This situation truly humbled him. How did he let just a few victories make him think that he was undefeatable? He wasn't a main character. He wasn't chosen by the gods. If anything, he only got lucky to get an artifact. And that luck came with a heavy price to pay.
The chains tightened around him, the whole place was still burning from the Fire Wall. "Angggh," Izik gritted his teeth. This must be what the monsters felt whenever he wrapped his chains around them.
"Is everyone okay?" Aleksi asked. "Me, Smythe, and Ryo were able to clear all Noire." Good for them, Izik bitterly thought.
"I am a little busy," Quinlan replied. "I'll have to talk to you guys later."
"Okay, we're moving to the third Island," Smythe replied. "Kameron, you okay?"
Kameron didn't answer and that was a cue for them to go silent and most likely rush to where Kameron was. Izik inwardly sighed. Somewhat relieved that no one asked how's he holding up. Because it would have been suspicious for a Class A Hunter to struggle with a mini-boss.
It was just his first raid and he could feel the burden of his fake classification. Maybe he should have asked Tri to change his class to B or C.
Why in the world did he think it was a good idea to be a Class A Hunter?
[ !!!! ]
The Warden walked toward him, dragging his sword. Izik tried to free himself from the chains but as the name implied it was absolute confinement. He even tried to teleport but even that didn't work.
"Goddammit," his jaw went rigid.
His eyes landed behind the Warden, the ceiling and walls were starting to cave in. Loud crashing sounds echoed through the corridor, and clouds of dust rolled in. Given that the Fire Walls were still up, Izik was sure that not all of his skills were repressed. It would have been more troublesome if the chains totally cut off his magic. His eyes landed back on the Warden who stopped before him. The guy doesn't even have eyes but he still managed to make Izik feel like he was being looked down upon. How he wished he could explode him.
Enlightenment flashed in his fake golden eyes.
That's it, Izik thought.
He was unsure if it will work but he had to at least try. The Warden assumed a stance, lifting his arm, and readying his sword to strike. Izik clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes on the monster before him, he let out a breath, remembering that time.
That time when Xanthe Soleil stood in front of him, snapping his finger as the gigantic lions exploded.
Crack.
Cackle.
BOOM!
The Warden's arm exploded, its sword flying a few feet away.
Izik didn't expect it to actually work. His eyes were wide in pure disbelief. Heavenly Fire was after all a skill he thought only gave him the ability to summon the element. If he can do a lot from it then he shouldn't have been given Fire Wall.
The chain loosened. Izik immediately set aside his shock. Concentrating, he exploded the monster's side, creating a huge hole in its body. Almost disintegrating the lower half of its body. The Warden fell on its knees, bleeding. The chain retracted as the Absolute Confinement collapsed.
Izik barely stopped himself from cursing, as he finally gained control of his body. Stretching a bit, Izik slashed his sword, decapitating the Warden. Its head fell with a clunk rolling on the floor.
.
.
[ š£ EVENT ]
[ Congratulations!
You successfully finished the event!
Here's your reward:
ā 800 Gold Coins
ā ACTIVE SKILL: Absolute Confinement
]
[ CLAIM REWARDS ā ]
.
.
"Ehh?" Izik blinked several times even the gold coins and the items that dropped from killing the Warden paled in comparison to the skill he got. He couldn't believe that he got Absolute Confinement. And based on experience, it was a very helpful skill.
Another window popped up.
.
.
[ š LEVEL UP! ]
[ You have reached Level 14 ]
[ Strength +1 ]
[ Speed +1 ]
[ Agility +1 ]
[ Intelligence +1 ]
[ Dexterity +1 ]
[ Vitality +1 ]
[ Weapon Mastery +1 ]
[ Magical Abilities +1 ]
.
.
Another part of the ceiling gave in, the loud sound snatched Izik from his own realm. He immediately gathered everything he saw and placed it in a utility bag he had tied behind him. Izik then picked up the sword that Warden left. As soon as he held it, all of its cracks and scratches vanished. It was as if it was a new sword.
Izik activated Perspective.
.
.
[ š DISCIPLINE ]
[ Range: Mid | Requirement: N/A
Class: A
ā A sword used by the Warden of Lovelia. Increases the user's strength by 10% ]
[ EQUIP ] | [ SELL ]
.
.
A frown twisted his lips, remembering how each swing and slash from the sword was heavy. If he wasn't good at dodging and he doesn't have teleportation, he would have not been able to hold out. Opening his bag from the system, he placed the sword inside. As the place was barely holding on, Izik was quick to run. Darting on the door, he pulled it open and was disappointed by the stairs that welcomed him.
Of course, he's underground.
Rolling his eyes, he broke into a run as he withdrew the Fire Wall. With his increased speed, he managed to exit. Kicking the door, it almost fell off its hinged. Izik was welcomed by the cold night breeze and the eyes of monsters, staring back at him.
A loud roar ripped through the air making him whip his head on the huge white wolf wrecking havoc on the other island. Izik tightened his hold of Rakon. Refusing to waste more time, Izik called upon the Heavenly Fire through his rapier sword as he slashed through the monsters. Despite training, as he was still new to fighting and had only been learning through his limited experience. Luckily, he still managed to utilize his speed and agility.
.
.
[ š LEVEL UP! ]
[ You have reached Level 15 ]
[ Strength +1 ]
[ Speed +1 ]
[ Agility +1 ]
[ Intelligence +1 ]
[ Dexterity +1 ]
[ Vitality +1 ]
[ Weapon Mastery +1 ]
[ Magical Abilities +1 ]
.
.
With his Teleportation skill at the maximum level, its cool down was reduced to a second which was close to nothing. In no time, Izik was able to clear through the monster as he ran to the bridge that lead him to the fifth island.
Izik was readying himself to use Absolute Confinement for the huge wolf when he saw Quinlan standing before a ruined building while the wolf was biting something, shaking it off. Atticus was still wrapped around Quinlan. Purple blood splattered through out until half of the monster's carcass fell in front of Izik.
"Oh, Error," Quinlan smiled, waving his hand. "As expected from our Class A Hunter!"
He doesn't really wanna hear about that. Izik regretted having Class A attached to his already fake designation.
Izik couldn't even open his mouth and ask Quinlan what's going on. He doesn't even know if it warrants a question when it was so obvious.
"This is Fang," Quinlan nonchalantly introduced the ginormous wolf like it was not towering before them. The Hunter turned to the wolf and gestured towards Izik, "Fang, this is Error. He's a friend." His signature smile decorated his lips.
Quinlan turned his attention back to Izik, closing the distance between them. "Isn't he the cutest?" He asked and Izik stared at the giant wolf with a scar on it's face and huge protruding fangs. Its eyes were filled with the thrill of killing and hunting.
He wouldn't exactly call it cute but he will respect Quinlan's taste.
His eyes went back to his guild mate and that's when he noticed the guy's shirt had seen better days. One of the sleeve was torn off and some parts were tattered. Not to mention, Quinlan was filled with thin cuts all over.
"You okay?" Izik asked.
"Yep all good," Quinlan smiled. Lifting his arms, he looked at his cuts. "The mini-boss in this area is the pain in the ass with its stupid threads." He was still smiling but the tone of his voice clearly sounded pissed.
"Forcing me to call on Fang." He stepped on the carcass. The anger rolled from him in thick waves. "What a troublesome fellow." It was both scary and amazing how Quinlan was still able to keep that friendly smile on. Izik concluded that Quinlan must have a hard time.
The body or the what remained to the body of the mini-boss disintegrated into light particles as gold coins and items appeared. Atticus was quick to swallow the items.
"Oh," Izik said as he removed everything out of his utility bag. Atticus was quick to swallow what he gave. For a moment, Izik debated if he'll pull the sword out or keep it to himself.
In the end he kept it to himself.
"Fang!" Quinlan called. The vicious looking wolf, darted his head to the guy. With gentle pat, Quinlan offered a smile. This time, genuine. Izik thought how it would have been so much better if Quinlan stopped with those fake overly friendly smile and would just smile whenever he felt like. "You did well, thank you for your help, Fang."
The wolf howled to the night sky as it disappeared.
"Your magic is amazing," Izik can't help but voice out his admiration. Elemental magic had always been the most popular but seeing how Quinlan summoned a gigantic beast, Izik can't help but wonder why Summoning magic was not more popular.
"Thanks," Quinlan smiled. Izik then noticed how exhausted he looked. Another window surfaced, much to Izik's surprise.
.
.
[ ā ļø WARNING ]
[ Mana low. Unable to use other skills. ]
[ EXIT Ć ]
.
.
Most of the time Izik had to activate Perspective on his own however it will go off automatically whenever it was a warning. Izik stared at the window, it wasn't similar to Xanthe's but it was still a worrying warning.
Izik had to jump between the idea of bringing it up or not. They were still in the dungeon and having a low mana won't do Quinlan any good.
While he was on the way to Ozryn, Izik conditioned himself to not get attached and not do anything unnecessary. And if he was being honest this was one of the situations he was referring to when he was talking to himself.
He tried so hard to ignore it but he only ended up pulling the system shop and buying a 5 gold coin small mana potion. Izik also checked his but it seemed like he's not low on mana. He still bought at least 10 potions, keeping it stashed in his bag.
"Quinlan," He called and the guy looked at him still with that stupid smile just a little more and he'll think that smile was permanent on his face. Izik tossed the bottle at him which Quinlan caught perfectly.
"Oh," Quinlan scrutinized the bottle.
"Mana potion."
Quinlan's face went from that fake smile to genuine disbelief. He pulled a small smile, turning to Izik, "Thanks, Error."
Izik only nodded while Quinlan drank the whole thing.