Chapter 72: The First Example(Unedited)
"Haha! You poor trash! I want to see how you will fight back now!"
Zac laughed arrogantly as he and the hundreds of guild members of his guild surrounded Nex in the middle of a forest clearing outside the city.
"Yeah, yeah, keep talking," Nex dismissed his words with a casual wave of his hand and painted over the cut-out parts of a large piece of paper he laid on the ground while occasionally placing magic stones, "With a bit more time you waste instead of attacking me and I will be done here."
"So you actually a fool who only knows a few fancy moves huh?" even though he was angry from Nex words, he still laughed coldly as he knew he had the absolute upper hand in this situation, "There are hundreds of us here with more than a fifth that already got their Second Class while you, who still at the same level since last time, are by yourself here! No matter what you are scribbling there, it will never be enough to help you defeat even a tenth of us!"
"Then why aren't you attacking already?" Nex casually asked with lifting his head, "And also why did you bring so many people if you think you can defeat me with a couple of those with Second Class?"
"Simple," Zac smiled as if he hoped for Nex to ask this, "Because I wanted to show you-no, everyone, the fate of those who offend me!"
"From now on, every time you or your friends get out of the city, they will meet with a force of at least this level and will be chased and killed until they will delete their Game Character and kneel in front of my place in real life!"
"Wow," Nex still didn't seem to care as he stared at the now complete Magic Array while rubbing his chin before nodding and pulling out a strange gallon that had a few magic circles on it, he then replied while putting the gallon on the array, "Do you read a lot of novels or something? I didn't think someone will actually act like that in real life."
"What is that thing?" Zac frowned as he didn't recognize this equipment that Nex has brought out, and it gave him a bad feeling.
"It's a storage that usually water magicians uses when they want to fight with water that had special properties, the Adventure Guild had a spare one so I borrowed it," Nex made sure that the gallon was placed right and then opened it, and when he saw that everything is alright he smirked and pulled out his sword, "But what I put here wasn't water."
And at the next moment, he stumped on the ground and the Magic Array began to shine.
In a moment, two semi-transparent domes spread from the Magic Array and in an instant, one trapped all of Zac's army inside it, and the other covered the Magic Array while Nex was inside it.
"What is this?"
"Did he just created a barrier!?"
"How did he made it so big!?"
Several people tried to hit the big barrier, some of them had done a Second Class advancement, but the barrier only vibrated a bit before at the attacked place before returning to normal.
"It's futile," Nex smiled, "I used good materials for this thing, plus this being a mana-enriched area. Unless you kill me or get a few people above level 40, you won't be able to get out in the next few minutes."
"Now to give you some motivation for the first option," Nex gave a devious grin and touched the gallon.
And like a fountain, colorful liquid shot out from the gallon to right before the top of the big dome and began to rain on Zac and his army before they could even notice, painting all of them with a large variety of colors.
"What is this paint!? It doesn't come off!"
"I want him dead!" Zac pointed at Nex with rage and yelled while spitting a large amount of paint. He actually dared to play such a childish trick on them!? Unforgivable!
And right as Zav finished his words, dozens of shinning arrows made their way toward Nex, some of them considerably faster than others.
"Finally for the fun part," Nex smirked and swung his sword around in a wide arc the moment the arrows where shot.
'[Absorbing Storm]'
And when the fastest arrows were only a third of the way to, a silver whirlwind occurred and absorbed all of the arrows' magics and ruined their momentum before exploding to all directions together with the magics it absorbed.
*Boom!*
"Argh!"
Although the explosion and the magics weren't strong enough to kill the Warriors that stood at the front and took the attack, it did knock them to the ground along with blasting to death most of the Thieves that tried to assassinate Nex using stealth.
"Where did he gone to!?"
Once the place that Nex was just seen at was visible again, the attackers became anxious as the man himself was nowhere to be seen.
"He's-"
'[Martial Secret: Full Moon]'
And before one the magicians that stood in the middle lines could yell that Nex was right in front of him, there was a flash of Nex's sword followed by a thin circle of silver energy that expanded rapidly and in an instant, sliced through dozens of people.
"What the hell!?"
"Everyone there has been sliced to two!"
"There were even Second Class there!
Horrified cries were heard from everywhere as in just a moment, a quarter of the players that just a few seconds ago surrounded Nex fall dead on the ground, creating a scene of a massacre.
"Damn! It started to record too late!"
Instead of continuing in his assault during the time that people were still digesting what just happened, Nex actually opened the recordings gallery of the system and checked how the video of his attack came out.
"Never mind," Nex sighed and shook his head, before smiling toward a certain direction as countless spells and arrows were on their way to him.
"There are others that recorded it anyway."
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Numerous explosions occurred without a stop at where Nex stood, but no one dared to relax, because the barrier still stood strong and uninterrupted.
"That is quite the firework."
And indeed, the silver-haired man voice echoed throughout the clearing. And as if they were hidden by a mirage, dozens of magic circles appeared in the sky like they were formed there long ago.
And as everyone felt their blood going cold, Nex's voice appeared again.
"Let me show you how I do it."
'[Mana Art: Hundred Thunderclaps]'
*Boom!*
An ear-deafening sound rumbled as a hundred pillars of lightning crashed down on Zac's army at once, killing every player that was in a short radius to them.
And just like that, the force that not long ago numbered in the hundreds went down to a mere less than thirty.
"You know?" at some point, Nex appeared between the destruction and began to walk toward Zac, who was the only survivor in the area around him, "When I killed that shitty devil and finally left that disgusting place, I knew that I will still come across people who decided they want to mess my day."
"But to think that I would get threatened so boastfully by a power so pathetic?"
His voice was cold as it was arrogant as he swung his hand and created a magic circle above those who survived and still tried to recover from the shock of the attack.
"This is not enough to even make me laugh."
*Bang!*
Zac's eyes widened in horror upon seeing the now-headless corpses that made him certain of one fact.
Among the hundreds of players that he led here today, he was now the only one who still remain alive.
"Stop! Stop! Stay away!" he let out a shriek when he realized that Nex is about to arrive to him and quickly tried to run away. Even as an expert S-Rank Hunter in real life he never came across something as nearly as terrifying as this silver-haired monster.
"You didn't listen did you?"
"Gah!"
But before he got away more than even a few meters, Nex appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the neck and lifting him up with one hand while holding his wooden sword, that began to shine and transform, with the other.
"I don't like it when people don't listen when others speak."
As he was choked by Nex vice-like grip, Zac desperately tried to reach the system menu in order to log out of the game. But before he could succeed a flash of a shinning blade passed past his eyes and a pain he didn't think was possible rampaged from where his hand was once where.
"Ahhh!" he felt the hold on his neck slightly loosen and he immediately used his freed airways to yell madly from the excruciating pain.
"Ohh?" Nex raised his eyebrows, "Your soul's strength is so poor. And yet you are able to yell so energetically after suffering amputation by Soul Sword? The pain reduction of Professional mode is indeed impressive."
"Too bad that the pained screams of low life people like you aren't good enough for my standards."
Nex sighed and tightened his grip again, silencing the cries.
"Normally I would not give so much attention to power and mob as weak as yours, especially since it just a game."
Nex shook his head before a rampaging aura of killing intent and rage suddenly shot out from him and spread in all directions like a flood.
[Killing Intent] restrained by [Dragon Fear]
"But you actually dared to threaten my friends, say you will make them stop doing something they enjoy doing and even break their spirits."
Even if Zac was released right now, he would have not been able to yell at all. Because even his wounded soul has been paralyzed by this terrible feeling that seemed like he was standing in front of death itself.
"And because there are bound to be other people who would want to do it at some point, you shall be the first example."
And at the moment he finished saying that, he stabbed the Soul Sword into Zac chest with the sword tip pointing at the highest point of the barrier.
"[Soul Sword Third Art: Soul Inferno]"
And at the moment Nex said the first words, Zac's body shot out from while his body shine like a firework. And when Nex finished the last word of the technique as Zac was about to hit the barrier, Zac's body shinned and exploded into countless silver flames that rained all over the battlefield.
And when the shinning corpses and remains of players touched those flames, they began to combust and burn strongly turning the area into a silver purgatory.
Not only that, the players that stayed as soul-mode to watch and didn't have their pain sensation at 0% began to feel great amounts of pain when their soul-mode bodies touched those flames, making them quickly log out before they would have to suffer any longer.
♦♦♦
"Boss what are we going to do now? That guy is a total monster! Forget about roping him in, it's enough lucky that we won't get on his bad side!"
ImperialPride, Imperial Sky Guild Master, stayed silent at his subordinate words as he stared at the silver flames that burned inside the barrier with a somber expression as if he could see the silver-haired man standing unharmed between the flames that even burned the dropped equipment. He was just curious how that mysterious man will retaliate against such force, but needless to say that what he just saw was far beyond his imagination.
Although they were much stronger than Zac's Guild and could be considered the strongest guild in the Starshine area, he knew that in front of the power that Nex showed, there won't be a difference in the outcome should a fight occur.
"It's just crazy!" the subordinate continued to complain, "No player could be this strong at the current stage of the game! It's as if he didn't need to adapt to the Energies and Laws inside the game and could even proficiently use Skills and Techniques of Top-Rank Hunters!"
"Say it again!" ImperialPride face changed when he heard his subordinate's words.
"That he didn't need to adapt to the Energies and Laws of the game?" the subordinate became confused, "But even if he was able to do it, there will be no way that he would be able to use the top-level skills from real-life here! He needed to be at a far higher level to do it or else the Laws will reject him!"
"But what if he used the skills of the game world?" ImperialPride spoke the absurd possibility that rose to his mind.
"A True Master?" the subordinate asked, "But even if managed to get Skills so strong, to use them to that level is just absurd! Even the most talented NPC in the kingdom will probably have a hard time to do it if they were in his Level!"
True Master is a nickname used to call the extremely small percentage of Master Mode players that are able to use the true potential of the mode.
Although it was said that only Master Players are able to create their own skills, the meaning wasn't that they could just make a skill when they learn the way to execute it to a decent level as this was soon found out to be possible to do by the players of other modes as well. The real meaning was that when Master Players are proficient enough with a skill, they could use it entirely as they wish!
Whether they wish to execute it in a way that exceeds the safety limit of the system and as a result release an attack that is harmful to both sides, or cast it using various ways that aren't even imaginable if used through the system, and even casually incorporates other elements and techniques into it, using a skill in all of those ways and more is possible to a Master Player that was able to master their skills abilities to a level that is similar to the talented NPCs inside the game!
In other words, True Masters are those that went beyond what normal players are able to do and reach the level that only powerful NPC could!
"But it's the only possibility," ImperialPride shook his head, he was sure of it because he was a True Master himself, "And unsurprisingly, he was watched with the Absolute Empress that was the only other one who was seen with a similar level of abilities. There must be something behind it or else it would just mean that the talents of True Masters is just too poor."
"So do we investigate?"
"No," ImperialPride smiled bitterly as he saw a silver-haired man come out of the barrier without any harm, "We will stay away from them as far as possible, our current power is not enough to handle an opponent at that level. Pass that message to everyone in the guild as well."
And as if the man had heard him, the Guild Master saw him turn his head toward him and move his mouth to say two words.
"Smart Choice."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
matanman
matanman Sorry so much for the delay. I have an increasingly hard time to write lately. But it isn't from a loss of motivation but real-life stuff that ruins my mood and gives me constants writing blocks.
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