Monster Soul Online

The Magic Kingdom"s rental arena was a special dimension. Those who entered would have their data scanned and imprinted. Once they came out, their avatars would be rollbacked to before they entered the room. That meant people couldn"t earn experience or skill levels in the dimension. They could only train their ability to fight, though they didn"t have to be afraid of getting hurt or abnormalities.

The arena had a size similar to a football field, which was considered quite large for a one-on-one duel. It was perfect for both Sila and Bluebird though, as the two of them specialized in movement.

Burapha stood awkwardly next to the arena, asking, “How will you decide the victor?”

“The one who admits he can no longer fight loses. The other wins,” Bluebird proposed expressionlessly.

It was an absurd rule, but Sila agreed, “Fine by me.”

Sila glanced at Bluebird"s fighting stance. Based on the footing that was more professional than before, Sila was aware that Bluebird must have put a lot of effort into learning Zero"s art. Narin and Bluebird were close friends, so it was natural that Bluebird could comprehend more of Zero"s art than Sila in such a short time. Especially when Bluebird focused on nothing but learning the art while Sila practiced multiple simultaneously. Furthermore, regarding Zero"s art, Sila only learned it to impart it to Bluebird. He didn"t have any intention to use it himself.

After hearing about the martial world from Kimon"s members, both the old and the new generations, Sila came to know that profound art piracy—an act of practicing other"s art without their permission—was a great crime in the martial world. Needless to say, learning them by watching them in action counted as mimicking, not stealthily learning. However, Sila intended to impart Zero"s art to Bluebird. For him to do that, he had read every word recorded in the manual, resulting in remembering a part of it subconsciously.

This matter related to the Slime King"s Encompa.s.sing Ocean Art. With this profound art, Hu Hai could comprehend the entirety of his enemy"s profound art despite only seeing some of it in action. He then could use the art as well as its original inventor. In fact, in most cases, he could use the arts better than the original users. It led to a debate discussing whether his action counted as profound art piracy or not. Eventually, some groups of people came to disdain Encompa.s.sing Ocean Art, though they could do nothing against Hu Hai. All they could do was call it a dark art behind his back.

Even though the Slime King didn"t impart Encompa.s.sing Ocean Art to Sila, he taught him its core concept. Even so, he warned Sila not to waste too much time trying to comprehend it. Either Encompa.s.sing Ocean Art or Chaos Devourer Art required the Marvelous Bible as a foundation. Without it, Sila could spend a lifetime practising it and never master all of it.

The Slime King told Sila that Encompa.s.sing Ocean Art was related to what people called the "Sea of Empathy."

Aside from consciousness and unconsciousness, humans also have emotional synchronicity. The art was based on the belief that all humans are connected to each other through invisible links within the Sea of Empathy. For instance, we can laugh by simply seeing others laughing or feel sad when we see someone crying. Encompa.s.sing Ocean Art sublimated this aspect, raising the pract.i.tioner"s cognitive ability. Once Hu Hai saw the opponent"s fighting stance, movements, and some circulation paths of their inner force, he would be able to easily fill the missing parts, complete the art his opponent was using, and instantly use it perfectly as if he had practiced it for years.

Even if Sila didn"t get to learn Encompa.s.sing Ocean Art, this knowledge was quite useful for him. Purely by observing Bluebird"s placement of feet, Sila could imagine six possible ways in which Bluebird could move. Flaming Cloud Qi"s Cloud Part also helped to increase Sila"s reaction speed, preparing him to cope with any of them.

Bluebird vanished from the spot, leaving only a trail of cyan lightning. His take-off was excellent, comparable to Zero"s.

However, Bluebird"s speed was slower than Zero"s by at least two degrees. If he was Zero, he would already be standing behind Sila. Instead, he was next to Sila.

Sila circulated Flaming Cloud Qi, emitting black cloud out of his skin. It was different than Flaming Cloud Qi"s usual color, which was blood red. This meant his Flaming Cloud Qi had started to mutate.

Even until now, Sila still didn"t understand why different kinds of qi he possessed could merge and fuse into one through the purification of the Flame Part. Some of them were only in-game skills, such as Element-Changing Nightmare Magical Qi and Shapeless Qi.

Prior to mastering the Flame Part, Sila could easily distinguish between in-game qi and real-life qi. However, after the fight against the dragons of light and darkness, all of his qi arts strangely seemed real to him.

Sila joined his left index and middle fingers together and materialized an earth-element sword, slashing in front of Bluebird to obstruct his path. The slash was firm and heavy like a stone fortress.

Bluebird stopped his feet and rotated his body, baring his claws and brandishing them at Sila"s face without any loss in speed.

Zero"s Shadow Reaper Hands was fast and persistent as if it were a shadow that always followed its host. For the record, Bluebird replaced Zero"s dark elemental magic power with lightning magic power. The cyan flash was so bright that it temporarily blinded Sila, forcing him to rely on instinct to catch Bluebird"s wrist.

“Lightning Charge!” Bluebird activated one of the chantless low-tier skills. His magic power instantly clad around a part of his body.

Sensing danger, Sila raised his foot against Bluebird, but his kick connected with nothing but thin air. Apparently, Bluebird had slipped through his capture, staying in mid-air for a while before landing on the floor.

Sila frowned as he felt his right arm turn numb. There was no pain, but he had a slightly more difficult time moving it. He felt surprised because he could tell that Bluebird hadn"t used any powerful spells so far. It seemed the abnormality was caused by Bluebird"s Art of Magic.

“So your Art of Magic can cause paralysis,” Sila guessed while trying to move his numb right hand. “You could paralyze even Illuminus?”

“That arm can negate all kinds of damages, but doesn"t protect the user against abnormal statuses,” Bluebird calmly replied. Sila spotted a blue shadow flashing behind Bluebird"s back. It seemed that Asmodeus was the one providing Bluebird with this knowledge.

Among the Sealed One"s seven parts, the part that could resist against all kinds of abnormal statuses was the Torso of the Sealed One. For the record, the right arm was for blocking attacks, while the left arm was for dealing large amounts of damage through powerful spells. The right leg was for replicating legendary weapons, suitable for a duel. The left leg could control environments and create omnipotent domains. The eyes existed for a.n.a.lyzing and evaluating, seeing through distance, s.p.a.ce, and time. Lastly, the heart was for replenishing qi, magic, and psychic power at an unimaginable rate.

Most if not all players were oblivious of this intel. However, it was a given that an intelligent monster like Asmodeus was fully aware of it, especially when the information was related to the person who had sealed her.

Sila couldn"t help but be amazed. He had to admit that he indeed had looked down on Bluebird"s fighting ability. It seemed his friend had been training hard these days. He must have focused on practicing Zero"s art while letting Asmodeus teach him about in-game abilities. As a result, he had become a lot stronger.

Still, it didn"t mean he had a shot at winning against Sila. No matter how hard Bluebird had trained himself, a short period of time was not enough for an ordinary person to catch up to someone who had spent years practising. Bluebird was currently abandoning his strongest prominent point. As he was now, there was no way he could defeat Sila.

Among all of the Five-Attributed Cloud Qi"s moves, Sila right now could use any of them with ease. The only exception was the last and ultimate move—Judgement of the Grim Reaper—which he felt was incomplete.

After he had mastered the Flame Part, he could use any moves according to his will. In fact, he might be able to exert more than one move simultaneously.

True, he might still be lacking in the defense department. However, Sila was positive that Bluebird had no hopes of defending against his attack.

Dual Overwhelming Attributes — Earth absorbs Water, Steel Sage.

Sila accelerated his speed in the same manner that Bluebird had taken off in the beginning. He vanished and instantly reappeared behind Bluebird. His right hand was still paralyzed, and he wasn"t sure how long it would stay this way. As such, he opted to exert his power through his left hand instead.

A tiny blade made of qi covered the tip of Sila"s left index finger. He used it to stab Bluebird sixteen times in one second, subduing the flow of his power by damaging his acupoints. Sila then flicked his pinky, materializing an invisible chain to wrap around Bluebird.

Being bound both internally and externally, Bluebird was left powerless and in a state where he could no longer continue fighting.

“Oi! Release me! Let me fight again!! The next time will—!” Bluebird struggled, refusing to give up. Ever since he had started playing Monster Soul, he had never been captured or died. However, currently, he was bound on the ground, with no way to break free.

He was honestly confused about why the battle turned out this way. He was confident that he had become a lot stronger recently. Even if he was weaker than Sila, it was still weird for him to be completely subdued within a few moves.

Sila released a heavy sigh. He was about to unbind Bluebird and explain the reason behind his loss. However, an unfamiliar sound interrupted him.

“It will be useless regardless of how many times you try. You will certainly lose. Knowing that you would lose, why didn"t you run away?”

The voice rang out from the right side of the arena. Everyone quickly turned their heads that way but found no one. Instead, there was a broken table. Sila frowned as he remembered that the wooden table was in a perfect state when he entered the room.

Sila circulated his energy at full power in order to find the source of the voice. However, his profound sense seemed to play a trick on him as he couldn"t detect any uninvited guests at all.

“There!” As Sangdao was standing in the corner of the room, her view was broader than the others". She pointed her finger at Sila.

Sila momentary flinched before turning back, witnessing the voice owner silently standing behind him, showing his back to Sila.

The uninvited guest was a chubby man wearing a ragged cloak. He squatted next to Bluebird and tapped his right hand on Bluebird"s chest, dispersing Sila"s energy binding him. As a result, Bluebird regained his freedom.

Sila was shocked. Even though he didn"t put his all into restraining Bluebird, it was surprising that this chubby man could invalidate his power in an instant.

Everyone frowned once the chubby man stood up and turned around, facing them. It was because the man was wearing a wooden bird mask which seemed to be exquisitely crafted by a great artisan. There were no holes in the mask—not even for the eyes, nose, or mouth—implying that it was pointless for someone at his level.

“Your strength lies in your unpredictable fighting style. You fled when the opponent antic.i.p.ated you to fight, and fought when they thought you would definitely escape. Changing your fighting style as you previously did was like giving a free meal to your opponent. They would enjoy the easy victory,” the nameless man explained.

Asmodeus took shape in the air. “You!! How can you be here? The Tailorbird Ki—”

She couldn"t finish her sentence as the nameless man flicked his finger at her, sending her intangible body—which shouldn"t be touchable—away from Bluebird. Asmodeus returned to the form of the l.u.s.t Card before onto the floor.

“What Ki? I"m the Mysterious Tailorbird Mask Man.”

Sila, Burapha, and Bluebird looked at the man while feeling dumbfounded. They didn"t know the man"s ident.i.ty. However, one thing they knew for sure was that he could forcefully unequip a card that should be permanently bound—the l.u.s.t Card of the Seven Deadly Sins—with a single flick of his finger.

“Why didn"t you use your racial skills? If you used them, there was no way you would lose,” the man said loudly and proudly while looking at Bluebird, before muttering to himself, “Ahem... well, it would also be difficult to win.”

“Who are you, sir?” Sila raised a question. He didn"t know the intentions of the man who called himself the Mysterious Tailorbird Mask Man. All Sila did know was that this man was a psychic-type master. He could trick the system and infiltrate a private room, and he also possessed a technique that allowed him to ignore an item"s limitations. Such an ability only belonged to the psychic type.

The chubby man stretched his back. His height was below Sila"s by a few centimeters. “I"m a friend of justice. The Tailorbird Mask Man... who is shrouded in mystery.”

“I can call you the Tailorbird Mask Man, but... what is your business with us?”

“Nothing. I just want to see the faces of Sila—the Seal Breaker—and Montra—the Law Breaker. Both of you happen to be in the same place, so I went out of my way to take a glance. All over the three worlds, the responses to you two are mixed; some glorify you while some curse your ancestors. Unexpectedly, the two of you are younger than I thought.”

“Eh? What did you just say?” Sila exclaimed. He didn"t understand anything that the Tailorbird Mask Man said, especially those weird t.i.tles.

“Hm? Are you really clueless or are you just pretending? Don"t you know that the three worlds are in states of chaos due to the actions of you two?”

Instantly, the Tailorbird Mask Man vanished and reappeared next to a window. Burapha quickly gave him a warning. “Sir, this place is a special dimension. That window is not real.”

“Kid, as a psychic type, don"t let common sense chain your creativity.”

The Tailorbird Mask Man pressed his palm against the window, breaking it. The wind from outside soon entered the room, rendering Burapha speechless.

“If you really don"t know, just ask someone who knows. I"m too lazy to explain... Adios~” The man then jumped out the window. Sila and Burapha ran to it and found that the window really connected to the outside of the hotel.

Bluebird stood up, sweeping dust off his clothing. He extended his hand to recollect the l.u.s.t Card. “Hmm?”

He found two more cards neatly stacked below the l.u.s.t Card, in a way that he wouldn"t have noticed if he hadn"t touched them.

Bluebird looked at the two cards. One of them had an ill.u.s.tration of a tailorbird soaring through the sky while the other was a fat tailorbird perching on a tree branch. Inspecting them, he found that they were the B-grade Wandering Tailorbird Card and the grade Fatty Tailorbird Card.

Bluebird was greatly confused. This was the first time he knew tailorbird cards existed. He obtained the race accidentally by taming an insane number of tailorbirds. However, tailorbirds in Monster Soul normally gave a player nothing when killed—be it experience points, money, or items. He didn"t understand how the tailorbird cards could be found.

In any case, he stored all three cards in his system window for the time being. He walked to Sila and asked, “Where is he?”

“He left,” Burapha replied, before asking, “What about you, Big Brother, are you okay?”

“Umm... I"m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Sila asked, looking at Bluebird while feeling worried.

“Umm. I know my mistakes. I promise you that I won"t be this way when the time comes,” Bluebird a.s.sured them. Although he didn"t go back to being easy-going like usual, his state of mind seemed to be a lot better. Sila hoped that Bluebird would behave like usual once they had rescued Yardpirun.

“What about the man just now? Is he a friend or a foe? I tried to look at his face behind the wooden mask using Psychic Eyes, but I failed,” Burapha asked.

“I don"t think he is a foe. Based on the fact that Asmodeus knew him, I guess he is a monster rather than a player.”

“A monster? A Lord Rank monster, then?”

“I believe he is an Emperor Rank one,” speculated Sila. At his level, he was able to tell apart the ranks of monsters to some degree.

Burapha didn"t agree with him though. “I doubt it, Big Brother. Lord Rank monsters are already rare and have to meet certain conditions before they can make an appearance. I believe Emperor Rank monsters are the same, and can"t travel around as freely as this one does.”

“Well, you have a point. What should we do?”

Bluebird commented, “Since he had no ill intentions, just let him be. Let"s stick to the plan tonight. If it"s Boss, she will be able to give us a good suggestion. She is always so capable.”

The two of them nodded. Still, Sila added, “Blue, can you help me find intel on the Seal Breaker and the Law Breaker? These t.i.tles seem to be related to Montra and me.”

As he asked this, Sila opened his system window and checked his t.i.tles, only to find that there weren"t any new ones. It meant the t.i.tle wasn"t well known among players.

For the record, when someone"s t.i.tle was known by more than 20% of total active players, the system would register it as that player"s t.i.tle.

“I"ll try, but don"t expect too much.” Bluebird shrugged. He was more interested in the tailorbird cards.

“Since we have nothing further to discuss, let"s split up. We will start the plan at 9pm tonight. Let"s meet again at the designated location.” Bluebird was the first to exit the room. He wanted to visit the card shop to unseal the cards he just obtained.

As for Burapha, he remained in the room, asking Sila to give him pointers regarding his martial moves. Feeling worried about Burapha, Sila was more than welcome to advise him. As for Sangdao, she didn"t want to interrupt the two, so she left to inspect the city"s surveillance spots.

At this moment, the citizens of the Magic Kingdom were still happily shopping and sightseeing in the floating city, unaware that a catastrophe would strike them tonight.