Chapter 846: A Day of Surprises, The First Move!
"If I win, you will reveal to me not only the location of the portal and how to access it. But, you must also tell me everything there is to know about the world that you have come from. In addition, you must swear your life to me and follow me around for 100 days with your head lowered—begging my forgiveness." Ourami stated with a grin.
After thinking about it for a moment, Ourami felt that he would be letting Izroth off too easily if he simply got rid of him once everything was said and done. Instead, he could use the opportunity to soothe some of his anger and repay a portion of the humiliation he suffered.
Besides, with such a set of conditions, it would not be too late to claim his life whenever he pleased.
However, more than that, Ourami was curious as to the power structure of the other world. Was it similar to their own where pillars ruled the land? Or, was it a place of chaos? Whatever the case, even he knew that he could not take a careless approach.
"If there are more individuals in that world who are similar in strength to that sword woman I faced earlier, I may have no choice but to change my initial approach. Nevertheless, there is nothing that will stop me from claiming that which I have set my eyes on." Ourami thought to himself.
"Oh? Alright, I'll accept your conditions." Izroth said with a carefree smile as his gaze turned cold.
It was obvious that Ourami wanted to humiliate him. However, since when was he so easy to humiliate?
Hearing Izroth accept his terms, Ourami could not help but inwardly smile.
"Then, as for the terms of the bet, it's simple-"
"Wait," Ourami spoke out as he cut off Izroth in the middle of his sentence.
He then continued, "How can it be a bet if you do not clearly state your terms? Or, can it be that bets in your world operate differently?"
"No, there is no difference. It's just that there is no need for me to state my terms." Izroth replied indifferently.
Ourami frowned and said, "If you have already accepted your defeat, why do so in such a problematic manner?"
"You misunderstand things rather often. Terms? Is there a need for me to set them when the other party won't be around to follow through?" Izroth stated without pause.
Ourami fell silent. It took a moment for him to process Izroth's words.
Won't be around? No need to set his terms? Why did it feel like what was supposed to be their natural standings were suddenly switched?
If anyone were to be the one to make such a bold statement, it should be him—a pillar! So, then, what gave this person the confidence to declare what could only be defined as an absurd remark?!
"...Ah... Ahahaha!" Without warning, Ourami burst into a fit of thunderous laughter that caused light tremors to rush through the ground.
Not too long after, Ourami's laughter died down. The intense killing intent that was present before had calmed down significantly.
"I see. I finally understand now. Insane—this person's mind has been poisoned." Ourami internalized as he looked at Izroth in a new light.
Before, the pillar viewed Izroth as an arrogant and ignorant bug who did not know their place. But, now, the pillar saw Izroth as a crazy person who only knew how to shout nonsensical claims.
Letting someone whose mind was poisoned drive him to this point of anger—how could Ourami not find such a situation amusing?
"Alright, even if your mind is poisoned, a bet is still a bet. State the winning requirement." Ourami stated as he waved his hand casually for Izroth to hurry along.
'Hm?'
Izroth noticed the sudden shift in Ourami's behavior. Just a moment ago, the pillar was ready to tear him apart. Now, although Ourami's killing intent had not entirely subsided, it was obvious his mood had undergone a drastic transformation. Not to mention...
'A poisoned mind? This guy—does he think I'm insane?'
Izroth did not know whether to laugh or cry. Nonetheless, it would explain the abrupt change in the pillar's attitude.
"The bet is simple. You will receive five of my moves without leaving this circle." Izroth explained.
"I see. So that's why you did something so unnecessary." Ourami smirked.
Before he ended his Flickering Steps, Izroth used the Earthly Inferno passive from his Scorched Inferno Fang to leave behind a trail of Inferno Prints. In doing so, he created a circle around himself and Ourami that was approximately fifteen meters in diameter.
Izroth continued his explanation, "As long as you are still standing after five moves inside this circle, it is considered your victory. Anything other than that will be regarded as my victory. Simple, is it not?"
Ourami remained silent for a brief moment. He then responded, "Alright, we will go with these conditions."
Ourami did not know what kind of tricks Izroth had up his sleeves; however, no matter what he had planned, it was all useless before absolute strength!
"I'll say this now—do not think of escaping upon your defeat and going back on your word. Otherwise, I will make sure you know the meaning of a life worse than death." Ourami warned with a sharp gaze.
"Worry not. I, Izroth, have never gone back on my word. But, don't worry. Even if you want to go back on yours, there will not be a chance. Then, shall we begin?" Izroth said calmly.
All of a sudden, a faint song entered Ourami's ears. At first, the song was peaceful and soothing. But, the further this song lured on in, the more vicious it became.
"?!" As the tune carried on, Ourami's vision turned hazy as the world around him seemed to be spinning, which made him somewhat light-headed in the process.
In the blink of an eye, Ourami's sense of perception had been thrown into chaos. And, the one behind this was none other than Izroth.
Izroth did not waste any time and immediately activated the skill attached to the Song of the Siren ring he received after taking down the Siren Organization.
The skill's name was Siren's Song. And, for five minutes, it reduced the perception of all enemies in range by 50%. Simultaneously, it increased the perception of all allies by 50%. Of course, this included Izroth himself.
Before activating the effects of Siren's Song, Izroth's perception stat was already at 10 points. Now, with a 50% boost, it instantly shot up to 15 points and the difference was like that of night and day.
Even though Izroth did not possess x-ray vision, it was as if he could see every single muscle in Ourami's body and the small twitches just before they set into motion. He also could feel the faint ripples in the air that formed whenever Ourami moved as well as hear the sound of the pillar's beating heart.
In truth, his senses were almost too overwhelming!
If it were anyone else experiencing this for the first time, they would have felt somewhat nauseous. But, Izroth adapted quickly. He maintained control and steadied his senses, ignoring what he did not need and focusing on the things he wanted to perceive.
'More is not always necessarily better if one does not know how to properly control it. That being said, it seems there's no lack of surprises today.'
What Izroth did not expect was that he would receive a stream of alerts from the system after activating Siren's Song.
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you are the first player to achieve a Perception stat of 15 or higher!〉
〈System Alert: Your world fame has increased by 125 points!〉
〈System Alert: You have learned the skill «Time Dilation»!〉
Izroth was surprised by the system alerts. That's because while his perception stat was technically 15 points at the moment, that was only because of Siren's Song.
Could it be that even if it was only temporary, as long as one experienced it, it would still count as them having reached the requirements? If so, didn't this mean that he could monopolize all the rewards pertaining to the perception stat?!
Since there was no time to spare, Izroth instantly pushed the thought to the back of his mind for the time being. Even if he received a new skill, there was no time to go over it carefully. After all, even though he made a bet, Izroth knew that he could not let his guard down against someone like Ourami.
In reality, whether Ourami followed through on the bet or went back on his word was not important to Izroth.
In the end, Izroth's goal was simple. He just needed Ourami to stay in the circle for as long as possible!
As Izroth cleared his mind, he dashed forward as a thick black and blood-red miasma encompassed him.
At the same time, a frightening aura of slaughter erupted from his body before rushing out at Ourami!
For his first move, Izroth did not pull any punches. He was using the same skill that took down the world boss Polkentin's Failed Chimera!
'Ruthless Slaughterer, Unbridled Kill Count.'