How long has their fight been going on, now that he thinks about it? It should have been quite a while. But why didn't the ailment status affecting BokuNoPic disappear? Besides, how is it even possible for a player to die from a negative status?
Generally, ailment statuses have a time limit before they eventually disappear, and negative statuses that reduce HP will stop once one's HP reaches a certain low threshold. That's what Kiritwo knows, no, it's the concept that all the games he has played follow. So why?
It should also be familiar that certain types of monsters can inflict negative effects just from their regular attacks. Well, fine. That's not odd. But what's Bleed+ anyway? Is it a higher grade of the inferior Bleed? Most import of all, how could the vampire—
Finally, each by each, the dots interconnected, expanding Kiritwo's perspective of this game—no, the world. "Crown of the Vampire Lord," he muttered with a sly grin. From the beginning, that prestigious title was a clear indication, an undeniable answer to all the secrets of their encounters.
"Don't tell me you're a... boss of such scale?!" Kiritwo exclaimed in disbelief.
Their high confidence also didn't come without reason, can't blame them. No matter how difficult a monster is, they are just AI. Players will be able to learn its monotonous weak points and gradually read the algorithm, no matter what kind of monsters they were.
"B-but you're different... as if you're the one reading us," he grumbled.
Anubis came to a halt, observing Kiritwo's tortured face filled with ignorance. "Is there something wrong with that?" he speaks without a hint of guilt. "Isn't it basic knowledge to study your enemies as much as possible before dealing with them directly?"
Besides, even way before all of this. From the very beginning, Anubis only fought back as an attempt to defend himself because he was attacked for no reason. If only they were open to verbal conversation, he wouldn't have to kill them all.
What used to be the Lv.1 vampire now stands menacingly in front of Kiritwo, looming over his fragile in-game body. They should not have a significant level gap, only two digits apart, to be exact. But then why is there such a huge difference in their power? He thought.
No, that's not the case.
He began to realize, there's something more than meets the eyes.
Defeat doesn't just come from pure strength alone. This being they were fighting... from the very beginning, he couldn't be just—but Anubis effortlessly killed him first.
It's a pain in the ass to always be too descriptive of his own level and stats. It is indeed an important part of his, but for the time being Anubis would just ignore the comprehensive details and focus on something else at hand. At least until it all mattered.
Anubis measured the amount of EXP he gained. From the three adventurers, he had three kill opportunities, each with different gaps, so the exp gain was adjusted accordingly. "If I count their levels... and now I'm leveling up to Level 15?" he mused, unimpressed yet still lacking enthusiasm.
He briefly considered other possibilities where the adventurers would use potions or healing as a key to turn the table around. Anubis already had a method in place if that situation were to truly occur, but it was all in vain now.
Anyhow, while he was walking away the place, Anubis pondered. For what reason behind Kiritwo's action to keep his HP low? "Does he have regenerative skills?" His thoughts were voiced out. "Perhaps to gain additional attributes of which could affect his overall performance?" Although his next destination was already determined even before Anubis initiated this skirmish, he finds himself getting lost in his own thoughts instead.
Uncertainty, in a profound sense, is the main fuel that drives someone to move forward. It can morph into curiosity, a desire to know, and eventually lead to finding an answer. And, isn't this situation truly his?
Nearby, amidst the lush foliage, Anubis could see the broken pillars of ruins as he walked. While observing the adventurers' battle, he had already noticed the presence of these ruins, mainly due to a slight peculiarity that caught his eye. It was a fact that, despite being in a dense forest, a hill where these ruins remained appeared barren and brown, contrasting with the surrounding environment.
Anubis stepped onto the hill he had been referring to, and the peculiarity became even clearer. The soil around this area was dry, the wild grass wilting, and even the trees on the hill displayed similar signs of withering.
But the strangest of all was that everything looked as though it had just happened, perhaps mere minutes ago. The wilting wild plants had not completely dried up; they seemed limp, as if they had lost their nutrients, including the soil on the hill itself.
There was some dark magic from the underworld that could yield a similar result, even worse, but he could ascertain this wasn't the result of such wizardry. "So... could that be the culprit?" he muttered, looking at the imperfectly standing pillars.
Surrounded by five shattered pillars, each in various states of decay, there was a magical circle. Anubis leaped and landed on one of them, observing the overall shape of the magical circle.
On one hand, he was familiar with it. "Using the underworld's fundamentals formulae, but the writings... This is... instant transmission spell? But," he pondered, delving deeper into his thoughts.
The basic concept of the magic circle gave Anubis a distinctive impression. He could sense elements of underworld sorcery knowledge, which allowed him to guess the function of the spells present here.
"When someone puts it in this way... the spell would end half-baked... could it be an experiment by inhabitants of the upperworld? Who would have such extensive knowledge for this... humans?" Anubis immediately doubted his own guess. "No, no, could it be... 'them'?"
The 'them' here indicated something other than just humans.
Back to the issue, Anubis had suspected the previous blue monster fought by the adventurers was not native to this area. The difference in their powers was too great. Considering their capabilities, he doubted that the three of them could have reached this place through ordinary means such as walking or exploring.
That's why the most likely possibility was connected to this magic circle.
It wasn't sure who could create such a complex combination of magic circle. While its content contained some writings and basics of underworld sorcery, the rest was something quite unfamiliar to Anubis. However, he was certain that it originated from upperworld knowledge.
With such speculations, Anubis came to a small conclusion. "A one-way instant transmission spell, and its trigger...." Anubis pondered his surroundings once again, most likely having a connection with the barren soil unique to the area near these ruins.
One-way, or simply put, one-way teleportation. It sounds easy, but in reality, its implementation is highly complex, requiring extensive knowledge that is rarely possessed by just anyone.
This means that there is another identical magic circle in a certain place, which should also be the origin of the adventurers and the blue round monster. The maximum distance limitation of this transportation method is still unclear, with no precise calculations, leaving Anubis perplexed.
As far as his Bloodthirsty's tracking ability can detect blood-living creatures, Anubis doesn't sense the presence of any other humans. This implies that the other endpoint of this teleportation spell is located in a far corner of this forest.
"The fact that they have been sent here means that the trigger is already active," he mused, an idea crossing his mind.
As a "one-way" spell, it can only be used in one direction and not the other way around. Or at least it should be that way. Regardless of how the adventurers activated this magic circle, what matters now is that the spell is still active.
By the way, there is a reason why Anubis can decipher a lot about the formula. That's because the creator used the Elder's language, the second oldest sacred tongue used across the dimensional layers. The underlying writings of many sorcery structures, but fluent individuals are just "a handful."
Most importantly, not only can Anubis read it, but theoretically spoken, with a bit of mischief, he can reverse the spell formula to activate it in reverse. That's what he was thinking earlier, and now, both of his hands are moving to change some contents of the magic circle.
Well, given that some of the letters were unfamiliar to him, there was no guarantee that he would do any bett— "That should do it..." Anubis had finished doing something and was standing within the magic circle. He only made a slight change, but nothing seemed to happen—"Maybe not?"
In a sudden moment, a fleeting sensation that disappeared as quickly as it came, Anubis' being was carried through layers of space and time. But in the end, he was still standing inside a magic circle, except... everything around him was completely different, and— "Humans..." Anubis could sense them, "Quite a crowd. What's going on?"