[You've inflicted Major effect: 1st Level Injury]
The system message appeared as Alex sliced the beak of the vulture-like head.
Using its long and flexible neck, the Monster with a human body swung its vulture-like head towards Alex.
[You've used Common D-rank
Alex's body soared up high, dodging the attack.
[You've equipped Common D-rank
A black pistol materialized in his right hand, replacing the sharp silver sword.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots rang out in the pensive hill.
[You've inflicted Minor Effect: Bleeding]
'It's pretty hard to follow the threads and aim while moving but aside from that…'
Alex landed just a few distances away from the body of the Monster.
Immediately, a thin, silver thread materialised in Alex's vision, connecting his nose to the Monster's beak.
Following the exact pathway of the thread, the Monster swung its head forward.
—To be easily dodged by Alex who simply tilted his neck while taking a small side-step.
'This really is a useful Aspect.'
[You've equipped Common D-rank
Three thin threads materialised in his vision, connecting the sword to the Monster's head.
One was connected to its left eye, another was connected to its beak and the last one was connected to its temple.
If the Monster's head wasn't nearly twice the size of an average human's, then aiming the swing would've been a lot tougher than it already was.
Swing!
Alex swung his sword, a fourth thread flickering in his vision.
[You've inflicted Major Effect: 2nd Level Injury]
The sword slashed the Monster's left eye, inflicting it with the 2nd Major effect that takes 40% of the target's max HP.
Ding!
[You've slain D-rank
[23 EXP has been gained]
As the Monster dematerialised in light blue pixels, the ground shook and rumbled again.
Digging itself out from the patch of green ground, the same Monster with the human body, long and flexible neck along with its vulture-like head tilted its neck and glared at Alex.
'He's still not using his Aspect?'
Alex's attention however, was directed towards Luke.
It was around ten seconds ago that Luke killed a Mutated Human before another one dug itself out from the ground and attacked him again.
During that fight and even the previous fight, Alex had kept a close eye on Luke because he wanted to know what his Aspect was.
'Well, I can always just ask Claire about it if I find my curiosity unsatiated.'
Yet, Luke never once used his Aspect.
Luke simply took off his brown coat which was among the default clothings then, equipping it as his weapon, he swung it towards the Mutated Human and landed an attack.
The Monster let out a wild screech while running towards Luke and closing the distance in an attempt to wrap its neck around him.
Luke leaped backwards and, the moment the Monster stepped foot in the area where he previously stood, its pale legs were sucked into the ground.
Luke's Title, The Armamentbound, had a property that allowed him to equip anything as his weapon.
If one ignored the curses it had as well, then The Armamentbound was no less than overpowered.
A great example would be that by simply equipping the ground as his weapon, Luke could set a trap within a limited range of where he stood or previously stood.
"Ahhh, why did they update the Monster's face as well? It's a really big turn off."
While grimacing, Luke summoned a wooden stick on both sides of his hand.
'Now that I think about it, two swords?...That might be a bit unfair in a one on one.'
A normal player could equip only one Weapon, if so, even if both sticks dealt just a bit more damage than half a normal sword does, it'd already give Luke a huge advantage in a life and death situation against another player.
Still stuck in his assessment of Luke, Alex took a side step and sliced the head of the Mutated Human, making it screech out in pain.
"Is this really a coincidence?"
Alex muttered out.
Not only had Luke defeated the other two Mutated Humans with these sticks, he did so with extremely impressive combat skill.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Luke was ambidextrous from how well he wielded both 'swords'.
A skilled ambidextrous beta-tester who reached the 25th floor, who also happened to have a Title that allowed him flexibility in many aspects—it was certainly a strong combination of traits.
Ding!
[You've slain D-rank
[23 EXP has been gained]
'For better or for worse, I ended up meeting a rather peculiar Main cast.'
Alex let out a soft sigh.
"You done too huh? Rejoice, you're slightly above average."
Luke said playfully as the sticks dematerialised from his hands. In front of him, the Mutated Human had also finished dematerialising into light blue pixels.
"Slightly? You know nothing after all." Alex retorted.
Had it been just Alex who had been ambushed, he'd have had to deal with two Mutated Humans at once and that too three times.
It wasn't tough to do so, just unpleasant.
In that regard, Alex was slightly pleased that he met Luke back at the foot of the hill.
"Then let's continue! For the destination knows no…coming to the pursuer."
Luke smiled awkwardly as his voice trailed off.
"Your lack of vocabulary is showing."
"Hmph, that's just what I, that's right, I—am showing you."
Qhichh…qhichh…
Immediately, a creaking sound caught both of their attention. To be precise, the source of the sound itself.
"Luke, how much is your health? Quickly eat an apple."
It was coming straight from Luke's back. Though he couldn't see it directly, Alex knew exactly what it was.
'A Nightcrawler. Must've snuck up on him while he was fighting.'
Luke's back wasn't visible to Alex, not to mention he was also a bit busy; the Nightcrawler, true to its nature, had snuck on Luke while no one was looking.
"What a pain."
A juicy red apple materialised in Luke's right hand. Gobbling it up, he asked Alex,
"How many?"
The Monster stuck to Luke's back had an entirely pitch-black round body. It neither had legs nor a tail.
One part however, was quite visible.
Those were its eyes.
Originally, all four of the Nightcrawlers' eyes were bright and colorful but now, only one of them retained this glow. The other three eyes were all dim red and dark, as if the Monster was slowly dying.
Or rather, that was exactly what was happening.
"One. I…good luck?"
Alex wasn't sure what to say in this situation. After all, the Nightcrawler was considered to be one of the most fatal creatures within Holyug Online by the Beta-testers.
As the Nightcrawler's fourth eye lost its light, a weird gushing sound escaped from it.
"If I die, though short, it was ni-"
'Cooldown complete.'
[You've used Common D-rank
A loud explosion reverberated across the hill, accompanied by thick and furry white clouds that engulfed Luke and the surrounding area.
Gazing silently from above, Alex muttered,
"It'd be too bad if he dies."
After the Nightcrawler launches its suicide attack by clinging to its target's back, there are two possible scenarios.
One is that the target gets depleted of 50% of their max HP and is left paralyzed for a whole five minutes. Scenario two on the other hand, is just simple death.
This Monster must've been a large reason why most beta-testers didn't even make an attempt to come here at The Guardian's Hill—the risk was far too big.
'Hmm, the beta-testers briefly mentioned it in their reviews but putting a Monster like this on the first floor does seem a bit evil.'
As the thick clouds began to disappear, a vague silhouette appeared in Alex's vision.
Having already landed on the ground, Alex approached the figure who stood still in his spot.
"Good for yo-"
"You punk! Were you not even planning to listen to my final words in case I died, huh?!"
Luke reprimanded Alex in an agitated tone. His face, however, was frozen in a shocked and anxious expression.
The effect of paralysis had already set in the moment the Nightcrawler exploded, leaving his facial expression as well as body posture stuck on the moment just before the explosion occurred.
"I just didn't want to be partially blinded by the cloud. What if another one sneaks up behind me?"
Even if Alex had been just beside Luke the moment the Nightcrawler exploded, he'd have quite literally suffered zero damage.
So maybe, Luke's anger was somewhat valid.
"Ah, whatever. Just keep an eye out for me until this paralysis effect wears off. You owe me that much for your rudeness."
"You're talking about rudeness?"
Even if they didn't know each other that well, Alex was no longer a stranger to Luke's sometimes rude and insensitive words.
And this was just from talking to him for the past hour or maybe even less.
The hypocrisy almost felt palpable to him.
***
The wind whistled coldly as The Guardian's Hill hummed a silent soliloquy.
In front of Alex and Luke was an area heavily drenched and covered in mist. Even from close by, only the dark shadows of the trees and bushes could be seen.
"You memorized at least one of the paths right?"
Luke asked as he gazed towards Alex, his tone displaying curiosity and a small hint of concern.
"Yeah, I did."
"Good, let's go."