Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Occupation (2)
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His muscles swelled, and immense power filled his body.
The mana he'd consumed meant nothing. In Berserk state, his mana was infinite.
But even that didn't put Rokan at ease.
Ash Town's defense captain, Jaros, a troll. Even after using Berserk, it would be hard to overwhelm him in raw strength, and he likely had advanced combination skills.
'It was Destruction Strike.'
If Critical Strike focused on critical hit chance and damage, then the troll's signature combination skill, Destruction Strike, concentrated solely on destructive power.
Taking a direct hit from a blow using a blunt weapon renowned for its top-tier destructive power among all weapons was dangerous even for Rokan.
On top of that, his other combination skill 'Guardian's Armor' that drastically boosted defense in an instant, and 'Troll's Regeneration' that pushed regeneration to extremes were no pushovers either.
'No choice but to go for it.'
But there was no other way. He'd just have to clash head-on!
Rokan immediately closed the distance and swung his battle axe horizontally.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Clang!
With a heavy rebound, Jaros raised his hammer to block the attack. Then, from that position, he charged forward.
Shoulder Charge, one of Rokan's specialties too!
Boom!
Rokan countered with his own Shoulder Charge, but it only repelled them both. Since the enemy had poured most of his stats into strength and stamina, he was no slouch in pure power.
"Bombardment!"
"Guardian's Armor!"
Rokan hurriedly threw a hand axe, but the troll responded with a defensive combination skill. He deflected the hand axe with his body and charged straight at Rokan.
"Strike!"
Seizing the opening, Rokan's battle axe aimed for the troll's ankle. He targeted the gap created when the charge skill activated, slashing at the ankle.
"Pounce!"
At that moment, Jaros's body launched into the air. Like a dive, he clung to Rokan and rolled across the ground.
"Damn creation skill."
Pounce was a skill that didn't exist in The Lord.
So what was this?
It was a creation skill unlocked at level 200. The privilege of level 200 allowed designating and learning specific actions as skills.
Jaros had filled his creation skill with grappling techniques.
"Mount!"
He quickly secured the dominant position and activated another creation skill.
Mount.
It was an attack method of striking while pinning the opponent down, but empowered by the creation skill, the impact felt entirely different.
"Urk."
Boom boom boom.
Rokan hurriedly raised his arms to protect his head, but the shock transmitted over his guard was tremendous. Each blow shook the ground, and he could feel his health chipping away steadily.
But even with Rokan's superior strength, pushing the troll off and escaping wasn't easy.
"Escape!"
Instead, he activated the skill embedded in his ring to break free.
His health had already dropped by 10%, but at least he'd escaped before the troll could pick up his weapon again.
"Krraaaargh!"
Rokan's roar filled with rage tried to bind the troll, but it had little effect. The level gap was too wide.
He hadn't planned to settle it with that anyway, so Rokan charged right back at him.
Clang clang clang!
A three-hit combo swinging the battle axe with a short grip was completely blocked by the recovering troll.
But it wasn't over. He hooked the troll's leg, which had stiffened from defending the heavy blows, and kicked upward.
"Ugh!"
"Critical Strike!"
Followed by the killing blow!
[Critical!]
[Blood Mark has activated.]
[Recover health proportional to damage dealt to the opponent.]
[The grudge of the Blade Ghost hinders the enemy's clotting.]
The extreme burst damage landed perfectly, cracking part of the troll's armor and splitting his side open.
"Troll's Regeneration! Get Up!"
One second. But in just one second, all wounds healed. He'd maximized his regeneration to recover.
At the same time, his final creation skill activated, restoring his collapsed stance.
[The bleeding effect has been nullified by Troll's Regeneration.]
"Damn..."
The problem was that damn regeneration lasted quite a while.
It weakened gradually, but for now, unless he severed the neck or crushed the heart in one hit, there was no way to kill him.
"This is insane."
And that was extremely detrimental to Rokan. Berserk had a duration limit.
Of course, with his stats and control, he could probably hold out through the post-Berserk debuff somehow, but something kicking up dust in the distance made him anxious.
"Am I screwed?"
Ash Town's defense force.
On top of that, the guards belonging to the Cradle of the Dead would revive soon if he lingered any longer.
Victory was out of reach now; even survival looked tough.
"No choice."
Boom!
Rokan immediately unleashed Bombardment. Seizing the gap as the troll defended, he used Charge and Dash to bolt in the opposite direction.
Tactical retreat.
"Where do you think you're running!"
Jaros and the belatedly arriving Ash Town defense force gave chase.
"It's our chance!"
"We have to catch him this time!"
Users who'd been circling the village outskirts, fearing detection and death by Rokan, joined in.
'Damn, what a pain.'
That caused problems for Rokan too.
The users' attacks were unexpectedly fierce. No, they should have been negligible enough to ignore.
Berserk's debuff only lowered stats, so even in debuff, it shouldn't be a big hit.
But the real issue was 'combat state persistence.'
In the previous case, he'd evaded attacks long enough to use the Rune Book, but constant minor hits kept him in combat state, preventing Rune Book use.
If you could freely use the Rune Book in combat, it'd be an invincible evasion tool.
"No need for hits! Just keep him in combat so the defense force can catch up!"
One of the enemies was sharp enough to exploit that relentlessly.
They focused everything on maintaining his combat state and escape prevention.
Rokan had high strength, stamina, and toughness, but low agility, so he couldn't dodge every attack.
A long, grueling chase began.
"Damn it."
To avoid being caught by Jaros and the defense force, Rokan ran until his mouth tasted like blood.
The silver lining was that Jaros, a power-type NPC, wasn't fast either.
Plus, lacking powerful ranged attacks like Rokan's, Rokan maintained distance by firing Bombardments intermittently.
Gulp gulp.
By steadily chugging potions, he could fend off the users' attacks that were whittling his health like a drizzle soaking clothes.
'Just a bit more...!'
It had been dozens of minutes of running like this.
Berserk's debuff had ended, and cooldown was back, but breaking through guild blockers ahead had plunged him into debuff again.
'Potions are running low too... This'll be close.'
He'd taken the shortest path on the magic map, but he still needed five more minutes to cross the 'border.'
"Die!"
"That rare long sword is mine!"
Black Dragon Legion users blocked his path again.
They figured debuffed Rokan was doable, but fat chance.
Even after the first debuff, Rokan's stats far exceeded normal.
Splurt!
Without stopping, Rokan traded blows and split the guy's head open.
His mighty defense reduced damage, and the tiny health loss was refilled by life steal.
"Hoo!"
Almost there now. Once he crested that hill where the barren land turned lush green...!
'Hm?'
Rokan, who had widened the closing gap again with a Leap Attack, spotted something.
A group advancing toward him, fully armored.
Half-elf-led, with gnomes and dwarves mixed in—Golden Lion faction users.
"Damn, enemies!"
"Block them from joining! We're almost there!"
This made the Black Dragon Legion users panic too.
They were so close to catching him.
Frustrated by Rokan's elusive figure, they poured everything into stopping him one last time.
'Ugh.'
Combination skills raining down like clockwork.
None were exceptional, but their numbers burdened even Rokan.
'Should I Berserk again, even if it doubles the debuff?'
No. Rokan's gaze turned cold as he eyed the nearby border.
Looking at the Golden Lion users charging at him, he uttered the incantation.
"Life Charge."
His rapidly depleting health surged back up. It gave Rokan the final strength to endure.
"Charge!"
Squeezing out his last bit to probe the border.
The Golden Lion users, now right in front of him, shouted vigorously.
"Rokan!"
Swoooosh!
And suddenly unleashed attacks.
'I knew it'd be like this.'
But Rokan, as if expecting it, kicked off the ground and rolled sideways.
"Arrrgh!"
"Damn it!"
Instead, the pursuing Black Dragon Legion users got caught in the crossfire.
The Black Dragon users fired back upon their allies being hit, and the defense force mercilessly attacked the hostile faction on sight, turning the scene into instant chaos.
Meanwhile, Rokan used Leap Attack in another direction, getting closer to the border.
'Same faction? Trust us? What kind of bullshit is that?'
He'd never planned to trust them, so their attacks actually helped him.
Sure, plenty online praised Rokan, but gathering this many to rescue him?
Ridiculous. They'd only come for PK to claim his bounty.
"Oppa! What are you doing? He's escaping!"
Then, from the retreating Golden Lion group, a familiar face peeked out.
'Ah.'
The face from the greenhouse.
'I see.'
The queen bee whose name he couldn't even remember. After getting chewed out and kicked from the greenhouse, she'd joined another guild and seduced men.
To get revenge on him.
Confirming that much, Rokan rolled away like a landing technique, distancing himself.
He gazed calmly at the three groups pursuing him.
"So that's how it is."
Ash Town's defense force, Black Dragon Legion users, and Golden Lion users blinded by the queen bee and bounty, PKing him.
Step step.
Staring coldly at them, Rokan backed up a few more steps, then stopped dead in his tracks, refusing to retreat further.
"Aren't you here to catch me? Come on!"
He even provoked them first!
Though only the first Berserk debuff had cleared, a smile of leisure began to spread across Rokan's face.
Flinch.
Sudden shift in demeanor.
Both factions' users hesitated under his aura, but someone summed it up.
"Don't chicken out! We just need to keep him busy for the defense force!"
They weren't driving Rokan cornered; the defense force was. So, like before, just harass from afar, and they'd win.
As that glimmer of hope rekindled in their eyes, a change occurred.
"Wh-what? Why's he just leaving?"
"Why are they doing that?"
Jaros and the Ash Town defense force glared at Rokan with gritted teeth, then suddenly turned back.
Because Rokan had crossed the 'border.'
A mere user crossing was personal choice, but if Ash Town defense force members did, it'd spark 'war.'
So Jaros, fuming, returned to Ash Town.
"This... this isn't right..."
"Damn, so we can't catch him? We just wasted time!"
"Shit, who said to come here? Who's paying for my arrows and mana potions!"
The Black Dragon Legion's mood soured instantly, as expected.
They couldn't imagine taking down Rokan, who even soloed the defense force, at their measly level 130-ish.
Plus, the Golden Lion users targeting Rokan might turn on them anytime.
Pushing further would just cost precious lives, so they began slipping away one by one.
"How did this even happen..."
That left one group: the brazen Golden Lion users who'd PKed Rokan.
They knew his Berserk debuff hadn't fully ended, but none dared move.
"Oppa! It's our chance! Won't you avenge me?"
Everyone except one.
Rokan glanced at her and the others, speaking first.
"Fine, same faction and all, so last chance. 1 silver per level. Pay up, or die."