8 World Achievement Unlocked!

Zrrrm. Chtink! Chtink!

Before the lion man could charge in, Rizz took the initiative with Lesser Teleportation. His twin daggers streaked toward Raykahl's back but were deflected by the tower shield. 

"Good! Do not bore me any longer!" Raykahl cleaved through the ground with his sword, narrowly missing the hopping goblin. "I played along with your games. I made certain that you had no other distractions. We two are all that remain!" 

Crunch! Fwoosh, fwoosh!

That huge greatsword was swung around like a baby holding a rattle. Despite being held with one hand, Raykahl could move and maneuver the oversized sword with little effort. 

Rizz focused on dodging the sword with rolls and skips. His smaller size came in handy. Half-crouched, Rizz could bound aside and tuck under anything thrown his way. The daggers remained in his hand but Rizz didn't use them. Ducking and weaving was more than enough for Rizz. 

"Ohhh, what a warm breeze!" Rizz snickered. "Can I summon you again when winter comes around?" 

Raykahl was undeterred by the commentary. His rhythm never faltered, and neither did Raykahl's grip on his sword and shield. 

"Not only are you tricky, you are agile. Uncommonly so," Raykahl casually spoke, as if wielding his sword and shield while in heavy armor was just a light stroll through a flower field.

"What about you, pussy cat?" Rizz jested with a dive roll to the side. "I'm being used as a test for an undercover, fourth-world boss? Or are you just a busted character a dev uses to pass the time?" 

Ch-Rip!

Mid-sentence, a throwing knife flew into Raykahl's leg, the same leg Rizz had stabbed earlier. Yet it didn't faze the catkin. It didn't even get Raykahl to look away. "I am Raykahl. That is all you must know for the time being." 

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Rizz laughed. "Listen, I love to hang out as much as the next guy, but I'm a busy goblin." 

Rizz slid and ducked under a horizontal sword slash. At the same time, a cigar appeared in Rizz's mouth so the flaming sword could shave off the end and light it all at once. It was purely cosmetic with no taste or buffs granted to the player in VR. But it was a brutal way for Rizz to mock his inept opponents. 

"I've got people to stalk and shit to steal. I can't have you following me around, kitty litter. It just wouldn't work out between us. No hard feelings."

As Rizz continued to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge again, Raykahl asked, "Tell me, Menace of Trodar. What makes you so irregular?" 

"Coming from you, I don't feel like answering." Rizz stuck his tongue out while picking his nose and pulling down on a lower eyelid to make an ugly face.

The swings and misses never stopped. Raykahl quickly questioned, "You move fearlessly. Without hesitation. A rare trait, even for a goblin. I do hope you don't lose your courage by the end of all this… It would be a shame indeed." 

"What are you blathering on about–"

Crunch! FWOOOSH!

Rizz moved away in a blink of purple spatial energy as the flames around the sword quadrupled in size. He was left with no choice but to evade with skills instead of just sidesteps. 

"If we do not end this now, the others shall return. Neither of us can have that happen," Raykahl growled. 

"Fine. Then I'll just have to show you how much of a menace I can be!" 

As a shadowy goblin popped up behind the catkin guardian, it was swatted away by Raykahl's tower shield. His greatsword was too busy facing three more goblins appearing in front of him, dispersing them all with flames. 

"Oh? So that was the true you, not a simple clone," Raykahl remarked, lunging backward to chase the goblin. 

Rizz snickered and leaped aside, unable to keep Raykahl away without using skills. "Don't lie! How's your speed stat higher than mine in all that armor?" 

"To make sure no challenger can escape!" Raykahl roared bounding forward with a shield bash. 

When the shield struck him, Rizz howled in pain. Only he couldn't feel a thing while in-game. Even still, it had always proven to be an effective distraction.

"If you want my shield," Raykahl bellowed, "then I dare you to hold on tight!"

He caught the clingy goblin green-handed. Raykahl couldn't see the goblin's body, but he could spot those fingers with long, pointed fingernails clenching the side of his tower shield. The next second, Raykahl turned and sprinted straight for the nearest edge of the fiery barrier. All he needed was three seconds. 

However, Rizz only needed two more seconds. 

Suddenly, steps away from the barrier, the tower shield vanished. It became a shrinking light, disappearing in a split second as it entered Rizz's inventory. 

Raykahl kicked the goblin before he could flee without punishment. But Rizz absorbed most of the kick with a block before getting launched straight into the veil of fire. And the goblin vanished in a shroud of black mist just as the flames were about to consume him. 

"So you aren't a world boss after all! I knew it!" Rizz laughed, now on the opposite side of the barrier. 

Meanwhile, Raykahl stared at his empty hand. "You… stole my shield? While I had it equipped?" 

"Duh. Where else could it have gone?" mocked Rizz. 

"But how?" 

Shrugging, Rizz replied, "It shouldn't be hard for you to figure out, Mr. Fake Boss. It's not too different from my little trick with Krizpee." 

Raykahl readjusted his grip on the sword, switching back to a two-handed style. "Menace… Yes. I would personally label you as a menace myself, now knowing what you're capable of, Rizz, Menace of Trodar." 

Rizz was all smiles, reveling in the well-contained shock plaguing Raykahl's psyche. "Think of it as a trade. I gave you a third of my HP with that kick, and I got your flimsy little shield. What a steal." 

Just as Raykahl prepared to charge once more, he sniffed the air. That helped Raykahl notice the drops of blood on the ground beneath him, along with the blood dribbling down one of the goblin's hands. "What are you up to, Menace?" 

"Just winning. Like always." 

Rizz cheekily snickered and snapped his fingers. A small poof sounded out from the blood drops under the flaming guardian, and a familiar beast appeared with a boisterous cluck. 

"I'll show you why I named her Exdra Krispee," cackled Rizz.

All the while, the unusual fowl flapped its wings and hopped toward Raykahl's, as if trying to peck his crotch.

Raykahl swung his sword sideways to swat the bird aside with the flat of his heavy blade. But it had no effect! It was as if the bird's feathers rode the flames around the greatsword as the steel itself passed through the Ash Hen, leaving no damage on the creature.

Snap! KA-BOOM!!

A flaming explosion expanded to engulf all of Raykahl, starting from his crotch to the top of his head and the tips of his toes. It didn't last long, but it was loud and the red-white heat was intense!

Fr-r-r-r-r-rip! Ker-Ker-Rrrip!

A tempest of shurikens stormed into the fireball before it could disperse. Then, at the exact split second the explosive flames began to clear up, Rizz's dual daggers impaled Raykahl's heart and lung from the side of his ribcage. 

Lightning burrowed through the catkin's veins. Wind lacerated through his fur and armor. Darkness corroded the lion man's internals. The stacked skills were in harmony as they ravaged Raykahl's body. 

"I'm always undeniable!" Rizz chuckled to himself while turning knives mid-stab. "Guess you're not like Krizpee, huh? You're only fire resistant, not fireproof." 

Thud, thump!

Raykahl dropped to one knee. His greatsword became a brace against the ground to keep him upright. And his health bar hit true zero, with no sign of recovery.

But Rizz was quickly distracted by an announcement scrolling across the top of his view. And, just as usual, Rizz took in a deep breath to savor his latest accomplishment, longing for the ability to truly feel the virtual body his mind was inhabiting.

[World Boss Slain! First Time Cleared!]

[Raykahl, Solar Sentinel; felled by: Rizzio McKlank Von Thong]

[World Achievement Unlocked! First Time Achieved!]

[(Let Me Solo God); achieved by: Rizzio McKlank Von Thong]