Sure enough, the Demon Cultist displayed moderate intelligence. Unlike mindless monsters, NPCs fought with instinct and caution. The moment danger approached, he instinctively pulled back, retracting his fist and retreating a few steps to reassess the situation.
Chasing after the retreating Demon Cultist, Kaito pressed forward relentlessly. He slashed again and again—Cut, Cross Slash—a relentless blur of sword light, he had abandoned Defense instead amplifying both speed and damage.
But the cultist wasn't so easy to finish.
Suddenly, with a roar, the Demon Cultist slammed his fist into the ground—
Boom!
A shockwave rippled outward, knocking Kaito off balance. His HP dropped like a rock—half his health gone in an instant.
One more hit, and he'd be sent straight back to the respawn point.
No choice. I'll have to use it now.
Kaito had hoped to save this move for a grander moment… but if he didn't use it now, he wouldn't get another chance.
[Skill Activated: Odin's Wrath]
Lightning surged down from the skies, crackling across his blade. The storm had been summoned.
Odin's Wrath – Skill Description:
Summons a surge of Lightning, channeling the fury of the storm into a three-part sword combo. Each strike releases a thunderclap that damages all enemies in a cone.
Strike 1: +150% weapon damage + 100 Thunder damage (Stuns for 0.5s)
Strike 2: +180% weapon damage + 150 Thunder damage (Interrupts casting)
Strike 3: +220% weapon damage + 200 Thunder damage (Pierces defense by 30%)
If all 3 strikes hit the same target, a final bolt descends from above, dealing +300% Thunder damage in a 2-yard radius.
Lightning howled across the bar district as Kaito dashed forward.
First Strike!
A crack of thunder echoed—–40! Stun inflicted!
Second Strike!
The blade arced again—–50! Casting interrupted!
Third Strike!
The sword roared with divine power—–90! Defense pierced!
The Demon Cultist reeled.
Then—
Final Judgment: –100 Thunder Damage (AoE)!
A thunderbolt split the sky and crashed down on the stunned cultist, illuminating the street in blinding light. Screams echoed as bystanders backed away.
The reason why damage was so much after the skill because Thunder was the most damaging element against demonic creatures and it would have been more if the level difference between them not there.
"Damn! What kind of skill was that?!"
"Isn't he a warrior?! Since when do warriors get sword skills like that?!"
While others still relied on beginner skills, Kaito had stood at the top of the food chain—wielding advanced abilities that shouldn't even be available at this stage of the game.
But all that power came at a cost.
Kaito's mana gauge dropped dangerously low. He quickly downed a Mana Recovery Potion, his breathing rough.
"Mei Rin—go! One more shot, stun him!"
By now, the Town Guards were ready to jump in. Had Mei Rin not been blocking their path, they would've rushed over already.
Mei Rin drew her bow again, positioning herself carefully to avoid the town guards, who were now poised to act. If she hadn't been standing between them and the fight, they would've charged in already.
Luckily, the guards had limited intelligence—programmed not to attack white-listed players unless provoked. This gave them just enough time to finish it.
"Alright," Mei Rin replied, steadying her breath as she notched another arrow to her bow.
With sharp precision, she released it—
–1! Stun inflicted!
Though the damage was minimal, the stun effect landed cleanly.
Kaito didn't hesitate. In the next instant, he dashed forward and unleashed a fiery arc across the cultist's chest—
[Flame Arc Slash!]
Crimson flames streaked through the air, slicing across the stunned target.
Bit by bit, they had finally chipped away half of the Demon Cultist's HP—After that immediately,
"Fall back!" Kaito called.
Without waiting, both he and Mei Rin swiftly retreated, positioning themselves behind the three elite town guards, now fully alert and ready to engage.
"Heretic! You dare infiltrate South Glade Town and stir chaos? Prepare to die!"
The guard captain, a Level 30 elite NPC, barked the order as he and two Level 20 elite town guards surrounded the stunned Demon Cultist.
Their blades moved with ruthless precision.
–320!
–145!
–159!
With just three strikes apiece, the trio instantly executed the cultist, who had barely over 500 HP remaining.
System Notification:
You participated in the slaying of the Demon Cultist (hostile). You've gained 3,000 EXP!
You have earned 100 Honor Points with Astralis City!
Although Kaito and Mei Rin hadn't landed the final blow and had only contributed around half the damage, the Honor reward was considerable—nearly double what most quest completions offered.
Moments later, the Demon Cultist's corpse burst apart, scattering six or seven glowing items across the ground.
A wave of excitement swept through the crowd.
"Holy crap! The NPC dropped loot! Grab it—quick!"
"Damn! Why can't I pick anything up?!"
"Shit! We didn't tag it—we don't have loot rights!"
As realization dawned on the onlookers, they frantically looked around—only to find Raen had already vanished into the crowd.
"Wait—someone got it! That girl in the cloak! It's Raen's teammate!"
"Damn, they're fast!"
System Notification:
Your teammate Mei Rin has picked up [Razorclaw Wristguard]
You've received 70 silver coins
Your teammate Mei Rin has picked up [Dark Blade]
Your teammate Mei Rin has picked up [Minor Regeneration Potion Recipe]
Your teammate Mei Rin has picked up [Dark Bow]
Your teammate Mei Rin has picked up [Demon Temple Teleport Stone]
Your teammate Mei Rin has picked up [Black Cloak]
Your teammate Mei Rin has picked up [Sealed Letter]
"Hah!" Kaito let out a breath of relief.
Even before the guards struck, he had secretly instructed Mei Rin to sneak off to the side and wait. The moment the Demon Cultist died, she'd swoop in and loot everything—before the crowd could react.
Kaito knew all too well how twisted human nature could be.
In his past life, countless players had shed blood over loot—and judging from the greedy eyes and bitter mutters echoing behind him, nothing had changed.
"Three Bronze-grade items... a Minor Regeneration Potion Recipe... We're rich!"
Mei Rin's excited voice rang through the team chat, her tone barely containing her thrill.
Also, Now once again that the two of them had caused such a big incident in the town, it was bound to be on the forums.
But Kaito wasn't afraid. In fact, he was about to do something even more infuriating to Everhold Dominion.
.....
After the battle with Everhold, only a handful of players had heard of Everhold Dominion's defeat. As at that time, they were controlling Echoing Deep, including its respawn point, which was the closest to the dungeon. Because of this, there weren't many players around to witness the incident. And even those who did? Their posts and comments were swiftly buried by Everhold's PR team.
To the wider player base, it simply looked like a regular monster wipeout. Since most of the players who witnessed it were independent and didn't want to offend a top guild like Everhold, they didn't bother clarifying. No one realized it was Kaito who had annihilated them.
So Kaito made sure they would.
He uploaded an edited video showcasing Everhold Dominion's total wipeout—exposing them in all their shame.
And immediately after, he issued a regional announcement:
Raen:
"Thank you, Everhold Dominion, for your generous equipment drops.
For anyone interested, I'll be auctioning them off two days from now."
Attached below were crisp photos of the loot—mostly Bronze and Mysterious Iron-tier Level 10 equipment dropped by Everhold members during the fight.
Kaito had already let Zephyr and Velena pick their shares. As for the rest, Kaito didn't even want them.
He believed that once he cleared the Level 15 team dungeon, he could fully equip his squad with far superior gear.
So what did he do?
He posted every remaining piece into the auction system—not just to profit, but to publicly humiliate Everhold Dominion.