Chapter 187: Stomp to Death (3)
Kai’s eyes darted quickly.
The Black Shirvon Set. Its physical defense is insanely high.
The Blue Prophet’s Robe and the Staff of the Reckless Sage? That guy’s dangerous.
Perhaps the explosive growth in Kai’s senses after becoming a Solaris Cleric was his greatest weapon. With just a quick glance, Kai could accurately estimate the opponent’s strength. Of course, simply estimating wasn’t enough if that’s all he could do. However, Kai was someone who could provide the right solution for the evaluation he made.
If physical defense is high, I’ll bypass it with Final Attack.
Crack!
“Kugh...!”
“N-Nox!”
“What the hell! That’s the Black Shirvon Set! Each piece costs 7,000 gold...!”
“He just got rid of Nox, who’s known as the nightmare of Warriors, in one hit? What kind of crazy damage is that?!”
So, what if their physical defense is high? My damage ignores defense anyway.
One hit after another. Kai only had two hands, while his enemies, with simple math, had over four hundred hands. Naturally, for every hit he landed, he could expect to be hit two hundred times.
I can’t afford to waste a single attack.
The determination not to make a single mistake until the battle was over swept over Kai. That resolve naturally elevated his focus to a higher level.
In 0.7 seconds, dodge the smash, then turn around for a guard. After that, I should jump and shake things up a bit.
While his body was moving without a moment’s pause, his mind was racing just as quickly.
He asked himself question after question.
What’s the best move here?
As if he were several people at once, he questioned himself and drew out the optimal, best, and most effective results. That was why he seemed like the reaper of the battlefield.
“What the...!”
“Over thirty of us have been logged out, but... he’s totally fine?”
“He’s more than just fine.”
Senji, the spear master, groaned in a low voice as his brows furrowed. “No hit...”
No Hit meant one hadn’t taken a single direct hit. In other words, Kai had received zero damage while taking down thirty Titan guild members.
How does he move like that?
The Titan guild members were disordered by the appearance of a monster they couldn’t comprehend with their logic.
However, the one most shocked was Goliath, who had been watching the battle from a slightly elevated hill. His mouth twitched as he observed every one of Kai’s movements with wide eyes.
Unknown, Kai, was never this skilled.
It would have been one thing if he had been a genius from the start, but Unknown was a naive adventurer when he first began.
He was such an insignificant opponent I could have taken down in five seconds if I wanted to back then.
That was why Goliath never paid Kai any attention. No, to be honest, Goliath hadn’t even known Unknown existed. But now, his presence was swallowing everything around him, growing larger and larger.
Most people had limits to how much they could grow.
But this bastard...
Kai grew stronger every time they met; it was as if he was showing that he had no limits.
I hate to admit it... but I must.
Goliath clenched his teeth and finally accepted a truth he didn’t want to acknowledge.
His power is on par with a top ten guild in the world. Maybe... even beyond that.
Rumors were already spreading fast. It had been Kai who led the undead army and saved them all when two Gates had opened at Castle Baden.
He’s fighting on equal terms even without summoning the undead army this time.
Of course, Kai was also human, so he would eventually get tired. Even though it was a game and the fatigue was less than in reality, stamina still existed.
However...
The distance between Goliath and Kai was vast. It was barely enough for them to make out each other’s faces.
However, for a moment, Goliath felt as if his eyes met Kai’s. At the same time, it felt as though someone had tightly gripped his heart, leaving him breathless.
I can’t accept this.
There was a time when Goliath was also behind others. When he started the game a week later than most, many strong players were already ahead of him. But one thing was certain—he had never once felt inferior to them.
I always knew I would surpass them eventually.
However, as Goliath looked at this lion slaughtering its way through a flock of two hundred sheep, he felt his confidence plummet. Of course, that didn’t mean he was ready to give up.
“Senji. Get ready.”
“Yes, sir,” Senji nodded with a hardened expression at Goliath’s command.
***
When Kai started his live stream, the community erupted into chaos—frenzy was the only word that fit. But now, it was quieter than ever. The players who normally roamed the forums were all too busy watching Kai’s stream to post anything.
Kai’s stream currently ranked number one globally. The viewer count had surpassed an unbelievable number of 3.2 million. As a result, the live stream server administrators were scrambling.
“Damn it! How’s the server build coming along?”
“It’s almost done! 97... 98... 99... 100%, completed!”
“Whew, finally, we can relax a little...”
The server administrator let out a deep sigh and shook his head. He had heard the hype about Unknown, so he knew how incredible Kai was.
But... I didn’t think he would be this incredible.
A regular personal streaming server could never handle 3.2 million viewers. Thus, they had to set up a dedicated server just for Kai’s stream.
"Well, it's not hard to understand why after seeing this unbelievable footage."
The administrator was also a huge MID Online fan himself, so he couldn’t help but admire the man putting on a movie-worthy performance in the stream.
The internet comments were not much different.
-What are the admins doing with all the money they’re earning? Aren’t they managing the servers?
-Ugh. I’d be too annoyed by the buffering to keep watching If this stream weren’t so entertaining.
-Oooh...? The buffering just stopped all of a sudden.
-Wait, you’re right! Looks like the admins finally did their job.
-Dang, watching those moves without any lag is pure art. It’s a masterpiece.
-Is he on something? How is he seeing those sneak attacks from behind in that chaos?
-This isn’t a setup with Titan, right? It’s so impressive, it makes you wonder.
Of course, the Titan guild wouldn’t deliberately tarnish their image just to boost Kai unless they went crazy. In short, what was being displayed on screen was a fair duel with no manipulation.
-Fifty left.
The battle was nearing its end.
***
“Huff, huff... huff.”
Kai’s once pristine, white robe, which always symbolized his purity, was now stained and a mess. They were the marks of glory from rolling on the wet grass of the battlefield.
Kai exhaled in short, rapid, but rhythmic breaths. It was a breathing technique favored by marathon runners, designed to significantly enhance cardiovascular endurance.
There are only a few left now.
Kai had taken care of all the Clerics, and most of the Warriors and Wizards were down as well. Now, only about ten enemies remained. However, Kai was more nervous than when he had been facing two hundred enemies.
Not a single one of them looks easy.
He let out a laugh of disbelief. After slaughtering 190 sheep, now the hunting dogs and wolves guarding them were finally crawling out, so how could he not laugh at the irony?
“Impressive.” Senji, the spear master, stepped forward and let out a short compliment. “You may be our enemy, but I can’t help but acknowledge you. I never thought you’d make it this far against us...”
“You talk as if this is my limit. I plan to see this through to the end.”
Senji grimaced at Kai’s words. “In that condition? Oh, don’t tell me you’re planning to summon those undead from last time.”
“You catch on quick.”
Despite his bravado, Kai realized he had truly reached his limit.
My Stamina recovery is too slow. Even with Ayana’s special potion, this is the best I can manage.
He could feel his body moving a beat slower when swinging his sword or dodging attacks.
Knight of Nightmare... I didn’t want to reveal it publicly like this, but I can’t lose here.
The one who lost here was going to truly lose everything. Of course, some could think it wouldn’t matter if he lost now.
After all, I’ve fought a one-man war against the Titan guild and killed 190 of them.
But from another perspective, it would prove that no matter how strong an individual was, they could never surpass a top ten guild.
If I take just one more step, I can show them.
That even an individual could defeat a collective. That when a system of society became corrupt, a single person could challenge it head-on and crush it.
And that if anyone dares mess with me, no matter who they are, they’ll meet the same fate.
He would be able to send that message to the world.
Just like before, a purple glow flashed from the ring, and a cloud-like darkness poured out. However, that was it. The smoke quickly dissipated and vanished.
Taken aback, Kai attempted to use Knight of Nightmare again.
[Cooldown: 23 hours 59 minutes 55 seconds remaining.]
The skill was definitely activated, so why...?
The skeleton knights that should have appeared were nowhere to be seen.
While Kai stood there bewildered, Senji twirled his spear as he approached.
“You have every reason to be confident. If I had your skills, I’d feel the same. However, just because you’re skilled doesn’t mean you should treat others like idiots.”
Senji, along with nine other rankers, circled around Kai in a perfect ring.
“Which means...?”
“If we hadn’t prepared for your dullahan army after the last time, we would’ve already lost our spot as a top ten guild.”
“What have you planned?”
“Heh.”
Senji opened the front of his top and pulled out a necklace. It was a finely crafted piece made of pure white crystal.
“This is a necklace called the Ancient God's Tears. No undead can approach within fifty meters of the wearer. That includes summoning as well. Of course, it doesn’t work on named or boss monsters... but unfortunately, your skeleton knights aren’t at that level, are they?”
Kai bit his lip, left speechless, while Senji gripped his spear with both hands and took a stance.
“Well, you’ve had your moment of glory. Now it’s time for our guild to shine, don’t you think?”
“No words left, huh? Looks like he’s clammed up.”
“This is the fate of a foolish cub who doesn’t understand the fear of the tiger. Rookie.”
The rankers were certain of their victory.
But the next moment, Kai rubbed his forehead and finally said, “Hey, chat, I’ll turn the stream back on later. See you then.”
With that brief comment, Kai abruptly ended the stream.
It had been random when he started streaming, but the way he turned it off was even more unexpected.
“What? We wanted our moment too...”
The Titan rankers stood dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open.
“You idiots, move aside.”
Goliath pushed them out of the way and walked toward Kai.
He looked down at the seemingly helpless Kai and smirked. “You really are something. Do you not realize that if you can stream, we can do the same?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it.”
"How could I not? It's the great Unknown, crushed under my feet."
“No, seriously, I’m saying this for your own good. You really shouldn’t do it.”
Kai quietly sheathed his sword, and muttered under his breath as he sighed, “I didn’t want to use this unless it was a true last resort because it’s such a waste of stats...”
Knight of Nightmare was blocked, and his Stamina was depleted. Although he had an Undying Will skill that would make him invincible for five seconds, he wasn’t confident he could kill all ten rankers in that short time. Thus, there was only one option left—his ultimate last resort.
Kai made the most victimized expression he could and reluctantly said, “Skill activation, Descent.”