Percival’s player words that Novus mimicked were oddly effective as Cain’s disorientating attempt at wordplay abruptly ended and his face scrunched beneath the mask.

I’ve met plenty of people like you in my past life to sense it immediately. I’d be more surprised if that spear didn’t end up in my back as soon as we finished this fight.

Tang!

Slam!

A staff strike separated Cain and Novus as a sword and spear battle protected Tham from any decisive battle-ending blows. Cain’s smile was eerily wide as he cackled with each spear strike that Novus perfectly blocked.

“More! Show me more strength!”

Novus blocked each strike from Cain. But, despite his crazed appearance,

Cain did the same to Novus’ devious attacks, keeping each strike from landing the finishing blow on Tham. The situation was at a brief stalemate until a cry attracted their attention.

“Ack!”

Off to the side, the battle between Adrianne, Percival and Cain’s elite players was rapidly finishing. The only remaining members were a blocking, shield-wielding man and a woman who evaded or parried each attack with her bow.

“Tch.”

At first, Cain was confident in his secret weapon, the Blood Mask, but even its Enrage ability, which temporarily enhanced all his stats, only put him on par with Novus’ burning sword. It seemed that once again, Novus was surpassing Cain’s expectations.

However, Cain was unaware that Novus was thinking similar thoughts at this moment.

I've already activated Overheat on myself and the sword etchings, but I'm only matching him in power.

Rizzz.

Novus’ eyes flashed as he rushed towards Cain’s elusive spear that began to build speed with each second. Unhappy with a stalemate, Cain risked getting hit by leaving his weapon unavailable while charging up his deadly rotating strike.

Kill or get killed—what a decisive man.

Novus was barely connecting strikes that burned Cain’s skin and drained away health. But, it wasn’t fast enough as Cain emptied his mana to spin the spear as fast as he could in the shortest amount of time. At this rate, Cain was soon to levy an attack that Novus couldn’t guarantee he could block.

Novus glanced at Adrianne and Percival’s battle and determined that the end was near. Just not soon enough.

Not enough time.

Novus’s remaining etchings burned extra bright as they were nearly completely burned away from the blade.

Slash!

“Ack!”

An equally decisive light shined in Novus’ eyes as he rushed towards a weakly roaring Tham after pushing Cain back with a feinted sword strike.

Cain’s eyes flashed.

A foot stomped down. An arm hurriedly raised. Cain’s momentum was transferred to the raised spear as his arm whipped above his head, and the second foot landed.

Cain wasn’t as fast as Novus, but his hurling spear definitely was.

“Vyir.”

Flash!

Deviously, a flash interrupted Cain’s throw as his eyes burned through the blinding flash. He tried his all to correct the shaky spear as it left his hand, but the weapon was off course from Tham’s throat.

“Heh.”

However, Cain’s smile never left as he realized where the spear was headed.

"You lose, Novus!"

Shink!

Percival’s sword pierced through the last of Cain’s remaining health.

Cain’s mask slipped and fell to the floor as it dissolved into twinkling lights alongside his body. Then, seeing Cain’s smirking face disappear, Percival’s brain revolved at lightning-quick speeds as he shouted and threw the shield he picked up from one of Cain’s elite players.

“Watch out!”

Adrianne dashed from behind Percival as she used every means at her disposal to reach Tham even one step closer.

Meanwhile, Novus was running hard when Percival’s shout caused him to glance back and swear in his mind.

Slimy snake bast—

The force behind the spiralling spear jolted Novus’ thoughts as he attempted to block it with his Etched Villager’s Sword.

CLANG!

Crack! Shatter!

Novus cursed and winced as the spear directly shattered his sword and continued to pin his shoulder to the ground. At that moment, Novus felt a brush of mana coming from nearby Tham’s weary figure.

A dagger silently slid from beneath Tham’s shadow and pierced toward his unaware head.

Adrianne’s eyes glared with rage as her twin swords pierced toward the figure that had been hiding since Novus and his party had arrived.

Shadow Stab!

The dagger flew from the shadowy figure's hand, and he directed his other dagger towards Adrianne's wrathful swords.

The flying dagger glinted in the limited lighting as it passed through the flying shield that Percival had thrown and Tham’s staff like a ghost. With a soft plunging sound, the dagger lodged itself dead center into Tham’s forehead.

Shink! Shink!

Adrianne’s twin swords pierced through the shadowy assassin’s body and drained any remaining health from them. However, the assassin had already finished his mission, and a pair of pleased eyes were slowly set to twinkling lights.

 

 

 

Wince.

Ouch!

Novus tried his best to ignore the odd sound of a spear pulling out of his shoulder as he pocketed the horned spear and sighed through the gradually easing pain.

Twinkling lights sparkled around Novus’ wounds, with the most numerous lights centring around his pierced shoulder. Seeing the wounds heal at such high speeds made Novus unintentionally ponder.

For the system to even be able to heal wounds like this… I can’t help but think of it as useful.

Novus’ pained face eased as his shoulder recovery progressed like some of the advanced healing magic Novus had used in his previous lifetime.

Meanwhile, a sulking Adrianne and Percival had already come back from picking up the items that littered the battlefield. Perhaps it was because a player had killed Tham, but a pile of items had fallen near the body that would have seemed strange to Novus if he had given the attention to notice it. Either way, Novus had truly trained the item-collecting duo well.

Ultimately, Novus and his party managed to reap most of the benefits, but only after a battle that left a lingering, bitter aftertaste of victory.

I can only give it to Cain. He had the patience and foresight to position an assassin for the worst-case scenario. All while engaging in an intense battle against Tham.

Novus tried to uplift the party’s spirits, despite his tired mind. Perhaps it was because he had focused his entire being on fighting Cain and Tham, but the grating tone in Novus’ voice was paved over with a gentleness that made Percival and Adrianne question his words for a moment.

“Hey, we won and got the items, right? Don’t look so beaten.”

Percival and Adrianne nodded their heads with reluctance and tried their best to shrug off their bitter feelings. Percival flexed his arm as he relished the feeling of throwing the almost-blocking shield.

“I didn’t know I had it in me! Hey, Adrianne, was there a shield that dropped around Tham? I think I might be a natural!”

Pfft!

Adrianne’s laughter felt like bells chiming in a dreary cave as she didn’t sugarcoat Percival’s fighting style.

“A natural? Next time, I’ll let you take on most of Cain’s elite, and we'll see how you do. As for a shield, I’m afraid not. The only weapon-type item I got was his staff.”

A long, damaged, metallic staff appeared in Adrianne’s hand as she spoke the last sentence. The gloomy aura lingering around it made Percival feel strange, but he dismissed the feeling as lingering battle trauma from Tham.

However, Novus thought otherwise. No, Novus knew otherwise.

“DROP IT!”

Novus snatched the staff from Adrianne’s confused hand and attempted to throw it as far as he could. But unfortunately, that was the most he could try and do.

Mid-flight, the staff slowed down, and a voice echoed around the party that sent the party reeling either in rage or confusion.

“Hmmm, you noticed so fast. Novus, was it?”

Novus latched onto the other two’s hands and tried to drag them away.

BOOM!

The staff's explosion sent the remaining roof of the goblin throne room into shambles as the explosion revealed a pulsating shard the width of a fingernail. The shard overlapped with Novus’ memories as dread enveloped his body instinctually.

It was actually a Hidden Shadow Shard.

Novus, Adrianne and Percival attempted to flee, but their static shadows on the ground kept their bodies from moving. Then, slowly, the shadows forcefully lifted the trio from the earth. Soon, they dangled around a wreath of shadows, all gathering towards the shard above.

The shard gently floating in the air ascended as a cluster of shadows sprung from beneath cracks and crevices and pulsated alongside the shard. Gradually, the shadows grew close and slowly merged into the form of a neat butler with rounded glasses and polished pitch-black gloves. The butler neatly collected the shard and shone it near the trio’s eyes.

Novus wrathfully shouted.

"MERCURY!"

“Oh?"

Chuckle.

"The show was amusing. Rest easy; I'll put you to good use in return.”

Mercury’s eyes glittered like the full moon as the shard in his hand released a blinding, dark light that consumed the entire throne room.