Chapter 237: An Unlucky Day
For Sila, a battle was an obstacle that he had to overcome by himself in order to reach the goal called victory. This time, though, he got a chance to fight alongside others, and it allowed him to experience something new. The pressure he felt was less despite the battle being more intense than most of the fights he had partic.i.p.ated in.
Obviously, Sila had experienced fighting with his comrades. However, with a big disparity in their strengths, the group battles he had done so far were like each person fighting by themselves.
This time wasn"t the same though. The flow of the battle went the way everyone intended. More than twenty players moved according to Sila"s thoughts like they were one unit.
Sila naturally couldn"t control others" actions. However, each person seemed to know when they should step back and where they should attack. They knew when to go offensive and where to defend without needing a leader to give out orders. Every action was perfectly aligned with others as if they could read the minds of the other players. It was simply because they all had similar ways of thinking.
This was a battle with capable comrades who shared a similar level of strength.
Sila"s qi art consisted of the five attributes of elements—earth, metal, water, wood, and fire—through what he called the five types martial moves—inner body, hand, foot, weapon imitation, and outer body—totaling in twenty-five moves. Each move had its own strengths and weaknesses, and that included suitability for different enemies and situations.
In a brawl against a large number of enemies with high regeneration speed, he needed to rely on quick, decisive moves rather than slow ones. Thus, the earth attribute was the most appropriate and the martial move that imitated weapons would be the best. Ultimately, Sila materialized two sabers in his hands using Five-Attributed Cloud Qi.
Attribute of Earth — Sky-Splitting Saber.
Although he called them sabers, they were, in fact, blades with no handles. A black blade made of qi protruded from each of his palms. The two blades penetrated through two Vampires" hearts with swiftness.
For the record, Sila"s current move was similar to Crow"s Dignified Palm Blade. However, as he had sparred against Crow once, Sila was fully aware that his qi blade was lacking in the versatility department.
As for its sharpness, he wasn"t sure to what extent it was inferior to Crow"s. Still, it was already enough to defeat the Marquis Rank Vampire in one move.
Two Vampires simultaneously disappeared. If this feat were to happen in other places, people would be surprised and exclaim with excitement. However, such a situation didn"t unfold in this place.
When Sila took down two Vampires, three other Vampires died.
The first one died from Fallun"s straight punch. His punch was imbued with frost power as it smashed through the Vampire"s chest, creating a hole. Furthermore, the ice shards that penetrated its chest also flew forward and dealt additional damage to the bats behind.
The Sky G.o.d, Tsunji, attacked from above. He leaped downward as if he was a great eagle. His claw emitted cold might as it tore apart the chest of an unfortunate Vampire, revealing its beating heart. The wound started to heal at a thrilling speed, yet wasn"t fast enough to keep up with Tsunji"s ice peg that stabbed at the center of its heart. He also ran to attack another vampire with no wasteful movements visible in his actions. Both of his claws moved in harmony as if they were dancing.
The Chinese Sword G.o.d, Skyless, stayed in the same place above the ground. Under his feet was the motionless Sky-Breaking Chinese Sword while what flew from his hand was Vibrating Lightning Chinese Sword, which penetrated through three Vampires consecutively. Only one of them died on the spot, though the other two became numb from the lightning imbued in the flying Chinese sword, opening up a chance for other players to defeat them.
Even though these Vampires possessed durable physiques and formidable speed, a group of identical monsters was still considered weaker than a unique monster, such as a dragon, of the same rank.
The Vampire Earl, Ballock, looked at the brawl in front of him with utmost displeasure. He expected the battle to be in his underlings" favor as soon as he made an appearance. However, the result hardly changed.
He extended his hand and caught the nearest Vampire before easily tearing its body into two. Its blood sprayed from its corpse into the air.
"Blood Fog of Insanity."
Blood Magic, one of a few subcategories of Death Magic, was activated. Droplets of blood dispersed as red fog, spreading throughout the battlefield.
Encountering an unknown skill, all players automatically stepped back. Some accidentally inhaled the fog and immediately felt dizzy. Their eyes turned red as their feelings of rage erupted along with their increase in power. Regardless, they did their best to calm their minds and could eventually suppress their insanity.
Fallun, Skyless, and Tsunji also retreated. All of them showed various expressions.
"This must be a skill to force others into the berserk state, similar to the Orc"s racial skill, but has a wider area of effect," Fallun a.n.a.lyzed.
"Don"t you like it? It suits your t.i.tle," said Skyless. His Vibrating Lightning Chinese Sword returned to his hand before anyone had noticed.
Fallun ignored the tease as he looked into the group of fog. Meanwhile, Tsunji said with a bored expression.
"Your friend didn"t come out."
"We just met today. I also wonder why he didn"t step out of the fog"s range."
"A newbie"s mistake, I guess. He couldn"t dodge it in time. Maybe he died already," Skyless said apathetically.
"No, he is still inside. He is strangely motionless, even," said Tsunji. His eyes subtly gleamed with qi. Eagle Eyes, his racial skill, allowed him to see through the fog.
Sila stood amidst the blood fog. He was used to fighting in disadvantageous domains, so he decided not to retreat but to take the wait-and-see approach, readying himself for an incoming change. This trait could turn out either good or bad depending on the situation.
Like Fallun"s a.n.a.lysis, Ballock"s Blood Fog of Insanity wasn"t an offensive skill but a skill that forced his enemies into the berserk state. The duration of the state would depend on the amount of the blood fog they breathed in. In Sila"s case, although he had some resistance for magic thanks to Orbiting Cosmos, it wasn"t enough for him to negate the abnormality caused by the spell.
At long last, Dark Self regained control over his body.
Berserk. This was the state Sila was currently in.
His deep brown eyes turned ruby red. His hair didn"t become longer like last time, but it still turned completely black. He looked rather calm. Yet, the one who could remain calm despite being surrounded by a group of lively Vampires who were stimulated by the smell of blood was undoubtedly an insane person.
Attribute of Fire — Flame G.o.d"s Body.
His inner force was stimulated as his power surged. Dark Self depended on the momentary boost to unleashed Dark Psychic Corrosion and spread it out, eating away the blood fog in an instant.
"Is this it? The feeling of qi flowing through my veins? It feels like my body has become lighter and faster. My vitality continues to surge as if I have unlimited energy. Cool."
Ballock sensed an oppressive force coming from Dark Self. Other players also sensed it as well. In any case, they didn"t have any obligation to help Sila, a stranger who was surrounded by Vampires. In Belacia City, although people could rely on each other"s strengths, they ultimately had to take care of themselves.
"Kill this human!!" shouted Ballock.
A horde of Vampires leaped to their sole target in the center. Dark Self found them pitiful as he smirked. His eyes flashed once as he pressed his right hand down.
Dual Overwhelming Attributes — Fire Melts Metal, Crushing Sky.
The Blood-Sucking Bats and Vampires felt like something extremely heavy came from above, pressing them down to the ground. The Bats, which were Knight Rank monsters, were completely pulverized while the Vampires" bones continued to let out cracking sounds. Some of them died on the spot as their cracked bones penetrated their hearts. However, most of them continued to squirm as their bones constantly alternated between being squashed and healed. As a result, their painful cries synchronized with the sound of their cracking bones, creating something that couldn"t be anything other than a symphony from h.e.l.l.
Even Ballock, a Lord Rank monster, had to kneel down due to the abnormal force of gravity.
Dark Self"s Dual Overwhelming Attributes were the polar opposite of Sila"s Dual Generating Attributes. They leaned toward being psychic power rather than qi.
Crushing Sky was a move derived from Sila"s old Fist of Reversal combined with Formless Soldier and Dark Psychic Corrosion. Upon activation, his vicious power would secretly enter an opponent"s body and corrode their resistance from within. At the same time, Dark Self would exert his Psychic Oppression from the outside. It was a bone-crushing, flesh-ripping kind of pressure. Apparently, his opponent would feel like a powerful gravitational force was pressing down on them.
Like the name implied, even the sky would be crushed, leaving Dark Self as the only being who could stand firm under the vast sky.
Looking at her own master, Lookhin was trembling in fear as she stopped eating her snack. Likewise, witnessing such a complex usage of psychic power, Asura had a difficult time swallowing his saliva.
Dark Self trampled on the group of Vampires as he moved closer to Ballock. His feet were as hard and heavy as metal. Every step he took caused the Vampires" bones to break and their flesh to split.
Dark Self"s ruby eyes stared at Ballock who was trying his best to raise his head. As the Vampire Earl was a magic-type monster whose specialty laid in spells, not physical stats, using raw magic power to resist psychic power proved to be a difficult task.
"What is the name of the skill you just used?" asked Dark Self.
"W-What did you say?"
"I won"t repeat a second time. Tell me. What is the name of the skill that generates a blood fog?"
Although Ballock was in an unfavorable position, he was still an earl, a Lord Rank monster. He wouldn"t submit to a mere human. He spat saliva to the ground as an answer.
Unfortunately for Ballock, he had a const.i.tution similar to humans. Thus, Sila"s version of Death Bridge could work perfectly on him.
Formless Martial G.o.d — Mortal Bridge.
Dark Self flicked his hands twice, and Ballock"s arms were bent and twisted. It was a scary sight to behold. His broken bones protruded through his skin.
Ballock gritted his teeth as he waited for the wound to be healed. The same could be said to Dark Self. He silently waited as he continued the torture, letting the Vampire Earl have an endless serving of pain.
"I have a day"s worth of time, but I"m afraid you don"t have such a luxury."
"Kill me if you want. When I resp.a.w.n, I shall take my revenge, you human b.a.s.t.a.r.d! My comrades and I shall obliterate this puny city!!" shouted Ballock.
"That"s totally unrelated to me. I just want to know the name of your skill. Tell me now."
"I WON"T!!"
Dark Self frowned. Even if he killed Ballock, he wouldn"t get the answer he desired.
Sila had recently discovered that an extreme wave of emotion would trigger Dark Self"s emergence, so he became a lot calmer, reducing the chance for Dark Self to surface.
Therefore, Dark Self had to know the spell that Ballock used previously, no matter the cost.
Dark Self finally opened his system window and input some commands.
"I want to use the Skill Awakening Rights on Evil G.o.d"s Essence and Monster Heir," Dark Self said before giving his confirmation once the system asked.
"Alright. Let me try again."
Evil G.o.d"s Essence — Transcendent Monster Heir.
Dark Self"s eyes glowed bright red. In that instant, all monsters—be it the vampires, Ballock, Asura, or even Lookhin—trembled in their primitive fear.
Fortunately, Sila had been using both skills on a daily basis, so their levels grew by leaps and bounds once the concept of skill levels was unlocked.
You have acquired a skill: Evil G.o.d"s Essence — Level 100 (Maximum).
You have acquired a skill: Monster Heir — Level 69.
Dark Self read the newly added ability of the skill Evil G.o.d"s Essence with a pleased expression. It could still only be used once per day, but the duration had increased.
"As expected of the rewards from psychic power enlightenment. Such a splendid and worthwhile ability. I will need to properly select the last skill."
Since the rights came from attaining the essence of psychic power which was the ultimate realm of psychic power comprehension, the result was better than what Dark Self antic.i.p.ated. At the moment, the skill Evil G.o.d"s Essence was sublimated and Sila could use it for five minutes or until he personally deactivated it. There was a downside though; when he used this skill, he wouldn"t be able to use other skills.
"Now, tell me. The name!"
Ballock now felt like Dark Self was the scariest villain he had ever met. He stuttered as he gave Dark Self the answer.
"It"s called Blood Fog of Insanity... categorized as Blood Magic... can be used to forcefully make an enemy fall into the berserk state."
"Blood Magic...?" Dark Self gave it a thought. He recalled Sebastian using a similar spell in the Mansion of the Seven Deadly Sins. "How is it related to Death Magic?"
"It"s only a part of Death Magic. Death Magic consists of several subcategories, namely Blood, Corpse, Bones, Curses, Souls, Ritual, and Summoning, totaling six hundreds and sixty-six spells."
"How can I acquire those spells?"
"Only the qualified ones can learn them by reading the scrolls. The only other way to learn them is..."
"Is what?! Answer at once!!"
Ballock"s reply was as light as a whisper. "Is... by robbing them from those who have learned the spells. As long as you are qualified, once you kill others who hold Death Magic spells, you will steal the spells that you haven"t learned yet. This is a top secret among the users of Death Magic."
Dark Self grinned. "Is that so? Thanks. You may leave."
Dark Self opened his palm and a flash of his Lordship shone briefly without anyone noticing. He lightly tapped on Ballock"s shoulder as if they were close friends.
"See you tomorrow."
Ballock stood up and looked at Dark Self with askance. Who would be insane enough to come to meet him again tomorrow?
The light, which had been shining on the top of the castle, finally died down. The Vampires were released from Dark Self"s oppressive restraint. They stood up and flew back.
Meanwhile, Dark Self was communicating with Sebastian when Ballock noticed an opening as Dark Self showed his back to him. His sharp wings flew toward Dark Self"s throat.
"You fool! Die!!"
Dark Self didn"t even care. For him, Ballock was dead the moment he tapped his shoulder and sent his dual-attributed power into his body.
Dual Overwhelming Attributes — Metal Splits Wood, Surging Strike.
Ballock"s wings halted in mid-air. He felt like there were numerous bombs existing in his veins. They continued to explode, causing him to collapse and squirm in great pain.
For the record, Surging Strike was derived from Psychic Crush, Bone Claws, and Moon Perishing Yizichan. Dark Self"s power secretly infiltrated Ballock"s body before exploding and tearing apart his veins, bones, joints, and acupoints. Even though Ballock"s body seemed perfectly fine from the outside, his internal organs were completely blown to bits.
Dark Self"s eyes returned to a dark brown color. They expressed Sila"s feeling of sympathy. Personally, Sila didn"t think he had to be so heavy-handed, even against an enemy.
Ballock became light and disappeared. Yet, Sila didn"t have much time to mourn his death. He, along with the rest, could feel an overbearing oppressive might from the north, in the same direction that the vampires had fled in.
With just a glance, many players leaped back into the city. The one who was slowly walking toward them was a small child with sad eyes, covering himself with a thick, white fur significantly larger than his body. The boy dragged the fur along with him, leaving a trail on the snowfield.
Fallun, who was always calm in any situation, frowned. The same could be said to Skyless who landed himself on the ground as he crossed both his weapons behind his back. Likewise, no drowsiness could no longer be seen from Tsunji"s face as he made a serious expression.
"Even the White Giant appeared? What kind of day is today?"