Blood dripped down Crowne's face. His left eye was shut, struck by the previous slash. Luckily, the wound wasn't deep. But the gash on his chest was. Blood continued to flow from it, and Crowne gasped as he struggled to endure the pain.
"Damn it. They just don't stop. They always get back up no matter how many times I cut them down."
The undead weren't particularly strong, but because they couldn't be killed and kept reviving, they were an endless nuisance. They grabbed at his legs, lunged at him, and attacked without pause. It was maddening.
As his focus slipped, the stone knight statue slashed swiftly. Crowne was wounded again. He had to find a way to win, or he would die here.
"If this keeps up, I'll lose here. I need to find a way," Crowne muttered.
The undead charged again. Crowne shifted into his stance. When they attacked, he dodged every strike. His eyes moved constantly, tracking the motion of every enemy.
Blash!
Crowne leapt backward. But one undead was already behind him. He clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Damn."
He pushed himself harder.
Baaak!
He threw his body backward with full force, crashing into the undead behind him. The creature opened its mouth to bite, but Crowne stopped mid-motion, swung his fist backward into its face, then drove his elbow into its neck.
The undead fell, but several more were already closing in. Another wave of attacks was coming.
"They're really like insects."
Slash!
Two undead had their heads cut clean off by Crowne's sword. Yet the rest kept advancing, swinging at him relentlessly. While fending them off, Crowne opened his system menu, scanning the list of things he could purchase. He had to choose carefully among thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of options.
"I only have 17,998 market points left."
A small amount. Not enough to summon a creature on Sylvara's level again. He could only buy skills, weapons, or similar items. There were many choices, and one wrong pick would waste everything.
Phantom Edge Art (Rare) – 2,000 Market Points
Blood Echo Step (Epic) – 4,000 Market Points
Hundredfold Severance (Legendary – Limited Time Offer) – 7,000 Market Points
Crowne stared at the list. Three skills he believed could turn the tide. He weighed them carefully while dodging the undead's attacks.
He nodded. "Alright. I think this is the best choice."
[Confirm purchase? Price: 7,000 Market Points.]
Crowne nodded and pressed [Yes] without hesitation. At that moment, his body glowed, and new memories flooded into his mind.
[Skill acquired: Hundredfold Severance.]
[Description: With a single breath, the user can perform twenty rapid slashes. No cooldown. Can be used continuously at the cost of mana.]
Crowne smiled. This should be enough. But as he smiled, the stone knight appeared before him again, taking a stance, leaning forward, then swinging its sword in a fast horizontal slash.
Slash!
Crowne's eyes widened. He couldn't move in time. He froze, his mind overloaded with too many thoughts.
The system screen flashed rapidly, stopping at a skill Crowne hadn't even considered before. With a small nod, he bought it.
[Skill acquired: Absolute Barrier.]
[Description: Blocks attacks equal to ten times the user's STR.]
Traaaang!
The knight's sword bounced off an invisible barrier. Crowne survived the fatal strike. It was insane luck, and though he didn't like relying on luck, he was grateful. Without it, he would've been sliced in half.
[Hundredfold Severance activated!]
Crowne slashed. Dozens of rapid strikes cut through the air. The stone knight's body was pushed back by the barrage. When the undead closed in again, Crowne unleashed the same skill on them. Their bodies were shredded into countless pieces.
Slowly, the pieces began to reform, but Crowne ignored them. His focus was on the statue—the true threat. It moved slowly, yet its swings were heavy and fast, each one lethal.
The knight advanced again, sword raised. Its aura suddenly grew stronger, the ground trembling under its weight. Crowne exhaled sharply.
He didn't retreat. He lowered his body slightly, his sword aligned with his waist.
His eyes narrowed.
"Alright… let's see who falls first."
The stone knight swung its sword down from above. The vertical slash was powerful enough to split the floor. But Crowne vanished before the blade landed. The undead were still reforming and couldn't interfere.
[Wind Step Slash activated!]
Whoosh!
His body blurred, replaced by a transparent afterimage that appeared behind the knight.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Tens of slashes echoed at once. In a single second, Crowne appeared and disappeared over twenty times. He combined two of his skills. Each appearance came with twenty slashes.
All the strikes landed on the knight's body. At first, it showed no reaction, but by the three-hundredth slash, a small crack appeared on its shoulder.
"Got you," Crowne said.
The knight turned, attempting to strike back, but Crowne's swift counter deflected its attack. The giant lost its balance and staggered backward.
Crowne was about to press the attack, but the undead had reformed again and were rushing toward him.
"Die!"
"Kill!"
"Die!"
Crowne glanced at them and used Hundredfold Severance twice in succession. Instantly, the undead were sliced into fine chunks once more.
At that same moment, the stone knight lifted its massive sword again, preparing another strike.
This time, Crowne only smiled faintly. "Now… you're no match for me."
Baam!
The sword came crashing down, shattering the ground, but Crowne was no longer there. He was now behind the knight, blade ready. Just as he swung, the knight spun around with unnatural speed.
A fast slash came straight for him.
Slash!
Kraaaang!
The strike was deflected. At that instant, Crowne readied his final blow. He would pour all his mana into this attack.
"This… is my victory," Crowne declared.
[Hundredfold Severance 100X activated!]
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Two thousand strikes landed, all aimed at the same point.