword Mistress.
Some even already began to complain that Yakuzan had been waiting for too long!
"It's impossible, Michu... My heart can't take it," Sandra shook her head and replied dejectedly. She hid her face beneath her hat and even closed her eyes while still feeling Michu's hands.
The monke was at a loss of words, but as sensitive as he was, Michu knew he couldn't press further. He left the last words, "I hope you will stay here and watch me! I have been looking at others' deeds and battles for most of my life, so I also want to become someone that people can look at. I don't like being leech! And I want my friend to enjoy our quests! Hehe!"
"I won't blink. I promise this," Sandra replied and Michu smiled widely.
"It's a promise!"
After Michu returned to the Azure Lake, he took out his staff and faced Yakuzan who nodded to him.
Though anger glazed his monkey's eyes, the monkey boss had never lost his composure. He was ready to exchange ferocious punches and jabs with his opponent! However, the staff made Yakuzan's eyes turn serious.
It felt like a weapon that perfectly suited Michu.
A weird dangerous sense swirled his heart and the bonk's strength flashed briefly within his mind.
Yakuzan puffed his chest and rushed forth! He shook all his fear, leaving cautiousness and zealous drive to beat down the enemy that had read through his movement!
Michu's legs bent, then his staff took off like a rocket. He didn't display his ability yet, but laced his weapon with the bonk's ability! The terrifying force behind this bonk and its visual appearance forcefully reminded Yakuzan about the previous blow.
It startled him and his steps stopped.
On the other hand, Michu's legs, once on the move, would never stop until strength escaped him or his opponent perished. He appeared first while carrying an advantage and thrust his staff straight into Yakuzan's face.
The monke belatedly answered, his body stumbling behind.
However, the Azure Lake abruptly screamed as if it never expected Michu's blow to be that strong.
[-1240 HP! Critical Strike!]
On the always stoic and calm lake, the booming ripples pealed. Both Michu and Yakuzan became swallowed by the waves conjured from their first contact. The ever-changing waves clashed with each other, sometimes heavier, sometimes faster.
The loud water conveyed the Azure Lake's shock, but amidst those water tears, Michu's eyes never blinked. Undisturbed, all he felt was the feeling behind his blow and critical strike. He tried to repeat the same feat, even though the critical strike hadn't begun on the weak spot.
But how could Yakuzan be that easy to defeat? He stumbled, but regained foothold a second later, then unleashed a series of punches that would scare the professional boxers in real life! With the weapon in his hand and adrenaline fueling him, Michu grasped his staff with both hands and blocked every punch.
He also did his best to attack back, but Michu quickly found out that this was something he had yet to properly learn.
Both attacking and defending were hard against such a strong opponent with two times his level!
[You have lost 402 HP!]
[You have inflicted 790 HP!]
Those kinds of messages swarmed Michu's eyes. But before those could even cover Yakuzan's ferocious face, Michu's relentless staff kicked all those messages out of his vision!
It didn't matter how much HP Michu had left! It didn't matter how long his stamina would allow him to fight for! He didn't want to follow this black magic and give enough respect to Yakuzan whose punches had been raining down with all his will.
Monkey Boss' eyes never left Michu and a spark of respect began to lit up within. This bloomed even more as Michu entered the primitive battle style. Yakuzan threw a jab from below, but Michu stepped back as if he had been anticipating it from the beginning.
"You were doing frontal attacks all this time... I was wondering when you would switch!" The distance had been created, but Michu spoke as if he wanted to have some room for the talk!
Yakuzan nodded, "Huhu." He replied in his language, but Michu understood! The boss said that Michu wasn't a bad opponent at all.
Michu smiled, "Why are you a gangster then? You can change your life and become one of the residents in this world!"
Yakuzan shook his head. He couldn't leave this forest, so he decided to live here after gaining an ability. However, the players saw him as a stronger opponent and would never give up on such a 'bag of experience points'.
They didn't want to speak with the monkey, because who would? Even though Yakuzan had a name, no player tried to become friends with him solely because they lacked the class to tame pets.
Heavily suppressed by the game's reality, the players foolishly gave up on becoming friends with Yakuzan who would show them many wonders in this Azure Forest!
Thus, Yakuzan became a gangster and led other monkeys to fulfill their desires. All of them liked luxuries brought by players to this charming forest. Black coats that players wore to look cool for the opposite gender became the primary target!
Other monkeys liked red caps and hoodies.
"Haha! If they attack you, you have to fight back!" Michu laughed innocently. By then, the lake's waves calmed down and the initial calmness returned. Yakuzan and Michu's low HP stats became displayed in everyone's eyes.
"Michu! Be careful!" Sandra's voice then loudly alerted Michu! From all angles, many players decided to take a risk and take down Yakuzan before Michu's staff ended his life!
Familiar weapons and skills sparkled around him! Yakuzan didn't take a step back nor he tried to come closer to Michu! He just puffed his chest, clenched his hands, and glared at all exposed players with genuine hate!
He was ready to take those techniques head-on, but the blue slash whirled around the lake like a half-moon.
This slash broke all techniques, ended the players' lives, and silenced the loud crowd.
"Just because all of you couldn't see their battle..." Sword Mistress' voice reverberated through the lake. Even though it spanned over many kilometers, her reach was that wide! "It doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed it." She waved at Michu and Yakuzan, "Keep going." A beautiful smile worthy of celebrity widened on her face.
Michu blushed and nodded! "Thank you!"
Yakuzan nodded as well, then the battle resumed.