บท 42: Kill

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]

...

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]

...

«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!