Chereads / Ashen Fantasy Online / Chapter 42 - Chapter 41 "Let Me Hold Your Head"

Chapter 42 - Chapter 41 "Let Me Hold Your Head"

The summoned Kobolds, bolstered by Ioki's Charisma and Level, surrounded Jezetein, their canine-like faces revealing a mix of excitement and hunger for battle. Their eyes glowed with an eerie crimson light.

"Wait! Go to that Dark Knight. Hold him back! That Gargoyle is mine!" Ioki shouted as he raised his fist and rushed toward Jezetein.

"Agghhh! Buzz off, you dog!" Jezetein shouted in frustration as it tried to shake Joki off.

Seeing Jezetein raise its hands and a red circle slowly formed, Ioki knew Jezetein was about to cast a spell. Ioki picked up the pace and ran even faster.

Approaching Jezetein with his fists raised, Ioki screamed. "LUCKY STRIKE!"

"Enhanced Luck is in effect!"

"The wind blows in your favor."

The golden glows returned to his fist once again, although it's not as shiny compared to the time he was brawling the Pack Leader.

"Joki! Let go of your spear now!" Ioki shouted as he took a giant stride, shifting his whole weight forward with the right leg leading.

As Joki let go of his spear, Jezetein's attention automatically shifted to the approaching Ioki. "WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT FRAGILE FIST OF YOURS CAN DO TO MY HARD SKIN, YOU PUNY HUMAN!?" Jezetein responded with arrogance even though it was all a bravado to cover its previous mistake of not paying attention to both sides.

Paying no attention to the taunt, Ioki's right fist had already made its way as his whole arm was bent, delivering a swinging blow straight to Jezetein's chin.

He tried to flap his wings... Such a futile act...

"YOU FU---" Jezetein shouted before its words got cut short as the golden uppercut made its way through.

*BAM*

*Critical Hit!*

The golden uppercut sparkled gold on impact as Jezetein's sharp teeth were forcefully spit, followed by cracking and a gush of black blood spurting.

Not stopping there, the uppercut continued till Jezetein's body was lifted from the ground. Its eyes widened in response as fear slowly washed over his sinister expression when it felt its neck was slowly ripped apart.

*RIP*

Jezetein's head flew over the sky as black blood spurted out of its neck like a fountain. Perhaps as a response toward the life-ending experience registered before its head separated, its body moved forward for a few steps before flapping its pierced wings.

It flew an inch above the ground before it pathetically hit the ground...

*Thud*

"Level up!" Windows pops up before Ioki.

"Super Rookie | Grade: Mythical

You've reached Level 50 without having a Job.

Bonus: +5 All stats."

What got his attention was the window that popped after it...

"The Flame of Hell tried to curse you, but the Gods and Goddesses punished him."

"The Flame of Hell was confused with your connection with the other divine beings."

"The Deadly Sin of Lust chuckled as she caressed the bump on The Flame of Hell's head."

"The Flame of Hell was surprised with The Deadly Sin of Lust's presence."

"The Flame of Hell has shown great interest in you."

The start of Ioki's curses and blessings to come was celebrated with a flying head of a Gargoyle...

"Joki!" Ioki shouted with a fierce tone.

"Y---yes, Leader?!" Joki replied with his right paw on his temple as if saluting.

"Go help your friends as I take care of a few things first, got it?" Ioki coldly asked while glaring at Joki.

"H---Hieek! Yes, right away, Leader!" Joki hurriedly rushed toward the other Kobolds, "A reminder to myself to never test the Leader's patience! The last thing I want is to have my head flying before I manage to taste a Dragon's bone!" Joki mumbled.

The Kobolds lunged at Arwen with ferocity, their makeshift weapons clashing against his glossy black armor. Although outnumbered, Arwen fought valiantly.

"Why did you waste your ultimate on the mini-boss? You should've used it on Arwen, no?" KumaKuma typed.

"I believe Leader is right. You made a mistake on your end. You could've dealt with the Gargoyle easily if Arwen went down first." Reinhardt typed.

"Aghh... Shut up, old men! I killed Jezetein first because he is annoying. He drives me mad!" Ioki replied out of frustration.

"AHAHAHA OH MY GOD COMEDY GOLD! WHERE ELSE WILL YOU SEE THE VICE LEADER AND LEADER OF VERMILION DAWN GOT SCOLDED BY A KID!" DarkFlame typed.

Paying no attention to the chat and with a sense of urgency as watching Joki and the other Kobolds struggling holding Arwen back, Ioki opened his status window.

Ioki

 Lvl: 54 | Job: None

 Str: 138

 Dex: 179

 Con: 127

 Int: 48

 Wis: 50

 Cha: 81

 Luc: 224

 Chr: 59

 Stats Points: 125

"WHAT ARE THOSE STATS? I'M AT LEVEL 61, YET YOUR STATS ARE WAY ABOVE MINE! I WANT TO KILL MYSELF SO BAD!!!" Ihatelife typed.

"You should take into account his achievements... God knows how many Unique and Mythic achievements Ioki has..." Whistling typed.

"125 Stats Points... don't tell me you are going to put all those into Luck again? Please, you've seen how you fought against Arwen. You need to put some into the three main stats of physical Jobs!" Absusbsj typed.

"Shut up... Do I need to remind you guys that I am the one playing? To be honest, if it's not for my commitment, I would love to put them into Wisdom just to see you guys mald over it." Ioki replied in frustration as he saw many comments backseating him.

After the mean reply, Ioki put all his Stats Points into Luck as usual. Although Ioki doesn't mean anything by it, Absusbsj is hurt by his words...

Ioki

 Lvl: 54 | Job: None

 Str: 138

 Dex: 179

 Con: 127

 Int: 48

 Wis: 50

 Cha: 81

 Luc: 375

 Chr: 59

"Fortune's Fool | Grade: Mythic

A fool for Fortune, see how far Fortuna will lead you.

Bonus: +20 Luc, Lucky Trigger (Passive)."

"Fortuna, you better bless me with one Hel--- Heaven of a blessing. God, are Hell's inhabitants this despicable? Each one of them?" Ioki muttered as he watched the struggling Kobolds defending themselves against Arwen's fist and kicks from the top of the undying mount of his.

"Give me back my spear, you stupid dog!" Arwen shouted angrily.

"Finders keepers! Perhaps if you use that head of yours, you won't throw it away! Oops, if you used your head, you probably would still have that above your shoulder instead of your hand, isn't it?" Joki taunted as he poked Arwen with his own weapon.

Seeing Arwen's HP was slowly chipped by the Kobolds' attacks, although it's not a substantial amount, they are doing their best to keep him in check with a barrage of swords and spears attacks.

Every time Arwen tried to attack them, they put their shields up in unison as they put one of their foot onward to dampen the knockback from Arwen's attacks.

"Goddess of Fortune celebrates your milestone."

"Goddess of Fortune has blessed you with Blessing of Fortune (Exemplary)."

"Exemplary Follower | Grade: Legendary

You've shown your loyalty to a Divine Being. You shall pluck the fruit.

Bonus: Avatarization (Active), Favorability of other Divine Beings will fluctuate and be influenced easily, Divine Beings have been notified of your existence."

"CONGRATULATIONS! FIRST TO GET THE ACHIEVEMENT BONUS! HONOR +100."

"Goddess of Fortune asked other Divine Beings to share divinity with her to bless Ioki with a new skill."

"God of Language brought other Divine Beings to watch Ioki's fate."

"Several Divine Beings are watching over you."

"Several Divine Beings are offering to share their divinity."

"With the help of other Divine Beings, Goddess of Fortune has blessed you with Divine Gambler's Stance (Passive)."

"THE SYSTEM HAS DETECTED AN OVERPOWERED SKILL COMPARED TO THE CURRENT GAME'S CONTENT!

BALANCING THE SKILL...

BALANCE COMPLETED!"

"Divine Gambler's Stance (Passive)

The stance resulted from the essence and divinity of Divine Beings. Each strike and hit from your limbs will put your adversary to stand against the wrath of Divine realms.

Attacks without weapons have a minuscule chance of inflicting random status debuffs."

The appearance of several blue windows showing the first time the Divine Beings had shown their existence made the chats go crazy!

The chats once again buzzed with reactions.

"Is that even possible..." Mr. Turtle typed.

"You are the first to ever get their attention to this extent. Congratulations and thank you for playing!" Hanz0(GM) typed.

"I got my ass handed over to me for almost 100 times just to get those fucker attentions. How in the actual fuck someone like you could get fucking blessings like it was nothing! Bullshit ass game..." DarkFlame typed. (The user was banned for this comment.)

*BAM*

*WOOSH*

*BOOM*

A body of a Kobold went past Ioki before it disintegrated.

"Leader! Are you done yet? I can't hold him back anymore!" Joki screamed.

Joki could be seen floating in the air while trying his best to win the tug-of-war contest against Arwen with spear acting as the rope.

"Asvale, charge toward the boy! Ignore these deplorable creatures!" Arwen shouted.

Replied with a neigh. Asvale broke through the Kobolds and charged at Ioki.

"LEeEeAaAdEeEr WaaTCh OooOOuuUT!" Joki warned while he was wavering in the air while still holding Arwen's spear.

Ioki raised his fist and charged toward the charging Dark Knight, "AAAAAAHHHH!" Ioki screamed as he ran toward them.

"You never learn, do you? As I say, if courage is all you've got. Even a fool could do the same!" Arwen exclaimed as he readied his spear above his shoulder in a throwing position with Joki on one end.

"FIST OF LIGHT!" Ioki's hands were glowing radiantly as he threw a right straight toward the charging Asvale's head, with his right leg standing behind acting as the supporting point.

"Hasta Abicere!" Arwen's black spear was thrown into Ioki's fist, enveloped with dark energy.

As the black spear approached Ioki's fist rapidly, apparition of hands could be seen following Ioki's straight. What's different this time is the fact there is another set of arms rather than just the furry spirit.

A spirit of a robust man's half-body could be seen behind the Nine Paws' spirit. He wore a tattered Gi with torn sleeves, revealing the muscular arms contracted as every vein popped on his ghastly punch.

"Ashura's Wrath (Passive)

One should know better than to anger Ashura himself.

Have a small chance to summon Ashura's spirit upon attacking without a weapon."

*BAM*

The clash of the unified three fists against the dark spear shined as it parried the spear into the sky.

Because of the force of the unified punch, the spear was not enough to hold it back. The punch made its way to Asvale's head. Upon contact, as if a holy explosion happened...

White lights shone illustriously, probably the only light this cursed realm would ever witness.

*BAM*

*CRACK*

*Critical Hit!*

Ioki's left fist was raised automatically as it glowed again right after the first straight. He launched a hook on Asvale's neck.

*CRACK*

*Critical Hit!*

Asvale dead stopped on his track as his skull was crushed in... not even a neigh could be heard before the undead horse finally down dead for good.

Because of the inertia of charging forward, Arwen was thrown away into the air. Of course, he can't be a hero on the battlefield if he can't survive such a thing in his glorious day.

Approaching the ground, Arwen somehow managed to flip and gracefully landed on his feet while holding his head in his hand.

Wasting no chance, the remaining Kobolds rushed over to Arwen.

"STOP!" Ioki shouted.

Hearing the command, the Kobolds stopped while looking back at Ioki.

"Joki, go return his spear," Ioki commanded as he saw Joki again holding the black spear.

"L---Leader! Are yo---" Joki tried to argue before seeing Ioki glared at him sinisterly.

Seeing Ioki's glare made him run panickly toward Arwen and throw his spear back as he got near.

"Your arrogance will be your downfall, boy..." Arwen spoke as he picked his spear up, "At the same time, I must commend you for making it this far and even getting rid of that devil."

"Hey, is it hard to fight while holding your head in one hand like that?" Ioki inquired, not paying attention to Arwen's remark.

"I could still see well. That's all I---" Before he finished his sentence, Ioki raised his hand.

"Hey, one of you guys go hold his head and watch from the sideway!" Ioki commanded the Kobolds.

A Kobold let go of his weapon and approached Arwen with his paws up, signaling Arwen to give his head to him.

"What's the meaning of this, boy?" Arwen asked hesitantly.

Ioki cracked his knuckles before a wide smile finally could be seen on his face again, "So, if you lost the fight you won't be giving any excuses, Mr. Arwen!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The distorted laughter returned once again, even without the Laugh It Off skill needed this time.

Strangely, the laugh was more natural this time... Can a ghost or undead have that kind of laughter?

What's more strange is what Arwen had done right after it.

Arwen gave his head to the Kobold. As the Kobold kept his distance from Arwen's body and Ioki, Arwen swung and spun his spear, showing his proficiency in using the long-ranged weapon.

The spear beautifully spun in the air, and every swings and strikes flows smoothly as if a sacred dance was being performed. Like a handicap being removed, the holy dance served as proof of his beautiful spearsmanship.

"I must say, seeing my body doing all that in the third person feels surreal," Arwen exclaimed

"First time?" Ioki asked.

"Never had my head touched by the others. Not even Jezetein was permitted to touch my head." Arwen replied.

"What makes us special then? You even gave your head to the so-called deplorable creature according to your standard." Ioki asked again with a smile this time.

"You fared against me this long and even ended Asvale's suffering... For that, I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart." Arwen proudly says.

However, when he handed his head to the Kobold, Arwen had different things sounded in his heart.

"Now, come! I'll give you the first strike!" Arwen shouted as he tightened his grip on the spear.

Ioki rushed forward, raising his fists, "You'll regret this, Mr. Arwen!"

***

"Ouch, hey! Why are you punching me, babe?" Nagao asked while he tried to against Absusbsj's barrage of punches.

Ignoring his question, Absusbsj keeps punching Nagao. "Why... is... Ioki... mean to me?! I was only trying to help!"

Suddenly, a slender hand stopped Absusbsj's punch, "Stop there, darling. It's not your boyfie's fault. Besides, Ioki is still a kid. His emotion is still unstable. Pair that with a life-or-death situation? Well, he probably said some things he didn't mean to." An elegant voice sounded from the owner of the hand.

"My beloved Kayla is always right~" Rikishi said with his hands on his cheeks.