Chapter 58: Breaking The Rules
"Get your justice." The kid commanded. His voice lacked any childish innocence, ringing out with a dark, commanding resonance that made even the hardened mercenaries shiver.
GRAAAAA!!
The 80 zombies instantly shot towards Asher, even when in stealth, they located him; swinging their hands with frenzy. The Celestial-Tier chains bound them directly to their killer, bypassing normal physical senses and tracking his exact soul signature.
"What are they attacking?" Someone asked in confusion, watching as the 80 zombies kept moving around. To the living onlookers, the horrific tide of corpses seemed to be swiping at thin air, snapping at the empty, frozen wind.
WHOOSH!!!
The next moment, all the zombies dropped to the ground, their heads rolling, stunning the 30. Asher had woven through their ranks with surgical precision, decapitating them all before a single drop of blood could touch his overcoat.
"He is using stealth!!" The man in suit exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes wide behind his dark glasses.
"That’s an Assassin skill, is he an assassin?" Another asked, the collective panic rising as they realized they were trapped in an enclosed space with an invisible executioner.
"That proves it, those 80 don’t stand a chance against someone who could attack while still in stealth." The scar face lady said with a shake of her head, finally treating the situation with the lethal seriousness it deserved.
The kid narrowed his eyes, analyzing the battlefield like a seasoned general; if he hadn’t used this ability, he won’t even sense Asher: ’Is his stealth this high? Too bad, it can’t hide from my puppets.’
Asher watched from the shadows as the bodies stood up again, now, all headless. The sickening crunch of twisting spines and snapping tendons filled the cavern as the unkillable horde reoriented themselves.
’You got to be kidding me.’ He revealed himself, staring at the undead before him, realizing that brute force was completely useless against a Celestial-Tier necromancy skill.
’I can only kill these things if I get rid of that kid... Or? Yes.’ His mind shifted gears, adapting to the environment. He couldn’t kill what was already dead, but he could change the battlefield.
He raised the sword, and with a circular motion, he struck the ground hard, channeling his immense physical power into the frozen earth.
BOOOOM!!
The ice he was standing on instantly shattered, and he fell into the water underneath.
"Huh?!! There is water below us?!" The man with a broadsword exclaimed in shock, stepping back from the massive, dark chasm that had suddenly opened up.
’Follow him.’ The kid ordered mentally, his eyes flashing with cruel intent.
GRAAAA!!
The 80 undead shot forward, entering the cold water with Asher, chasing behind him without a single hesitation, their bodies sinking like stones as they reached for his legs.
Asher looked over his shoulder at them, and swam further away from the hole he placed, drawing them deeper into the abyss.
[Extreme Cold: Player will fully freeze in 20 seconds.]
"....?!!"
Asher stared at his hand which was already turning white: ’This water is? Well, this was my plan... If I can’t kill them, I will simply trap them inside this water. Unless, I won’t be able to hide from that kid, even if I can teleport with Flash.’ He thought, staring as the bodies of the undead started freezing up, their unnaturally fast movements slowing to a grinding halt as the sub-zero temperature encased them in solid ice.
"I will get back to you after I reach SSS-RANK." He muttered, and teleported away, out of the water, having successfully neutralized the immediate threat using pure environmental strategy.
[Flash - Activated.]
On the surface, the chains holding the undead all shattered, stunning the kid:
’Umm... He used the water temperature and froze all my puppets in the waters... Without the corpses, I won’t be able to use them. What a good tactic.’ The kid thought, and said with folded arms, entirely unbothered by the loss of his gruesome army.
"He escaped."
"No worries, I can finally show my skill." The man in the suit stepped forward, eager to prove his worth and reclaim control of the situation. He spread his hands on both sides:
"Glass radar!"
BOOM!
A wave of energy light burst out from him, spreading all over the place, reaching five hundred meters in seconds.
"My skill can scan the whole five hundred meters, he can’t escape." He boasted confidently, believing his SS-Rank perception was absolute.
"The skill he is using is Flash, an Assassin skill... Can you really track him?" Scar face asked with a slight frown on her face, her instincts screaming that something was fundamentally wrong with their target, he’s simply too strong for a B-Rank.
"You must use your skills for years to level it up, mine is already at maxed level, which can reach 500 meters, how many years do you think that guy has been fighting? His skills can’t be maxed out." He said with a smirk, resting on the universally accepted rules of Awakened progression, and yelled the next moment:
"I found him!! He’s at the North, 400 Meters away!!"
"Let’s go!"
The broadsword yelled, and already started running with some of the people, ready to secure their billion-dollar bounty.
"No!! He’s now at South!!" The suit man yelled, stopping them in place, his face twisting in sudden confusion.
"Huh? North, or South?" Someone asked with a frown.
"He’s at South!!"
"Alright, let’s go!!"
They ran towards the opposite direction, their boots slipping on the bloody ice.
"No!!! He’s East now!!"
"....?!!"
"Huh?" The mercenaries stumbled to a halt, looking around like headless chickens.
"No!! He... Southwest!! No, Northeast!!" The suit man was sweating profusely now, his radar pinging erratically as Asher zipped across the map faster than his brain could process.
"Pick one you bastard!!!" The guy with a broadsword yelled, pulling his sword in sheer frustration.
"He is now at West--- Wait... He’s gone, I can no longer sense him."
".....?!!!!"
The group stared at him like he was a moron; if he wasn’t SS-RANK, they would have beaten him up right then and there.
"Who was saying he didn’t max out Flash?" Scar face asked with a scowl, her grip tightening on her dagger.
"This? This is impossible." The man in the suit stammered, his expression pale as the foundational laws of his reality crumbled.
"It will take decades to max out one skill, but the information we got said this is his first dungeon. Moreover, Flash should have a Cooldown, when maxed, it should be at least 5 minutes... How come he can keep using it?" He asked in shock. He was trying to measure a god with a mortal’s ruler.
"You guys are too stupid."
"...?!"
They all turned to the Kid, who started walking towards the north, his posture radiating absolute authority.
"There are still differences in ranks. A Mortal-Tier Flash skill is a hundred times weaker than an Earth-Tier. I shouldn’t mention those higher than Earth-Tier... Even if you maxed a Mortal-Tier Flash skill, it won’t be as strong as an Earth-Tier Flash..." He lectured them, his tone dripping with disdain for their ignorance.
"So you mean his Flash is a higher tier, which doesn’t have a Cooldown?" Scar face asked, and he nodded his head, confirming her worst fears.
"All his abilities, they are Celestial-Tier above... Be careful from now on, just focus on clearing the dungeon, at least use the opportunity to gain some evolution stones, we will meet him again." He said, and vanished completely, leaving a stunned group behind to process the horrifying reality of what they were hunting.
"Is he really a kid?" Someone asked with a slight frown, voicing the lingering dread they all felt as the silence of the surroundings settled back over them.