[You are inflicted with Fear. You have slightly resisted it with your courage. All stats will be reduced by 15%. Battle performance dropped by 18%. Damage reduced by 20%.]
Those that don't have the Courage stat ended up unable to move. Even Zeus who had quite high Courage was forced to stand idle for a short moment.
The werewolf was staring at them as if choosing which one to kill first.
Then, it swung the large knife in its hands. All the players around it ended up cleaved cleanly in half. A single hit and over 10 players died. After seeing this, Zeus finally became able to move.
"STOOOOOP!!!"
He immediately used Battle Cry to draw its attention while jumping down from the attic to the ground outside with Slyfer's help. However, Zeus instinctively knew that he cannot handle the current opponent.
The moment the werewolf jumped into the middle of the crowd, it suddenly grew stronger by leaps and bounds.
'Probably over Level 300 power! This is bad!!'
Without giving him enough time to think, the werewolf jumped toward where Zeus is. Then, a fist came flying toward Zeus's face.
In the last instant, Zeus managed to bend backward to dodge. Still, cold sweat ran down his forehead.
The speed! It is even faster than the lightning emperor while sparring!
Then, with his balance still unrecovered, he activated his strongest damage skill available.
"Lightning Draw! Double!"
The moment he drew his swords, they became like a flash of lightning that run with extreme speed and hit the Werewolf's arm.
A large impact was felt and the feedback was enough to numb Zeus's whole body. It was as if he tried cutting an extremely hard metal. His two hands suffered severe burns.
The one that received damage is Zeus himself. He didn't anticipate this much difference in strength.
'I can't inflict even a scratch?!'
The werewolf immediately kicked Zeus. He was sent flying once again. But this time, he literally lost consciousness for a moment. He then bounced off the ground after flying over a hundred meters. He landed quite tragically.
"Guuuh… AHHHHHHH!! Uhhhh!"
The pain quickly crept up his nerves. His whole body ended up with scratches, wounds, and bruises. A broken elbow, a broken leg, and several broken ribs. His stomach area that received the brunt of the force felt numb. His internal organs may have ruptured.
If this is in the real world, he may have died already. It was on the level of being hit by a truck. However, thanks to his high defense, he managed to survive with 5% health left.
He cannot stand. All he did was twitch on the ground in pain.
"... It…. Hurts….!"
He cried in pain. The pain he was feeling was on a different level compared to any that he had felt. That is considering that the kick he received wasn't even at full power.
While he was rolling in pain, loud clangs of metal-to-metal strikes were heard. It was a clash of swords at an unbelievable rate. The air was vibrating due to the force of each clash. It was to the point that the other players could feel the vibrations on their skin.
Zeus turned his head to look at the source, there, the person wearing a heavy mantle was handling the battle against the werewolf. It was a 1-on-1 head-on battle.
The person was holding his ground well. So is the werewolf. None of them moved away from their spot. The intensity of the slashes was increasing slowly.
Seeing the intense battle, Zeus tried to stand to provide help. However, when he managed to move to a kneeling position, he ended up coughing out blood.
"… Looks like… my organs are… in bad shape…"
If he doesn't receive treatment quickly, he might die of bleeding. His heath was slowly dropping at a rate of 3 points per second despite having the auto-recovery buff.
Then, as he was thinking of what to do, a warm light fell onto him.
"Crescent Heal! Healing Hand! Aurora Heal! Recovery!"
This set of skills and the familiar voice. Without confirming, Zeus knew who was the one who helped him.
His health recovered to 30% in an instant. His broken bones were fixed and almost all wounds on his body disappeared. However, he could still feel the pain in his stomach. Probably the organs needed more time to recover.
"There's no time to waste… Level up to level 10!"
In a fit of desperation, he decided to level up 4 times.
- - -
- You have leveled up! You are now level 10.
- All stats have increased by 4.
- Due to training your body, Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Intelligence, Vitality, Endurance, Concentration, and Evasion increased by an additional 624 points.
- Due to the previous events, Luck increased by an additional 256 points.
- Persuasion increased by an additional 400 points.
- Courage increased by an additional 516 points.
- Fame increased by an additional 1044 points.
- You can now choose your class branch. Talk to the instructor at the Training Ground for more information.
- - -
The bonus was multiplied by 4! Zeus then immediately checked his status.
- - -
Name: Zeus
Level: 10
Experience: 36,433,792/51,200
Rank: 816,044,993rd
Class: Adventurer *
Title: Successor of the Lightning Emperor
Health: 17,892
Mana: 4,235
Attack: 782
Defense: 834
Strength: 1,083
Agility: 1,125
Wisdom: 971
Intelligence: 949
Vitality: 1,241
Endurance: 1,302
Concentration: 927
Luck: 455
Evasion: 1,187
Courage: 718
Persuasion: 542
Fame: 1,742
Money: 22,259,874D
Skills:
- Evasion (Lv. 1****)
- Warrior's Heart (Lv. 1****)
- Beast's Roar (Lv. 8)
- Hard Skin (Lv. 6)
- Battle Cry (Lv. 8)
- Unbreakable Will (Lv. 8)
- Lightning Draw (Lv. 1**)
- Dragon Summon Step 1
- Yin-Yang Blade
Status:
Newbie
- You will receive bonus 2x experience for the first 180 hours.
- Commodities will be priced half for you.
- Remaining: 49 hours.
The successor of the Lightning Emperor
- Damage of sword skills will be doubled.
- Can learn skills from the Emperor himself.
- - -
His spam stat was approaching 200. Just a little more and he'll get it maxed out!
"… A new skill?"
In his list of skills, one is new. Curious, he immediately checked what it is.
"Skill Information!"
- - -
Skills Information
Yin-Yang Blade
Can only be used when equipped with swords of two opposing elements. Some of the opposing elements are Water over Fire, Wind over Water, Earth over Wind, Light and Dark, etc.
Can call upon great power from the presence of the contradiction of elements.
- Boosts stats by 1.5x.
- Increases damage by 200 points.
- Defense will decrease by 100 points.
- Heals the caster with 5% of the damage dealt.
- Can be used once a day. Duration of 1 hour.
- - -
"… A contradiction…"
His current pieces of equipment are a Lightning element he got after becoming a successor and a Wind element sword due to Slyfer's element alignment. Wind or air is one of the greatest resistors. Hopefully, it would work.
"There's nothing to lose when trying… Yin-Yang Blade!"
Without thinking further, he activated the skill.
- - -
- Yin-Yang Blade is activated. Elements Wind and Lightning. Wind resists Lightning.
- Stats multiplied by 1.5
- Damage increased by 200
- Defense decreased by 100
- Life Steal active. 5% of the damage dealt will be absorbed by the caster.
- - -
Strength immediately surged through Zeus's body. He felt his body becoming even lighter. Then, multiple buffs came from Faye. His base damage increased to 1,100!
"Let's party!"
After confirming that he was fully prepared for the battle, he dashed forward. However, one problem occurred.
"Owaaah!"
He underestimated his power-up and ended up bumping against the werewolf. The werewolf was sent tumbling while Zeus lay down on the ground.
"… Looks like I need to adjust first!"
Ignoring the pain from crashing, he immediately stood up. Then, he prepared the two swords in a stance. The werewolf charged towards him, locking swords.
The hit was still heavy, but manageable.
"Payback time!!!"
Zeus let the swords slide down. The large knife ended up swinging down on Zeus. But in the last instant, Zeus dodged sideways and thrust his lightning sword forward. The sword embedded itself in the werewolf's left shoulder.
"I can finally damage you! Hahaha!"
Then, Zeus unleashed several slashes on the werewolf before he gained distance.
"… He's quite tough…"
All the hits that Zeus made were direct hits. But at most, the wound inflicted would be healed in an instant. It would be a battle of endurance. Who becomes tired first loses.
"Hey, Brat! Come here for a second!"
Hel then shouted towards Zeus. Zeus felt troubled about what to do. However, he decided to leave the frontlines first. He jumped back and ran to where Hel is. Then, she spoke.
"That werewolf has a unique skill."
"?!"
Zeus was shocked. He didn't know that a monster could possess a unique skill.
"… What skill?"
Zeus asked silently.
"Last Stand… A skill that bestows the user with strength in proportion to the number of enemies. In other words, the more enemies, the stronger he gets."
"You mean…"
"Yeah… The reason that he suddenly became stronger is due to them…"
Hel pointed towards the petrified participants. Then, Zeus immediately thought of a plan.
- - -
"Faye! Use recovery on all those standing there! Then ask them to stand back!"
Zeus immediately ran to where Faye is. Then, understanding his intentions, Faye immediately did as she was told.
Leaving that part to her, Zeus ran towards the werewolf that was locked in a fierce battle against the person in the mantle.
The mantle was now tattered. What was inside was now visible. The warrior inside the mantle was wearing light armor like Zeus. However, the level of their armor is worlds apart.
"D-Dragon's Magic Armor Set?!"
She was wearing a set of armor shining with a pale blue gleam. Under her armor is a pure white garment, highlighting the color of the pale blue armor.
Her hair, which appears every so often under the hood is of a blonde color. Her slender hand was wielding a short sword that is adorned with many gems.
Her approximate level is around 90 to 110. With her ability, she must have known the proper way of increasing stats halfway down.
She, whom Zeus thought was a man earlier, is fighting gallantly against the werewolf. Now that her mantle was almost gone, her movements became much quicker.
Zeus tried to match her timing and entered the fray. The battle immediately became much more intense. With two persons attacking, the werewolf ended up having to receive several hits. Most of the wounds healed in an instant but the number of wounds slowly increased as time passes.
After 2 minutes of intense battle, the werewolf finally stepped back. It was overwhelmed with wounds. The smooth silver fur was now covered in crimson-red blood.
On the other side, the two fighters only received light wounds. Their support was not relaxing too. Every time that one of them felt tired, several buffs and recovery magic would come flying.
It was obvious who would win in the long run. However, it is not Zeus's style to drag on a fight that can end earlier.
"Awooooooooooooo!"
The werewolf howled once again. However, the thick miasma around it started fading.
"This is the last song! Prepared to die!"
Zeus, noticing the change, immediately charged. The battle was quickly turning tides.
Every swing of the werewolf's knife was blocked perfectly by Zeus. Then, while he blocks the knife, the lady knight would launch countless attacks. The wounds inflicted too became deeper and took longer to heal.
This pattern continued 5 times. Every time that the werewolf swings its sword, Zeus will deflect it to either left or right then the lady knight would enter from the other direction.
Then, deciding that the time is ripe, Zeus shouted to Faye.
"Faye! NOW!"
Almost simultaneously, several spells came shooting at the werewolf. All spells are under the holy element.
Receiving the hit unguarded, the werewolf shouted in pain. After the barrage, the werewolf was kneeling down on one knee. Over 12 magicians and priests poured their mana for their strongest spells. But the werewolf was still alive. What tenacity.
"Let's finish this."
Zeus and the lady knight attacked at the same time. It tried to block but couldn't. The werewolf became a pincushion in a matter of seconds. In a span of 1 minute, the last drop of life was drained out of the strong monster.
- - -
- You defeated Lycan Jotund, one of the masters of secret arts!
- Due to the large difference in levels, you have earned 20,600,000 experience. Experience will be shared with party members accordingly.
- For delivering the last hit, you earned the unique skill Last Stand.
- You picked up the boss class item Lycan's Fang x20.
- You picked up the boss class item Lycan's Pelt x20.
- You picked up the boss class item Breath of Life x5.
- You picked up the rare item Beheader +30. Luck has increased by 1.
- You picked up the rare item Rabbit's Boots +30. Luck has increased by 1.
- Due to fighting against your fears, courage increased by 5.
- Through defeating a boss class monster, all stats increased by 3.
- Yin-Yang Blade gained a level. The stat bonus will now be 1.6 times.
- - -
- - -
Skills Information
Last Stand – Level 1 (0%)
The skill of the bravest and of the Strongest warriors. Earned after fighting swarms of enemies singlehandedly. Can be learned by only 1 being at a time.
The skill will increase your Strength, Agility, Health, Vitality, and Damage depending on the number of enemies within a 20-meter radius.
- Strength and agility will increase by (4 x Number of Enemies)
- Vitality will increase by (5 x Number of Enemies)
- Health will increase by (50 x Number of Enemies)
- Damage will increase by (5 x Number of Enemies)
- - -
"Woah! This skill looks extremely useful!"
Seeing the effects of the new skill he gained, he couldn't help but grin. Then, the attendant slowly walked toward the two.
"… S-Since you managed to clear the challenge, you now have the right to buy this property. If you change your mind, the competition will continue. If not, then you must pay on the spot."
"We'll buy it. How much?"
"20 Million Darks."
The price increased! However, Zeus still considers this a bargain price. His part of the share would still be exactly 10 Million Darks after sharing the expenses!
"Hmm… Ms. Knight… About the payment…"
"It's fine. Half is mine like how half the estate would be mine."
"Thanks. Then, here take this."
Zeus took out a small bag containing exactly 100 pieces of 100,000 D coins. The attendant received the portion from Zeus and then from the lady knight.
"I certainly have received the payment. Thank you for your patronage."
"It's fine. By the way, is there any insurance for the house?"
"Warranty? I'm sorry sir but I don't think it has one. If you like, you could apply for one at the Central office."
"No, it's okay."
"Then if you would please excuse me."
The attendant then left silently. The crowd of players left too while feeling a little bitter about the events. Faye approached the two after the number of players thinned down.
"What's this for? Are you planning on settling down here?"
"No. This is for this one."
Zeus pointed at the bracelet equipped on his left arm.
"What's that?"
"An Item Summoning Bracelet. Its name is Ciello's Golden Bracelet."
Then, Zeus explained the use and requirement of the said item. After a minute, Faye nodded her head.
"So that's what it was. Well, better have a house than none."
"It still needs to have a barrier erected though. The plain around this villa is famous for having swarms of monsters running around 24/7."
"Barrier huh? I still don't have the required level to learn Barrier Magic… By the way… Who is she?"
After finishing their talk, Faye finally asked.
"Now that you mention it, I didn't ask for her name…"
"..."
Even before the mantle was destroyed, Faye knew that she was a girl. How did she know? Women's intuition.
Faye approached the lady knight and then spoke with a friendly voice.
"Good day. My name's Faye. I am a Battle Priest and a FRIEND of that man over there. Can I know your name?"
"…."
"Uhmmm…."
"...… It's Daisy…"
"Is that so… Nice meeting you Daisy. Since we would be living in the same house, can we be friends?"
"… I don't mind…"
"Yay! Thank you!"
"..."
The two girls chatted continuously, or more like one-sidedly. Zeus on the other hand got a little dizzy.
'D-Did she just say, Daisy…? I didn't mishear that, right? Could it be that she is THAT Daisy?'
Thinking this to himself, he tried reasoning. He searched for proof.
Dragon's Magic Armor set… Similar in color to what Daisy stated in her blogs… Her sword… A short sword… Based on her blog, it looks like an ornamental sword… It matched again…
He was already convinced that the Daisy in front of him is the same Daisy whose blogs he always follow.
'I-I-I will share the same house with my Favorite Blogger! This must be a dream!!!'
How he wished he could get her autograph.
- - -
"Situation Report."
"The total number of players finally reached over 2 billion since last week. The main server speed is increasing endlessly."
"The total cleared areas?"
"Approximately 5.632% of the total land area and 2.963% of the whole surface area. It is equivalent to 3.427% of all the searchable areas."
"The top leveled player?"
"Still the same. Player ID 0000-0-0000-001 Camelot with a level of 129."
A man in a lab coat was standing in front of numerous monitors. He was the only person inside the room.
He was currently checking the state of WEXO through the surveillance AI that he developed for maintaining peace within the world of WEXO.
"Hmmm… They are too slow… I don't think they could clear the game within the time limit…"
"The chances are slim. Approximately 2.089%."
"Hmmm… Any promising Players other than the top-level one?"
"Over 1,500 names have matched. Please specify additional Variables."
"Basic Stat increase average of 200 per level."
"2 names have matched. The IDs are 100D-4-GF26-1MX and 100D-4-GF26-1MY. Registered names are ZEUS and FAYE."
"Who's more promising?"
"ZEUS. Despite being level 10, he cleared the hidden quest of the Lightning Emperor and even accepted the Trial of Humanity by the Magician Hel."
"He is also one of the discoverers of the Magic Imbued Spirit Crystal A.K.A. Game Play Recording Device. He too is a part of the group that killed Draconis Hepa where they got the said Crystal."
"… His projected growth?"
"He will probably overtake the top player after 1 year. If his current pace continues, he could even be the one to uncover the lost continent."
"… Heh… That's all. Continue your surveillance."
The man in the lab coat then turned around and walked away.
"The hands of time will not stop… Continue struggling till the very end…"
Leaving those words, he left the room and walked towards the dark corridor.