The start of the seventh wave was a bit different from the others. At the beginning of the other waves, the monsters would rush over mindlessly in hopes of reaching the gates of Amaharpe.
However, the monsters this time were more organized and orderly. In fact, they were almost like a real army marching into battle. The good news was that their overall level did not increase from the previous wave.
'Even though their level has not increased, the monsters are acting as a unit making it many times more challenging than the previous wave.'
Izroth unsheathed his Blade of Lightning and dashed towards the nearest group of monsters.
The monsters were currently moving in groups of three. Most of the groups were made up of one elite monster and two normal monsters. However, there were some groups made up entirely of elite monsters. One thing was for certain, there was unquestionably a greater number of elite monsters present during this wave.
Izroth positioned himself in between two of the groups, making sure that they were within a range of six meters. Then, Izroth struck out with his palm as hundreds of palms rained down on the two groups of monsters, not missing a single one of the six targets. He made sure to aim for commonly known vital points such as the neck and eyes.
«Critical Hit»
-1,754
«Critical Hit»
-1,886
...
Izroth did not stop there as the effect of his Myriad Elusive Palms kicked in and reduced its cooldown time by four seconds for each target successfully struck. The cooldown time on Myriad Elusive Palms was only twenty seconds, therefore with Izroth having struck six targets, the skill was immediately off its cooldown.
He used the skill three more times before he ran out of energy and had to wait for it to regenerate. However, Izroth managed to deal a good chunk of damage to the six targets. Not only that, but some of them were inflicted with his Blood Stigma skill.
Izroth also managed to fully stack his Hellfire Rampage which shot his agility up to over 520 points near instantly. He then slashed outward with his Blade of Lightning as it released an overbearing pressure while aimed at the neck of one of the normal monsters.
«Critical Hit»
-4,802
Izroth had successfully eliminated the first normal monster and thanks to the effect from his First Baneful Sword: Destruction, the cooldown time on the skill was reset due to delivering the killing blow. He swiftly used the same method to finish off the other three normal monsters.
As for the elite monsters, since they had more HP than normal monsters, Izroth could not finish them off as easily. But, the elite monsters here were nothing compared to those within the Chaotic Dogma Realm, especially when taking into account their HP.
The two remaining elite monsters did not last long under Izroth's sword as they quickly perished a few moments later. From that encounter alone, Izroth had gained nearly one hundred event points.
'My movements still are not fast enough.'
The third sword form that Izroth wanted to learn was based solely on speed. It was about exceeding your limits of speed and striking the opponent before they could even register what happened. However, this sword form was a bit tricky to learn within RML.
The main reason was due to the game restricting one's movements and speed based upon their agility stat. Therefore, one could say that it should be theoretically impossible for one to learn the third sword form within RML. However, Izroth still felt that it possible to do so and it was because of the very first skill he had obtained within RML, Breaker of Limits!
Although the skill was not omnipotent and had a limit to what it could do, Izroth believed that it shined most at times like this. While it may not allow him to blindly bypass the limit of stats set by the system, that did not mean it could not be done if he tried with a purpose in mind.
Izroth also took a moment to check the status of the Vessel of The Endless One. After defeating two elite monsters and four normal monsters, it had gone up by two points.
'The elite monsters seems to give half a point each, while the normal monsters give a quarter of a point each. At this rate...'
Izroth and his party would need to eliminate 186 elite monsters or 372 normal monsters just to fully charge the Vessel of The Endless One. While it was far from impossible, it was very time-consuming.
Izroth made sure to communicate his findings to the others. That way, they knew what was required in order for them to successfully complete the first trial or at least hope that was the case.
"So many! What kind of item is so greedy?" Halls could not help voice his displeasure. They received such little rewards for such great efforts.
"Trials are supposed to be challenging. Given the rank of our quest, it's only natural that it seems unfair in our eyes and by normal standards." Zi Yi said as he continued her attacks against her targets without pause.
"We just have to keep fighting until it's satisfied! Why bother overcomplicating it?" Guan Yu said in an excited manner.
"This could be a good sign." Luna said.
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Valentine asked curiously.
"Yeah, I fail to see how this is good in any way." Halls said as he blocked one of the monsters attacks.
"Given the level of difficulty and the fact that this is only the first trial, there is a high possibility that the end of the Chaotic Dogma Realm may lie within the Endless Pandemonium Tower." Luna said.
"I, also, came to that conclusion. However, there's no absolute proof and so its only mere speculation. It could be just another strange location within the Chaotic Dogma Realm, such as that temple we came across. But, I believe that what Luna says is something that we should seriously consider." Zi Yi said.
Izroth sped throughout the battlefield as he made quick work of the monsters he came into contact with. He constantly scanned the battlefield as if he were looking for something or someone in particular.
'Where are you hiding?'
Raaaaawr!
One of the monsters near Izroth tried to bite down on him, however, Izroth's reacted in a timely manner and evaded the incoming attack. Just as Izroth successfully avoided the attack, the elite monster unleashed a powerful fireball from its mouth at a sneaky angle.
Cling!
Izroth had already shifted his sword to intercept the attack as the sound of the fireball coming into contact with his sword released a strange metallic ringing sound. In an instant, the fireball that was aimed at Izroth had changed its course and slammed into the body of the monster who originally launched the attack.
-1,021
Izroth used the skill Sword Return, from the Second Sword Form: Returning Wave, to return the elite monster's attack right back from where it came from. The elite monster who shot the fireball towards Izroth was already on its last leg before the attack, and so it the fireball was enough to finish it off.
〈System Alert: Your efficiency with the skill «Second Sword Form: Returning Wave» has increased.〉
A system alert went off for Izroth and brought with it a pleasant surprise. Not much had changed for the skill besides its cooldown time being lowered by thirty seconds and the damage from Sword Counter being increased by 30%.
As for Sword Return, it remained unaffected. There was also something else that Izroth found interesting. Although it was only for a split second, his speed had felt as if it broke past the limits set in place by the system. Izroth was very sensitive to the changes and movements of his body, therefore, he was sure that it was not just a coincidence.
'It's possible after all.'
...
Slayer was fighting against a group of monsters with some of the main members of his party. However, a frown was currently visible on his face. There was also a hint of annoyance and frustration.
"What are those fools doing that's taking them so long?" Slayer said to himself. He had sent Virus with a large force in order to take care of Hypers Symphony, just as the plan called for. However, Virus who should have returned by now was still missing.
Furthermore, he had not received any reports whatsoever. How could he not be annoyed and frustrated when he had no idea what was going on?
Slayer did not even bother to entertain the idea of defeat. While it was true that Hypers Symphony was indeed a top guild, it was still far from being able to compare to Sage Falls when it came to overall combat prowess.
"Could they really be having more trouble than originally anticipated?" Slayer could no longer handle being left in the dark for this long and so he called over one of his scouts and ordered them to find out what was going on.
The scout quickly left to carry out his orders, but after being gone for only a few minutes, he had already returned.
Slayer frowned when he saw the scout he just sent out a few moments ago return in such a short period of time. It was impossible for him to go and check out the situation that fast.
Slayer glared at the scout in a threatening way as his facial expression darkened, "Do you take me for a fool?! If you wish to die then just say so!" Slayer pointed his blade towards the scout.
"W-wait! Boss, a message! I have a message!" The scout tried to get his words out before Slayer took action. After all, he knew exactly how impatient and impulsive his boss could be at times.
"Hmph, it had better be good if you chose to willingly ignore my orders! Speak now while you have the chance!" Slayer said as he kept his blade pointed towards the scout.
"I was on my way towards the sector Hypers Symphony is located in when I saw a large force heading towards this area. When I noticed the people in front, I had to-" As the scout was reporting, a loud voice echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Sage Falls! You have some people here to collect their debt!" The voice said in a loud and clear manner. It was the same item that Minus had used to amplify his voice, except this voice, belonged to someone entirely different.
"Debt? Hmph, my Sage Falls collects debts, but never is it the other way around!" Slayer said as he did not recognize who that voice belonged to. Whoever they were was still not yet within his field of vision.
"You, who dares to be so arrogant before my Sage Falls guild?" Slayer asked the scout who was speaking earlier before he was interrupted.
"Wang Qiang! Boss, it's that Wang Qiang from Cross Haven!" The scout reported.
Slayer was stunned. Wang Qiang? What was Wang Qiang doing all the way over here? Was he not focused on getting revenge against Blue Oasis for that assassination attempt?
"Impossible!" Slayer said, but he soon found out that the scout was indeed telling the truth.
"Gah! Ahhhhh!" The screams of the players from Sage Falls filled the air as a large force of players charged over. From the west came Wang Qiang, Zhang Jie who had met up with Wang Qiang, and the members of Cross Haven. From the south was Wang Ping and Dark Suffice along with the guild members they brought along.
But, that was not all. Moving in from the east direction was actually Niflheim and Minus along with the members of Blue Oasis. Sage Falls was under attack from three different directions by four top guilds!
Slayer froze in place when he heard screams coming from every direction. He did not understand what was going on. He could understand why Hypers Symphony would want to attack, but he could not comprehend why the other three top guilds were attacking.
Wang Qiang had pushed his way through and arrived just ten meters away from Slayer.
"Wang Qiang, what's the meaning of this?" Slayer had an extremely ugly facial expression right now. He was infuriated! Since when had his Sage Falls been the ones to be bullied?
"Slayer, do you know your sins?" Wang Qiang said with an emotionless look in his eyes as he looked down on Slayer.