Chapter 102: Poisonous Toad King
Ztube was a worldwide video uploading site, and Somin was an active uploader on Ztube. Her main content was centered around?Athenae, a topic that was famous and well-known in the world. She was in her mid-20s, but she had small bones so she did not look like she was old. She was also able to garner high views with her content about?Versal?before. Just as she finished her business in the bathroom, she received a phone call from her friend.
[Somin-ah. Go to Athenae’s official website and check out this interesting video.]
An interesting video? Somin wondered. Watching other people’s videos was also something meaningful for her. She would be able to follow the current trend if she knew the content that the other people made and found interesting. Obviously, the current trend these days was all about?Athenae?players. In addition, if the owner of the video was someone that was a handsome or beautiful person, then it was like icing on the cake. Somin hurriedly accessed?Athenae’s?official website at the urging of her friend.
[Number 1. Frying Pan Killer.]
She was quite taken aback by the number one on the real-time search keyword list. She asked, “Frying Pan Killer?”
[You’ll definitely thank me for that.]
Somin clicked on the video curiously. The video showed a man with a frying pan on his back fighting against a mini troll. She thought,?‘Wow... He’s really handsome. How long has it been since my eyes were cleansed like this?’
Somin freely admired the handsome features of the frying pan player. At the same time, the mini troll sent out a magic attack towards the player. Then…
[Clang!]
…The magic attack that was sent out was reflected back towards the mini troll.
‘Magical reflection...?!’?Somin thought in shock. As far as she knew, magical reflection was an ability inherent to mages. This was exclusive for mages that lack HP and high-leveled mages that were above the 6th class. However, to think that the frying pan was capable of something like that? Moreover, the mini troll that was hit by the reflected attack could not come back to its senses.
Somin thought that the video had checked all of the three things that a video needed to become a hit. Fresh content. A unique character. On top of that, a face that could attract a crowd. As she continued to watch the video, Somin was shocked to the point that she even let out gas.
Fwoooooosh▂
“That’s Suicidal Rovan, right?”
[How was it? Aren’t you thankful?]
“Hey. I’m busy!”
[Kim So...]
Somin ended the call before her friend could scold and nag at her.?Versal’s Rovan. He was called the Mad Devil, the Crazy Hunter. She had posted plenty of videos about him and had personally watched all of his raid videos. He was an extremely famous player. Anyone who played?Versal?would know who Rovan was. He even fought the demon, Valental, alone! At the time when he hunted Valental, he was also given another name.?Suicidal Rovan.?He was a genius in combat.
‘He’s a player that has been recognized by the country’s gaming experts. He’s one of the few genius gamers with high physical, combat prowess and sense of humor!’
Now, he appeared in the virtual reality gaming scene once again. Somin was quite happy about this fact, but the thing that made her happier was the fact that she was somewhere near Shrieking Hills. She quickly accessed and logged in to the game.
Her nickname in?Athenae?was Joo-Ah. She had the hidden class Talented Exclusive, and her special ability was ‘Ignoring Restrictions’. With her special ability, she could override and ignore all the restrictions and conditions needed before entering a dungeon or a field. However, even if she used her special ability, she would not be able to attack or acquire any items inside the dungeon. Still, it was entirely possible to take videos and photos inside the dungeons and fields. This was the best ability for a Ztuber! She rushed to find Rovan.
‘Maybe I will even be able to see the suicidal battle again...!’
Of course, even if it was not a 1:1 battle against a boss, there should be a fight against plenty of monsters. Then…
‘Found him!’
Joo-Ah was extremely delighted when she saw the backs of Rovan and the frying pan player. They were facing each other. She thought,?‘What’s this? Why does it look like they’re going to fight...?’
The moment she thought that they would be starting a fight, Joo-Ah knew that it would garner a high number of views. Her heart fluttered excitedly as she started to stream a live broadcast.
***
Rovan did not only enjoy hunting, but he also quite enjoyed fighting against other players. Since he was extremely skilled, he even challenged the demons in Versal. They had been creatures that no one in the country had ever raided successfully. That was when the nickname?suicidal?was thrown at him. He really wanted to fight with Minhyuk with everything that he got.
“You want us to fight?”
“Yes. I really want to fight you, Minhyuk, at least once, with everything that I’ve got. This is my request.”
“...I understand. I won’t hold back then.”
“Yep,” Rovan answered, grinning. He was glad that Minhyuk readily accepted his request. He decided to use one of the abilities of the legendary class Berserker.
[You have used Berserker’s Madness.]
[Your basic stats will temporarily increase by 50% for 10 minutes.]
[You can use Blood Manipulation.]
[You can turn blood into weapons and attack any enemy within a 5-meter radius.]
[You can use the restricted 3rd~5th chapter of the Greatsword’s Swordsmanship.]
[The penalty for Berserker’s Madness has been applied.] [Even if you keep on hunting monsters, you won’t be able to increase your EXP for 3 days.]
[5 points will be permanently removed from your basic stats.]
Berserker’s Madness was a skill that would temporarily increase all five of his basic stats by 50%. He would also be able to use the Berserker skills and abilities that were still currently sealed for him. However, the penalty was equally painful. Nevertheless, he had a reason as to why he used it.
‘If I don’t use this power, then I will never have the chance to defeat Minhyuk,’?Rovan thought. In fact, he was quite sure of this.
Minhyuk quickly stepped back. He had a few ideas as to why Rovan requested this from him. When strong people came together, there would always be a person who would avoid fights and a person who would want to compete in every way possible. Rovan clearly belonged to the latter. Minhyuk used all of the buffs that he could use. Then, Rovan narrowed the distance between them.
Swoooooosh!
‘He got faster.’
Minhyuk noticed that his speed had become faster than what he had used before. In just a blink of an eye, Rovan had already approached him and swung his sword at him. Minhyuk twisted his body and dodged the attack while Rovan chased after him and swung his sword at him sideways. Minhyuk quickly defended himself from the attack.
Baaaaang!
When the swords met, instead of hearing the sound of grating swords, they heard the sound of something smashing. Minhyuk almost reeled back from the force of the attack. He quickly took his stance and launched an attack back at Rovan.
[Sword of Fury.]
[Additional 50% attack power for strong lunges and stabs, if a vital strike is successful, it will be 80%.]
Minhyuk’s stabbing sword was quickly parried by Rovan and the skill was canceled.
Bang!
Minhyuk was a bit surprised. This was the first time that he saw someone cancel a skill in this way. At that moment, Rovan had already narrowed the distance between them once again, as he used the skill that he had prepared earlier.
[Greatsword’s Destruction]
[The power to destroy everything in one strike.]
[Additional bleeding will be incurred if the hit is successful. players within a 3-meter radius will be affected.]
Rovan’s sword glowed a bright red, shaking as if it was going to explode.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
When Minhyuk blocked the Greatsword’s Destruction, a heavy force exploded and swallowed his body. The aftermath of the explosion was scorched ground, along with a dense cloud of dust. Rovan inhaled sharply as he prepared for the next attack.
[Greatsword’s Disaster.]
[Powerful flames will engulf all of your enemies at once.]
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A powerful flame surged out from Rovan’s sword. The flame was so strong that it blew the dense cloud of dust away.
Baaaam!
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A huge pillar of flame rose and swept the dust away. However, Rovan still did not let his guard down. Then…
Shwaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Rovan saw Minhyuk rushing towards him. He swung his sword at him. However, Minhyuk moved so fast that he only left an afterimage behind.
[Step.]
[You can instantly travel a distance of one meter twice allowing you to quickly narrow or widen your distance from your target.]
Rovan hurriedly turned around to block Minhyuk behind him. Minhyuk once again disappeared from behind him leaving only an afterimage behind. The moment Minhyuk disappeared, Rovan quickly sensed danger.
[Rampant Sword.]
[A flurry of rampant swords with additional 30% attack power will be created for 6 seconds.]
The number of swords that Minhyuk used to attack had increased by the dozens. Rovan could feel a huge amount of pressure with all the swords surrounding him.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
For Rovan to be able to parry the flurry of swords and counter Rampant Sword by himself was a testament to how great his abilities and skills were. However, one of the swords was still able to penetrate through his defense and slash at his sides.
Slaaash!
[You have received a critical strike.]
Rovan saw his HP plummet in an instant. A large chunk of his HP was gone with just one attack. Spurt!
Spurt!
Blood spurted out all over his body. In an instant, his HP had dropped to less than 40%. The falling blood slowly rose and became sharp weapons. Rovan’s eyes glittered sharply.
[Blood Manipulation]
[Any blood within a 5-meter radius can be turned into weapons that can be used to attack the enemies.]
The drops of blood coagulated and quickly turned into the shape of a weapon. It quickly enlarged and attacked and parried Minhyuk’s Rampant Sword.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Then, from the clashing weapons in the air, a spear brushed past Minhyuk’s sides.
Spurt!
[You have recovered 2% of your HP.]
[HP absorption has failed.]
[You have recovered 1% of your HP.]
[You have recovered 4% of your HP.]
[HP absorption has failed.]
Minhyuk’s blood turned into beads that were sucked and absorbed by Rovan, making his wounds start to recover at a rapid pace. After the duration of the Rampant Sword ended, Minhyuk took a step back. At the same time, Rovan also took a step back with his sword. Minhyuk hurriedly took out some food and ate.
Fwooooosh!
Minhyuk’s wounds also began to recover at a rapid pace.
***
Joo-Ah blinked blankly at the incredible sight that was happening in front of her. She was not the only one who could not believe what was happening. Real-time comments had started to pour in and appear on her live broadcast.
[hsfdf44: OMG… That’s Versal’s Rovan over there right, the suicidal hunter. Scary.]
[VeryAmazing!: Where did that come from? It looks like he’s whistling leisurely.]
[adadl3: I don’t think he’s whistling... Rovan looks like he’s in a rush. It seems like he’s using all of his strength.]
They did not know the exact details of the skills or Rovan’s class, but they were surprised nonetheless. They could see that Rovan would lose the moment his Berserker’s Madness’ duration ended. The viewers continued to argue with each other.
[gadadl579: Who do you think will win?]
[Kyaakak: Rovan. I think he’s just taking care of him. Yepyep.]
[Yuri: 222222] historical
[Carman: 3333333]
[gfdfadq7461: How can Rovan have plenty of fanboys and fangirls when he looks like a dog? Rovan’s out of breath. Just look at him.]
[Hororong: Where did you see it...? Hey, you look like shit...]
[gfdfadq7461: My mom says that I’m the most handsome in the world. Hahahaha.]
The viewers were arguing intensely when rankers suddenly appeared.
[Chaos: I’m?player Chaos, currently at Level 398.]
[Carman: Oh. It’s Ghostblade Chaos!]
[Yuri: OMG... Chaos! I’m your White Chaos! We’re with you Chaos!]
[Chaos: Thank you. Hehe;; To get to the point, a video of the Frying Pan Killer in Shrieking Hills was posted before. If you think about it then they’re supposed to be in there and that’s a hunting ground that Level 100~120 players usually frequent.]
[Hororong: yepyep. That’s right.]
[VeryAmazing!: But why are you mentioning this?]
[Chaos: I don’t think you’re aware of this but let me say that again just to emphasize. Right now, they’re at around Level 100~120.]
Chaos was surprised about their combat prowess, however, he was not aware that Minhyuk and Rovan just undergone an insane increase in levels before. The level restrictions in the dungeon or field would not work if they leveled up inside. They would not be restricted even if they logged out as long as they did not leave the dungeon. However, once they used the return scroll, then the restrictions would be imposed on them.
[Koro: Are you saying that they’re only between Level 100 to Level 120? That’s crazy...]
It was just a lowkey comment from one of the players but the comment sections had become flooded after this comment. Joo-Ah murmured to herself as she looked at the chaotic comments. She said, “I thought the two of them were both over Level 200…”
Of course, she knew that Shrieking Hills was a Level 100 hunting ground even before she came here. However, when she saw the battle between the two of them, she thought that they were over Level 200 and had somehow ignored those restrictions. Who knew? Their levels were actually far below that. Joo-ah continued to film quietly, watching the two of them clash without letting up. She mumbled, “Damn, so amazing...”