Klaus had just finished his brutal massacre.
He had defeated almost all the crowd that had earlier encircled his camp, including the SSS-ranked Michael Helios and the SS-ranked Veridian Ashford, along with the two hundred other participants who included various S, A, and B-rankers.
He had returned to his normal form, deactivating the flaming god’s fury skill that transformed him into a literal fire god.
as soon as he deactivated the skill he felt a lingering sense of exhaustion. "Damn, even after reducing the net mana consumption because of the affinity, the skill still sucked almost half of my reserves" Klaus thought, a slight irritation in his mind.
"Well, can’t complain, since the power output is too much already." he sighed.
the damage output of the skill had really crossed the SSS rank threshold, he was surprised when Michael who was an SSS rank hunter had been easily suppressed by him.
If not for his affinity and huge mana reserves the skill might not had lasted for even two minutes.
His name now topped the ranking list with 3,546 points.
He was followed by a participant named Damian blade, who had 1,200 points, and Julie Ashburn, with 1,150 points.
Michael Helios was out of the list, his score was 0 and frozen.
Klaus was quite satisfied with the harvest. He now looked at the map on his Omniscient Tracking display, which indicated almost no other life forms left on the vast virtual expanse, except for the single EX-ranked monster.
Klaus had expected the EX-ranked monster to wake up and engage him during his rampage, but somehow, it had remained dormant.
Its immense energy signature still pulsed from deep underground, suggesting that it might be buried beneath the terrain.
" I remember they said that special conditions are required to awaken the monster"
[Host, how do you feel now as the restrictions have lifted] the System asked in its usual uniform voice
"Hmm, I love this feeling," Klaus replied internally.
The constant internal struggle against his Draconic Pride had been exhausting. With his Buddha Incarnate trait now active again, a sense of serene control settled over him.
"The new quest, ’The Hell’s Lord,’ has much better conditions. 10,000 points seem fairly achievable right now, to be honest. Although, I am not sure how I would fare against an EX-ranked monster."
He referred to the temporary restriction placed on his Divine and Myth-ranked abilities by the mysterious ????? entity.
[Host should not forget that he is still S-ranked, so he should not be complacent and work hard.] the System advised, reminding him of his current limit.
"Ehh? Can you tell me the status of my rank-up? How many kills before SS-rank?" Klaus asked, shifting his focus to his rank up quest.
[Ding! Host has killed Veridian Ashford and James Ravenstein. That counts as 2 kills. Repeated kills of the same individual do not count.] The System clarified the rules of its internal ranking.
[The Lich from the Undead Cemetery counts as one SS kill.
On top of that, the Host has killed 3 more SS-rank monsters during the last day of grinding, making it a total of 6 SS-rank equivalent kills for your SS-rank progression.]
"System, do SSS-ranked kills not count for current rank up?" Klaus pressed. "I believe I already have 3 of those kills, including Michael."
[Host, those don’t count for SS-rank progression at this moment. They will, however, count for future rank-ups once you reach SS-rank and begin the progression for the next rank.]
"Okay, fine," Klaus noted, accepting the System’s complex rules.
He calmly accepted the fact that some things weren’t in his direct control.
Klaus had just too much on his plate at the moment, and he wanted to make things as simple as possible for himself.
He had a goal to reach SS-rank, then SSS-rank, then ascend to a become a paragon.
"Well, if the EX-rank monster doesn’t wake up, let’s just clean up the rest before going for the big guy," Klaus decided. He still needed more SS-rank equivalent kills for his SS-rank progression.
Klaus activated the Blazing Sky-Dash (S) skill.
His body became a streak of fire as he blazed through the map. One by one, he detected the locations of different monsters and participants, mainly those above S-rank, and targeted them with his sword.
He moved with incredible speed and precision, his attacks were very lethal and reaped lives with just a touch.
The SS-ranked and SSS-ranked monsters were limited in number, and most had already been defeated by other powerful participants. So, Klaus only encountered really hidden monsters in the vast wilderness, those that had managed to evade other hunters, or those that had recently respawned in isolated areas.
Finally, the SS-ranked kill count reached 9 out of 10, really close to his goal. He needed just one more SS-rank equivalent kill to reach SS-rank in the System’s progression.
Klaus now floated silently in the air, using his Blazing Sky-Dash to hover above the vast expanse of the virtual forest.
He scanned his Omniscient Tracking map. Suddenly, a very prominent energy signature appeared, distinct from the hundreds of smaller marks he had been tracking.
This new signature was radiating immense power, far beyond any he had seen till now.
Looking at this new, powerful signature, Klaus immediately initiated a long dive from a great height. He plunged straight towards the energy signature, transforming his body into a blazing bullet of fire.
He moved with incredible speed, cutting through the air, looking forward to slaying the thing before it escaped.
The virtual landscape zoomed in rapidly in his eyes as he descended.
He saw the precise location, a small clearing in a cluster of ancient, towering trees. As he closed in, he clearly saw an innocent-looking boy standing in the clearing.
The boy had a slightly gloomy expression on his face, his gaze fixed on something on the ground, seemingly unaware of the impending threat.
Klaus approached in his silent but incredibly fast manner, his body a blazing missile of intent. He aimed for a decisive, immediate strike.
Just as his sword, Lost Echo, was about to connect with the boy’s neck and just as the boy’s head was about to be separated from his body by the sheer force of Klaus’s descent, the boy reacted.
Before his eyes the boy vanished from thin air.
Klaus landed on empty ground, his sword striking nothing but air.
Klaus’s body tensed. He looked at the spot where the boy had been, then at the boy himself, who was now a few meters away, looking at him with wide, surprised eyes.
Klaus was shocked. His speed, his precision all had been detected by a timid boy.
"His senses," Klaus noted internally, a rare feeling of genuine surprise rose in his heart.
"What are they? How did he detect me? How did he move so fast?" This was a level of perception and reaction beyond anything he had anticipated from a mere participant.
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THE BOOK IS ABOUT TO HIT 100 ChapterS 😍, A MILESTONE I WILL ACHIEVE FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT TILL NOW, IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY DOUBTS, FEED BACK OR COMPLAINTS, JUST HOP ON THE DISCORD SERVER.
LINK IS IN THE SYNOPSIS.