Chapter 83 …
Right: an orc.
Center: Kaiser.
Left: a necromancer.
Faced with this chaotic combination, Duke couldn’t help but feel tears well up.
He had clearly decided—very kindly(?)—to give up and run away, so how had things ended up like this?
All he did was beat up an orc. Why was it judged as a preemptive attack, and why was he now so perfectly surrounded?
Nothing made sense.
Even so, Duke made a quick decision amid the confusion.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but at this point, whoever strikes first wins!’
For whatever reason, the fight had already begun.
Surrounded like this, escape was impossible.
If so, the best option was to exploit their moment of carelessness and launch a surprise opening strike.
Swoosh—!
Duke’s spear tore sharply through the air.
[Unique Ability ‘Swiftness’ activates.]
[Attack speed greatly increases.]
[Trait ‘Single Strike’ activates.]
[If the next attack hits, greatly increased damage is applied.]
[Skill ‘All-Out Thrust’ is used.]
Duke’s signature thrust—containing the essence of his entire style!
Landing the first blow with overwhelming speed and damage was Duke’s sure-win strategy.
It was hard to dodge even at long range—let alone at this distance…
‘I’ve won…!’
Flames burned in Duke’s eyes.
There was no way to dodge this.
Avoiding the fastest thrust at this distance would be impossible even for a martial arts master straight out of a wuxia novel.
Though there had been danger, true masters turned crises into opportunities.
Duke’s heart pounded wildly.
‘I can become a star!’
With that certainty, his thrust shot forward, ready to pierce Kaiser’s heart—
Clack.
Kaiser casually lifted the black spear in his hand and blocked Duke’s spear with the shaft.
Whirl—
“…Huh?”
With a slight movement, Duke’s spear—pressed against the shaft—was drawn along Kaiser’s motion.
The tightly gathered force dispersed, and before Duke knew it, the tip of his spear had dropped uselessly to the ground.
His all-out strike… neutralized in vain.
Duke knew exactly what he had just witnessed.
‘A… parry?’
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.
At this distance, Kaiser reacted after seeing the thrust? Dodging or deflecting would already be difficult—yet he redirected it with perfect timing?
Was parrying ever that easy?
‘No way…’
While his mind panicked, his body moved on instinct.
Thanks to his constant training, the moment his thrust was blocked, his feet naturally shifted into a flowing step.
He twisted his weight the opposite way, and in an instant the spear rebounded upward, whipping toward Kaiser’s neck.
“…Oh?”
Kaiser’s eyes widened slightly.
At the same time, Duke’s eyes widened too.
‘No way… he saw this too—’
His prediction was correct.
Kaiser calmly took in Duke’s entire swinging motion at a glance and dismantled it with absurd ease.
Step.
One step forward.
Whoosh—
Just by stepping in, the spear aimed at his neck sliced through empty air.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
As the distance closed, the attack was jammed at the handle, preventing Duke from putting full force into it.
Thud, smack!
“!?”
What followed was Dohyun’s sweeping kick to Duke’s ankle.
A heavy sensation struck his leg—
—and his body lifted into the air.
Then the falling black spear… no, dagger.
Stab! Stab stab!
In an instant, his neck, heart, and carotid artery were pierced.
By the time he hit the ground, the world of God Ose was gone from view.
[You have been killed by Player ‘Kaiser’.]
[Death penalty applied.]
[For 24 hours, EXP gain and item drop rate reduced by 50%, and one carried item will be dropped at random.]
[Judged as initiating combat. Chance to drop equipped items increased.]
All he could see was the message floating over a darkened screen.
Pshh—
The game ended, and Duke opened his eyes inside the capsule, sitting there blankly for a long time.
He didn’t understand why he died.
No—before that, he didn’t even know exactly how he died.
He tried a surprise thrust… then everything spun, his body floated, and he was dead.
‘…It was a parry, right?’
That was about the only thing he could grasp.
He had ambushed first and still died without understanding why.
Unless the gap between a newbie and a top-ranked player was this massive, this level of difference made no sense.
For Duke—who had always been confident in his skills—it was a tremendous shock.
‘Is the gap really this big?’
Which meant the distance between him and Kaiser was at least that large.
Though he barely qualified as a ranked player, Duke had believed his skill could rival those above him.
Even when he felt walls from high-rankers, it had never seemed this insurmountable.
He had thought effort would be enough to reach them.
But this…
There was no end in sight.
“…Wow… damn…”
After muttering vague exclamations for a long while, something he’d seen in the community suddenly came to mind.
‘They said a lot of people are forming teams in Brion to hunt Kaiser, right?’
Back then, he had been obsessed with securing the first claim as quickly as possible.
Now he understood just how foolish that thought had been.
‘Heh. First claim, my ass.’
He was certain.
No matter how great the team that appeared, no matter how many people rushed him—the result would be the same.
Soon, a storm of blood would sweep through Brion.
* * *
[You have defeated Player ‘Duke’.]
[Recognized as self-defense. Karma will not increase.]
[Loot dropped items?]
“Whoa…”
Right after things ended, Kaiser unconsciously spread his hands.
“I killed him without even meaning to.”
Judging from the situation, he’d been trying to talk since it seemed the guy attacked thinking Eliza—disguised as an orc—was real.
But the sudden attack made his body move on instinct.
He hadn’t intended to kill him, so he felt a bit sorry—then shrugged.
‘Well, whatever.’
After all, that guy attacked first.
Dohyun had simply defended himself. And honestly, the man hadn’t seemed like a particularly decent player anyway.
‘He was hiding behind a rock.’
Some people did hide from orcs while resting.
But in a situation where everyone’s attention was focused on Dohyun, hiding specifically behind him?
Calling that a coincidence would be the real joke.
Besides, the guy attacked the moment he was discovered.
‘His skills weren’t bad, though.’
The smooth follow-up after the parry had carried the unmistakable scent of a veteran.
The kind only long-time players showed.
Dohyun had been a bit surprised to see that level in Brion—so his hands moved a little harder than usual.
His body had reacted instinctively to that familiar “veteran” aura.
‘Well, with a billion players, there are bound to be more experts.’
If he went to the Empire where everyone gathered, he’d probably meet even stronger ones than those in Demrock.
The thought excited him.
—What happened?
“Ah, nothing much. You know how they said lots of people are after me.”
—Eliza!?
At Dohyun’s answer, Eliza’s eyes flared angrily, and she started stomping Duke’s corpse.
Whether she had just realized he was an enemy or was simply offended—who knew.
—Me too, take this!
Jihad joined in, apparently finding it fun.
Watching the two Guardians stomp away, Dohyun shook his head and looked elsewhere.
[Loot dropped items?]
It was time to check the unexpected reward.
“…Oh.”
When he accepted the loot, a faint glow appeared and an item popped out.
It was a pair of shoes.
[Stealth Leather Shoes Made by a Special Workshop]
Grade: Rare+
Description: Custom leather shoes crafted by a workshop that handles special materials. Not made with rare ingredients, but created by a master craftsman with excellent performance.
Level Requirement: 25
Equip Restriction: None
Physical Defense +71
Magic Resistance +56
Agility +3
Perception +1
Special Option: Footsteps make no sound while walking.
“Oh? Nice.”
Rare+ leather shoes.
They were essentially a direct upgrade over Dohyun’s current footwear.
The level requirement was only 25, and the defense stats were solid for shoes.
Since they were leather, they wouldn’t hinder movement either.
‘The option’s perfect too. Time to swap immediately.’
He equipped them.
[Unequipped ‘Libre Silkworm Shoes’.]
[Equipped ‘Leather Shoes from Special Workshop’.]
[Agility +1.]
Because the options were similar to his previous shoes, the net result was +1 Agility.
Plus the extra special option—perfect.
Though it seemed minor and more suited for assassins…
‘This’ll help when I use partial stealth.’
For Dohyun, who possessed a half-baked stealth ability, it was actually a great bonus.
After finishing up, he looked up and saw Jihad and Eliza catching their breath after venting.
Eliza met his eyes and shouted energetically:
—Liza liza!
—She says she’ll keep patrolling in case more guys like that show up.
“Will you be okay? Won’t you run out of mana?”
—Liza!
—…She says she’s totally fine. Lucky.
—Liza!?
Eliza waved her hands, as if she hadn’t meant to brag.
Apparently, she only consumed mana when parasitizing—not while maintaining it.
‘That’s actually great for patrols or hiding.’
He’d never heard of a Guardian with traits like this, but seeing it firsthand, it was more useful than expected.
If Jihad specialized in large-scale combat, Eliza was firmly a support-type Guardian.
Jihad burned mana heavily, while Eliza seemed relatively free in that regard.
Each had clear pros and cons.
‘If I could just fix that guy’s mana issue, I wouldn’t even need a party.’
It was practically the perfect setup for a one-man army.
Though honestly, his brute stats already made solo play easy.
‘Still… didn’t expect hyenas to show up this early.’
It was just one for now—but what if they came in teams?
Ambushes during hunting would be more annoying than dangerous.
But proactively wiping them out would risk his Karma.
Especially since this was Brion.
“…Wait.”
Something suddenly flashed through Dohyun’s mind.
His gaze naturally shifted to Eliza.
‘This time it was ruled self-defense.’
The other player had attacked Eliza—who was parasitizing an orc—triggering the self-defense ruling.
Up until the moment he struck, the guy hadn’t realized Eliza was disguised.
Which meant…
A sly grin spread across Dohyun’s lips.
‘This could make things a lot easier.’
Seeing his subtle smile, Jihad quietly shut his mouth and nodded.
He didn’t know what Dohyun was thinking—
—but one thing was certain.
—Not sure what it is, but more poor victims are definitely about to appear.
—Liza?
—Just one of those things.
Whenever their master made that kind of expression…
…blood always followed.
And so Jihad offered a small prayer for the unknown souls to come.
