久久大陆

Flipping his daggers between his daggers, he watched the golden-leaved ent carefully as it reared its platinum fist back before slamming it down towards him like a plummeting meteor.

It was easy enough to dodge, due to its large size, allowing him to step onto his arm before returning with his own attack–slashing at its limb.

Clang.

"Huh–?"

Zero effect. The black-steel daggers he sliced with simply bounced off of its unaffected skin before he was forced to jump back to evade being caught in its grip.

It's tough–! I hit it with everything I had right there, he thought.

Flipping back continuously, the downfall of the ent's massive foot continued to try and stamp him out like an insect.

Spinning himself around in an agile manner, he pressed forward while simultaneously avoiding the ent's attack, allowing him to go for a more potent attack this time:

"Ripper!"

[Spirit: -200. Remaining Spirit: 3300/3500]

Flashing around the ent's sizable, bulbous body in a speed surpassing his norm, he inlaid on its tough skin a series of focused slashes–clang.

Again, each of his attacks simply bounced off of its incredibly durable hide.

No way…! He thought.

While he was taken aback by this failure, he looked back–being brought face-to-face with the eerie, hollow expression of the monstrous tree lifeform, being pelted with an air that exuded in its gravelly roar as it attempted to snatch him up.

Using a [Blink Step] to place more distance between himself and his colossal foe, he checked side-to-side to see how his allies were doing.

Yakeru didn't seem pressed in the slightest, easily combating the ents, but Yeong-Un and Sol seemed to be having the same issue as him: the skin of the Platinum Ents was far too tough.

"Shit! This bastard is tough as hell!" Yeong-Un called out.

Even a blast of flames cast by the spellblade's mystical steel had practically no effect on the ent as it pushed forward through the roaring inferno as if it was just a passing breeze.

The same was likely the case for Sol, but it was impossible to tell as the entire time he was running around the perimeter of the ents' floor, being chased by the colossal being while crying out.

"Help me! Help me! Help me!"

–Suddenly, a loud hum sounded out, followed by a vibration that traveled through the wooden floor beneath everybody's feet.

It came from Yakeru, who had already slain two of the ents and had his sights set on Sol, who was calling for help.

A glow of azure, nuclear energy shined from the grooves in the sleek, all-black armor of the cybernetically-clad man.

"Susanoo-no-Mikoto: Phase Two: Serpent Slayer."

From Yakeru, a burst of energy propelled as strands of electricity turned to almost divine lightning emitted from the unstable energy gathered around him before–he burst forward.

It was such speed that his Sage System immediately kicked in to alter his perception just to trace the movements of Yakeru.

In a millisecond, the gray-haired man crossed the length of the room, appearing between Sol and the Platinum Ent and already having slashed his blade, leaving a fiery aftermath in its wake.

"What…?" Sol let out.

The Platinum Ent suddenly split into two, being scorched by the heat produced by the slash.

Yakeru looked back at him with a look of disappointment in his eyes, "...If you're too weak, you should stay out of the way."

"I…" Sol couldn't find the words.

The hazel-haired man didn't even get the chance to respond before Yakeru immediately returned to battle, dashing back to the three ents he had designated for himself before taking them each out with a single slash of his humming blade.

For a moment, he was thrown off as he didn't receive any experience from the ents that Yakeru was slaying, but he didn't have much time to worry about that while facing his own foe.

None of my attacks are able to hurt it–! Is this just the difference in level at play…? Three levels?...I've definitely overcome that before–I can do it again! He thought.

It was clear that at his current state, his physical power just didn't cut it for a higher-leveled foe that specialized in defense, but it still felt bitter as Yakeru single-handedly slew multiple of them with singular slashes.

…It's not just a game of stats, or who can hit the hardest. If it was, I would've been long dead. Even in this hellish game, I have to admit–it's well-balanced. Even higher-leveled enemies can be conquered with the right usage of abilities, he thought.

What came to mind was the recently acquired spell he had just obtained from his recent level-up, keeping that in his mind as he continued to evade the stretching and contorting limbs that the ent expanded towards him.

Even though the gargantuan sentinel of roots was slow in nature, it made up for that lack of agility by stretching its plethora of metallic roots out, using them like tentacles as they whipped through the air, forcing him to stay on the defensive.

"Ghh…!"

It was only thanks to the assassin-class proficiency he cultivated through the Sage System that his reflexes and natural ability to dodge that he had remained unhit, continuing to use minimal movement as he hopped short distances and even bounced off of the roots themselves to dodge.

After evading by spinning his body around and kicking off one of the roots, he found his opening through a clearing within the mass of roots.

There–! He thought.

Kicking off with a [Blink Step] he launched directly towards the torso of the ent, honing his senses to their max in this pivotal moment.

Though to his surprise, one of the roots from the ent passed by his guard, whipping against his abdomen in a sharp, stinging strike that immediately burned.

[Health Points: -600. Remaining Health Points: 2600/3200]

"Grghh…!"

Still, he pushed on, seeing the opening ahead of him as his singular chance against the sentinel of nature.

"Cast: Hades' Touch!"

[Spirit: -300. Remaining Spirit: 3000/3500]

After the invocation, and not a moment later, a frosty air exuded from his body, leaving even his breaths to leave his lips in a cold mist. This attribute extended to the weapons he wielded as he wasted no time following up with a further attack:

"Ripper!"

[Spirit: -200. Remaining Spirit: 2800/3500]

This time, the onslaught of slashes etched across the Platinum Ent hit with a different force; though they didn't pierce the immutable roots of the creature, they left an alternate effect.

A layer of frost began to birth itself from each spot where the ent was cut, stretching around its body and digging past the grooves of its roots as it infiltrated its sturdy form.

…Bingo–it's as I thought. Ents in RPGs were usually super-effective against fire, but after seeing Yeong-Un's flames fail to hurt it, I realized it might be the reverse, in this case: an absolute weakness to ice! He thought.

Within moments, the ice conjured by [Hades' Touch] completely enveloped the colossal ent, turning it into a frozen statue.

Tucking his daggers away, he immediately switched into a fighting stance, breathing swiftly through his lips as he focused himself.

"Let's finish this! Breaker Fist!" He yelled out.

[Spirit: -200. Remaining Spirit: 2600/3500]

The heat bubbled up at his fist, feeling the blood in his veins rush through his body in an overwhelming warmth as his strength spiked far beyond its norm temporarily.

With his radiant fists, he slammed them into the frozen ent without mercy, unleashing a powerful impact that shattered the colossus of ice into countless pieces like dropped glass.

The ice sprinkled down like a night of winter, raining down softly as he caught his breath afterwards.

["Platinum Ent" Defeated. EXP + 800. 1900/12000 | Angel Coins + 300 | 3450]

"...Phew…" He breathed out slowly.

By the time he had finished his opponent, Yakeru had already slain all four of the Platinum Ents he designated for himself–which reminded him of something he realized in the midst of his fight.

He finished off those ents, right?...So where's the experience? Everybody in a party shares experience from defeating enemies, he thought.

Looking at the party status in the corner of his vision once focusing, he found his answer:

[Jeong-Hui | Level 23 | 3200/3200]

[Yeong-Un | Level 24 | 4000/4000]

[Sol | Level 22 | 3500/3500]

What the…? He's not in the party? I know he joined…I saw his status earlier, so what gives? He thought.

Before he could ask the technologically-augmented man about this peculiarity, he witnessed Yeong-Un reaching the climax of his own battle.

"Fire, lightning, wind…none of it hurts ya', does it? Fine by me! I was savin' this one for a boss–but yer' a good test dummy!"

Not even he knew what it was that Yeong-Un was talking about, witnessing the wild-haired man take an unorthodox stance as he spread his arms out, holding them up but having his dual blades pointing downwards.

"Beast Slayer: Vorpal Shredder!"

A tremendous amount of energy exuded from Yeong-Un's position as his body momentarily bulkened, clearly strained as veins pressed over the surface of his skin while he smiled crazily.

Just as the Platinum Ent stepped towards him–he swung his blades, but no effect was seen.

"Huh? Did he mess it up?!" Sol called out, placing himself beside Jeong-Hui.

But, that was not the case.

After a moment of nill effect, suddenly a force imploded from within the ent, causing its form to break down as slashes propelled outwards from inside of its body released.

"What the…?" He muttered.

It was a difficult skill to understand by just witnessing it, but it seemed incredibly powerful.

Yeong-Un held a smirk, lowering his blades as he breathed out with a wide smile, clearly tired from the powerful attack.

["Platinum Ent" Defeated. EXP + 800. 280012000 | Angel Coins + 300 | 3750]