Chapter 62: Instant Kill
"Damn It!! I won’t die without putting up a fight!!!"
The mage yelled, channeling his energy; rather than wait for death, he was ready to go all out. Panic had completely overridden his sense, replacing it with the wild, uncoordinated instinct of a cornered animal.
"Fire formation!!"
BOOOOM!!
A gigantic formation appeared above the Boss, and from it, countless Fireballs rained down, smashing into the Boss, enveloping it in smoke. The sheer volume of flames painted the surroundings in brilliant orange hues, a desperate, spectacular display of S-Rank magic.
’Is this guy stupid? This is an Ice spike Bear, following its environment, and name, it should have water element, using Fire against water... Such stupid people.’ Asher thought, watching the battle with a slight frown. His mind, sharpened by a lifetime of surviving at the bottom, couldn’t comprehend such a glaring elemental miscalculation. The mage had sacrificed his entire energy pool for an attack doomed by basic system mechanics.
The four stared as the smoke slowly cleared, hoping against hope that his sacrifice had turned the tide.
[Defense: 140,000 / 150,000.]
’Huh? Only ten thousand damage? But that’s my strongest skill, and my energy is 90% down.’ The mage’s eyes widened in absolute horror as the numbers mocked his ultimate attack.
"Brother, Don’t be disheartened! Just keep attacking, if you die, we will all die." The three behind him cheered him up; they were only A-Rank, there was no way they could defeat an SS-RANK Boss. Their blind faith in him was the only thing keeping them from completely collapsing in terror.
GRAAAAAA!!!
The Bear shot forward at them again, and with arms stretched, it caught the mage. The beast moved with a terrifying, undeniable momentum, completely unaffected by the localized heat.
"Hey!! Let me go!!!" The Mage yelled, his staff falling to the ground, his previous bravado instantly shattering into pathetic pleas.
Everyone watched as the Boss raised him towards its mouth, and dropped him inside:
CHOMP!!
".....?!!"
The three A-Rank froze, only hearing the sound of breaking bones. The visceral crunch echoed off the icy walls, a sickening testament to the absolute gap in power.
"It... It swallowed him!" One screamed the moment he got ahold of himself, running towards the spikes, and started attacking it with his sword. He was completely broken, hacking at the indestructible glacial pillars in a fit of hysterical madness.
"I don’t want to die yet!! I don’t want to die!!!" He yelled, while still slashing at the spikes, his blade chipping away into useless metal fragments.
GRAAAA!!
Asher stood quietly, watching as the Boss smashed the remaining three to the ground. It then sat down, and started eating its breakfast. There was no pity in Asher’s heart, only a cold, calculating detachment. They had come to hunt him; the dungeon had simply claimed them first.
’With the insects taken care of, Now is my chance.’ He clenched the space splitting sword, and shot forward while still in stealth. The massive creature, distracted by its gruesome meal, had completely exposed its vital points.
’Shadow merge increases my attack by 100% while in stealth. The dark king judgement armor also increases my attack by 50%... And adding the Judgement Strike which increases my attack by 300%, I only need one strike.’ His mind worked like a supercomputer, seamlessly stacking his newly acquired Divine-Tier multipliers. It wasn’t a battle; it was an execution.
Asher activated all his skills, and vanished. The air didn’t even ripple as he crossed the distance, his speed having breached the limits of mortal comprehension.
{Judgement Strike - Activated.}
[Physical Damage: -513,890.]
[Instant Kill.]
BOOOOM!!
GRAAAAA!!!!
The Bear roared in pain, and collapsed on the ground, dead; Asher watched as its body shattered into particles, and loot appeared. The seemingly invincible SS-Rank Boss had been cleanly severed from existence in a single, unseen stroke.
[Congratulations, You killed Ice Spike Bear [Normal Boss], SS-Rank.]
[Gained Ten A-Rank Evolution Stones.]
[Gained Five Equipments.]
[Gained Two skill Books.]
[Gained One Bear Fur, and Tooth.]
’I don’t get, is the drop rate this low?! I killed a SS-RANK Boss, and I only got ten A-Rank...’ Asher stared at the dismal rewards, a profound sense of disappointment washing over him. ’Seeing this, I finally understood what my ex-brothers were discussing in the mansion... Killing monsters in a dungeon greatly lowers Evolution stone ranks, but once they enter the real world, you can simply kill them, and take their Rank Evolution stone from their brain. The only downside, you won’t get any equipment and skill book... Nothing is free in this world.’
The memory of the arrogant heirs boasting about their real-world hunts flashed through his mind. He was finally seeing the world from the very top of the hierarchy they had gatekept from him. He turned towards the ice spikes, which shattered the next moment, recognizing that the dungeon’s perimeter lock had dissolved with the Boss’s death.
"Hehehe, I finally found you."
Asher stared at the guy with a broadsword waiting at the other side, then turned to his loot, taking everything. He didn’t even flinch. This SS-Rank mercenary had finally tracked him down, entirely unaware that the dynamic between them had inverted.
"Wait, how did you advance to SSS-RANK? Weren’t you in B-Rank an hour ago?" He asked in confusion, staring at Asher with a small frown. The mercenary’s senses were screaming that something was fundamentally wrong with the aura radiating from the man in the dark overcoat.
"You aren’t qualified to ask me any questions, besides, you’re a dead man already." Asher said, turning towards him, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Hmph! Arrogant Bastard!! Just watch as I take your head--"
BOOOOM!!!
CRACKED!!
"....?!"
The guy froze, watching as his invisible defense shield shattered into pieces, he blinked a couple of times, staring at Asher who stood still. Asher hadn’t appeared to move a single muscle, yet an overwhelming, invisible force had just ruptured a barrier meant to withstand catastrophic impacts.
’What the?! How did my shield break? When did he attack?’ He thought in confusion, quickly creating another shield, panic finally setting in.
"I don’t know what trick you used, but I will give it to you. Although you’re now an SSS-RANK, your spirit energy must be unstable. I will kill you right now!!"
BAM!!!
CRACKED!
The shield shattered again, stunning him: ’What happened?!!’
WHOOSH!!
He blinked, seeing his body standing on the ground with his sword still resting on his shoulder. There was a surreal moment of absolute disconnect, a bizarre shift in perspective.
’Wait, why is my body down there, and I am up here?’ He asked himself in shock, as the head fell heavily on the ground, followed by the body. Asher’s sword was so fast, so incomprehensibly sharp, that the mercenary’s nervous system hadn’t even registered his own decapitation until gravity took over.
"Not bad, your ability to create extra defense shields is good, but it’s useless against me." Asher said, and turned invisible, walking away from the scene without a second glance. The difference between an ordinary SS-Rank and Asher’s heavily stacked, system-enhanced stats was a canyon they could not cross.
"I need to hunt down the Boss and end this." He looked up at the red sun, then at the timer ticking away ominously in his vision.
’If I follow the main dungeon map, I will arrive at the location in two hours, that’s with my fastest speed. But I already mutated the dungeon, would the Boss still be in that location?’
__
[Half An Hour Later.]
[Cave Entrance.]
"You already advanced to SSS-RANK. Luna was right, there is something strange about you... Don’t worry, I will open you up, and find what it is."
The Little kid walked past the dead bodies, heading the same direction Asher took. His innocent appearance fiercely contrasted with the vile, suffocating aura of necromancy swirling around his tiny frame. Behind him, the five bodies, four from the men, and the headless broadsword Awakened all stood up, following behind him, and behind them were the Bodies of the remaining Assassins sent to hurt Asher. The headless broadsword mercenary picked up his own severed head, tucking it neatly on his neck as his reanimated corpse marched in perfect synchronization with the others.
’That Lady, and that one in suit escaped, no worries, 25 are enough... As long as I don’t make the same mistake, I can deal with you, Asher.’ The kid smiled, a cruel expression that promised nothing but endless suffering.