"Hohoho, how the tables have turned."
Zypher said as he took the dagger and slashed back to Constantine.
Constantine, who was in the lead, was shocked by the development of things. For sure, he knows that he can kill Zypher now. But, in a short span of a moment, he can feel that he is equal to him, maybe even better.
Since losing to Zypher a month ago, he made sure to grow up fully, and experience the true power of his class.
As the main villain of his past life, Zypher also knew that Constantine is a genius in the game. This is why the world was almost gobbled up by them, but the three other families took up their strengths and fought back, pushing the Baltinoir Family back, and arriving at a stalemate.
From the past few days, aside from learning new things, Constantine also learned a few combos he wants to try, elevating his power.
"Moon Sweep."
It is an attack that uses the greatsword of the Knight of Death to create a crescent slash that almost looks like the moon. The only downside of the move is that it is predictable, and too direct of an attack.
"Seal: Whirlwind."
After casting, Constantine's body was carried by an upward draft, but it was counteracted by the movement of Moon Sweep, yet, it gives time for the excess energy of the skill to be released, creating a full circle sweep after the initial sweep, which also gives Constantine time to reorient the attack, hitting it's target.
In short, he created a new version of his skill for himself, that almost takes out all of it's weaknesses, and cover all bases, as well as the outfield.
The only problem is, brains do not exist inside one person; there were three people inside the arena, and they are battling for one reward.
And although they say that two is better than one, but this is just for labor.
"Seal: Energizer!"
"Raijin Pace! Fujin Step!"
"Backstab!"
As he used all his skills, Zypher went to the back of Constantine, which is the only remaining weakness of his combo Moon Sweep + Whirlwind, his back that is exposed due to the big moves he did.
And the skill, Backstab, by Assassins, deals extra damage when it is, in it's own name, be done in the back of someone.
Ayaka, seeing this, made a decision. Summoning one of her dragons, she then made it fly towards Constantine, to protect him from Zypher.
But, that's what predators do: they do not let their prey know their next moves.
One step, two step, he arrived behind Ayaka, who is not too far from Constantine, and attacking him from behind was a bait to let her guard down.
"See you next time!" Zypher smiled as he pushed the dagger on Ayaka's back, plunging it deep.
As he pulled it, he then stepped and turned around, only to be met with a fist covered in Soul Power.
"Soul Punch!"
Ayaka sent out an anger-filled punch towards Zypher.
In truth, the damage is large, and with the Energizer, he can deal much damage with the explosion of damage, but Ayaka and Constantine works together.
"Undying Wrath!"
A life-saving skill, used by Knight of Death, on him, or anyone, to be able to cheat on death, and survive one life-threatening attack with one HP left, boosting their attack and speed by 100%.
BANG!
Flying towards the rock, Zypher slid, but then, two people ran towards him, and almost at his throat. A punch, and a slash was coming to him, with the speed he can't put his finger on due to the attack earlier.
All he can do is drop his body, to almost laying flat on his back, dodging the two attacks, and using his hand to create distance, yet Ayaka, with the buff from Undying Wrath, arrived almost exactly as him in his destination.
Another punch was sent out, but this time, Zypher blocked it with one arm and sent out a kick to counterattack. This then gave Constantine time to close in and slash away at him.
BAM!
This was the second time he was blown away by an attack.
His health points dropped to 30%, and while Ayaka has only 1 HP left, she still has the buff, and he hasn't dealt any damage to Constantine. In short, he is fucked.
Also, his buffs are ending.
"Buff? Ending?"
Without a single thought, Zypher then vanished from their eyesight as they were trying to beat him up.
"Bastard! Ayaka, be mindful, he is somewere near. Don't let your guard down."
As for Zypher, he just went still, and to not release too much mana for them to know his location.
This, for Zypher, is a losing game, but with his wits, and preparation, he is confident in his win.
After a few seconds, his buffs, ended, but then, he has to wait for a few seconds, and, he can fight with full power again.
As the cooldown ended, the Invisibility Potion's effectiveness also ended, and now, round 2 has begun.
"Raijin Pace. Fujin Step!"
"Energizer!"
"Trigger! Charity Dagger!"
As he stepped, he arrived in front of Constantine, and with one strike of his dagger, he then stepped again to gain distance.
Second Step, he arrived far away from them, looking at them for another moment to attack.
Constantine and Ayaka was baffled, for they are now the prey; and, they are being mindful, as Ayaka can die anytime, for the buffs will soon end, and their enemy just renewed his.
In a sense, they are stronger, but the enemy is wiser, like a serpent and cunning like a fox.
Third step, as Constantine was contemplating, a sudden attack was aimed at him. Ayaka, who still has the buff, blocked it, and that's when the buff ended.
In truth, she can stay like that for ten minutes, but receiving another big damage will make the buff go shorter.
And Zypher's attack was strong enough to end it abruptly.
Fourth step, he vanished again to another direction, and Constantine grew furious.
"Might Aura! Berserk!"
"Dragon Dance! Soul Aura!"
Aura Skills, are skills that raises a stat, and creates an outward energy emission that can be seen by the naked eye.
The update added a few more things that separated each and every level. There are distinctions in the every 20 levels, and their names are the things player get when they hit that level.
And level 20 is called Aura, for it creates an aura that suits the user, and every aura has a different use. As for Cosntantine and Ayaka, their auras boosts their fighting power, and defense by 20%, and every move they use is also 20% more effective.
This aura also grows with the user, and the percentage of boost is by the level of the user.
By this time, Ayaka's attack and speed went up by 120%, because of the stacking effects of the first buff, Undying Wrath.
But, the fifth step happened. Constantine felt the full brunt of attack, and the second he thought it was done, a series of attacks found them.
"Backstab!"
Zypher, who was in between Ayaka and Cosntantine, decided to use his skill. He then slashed Constantine, which was vulnerable from blocking his first strike.
As he did that, he teleported behind them, which also stacked the fourth attacjmk of Charity Dagger.
BANG!
The attack blew up, dealing three-fourths of his HP, because some were blocked with the aura buff, but the next attack sealed the deal.
"Triple Stab! Raijin Triple Stab!"
The first triple stab was aimed at Ayaka, who has just a silver of health.
"Sage of Beads Champion Eliminated!"
"The dungeon owner will be..."
"Sage of Mace Champion eliminated!"
"A new Champion is born!"
Seeing the electrical bolts still dancing on his body, Constantine looked at the opponent before him. Electricity crackles, and the dagger is still stuck, giving him a hard time thinking.
"Those skills."
"Shut it. You lost."
"But I am stronger than you."
Zypher smiled and pulled out the dagger. Raijin Triple Stab is too fast, and his first stab was with the buff of the fourth strike of Charity Dagger.
Even if he activated Undying Wrath, the next two attacks were enough to forcefully end the buff, and kill him.
"Any tricks you have, it doesn't matter."
"I..will..kill you...next..ti--"
"Win the Professional Series first, and if you do, maybe, I will find you again and let you kill me."
With that, he planted the seed, and created a plan. With this, Constantine was swallowed by light, and sent out of the dungeon.
And now, the inauguration ceremony has begun.
[Congratulations on winning the dungeon.]
{Dungeon Core extracted.}
{Codex has been absorbing the Dungeon Core..}
{Absorption successful.}
(Mutations are: Corrupted, Void, Chaos, Undead, Fiend, Blood, and Shadow.)
"Oh, I forgot my base in there. Maybe I can upgrade some of the parts there, but first.."
§Goddess of ***** Invitation!§
§Accept§ or §Refuse§
"I..."
Looking back, these curses were the ones that holds him back, but also the axis of all the things he did up til now.
And, seeing this goddess early on is a huge boon for him, as he may know what to do with these things.
"Accept."
As soon as he accepted, a magic circle appeared beneath him, and changed a few times, before he was sent to the abode of the goddess.
As he opened his eyes, a huge throne was before him, and in there, were black-winged creatures, that fly above and below everyone. There is a long corridor that is clear, and there were people swimming on lava, but they don't burn, nor melt.
Black motes of light appear from them, like soots from burning, but they are not. These soot-like things were then collected by the flying ones, and with a bit of magic, they replay the memories of the people, and laugh at them.
As he was seeing this, an elegant woman appeared before him.
"How was it?"
'As expected of a goddess.'
In his mind, her presence is the least he can detect, but her breath and energy too, it's like she is there, but not there.
"A bit cold."
Zypher blurted out that made the goddess chuckle.
"And so? What brings me here?"
The goddess who was smiling stopped as she made a cold glare.
"Return the Codex."
As she said that, pressure went up, and Zypher felt a heavy stone pin him down.
"I will.. if I... can."
He uttered the words as she continued on pressing him.
"What do you mean?"
As he caught his breath, Zypher opened a portal and jumped.
"You sucker! You dare esca-"
"Come in."
"What?"
"I said, come in."
"Are you commanding me right now? A goddes--"
"Are you coming in or am I gonna die here from mana deficiency?"
"Then di--"
"And you won't be able to see what happened to the Codex?"
"Where is it?"
'That fast?'
As soon as the word Codex was said, she jumped forward to the portal, without added drama. Zypher was already contemplating what he is in, but it is what it is.
He sighed and shook his head. He then took a compass to which the city is. Back then, he created a wall, a tower and other things on the said city. It is a bit late, but he remembered the usefulness of the Codex Library. In there, he knew how to forge things that are beyond him.
And now, he also got new things for himself, such as the Solomon's brace, and skills that can preserve his life.
As they arrived, Zypher then inhaled and exhaled in relief.
He then pointed to the city he has, which is, right now, under the siege of many monsters. His eyes twitched, his head took a beat.
"I'm dead."