𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟕𝟏
After logging out and leaving the Guild Castle, I heard from Illia about the newly improved helmet and logged back into Twilight.
The connection took quite a long time, as before, but it was worth it.
Because now I didn’t feel a headache.
Instead, there were downsides. As I had been told beforehand, my senses were noticeably dulled.
‘Was it this bad?’
To put it simply, it felt like my senses had dulled to the point where I could fold a paper crane with my eyes closed before, but now it was impossible.
‘I don’t know if it will hinder combat, but……’
Honestly, if my senses were dulled to this extent, it would inevitably affect combat.
Because I wouldn’t even be aware of attacks outside my field of vision.
So, I would have to rely entirely on my eyes for combat, but satisfied with the fact that the side effects were gone, I slowly started to check what I had lost due to the death penalty.
First, the ring on my hand.
“Phew.”
Really, fortunately, the legendary ring remained.
I don’t know about the other things, but if I had lost the Eternal Life, Aruah, I would have had a harder fight, but now I could say that I was relieved of that worry.
However, it wasn’t that I hadn’t lost any equipment at all.
‘My belt, shoes…… and bracelet are gone.’
I didn’t care about the bracelet because it was a common magic-grade item, not the Noble Nature’s Blessing, but the belt and shoes were a bit of a blow.
This was because they were part of the Azure Guardian Set.
As a result, I was unable to use the Azure Guardian Set effect, which increased all skills by 2 levels, and the Armor of Protection skill.
[Your experience has decreased due to the death penalty.]
[Your level has dropped by 4.]
[Your skill experience has decreased due to the death penalty……]
I checked the messages to see what else had dropped and saw that my level had dropped by 4 and the levels of various skills had also dropped, but it wasn’t that problematic.
To be precise, it was enough to deal with the others, excluding the Summoner.
‘Still, I need to fill in the missing equipment.’
The difference between having equipment and not having it was undeniable.
Of course, I couldn’t get equipment as good as the Azure Guardian Set, but after thinking about it for a moment, it wasn’t like there was no way at all.
‘……Come to think of it, I can just take the Battle Doll’s equipment.’
Originally, I had sold most of my high-grade equipment through the real-time auction, but the Battle Doll’s equipment was still left untouched.
As that memory came to mind, I summoned the Battle Doll without hesitation, took the equipment it was wearing, and equipped it myself, and even took the Magic Bullet Bomber, its weapon.
Of course, there was also the option of fighting alongside the Battle Doll, but since I was thinking of retreating if necessary, I thought it would be better to move alone.
‘Then.’
Shall we begin?
* * *
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!━
Blue bullets poured out from the Magic Bullet Bomber.
The Magic Bullet Bomber, which fired a total of 150 bullets in 30 seconds, showed enough power to eliminate the opponent I designated.
[The Magic Bullet Bomber’s power unit has overheated.]
[It will be ready to restart in 10 seconds.]
‘Instead, the killing speed is slow.’
I had to hit all 150 bullets to deal over 30,000 damage.
And the time it took to do that was 30 seconds.
It was enough time to recover if they were prepared, so I had no choice but to focus on attacking players wearing robes.
Because players who usually chose the mage class had low health.
“Hey, you b*stard! Can’t you come down!?”
“Damn you!”
And after leisurely waiting for the Magic Bullet Bomber’s restart time, I smirked at the hostile players shouting from below.
This was because I was currently in the sky, riding a Griffin.
Moreover, the Magic Bullet Bomber’s range was over 200 meters.
Since most skills didn’t have that kind of range, the players below were just stamping their feet in frustration, and as soon as I saw the message that the restart time was over, I pulled the Magic Bullet Bomber’s trigger again.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!━
[Hostile player eliminated……]
‘Let’s see who wins like this.’
In addition, I intended to get back the value of the items I had lost, multiplied by dozens of times.
To do that, I had also purchased plenty of Remote Bank Access Tickets, so I planned to put everything in the bank whenever my inventory was filled. I checked my inventory frequently, and at the same time, I could see several hostile players flying towards me using flight skills.
‘These guys still haven’t learned their lesson.’
When I first flew in on the Griffin, players with flight skills tried to attack me like this.
But after realizing that they couldn’t even deal proper damage unless they were exceptional players, I casually aimed the Magic Bullet Bomber and shot down the approaching enemies.
Bang! Bang! Bang!━
“Damn it, scatter and attack!”
Well, would scattering even work?
I mentally controlled the Griffin to keep my distance from them and continued firing the Magic Bullet Bomber.
Unless they had at least an A-rank flight skill, they wouldn’t be able to catch up to the Griffin’s speed in the air, and as I thought, the distance between me and them didn’t close easily.
“Why is that thing so fast?”
“This makes chasing it pointless!”
“If you have time to talk, just dodge!”
They said to dodge, but it was impossible to avoid an attack that fired dozens of bullets in a few seconds.
Moreover, the Magic Bullet Bomber wasn’t my only means of attack, so I slowed down a bit to lure a few of them closer and immediately moved on to my next action.
“Frontal Charge.”
A skill that could be used while riding a summoned creature.
Kwaaaang!!━
As soon as I used Frontal Charge, the Griffin, following my will, instantly rammed into the body of the player in front of me. I finished off the knocked-down player with the Magic Bullet Bomber and turned my head to eliminate the remaining players, but I couldn’t move right away due to a certain sight.
Kuoooo!!━
‘It’s here.’
The appearance of the Skeleton Dragon, as I had feared.
On top of that, the Summoner was riding on the head of the Skeleton Dragon. It seemed like he also had a Riding Skill, just like me, but it wasn’t strange.
He had escaped on the Skeleton Dragon as soon as the Desert Nightmare, Deshon, appeared before.
‘Is the second round an aerial battle?’
But even if it was an aerial battle, I wasn’t necessarily at an advantage.
The difference between the Skeleton Dragon and the Griffin was obvious, and I didn’t know what rank his Riding Skill was, so I decided to face him, ready to flee if things looked even slightly unfavorable.
‘First……’
I moved the Griffin upwards for a vertical ascent and simultaneously fired the Magic Bullet Bomber.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!━
Originally, I would have aimed for the Summoner on the Skeleton Dragon’s head, but he skillfully raised the Skeleton Dragon’s head to block the Magic Bullet Bomber. Seeing that, I knew he was proficient in using his Riding Skill.
‘As expected, he’s not easy.’
It seemed like it would be difficult to win without dealing with the Skeleton Dragon somehow.
Kuoooo!!━
The Skeleton Dragon, hit by the Magic Bullet Bomber, opened its large mouth and started flying upwards towards me. Its speed was so fast that I couldn’t take it lightly.
‘Evade!’
I moved sideways to avoid the Skeleton Dragon’s mouth flying vertically, but I was immediately hit by its flapping giant wings.
Bang!━
‘Crazy.’
Perhaps because the Skeleton Dragon’s size was dozens of times larger than the Griffin’s, its attacks were also extraordinary.
No, in fact, the Skeleton Dragon’s entire body was a weapon.
It was a summoned creature that could attack by swinging its mouth, wings, and even its tail, and it wasn’t slow either.
“Let me start by saying thank you.”
“……?”
I wasn’t knocked unconscious and falling after being hit by the wing, so I quickly regained my balance and heard his unexpected words.
“Thank you?”
“If it weren’t for this staff you sold, I wouldn’t have even attempted to attack.”
“Then how about getting out of the Guild Castle?”
“It cost me quite a lot of money to enhance it to +15, though.”
Did he not hear what I said?
Anyway, as I suspected, he seemed to have enhanced the staff to +15.
‘I think there was also a Death Summon level increase effect among the enhancement effects.’
If he had enhanced it to +15, it meant that the Death Summon level had increased by 10 levels.
Thinking that far, I could tell that the Skeleton Dragon he was riding was S-rank and at least level 40 or higher.
If other equipment also had summon level bonuses……
“You seem to have plenty of time.”
While I was briefly thinking about skills, he moved the Skeleton Dragon again.
“Frontal Charge!”
Considering the size of the Skeleton Dragon, I thought I needed to move faster, so I used Frontal Charge and descended downwards. I barely managed to avoid the Skeleton Dragon’s tail as it grazed my head, and a strong wind seemed to blow past.
‘The dulled senses are inconvenient like this.’
I wasn’t even sure if the Skeleton Dragon’s tail had actually grazed my head.
I could only guess from the strong wind.
I wouldn’t have even known if the Griffin’s flight hadn’t faltered for a moment.
Moreover, the bigger problem than this was that the appearance of that damn Summoner had increased the number of players flying towards me using flight skills.
‘Are these guys acting like this because their leader appeared?’
The Skeleton Dragon from above, and hostile players from below.
It was obvious which side was easier to deal with.
Kwaaaang!!━
So, I charged downwards towards the players, but at the same time, an unusual explosion could be heard from above where the Skeleton Dragon was, and I could see that my vision was momentarily covered in black smoke.
[You have taken damage! -18,054.]
‘What was that?’
Surprised by the sudden phenomenon, I looked up and saw black smoke billowing from the Skeleton Dragon’s mouth.
From that, I realized that the Skeleton Dragon had used an attack skill similar to a breath attack, but fortunately, it wasn’t a powerful enough attack to cause a problem.
“Dark Spear!”
However, as soon as the Skeleton Dragon’s attack ended, the Summoner used a skill and attempted an additional attack, and the hostile players also followed suit, making my mind increasingly complex.
‘I can’t even feel the attacks coming from behind.’
I had to concentrate to feel even a slight impact, so there was no time to feel such things in this chaotic battle.
[You have taken damage! -714.]
[You have taken damage……]
Since most of the attacks were magic attacks, I was continuously taking damage. After a brief moment of contemplation, I decided to escape this situation.
“Attack those around you.”
Tat!━
“Blink.”
I gave the Griffin that command and immediately jumped down to the ground. To minimize fall damage, I used Phantom Shift to land.
“Huh, huh? Look, Rudin is falling!”
“Catch him as soon as he lands!”
Meanwhile, the hostile players on the ground saw my falling phantom and mistook it for me, fixing their gazes on it and preparing to attack.
‘I was going to just leave if possible.’
But seeing them like that, I couldn’t just turn back.
“Giant’s Sprint!”
Determined to eliminate as many of them as possible, I used Giant’s Sprint and collided with the enemies who were staring at the falling phantom. Since the players were caught off guard this time, my attack was a resounding success.
Kwaaaang!!━
“What, what the!?”
“Damn it, that’s a phantom!”
“Thunder Strike!”
After sending more than 10 players flying with Giant’s Sprint, I immediately used Thunder Strike to sweep away those around me.
It was a surprise attack, so most players couldn’t even react properly and started turning gray. Here, I decided to further incite their confusion.
“Blink.”
Maximize the phantoms.
I had already filled my health and stamina to the maximum, so I didn’t think there would be a problem. I continuously used Phantom Shift, increasing the number of phantoms one by one, and I could feel the players becoming flustered.
Of course, they soon began to calmly deal with the phantoms.
“Giant’s Sprint!”
Kwaaaang!!━
Naturally, I focused on attacking the players who started dealing with the phantoms, but I had to stop soon after.
[An unknown energy is entering your body……]
‘This is it, huh.’
It seemed like he had defeated the Griffin and descended to the ground.
And it seemed like he had used the Death Zone. Realizing that, I decided to retreat at this point and used Phantom Shift and Giant’s Sprint alternately to escape.
Since I focused entirely on retreating, the Summoner couldn’t catch me, and after safely escaping, I let out an irritated sigh.
‘It’s unexpectedly difficult to fight.’
Especially since I couldn’t perceive attacks outside my field of vision.
To put it bluntly, what would happen if an assassin-type player sneaked up behind me and stabbed me with a dagger?
Since I was always checking the messages, there was no possibility of not noticing, but not being able to react immediately was a significant penalty.
I wanted to attack again, but……
“……Log out.”
[Logging out.]
[Once again, on the Twilight-lit streets……]
Although there was the issue with my senses, I decided to be satisfied with the fact that I could log in normally and logged out.
Yua was waiting outside as well.
So, after logging out, I decided to go home with Yua and thought about what kind of conversation we would have on the way back.
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