As the dungeon collapsed, Zypher was not able to go out as the Codex was annexing it. But for the same reason, he was completely unharmed, but is just completely covered with rubble.
As the rubble stopped from breaking and falling, Zypher decided to go up little by little to the surface.
[Codex Room Annexed.]
{Converting Game Mode.}
[You are now playing in Hell Mode.]
(Curse Absolute Weakling Adjusted.]
BANG!
An explosion rang out as he rose out of the rubble.
"Woah, what a warm welcome."
Thirteen level 20 players, all near the second awakening of their classes, with the kid in the middle.
"Nice to meet you, dumbass."
"Nice to meet you too, loser." Zypher said as he brushed off some dust from his shirt.
"Fucker." Ayaka said under her breath as she saw how nonchalant he is. The kid raised his hand to stop Ayaka, and looked at Zypher.
"I don't know if you know me, but you messed with the wrong person." The kid said as he took a pair of daggers and pointed one towards Zypher.
"Hand over the other Encyclopedia." He said, but Zypher just smirked.
"I got the right person tho." He said as he spread his arms and smiled.
"Why don't you kill me and make me respawn to the nearest city?" He taunted as he walked towards the kid.
The kid, flabbergasted by the display showed by Zypher got angrier as he gripped his dagger tightly.
"What? Scared to do it?" Zypher said as he turned his back and waited for their attack, but nothing came.
This time, he laughed out loud and shook his head. He walked away as he waited, but none of them came.
That was when a notification appeared in his front. A red panel that gave chills to him, that even him, did not expect.
[You are playing in 'Inferno Mode'.]
1000% Drop and EXP rates.
All Affinities start at Neutral.
(Exisiting affinities not affected.)
Doesn't revive on death.
Exude Death Aura.
Death Aura.
There is a certain mechanic in the game which fixes things, and creates a balance in it.
Suppose we say that a Normal Mode player killed too many other players without respawning or even dying.
That Normal Mode player will exude a Death Aura that means they must be killed and they will drop everything they have, from levels to spells, wiped out clean.
It means they to start their journey from the beginning, and play the game right.
"Oh, how the tables have turned." A chill ran down his spine as he heard the voice behind him.
'F*ck'. He shouted in his mind, and ran.
Compared to the Level 20 people behind him, his stats are only meager.
10 Speed stats compared to level 20 which gets 10 Stat point per level for normal class, 20 for uncommon, 30 for rare and so on.
And so, the 240 from the first awakening in level 15, and the extra 50 from when they got their five levels, plus the bonus ones from their classes.
Ranging from 300 up to 450, given that all their classes are Unique and below, but Epic and above classes, their stats will just go explosively high; although they won't be able to fight those who are in the hundreds, boasting thousands of stat points.
And for this, he knows that their stats are higher than his, if not thrice, but four times.
In short time, there were four people on his trail, and he can't shake them off due to the difference in speed.
And, these people only has 6 stats to distribute it, it means that he is outsped by them by a large margin. 10 Speed Stat point versus a minimum of 75 Speed.
That's raw stats only, without the skill, passives and titles they got when they leveled up.
In a blink of an eye, two figures appeared before him.
The two are Rogue Classes, a Normal Class of the Assassin line of classes, and so, their skills are all leaning towards speed and killing someone swiftly.
"Rogue Skill: Backstab."
Two glints of light appeared as the two travelled instantaneously behind aiming their daggers at him.
With little Defense stat, he can't do anything to protect himself.
As the skills flashed their lights, shadows casted upon the ground, and it danced like a leaf being blown by the wind.
Zypher then turned around and smiled. The smile that anyone near death won't be able to do; the smile of a prey that sends shivers to the predator's spine.
The chilly smile called confidence.
As the daggers arrive, a small white hand appeared and grabbed them both.
CLANG!
The daggers broke, the attacks are unrelenting.
Another two arrive, but this time, the hands did not stop. It blocked one sword and redirected the other one's force.
But then, magic was casted, and arrows were sent, yet, nothing touched even the hair on his head.
"Finally, you're here." Zypher said as he looked towards the emerging figure.
From the shadows, a little girl appeared, but her body is a bit ragged.
Armor made of bones cover her chest, hips and some garments cover her torso, up to her shoulder and thighs. Her pigtails are still tied, but her aura is more menacing.
Cold air permeated the air as she pulled rotten wood from the ground. A small gem was unearthed, and some of the rotten wood became the handle of the said gem.
Creating a wand, runes appeared on the bone armors she had. As if on cue, her eyes glowed blue, and her pupils turned crystal clear. The combination mesmerized the other party, stopping them from attacking.
The kid with the golden hair arrived, but seeing the battle has stopped, she looked at the opposition.
From his perspective, the young lady is just helping his enemy, and so, he stopped the others from attacking, not wanting to offend the "expert".
"Miss, this is an issue between us and him, may I please ask you to move away?" Saying this, the kid bowed with respect.
The others, looking at him, did not understand it at all, but decided to also bow down.
SWISH!
A fast projectile moved, and an arm flew away.
"Ma'am, why are you--"
"Wake up, Constantine. That's his summon!" Ayaka said as she grabbed her hand.
Although the sense of pain is levelled down, there is still the sense of realism, and the uneasiness of losing one arm.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA. An arm for an arm." Zypher said as he waved his hand.
Writhing in pain, Ayaka still protected Constantine. Looking at the two, Zypher's eyes began to contort.
Rage filled his mind, but he kept his cool.
"So, you'll just get cuddly with each other and pretend that you are protagonists?" He said as he beckon Briar to his side.
Seeing the arrogance, Constantine gritted his teeth.
As he let Ayaka behind, his eyes darkened and his pupils turned red.
"Yeah yeah, berserk in the beginning of the fight. I've known you already." Zypher said as he pulled two pistols from his inventory.
"Let us help you, leader." The thirteen people decided to do an encirclement, but bullets flew one by one.
"What, using these people to gain advantage? Are you weak?" Zypher taunted as he flung bullets in all directions.
The funny thing is, no one got hit.
"He has no aim! Get him!" The thirteen rushed forward, but then, Briar appeared between them and Zypher.
[Spike.]
Cold, heavy and low. The spell that came out from her mouth was too domineering that everyone almost stopped, to the point that the rotten wood spikes almost pierced them.
Fortunately, a shield came from one of the Priest Classes, but that just put a nail in the coffin.
Blue lightning bolts poured down as soon as Zypher saw the Priest, and in one move, he almost incapacitated the said Priest.
"Holy Shield, huh." He said as he kite them. Bullets after bullets, without hitting anyone, and everyone getting antsy and confident that they will get this man right here.
Suddenly, a black figure flew past the thirteen, at the speed double of the past chasers, and arrived like a dart hitting the board.
BAAAAANG!
Sword and magic met, and a shockwave was created! The meeting of magic and swordsmanship was a tie!
Sending him back, Constantine rolled a few times before stabilizing himself using his sword.
Zypher, together with Briar, was also pushed back, and pretty much the same distance as Constantine.
As Constantine and Zypher stood up, there was silence in the place. Except for the few rocks that still roll because of the shockwave, or the sands that fall down, there are no other sounds.
Seeing this, Constantine was irked, but he still gripped his blade.
That was when he saw it: Zypher's stunned expression.
In his first day playing the game, he got a blessing from a god.
With the Class Expansion as his first blessing, there is another blessing that made him start the game easier than others.
The Skill: Appraisal.
Appraisal, true to it's name, reveals almost all information to the user from the player, NPC or thing he appraised.
And this time, Zypher's stunned expression is from the unfamiliar words that appeared beneath Constantine's name.
Knight of Death - Legendary.
"What? Scared now?" Constantine said, boasting his prowess. Hiding his shaking hand from the clash earlier, Constantine aimed the knife towards Zypher.
His stats, are of a level 15. 240 is the max for this level, for the class additional stat points cannot be earned from levels 1-15.
But from here, 60 points of stats can be added with each level up, and that's something scary.
Suppose we say a legendary class was awakened at Level 15; the next levels up to 100 can yield up to 5100 stat points. The class awakenings doesn't apply to them.
When a normal class climbs up to Epic at level 50. From level 51 to 100, they receive 50 points, which is equal to 2500, plus the 350 from level 15 to level 50 is only 2850.
And that is why legendary classes are too valuable at low level. They make a solid foundation for the player's growth.
And now, that high stat player can become a nuisance for his future, and the change of classes means that he cannot rely on the memories of his past anymore, at least while fighting Magic Night, or the Baltinoir Family, or even Constantine.
This kind of change wrecks his whole plan, and can only make it faster, faster than how they can grasp their advantages.
And if Baltinoir changed, does that mean that the three other families also changed? This thinking led him that a crisis happened after the butterfly effect.
And so, without further ado, he also pointed his pistols towards the enemies.
"I have to cull them out today." He said as he gritted his teeth.
"Fighting us huh? I guess you have a death wish." Constantine said as dark tendrils of mana gathered in his palm. As soon as they touched his hand, it turned ghostly pale, and black horns protruded from his head.
Black runic armor came to him like acid melting his own armor, and his blackened eye turned green and the pupils turned blue.
"Your summon is good, I get that. But the summoner, is always weaker than the summon." As he said that, he lunged himself towards Zypher, and his sword created an eerie sound as it whistled through the air.
But, that was just what Zypher was waiting for.
[Title: One Man Army.]
His lowest stat, which is all of his stats, on 10 stat points, plus 20 percent of the difference in levels, which is 3 (he is level 1, Constantine is 15, difference is 14, 20% is 2.8, rounded up to 3) and the difference from the enemy's highest stat and his lowest stat.
(+123) Speed stat while in combat.
BANG!
Magic and sword met again, but this time, magic was weaker...
But smarter.
"Adios, and see you again next time!" He shouted as he used the recoil from the clash to send him away and run towards the teleportation gate.
All this time, he led them by the nose, offering a carrot (his death) towards the wolves.
With the additional speed he got from Constantine, he unsummoned Briar and ran away.
It's true, he lost the battle, but won the war.