The Glorious Evolution

Levi already knew that the Taxman could siphon almost anything possessing potentially taxable properties.

Speed, strength, energy... even conceptual effects weren’t safe from him as long as he could establish contact.

Just thinking about the possibilities was enough to make Levi understand how disgusting such an Aspect could become.

CLICK!

Before he could ponder any further, the Taxman lifted his briefcase and opened it slightly.

Nothing could be seen inside besides absolute darkness.

”Mandatory Taxation Arts: Withholding.”

BOOOOM!

The thunderstorm swallowed the Taxman immediately as green lightning bolts descended one after another... they hammered the same area with enough force to shatter the weakened ground and send chunks of debris flying everywhere!

Yet, Levi’s senses never left the Taxman.

’Hmmm?’

His brows rose slightly as he noticed dozens of faint spiritual threads extending from the thunderstorm toward the small opening of the briefcase.

The lightning was still striking the Taxman.

His suit was getting scorched, shallow burns were spreading across his hardened skin, and even his vitality seemed to be getting sapped by Thundersap’s green lightning.

However... the damage was nowhere near what it should have been!

Every time a bolt struck him, portions of its destructive force, speed, and even its effects were siphoned through those spiritual threads before disappearing into the briefcase!

The more lightning Thundersap poured into the storm, the more the Taxman collected from him!

’So that’s how it works.’ Levi narrowed his eyes.

The Taxman wasn’t nullifying the attack.

He was still getting hurt.

He was simply taxing a high portion of everything that reached him!

This meant trying to overwhelm him with a stronger version of the same attack was probably the dumbest thing Thundersap could do.

Unfortunately for him, he seemed to realize it a little too late.

Step... Step... Step...

As Levi, the Rifters, and countless viewers watched in silence, a shadow started walking through the green thunderstorm.

The sight was so absurd that some didn’t know how to react.

The Taxman was strolling through an ultimate attack as calmly as a salaryman heading to work.

His suit was half-burned, portions of his skin were charred, and lightning continued crashing against him from every direction.

Yet, his walking pace never changed.

The briefcase hung at his side with its lid barely open, continuously swallowing portions of the storm.

’Overwhelming him isn’t going to work.’ Levi frowned.

In fact, the longer Thundersap kept the storm active, the worse the situation became.

He was practically feeding his opponent!

”Damn it!”

Thundersap seemed to reach the same conclusion.

The moment the Taxman approached the edge of the storm, he canceled the continuous barrage and raised his giant bow.

Green electricity instantly gathered around his arms and arrow as he prepared to attack before the Taxman could properly recover.

Too bad... the Taxman had no intention of remaining defensive.

Step.

The moment his foot crossed the final curtain of lightning...

CLICK!

The briefcase snapped shut.

Then, the Taxman’s mouth slid grotesquely upward until it rested in the center of his forehead.

His demonic smile widened.

”Refund.”

BOOM!!

The ground underneath him exploded!

Before Thundersap could even process the word, all the speed and force taxed from his first arrow, along with the portions collected from the thunderstorm, were released into the Taxman’s body at once!

His already hardened muscles expanded violently, ripping through sections of his damaged suit as he disappeared from his position!

’Fast!’

Even Levi nearly lost track of him!

’SHIT!’

Thundersap clearly felt the danger as well.

His lightning-enhanced reflexes kicked in immediately, allowing him to snap his enormous bow horizontally in front of his torso.

He barely managed to finish the movement before the Taxman’s horrifying face appeared right before him!

BANG!!!

The briefcase smashed into the bow!

Green sparks exploded everywhere as the weapon bent inward from the impact!

The force was so terrifying that Thundersap’s arms were instantly forced against his chest, making the bow and briefcase slam straight into his stomach!

”ARGH!!”

His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets!

A misty spray of blood escaped from his mouth and nose as his internal organs shook violently from the impact.

His body immediately sent him one clear warning.

Another hit like this... and he was finished!

Whoosh!

Not daring to resist the momentum, Thundersap allowed himself to be launched backward. His body crossed the arena in an instant before smashing against the invisible barrier!

BOOM!

Powerful ripples spread across its surface.

Thundersap dropped to one knee while clutching his stomach, coughing blood as he tried to force himself back up.

Meanwhile, the Taxman merely stood where he had struck him.

He calmly fixed his torn cuffs and straightened what remained of his suit, appearing no different from a clerk finishing paperwork after another profitable transaction.

Levi’s expression turned solemn.

The Taxman hadn’t created that speed... he hadn’t generated that destructive force either.

Almost everything behind the attack had originally belonged to Thundersap!

He had taxed the properties of his opponent’s attacks, stored them inside the briefcase, and then returned them whenever he desired.

Except... the refund wasn’t going back to the original owner.

The Taxman had refunded it to himself!

’Truly a disgusting Aspect,’ Levi thought.

If this was merely what he could do with speed, force, and destructive energy... Levi didn’t even want to imagine what would happen once the bastard started taxing properties that couldn’t normally be touched!

Thirty seconds later...

The Taxman stood over Thundersap’s bloody corpse near the tile’s corner... he cleaned his hands with a tissue as he walked away, leaving the viewers silent at the horrific state of Thundersap’s body.

His entire body was mangled beyond recognition... blood, flesh, and brain matter oozed out of his shattered skull.

There was no trace of his elegant elven form... only the aftermath of facing an entity that didn’t have the term mercy in its vocabulary.

[MANDATORY DUEL CONCLUDED]

[WINNER: The Taxman]

[Twenty Fortune Points are awarded to the victor]

Ding!

[FREEDOM ROUND CONCLUDED]

Following the series of announcements, the Rifters regained their focus amid the thunderous cheers of the viewers, who were chanting the Taxman’s name over and over again.

After the absolute brutalization of Thundersap with his own powers, the Taxman had set the tone for the game... no mercy, no useless chitchat, just kill!

The fight ended so fast that Thundersap wasn’t even given time to consider whether he should use his Dominion before his skull was smashed apart.

Since using Dominions was considered a final, desperate move that left both parties utterly weakened, not a single Rifter would dare pop one during the first minutes of a deadly game.

Alas... in battles like these, hesitation was just as deadly.

”And then... there were nine!” Gamemaster Gamble laughed. ”I hope you learned from Thundersap’s situation... if you can’t handle the bloody fights, you’d better use your Fortune Points as much as possible to secure your survival.”

Hearing this, Levi glanced in the direction of the Taxman, who stood alone on a standard tile... above his head, a system window showed forty Fortune Points gleaming in golden light.

Despite not being at the front, he was the richest and most dangerous Rifter in the game.

Picking up on Levi’s spiritual gaze, the Taxman’s eyes swam to the back of his scalp and thinned slightly in his direction, making him appear as if he were smiling politely without a mouth in sight.

’Taxman...’ Levi frowned coldly as the three celestial stars gleamed. ’You pose a real threat, I admit... but so do I.’