When Izroth received that alert from the system, he could not help but to reveal a small grin on his face. This is exactly the kind of result he was looking forward to. He did not get his hopes up too much as he knew the chance of it working were not absolute, but Izroth still had a strong feeling about it.
Izroth did not have the leisure to examine his new skill as Commander Ekquilore was already before him. However, if the system kept to its pattern then it would not be too far off from the actual skill itself. If that turned out to be the case, then Izroth may have just uncovered the fastest way for himself to progress.
Commander Ekquilore smashed down with his large fist trying to flatten Izroth using its «Demonic Press». At the moment, he was faster than Izroth by 50% and so Izroth could only rely on his vast natural battle experience to cope with the difference.
Although Izroth had no problem keeping up with Commander Ekquilore's movements, the system itself still limited how fast he could move based on his agility stat. So if he was not careful and made a single misstep in his movements, then it would mean instant death for him.
Halls was charging forward trying to catch up to Commander Ekquilore, but the gap between their speed was just too much. Halls did not have any crowd control abilities yet and so he could only try his best to push forward.
Luna used a «Healing Essence» on Halls as a safety measure just in case Commander Ekquilore unleashed another «Demonic Hellfire». As a cleric, Luna's agility was definitely not her strong suit and so it would take her a while in order to get back within range of the battle.
During that moment, she at least wanted to make sure that some form of healing was present. As for Scarlet, she had already come to terms with how hopeless this situation was. No matter how strong Izroth was, the enraged state of that boss was just too much.
It would only take a single strike to end them and Scarlet was not exactly fond of walking to her death willingly. But she could only sigh and use «Mana Shield» to at least survive two hits of that «Demonic Hellfire» ability if it occurs.
"I swear when I get out of here..." Scarlet mumbled under her breath with a gloomy expression on her face.
Scarlet was in a bit of a better position than Luna because of the layout of the hallway, and so she was much closer to the fight. Or at least close enough to still use her skills without having to move too far from her current location.
Izroth skillfully evaded the incoming «Demonic Press» from Commander Ekquilore. As the large Shadahi's fist slammed into the ground, it caused the entire hallway to quake from the amount of force behind it.
"Little insect, stay still!" Commander Ekquilore was furious and used «Demonic Suppression» to try and Izroth in place. There was no escape from that skill, however, just as Izroth felt that invading energy lock onto him, he immediately used «Shadow Movement», successfully avoiding a near absolute death.
Commander Ekquilore was outraged by Izroth's sudden disappearance. In a state of being enraged, there was no common sense or calm thinking, only anger and more anger. In his mind, the one with the «Boundary Sealing Sphere» had just escaped from under his nose.
How could Commander Ekquilore not be absolutely livid? How would he face his lord, Syxirius? He stomped his massive foot on the ground as the temperature within the atmosphere rose rapidly.
When Halls felt the increase in temperature he became alarmed. If either him or Izroth got caught in that skill, then they would not be able to survive for long. Commander Ekquilore still had 9%-10% HP remaining. They would not have enough time to eliminate him before all of them were turned to ashes.
Halls grit his teeth and continued pushing forward. There was no point in overthinking things now. This was a chance! If he failed then the worse that could happen is that he's sent to the graveyard and loses some EXP. However, if he were successful then the rewards would be plentiful.
Halls finally got close enough to use his skill «Shadow Pressure» which was now off cooldown. Every single bit of damage counted in this situation, but most importantly he wanted to use the «Fear» effect to interrupt the «Demonic Hellfire» that Commander Ekquilore was casting.
〈Battle Alert: Commander Ekquilore is enraged and has resisted the «Fear» effect〉
Halls was a bit startled by the battle alert and let out a helpless sigh; his plan had failed.
The «Demonic Hellfire» went off and this time its range was massive, filling the entire hallway with its flames. Even Luna who was the furthest away was affected by it. There did not seem to be any escape from this «Demonic Hellfire».
«375 Damage» [Demonic Hellfire]
«375 Damage» [Demonic Hellfire]
...
Everyone within the party took damage from the «Demonic Hellfire», even Izroth within his shadow form received damage and was forced out of it. Luna quickly used «Cure» on herself since she was the only one in immediate danger of dying.
Izroth and Halls were still out of Luna's healing range, but both of them had more HP than her remaining and Scarlet had her «Mana Shield» active. So everyone survived the first tick of damage from the «Demonic Hellfire».
Though something happened next that made Halls, Luna, and Scarlet despair. Instead of the 2 seconds the «Demonic Hellfire» needed to launch its next wave of damage, this time it took only 1 second before the next tick of damage.
This was the unknown «???» skill that Commander Ekquilore gained called «Endless Demonic Hellfire».
Skill Name: Endless Demonic Hellfire
Active: Summons demonic hellfire from the depths of the Shadahi realm dealing 50% of the user's magic as damage every 1 second, until the death of the user of this skill to all enemies within a 100 meters radius.
«383 Damage» [Demonic Hellfire]
«383 Damage» [Demonic Hellfire]
...
«142/900 HP Remaining» [Izroth]
«319/1,500 HP Remaining» [Halls]
«67/600 HP Remaining» [Luna]
«195/660 HP Remaining» [Scarlet]
It was over. There was no way for them to possibly escape or do enough damage within 1 second. They had to face the facts, this S-Ranked quest was too much for just 4 people to handle alone. Just when everyone was ready to face their death from Commander Ekquilore's «Endless Demonic Hellfire», something beyond their expectations transpired.
〈System Alert: Generating skill... Complete!〉
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.... Zing!
A tremendous amount of deadly killing intent filled the entire hallway causing shivers to run down the backs of Halls, Luna, and Scarlet. What was releasing such a bloodthirsty aura? Though all of them did not have time to think as the «Endless Demonic Hellfire» flames that filled every corner of the hallway vanished without a trace, and there was a thick smoke that scattered throughout the air.
The party members eyes were widened with shock and disbelief as no one could comprehend what just took place. Why did the flames suddenly vanish after that deadly killing intent filled the air? Also, what happened to Izroth during that commotion? All they saw was him disappear but his HP bar in the party window still showed him as alive and well.
When the thick smoke finally started to clear up, the group was stupefied by the sight that emerged before them. Commander Ekquilore was on the floor defeated and standing in front of his body was Izroth, with their «Nameless Blade» emitting an aura similar to the one they felt earlier when that deadly killing intent appeared out of seemingly nowhere.
"Second Baneful Sword: Kill" Izroth sheathed his sword as he spoke. This battle really had been the toughest one yet. After all, if he was not successful then who knows what the outcome of this battle would have been?
While everyone was trying to process what was going on, Scarlet's face turned extremely ugly when she saw the battle alerts. "This guy... He's an absolute freak...!" she could not help but think that to herself when she examined the information before her.
«1,615 Damage» [Second Baneful Sword: Kill]
〈Battle Alert: Commander Ekquilore has been affected by «Execute» 〉
«6,250 Damage» [Execute]
«0% HP Remaining» [Commander Ekquilore]
When Luna and Halls took a look at the battle alerts to comprehend what had just happened, they shook their heads and let out a sigh of defeat. Was this even possible to compete with? Maybe Izroth did not need their help at all in completing this S-Ranked quest and could have done it all by himself.
Izroth still had that carefree expression on his face, and on the inside, he was quite pleased with the results. This system never ceased to amaze him with the way it could analyze and process things. Even though it was not the strongest of heavenly laws, it was certainly far from being weak.
"The cooldown time is a bit long, however, the skill itself is highly accurate..." Izroth thought to himself when he saw the information for the skill.
Skill Name: Second Baneful Sword: Kill
Skill Creator: Izroth
Skill Level: 1/5
Skill Rank: S
Active: Unleashes a single wave of powerful sword energy filled with endless killing intent, dealing 1,000% of the user's Attack as damage to a target within 20 meters. This skill has a high chance of causing the «Fear» effect in those it targets. If the target's HP is equal to or less than 25%, there is a high chance of activating the «Execute» effect. The lower the target's HP, the higher the chance. If the skill «First Baneful Sword: Destruction» is used just before this skill, the damage, and cooldown of «Second Baneful Sword: Kill» are increased by 100%.
«Execute»: Instantly kills the target regardless of the amount of HP they have remaining as long as their HP is equal to or less than 25%.
Description: A sword filled with an enormous amount of concentrated killing intent. Beware! A single strike of this sword technique can kill anyone that stands in its way! This strike is not its full potential.
Special Effect: This skill can be used without a sword, but the damage is reduced by 50%. If this skill kills its target, it has a chance of reducing the cooldown by 50%. This skill cannot be leveled up using skill points, the user must experience many battles to further advance.
Cooldown: 5 Hours
The party finally defeated Commander Ekquilore and soon after the Shadahi's body formed into a large crimson red sphere before floating away at top speed. They thought that maybe something different would happen this time, but the Commander Ekquilore still could not die while within the Shadahi's own realm.
Even so, they did not have to worry about running into him again any time soon due to the 1 day respawn time for all Shadahi who "died" while within their own realm.
Everyone received the system alerts they were all waiting for... The rewards from defeating Commander Ekquilore, a rare boss!
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Commander Ekquilore〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded 17,085 EXP〉
〈System Alert: You have leveled up to level 14〉
〈System Alert: You have gained +3 stat points for leveling up〉
〈System Alert: You have leveled up to level 15〉
〈System Alert: You have gained +3 stat points for leveling up〉
〈System Alert: Your fame with the Shadahi has fallen by 500, you are considered a target〉
〈System Alert: Your fame with the all-seeing goddess Helilatiaa has risen by 200〉
〈System Alert: Your fame with Mazi the god of craft has risen by 100〉
Loot Drop:
-1 gold coin
-x4 True Blood of the Shadahi
-x1 Hellfire Crafted Oblivion Chest
-x1 Hellfire Crafted Mana Gloves
-x1 Secret Room Key(Quest Item)
Izroth was shocked by the amount of EXP he received from defeating a rare boss. 17,085 was a huge amount and it was enough for him to level up two times! But what he did not know was that because his level was so much lower than Commander Ekquilore's and he dealt the most damage, the system adjusted the gain of EXP to make sure he was properly rewarded.
After all, it was quite common in MMORPG's to give more EXP the lower a player who defeated the boss monster was. However, how could Izroth know such a thing when he was still personally considered a noob when it came to the most basic of gaming knowledge?
Izroth looked over at Halls, Luna, and Scarlet only to realize that everyone was staring at him like he was some kind of monster. Izroth helplessly shook his head inwardly as he glanced over towards the loot.
The rewards obtained this time was sure to be bountiful!
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As Izroth examined the loot, he noticed a glow similar to the one when he first picked up the «Strange Bracelet» that belonged to the Seer Tererestiaa. "I wonder if all quest items glow in such a manner..." Izroth thought to himself as he picked up the item.
It turned out that his guess was correct and it was indeed a quest item. Except unlike last time, it was not a bracelet, but rather a key. The key bore a resemblance to the «Skull Key» he received back in the «Dungeon: Goblin's Paradise» after defeating one of the elite monsters there. The only difference was that this key felt much heavier and was coated in a crimson red color.
Item Name: Secret Room Key(Quest Item)
Usage: Allows the holder of this key to access the secret room located within the «Palace of Syxirius, The Unworthy».
Izroth began to wonder if it may have the same effect as the «Skull Key» and just take them back to the exit of the palace. Though it would be a bit disappointing that there were no extra rewards, it would still save some time on a return trip if that were the case. But, he had not forgotten about their main objective and reason for coming to the Shadahi's realm.
It took everyone a while, but they finally snapped out of their little trance and realized that they had just defeated a rare boss! At the moment, besides world bosses, rare bosses were the highest ranked boss monsters that any player had yet to discover.
However, if they knew that Izroth had actually run into epic and legendary bosses, all of them might actually faint from shock.
The fact that they did not receive a system alert saying that they were the first to clear a rare boss meant that someone else had already beat them to it. This caused Halls and Luna to feel a bit dejected after experiencing that brief period of fame for being the first to clear a world boss.
But, they both knew that the big guilds must have already run into some rare bosses if they already obtained some rare equipment. Them being able to acquire the first clear on a world boss was due to pure luck.
If any of the big guilds discovered the world boss first or even while they were in the middle of fighting it, then there would have been no room for them to interfere or gain any benefits.
Nevertheless, Halls felt as though after that disgraceful performance as a tank who could not even hold aggro, he did not deserve the party leader spot. Usually, tanks were supposed to direct and lead the battles so there was normally no arguments when they decided to be the party leader.
The only time this rule really changed was if it was a guild based party and the tank was not the highest ranked member. Or, if a tank joined an already premade group and was just a random player who the premade group would obviously not trust with the party leader role.
Halls opened the party menu and let out a long sigh before changing the party leader over to Izroth. Deep down inside, Halls knew that he could not be completely blamed for his poor performance.
It was just that Izroth was too much of a freak when it came to damage. Even those top-tier pro player tanks might have trouble holding on to aggro with Izroth in their party.
〈System Alert: Player Izroth has been promoted to party leader!〉
Truth be told, Izroth originally did not really care about being party leader or not. But, the more he started playing the more Izroth started to realize how valued such a position was within a party.
Most people would not give up full control when it came to loot distributions and other things, so when someone willingly gave up the party leader role it could be seen as them admitting to their own lack of abilities.
Izroth gave a slight nod to Halls and received one in return. Halls understood that Luna would be not against Izroth being the party leader. He did not know for sure about Scarlet, but since Izroth brought her along there should be no problems. Plus it still would have been two against one.
Izroth began to divide the loot amongst the party. They received 1 gold coin and so he gave everyone 25 silver coins each, even Scarlet. Even though Izroth knew that she was up to no good, there was something off about her.
From the way she acted when they first met, all the way up until now. There were various inconsistencies with her behavior that did not add up at all. He decided to bring Scarlet along because he knew that along with her, three other players were targetting him.
Izroth was of course very confident in his combat skills, however, he still did not fully understand combat against other players in this game or how strong they were. He needed to fight against more than just monsters if he truly wanted to improve.
If she gained a few tiny benefits in the process so be it. Izroth was thinking of the bigger picture and how to further progress within RML, otherwise, how could he become the number one player?
Just like within the seven realms, it did not matter how many beasts you could kill. The most important thing to becoming the number one cultivator was being able to defeat every other cultivator and fight against them to hone your skills.
Izroth decided it was a good opportunity to gain some battle experience against other players and so decided to play as though he were ignorant and go along with things. "Well, it's fine... Soon she will have no choice but to reveal her hand..." Izroth thought to himself.
He reached down and picked up one of the items that dropped from Commander Ekquilore. When everyone saw that item their eyes all shined with excitement. That was a rare piece of equipment! The item Izroth picked up was the «Hellfire Crafted Oblivion Chest».
Armor Name: Hellfire Crafted Oblivion Chest
Armor Rank: Rare
Armor Level: 15
Armor Type: Leather
Requirements: 100 Agility
HP: 300
DEF: 30
AGI: 60
Armor Skill: Hellfire Rampage(Passive) - Every successful attack against an enemy without missing, increases the Agility of the user by 10 for 3 seconds (MAX: 100 Agility). If the user misses an attack or does not attack for at least 3 seconds, then the buff from this armor will end.
What wonderful stats and passive! There was no one else here who could possibly equip this armor because of its agility requirement, and so the only person it could go to was Izroth. No one would say anything since Izroth was the one who contributed the most to the fight after all.
Izroth equipped the «Hellfire Crafted Oblivion Chest» and watched as his stats shot up. "The passive works perfectly with my current combat style" Izroth thought to himself as a slight smile appeared on his face.
The others could only envy the amount of luck that Izroth possessed when it came to receiving rewards. It seemed as though he was born under the king of lucky stars.
Name: Izroth
EXP: 4,972/12,000
Level: 15(Stat Points: 6)
Title: None
Class: Combat Master
HP(Hit Points): 1,200/1,200(700+300+200)
Energy: 100
ATTACK(ATK): 200(140+40+20)
DEFENSE(DEF): 95(20+55+20)
AGILITY(AGI): 210(85+105+20)
MAGIC(MAG): 0
Gear Equipped:
«Nameless Blade» - Main Weapon
«Shadow Necklace» - Accessory(1)
«Hellfire Crafted Oblivion Chest» - Armor(Torso)
«Foreman's Gloves» - Armor(Hands)
«Commander Boots» - Armor(Feet)
...
The next item grabbed was the «Hellfire Crafted Mana Gloves». An item like this could go to either Luna or Scarlet... But even though Izroth would let Scarlet gain some little benefits, there was no possible way he could hand over such a large benefit to her. This item would go to Luna without a doubt.
Armor Name: Hellfire Crafted Mana Gloves
Armor Rank: Rare
Armor Level: 15
Armor Type: Cloth
Requirements: 100 Magic
MP: 200
DEF: 10
MAG: 30
Armor Skill: Hellfire Mana Essence(Passive) - Regenerates 2% of the user's maximum MP every 3 seconds. This effect continues on even during the middle of combat.
Izroth gave the «Hellfire Crafted Mana Gloves» over to Luna. A blossoming smile could not help but find its way onto Luna's face when she saw the stats and effects of the item. This was her first rare piece of equipment so how could she not show some excitement?
Scarlet was extremely gloomy when she noticed that it was a cloth based rare item and Izroth did not even consider her for a moment and instantly gave it to Luna instead. This made her lightly curse him under her breath.
But, she knew she would have no say in the matter, especially since the item was already within Luna's inventory. What fool would willingly hand over a rare item after it already became theirs?
Halls was also very gloomy but for another reason entirely. Commander Ekquilore only dropped two pieces of equipment and neither of them had been for his class. He really was unlucky lately as if he already used up all his luck when receiving the «Shadow Fang Sword» from the Shadow Wolf world boss.
For the last remaining x4 «True Blood of the Shadahi», Izroth divided them fairly and gave one to each party member. With this, all the loot from Commander Ekquilore was finally divided and now it was time for the party to continue on with their main purpose for coming here.
Izroth turned towards the party to speak to them, "I've picked up another quest item from this monster. It may be where the item we've been looking for is located... Or at least will give us a clue as to where it may be located" Izroth showed everyone the «Secret Room Key» he picked up from the loot pile.
Luna furrowed her brows when she saw the key, "There are many rooms within this palace and it's huge. Also, it probably will not be that long until the Shadahi discovered we have defeated Commander Ekquilore. If that happens then... We can expect even more Shadahi to be roaming the halls".
Izroth nodded as he came to the same conclusion as Luna. If it were just another normal Shadahi it would not be that bad, however, since they defeated a rare boss Shadahi the search was bound to increase. If all those thousands of Shadahi outside joined in, then they would stand no chance.
"So we just have to find the room door that this key can open before we're found right?" Halls spoke while trying to think if he'd seen any doors that looked suspicious while moving throughout the palace.
Scarlet did not have the quest and so she did not bother trying to give any input on the matter or help out at all. She would not gain any benefits from doing so.
Izroth thought for a moment before coming up with a decision, "Then, we'll just follow the path Commander Ekquilore originally came from. We might find it somewhere along the way" Izroth did not believe this system would leave them with zero clues. There must be something he was overlooking.
After walking forward with the party towards the direction Commander Ekquilore originally came from, Izroth was thinking as it suddenly dawned on him. "Of course... How could I miss something so obvious?" he thought to himself. Sometimes, certain things were just so obvious that it was quite easy to overlook them.
"I think I know where it is...!" Izroth spoke under his breath. He suddenly stopped which caused the three others behind him to halt as well. He knew the location of the secret room because they were given the location when they first arrived here!
From the moment they left the demonic brew room, there were thin strings of red light on the floor of the hallway. At first Izroth thought that they may have only just been a part of that oppressive energy running throughout the entire palace, however, that wasn't the case at all.
While he was not incorrect, he was only partially correct. The thin strings of red light were indeed the source of that oppressive energy, but they all seemed to flow within the same direction towards the same source.
Wherever all the thin strings of red light converged, must hold some clues to the secret room's location or maybe even lead to the secret room itself! Izroth looked down at his feet and sure enough, those little strings were still there and more abundant than when they left from the demonic brew room. It seems like they were on the correct path.
Izroth continued onward following the thin strings of red light and eventually came before a large door. This door had different kinds of faces carved into it that looked as though they were in an endless cycle of torment.
Evil and dark energy emitted from beyond the door which made one feel cold to their bones. At the very center of the door was a lock that one needed a key for.
Izroth removed the «Secret Room Key» from his inventory before putting it into the lock and soon heard a clinking sound. The large door before him slowly opened up.
As soon as the door opened, the entire party was hit by an incredibly strong force that seemed as if it wanted to devour them alive. It almost caused them to be blown away just from the intensity of that pressure alone.
Not long after, the entire party received a system alert that made them highly alert.
〈System Alert: You have entered the throne room of Syxirius, The Unworthy!〉
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