[10% Stat boost!]
[Bloodlust increased by 25%]
Kim smiled but didn't say anything to the others, he enjoyed the night sky and stillness. Suddenly, his ears perked up, his head snapping to the right of him. "The monster is over there," Kim spoke out, waking the other two out of their daze as they walked. Apollo unsheathed his sword, while Ana already had her two daggers equipped. In the darkness, Kim could see a faint silhouette of a bipedal creature with bulging muscles and horns that protruded an entire foot upwards, twisting at the tips. The most prominent figure was its waggling tail which possessed a razor-sharp tip.
However, Kim was easily taken aback when the direction it was facing suddenly flipped, although he couldn't directly say, he felt like the monster was staring right at him the way a chilling tingle crept down his spine. Suddenly, gigantic wings flared and flapped, causing the creature to propel forward at the trio. Getting a more perceptible look at the creature, it was blatant that it was an imp.
Its speed was great, better than Kim's. Its ominous grin displayed its sharp rows of teeth nearing Kim's head. Its nails were curved and sharp, like a karambit. Blood caked the head and upper body of the creature. "Freaky motherfucker!" Kim screamed out, dashing at the creature along with Apollo.
[Slicing Dash]
With a sudden surge in speed, Kim transformed into a blur as he zipped past Apollo, appearing in front of the Imp with his hand extended, itching towards the Imp's neck.
Yet, such a creature who killed a dozen players wouldn't die so easily.
In a fantastic show of agility, it swiftly rotated its body, barely weaving under its sharp nails of Kim. With a devilish grin, it retaliated by shooting out its arm at Kim's exposed side. To its disdain, Apollo appeared by his side, blocking the claws, narrowly saving Kim. From behind, Ana jumped off a tree she climbed to using her new skill, daggers aimed at the creature.
Yet, as if it could somehow sense her, it turned around and swung its leg in a reverse round-house, squarely connecting with her ribs. With a bone-chilling cracking sound, she was launched to the side, a loud thump following her landing. "ARRGH!!" A shot of blood was hurled out of her mouth, erupting in a fit of cough. Just from one blow, nearly all of her HP was gone and she was having struggles breathing.
"Hoho, you're the first one to survive an attack that was meant to kill. Congratulations human!" The imp said in a hoarse voice, jumping backward and retreating from the two men. Apollo was enraged, veins were visible as the grip on the hilt of his sword tightened. "Calm head, Apollo, don't make any irrational decisions because of your anger." The words seem to have an effect on him as his anger faintly subsided, letting him have a more clear mind free of anger.
"Let's end this quick so I don't run out of mana," Apollo stated, his sword engulfed in a powerful white light. Upon conjuring the light, a sudden notification popped up in his vision.
[Holy Aura used!]
[Weakening (Imp)!]
[5% Stat Decrease applied!]
"K-Kim, my Holy Aura... It's decreasing his stats!" He exclaimed proudly. A small frown overtook the Imp's face before returning to its devilish grin.
"Well, it is a sort of demon after all. That just makes our chances of winning higher." Kim said.
The two nodded and dash forward on opposite sides, Apollo swinging his sword in a wide vertical arc, the Imp swiftly leaning his upper body to dodge it, but almost meeting a pair of nails in its shoulder.
Taking a step inside and lowering its body, it managed to dodge Kim's nails again, its fast tail bolting to Kim's head.
[Slicing Dash]
Dashing forward, his nail's skimmed past the Imp's arm, dodging the tail in the process.
"Little divine boy, you're getting on my nerves." He seriously spoke as he flipped onto his hands, his foot clashing with Apollo's sword.
"Tsk, that burns." It said as the Aura on the sword burned his skin, causing it to jump backward and strategize.
However, without rest, Kim lunged forward, sending a kick at the ribcage of the Imp.
Reaching his hand out, he caught the kick, drawing Kim into him. 'Shit!' He swore in his head. A purple-color knee was launched right into his stomach, causing him to be launched a few meters before colliding with a tree. 'Despite the stat debuff and my stat buff, he's still stronger and faster!' Kim cried in his head.
He coughed out a few drops of blood before getting back to his feet, ready to fight again which amazed the imp. "You guys are certainly stronger than those other ones I slaughtered... But it certainly isn't enough to beat me!" The imp roared before lunging at the recovering Kim. 'S-shit!'
[Slicing Dash]
Dashing to the left, he used an attack skill in an evasive manner, certainly smart. However, he now only had one more use before his mana was depleted and he wouldn't dare to use it lightly.
The imp's fist collided with the tree and caused it to explode in tiny pieces of bark, the tree falling backward onto another one. 'Its sheer strength is amazing!" He said as he rolled to his feet, hands in front of him. Apollo stood behind the Imp, a white fire flittering off of his sword which flew backward as he dashed at the Imp with his sword at his side.
Not even giving him attention, he sent his sword after Apollo, however, he managed to parry it and was within striking distance of the Imp.
Without looking the Imp launched its foot backward and expected to feel human innards exploding when his foot collided, yet, he didn't feel anything but air.
Apollo easily side-stepped the attack as if he knew it was coming.
The Imp had two choices, block with his hand which would get severed but definitely live, or turn his back to Kim who had nails that could easily sever any part of his skin and could risk it dying. Taking the former, he rose his hand to the blade of Apollo's sword, grimacing in pain as the sword slashed through his skin. "Take this bitch!" The imp screamed as he unleashed a deadly hook at Apollo's ribcage. Altering his grip to make the sword flip and position it where the sword covered his ribcage, he tanked the blow, a deafening boom resounded before flying a few meters backward and then coming to a halt.
'Even though I blocked it... It still hurt!' He lifted his shirt and inspected the large purple bruise on his side, making his eyes narrow in anger that kept growing.
"Kim! I only have 15 seconds left!" Apollo screamed in desperation, a scared expression blanketing his face as the Imp stared at him."
"Alright!" He yelled back, wiping his mouth of any blood. Apollo dashed forward, stabbing at the gut of the Imp but was parried by the nails of the monster. Before he could do anything else, Kim approached from the back, slicing the back of the Imp's thigh, although it only cut a centimeter deep.
He lifted his leg up, colliding with Kim's arm, although not nearly as strong as the other two kicks. 'Take this bitch!' Jumping off his right foot, he twisted his body mid-air, launching his foot at the neck of the seven-foot-imp. 'Who would've thought taekwondo would've come in use now!' In a surprising show of agility and skill, the foot connected with the neck of the Imp, causing him to stagger forward, loosening his grip on the sword, allowing Apollo to slash forward, and making a deep cut on the Imp's other hand.
"ATTACK MORE!" Kim shouted, swiping again at the other arm of the Imp. However, that brief second of invulnerability was all Kim was going to get, as the Imp lowered its body and dodged Kim's attack, all while he took ahold of Apollo's arm sleeve, ramming his shoulder into the chest of Apollo and lifting him off the ground, throwing him at the floor.
A cob-web design of cracks flared out from the center of the collision, a shot of blood escaping from Apollo's mouth. His eye's rolled back into his skull as a cocky smile from the Imp appeared, his sharp claws wrapped around the neck of Apollo. With a chance to eliminate one of his opponents, the Imp hurriedly shot his tail forward without any specific spot he wanted to pierce, but that's all he wanted to do.
Through some molecule of luck that somehow exist, the tail pierced right through the shoulder of Apollo, just slightly missing his neck and any vital organs.
Despite being such a powerful creature, that doesn't relate to battle experience or IQ, as the left side of the monster was completely exposed to Kim. His signature move of sorts, he stabbed both hands into the side of the Imp, causing it to squeal in pain as it jumped up, shoving Kim away.
[+2 HP]
The Imp staggered down as it clutched its side, violet blood with black spots seeped through its fingers and poured onto the floor. A pitiful sight for this unlucky Imp. A monster who's roamed the tutorial stage for decades, killing nearly every player who crossed its path. Yet, on this day, he was getting killed by three players only a quarter into the tutorial.
Its tail began wagging wildly in the air, a melancholy aura radiating off of the Imp's body as it let its wound bleed freely, slowly regenerating right before them. "I'll kill you all. I'll tear each limb off of your body and eat it right in front of you. I'll make sure to show you TRUE MISERY!" It shouted, bearing its horrifying teeth. "Oh really? It seems like you're losing this fight... No?" He snickered and mocked the Imp, who in return grew more frustrated. "I'm sure I'll meet more and more freak's like you, human or not. And guess what I'll do to you and everyone else who comes in my path in the future? I'll cut them down, suck their blood, leave them a dry, wrinkled carcass, void of blood. And, unfortunately, you're going to be the first thing I suck dry."
[Bloodlust, Stage 1, activated!]
[Lifesteal 1% > 15%]
[+20% Strength]
[+20% Dexterity]
[+10% To both magic stats!]
[Slicing Dash Temporarily Buffed! 15% Dexterity > 20%!]
[Mana Restored!]
[Stamina Restored!]
[15% Irrationality]
His pupils morphed into vertical slits, crimson crystals reflected the moonlight, and his fangs grew and became more prominent.
"Ah, your one of those vamps. You deserve to die" The Imp said before dashing at the bloodlust Kim. "Dumb bitch."
[Slicing Dash]
With the temporary buffs he received from the stage 1 bloodlust, his Slicing Dash was two times as better, if not more. What Apollo perceived as a light blur turned into something he could barely keep his eyes on. The Imp's eyes briefly widened as he struggled to keep track of Kim's movements, only being able to watch before Kim's nails stabbed through his lower abdomen, piercing straight through which led Kim to slash outwards to free his hand, cutting through the body of the Imp.
Blood splurted out from the wound and the Imp fell to the floor, squealing in agony as his innards were now exposed, resting on the floor. "H-How? You shouldn't have got that much faster! IMPOSSIBLE!" Kim chuckled behind him, making the Imp flick his head to the vampire. "You're weak, bitch." He retorted. Kim turned his eyes to the exhausted and surprised Apollo. "Give me your sword." He said.
Apollo quickly obeyed and handed him his sword. Kim wielded it in one hand and held it over his head, the blade landing right in the middle of the moon in the Imp's gaze. "Say hello to satan for me, bitch."
And with one swipe, the sword decapitated the evil Imp, his head rolling on the floor for a few feet before coming to an end, purple blood spewing out of its exposed neck. After a few squirms, the movement of the Imp came to a complete halt, and the three members got their respective XP.
[You have leveled up! Level 5 > 6]
[You have leveled up! Level 6 > 7]
[You have defeated one of the mini-bosses! You are the (1st) to achieve this!]
[10 kills awarded to the leaderboard.]
Kim went to ask Apollo how many levels he gained, but when he looked behind him, Apollo was gone, dashing off to the limp body of his sister. Kim didn't even notice it, but the connection to Ana grew weak; Nearly gone. 'S-Shit!'
Kim rushed over, standing just behind Apollo. "ANA!!!" He was yelling and shaking her pale body, blood trickling down the corner of her lips as she was unresponsive.
[Downed Teammate!]
[Kim Yun, I just wonder how you'll save her.]
[Quest: Turn player (Ana Garol)]
[Failure: Ana's Death]
[Conditions: Save her life, or turn into one of your underlings, make you her sire!]
[Rewards: Unlocks [Turning].]
[Temporarily granted [Turning]]
[Time remaining: 9M 04S!]