Five of the six people flitted through the ruined city, crossing blades and paths. The battle lasted more than ten minutes. Fearless Champion and Zen Dream were weaker on the combat ranking, and they were fighting two against three. Naturally, they were on the losing end. Phantom Dawn sat to the side, quietly observing and feeling a bit bored, like the fight had nothing to do with him. This was not a challenge but an encounter. Since the two team’s overall ability was almost similar, the reason the system had matched them together.
Even though Phantom Dawn had not made his move, the three from Brahman were still cautious about him. This was the first time that they had encountered the youth who sat on the top of the combat ranking. They had no idea what kind of secret he was hiding, they could not eliminate the possibility that he was channeling some kind of skill, so they had been paying close attention to what he was doing.
However, none of them planned to attack Phantom Dawn before the battle with the other two ended. If the kid was holding back due to the fact that he looked down on them or because he did not share a good relationship with the rest of his teammates, so be it. Since Brahman had the numerical advantage, after killing the other two, it would be three versus one. By then, no matter how powerful he was, being surrounded by three of the top rankers on the combat ranking, his chance of victory would be low.
"Ha..." Phantom Dawn yawned. He glanced at the intense battle happening by his side and mumbled to himself, "This is so boring."
By then, Fearless Champion was caught off guard by Yama, and that caused a shift in this ’boring’ battle. From Yama’s title, Executioner of Braids, one could guess that she wielded a long whip. At that moment, with a turn of her slight figure, the whip lashed out like a waiting snake. Fearless Champion had just blocked a head-on attack from Vishnu. He was staggering to find his footing, and that was the opportunity Yama needed. The whip efficiently curled around the man’s neck.
Yama tightened her grip. She planned to yank the man’s head right off.
In the blink of an eye, Zen Dream appeared. He flicked his blade upward, slashing through the whip. The whip snapped, blocking the force that Yama was applying to her whip. With that, Fearless Champion untangled himself from the whip, rolling away from the attack.
In that earlier moment, it went to show how powerful Zen Dream was at combat. Seeing Fearless Champion apprehended, without wasting any time, he had increased his speed. He had unleashed a fake skill to force Brahma, who he was fighting, back and teleported to save his teammate. Brahma was the slowest of the three from Brahman, and there was nothing he could do to catch up to Zen Dream.
"Qie..." Fearless Champion touched the fiery mark around his neck, and he finally could not resist it anymore.
"Brat!" he yelled at Phantom Dawn. "How long do you plan to watch this movie?"
"Hmm... If you can’t hold on anymore, just be honest with it, but since you’ve asked, hmm..." Phantom Dawn stood up lazily. "Your job is to raise your fighting mastery as fast as possible and earn Skill Points during combat."
He moved his neck around. "So even if you are killed, that won’t stop you from doing both of those things. Therefore, I am actually helping you by not helping you."
Zen Dream and Fearless Champion had escaped from the circle of combat and crowded around Phantom Dawn. The three from Brahman saw that Phantom Dawn was about to make his move, so they also became more alert, prepared to face the strongest player in Thriller Paradise.
The reason they were so cautious around Phantom Dawn, who they had met for the first time, was because of another person. It was Shiva, who was ranked second on the combat ranking. As the strongest member within Brahman, he had the IGN that represented ’God of Destruction’. At the same time, he was the leader of Brahman. In any 1v1, Vishnu, Brahma, and Yama had not beaten him, not even once. So, when the members from Brahman saw the combat ranking for the first time, they had been utterly befuddled. A player whose name was not even on the level ranking was ranked higher than their guild leader on the combat ranking. If someone said that this player was cheating or had special powers, they would have believed it.
"Kid, what you’re saying is that, once you decide to do something, your teammates won’t even need to lift a finger?" Vishnu asked.
"Actually, if not for the fact that Uncle Fearless has dragged down the overall standard of the team, the battle could have been won without me lifting a finger." Phantom Dawn was quite approachable in real life. Some might even call him a respectful kid. Yet, somehow, in-game, he would take on this annoying persona.
"What the hell!" Fearless Champion was practically bouncing with rage.
Phantom Dawn had been getting on his nerves for a long time. During the closed beta, since he had already reached the top level, he had some free gaming time to himself. Out of boredom, he had queued for the Battle Royale. In his first attempt, he had run into three members from Regulation, and two were members from his own group. The rest of them had made a silent agreement that they would drag out the battle as long as they could to brush up on their mastery level before handing him the victory. However, that Phantom Dawn had challenged with condescension, saying that he was going to fight against all three of them alone, and told them to get this over with. At the time, Phantom Dawn had been level fifteen, and his flame had been burning so bright that his seniors had taken it upon themselves to drench it. Therefore, a tragedy had happened...
Of course, his personal feelings aside, Fearless Champion was not going to hold a grudge because of a game. He merely thought that this kid was going to be incredibly troublesome. And like Murphy’s Law, on the night of the open beta, when the jobs were being assigned, he was assigned to the same group as Zen Dream and Phantom Dawn. Their mission was to queue up for 3v3 Killing Games throughout the night, to train their mastery levels.
Now, he was being mocked openly by Phantom Dawn in front of their biggest competitors, Brahman. Even the most patient saint would have trouble suppressing that anger.
"Eh... Don’t be mad. That’s how kids speak nowadays." Zen Dream tried to mediate. He spoke slowly, and the expression on his face was like that of an old man in the middle of a daydream. This was a complete contrast to the speed, agility, and focus that he showed during combat. "I might not look like it now, but when I was young, I was just like him..."
He lifted up the beer bottle to toss some down his throat. Then, after a burp, he said, "Anyone has their days of unbridled youth where they act a bit too recklessly..."
"What do you mean by ’when you were young’‽ You still act without basis nowadays! Look at the beer bottle, the cigarette, and that hair of yours!" Fearless Champion roared. "And... you are only several years older than the brat! You are still in your youth!"
"Fine, fine... Since you got me to stand up, let’s just get this over with." Phantom Dawn cracked his knuckles as he took a step forward. "Tomorrow, I’ll go make a request that no matter what kind of assignment I’m given in the future, it should be a solo mission. Assigning me to the rest of you is so damn tiring."
Brahma saw the youth walk forward alone, and he responded with a scoff. "Hey... Kid, are you seriously so naïve that you think you can deal with all three of us alone?’
"Interesting. Even the guild leader is not able to accomplish that... What do you think, Yama?" Vishnu asked.
"Humph... Such arrogance," Yama huffed.
But the expression on Phantom Dawn’s face could not have been more relaxed. "Whatever."
He did not even unsheathe his weapon. He reached out his hand and made a ’come on’ gesture, flipping his fingers toward his palm. "Enough time has been wasted. Come on, all of you."
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