Return Of The Strongest Player

"The Spectre King…"

Arthur muttered under his breath, feeling that his words seemed strained. His mouth dried up, while a sensation far exceeding what he'd felt in the twelfth floor rushed across his physical body.

He was taken aback by the sheer strength of the Spectre King.

Usually, they were much weaker.

'But it should be no problem…' Arthur muttered internally, but he wasn't so believing of his own words. 

"I don't see him," Kyler replied, scrunching his eyebrows while pushing his eyesight to the maximum. Mana clumped up at his eyes, fading away in micro-particles that seemed to vanish within seconds.

"Because he's not a physical entity…" said Arthur. "Use a sensory technique. Also, don't be affected by its mental pressure. Tighten and condense your mind."

Kyler cocked his head before narrowing his eyes, utilizing the best sensory technique he had access to, [Unisensory Perception]. Amethyst mana swirled around his body, engulfing him in voracious flames.

He suddenly grimaced, dispelling [Unisensory Perception].

"We're supposed to defeat that?"

"Quickly, too."

Kyler shook his head helplessly, igniting the purple flames yet again, forcing himself to sense the presence of the Spectre King, an intangible entity capable of leaving the physical world, or at least blending himself with other natural forces to escape the naked eye.

It had no set color or shape, allowing it to morph into whatever shape it wished.

Its entire body resembled a shadow, or a silhouette, even in the intangible world that it resided in. For an entity to gain the stealth abilities to reduce its presence to such a meager amount was utterly stupefying.

That was precisely why it was known as a Spectre King.

That was why it prevailed, gaining superiority amongst its peers before ascending to its position.

"Kyler, use a technique that involves the disruption of elemental mana," Arthur commanded, engulfing his sword with a golden glow. '[Judgment Regeneration] may or may not work… Although, [Sin Toll] worked perfectly fine, other than a few negative effects.'

Kyler nodded, clasping his hands together before performing a few indecipherable signs. Mana spilled in all directions, contaminating the cave with a technique created solely for the disruption of elemental mana.

It was widely known as "Elemental Disturb."

As one of the most vital abilities a Mage could learn, the spell was also a prerequisite to becoming a Master Mage.

'So he's reached that point,' Arthur muttered internally, praising the man in his heart. Around this time, Arthur was still scraping for dimes at the Jester Organization in his former life. It wasn't until a few years later that he entered Heaven's Spire.

By then, Kyler had already established himself as a Ranker.

'I used to hear stories about his rapid success,' Arthur chuckled internally, revealing a faint smile externally. 'For the people of his planet, this was the ultimate success. For his foes, this was equivalent to death.'

Arthur nullified Kyler's ability as it loomed over him, shocking the latter. However, he regained composure quickly, wondering the lengths Arthur had reached in terms of magic, and asking himself, 'Wasn't he a swordsman?'

Exempt from Elemental Disturb, Arthur stared at the shadowed entity, rushing towards it before contaminating the area in Sun Energy.

The Spectre King released a practically inaudible, rather pitiful shriek, releasing ripples of dark energy that seemed to transcend the physical world, attacking the souls of both Arthur and Kyler directly.

They felt a sharp pain emerge from their sternum that permeated across their bodies, weakening their resolve and instilling them with unparalleled terror. Their bodies trembled as a stinging sensation arose.

Suddenly, a deafening cry resounded in their minds, but the approaching players didn't seem to hear it.

Kyler's eyes turned bloodshot, and a sense of paranoia surfaced. 

In his mind, all lights vanished, while the faint sense of the whooshing wind tickled his ears, forming a peculiar, whistling sound. Fingertips brushed along his skin, while an eternal abyss seemed to await him.

Many horrifying faces rushed past his eyes.

A man with gouged eyes.

A woman with the left side of her face burnt, and the right dropping.

A boy with long, venomous fangs and glowing, blue eyes that seemed to exceed the size of a ping-pong ball.

At that moment, droplets of black liquid stained his vision, trickling down while slowly degrading his sense of sight into darkness.

'He's already affected by the mental pressure,' Arthur shook his head in pity. 'It'll be very difficult to survive this.'

Arthur immediately activated the State Of Mushin, witnessing Kyler's pitiful downfall with a lowered head. It seemed the Magic Emperor would not regain his position in this life, unfortunately.

Arthur infused Skofnung with Sword Aura and Sun Energy before mixing the elemental powers of several elements. With the Mana Stone pumping as much mana as it possibly could, Arthur approached the silhouette, releasing a devastating swing.

The swing left a deep gash on the Spectre King's shadowed body but also incited a rather powerful bellow from the depths of its throat.

Visions of the past threatened to resurface in Arthur's mind, but the State Of Mushin seemed to resist.

Arthur clenched his teeth, power swirling across his body.

Many players arrived at the scene, their eyes bloodshot as they were immediately affected by an unknown, invisible entity's mental pressure. Their bodies snapped like thin pencils, collapsing as their corpse formed a pool of blood.

Arthur didn't pay any mind to the fallen, thrusting Skofnung towards the shadowed silhouette he could barely see. With tightened muscles, no thoughts, bloodshot eyes, an exhausted body, and erratic breathing, he didn't see how he could survive for long.

It made him realize the sheer ineffectiveness of physical combat.

Physical combat could only slowly wear down the physical body, but unless one's foe was mentally exhausted, they would still have the mental energy to continue, and could perhaps push past their limits.

But the mental aspect of battle wiped out all possibility of achieving a breakthrough amid a battle.

It wore down the person's will to fight along with their physical body, achieving a total victory.

But exceptions always existed.

Twitch.

Suddenly, Kyler's body twitched, his eyes battling for the lost luster.