"Shit!"
Roman cursed out. He leaped up in the sky and aimed the Phoenix Blaster in the air. A ball of orange flame appeared in the night sky and exploded like a firework. It emanated the entire area showing the thousands of undead monsters waiting for the right time to attack.
'It's no wonder why this dungeon needed a 1000-man party, this was never supposed to be possible for 2 people to accomplish.'
Roman clicked his tongue as he activated Pyrotechnics. The ball in the sky spread out to a wide area as a rain of flaming bombs fell like a meteor shower. As soon as it fell in contact with the ground, it exploded leaving a sea of fire that burned anything it touches.
"Brother Alon! Undead monsters are weak to the Element Fire and Light. It's best if we try to push them as far as possible since they have the special effect called Hallow's Touch that can weaken us if we are struck by any of their attacks!"
"Got it!"
Kaya pulled out rib bones in his inventory and transformed them into throwable spikes. With the increase of his Fire Element, it was now possible to coat the entire weapon in his arsenal to flames which he threw right at the undead. With the sea of flames lighting the entire area, Kaya could see them, right away, he fired dozens of these spikes that shot at either their heads or monster cores which immediately killed them.
Roman on the other hand fired his pistol. He was amazed at how powerful it was. Each bullet was a mix of Mana and pure Fire Element which made it deadly ammo against the undead and when he shot right through it, the bullet was so strong that it obliterated any monster it contacts with and continued to travel to the next monster in it's behind. Although it cost him mana by 20 every second, his high Mana pool was enough to sustain it and even if his Mana would fall by a degree, he had enough stock of Great Mana Potion in his bag to sustain his MP.
Ghouuuh!!!
[Banshee (2)] [Elite Monsters]
Level: 118
HP: 2,000,000/2,000,000]
"Careful Brother Alon! Banshees are immune to physical attacks, they can only be damaged by non-physical attacks!"
Roman called out to Kaya who was facing a group of ghastly Banshees that looked similar to white ladies.
'If Physical attacks don't work on you then let's try this out.'
Call of Void!
As soon as Kaya activate the skill, he felt his entire peripheral vision expand to a wide degree that it became possible for him to see from a bird's eye view. He tried its effects out as he threw a punch from 10 meters away from the Banshee and as soon as he thrust his fist, the causality damage punched the face of the Banshee pushing it away dealing nearly 20% of its health in an instant.
'Wow!'
Kaya was amazed while the Banshee was enraged. They screamed a defeaning cry that would burst a person's eardrums but with his class's exclusive skill, God's Will, the effects were ineffective against him since he was near-immune to any types of debuffs.
"Too loud."
Mixed with his Monarch's Authority that allowed him full control over his surroundings plus the Call of The Void, he held the entire heads of the groups of Banshees and activated Crunch bursting their heads as they turned to ashes. Kaya gained a few experiences from them but did not care less about it as he shifted his direction to another group of undead monsters. Since the morale of the majority of the undead monsters had been Weakened including their overall attributes, he didn't bother facing them as he aimed toward the enemies who were unfazed by his Monarch's Dominance.
Neigh!
Ting~
[Death Knight (3)] [Elite Chieftan Boss Monster]
Level: 168
HP: 100,000,000/100,000,000]
A rotten undead knight wearing a full set of rusty armor with its undead horse exuding a deathly aura around them. Kaya smirked seeing that he might get to enjoy a fight as he threw a couple of flaming spikes right at them.
Peng! Peng!
The undead knight simply swung his lance at the spikes turning them into rubble. With quick reaction time, corruptive power, and an overwhelming aura, nobody would dare face this opponent head-on, but that fucking 'nobody', is John Wick (Kaya). He ran straight towards it as it also charge towards him. Jousting its lance to Kaya's face, Kaya leaped in the air and forcibly change the direction of the lance then threw a kick right at its face.
It tried to evade it but with the causality effect, the kick struck its head and bend the wrong way as its helm fell off revealing its rotten face that had half its jaw loosened on its mouth.
-657,000!
'I even put some internal energy to that kick, to think I could only damage that much.'
Kaya clicked his tongue. He could barely use the effect of Monarch's Authority on it since its base power was above Kaya so he could only move its hand slightly. Kaya knew that fighting the Death Knight head-on was the wrong choice, he only tried it out to see if he could deal some damage but it would take too long before another boss monster would attack, and just as he thought of it, an array of spells bombarded his way and he immediately dodged by donkey rolling to the side.
' I'll have to deal with the liches first.'
Ting~
[Lich (3)] [Lord Boss Monster]
Level: 189
HP: 20,000,000/20,000,000]
Although Liches had lower health compared to the boss monsters of the same rank, it compensated it with its high intelligence and heavy firepower. Each of its spells was as dangerous as the next and it will not hesitate to use any means of attack just to make sure it can subjugate its foes. That was why Kaya wasn't surprised when the Lich bombarded him while he was fighting the Death Knight. At least Death Knights had their moral code despite being fallen before they had died. They were knights of a monarchy so they still regain their knighthood. They respected fair fights, unlike the lich who will look for ways to distract their opponents and throw them off-guard before unleashing a spell that will kill them.
As soon as Kaya redirected his attention to the Lich, the Death Knight didn't make chase rather it chose to observe hoping to get something from its opponent.
The lich cast dark vines that sprout in the ground hoping to slow Kaya down but the binding simply withered away before it could touch his body. It cast another array of offensive strikes and activated an instant teleportation spell seeing the Kaya was closing in but as soon as it did, Kaya pulled its body towards him and beat the non-living shit out of the lich.
"Quite resilient huh?"
Each punch chipped off 5% of its health as it tried to free from his hands but Kaya wasn't holding him by his hands when it remained in the air standing still. It couldn't understand just how Kaya was able to bind it with nothing but as it want to unleash its strongest spell, Kaya lunge his right hand right through its brittle chest pulling out a purple marble that exuded a deathly vibe and when the Lich saw the marble in his hands, it screeched trying to take it back but Kaya simply crushed it as it's entire body turned to dust.
Ting~
[You have slain the Lich]
[Level difference: 108; experience gain +540%]
[You have defeated a Lord Boss Monster, +300% experience gain]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
.
.
.
Kaya gained 4 levels from the Lich and dazzling items dropped from the ground, he could not care less to check the rewards out as there were still a lot of the boss monsters scouring around the place.
Meanwhile, Roman was dealing with the dark magicians and was given a reliever seeing that most of the zombies, skeletons, and ghouls had their fighting morale and attributes weakened by what he could only deduct was Kaya's ability. He aimed his pistol at the dark magicians who cast wide area spells and debuffs but he was able to evade each one of them by a breadth of a hair with his spatial awareness and predictions. He charged his Phoenix Blaster in Max and with 100% of its accuracy, he accurately shot the beam of flame at its head with it unable to react to the attack. Its health immediately fell by zero since he had aimed it right directly at its core and amplified with the Fire Element.
"This gun is truly godly."
Roman caressed the orange pistol in his hand like a baby. He continued to shoot right at them when suddenly, a galloping horse arrived out of nowhere as the undead knight riding on its back threw its Lance at him.
-7,890!
Roman was barely able to dodge the attack as his entire side had been blown away leaving a stinging pain in his body that both slowly sip his life away and weaken him. He immediately drank an Intermediate Health Potion to heal up the wound in his body groaning in pain as the missing parts started regenerating back. Although his health went back full this didn't mean that the corruption effect disappeared, he currently lost 10% of his overall attribute as he fired right at the Death Knight activating its skill, Phoenix Bomb. A huge ball of flame shot right at the Death Knight and exploded encasing it in a thunderous fire as its health fell by 7%. Roman helplessly sighed as despite shooting the powerful skill in point blank range, he could only deal just as much.
'The difference in level and tiers are just too wide. Although this pistol is powerful, it's only effective against tiers of its level, its effectiveness would drop by half if faced by a tier above its level.'
Roman just had no way of defeating the Death Knight by himself. He couldn't help but thought that this was supposed to be a raid that needs hundreds of elites to complete, although Kaya was a bonafide Apex expert, Roman was only above average at most. One normal attack from the Death Knight had chipped off 70% of his health in an instant, what more would it be if it activated a skill? He was useless, beyond useless. The thought he made that he could improve with Kaya's pointers was futile, what's the point of nurturing himself if he couldn't hold a candle to Kaya? He'd be nothing more but dust in his eyes.
'It is what it is.'
Roman accepted it, he was too weak to be able to accomplish something that Kaya could easily do. It was better for him to stay at his level hoping to improve one step at a time. The death knight grabbed its spear from the ground and charged right at Roman, he joust his spear right at his chest and Roman had no choice but to face it. Dodging was futile, he'd die anyways so what was the point of the struggle?
Roman simply closed his eyes hoping for a swift death but as soon as the Lance came in contact with his body, Kaya activated Shunpo and appeared right at him as he activated Crunch at the Lance completely crumbling it to pieces. Without its weapon, the death knight fell back. Kaya didn't allow it as he break the horse's leg stopping it from fleeing then activated Wata! Right at its face.
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!
In a single second, Kaya threw a barrage of punches right at its face bending both its helm and face caving it in as it turned to mush. Immediately losing its head, it turned Berserk. Since undeads we're dead, losing a head or the entire half of its body would still make it capable of living. As long as their cores weren't crushed, they would never die.
[Death Knight has gone Berserk!]
Its entire body exuded a very powerful aura of death exploding with strength that even made Kaya skip a beat. Normal berserk monsters would have an increase in their murderous intent but this berserk boss screamed death all over its body. He wasn't scared, rather, he was thrilled. He enjoyed this, he didn't waver at all nor was he fazed by the increase in power. With the power of his title, Berserk! He also exploded with power as his entire attributes doubled added with Lonely Defier that upped his status by double the rate and tier by 1, his entirety quintupled the power.
"Rest well."
Kaya dashed leaving hundreds of after-images in his trail as he threw his fist right at its chest that penetrated through and pulled out its core and crushed it. It died just like that. Its entire body turned to ghastly smoke leaving its broken armor to rust to nothing and piles of items on the ground. A series of notifications appeared in his view as he gained 5 more levels which had multiple increases in his experience points since he had killed a berserked boss monster.
Roman who saw the entire sight had his jaw fall on the floor. Kaya overwhelmed a berserk boss monster and killed it in one shot. This just shows how wide their levels are, he felt insecure and more useless.
"Why me?"
Roman asked. He couldn't guess what was going on in Kaya's mind that he had chosen him to be his companion. Others like him would have done a better job.
"What the hell are you blabbering about?"
Kaya was confused, he already expected that Roman couldn't do much in this area and only brought him so he could improve but seeing his insecurity overcome his confidence annoyed him. If he had this type of companion, it would just be a burden to his shoulders.
"Did your self-esteem fell to such a degree after seeing the difference between our levels and now you think you're useless?"
"..!"
Kaya didn't sugar-coat his words. When Roman heard his words, he rather felt attacked. Quite the harsh words but they were true. It was what he was feeling right now, he wanted to burrow a hole and just hide in embarrassment. He couldn't respond to his words as he looked down. Silence meant yes. A fireball threw right at them and Kaya simply flicked it as he threw the lich away and patted Roman on the shoulder.
"Do you want me to terminate the contract so you can stop being my companion since you believe that there are others that could've done a better job than you?"
Roman only nodded slightly. He looked like a child who had just done a bad deed and was afraid of being spanked by his father. Kaya could only sigh, this was just how he felt back when he was overly confident with his prowess until he witnessed what his grandfather could do. This insecurity had slumped his determination to continue but understanding the words of his grandfather got him right back up.
"Life's unfair right? When you think that you've reached a tall mountain, you'll find out that there are people that have climbed taller summits. Life's unfairness is not irrevocable. We can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves."
"What do you mean by that?"
Roman asked. Kaya simply smiled and flicked another attack that came his way as he threw the lich away from him.
"I won't force you to stay by my side. You can leave whenever you want, and you can keep everything you have now, I only hope that you keep my identity a secret since I hate being backstabbed."
"O-of course I won't speak a word about your identity even if it means my account gets deleted."
"Good."
Kaya brought out the contract and pressed terminate but he had to give it to Roman if he wished to agree with the termination process.
"Remember, those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. If you think you're weak, you'll remain weak, if you think you can grow strong, you'll grow strong. Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection."
Those worse struck Roman in the chest. His finger was about to press the Agree button but he stopped.
' He's right, if I think lowly of myself, I'll never reach the heights that I could've never dreamed of seeing. I need to improve, even if it means going back to zero.'
Roman pressed the Disagree button which relayed back to Kaya who was rather surprised. He stared back at Roman who now had his chest high up and his eyes flashed with the fire of determination.
"Thank you for the words brother Alon, I need to improve. I might be shameful to say this but please take me in as a student. I want to be a powerful expert like you and I will give you anything as a payment."
Roman bowed down in a very respectful way. He could get a martial arts master in real-life to teach him but he bet on Kaya to be his first master. He knew that Kaya wasn't just strong with his brute Strength, he was also strong in terms of techniques. Anything he held in his hands was a dangerous weapon and he had never seen him once fall or make mistakes, if he could learn from someone like that then he'd be satisfied. Just as he said, 'Continuous improvement was better than delayed perfection.' he did not care if he wouldn't be as talented nor as powerful as he was, as long as there was room for his improvements, he'll continue to reach those heights until one day he could stand toe to toe with him.
"If you can invest in my father's company, I'll help you ascend to the Refinement Realm in one month."
"I don't know what these realms are but it sounds powerful and if it's only money you want, I can give it to you. So what is the company's name?"
"Night Wing Corporation."
"..!"
Roman's face turned sour as soon as Kaya said the name of the company. Kaya was confused at the sudden change in reaction.
"My father's company had long wanted the fall of Night Wing Corporation and if they find out that I'm going to invest a huge sum in your company, I'll be removed as the candidate for the heir of the company. I can only promise to invest in small amounts secretly but don't worry, it'll be a long-term investment. Can you accept that?"
Roman said, pleading to Kaya. Kaya thought about it as he flicked another attack from the lich and threw it away.
"Fine, as long as you invest in the company for a long term, I can accept that condition."
Kaya brought out another contract stating that he'll invest in his father's company and he'll help him ascend to the Refinement Realm. As soon as the contract was made, Kaya and Roman returned to action.