Second World

”What are you laughing at?” Red Death said with annoyance, this guy was so rude interrupting her conversation with her past master.

”hahaha…” John was still laughing. He tried to control himself with little success.

”I just canʼt find myself to believe after hearing your story,” John said, some chuckles still escaping him as he spoke. ”It was like watching a cheap drama with cliché story of two lovebirds who were separated when they were kids, only to meet each other when they were adults but didnʼt recognize one another. They instead fought each other until they realized their past relationship and then fell in love with each other again and finally lived happily ever after. Oh, how sweet...”

”What the hell are you talking about?” Red Death said, utter annoyance in her tone.

”Oh, so you didnʼt realize it?” John replied with a sneer. ”This Jack that you tried to beat when you are a child. You are still trying to beat him now, without success.”

Red Death was confused at first before she caught the meaning of Johnʼs words. ”Are you saying…”

”Yes, yes. It was a good thing that he ended up sparing your life the last time you two had a duel. Oh, how could he forgive himself if he finds out later that he had killed his own childhood lover? Oh, the heartbroken one man can feel from such an act, he will not be able to live with–” John didnʼt finish his words as he hastily summoned a Magic Shield to block a dagger that was thrown his way.

After a loud clang with the magic shield, the dagger materialized back in Red Deathʼs hand.

”Hey! You are really rude! Iʼm still in the middle of a speech!” John protested.

”If you keep on talking, I will gut you!” Red Death hissed.

”Such a violent woman. Well, you suited Jack just fine that way. Unfortunately, with master Domon here, you wonʼt be able to do anything,” John said with a sneer.

”Actually, if you want to beat him a bit or two, itʼs okay. Jack only told me to interfere once his life is in danger,” Domon said to Red Death.

John was speechless. Did that old geezer just take his grandsonʼs joke literally? But then again, he could never tell when Jack was joking or being serious.

Red Death displayed a rather complex expression. The usual cold and indifferent countenance that she used to wear on her face were not noticeable. It seemed that the revelation had rippled her rather considerably. She looked at the Guild Core, then at Domon. Without a word, she turned away and retreated expeditiously.

Domon did not call out to her.

”Sigh… the matter of the hearts of young folks are truly complicated,” Domon heard John say from the side. Domon looked at him and thought, what his grandson said was right, this dude was truly annoying.

At the outside, Jack had been contending with the experts that surrounded him. Unlike the previous time, he didnʼt run from these experts at the first opportunity. Although he still believed that when fighting against a large group, it was best to avoid the strong opponents and pick on the weaker ones first. If he insisted on fighting the strong one, he would waste much time and ended up open for an ambush, just like what had happened when he was comparing sword skills with Warpath just now.

Yet, at this time, he actively stayed and clashed with them. The reason was he himself was keen on knowing how much he had improved. His Formless Flowing Sword style flashed and struck any attack coming his way.

The experts were baffled, especially the ones that had crossed swords directly with him in the past. They knew that although Jack did know martial arts, his expertise was not that which put him at the top. But at this moment, each of Jackʼs slashes was profound and accurate. His movement seemed to flow from one strike to the next, not losing any momentum. Amplified with his already overpowered attributes, he manage to contend with them even when heavily outnumbered.

Jack himself was ecstatic by this. He never really put much interest in martial arts as it took a too long time to learn. But experiencing its effect now, he couldnʼt help but admit having good martial expertise did feel good. Relying on his battle skills and combat instinct were all good, but having a good martial art turned even his basic attacks into deadly moves.

Assistant Manager Ironhand had been looking for an opportunity from a distance. He circled around to Jackʼs blind spot before he released his arrow. His Precise Shot skill caused the arrow to fly at high speed, rushing at Jackʼs back. As the arrow was about to hit, Jack moved to the side.

ʼWhat the… So unlucky! He moved away at such coincidence,ʼ Ironhand said in his mind. He was not discouraged because of it. He nocked another arrow onto his bow. After a brief moment looking for an opportunity for a clear shot, he fired again.

This time, Jack ducked away.

Assistant Manager Ironhand froze, his arm was still at the pose when he released the arrow. ʼNo, no, not possible. It is just a coincidence,ʼ he said in his mind.

This time, he was not courteous anymore. He activated Rapid Shot, an archer exclusive advanced skill that he had gotten from a quest. At its first level, it fired three arrows consecutively. The arrow magically appeared once his bowstring was pulled, so he did not need to manually nock the arrow, hence allowing the rapid process of shooting. He had leveled up this skill to level 5, which added another arrow, allowing him to fire four arrows consecutively.

The four arrows rushed at Jack from the back. Jack lowered his body, evading two arrows, while his one arm swung back and hit the other two. All was done without looking.

”Not a coincidence…” Assistant Manager Ironhand finally couldnʼt deny it anymore. ʼHow the hell did he do it? Does he have an eye on his back?ʼ

Ironhand then remembered Scarface informing the coalition about Jack having some kind of tool to detect the presence of others in his surroundings. Did that tool receive an upgrade? Could it be now it also provided him with a clear 360-degree view of his surrounding? Such a thought unsettled him. This would mean that this guy would be impossible to be ambushed from now on.

Jack continued to battle the experts. Although the experts failed to defeat him, it was also difficult for him to defeat them. The experts covered each other when Jack found an opportunity. Those that were wounded retreated back to safety as another took over. Not to mention there were also Princess Purple and the other Healers healing them when they were wounded. He was also wary of the skills and spells unleashed by Supervisor Killmonger and Selena who had become elite classes, the damage they could inflict on him was different than the others.

Jack had tested his ability enough. Continuing to stay around would just give the coalition the time to reorganize their formation to mount an effective assault on his guildmates. ʼTime to pick on the weaklings again,ʼ Jack said in his mind. He used Shooting Dash to move away. Yet, he did not plan to just simply run away. His Shooting Dashʼs direction brought him towards Princess Purple. He plan to at least take down this healer first, her HP was not large and her healing was rather troublesome.

As he arrived in front of Princess Purple, her bodyguard female knight came forward as expected. Jack used Blitz Slash, his body turned into a shadow as it rushed past the two. When he passed through them, the two felt three instant slashes. Each slash caused almost 400 damage to the female Knight while Princess Purple received around 500 damage each slash.

The female knight was down to almost a third of her HP. Jack turned back, expecting to see Princess Purpleʼs fallen body, but she was still standing, albeit with 1 HP.

ʼShe must also have that Sacrificial Dummy. Shit! Isnʼt that thing supposed to be rare?ʼ Jack complained in his mind. But his hand didnʼt stop. He fired his Sword of Light.

The female Knight came forward without hesitation. The Sword of Light crashed into her and she fell lifelessly.

”Such a devoted follower,” Jack commented as he lunged forward. ”You have no more bodyguard now!”

Princess Purple had been casting Heal on her to bring her HP back up. Seeing her bodyguard had fallen, she took out something that looked like a medallion.

ʼItʼs a Companion Token!ʼ Jack heard Penielʼs surprised voice.

Before Jack had the chance to ask what was a Companion Token. A large man in full armor suddenly appeared in front of him, carrying a large shield and an equally large broadsword.

Jack used Cross Slash at the man, who blocked it with his shield. ʼNo use, any player will still die even if they block this move using their shield,ʼ Jack exclaimed in his mind, but when the sword light dispersed, the man with the shield was still standing in front. He swung his broadsword, to which Jack parried. He felt a tremendous force from the blow and was forced back several steps.

Jack stared at the man in armor in consternation as he used Inspect.

Abelard (Elite Human, Mercenary), level 40

HP: 56,520/58,000

”A native?” Jack exclaimed.

😉