The two players, one Elementalist and one Ranger, were surprised by the other's presence in the lair. They stood still, observing each other.
Lunato had not expected that someone had the courage to come to the core area of the Sun Blight Spider's nest by lonesome.
He couldn't even imagine that the person would sneak all the way into the Sun Blight Spider's cave by using him and the New Moon Legion as a distraction!
Lunato's face became serious as anyone who had the balls to pull off such a stunt had to be a person with some ability. His eyes quickly darted towards the Pristine Shadow Cocoons… or where they were supposed to be.
Empty! The entire space was empty without a single Pristine Shadow Cocoon!
They could not have disappeared into thin air so the likely suspect was this stranger before him!
Lunato looked at Samar with a cold gaze, his eyes containing a chilling fury. In a frosty tone he said, "Leave the Pristine Shadow Cocoons."
His voice was seeped with arrogance, as he delivered the unspoken threat.
Samar narrowed his eyes when he spotted the Howling Moon Guild's insignia on the player in front of him. He had always hated such as*holes who relied on their Guild to oppress others but Lunato was no ordinary person.
He was one of the Deimos' Dreadful Thousand!
Deimos' Dreadful Thousand was a ranking of rising rookies, irrespective of their class.
Each one of these rookies was a star in making. Top Guilds recruited them by offering a salary of 100k Musks and an R2 or higher position!
Lunato was ranked 897th on such a prestigious list!
Although his rank was at the near bottom of the list, Samar did not dare to underestimate him; For Lunato had secured a rank on the list where millions of other players had failed!
Samar did not let the turmoil in his heart affect the expressions on his face.
Knowing a fight was inevitable, he gazed at Lunato calmly and said, " Had you asked me nicely, I would've sold you a couple of cocoons as a favor; you didn't have to be an arrogant prick about it."
Lunato bristled with anger upon hearing his nonchalant words. It was as good as a declaration of war.
"Good. You will beg me to take them after I am done with you."
Lunato hissed through his gnashed teeth and started to cast a spell targeting Samar.
[You have been targeted by Lv 20 Player Lunato. You have 10 minutes to retaliate.]
Samar had anticipated this outcome. These were the consequences of his mocking.
If there was a slim chance of avoiding the battle before, now there was none!
It was not as if his victory was guaranteed. In fact a loss was the most likely result when going up against one of the Deimos' Dreadful Thousand.
Yet, he had picked a fight when the odds were stacked up against him.
Why? Because he had a huge advantage over Lunato.
Samar was neither overestimating himself nor was he underestimating his opponent. It was a calculated risk he had taken because the terrain was in his favor.
Samar aimed his arrow not at Lunato but at the fire torch in his hands. The arrow struck the wick of the torch and snuffed the fire out, plunging the lair back into darkness.
Startled by the darkness, Lunato lost his vision and his target but he was an elite among elites. He quickly changed his stance from offensive to defensive and cast 'Barrier', a shielding spell that reduced the physical damage taken by 20%!
In this sea of darkness, the mild glow emitted by the Barrier became the beacon for Samar. He aimed at the faint silhouette illuminated by the glow and let loose a volley of arrows.
Twang! Twang! Twang! The thrumming sound of the bowstring echoed through the chamber, alerting Lunato.
Sensing the imminent danger, the Elementalist reacted with lightning speed. He instinctually moved away from his previous position, avoiding the arrows headed towards him.
In retaliation, Lunato raised his wand, conjuring a pair of razor-sharp wind blades that sliced through the darkness towards the source of arrows.
Reacting quickly, Samar unleashed his Tier 1 Rapid Shot. Arrow after arrow left his bow, flying to intercept the Tier 1 Wind Blades. Each arrow met its mark, shattering the wind blades into harmless gusts before they could reach him.
Lunato looked at the spectacle with awe. He had only seen the best of archers possess the ability to intercept skills mid-air with their arrows.
His curiosity and fear towards his opponent increased by a notch and he followed up his Wind Blades with Aqua Jets. Mana gathered at his wand's tip and water gushed out from it in powerful squirts.
Samar avoided the first spurt of water by stepping sideways but Lunato did not aim at just one spot; He also covered the area around Samar.
He anticipated and avoided most of the attacks but his body could not keep up with his calculations. Despite being in the dark, Samar suffered the first injury.
-196
The damage number shocked Samar. He had lost more than 50% of his health and it wasn't even a critical attack!
Samar realized his opponent had outclassed him not only in mechanics but also in the equipment department. He had extra stats from training with Goku which could make up for his lacking armor.
Yet, Lunato had easily taken away a huge chunk of his HP.
"No wonder they are called the Deimos' Dreadful!" Samar thought, as a shiver ran down his back. His mood became somber as he realized that he could not afford to withstand even one more of Lunato's attacks.
Lunato had already started casting Hydro Blast while he controlled the Aqua Jets. As soon as the Hydro Blast was ready, Lunato canceled Aqua Jet and launched the mana charged ball of water at the hovering damage number.
Samar did not try to dodge. He played to his strengths and launched an Explosive Arrow to intercept the blue sphere that was approaching him like a cannonball.
The blue water ball was set to blow up as soon as it met significant resistance. So when the Explosive Arrow hit the ball, it detonated all the mana contained inside.
Kaboom!
The Water Ball burst into countless drops of water which were more powerful than the shrapnels of a bomb. Shockwaves of the collision spread throughout the lair, destroying countless cocoons and the webbing on the roof.
Samar cast the Flame Ward and endured the shockwaves spreading through the lair but Lunato was not so lucky.
The force of the shockwaves was so strong near him that it swept Lunato off his feet, making him plop on the ground in a sorry state.
At that moment, a piece of webbed roof was broken and rays of sunlight shone inside the lair. As the dark receded and the dust settled, Samar emerged from the explosion relatively unharmed, thanks to his Flame Ward skill.
"So this is the might of a Deimos' Dreadful…" Samar whispered, looking at the destruction wrought by the Hydro Blast skill.
Lunato could not believe that an unknown Ranger had intercepted his most powerful skill and remained unharmed! His eyes widened and he gasped in shock.
The Elementalist recovered quickly and tried to get up as he knew this was his best chance to attack. But suddenly ropes made of shadows came from nowhere and bound him in place.
Lunato looked around to find the culprit and quickly found a tiny spider with a white disc on its back!
"The Eclipse Spider!" Lunato was excited to see the objective of his trip appear right in front of him. However, his excited face quickly contorted with rage as he watched the tiny spider scuttle over to Samar and jump on his shoulders.
"You! You stole my Eclipse Spider!" Lunato yelled with hysterical rage. His proud image as one of the Deimos' Dreadful quickly crumbled in Samar's mind.
As Lunato rambled on, Samar realized he spoke of nothing but threats and warnings.
The Ranger did not have time nor did he care to entertain this egoistical nonsense. He was in a rush to end the battle since Arachnos would be returning soon.
Samar aimed at Lunato's head and launched a Power Shot. There was no way for Lunato to avoid this attack. He watched with dread as the powerful arrow sped towards him before piercing through his head.
A deep red Lethal Strike appeared above his head and he was engulfed in a gray beam of light. In his last moments, Lunato memorized the face of his killer with clear hatred in his eyes and then he disappeared from the spot, dropping a mix of gold and silver coins.
Uncaring of the powerful enemy he had made, Samar picked up the loot and dashed out of the lair before the Sun Blight Spider could return.