Chapter 294
The air around Sila was compressed under the influence of the swirling black qi . The valley trembled as if it was afraid of being near such a violent qi . Sila summoned the Crystal Demonic Sword in his right hand . Its blade was covered in flames from Flaming Cloud Qi . The qi shaped itself into a nimble black panther coiling around the blade . Its pair of red eyes glared at Shueria with killing intent belonging to a predator .
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Tiger Dragon Qi was a qi art with soft and hard attributes, preserving and supporting each other . Kiryu named it Tiger Dragon Qi Art because he took a liking to the appearances of a dragon and a tiger . When he used it, he would often materialize a great tiger and a majestic dragon to fight in his place . For the same reason, he named the moves of his art Tiger’s Claw, Dragon’s Fist, and Tiger-Dragon Fusion . The qi art actually had no fixed form, however . Last night when Sila tried to mimic Kiryu’s action by creating a tiger and a dragon from his imagination, he couldn’t replicate the strength of the materialized beasts even though he and Kiryu exerted the same amount of power .
Sila’s Flaming Cloud Qi had psychic power as a composition . Thus, he had to strengthen his own belief and project it in his own way, materializing the beast that he deemed as unyielding—the beast which wouldn’t show fear even when up against a stronger opponent . After some trials and errors, the end result was a lone tiger, although its appearance became that of a black panther due to his Flaming Cloud Qi, which emitted black flames .
This level of power wasn’t something players could hope to attain . People often said Sila’s strength grew too fast, but he himself thought otherwise . He wasn’t content with his rate of growth, thinking that it was still too slow . A part of him refused to admit he was at the same level as Shueria . If he had to scrape through with a win over Shueria, how could he stand a chance against Montra?
Last night Kiryu recommended Sila utilize in-game skills . It was then that Sila realized the number of times he actually depended on in-game skills was rather low, which must be because he rarely thought Monster Soul was a game . Then, he tried several skills until he stumbled on his Lordship .
His Lordship was practically useless in battles . On the other hand, based on the intel he got from Yardpirun, Montra’s Lordship—which had been promoted to Emperorship—possessed powerful abilities . Sila pondered why there was such a large gap between their Lordships . In the end, the only answer he could come up with was that he had been utilizing his the wrong way .
Monster Soul Online is the kind of game that gives players hints and plenty of freedom rather than clear-cut answers . Lordship was like Rhythm in the sense that the system left players to discover their true abilities by themselves in order to optimize enjoyment . It was the privilege with latent power waiting to be discovered . Even for Rhythm, it still took three years before a majority of players knew about it .
Sila reread the information about Montra’s Emperorship and found that it was Emperorship of Guardian Spirit from the ‘Territory’ category . Looking back, his was the Lordship of Time from the ‘Death’ category .
Montra’s Emperorship worked splendidly in the territories he ruled . In his territories, his comrades would be granted great buffs . On the other hand, Sila’s Lordship did nothing for him aside from manipulating his opponent’s respawn time .
After consulting with Kiryu, the old man told him that many first generation players also had obtained Lordships during the closed beta period . Originally, Lordships and Emperorships were tools that the game creator bestowed players once he concluded that they could hardly survive in the Monster Realm . They existed to increase their odds of survival . As a side note, they were confiscated once the players chose to become Independent NPCs when the game was officially launched .
Personally, Kiryu had no experience using his Lordship since he always stayed in the same place and didn’t go out to fight . Nevertheless, he said to Sila that he had witnessed some first-generation players use the power in a variety of ways, such as stamping it on the ground, projecting it into the sky, applying it to their equipment, affecting their enemies, and some even cast it on themselves . There seemed to be no fixed pattern .
From then on, Sila tried using his Lordship in several ways . It wasn’t until he used it on himself that the system notified him of an update to his Lordship’s description . After checking it, Sila smiled .
Lordship of Time
You can reduce the respawn time of players/monsters who are within a kilometer of you . The minimum respawn time you can set is one second .
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You can extend a player’s respawn time when you personally kill them . The maximum respawn time you can set is seven days .
When using the Lordship on yourself, you can ignore cooldowns, delays, and any other aspects of skills that relate to time .
**Accumulated Time: 2,427 seconds .
***The time will increase by 1 second for each player you kill .
Obviously, the accumulated time would decrease as long as Sila maintained the Incarnation of Chronos state . It seemed the number of players dying in Lafesta City was quite high, so he managed to store a lot of time . Seeing the number, Sila couldn’t help but be reminded of Illuminus’ item skills .
As he was now, Sila was qualified enough to adventure in the Monster Realm . Truthfully speaking, there were currently only three players who could go to the Monster Realm and not die instantly . They were Lomyok, Montra, and Sila .
Other players wouldn’t have a chance of surviving against the three as long as their rank wasn’t at least Lord Rank . All things considered, however, it also depended on whether players could tap into their latent potential or not . Take Lone Wolf for example . Even though he was the first player to reach Lord Rank, if he was still unaware of the proper way to utilize Lordship, he wouldn’t survive in the Monster Realm .
Sila utilized his Lordship on Evil God’s Essence . For the record, after Evil God’s Essence was strengthened by the essence of psychic power, Sila could use it for five minutes per day . However, it came with a downside that meant he couldn’t use other skills at the same time . Thus, Sila tended to use it briefly to perform a specific action before canceling it, as he always needed qi-type supporting skills . Nevertheless, in the Incarnation of Chronos state, all his normal skills would be elevated to transcendent rank . That allowed him to use Evil God’s Essence in actual combat for a long period of time .
The stone walls cracked as Sila swung his sword backward . His movement was amateurish like a child playing with a sword . He crouched slightly, similar to how a tiger prepares to jump at its prey . Meanwhile, Shueria felt a sudden chill . He broke out in a cold sweat and his body shivered .
Sila could understand Shueria’s feelings well . It was the same sensation he felt when he fought against the Water Dragon and Sebastian—being pressured by an opponent with a superior rank . Fear kicked in as a natural and irresistible reaction . Shueria had to concentrate harder just to take a step . Monster Soul was a world where the strong reigned supreme . This phenomenon was a privilege granted only to those who rose above the rest .
“Yahhh!!” Shueria roared to drive away fear . He spread his fingers, extending blades made of psychic power toward the sky . His psychic power molded shapes while his Cloudy Tiger Qi strengthened them . The blades combined and formed into a giant sword, fiercely slashing downward . The sword covered the sky . In such a narrow mountain pass, Sila had nowhere to evade .
Dignified Palm Blade — God-Rupturing Sword .
Sila was untroubled . In fact, he intended for Shueria to make a move first . Power of the Great Flow gushed over the Crystal Demonic Sword . The black qi blasted apart into small clusters of flames, illuminating beautifully like they were floating lanterns . It was the exquisite swordplay that even the intellectual Sanon had never witnessed before . Everyone looked at the sight with puzzled expressions .
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Heaven’s Decree — Six Sword Style, Flaming Fireflies .
Shueria had yet to complete his slash, but he suddenly felt like it was actually him who was under attack . Suffering from qi deviation was better than death, so he stopped his move mid-way and retracted his power to strengthen his defense . Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth .
Sila violently swung his sword as if it was an extension of his body—a claw, to be precise . It struck Shueria, who lifted his wrist to block the slash . Shueria tightened his muscles and compressed his power, preparing for a heavy blow . However, the impact was soft and gentle instead, opposing the tremendous pressure that came with it . The blade slowly sank into Shueria’s flesh, bringing him torture .
Heaven’s Decree — Second Sword Style, Crashing Mountain .
Shueria’s wrist was torn apart before it could be healed by Recovering Qi . Still, the blade had already sunken one inch deep, so the recovery wasn’t as efficient as it should have been . Shueria exerted more qi and psychic power to push Sila away, and the latter actually jumped back easily . However, his sharp sword intent remained, pouring toward Shueria from the front .
Heaven’s Decree — Seventh Sword Style, Unforeseen Sword .
The sword energy was cold and sinister, contradicting Sila’s battle stance, which disregarded defense . Shueria’s brain realized that it was a trap, but his instincts ordered him to take action . In the middle of an intense battle, it was natural that fighters would move according to their instincts born from repetitive practicing and countless battling rather than their brain . Pumin’s sword art turned this asset into a liability . Through the swordplay which sends false signals, the opponents would be forced to make mistakes in utilizing their power . Even if they were aware that their instincts were manipulated, it was still too late for them to put a stop to their non-optimal actions . Moreover, even if they managed to stop their actions, their momentum would still be interrupted . In fact, the more skilled the opponent was, the more likely they would be weak against Heaven’s Decree Sword Art .
Unable to stop his body, Shueria rushed at Sila . The eyewitnesses wondered why he plunged into such an obvious trap . Nevertheless, without experiencing Pumin’s sword art firsthand, they wouldn’t be able to sense its dreadfulness . From an outsider’s perspective, they could only wonder why Shueria made one mistake after another when all Sila did was swing his sword around in a rather amateurish manner .
Changing his move too fast for his body to keep up, Shueria’s muscles began to bleed due to qi deviation . Blood soaked his blindfold . Poluk once told Sila that qi-type beings were great at melee combat . However, the severe backlash caused by qi deviation made the energy type unpopular among players .
Shueria quickly shouted a certain item skill before it was too late, “Aegis Ark!”
The armor on his chest emitted a light and enlarged, becoming a large shield which blocked Sila from coming forward . For the record, Shueria’s armor was the combination of protective gear and a shield . Once the item skill was activated, it would enlarge to protect its user and increase the recovery rate of anyone behind the shield .
Sila did a backflip and stood in front of the giant shield which completely blocked his path . Apparently, Shueria relied on an in-game skill to put a stop to Sila’s series of attacks . Sensing what was behind the shield with qi, Sila could tell that Shueria’s health points were recovering . If he didn’t continue his attacks, his past actions so far would be for naught .
Leaping to the Aegis Shield, Sila punched it using Genesis Punch . However, it didn’t budge in the slightest . Rather than possessing insanely high defense, Sila guessed it must be the shield’s ability that could temporarily nullify all attacks for a specific period of time . He decided to change his approach . Instead of punching it, he simply placed his palm on it .
King’s Treasury .
The big shield turned into light and was absorbed into Sila’s system window . Noticing what happened, Shueria, who was behind the shield just a moment ago, felt extremely shocked . In his hand was a potion containing a golden liquid that Sila had never seen before . Based on the look of it, the potion must be a very precious item, maybe even more valuable than Franz’s pallets .
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“Ah . That’s mine too . It will waste more of my time if you drink that,” Sila muttered as he shot a suntetsu toward the startled Shueria, briefly knocking the potion out of his hand .
Weapons and equipment had to be touched directly by Sila in order for him to snatch them . However, if they were miscellaneous or general items like potions, just being within three meters was enough for the skill he obtained from the Devil Prince to work . It was a foolish idea to leave items untouched in the Demon of Greed’s presence .
Before Shueria could grab a hold on the potion, it became a flash of light and entered Sila’s system window . Crow showed an awkward expression as high-grade items he gave to Shueria continued to be robbed by Sila one after another . Without high-level armor, Shueria’s defense fell drastically . Furthermore, he was in a panicked state, opening up an opportunity for Sila to attack .
Sila swung his sword toward Shueria, who crossed his arms in front of his body to take the impact . Sila took a deep breath before letting out a thunderous roar .
Racial Skill — Slime’s Roar .
The people from Sila’s side had been warned beforehand, so they covered their ears in time, including Lookhin . On the other hand, Sanon and Crow felt light pain from their eardrums . As for Shueria, he was the direct target of the skill, so even his wounds were lacerated by the impact from the roar . All sound was lost instantly .
Regarding slime skills, the first stage of every skill was usually harmless . The user had to achieve some conditions to unlock their potential, like how Sila did with Fluffy Slime, Colorful Slime, and Transparent Slime . In the second stage, they would become quite high-level skills such as Formless Soldier, Orbiting Cosmos, and Moon Reflecting Mirror . Some skills were easy to unlock while most of them weren’t . Luckily for Sila, the conditions for unlocking Orangey’s Way of Slime—(F) Singing Slime—was easy enough . It took him only a single night to evolve it into (B) Slime’s Roar .
Enhanced by Monster Heir at transcendent rank, Sila’s usage of racial skills in the Incarnation of Chronos state was as deadly as weapons of destruction . Some skills were even more difficult to cope with than his martial moves . Sadly, though, he couldn’t use them outside the game .
Possessing Psychic Eyes, Shueria relied heavily on his hearing and sense of touch . With one of them becoming crippled, his world lost a part of its color . He could hear nothing aside from the sound of his own life beginning to fade away . His body recognized the crisis, thus his psychic power was in overdrive . Dignified Palm Blades protruded from every fiber of his body, turning him into a human hedgehog . Even Sila had no choice but to jump back to secure some distance .
‘Oops . I totally forgot that psychic power will be more dangerous in this kind of situation . I almost lost an arm . ’
Even when Sila was especially vigilant, Shueria’s psychic power in a crisis still managed to injure him . The blades were several times sharper than before . He quickly circulated qi to tend to the wounds on his arm .
Shueria drew his hand, chopping toward Sila . The sharp psychic power engraved a perfectly straight horizontal line on the stone valley . Sila, along with Kiryu and Rex, had to duck down to dodge it . On the other hand, Lookhin was short, so she blankly raised her head, confusedly looking at the blade which simply flew above her .
As Sila ducked, he rolled on the ground and leaped at Shueria, stabbing the man’s heart using the sword in his hand . He realized his attack might not work since the heart was a part of the Sealed One . Nevertheless, based on his experience, each item on the set shouldn’t have overlapping abilities with each other . Hence, there was only a low chance that the heart could also nullify attacks like Illuminus .
Heaven’s Dismissal — Fifth Sword Style, Nine Ghost Strikes .
Sila’s blade went three inches into Shueria’s chest . Nine consecutive shockwaves entered Shueria’s body, each one as violent as a lightning strike . The result was unsatisfying as the attacks left only a small injury on the heart . Well, against an opponent who he couldn’t kill by attacking their vitals such as Shueria and Sebastian, Sila still had other means of slaying them .
Dual Generating Attributes — Metal enriches Water, Hundred Victories .
Kiryu’s Tiger-Dragon Fusion was used continuously by Sila . The blows rammed repeatedly into Shueria’s body, echoing like marching drums . Shueria was beaten badly by the strikes . He had to shift the target of Recovery Qi from healing his heart to his entire body . Just healing alone already took all of his effort, so he had no means of escaping from the beating . As his heart weakened, the protective aura around him became thinner, allowing Sila’s blows to hit harder .
Sila spun his body around, lifting his leg as he was about to land a kick .
Crow started to move, but he was slower than Sila due to the distance . The kick was instantly strengthened by qi, pushing the Crystal Demonic Sword’s hilt without holding back .
Dual Overwhelming Attributes — Wood drains Earth, Phantom Barrage .
The blade sunk deeper into Shueria’s heart in slow motion, as gently as stabbing a metal rod into a block of plasticine . The blade pierced through Shueria and exited from his back . His body flew toward Crow who was rushing at him .
Crow caught Shueria in mid-air . Both he and Sanon hadn’t expected Sila to already become this strong . Even they, who had planned to stop the fight when the result was clear, still failed to act in time .
Crow tried to transmit qi to heal Shueria . However, it failed . Even the Heart of the Sealed One also failed to help . Shueria’s body was like a deflated balloon . No matter how Crow transmitted qi to him, the qi would simply leak out .
Most importantly, from the battle’s start to now, only five minutes had passed .
Crow had far underestimated Sila . In the Incarnation of Chronos state, Sila could stand a chance even against Crow .
Exhaling, Sila both relaxed his stance and canceled his power . Kiryu then approached him and tapped him on his shoulder . The old man whispered to Sila as if he knew what Sila was thinking .
“Don’t worry . You did the right thing . Holding back would simply mean you looked down on your opponent . Letting him know you’re serious in the match is better than letting him know later that you made fun of the battle . ”
“Yes, sir . ”
At long last, Shueria’s body scattered as light particles after some struggle . The rematch, which had been agreed on by both parties long ago, finally came to an end in a quick manner with Sila’s overwhelming victory .