Chapter 42: [42] Game Over
The goblin king brandished a golden axe taller than itself, and then a silver helm that shielded the entirety of its face appeared.
[Threat Detected, Goblin King Summus, Level 15!]
The words hung right above his head, in a thick red colour that told him that no matter what he did, the threat would be insurmountable.
But Ark had cut down greater threats at more terrible odds. Well, too bad that was a game, and this was real life...
King Summus stared at Ark for a few seconds, and then he suddenly vanished into thin air.
"Fast!"
He had moved so quickly that Ark barely had any time to react to his speed. The air around him blurred, there was a flash of gold, and then a collision that nearly tore him apart.
Clang!
Steel met steel, thick sparks erupting from the blade. Ark had a strength stat of sixteen! How was Summus this much stronger?!
He twisted his body, pushing the axe to the side, and then he swung, the scythe slicing through the air in a clean arc, right towards its neck.
King Summus side stepped the attack with ease, darted to the side and then swung his axe once more, only that this time, it was no ordinary strike—
His axe glowed a blue light just before it made contact, and then a large crater was formed on the floor, sensing shattered marble drifting through the air.
And in that mess, Summus continued to strike.
Ark was barely able to keep his head on his shoulders. He rushed back with three quick steps, and then as the axe came for his neck, he suddenly vanished into thin air, just before appearing behind the goblin king.
"Got you!"
Clang!
Like reaping corn off its stalk, so was the goblin’s head meant to leave its body.
But King Summus did the most absurd thing Ark could have imagined.
He blocked with his helmet.
A sinister smile formed behind the mask.
And then Ark’s world was inverted as King Summus slammed into him, knocking him high up into the air.
Ark felt a few ribs crack just from the impact alone, and red dust dripped out of his fractured ribs. But instead of writhing in pain... Ark laughed.
"That is more like it! This is a difficulty level worthy of a boss!"
His classmates who watched, petrified with fear, couldn’t help but wonder if he had run mad, but little did they know, that Ark was right where he wanted to be.
"[Destructive Flames]. [Spell amplification]!"
For a second, the scythe transformed into a staff, further boosting his spell. The lightning filled fire ball grew so large that it was as though he had summoned a moon.
Lightning coursed through the air, creating thunderous sounds that shook the place. And then Ark launched the spell—
Dark laughter escaped the goblin king’s lips.
"What is the point of such theatrics if I can simply dodge?"
"Dodge?" Ark laughed.
"And who decided that?"
[Gate of the abyss]
Bony hands suddenly grabbed onto King Summus’ legs, keeping him tightly fixed in place.
[Undead Mage Active]
[Undead Knight Active]
[Undead Tank Active]
[Your undead summons recognize their kin]
[Your summons have unwavering loyalty for you]
[Your summons have gone up five levels]
And that was not all. Using Skill merger, Ark merged undead’s summon, with elemental summon...
[Skill merger successful! New skill, Elemental Undead (A-Rank), is now available!]
The bony hands suddenly burst into fire, and their grips on the goblin king tightened.
"Shit—"
BOOOOOM!
The entire room was shaken right down to its foundations. The wind went wild, a shockwave cut through the space, and parts of the floor had turned molten.
"Soo-jin...." Daffodil called, her mouth hanging open as she pointed at Ark with a shaky finger, as the skeleton slowly descending to the scorched floor.
"W-when did he get that strong?!"
It was not only her, all the other classmates bore baffled looks as they stared at the impossible sight in front of them.
But Soo-jin had no answers for them. Not too long ago, she had been stronger than him, but now? Even if she were to transform, she wouldn’t stand a chance against that monster.
"Arghhhh!" The goblin king unleashed a battle roar, creating a gust of wind that blew away the fire and dust.
[Your summons have been destroyed]
"Heh.... Hehehehe... AHAHAHAHAHA!" King Summus walked out of the ashes with half of his body still smothering.
"The deities seek the evernight, they seek an endless winter without the sun...."
"The twins seek to profit from endless chaos..."
The goblin king raised its head, locking its eyes with Ark.
"What is it you seek, skeleton?"
The staff changed shape once again, this time transforming into two black daggers.
"Your death."
"Simple. How sublime. I like it."
Clang!
This time, both of them moved too fast for the human eye to track.
Dagger met axe, as the two warriors engaged in a dance of steel and fire. Ark smoothly blocked a forward swing, then he appeared at the goblin king’s side, digging his dagger into his abdomen.
But the moment the goblin king tried to retaliate, Ark was gone, moving too fast for the king to catch.
It was not that he had miraculously grown faster than the goblin king, on the contrary, he was still slower than him.
But not in this terrain...
The countless steel webs he had placed all over the place, made it possible to easily evade by pulling himself back.
And because the castle floor had been destroyed, he could use Dirt Drifter as well, which made him as evasive as a worm.
But it only took a few moves for the goblin king to adapt to this strategy, and he made sure Ark paid for it.
Ark swiftly dodged his axe, and then he pulled himself forward, charging towards an opening on the goblins shoulder, but as he swung his dagger, the goblin king caught it.
He had coated his hand with mana, stopping the blade from completely cutting through.
King Summus laughed...
"Fuck—"
Bash!
His axe came down like a mace, shattering Ark’s bones as though they were broom sticks.
From his shoulder down to parts of his ribcage, everything was cleaved right off.
The players all gasped as Ark stumbled back, unable to properly keep his balance.
Ark gritted his teeth as King Summus held his left arm like a treasure of war.
If he had been a human, then that attack would have killed him. But Ark was a skeleton.
[Ark’s Health is at 50%! All stats will be affected!]
"I was using that, you know? You fucker!"
Ark suddenly tugged the arm away from his grip using his web, but what he needed was the dagger.
Before it even reached him, webs flew into the air, latching onto it, and then Ark swung the two daggers, spinning them around his body like a cyclone.
Webs from around the room suddenly latched onto king Summos’ arms and legs, wrapping him up like a mummy, and then the daggers raced for his neck—
"How pitiful!"
He unleashed another energy blast that burned the webs away, and then he blocked the two daggers with his axe.
That was when he realized... Ark was no longer in front of him.
Ark was already at his back, and clutched in his hand was the F-Rank goblin dagger, the only thing he needed to put the king to sleep.
But at the last moment, the goblin king immediately turned around impossibly fast.
The only way he could have moved so quickly, was if he had seen through Ark’s plan from the start...
His axe was already coming down, the golden weapon gleaming on Ark’s bald skull.
The weapon made contact.
But it was just a light tap, just before Ark fizzled into nothing with [Phase]. The goblin king’s eyes widened as blood splurted out into the air...
Slash!
Ark appeared a few feet away from King Summus, holding the king’s right arm and waving it at him.
"An arm for an arm eh? Seems like a fair deal to me."
"You dare lay your filthy hands upon a king?! A thousand curses upon your head!"
King Summus dashed forward, or more like he vanished, because he was in front of Ark before he could blink.
Ark smiled.
Vwooosh!
Fire came down from the sky, consuming the goblin king whole, iron webs wrapped around his single arm, pulling him down, just as two undead stuck their weapons in his sides...
The goblin king’s eyes widened in shock as blood gushed out of his wounds.
"H-how?"
Ark stepped up to him and raised his dagger, his azure eyes glowing fiercely, burning just like the flames that had consumed him.
The goblin king’s mistake was thinking he could only summon the undead once.
Ark had purposely chosen not to summon them again, even in the face of death, all so that the misconception would sink in.
"What use is telling a dead man how he died?"
The goblin king smiled bitterly. "The twins. I sense their mark on you—"
Slash!
The goblin king’s head rolled to the floor, and his body fell right at Ark’s feet.
"I’ve heard enough of that. You’re going to give me a headache..."
[CONGRATULATIONS PLAYERS!]
[You have successfully cleared the tutorial, King’s Court!]
[You risked your lives in the forest of harrows, accomplishing feats greater than your capacity!]
[You stepped into the King’s Court and an epic battle before the throne ensued. The palace was razed down, an ancient evil was purged, the kingdom was freed!]
[Notable enemies defeated: Corpse worms, Grave Keeper Worm, Centipeda Karata, Shemus the vile (lancer), Kerteka of the moon tower (mage), Iron wall of Euros (Tank), Hawk eye Kim (archer), The undisputed northern blade Tyris (Knight), God Killer Summus (King)]
[Evaluation: GLORIOUS]
[Participants: 206]
[Allies lost: 196]
[Survivors: 10]
MVP: Ark Karras
Silver: Soo-jin Fable
Bronze: Vanessa Thyril (Deceased)