novelraw Chapter 142: Oblivion
Chapter 142: Oblivion
Neither side bothered to talk and immediately took on the battle stance. The minotaur king, Ragna, was a spearman. He took on the central position while his two shield warrior teammates flanked him from both sides. At the back were an archer and a minotaur shaman.
On the other end, Kyle had also changed his formation by a great deal. The one who took the central position was Druv. After him stood Kyle and Shi kun, with Pouka and Lauren at the end.
“What do you think?” Franken looked at Zyrus who was watching the arena with a serious face.
“Hard to say. That shaman looks powerful.”
As if to prove Zyrus’s words were true, the one who made the first move was the shaman. The bone mask wearing minotaur lifted his skull-adorned staff and pointed at the opposing side.
[Bale Whisper]
Numerous green mouths swirled in the air and kept moving around Kyle and the rest. Most of the spectators were unaware of the skill’s effect, but Zyrus knew. It was a debuff that reduced total HP by 10% with a +/- 2% based on level difference. It was a skill that was useless against boss monsters, but now, its might was evident.
“CHARGE!”
The minotaur king Ragna led the charge and rushed at the troll blocking his way. What welcomed him was an array of roots breaking his charge. Still, the minotaurs were known for their brute strength. It didn’t take him and the other two shield warriors long to break through the roots and assault Druv with shields and spear.
“That….Tickeled.”
“Damned trolls,” Ragna cursed with an ugly face. His spear had torn a hole through Druv’s torso while his subordinate’s shield bash was sure to have broken a few bones. Yet all that achieved was pushing the troll by a mere five feet. The gaping wound on Druv’s torso was healing at a visible rate.
Lauren had also started running around to target the shaman from afar. Her attacks were halted each time by the archer and she even took one hit on her shoulder. But thanks to this, Pouka and Shi kun had the chance to encircle the three melee minotaurs.
*WHoooooo*
The spectators erupted in cheers at the familiar arrangement. Many were skeptical about Kyle’s decision in replacing the ogre for a bear. They didn’t know that Strongfist was under the Unworthy debuff since he had failed to kill the opponent. It didn’t matter either way since just after one fight, they realized that the bear was no less impressive than the ogre.
Druv, Shi kun, and Pouka. The combination of three tank-type players who could take damage and attack when needed was deadly for melee professions. At this moment, the minotaurs were feeling it firsthand how despondent it felt to fight a troll who was accompanied by tanky players.
*ROOAR*
Pouka roared and knocked over the minotaur who was using the shield. Its sheer body weight made the minotaurs look like little kids playing with an adult. Their shields were able to block most sharp edged weapons; however, when hit with Pouka’s bronze knuckles they were essentially useless. The shields reduced the damage but failed to negate the blunt impact caused by sheer force.
Ragna was getting more and more frustrated as along with two freaks like Druv and Pouka, there was also Shi kun who was tricky to deal with. Mbeku’s shattered pride was giving a headache to the minotaur king.
Things were looking in Kyle’s favor, yet he hadn’t made a single move. Zyrus couldn’t help but smile at seeing the sight. Kyle could have killed one or even two shield warriors if he had worked with Shi kun and the rest. Yet from the start, his whole attention was fixed on the minotaur shaman who was chanting a foreign language and waving his staff.
A leader had to consider what were the costs of victory. It took Kyle only one match to figure it out.
“What’s that bonehead doing?”
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“In terms of potential, that Shaman is on par with the elf we saw earlier,” there was a twinkle in Zyrus’s eyes as he observed the mana swirling around the arena. The minotaur shaman was someone he hadn’t seen before his regression.
‘Is this the butterfly effect?’
It was hard to tell just how many things were changing and deviating from the future he was aware of. Zyrus didn’t have the time to think deeper on the topic as something more interesting had taken place on the battlefield.
[Curse of Erosion]
A bluish green miasma permeated the arena while the Minotaur Shaman slumped on his staff. It looked like the skill had taken all the energy out of him. At this moment though, no one had the time to spare a glance at him. The mist stuck the body of the trio who were encircling Ragna and the others. It didn’t seem to have done any damage. Before the spectators began to guess its effect, the answer was revealed by Ragna’s all-out attack.
[Spiral Thrust]
The spear in Ragna’s hand began to spin mid-thrust and created a mana drill around its edge. Anyone with enough foresight could guess that this was a skill that possessed impressive penetrating power. Nonetheless, the result of the attack was far too exaggerated.
“Sor….cery!”
Druv’s midsection was almost cleaved in half. It was a gruesome sight as apart from his spine the rest of his body was almost disintegrated. Troll or not, such a wound was fatal.
[Wrathful Reckoning]
*ROOOORR*
Shi kun and Pouka intercepted the minotaurs and prevented them from dealing the final blow to Druv. Looking at the red numbers floating above them, it became apparent that their defenses were almost non existent. The skill used by the minotaur shaman was crippling to Kyle’s team.
“Good effort, but it’s too late.” Zyrus’s words had just ended when Kyle vanished from his position. In the next instance, the minotaur shaman was cut open into a bloody mess. Only then did the spectators hear the words [Skrastreg] spoken by Kyle.
It wasn’t just Zyrus who was improving his skills. Thanks to enlightenment pagoda the strong were getting stronger while the weak would only get crushed more brutally. If this match had occurred on day one then this would’ve been a close fight. Now, none from Kyle’s side had used their equipment that had long cooldowns or other side effects. It was, in essence, a calculated victory.
*Clap*Clap*Clap*
The entire arena erupted into cheers as Shi kun and Lauren killed the shield using minotaurs. Now, only the archer and their captain Ragna were left. They didn’t even last a full minute in a 4 v 2 assault. The bells rang once again after the victor was decided. The clock had just crossed 3 o’clock, and now, it was time for the break as well as the announcement from Anansi.
[A splendid performance by all teams!]
[To reward them as well as those who have come to witness this arena, we’ve decided to hold an auction tomorrow!]
[Further details will be available at the auction house. Enjoy the following matches, and see you tomorrow afternoon]
The short speech of Anansi caused a wave of commotion among the spectators. Zyrus was also pleased after he weighed the gold in his hands. He had a whopping 200 gold left even after he gave a portion to Franken. He was, without a doubt, the richest player who would participate tomorrow. Adding in the gold Kyle and the rest had earned his faction’s buying power was at the top.
“You guys watching?”
“Nothing else to do, so yeah.”
“Tell everyone to meet at the hotel then,” Zyrus gave Franken some instructions about where and when to meet and left the arena. His destination was of course The Enlightenment pagoda.
The Champions of Munera was in its final stages. He had improved his skills by a great deal, and from tomorrow’s auction he planned to get items that would help him on the Ocean. Still, he didn’t forget what was the core of his powers.
It had been a while since he had comprehended a new concept. With the aid of enlightenment pagoda and the cube there was a high chance he could comprehend a new concept with the time left.
“Welcome, dear guest. How long will you be staying for?”
“An hour and half before the auction starts.” Zyrus gave the elf receptionist the coins and directly headed to the fifth floor. The place wasn’t empty since many like him were using every moment of their time to improve themselves.
Zyrus sat on the empty mat and closed his eyes. Soon enough, he was enveloped by the cocoon like force. He touched his chest and opened the cube’s knowledge base. He had already started learning about the next concept, as evidenced by the progress on the screen.
| Records on Oblivion: 3.7%
Indeed, the concept Zyrus was studying was oblivion. It was based on his emotions rather than knowledge, and thus, it was both easy and difficult to make progress in this part. Zyrus had already read most of the information written on the record of oblivion. Today, he planned to just sit there and let himself lose.
What did oblivion mean? At first thought some might think that it meant wiping out something from existence. Perhaps it was the truth as well. However, Zyrus believed in something different.
‘Oblivion….is to be forgotten. To vanish from everyone’s thoughts, including your own…’
Zyrus stopped using the eyes of annihilation and didn’t focus on any threads either. His consciousness was spread across various visions that showed him different scenarios. It looked like he was looking at everything, but in actuality, he wasn’t.
| Records on Oblivion: 3.7%...6.2%....7.48%....
The progress on the screen was gradually making progress, but no one was paying attention to it. Zyrus had taken the most important step towards comprehending Oblivion.
He, had forgotten his own existence.