Chương 74

The freezing wind of the Dominion Kingdom screamed across the vast, solid sheet of ice. Rudra stood on the frozen lake, resting the heavy bone shaft of the Staff of the Fire Lord on his shoulder. He wasn't wearing his dark leather mask anymore. The freezing air bit at his bare cheeks, but he didn't care. It felt great to breathe freely. It had been a week since he left his estate in Juden. He didn't rush the trip.

He took his time walking through the snowy mountains, actively picking fights with every giant Yeti and Frost Bear he could find. He treated the wilderness like a giant playground. He practiced letting the heavy staff guide his movements, chaining his swings together until they became a wild, non-stop hurricane of fire and blunt force. He tapped his boots on the ice.

"System. Status Window." [Name: Rudra] [Level: 160] [Class: Black Staff Expert] [Title: Staff Saint Candidate (Stage 3 - Transcendent) (+ 11 others)] [Health: 16, 850 / 16, 850 | Mana: 5, 420 / 5, 420] [Strength: 955 | Stamina: 942 Agility: 960 | Intelligence: 720] [Persistence: 780 | Dexterity: 610 Courage: 610 | Charisma: 1, 550] [Dignity: 1, 250 | Insight: 205 Divine Power: 315] [Stat Points: 0] Rudra smiled broadly and swiped the blue screen away.

A week of cooking rare monsters and sleeping under the stars had bumped all his minor stats nicely. His core physical stats were sitting right in the mid-900s. The thousand-stat threshold for his legendary gloves was finally right around the corner.

"Alright, Morax," Rudra muttered, looking down at the thick ice.

"Winfred said you were sealed under here. How do I crack this open?" Before he could take a step, bones rattled in the distance. Rudra turned his head. An army of the dead marched out of the snowy trees. Dozens of armored skeletons, rotting ghouls, and floating banshees dragged their feet across the ice. Walking right in the middle was a pale player with messy green hair and glowing golden eyes. [Agnus - Lv. 154] Rudra raised an eyebrow. Rank 8 on the leaderboards.

The forums called him a total madman who killed people just for breathing his air. Agnus stopped his undead army. He tilted his head, giving Rudra a crazy, broken smile.

"Kikiki," Agnus laughed. His voice sounded like grinding glass.

"What's an extra doing on my ice? I'm digging up a demon today. Leave before I feed you to my pets." A month ago, Rudra would have pulled his hood down and walked away to avoid the drama. But today, he just stood his ground. A heavy, domineering confidence naturally settled in his chest. He was Rank 1. He didn't feel like hiding or stepping aside for anybody. Rudra let out a light-hearted sigh and spun his fiery staff in a lazy circle. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Sorry, man," Rudra said, offering a bright, uncompromising smile.

"I have a reservation for this demon. You'll have to find your own." Agnus's smile widened. His golden eyes lit up with pure, unhinged thrill.

"Kill him," Agnus ordered. Thirty armored skeletons charged across the frozen lake. They raised rusty swords to hack Rudra to pieces. Rudra didn't even drop into a defensive stance. He gripped his staff with both hands and walked right into the charging mob. He dropped his hips and swung the heavy bone staff low.

"Sweeping Gale." The staff blurred. [You have dealt 14, 200 damage!] [... The fiery explosion has triggered!] The 160% physical damage smashed into the front line of skeletons, absolutely crushing their legs. A massive shockwave of orange fire erupted from the staff. The blast melted the ice and scattered burning bones everywhere. Agnus didn't look angry that his army was destroyed. He laughed louder.

"Kikiki! Yes! The strong crush the weak! That is how the world works!" Agnus dashed forward. Rudra expected the necromancer to stay back and cast dark spells. Instead, Agnus drew a longsword. He moved with a terrifying, flawless swordsmanship that completely defied his caster class. Agnus swung his sword in a blindingly fast arc right at Rudra's neck. Rudra didn't step back. He brought his staff up to parry. CLANG! Sparks flew over the ice. Rudra felt the heavy impact run up his arms. He was genuinely surprised.

The guy fought like an absolute master swordsman.

"You're full of surprises," Rudra grinned.

"Let's dance!" He didn't pull his staff back to reset. He rode the recoil. He spun his body, letting the heavy weapon loop around in a wild, continuous arc. His infinite momentum started to build. CRACK! The staff smashed into Agnus's shoulder. [The target has received 8, 500 damage.] Blood splattered on the ice. Agnus stumbled, but he didn't try to heal. He didn't retreat. He just smiled. The intense, burning physical pain blocked out the screaming memories in his head.

The image of Luna crying faded behind the ringing in his ears. The louder the fight got, the quieter his horrible past became. He threw himself into the brawl, completely abandoning logic.

"More!" Agnus yelled, wildly swinging his sword while dark green magic flared in his other hand.

"Hit me harder!" [Dark Bullet (Lv. 5) has been activated!] Agnus fired a barrage of dark magic spheres at point-blank range. Rudra completely dictated the pace. He didn't dodge.

"Iron Guard." [Iron Guard (MAX) has absorbed 99% of the impact.] The dark spheres harmlessly shattered against the ironwood. Before Agnus could follow up with his sword, Rudra stepped directly into his guard and pointed his empty left hand right at the madman's chest.

"Minor Tidal Push." A highly pressurized blast of water erupted from Rudra's palm. The 1. 5x Intelligence multiplier hit like a cannonball. [The target is staggered!] The spell forcefully shoved Agnus two meters backward, completely ruining his flawless sword stance. Rudra stepped back into Agnus's space and swung his staff in a wild, unending loop. Thwack! Thwack! [The passive effect of Blunt Force has triggered!] [16% of your physical damage bypasses standard armor.] The deep, heavy impacts rattled Agnus's bones. He coughed up blood, but he just kept laughing hysterically. He welcomed the brutal punishment. He fought like a guy who literally didn't care if he died, as long as it kept his mind quiet. Rudra frowned slightly. He liked a good, wild scrap, but fighting someone who just wanted to get beaten to a pulp felt wrong.

"Let's end this," Rudra muttered. He parried a frantic sword thrust, stepped on Agnus's boot to trap him, and spun the fiery staff high over his head.

"Crushing Strike!" Rudra brought the weapon down with everything he had. [Critical Hit!] [You have dealt 35, 400 damage!] The heavy bone smashed right into Agnus's chest. The 240% damage multiplier completely crushed his ribs. Agnus crashed hard into the ice. His health gauge emptied out immediately. He lay on his back, staring up at the snowy sky with a peaceful, crazy smile.

"It's quiet now," Agnus whispered. His body shattered into a cloud of grey ash. Rudra lowered his staff. He brushed some soot off his coat. He let out a quiet sigh, shaking his head at the crazy encounter.

"Alright," Rudra said, turning his attention back to the frozen lake.

"Now, where is this demon hiding?"