One-Man Castle Lord (2)
With my final whisper complete, I slipped behind a watching mage user.
The opening attack here would be my rarely used unique skill, Trap Installation.
★☆☆☆
Mana Cost: 150
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Installs a trap that triggers special effects the moment it's stepped on. (Duration: 240 seconds)
Effects vary based on materials used.
It required 2 seconds of casting, so it wasn't something you could whip out instantly. But it was a thief's signature crowd control skill, often chained after a teammate's stun for follow-up stuns.
Trap Installation could produce all sorts of effects depending on the materials—wide-area explosions, blindness, stuns, immobilizes, recovery, you name it. Today, mine would be Smoke Screen.
"That's why I blocked with my shield while casting and took it down, right? Huh? Who's this guy?"
The fire mage chattering away about his raid exploits. In the middle of his excited rant, he finally locked eyes with me crouched at his feet, setting the trap.
"What? You said it was boring because it was too quiet."
Boom!
But the trap was already set. It triggered on an immediate "step in place" judgment, erupting in thick smoke.
"What the—! Ambush!"
"It's Phoenix! Thief's infiltrated!"
"Shield up!"
In a tight space like this—especially with dozens clustered together—a Smoke Screen blast, even if brief, blinded everyone. Even me, the caster. But that didn't matter.
Unlike the enemies, I could kill anyone my sword touched without mercy!
One-shot, one-kill! The fire mage in front went down to a single basic combo slash. Then, activating Quick Movements, I whipped my sword at the mages beside him one by one.
It wasn't the 260% power of Continuous Slash, so they didn't drop in one hit, but few mages lasted more than three strikes.
Some had Mana Shield, flickering blue transparently, but that was fine too. I was under the active effects of Unyielding Valor and Quick Movements! My attack speed was 68% faster than a normal user's.
The relentless follow-ups shredded them like mincemeat. They crumpled fast, and I darted to the next, thrusting my blade deep.
Suddenly, a sharp mage's ingenuity blasted an Air Bomb on the spire floor. The aftershock dispersed most of the smoke inside the spire in a flash.
"What? Just one thief? Don't panic—focus fire! It's nothing!"
"Magic Missile! One guy's easy—pepper him with Magic Missiles!!"
True to Taeseong mages. The moment visibility returned, they backpedaled while spamming the instant-cast Magic Missile.
Its damage was low, but it homed in with a brief stun on hit. I'd taken out a decent chunk already, but twenty remained. A barrage from all of them? A thief was toast. Smart call.
If I were a normal thief!
…………………
Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
Magic attacks, but the stun was a physical status effect! Mana Shield resisted all physical ailments, so unlike what they hoped, I wasn't staggered.
"What the hell? Immune to stun?"
"B-bug?"
"No! That crazy thief's got Mana Shield!"
"What?!"
The damage was negligible, but no reason to tank endless Magic Missiles from twenty mages. I dove into a cluster of five on the right, unleashing my ace.
My MP surged from mana absorption! Ignoring the Magic Missile storm, I pressed the attack. They gawked in disbelief.
But I chained slashes on the hit ones, wiping the five in seconds.
"No way! A thief tanking focus fire like that?"
"What is he, a holy knight? Even ranker holy knights couldn't without Invincibility!"
Less than 20 seconds since the smoke. In that blink, I'd retired half of the 30 mages in the spire.
Boom! Boom boom! Boom!
Mid-frenzy, a smug satisfaction hit—then a Fireball arced from an unexpected angle. From the adjacent spire, close enough to catch on late.
Same guild/allies took no AoE bleed-through, so mages openly cast long, powerful wide-area spells.
I spotted it and burned my attack buff—same cooldown as Quick Movements, saved for this. Then I mopped up the remnants.
"Lightning Bolt!"
"Ice Spear!"
Magic poured from inside and out. But my high magic defense blunted it, and level gaps triggered resists often.
Three, two, last o…… huh? He jumped himself?
The final one leaped off, clearing the first spire in a flash.
Under a minute!
Phoenix figured Titan summon at ~5 minutes. They'd asked for four spires in that time—solid pace without a Titan.
The next spire, 15 meters off. A Titan would've jumped down and climbed. But I had a faster way.
The fire mage who'd lobbed that Fireball. I targeted him, teleporting to the next spire instantly.
"Wh-what?!"
Panicked Taeseong mages. Perfect—they'd clustered to snipe me from the railing.
My MP, worn from the barrage, refilled instantly.
Whoa! In the thick of it, the absorption is insane!
30-second AoE? Nah—for me, Rotating Slash was the ultimate mana regen. Especially amid squishy mages; the influx was unbelievable.
One, two, three! Clumped up, my swings hit two or three at once. Paper-thin mages couldn't tank my holy sword hits.
"M-monster! Where'd this freak come from?"
"Sandro? New ID?"
"Tanks—what're they doing?! How long's this guy's been rampaging?!"
Holy sword, 8-star skills, Unyielding Valor, mana-absorb dual rings. Beyond my original build. At 274, I rivaled 400s.
Titan-free power matching a Titan. Holy sword enabled. The "all-mana-shield thief" debuted publicly, nearing its goal.
"First spire fell on the way up—they're just arriving now?"
Confidence fueled bolder moves; second spire wiped faster. Then, tanks and melee clomped up the stairs late.
But my business here was done. To cross to the far spires, I stood on the railing and called my drake.
"Ferari, summon!"
Kieeeek—!
Rozentas Castle, serene turned chaos. Above the inner keep, field boss Red Drake unfurled massive wings.
"Wh-what's that?!"
"Boss mob mid-siege?!"
Whoosh!
My pet burst from the aerial magic circle. Amid gasps at its size and menace, I leaped from the railing onto Ferari.
Boss pet or not, it couldn't tank ranged forever like me. We rocketed skyward, halting at a safe distance, overlooking the spires.
Inner keep in uproar, half-spires wiped. Watching the battlefield, skills off cooldown, I dive-bombed Ferari at the last two opposite spires.
"Breath!"
Third spire by the inner gate. Ferari's AoE Fireball Breath toward it.
Boom!
Fireball erupted amid clustered mages—but shields blocked most damage.
Underwhelmed by the threat despite looks, they counter-bombed with ranged magic. Archers from behind the gate loosed arrows too.
Ranged fire zeroed on us, but I triggered Monster Riding's active: 80% speed boost for 10 seconds! Propulsion—and escape tool.
Ferari's acceleration sliced empty air; aimed shots whiffed. Non-targeting FTW again.
Aggro secured.
I ordered Ferari to circle the spires, then self-buffed stealthily. As we swooped close, I Shadow Stepped inside at a mage.
"Magic Missile it! Too fast—non-targeting won't hit!"
"Keep shields up—more Fireballs incoming!"
Whoosh!
Ferari's speed and bulk hid my entry. Perfect setup. Sword to a back-turned mage's rear—Weak Point Capture passive crit, two-shot.
"What?! He's inside! Gah!"
Fancy-robed murder mage nearby yelled. Continuous Slash dropped him to ash.
Bonus loot?
Rare or not, loot's always fun! Even mid-frenzy, I snagged drops.
"Mages who hate dropping gear? Jump off the railing. I'll spare you."
Taeseong and I crossed the Rubicon long ago. No grudge on grunts, though. Impromptu warning, but sword didn't stop.
"Like we'd jump for one guy?!"
"Kill him! He's gotta be low HP after that!"
Mercy or not, they'd ignore it. They mistook my goodwill for bluff.
"Low HP? I'm…… full health right now?"