Chapter 352: The Invincible One (3)

As Kai exhaled, a puff of white breath escaped his lips. He scratched the side of his head as he looked at the disaster he had caused.

“The effect is good... a little

too

good.”

Absolute Zero was a Unique-grade magic skill obtained after defeating the Sea Serpent, Harley. Naturally, as a magic skill, it was influenced by the Intelligence stat. With his Intelligence now exceeding 2,600, Kai’s cast of Absolute Zero was bound to be extraordinary. To top it off, he had used quadruple-casting to layer it four times, causing devastating results.

All fifty-two champion statues at the Challenger’s Staircase were frozen solid, and the nineteen members of Crimson Dawn had turned into blue ice statues in the exact poses they were in. And that wasn’t all.

“Just how wide is a quadruple-cast area?”

The Duel Arena was on an island surrounded on all sides by sea. That meant not only the nearby arena walls, but even the crashing waves of the ocean had completely frozen. Moreover, what shocked Kai even more was that he couldn’t even estimate the range.

Ding!

[You attacked StickyCookie. This player is in a safe zone. The attack has been nullified.]

[You attacked Evolve. This player is in a safe zone. The attack has been nullified.]

[You attacked Drok. This player is in a...] .

.

.

The terrifying cold storm had spread beyond the fortress walls, engulfing all the players and NPCs inside.

Looking at the frozen world he had created, Kai approached the nearby ice statue.

They made the first move, so I should finish things off.

Just as he was about to swing his sword without hesitation, the sound of ice breaking echoed, and a harsh breath followed.

“

Huff, huff.

”

Turning around, Kai saw Chris, having broken free from the ice, gripping his arms and trembling violently.

What? Is the duration shorter than expected?

But all the other members were still completely frozen in place.

Then Chris must have an unusually high magic resistance.

That was certainly possible as Chris was a Wizard, and not just any Wizard, but one holding the title of second ranked overall.

“That spell just now...

huff,

what is it...?” Chris, floating a fireball to thaw his body, asked.

“Absolute Zero,” Kai answered.

“I see...”

Chris’s gaze shook as he stared at the absurd world Kai had created.

I never thought I’d fall behind in a magic duel against a Paladin.

But he couldn’t back down. Not only because of his second ranked title, but because his pride as the world’s greatest Wizard was boiling within him. And now, he was the only one left to protect his frozen allies.

Chris instantly made four magic circles. Fierce winds whipped around him, flaring his robe and tossing his hair wildly. “I haven’t shown my full strength yet.”

“Then show it.”

With those words, Kai charged straight at Chris.

Radiant Sword.

The skill embedded in the Holy Sword Prius activated, and Kai’s blade began to shine gold, maximizing his attack power.

Chris claimed he hadn’t shown his full strength, but in truth, neither had Kai.

Crack!

As Kai dashed forward, something gripped his ankle tightly. When he looked down, thick and long vines had risen from the ground.

Vine Bind... I see. Silent casting, huh?

It was a signal that Chris had no intention of revealing what spells he was using, so Kai began analyzing what spells Chris had used.

One of the four spells is Vine Bind, and judging by his enhanced movement, he probably used Blessing of Wind too, and...

Kai slashed down a Lightning Spear flying toward him and continued assessing the remaining magic.

What is it? I can’t see it.

As the whereabouts of the final spell remained unknown, Kai’s sword descended upon Chris. His strike aimed straight for Chris’s raised left wrist. A dull sound followed, and at the same time, Kai figured out what the final magic spell was.

“This sound is...”

Normally, when he slashed another player’s body with his sword, it didn’t make such a dull thud. There was only one situation where that kind of sound could be heard.

A defensive spell.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Kai realized that Chris had used one of the defensive spells, Armor of Mana. A Wizard-exclusive skill that temporarily enveloped the body in mana to drastically increase both physical and magical defense. However, Kai grew even more confused.

Clang!

Armor of Mana... isn’t a sustained-duration spell, is it?

He was right. Armor of Mana only temporarily enhanced the body. It shouldn’t have been able to protect Chris for such a long time. Logically speaking, Chris should have already been unable to maintain the skill, but it wasn’t like there were no ways around that.

Increased skill duration... or reduced cooldown time. Must be one or the other.

Or maybe both.

Then, Chris’s body, which had briefly disappeared, reappeared about ten meters back. He used Blink, a Wizard’s only dash and escape skill.

Voooomm.

Three magic circles reappeared around Chris as he caught his breath.

Three? Not four?

Kai furrowed his brows, but Chris had already begun casting.

Boom!

A lightning bolt crashed from the sky, and Kai dove aside to avoid it. He performed a perfect landing roll and sprang back to his feet, launching a Holy Chain from his left hand.

Shh-clink.

“Not so fast.”

But Chris, who had wrapped his hand in Wind Cutter, sliced through the chain and extended out his hand.

“Slow.”

Kai's movement slowed down, and he felt as if he had water jugs strapped to his body. In that state, Chris's barrage of spells continued.

“Mana Amplification.”

That was a Unique-grade skill that consumed mana to boost spell damage while reducing casting and cooldown time! It was clear he planned to finish things while Kai was under Slow.

Sunlight’s Warmth.

But of course, Kai easily removed the debuff, and his movements quickly regained speed.

“

Argh

.”

Naturally, Chris’s eyes began darting rapidly. He had to track Kai’s zigzagging charge as he closed in.

Boom! Boom boom!

Lightning blasted from Chris’s hands with such force that it cracked the stone ground beneath him, but none of it even grazed the edge of Kai’s clothes.

As expected. He only fires three spells at a time.

Kai’s eyes gleamed. There was only one reason a quadruple-casting player would cast only three spells at once.

He assigned one magic circle entirely to sustain a skill.

And Kai had a good idea what that skill was.

Kai reached Chris in an instant, his sword at the Wizard’s throat.

“Just as I thought.” Kai was now certain that Chris’s body was still covered by Armor of Mana. “So, you kept Armor of Mana up this whole time. Must be thanks to that famed multi-computation ability of yours.”

Chris slightly furrowed his brows.

Casting one skill non-stop while using the remaining three to fire other spells, and all while fighting on the move—Chris truly was a monster.

“I learned something good from you.” But Kai, an even greater monster, raised his sword to finish things. “Final Attack!”

Final Attack was a skill that consumed Holy Power to convert the next strike into pure defense-ignoring damage and tripled its damage output, and it was now surging toward Chris’s heart.

“

Argh!

”

With Blink on cooldown, Chris couldn’t dodge, so he went with the next best option.

“Ice Barricade!”

Three layers of giant ice barricades instantly appeared. However, Chris didn’t use them defensively, and instead, he cast them under Kai’s feet. As a result, Kai’s body was thrown into the air, disrupting his stance. And just as his attack seemed to have failed—

“Petrification.”

The triple-layered Ice Barricade instantly turned to stone. However, Kai turned his body and kicked the barricade.

Chris raised both arms to block the massive stone slab coming down on him.

“

Aaaghh!

”

He screamed from the pain in his arms, but only for a moment as Kai, having pinpointed Chris’s location from behind the barricade, brought his sword down in a vertical slash.

“

Hmm?

”

But the sword struck something other than Chris’s crown.

“That’s...”

Kai turned his head with a displeased expression after confirming the figure that had appeared from behind the cracked barricade. Then, he saw a familiar face rapidly approaching. It was none other than Jackal. What Kai had slashed just now was not Chris, but one of Jackal’s clones.

Kai asked in a voice filled with irritation, “What do you think you're doing?”

“Well...” Jackal looked around at the frozen members of Crimson Dawn, then let out a heavy sigh.

He shot a resentful gaze toward Chris. “Who the hell came up with this insane plan?”

“...The vice-captain.”

“Damn it, that idiot.” Scratching his head so hard it made a rough noise, Jackal bowed to Kai at a full ninety degrees. “This is all my fault. Please, would you be willing to forgive us just this once?”

Still unclear about the situation, Kai silently stared at the two of them.

Then Jackal said, “Just as you used the name Banish in the arena, my name also isn’t really Jackal.”

“Then what is it?”

“My name is Ghost. I’m the captain of Crimson Dawn, and the one who commands these twenty-one idiots.”

“Who are you calling an idiot right now...”

“Shut up,” Ghost shot Chris a glare.

Finally grasping the situation, Kai pointed toward Chris and the ice statues with the tip of his sword. “So... you're the man behind the veil, Ghost?”

At those words, Ghost gave a bitter smile. “Yes. Please forgive us just this once, for my sake. I wasn’t even informed that such a request had been made."

“Well, who told you to vanish and reject all contact?”

“I’m sure I told you that when I’m off the grid, don’t touch rankers or global guilds carelessly.”

“Tell that to the vice-captain.”

Ghost glared at Christ who was talking back at every chance, then turned to Kai with an apologetic expression. “I’m sure you’re furious, but would you be willing to stop here? These guys are all high-rankers. If they die even once, recovering will be extremely difficult.”

“I don’t know about that. I feel like I got blindsided for no reason, so I’m not in the best mood.”

“If you let it go this time, I’ll give you my letter.”

“H-hey!” Chris shouted in shock.

Ghost stared at him directly as he responded, “Be quiet, or would you rather we all die here?”

“No one's going to die—”

“If I don't stop him, are you confident you can win?”

Chris faltered and clamped his mouth shut at that.

“Then stay still.”

Having silenced Chris with one line, Ghost turned back to Kai.

“A Dawn Letter... I have heard of it.”

Crimson Dawn was originally a mercenary group that took on all kinds of paid requests. But when not working as mercenaries, the members hid their identities and enjoyed the game like anyone else.

And if they receive a great favor during that time, they supposedly send a Dawn Letter.

Those who received such a letter were rumored to be able to issue requests for free depending on the letter’s grade.

“Since you already know, this should be easier to explain. As you would expect, the letter I give is of the highest grade.”

“And what can I do with a highest-grade letter?”

“Anything.” Ghost made a statement so grand it sounded almost arrogant. “If someone holds a highest-grade Dawn Letter and makes a request, the entire Crimson Dawn guild stops all other activity and moves solely for that request. Whatever the task, we guarantee its completion.”

There was confidence in Ghost’s voice. The kind of overwhelming confidence that if the full Crimson Dawn guild moved, no request in this game would go unfulfilled.

“

Hm...

”

Kai stared at his Holy Sword, which radiated brilliance, and fell into brief contemplation.

Crimson Dawn is still veiled in mystery.

Perhaps aside from himself, who had just fought their entire force today, few knew their true power.

The authority to use such people for free... to be honest, is huge.

On the other hand, he was confident he could kill them all if he chose to continue fighting them, but their relationship would be ruined. Reaching that point in his thoughts, Kai realized there was no need to think further.

The more hidden joker cards I hold, the better.

Kai unsummoned his Holy Sword and reached out to shake hands with Ghost. “I accept your offer. I’ll overlook today’s incident.”

“Thank you...”

Though it was a somewhat humiliating deal, Ghost let out a sigh of relief.

It’s not just a matter of our members dropping in levels.

What if twenty-two players with no known connection suddenly stopped logging in for three days, and if rumors spread that Kai had annihilated the entire Crimson Dawn during that time?

It would be a serious crisis where all the members’ identities could be exposed.

His heart clenched at the thought. Ghost took a golden letter from his pocket and handed it to Kai. “Come to us anytime. Our contact information is enclosed in the letter. Whatever the request, Crimson Dawn will fulfill it.”

Kai took the letter and smiled broadly. “Excellent.”

That makes two global guilds I can mobilize in an emergency.

He could now wield both the Pray guild and the Crimson Dawn as he pleased. Additionally, he also had friendly relations with the Warriors, the nobles of the Kingdom of Rashion, and with Cheonhwa.

Not bad at all.

Satisfied with the deal, Kai looked around at the frozen statues and said, “Sorry, but dispelling that isn’t within my skill’s domain.”

“That’s fine. I’ll handle those things... myself.”

Having been seen off by Ghost, who remained humble until the very end, Kai left the Duel Arena through the teleport gate.

Now alone with Chris, Ghost sighed as he thought about the work of thawing out the frozen statues.