Speed Is King

"What do you want from me?" Elliot asked in a calm and detached voice.

"Oh my dear boy. I want nothing FROM you. I want YOU." Rak'Tharos grinned.

"Let them go. I will serve you." Elliot immediately responded.

"HAHA! You will serve me? No thank you. The current you has absolutely no value to me. As I said, you have a lot of potential, and you have all the pieces you need to succeed. But you're not there yet. Your potential remains untapped, and your pieces remain underutilized. Nonono, little boy, I am not here to recruit you. I am here to help you. To offer you help that only I, the Great King Rak'Tharos, am able to offer." Rak'Tharos vaunted shamelessly.

He threw Jessica and Jennifer roughly towards Elliot. Instantly, Elliot reacted and caught them both with his soft arms before setting them down gently.

However, his cold eyes never left Rak'Tharos.

"These are your two sisters, are they not?" Rak'Tharos asked.

"You must love them very much." He continued without waiting for an answer. "I know. I can read you and your actions like a book. Your motivation in this blasted Game is probably something pathetic like "I must save my sisters at all costs." or something along that line."

Elliot remained silent and simply stared at Rak'Tharos calmly, allowing him to blabber on until he got to his point. However, his heart was already sinking as a deep sense of apprehension washed over him.

"Weak. Such pathetic motivations would never lead you to the top! Therefore, to help you hasten your climb to the top, I am here to give you a stronger motivation. Revenge!" Rak'Tharos announced with flourish.

Elliot's heart exploded with great fury even before Rak'Tharos explained his words further.

"Hohoho! It appears you understand my intention." Rak'Tharos laughed sinisterly when he saw Elliot's cold eyes suddenly glint dangerously with anger.

"Your two sisters. One will die today, and the other will follow me to await your rescue. Which one lives and which one dies'¦ I will be magnanimous and allow you to decide."

A fury unlike anything Elliot had ever experienced before descended upon him like a deluge of fire at that moment. His heart was ablaze with hatred for the fearsome beast standing in front of him. His vision dimmed slightly as he began to descend slowly into madness.

"You want to take my sisters away from me'¦?" His eyes slowly began to glow red.

"Tsk. I told you your two sisters are excess baggage. They are a serious hindrance to your growth as a warrior. Look how affected you are already at the prospect of losing one of them! You're losing your rationality. Are you seriously thinking of attacking me? Don't disappoint me that way, little boy." Rak'Tharos growled.

[Your mental health has fallen by 0.1]

[Your mental health has fallen by 0.1]

[Mental health: 0.1]

[AI Comment: Your hunger for power and thirst for revenge are at the limits of sanity. Beware and be warned.]

Subconsciously, Elliot had turned back into his Primal Feline Warrior form. His boundless hatred for Rak'Tharos and great desire to kill him had caused his entire being to respond and assume the form that was able to deal the highest amount of damage in the shortest and most efficient way.

"Dumb beasts need to have their senses beaten into them. Are you a dumb beast, little boy?" Rak'Tharos asked.

Elliot's answer was simple.

He attacked!

There was no other option left for Elliot. His pride and wisdom had ruled out any possibility of begging the enemy. His aggression made being passive absolutely intolerable. Answering Rak'Tharos' question was also something that he couldn't do as well. Doing it would break his heart and drive him completely mad.

Rak'Tharos sighed and lifted up one claw. "I will show you even more benevolence today. But this is my final act of kindness, you hear? Anymore and people will start calling me Rak'Tharos the Benevolent instead of the Great Rak'Tharos. If you can break this claw, I will leave you and your sisters alone."

Although he knew Rak'Tharos wouldn't do anything that he wasn't confident in, Elliot's heart immediately leapt at the slight ray of hope offered to him.

LIGHTNING SLASH!

Elliot was so angry and so lost in his blind fury that his body instinctively unleashed a powerful attack that combined Lightning Strike's 5000% multiplier and Deadly Slash's armor piercing effect.

[New skill [Lightning Slash] manually created. Awarding 50 points.]

BAM!

His powerful lightning imbued slash hit Rak'Tharos' single claw with surprising power.

Rak'Tharos' heart beat slightly fast as he felt the power of Elliot's strike surpass all of his expectations.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Rak'Tharos said softly in sincere admiration. He had correctly deduced that Elliot was below level 50, very possibly even below level 45 by the power that he had exhibited earlier in his fights.

But the Lightning Slash he had executed early was definitely an attack comparable to a level 100 warrior's all-out attack!

Still, Rak'Tharos was a level 401 Beast Emperor. His upraised claw did not tremble in the slightest even after receiving Elliot's attack.

BAM! BAM!

Elliot unleashed a combo of three blindingly fast attacks, and completely failed to deal any damage to Rak'Tharos' claw.

His heart sank once more, this time it sank beyond salvation deep into the murky darkness of despair, and his mind teetered dangerously on the edge of insanity.

"I must break that claw!!" His mind screamed stubbornly. But his heart knew it was pointless.

His body responded to his mind's desperation and impossibly, he increased his speed and power once more!

Behind him, Wu Kong and the Giant Armored Mammoth had also burst out into action. They charged at Rak'Tharos with blind loyalty to Elliot.

However, Rak'Tharos had enough.

JAB!

He punched out lightly and smashed Elliot down to the ground! His attack came so suddenly and so powerfully that Elliot was caught by surprise and ate the attack fully with his head.

BAM! The force sent Elliot flying a few meters away.

Elliot shook off the attack as if it was nothing and prepared to pounce on Rak'Tharos again.