Chapter 317
Chapter 317
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 317
Chapter Title: Dragon Hunt (6)
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Verdan rattled off words in a hesitant stutter.
At first glance, he looked like an excited fan meeting a star, but Rokan sneered inwardly. He had a rough idea of the man's intentions.
"So, what is it you want to say?"
That was why his words came out sharp.
"Ahem, I just thought, as a fellow user we'll be working with in the Heavens from now on..."
"If that's the kind of nonsense you're spouting, I won't listen. You've experienced it yourself—you know the Heavens aren't some cozy spot for chit-chat. You should spend this time leveling up instead."
"Ah, Rokan! Wait a second!"
Verdan called out to Rokan, who had turned on his heel. Then, as if about to share something crucial, he lowered his voice.
"Please lead our guild."
"Our guild?"
Even Rokan found this unexpected. Lead the guild? That meant handing over the guild master position, didn't it?
On top of that, a guild capable of reaching the Heavens this quickly meant they could grow rapidly if they just held out.
Of course, he had no intention of taking on such a hassle, but the man's antics were amusing enough to make him pause.
"You're offering me the guild master spot?"
"Yes... If you join us, it's only right."
"Hmm, it's a surprising decision, but I'm not interested. If you've heard about me, you should know I operate solo."
Was it an illusion, or did relief flicker across the man's face at that response? When Rokan shrugged off the offer indifferently, Verdan made another proposal.
"Then... spar with me."
"Spar?"
Verdan's body flinched under Rokan's gaze, which seemed to say, 'You dare?' But this time, the man didn't back down.
"Yes. I've heard a lot about your reputation, but since you haven't even reached the Heavens yet, I wonder if Korean players aren't as strong as I thought. Our American and Korean playstyles differ too, so I'd like to test it out."
It was a cheap provocation. He used the provocative word 'test,' but it wasn't clear if he meant to test Rokan or himself—likely due to lingering unease.
Still, it was enough to irk Rokan.
The attempt succeeded.
The problem was that Rokan had already seen through Verdan's true intentions completely.
"Well, if you want to die, be my guest."
"Ah, no, not to the death... I'm not talking about PK. Just a duel..."
Even so, Rokan accepted the provocation. Now Verdan was the one panicking. He tried to babble excuses, but Rokan was firm.
"Did you come at me without even that much resolve?"
"Ahem, fine."
The man's objections died at Rokan's resolute words. He knew pushing for a mere duel would make Rokan walk away without a backward glance.
"Heh, that's more like it. Shall we go?"
"Wa-wait. Some guildmates want to watch..."
"Not my problem. If they want to watch, they can hurry up, or film it and show them later."
Verdan clung stubbornly, but Rokan offered no leeway, striding ahead out of the village while savoring the man's flustered state.
Sure, thanks to his Mass Murderer title, Rokan could PK even inside the village, but that would invite endless talk of cowardice.
"Urgh."
Left with no choice, Verdan followed.
He glanced back occasionally, lips moving nonstop as if sending messages, but it didn't last long.
Rokan had already staked out a spot not far from the village.
"Let's begin."
"Hoo... Alright then. I'll go first. Freezing Hell!"
Verdan struck first.
From the start, he unleashed his first master skill: Freezing Hell.
It transformed the area into ice-attuned terrain, buffing himself while debuffing his opponent with slows.
"Hmph."
But Rokan felt no effect. He was still in the final stage of self-regeneration, but the Wings of Stormwind let him ignore temperature-related debuffs.
Even so, the skill was potent—ice began forming on his body—but a slight flex shook it off easily.
"Frozen Knight!"
In that interval, Verdan added a combo skill. Shiny, mirror-like ice chunks dropped around them, reflecting his form to spawn new entities.
Ice knights identical to Verdan.
Not mere illusions, these clones had stats nearly matching the original and charged at Rokan.
"Interesting trick."
But mere numbers wouldn't topple him.
Gauging the man's abilities, Rokan grinned.
"Ice Dancing!"
In that instant, ten entities—including the original—glided into high-speed motion. Like skaters, they slid across the ground, building velocity.
It wasn't just fast; each movement was a work of art.
"Eat this!"
Whoosh.
But no matter how fast, if they couldn't land hits, it was pointless.
Rokan used his signature strength to leap back with a somersault, landing behind one of the summoned ice chunks.
Boom!
He smashed it.
"As expected?"
Crackle.
One clone shattered, scattering across the ground as ice shards.
Rokan had pierced the skill's weakness in one go.
It copied stats nearly perfectly to the original—a strength—but came with a fatal flaw.
"Damn!"
Verdan's eyes wavered in panic, but he didn't give up. Before more ice could break, he decided to go for the win and charged.
"Graaaah!"
Then came a mad roar. It didn't just drop stats—his body stiffened and trembled.
And atop that, Rokan's Battle Axe descended!
"Sw-switch!"
Crunch.
Rokan's blow crushed the man's head, but the original turned to ice as well.
In a split second, he'd swapped places with a clone.
"Strike of the Cold Snap!"
As Rokan hesitated briefly, the remaining clones thrust swords at him from all sides.
His overwhelming defense prevented deep penetration, but it was enough.
The cold snap's power seeped in, drastically slowing him.
"Now it begins!"
From then on, Verdan's movements came alive. Eight figures moved as one, encircling and assaulting Rokan from every direction.
"Strike of Slaughter!"
Thud!
They filled gaps left by vanishing allies, exploiting openings to stab.
Each time, Rokan targeted just one, landing blows, but they slipped away like eels, accumulating wounds.
Like getting soaked in a drizzle, cuts began piling up one by one.
"Here it comes."
At some point, Verdan's eyes gleamed. He went all-in on one strike. He sensed dragging this out against an untiring monster would only endanger him more.
"Freeze!"
Crackle!
Fatal chill poured through Rokan's wounds, locking his body rigid. He'd poured his final master skill into creating this one chance.
And the attempt succeeded spectacularly.
Rokan's twisting resistance halted; his actions froze.
In that moment, Verdan's sword began glowing blue.
He bit his lip and charged.
"Pay for underestimating me!"
He lunged at the ice-statued Rokan.
His pride stung at being pushed this far without Berserk or Stormwind Incarnation, but whatever the reason or process, he focused on the victory ahead.
Pouring everything into it, he unleashed his final blow.
Boom!
"......!"
The moment his sword tip pierced Rokan's heart, something bizarre happened.
Rokan's body inflated like a balloon.
What was this? The answer came quickly.
"Not bad."
Thud!
A strike pierced his back, dazing him.
HP plummeted, but he couldn't afford to black out.
Yanking the Battle Axe from his back, he barely turned his head to see the unscathed Rokan looking down.
"Had your fun?"
Thud!
It was over.
Overwhelming attack power focused on his head triggered a critical, instantly exploding it and dropping his HP to zero.
"How...?"
Verdan's eyes went blank. But Rokan showed no reaction. After all, he hadn't fought directly from the start.
A clone.
What Verdan had battled was merely a clone summoned without even Berserk, subbed in when he'd hidden behind the ice chunks.
Fighting personally was a hassle, but he was curious about Verdan's strength.
Oblivious to this, Verdan became a cold corpse.
"That should be enough playtime. You called it Frozen Nova, right?"
And one more thing. Whether he'd anticipated it or not, Verdan and his guild were now squarely marked by Rokan.
Having finished him off completely, Rokan turned his gaze to the distant sky.
He flashed a bright smile at the group likely rushing over from afar, then pulled out his Heavenly Rune Book.
"Not time to meet yet."
He vanished from the starter village.
Rokan had pegged Verdan as a Celestial lackey.
His level dropping to 361 despite dying countless times to reach the Heavens was suspicious enough, but more tellingly, one of his items was only obtainable in the Celestial Realm.
Perhaps Verdan thought Rokan wouldn't recognize it, but he'd memorized most items.
While Verdan stalled, he'd planned to bring guildmates or whoever, leading Celestials along.
Clashing right there to fulfill the remaining quest conditions wasn't bad, but it wasn't Rokan's script.
He checked the bait he'd scattered beforehand to create his desired setup.
"Perfect."
Teleporting to the mining village where the sealing stone lay dormant, Rokan confirmed the intel with a satisfied smile.
Heavenly Demon Allied Forces.
Word was the Celestial High Priest and upper demon, the beast tamer Gromtan, had joined hands to assassinate Rokan.
Temporary though it was, Celestials and demons meeting without fighting, pursuing the same target, was rare even in the Heavens—making the info easy to snag.
Their location and movements weren't exactly secret either.
Now, what to do?
Facing even one side alone was tough, and now without demon soldiers, vampires, or werewolves as allies?
It might seem grim, but Rokan brimmed with confidence—he'd orchestrated this board himself.
Confirming their position once more, he uttered the activation word lightly and began his plan.
"Polymorph."
In a flash of light, Rokan's form changed.
Into the massive beast he'd once slain by his own hand.
Unfamiliar with the body, Rokan headed toward the Celestial army's location.