The light flashed in a surreal manner that it exudes an ironic feeling to all those who witness it.
This is the description of the strange event that happened on Mount Arayat in the province of Pampanga. While the sudden revelation of a Black Hex in Pasig happened, people from the plains witnessed something extraordinary. A god revealed itself in front of a thousands. The being nicknamed "Bathala" was never described clearly as something happened before they could even recount the story. They were mysteriously put into a paralyzed state where they could move their eyes but cannot do so in other body parts, most especially, their mouth.
At that day, those witnesses were found by the police to be lying in the ground, Alive but lifeless at the same time.
The news became a hot topic for months and it became known as the "Mount Arayat's apparition".
Investigators from the association could not find a sufficient answer. But one thing to be sure of, the event was really strange and it victimized many Filipinos who up until now, are still lying in bed with their seems to be lifeless body.
One of those who unfortunate individuals, is the teenage girl who is lying in her hospital bed. Her eyes are deep yet lifeless while the tube that connects her artificial mouth to her stomach is clean. It is before lunch time after all.
Right now, she is accompanied by her only living aunt, whom she considered as a mother with his brother before she became paralyzed.
"Your kuya is not yet home, Isang! I'm worried that what the guild said is true! Please come back to me now!," her Tita said.
(Kuya= Filipino for brother)
(Tita= Filipino for aunt)
The girl suddenly cried with her now swelling eyes. There's no doubt about it..
She is alive and can hear all of her aunt's words...
"Kuya..."
***
"Everyone, retreat for now! That boss is a devil!"
Antonio who's confident earlier, were lost for words. Most of his friends in the raiding group were killed and his remaining ten assassins are now being slowly fainting from their overconsumption of mana.
"I can't die like this!"
The monster became more aggressive, it can now generate threads with different properties such as fire, lightning, and spiky metals. What's more, the web prison that it created had minced his close-range fighters when trapped within it.
"Hide for now! We'll find an opportunity to weaken it. For now, install some traps in the way!"
"Understood, boss!"
The assassins did so and created a mini-stronghold in the end of a narrow cave.
"Let's wait here for a miracle!"
The B-rank Martial Artist inhaled deeply, admitting his mishandling of the whole raid. His poor judgement and strategy led them at this moment.
"If I would be given a chance, I'll do it without any imperfections..."
Contrary to what he believed, his remaining men still displayed an undying loyalty and confidence in him.
"No, you are the best, Master!"
"It's our fault for being too reckless!"
"We did not anticipated any of this!"
Suddenly, a large head flew over them. It looked so familiar and creepy to the point that they recognized it at first glance.
"N-no w-way! This is not possible!"
It is now the giant spider who's beheaded with a clean cut on its what could be a neck.
Who could've done something so magnificent?
A slim figure clothed in black clothing appeared at the source of the decapitated head. His hairs are black while his complexion is white like that of an ivory. His right eye is what caught their attention the most. It is glittering like a silver beneath the moon light. He gradually step forward and manifested himself to the group
Just his presence is already breathtaking enough, he wielded a sword on his right hand while a shield on his left. Antonio and the Assassins can tell that the two weapons are powerful to kill them instantly.
"Leave!," his voice is commanding and authoritative. The men can feel it right on their skin.
"We will...," the Party leader and his assassins are known to be powerful that no one would dare to speak those words to them, except right at this moment.
"Why are you not leaving? Didn't I tell you?," his voice are full of threat.
"We will but before that...," they seriously drawn something from their pockets which made the man wary about what would they do.
To his surprise, they bought a piece of paper and a pen then handed it to him, "Can we get at least your autograph?"
"Seriously?!," the man was utterly disappointed with the actions exhibited by the hunters to him. Perhaps, he should not expected something big.
"Pwease? Just one signature is enough!," they made some bubbly expressions on their faces which made the man disgusted.
"Ugh, Fine! Fine! Fine! Just don't make that face again! It's fucking disgusting!"
He drew a smiley face to the paper and their faces. How can a B-rank hunter act like this? For the man, the answer is because they considered him as their own hero.
"If I could keep this identity, would I make some money?," he thought of himself until he realized something.
"MONEY!"
He started imagining himself sitting on a golden chair in a diamond palace and different people bowing on his feet.
"I'm definitely going to be rich! Umm! Money! MONEY!," his face is starting to exhibit a goofy expression.
"Excuse me, Sir! May we at least know your name?," Antonio asked him.
"Call me...," he made a sound that mimics a thrilling and suspenseful music, "Sigma Ghost!"
'I'm really a genius at making names! Maybe I could be a God of Names, hihi!', he thought so highly of himself.
Contradictory to his thoughts though, the hunters including Antonio were somewhat disappointed. So disappointed to the point their faces cannot hide it.
"He's definitely a crazy person!"
"Yeah, no doubt about it!"
"I'm starting to regret idolizing him..."
"Shut up! Just leave the fuck out of me alone!"
The hunters left with disappointing looks on their faces.
After ensuring that the hunters have exited the Hex, the man removed his guise which turned out to be just an illusion magic casted by him to himself. It was Mike, who defeated both Arimaonga and Arachno with his strength.
"This eye is much better that I thought."
A moment earlier...
*The boss Outsider has evolved*
*Arimaonga roared in disbelief and disappointment on itself!*
*It wants to eat your flesh*
*It wants to keep you alive in exchange that for your left arm*
*Do you want to accept?*
"Hell, no!," he answered the system with an annoyed look then started attacking the monster using his sword.
*The boss suffered a damage!*
*The boss recovered!*
*Blood acquisition 75%*
"Damn monster!" he cursed before swinging his sword again.
*The boss suffered a damage!*
*The boss recovered!*
*Blood acquisition 80%*
"It is recovering every damage but at least my sword still continues to absorb blood, I must not stop and hope for the best!"
But the boss, who's now filled with more bloodlust suddenly leaped into the air and scratched a part of Mike's chest.
"What the fuck with this creature's attack?! His claws did not even reached me!"
He readied himself for the next attack but once again it landed on his skin, specifically in the legs.
"Ahh!"
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have suffered a damage!*
"Heal!," he performed a basic healing magic on the damaged part of his skin but it was too slow, leaving him vulnerable to the next attack which turned about to be the Fire breath.
"Damn it!," by the time he noticed the attack, it was too late. He already suffered some burns.
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have suffered a damage!*
*Your Physical Health has reached a critical level*
*Your Mana is slowly decreasing!"
"I-I can't die like this!," he laughed loudly causing the monster to be confused.
"You think you're so strong! You're not even a god!"
He taunt the creature in the most extreme way.
"I wonder what will your mother do, if he found out that you are attacking a lowly human! You pathetic son of a bitch!"
The creature growled in pain, as if he understand Mike's insults.
"It's working!," he whispered.
*Arimaonga's pride declined by 10%!*
*Arimaonga's defense decreased by 10%!*
"I see! Since you cannot swallow the moon, you chose to guard an eye! Pwahahahaha! A little shit!"
*Arimaonga's pride declined by 4%*
*Arimaonga's defense decreased by 4%*
Mike guessed that a lion is still a lion. When its pride was shattered, it will discourage itself from fighting.
"All you could do is to scratch your ugly claws, what could it do more? I bet it can't even hurt a chicken!"
*Arimaonga's pride declined by 6%*
*Arimaonga's defense decreased by 6%*
"You are nothing but a scaredy cat who could not defeat a simple human like me! hahahaha!"
*Arimaonga's pride declined by 20%*
*Arimaonga's defense declined by 20%*
Insult by insult, Mike slowly shattered the boss's defenses. He continued to taunt it with skills he learned from participating FlipTop battles in his highschool years.
Then, It came to the point when the giant lion Outsider became timid.
*There is no pride left for Arimaonga!*
*Defenses fell 0%!!*
A smirked formulated on Mike's lips before muttering an incantation.
"Echoes of Desperation!," the sound penetrated deep in the boss's ears, causing it to shake violently.
*The boss suffered a damage*
*The boss suffered a damage*
*The boss suffered a damage*
*Blood acquisition 90%*
*Blood acquisition 100%*
*K'filan reached Cresciente!*
*Intelligence stat increase to 5%*
*Strength stat increase to 5%*
The K'filan, already powerful, suddenly turned its color into an ominous hue of scarlet red. It shook violently as if telling Mike to swing it across the dying lion's stomach.
Mike became obedient to its sword's wish. Using the Hood of Loki's passive skill, he leaped into the air swiftly went to the side of the boss monster and lifted his sword.
*The passive skill "Six Moons" will be activated!*
Arimaonga screamed painfully
*The boss suffered an irrecoverable damage!*
*Congratulations! You successfully killed the boss, Arimaonga, on your own, you have leveled up!*
*Arimaonga's claw, Inferno, was acquired*
*Arimaonga's fur was acquired*
*Armaonga's fangs was acquired*
*Arimaonga's soul was absorbed by the sword K'lung, check out the new skill!*
He clicked the hyperlink.
-New Skill!-
Claw Flames (A)
-allows the sword K'lung to attack the opponent even if not establishing a physical contact. Fire will now emanate everytime the sword slashed at the enemy
The drops of the giant lion boss was horrible especially that it is a low-ranking S-class monster. But still, Mike was thankful since he gained a new equipment and skill.
-Inferno-
The fiery claws possessed by the moon-eating lion, Arimaonga.
Class- None
Rank- A+
Type- Gauntlet
Duration- None
Affinity- Fire Magic
Skills>
*Triple Slash- Allows the user to slash the opponent three times in a row, using only the hands (Duration 5 minutes)!
Agility stat raised to 4%
*Domination- Allows the user to punch the opponent while inflicting a sense of fear and paralysis (Duration 5 minutes)!
Strength stat raised to 4%
Passive>
*Tear- Rips a part of the opponent's vital flesh.
Boss drops are not his purpose of coming here in the first place, rather, the artifact and treasures in the center-end of the cave.
Mike touched the magnificent artifact, "Eye of Mayari". As soon as he did so, it automatically assimilated into his right eye.
"Wait! What the heck!"
*Assimilation complete!*
*Analyzing the new artifact!*
*Congratulations! The Eye of Mayari fully considered you as its new owner!*
*Due to the assimilation, the eye would bestow you its first three gifts!*
He felt something change in his body before proceeding again.
*1. Conceptualization (S+)
A skill that allows you to see other hunter's system and Outsiders' information regardless of their ranking. Analyzing opponent attacks would also be easier for you. No mana required!
"This will be handy in the future when facing more powerful opponents!"
He then opened the button for the next gift.
*2. Primordial Box
A universal storage box that infinitely store items the user obtains. You can give the box, a commanding word in order to automatically insert the target item/s within its inventory.
"Sweet, I can store all of that treasure within my inventory now!"
*Please, give the box a new commanding word!*
"I'll just say, Collect! No need to be fancy..."
*Congratulations! You can now automatically insert items within the Primordial Box!*
"Okay, Collect!"
Suddenly, all of the treasures in the cave began gathering to the Primordial Box. Mike check his inventory and was shocked to see all kinds of rare minerals and artifacts being there.
"Now, let's see what the final gift would be!"
*3. Recuperate (S+)
As long as the eye are in possession, there is a 99.9% chance of healing any damages and reflect the pain to the one who inflicted it to the user. No mana required.
"A healing skill with a high chance of activating and has the ability to recover any form of damage is basically a cheat skill! If this is a game, I would already be banned.
With the treasures and the overpowered skills and items, Mike happily left the cave and returned to the battlefield of the hunters.
"What the... Why is everyone dead?"
To his shock, he only saw some dead bodies and the Giant spider feasting on them.
"I'll make a quick work to you! Damn insect!"
He flew towards the giant spider and smashed his head against its thick armor.
"Now that I have an auto-healing skill, I can defeat you with ease.
Although the spider had fought with its overpowered skills, Mike proved to be a bad match for the said boss because the hunter has already defeated a boss more powerful than it and acquired new overpowered items and equipment.
"Take this you little shit!"
*Congratulations! You defeated the boss, Arachno, on your own. You gained the title, "The one who overcame Arachnophobia"*
*The item, Lighting Thread, was acquired*
*The item, Fire Thread, was acquired*
*The item, Poison Thread, was acquired*
*The item, Thorny Thread, was acquired*
*The soul of Arachno was absorbed by the shield, K'filan, check out the new skill!!*
-New Skill!-
Poison Fang (C)
Fangs containing lethal poison will have a high chance appearing if the K'filan will slam itself unto the opponent.
"Nice!," he shouted before casting an illusion magic on himself. He then threw the decapitated head of Arachno unto a hole.
When he detected an intense concentration of energy, he thought it was another monster only then to find out that it was Antonio and the remaining hunters hiding.
And it brought all of them right at the current time...
"Take the corpse of the boss and the drops, I have no intention of taking any of them!"
Of course he lied, he already took the most useful ones from the Spider!
"H-how could you be so selfless?," Antonio became emotional and is on the verge of crying.
"Ahh, stop it!," he dismissed Antonio while waving his hand.
After he helped them collect the dead bodies, they then exited the Hex. Once outside, they were greeted by the Guildmaster of Minokawa Guild who's wearing a heavy armor and great sword.
"Guildmaster, the Hex was cleared but it costs me some of my men!," Antonio reasoned out
"You Idiot! Do you think it is easy to gather those high-rakers? Ah! Nevermind it! Just tell me what the hell happened inside so that I could explain to their family!"
"Well we are about to be doomed if not for this man," Antonio pointed at the person beside him only to find him missing.
The Guildmaster became infuriated and lambasted Antonio on the ground, "Bastard! Do you think you can just fool me after loosing that many men? Tell me honestly!"
Just a meter away, at the top of a metal bar on a tall building, Mike laughed at their conversation, it would definitely be the last time o seeing Antonio's face. After all, he had already planned to return to Manila.
"I have to ensure my sister's safety..."