บท 64: Sea Palace Graveyard

'It's fast... Though it's only fastest than me while it's inside the water Its movements are a bit wild, but manageable nonetheless. It's HP is pretty low for a level 18 monster, but it makes up for it with its high ATK and AGI.'

Izroth remained vigilant as the «Sea Palace Guard» swam underneath him.

'There!' Izroth swung his «Blade of Lightning» in a 180-degree arc, striking out behind him. Just as he did so, the «Sea Palace Guard» leaped out of the water and started to run straight into Izroth's sword.

However, at the very last moment, the «Sea Palace Guard» slapped its fish-like tail against the surface of the water shifting his position as it propelled his body in a different angle, avoiding the blade aimed at him.

Izroth smirked as he suddenly twisted his entire body, spinning around and striking outward with his right index finger with energy converging at Izroth's fingertip.

While the body of the «Sea Palace Guard» changed its direction to move closer to the left and successfully evaded Izroth's sword strike, Izroth's fingertip drilled into the «Sea Palace Guard».

The Sea Palace Guard's was brought to an abrupt halt for a split second, as its body was hit by the «Fissuring Point» skill.

«-250»

Izroth acted quickly as his leg shot at like a vicious snake ready to sink its fangs into its prey. Using the skill «Serpent's Bite», Izroth's foot smashed into the torso area of the «Sea Palace Guard» without mercy.

«153 Damage»]

〈Battle Alert: Player Izroth has «Stunned» Sea Palace Guard!〉

The body of the «Sea Palace Guard» slammed onto the narrow earth path that Izroth stood on. There was a brief window of opportunity to whittle away the creatures HP.

Izroth's «Blade of Lightning» released an oppressive aura as light energy formed on its edge. He executed a well-timed «First Baneful Sword: Destruction», aiming at the dead center of the «Sea Palace Guard» neck.

«Critical Hit: 1,840 Damage»

Izroth did not end his assault there and continued on as he swung his «Blade of Lightning» once again, except this time trailing behind it was a shadow that was almost like an exact copy of Izroth's «Blade of Lightning».

Each struck twice in rapid succession, hitting the head and neck of the «Sea Palace Guard» while it was still in a «Stunned» state. He was a bit disappointed that the «Fear» effect did not go off when he used «First Baneful Sword: Destruction», but at this rate, it would not make much of a difference.

«Critical Hit: 490 Damage» [Phantom Strike]

«Critical Hit: 760 Damage» [Phantom Strike]

In only a few moments, Izroth had already taken away over 90% of the «Sea Palace Guard» total HP.

〈Battle Alert: Sea Palace Guard is no longer «Stunned»!〉

The «Sea Palace Guard» was finally able to move once again as the first thing it tried to do was make its way back into the water. However, how could Izroth let it escape from his sights when it was already so close for it to be defeated?

Besides, what if it fell into the water when he killed it? Would he still receive any loot or would he have to dive into the water just to collect it? It was a question he'd rather not have to go through the trouble of figuring out the answer to.

"Surface dweller! The demise of your world shall come soon when my brethren-" The «Sea Palace Guard» was yelling out while attempting to jump back into the water to escape. However, just as it was about to jump into the water, a blue trail of light flashed across the back of his neck — it was Izroth's «Blade of Lightning».

«Critical Hit: 490 Damage»

The «Sea Palace Guard» HP reached zero and it flailed around a bit on the pathway before it stopped moving, it was completely lifeless.

〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated «Sea Palace Guard»〉

〈System Alert: You have been awarded 2,880 EXP〉

〈System Alert: The effect of the skill «Equalizer» has been activated.〉

〈System Alert: The timer for the skill «Equalizer» has started. 59 Minutes 59 Seconds remaining.〉

〈System Alert: You have been awarded 2,880 EXP from the skill «Equalizer».〉

Loot Drop:

-1 silver and 65 bronze coins

-x1 «Merfolk Scale»

Izroth's eyes shone briefly when he saw the amount of EXP he received from just one monster alone. That was over 5,000 EXP! It was mainly because he received bonus EXP due to the level gap between him and the «Sea Palace Guard», and so when that acted together with the «Equalizer» skill, it provided an abundant amount of EXP.

'I have to push this skill to its limits.' He was referring to the «Equalizer» skill, as every second of this skill was precious! Izroth did not bother even glancing at the «Merfolk Scale» and simply placed it within his inventory along with the coins.

Izroth dashed forward on the pathway and as he did so, feeling out the presence of three more creatures as their focus was locked onto him from underneath the water.

He stopped sprinting and concentrated on the exact positions of these creatures. All three of them were Sea Palace Guards as they leaped out of the water with their tridents locked onto Izroth.

"We shall avenge our brother!" One of the Sea Palace Guards cried out.

Izroth stood still waiting for the right moment.

As soon as all three of the «Sea Palace Guard» were within a range of 3 meters, Izroth's palm shot out. Hundreds of illusions of Izroth's palm formed descended unto the three Sea Palace Guards like it was like an endless barrage.

Of course, hidden inside of these hundreds of palms was only one true strike. The «Myriad Elusive Palms» was one of Izroth's most useful skill when facing multiple opponents at once. Each strike was aimed at a vital point of the «Sea Palace Guard».

The head, neck, and the gills of lifeforms for those that lived in the sea were the obvious vital points for the «Sea Palace Guard».

〈System Alert: You have reached 10 stacks of «Lightning Charge». The skill «Lightning Field» is now available for use.〉

This was the skill Izroth was waiting for ever since he received the «Blade of Lightning» he wanted to test out the power of the «Lightning Field» skill. After all, it was important to have a full understanding of your own strength.

During his fight against the first «Sea Palace Guard», Izroth used seven attacks in total to take it down. When he used the skill «Phantom Strike» earlier, he realized that instead of gaining a single stack of «Lightning Charge», he received 2 stacks instead.

If that was the case, then with a skill like «Myriad Elusive Palms», as long as he was facing multiple enemies, he would be able to stack 10 «Lightning Charge» without much of a problem.

«Critical Hit: 490 Damage» [Myriad Elusive Palms]

Immediately after Izroth's «Myriad Elusive Palms» finished its third strike, a pulse of lightning was released from the current location Izroth was standing at.

Bzzzzt... Bzzzzzzt!

In an instant, a field of lightning spread out fifteen meters around Izroth. There were purple bolts of lightning striking down as if there was an invisible sphere around Izroth and the three «Sea Palace Guards».

〈Battle Alert: You have activated the skill «Lightning Field».〉

〈Battle Alert: Your ATK and AGI has been increased by 50%.〉

〈Battle Alert: Your attacks now deal 20% bonus damage as «Lightning Damage».〉

〈Battle Alert: «Sea Palace Guard» has been «Paralyzed» for 0.25 seconds by Player Izroth's «Lightning Field».〉

...

Izroth's luck was quite good with the first strike of lightning as it managed to successfully paralyze all three of the «Sea Palace Guard». Even though the «Paralyzed» effect only lasted a mere 0.25 seconds, it was still plenty of time for Izroth to take advantage of in the middle of battle.

With his attack now increased to 405 and agility increased to 315, these poor «Sea Palace Guards» did not stand a chance.

'I can sense everything perfectly while inside of the «Lightning Field», it's almost like everything within the sphere of influence is in my control.'

Lightning crackled intensely around Izroth's «Blade of Lightning», and it was giving off a low rumbling noise that resembled the sound of a thunderstorm.

When Izroth slashed at the nearest «Sea Palace Guard» with his sword, it hit the area near its ribcage where its gills were placed.

Bzzzzzt!

«Critical Hit: 1,408 Damage»

Izroth hit for over 1,000 damage with a simple basic attack aimed at its vital point. Why was his damage so high?

That was due to the «Lightning Damage» effect against the water-type creature «Sea Palace Guard». The entire body of the «Sea Palace Guard» was completely covered in water, so the effect was quite intense.

Izroth's original basic attack damage of 405 was increased by 50%. Then, thanks to the bonus 20% damage from «Lightning Damage» and the critical hit, the amount of damage he dealt was insanely high.

'10 seconds... That should be plenty of time.'

Every step that Izroth made, he left behind a small trail of lightning without a sound. But around 1 second later, a loud crashing sound echoed where Izroth just stood moments ago.

Although his movements were simple, they were incredibly refined to a masterful level. The «Blade of Lightning» held within his hand was performing a deadly dance of death as every strike with his sword was aimed to deal as much damage as possible.

Bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzt!

Izroth took full advantage of the «Paralyzed» effect and hit each «Sea Palace Guard» once. As the next second passed, Izroth was not as lucky as only one of the «Sea Palace Guard» were «Paralyzed» from the effect of his «Lightning Field».

The other two «Sea Palace Guard» stabbed downward with their tridents, attacking Izroth from two different directions at the same time. There was not too much space to maneuver on this pathway that grew more narrow with every step.

However, with the addition of the agility boost and the ability to read incoming attacks accurately, Izroth took half a step backward, evading one of the trident strikes as it smashed into the ground causing a bit of rubble to shoot up.

The other trident was speeding directly at his throat, was aiming to pierce one of Izroth's vital point.

Izroth did not panic as he calmly stepped onto the trident that slammed into the ground just a moment ago. As the «Sea Palace Guard» lifted its trident upward, Izroth used the momentum to launch a few meters into the air.

By doing so, Izroth dodged the second trident locked onto him. He stayed in the air for less than a second before landing back down onto the pathway. As he did so, the «Lightning Field» unleashed another barrage of lightning bolts that struck all three of the «Sea Palace Guard» once again.

Even if the «Sea Palace Guard» were moving inside of the water, they would still be unable to keep up with Izroth's current speed. However, they did not even get the chance to return to the water after they began their assault on him because of the«Lightning Field» constantly interrupting their movements.

It wasn't long until Izroth finished off the three «Sea Palace Guards», with a few seconds remaining on his «Lightning Field» skill. It had taken him less than 10 seconds to deal with three creatures that were two levels above his own!

'This skill is really useful.'

The field of lightning surrounding Izroth slowly vanished as the crackling sound released from his «Blade of Lightning» died down. As the corpse of the three «Sea Palace Guard» laid motionless on the pathway, Izroth received a string of system alerts.