21 Episode 2: Testing Capabilities (5)

"Oh? So you knew all this time?" Ractron slyly grinned. "I knew you'd be different from those dimwitted newbies! They couldn't even see what was coming for them!"

"Uhuh..." Shinto nonchalantly nodded his head in an uncaring manner. "So, what's your deal?"

"W-Wait, wait! Shinto! You're not thinking of joining him, are you?!" Still in shock, Frey could only blurt out her words. "Think of all the times we spent together!"

"Hah. You're still alive?" Ractron rolled his eyes in annoyance at the brawler. "Tch. But it doesn't matter. The boss will soon finish you off while I and that supporter over there will get the rewards!" he chuckled whilst giving a glance over towards Black Fang, noting that he was slowly making his way towards the group—as if he was taking his sweet time hunting down the remaining prey.

"Oh? So you're including me into the equation?" Shinto raised his brow in suspicion.

"Why of course! What do you say? We split the rewards 50-50," he smirked.

"S-Shinto!" Frey bit her lips in helplessness. "A-Are you really going to accept?"

"Oh just shut up!" Ractron glared at the brawler. "Why don't you just die already?"

"W-Why you...!"

"Sigh..." As the situation grew tense, Shinto only gave a blank look to the party leader in front of him. In the next moment, he shrugged. "And... If I say no?"

"Oho, good, good! I'm glad that we came to an agreement—H-Huh?" His satisfied nod from earlier turned into that of a confused expression. "W-What do you mean?"

"No," he firmly said.

"W-What? Hey, you! Do you want to die? Huh?" Shocked at the unexpected answer, Ractron shouted in anger. "You're just a support!"

"Me? Wanting to die?" Shinto tilted his head in confusion as he then pointed his finger to the back of Ractron. "That would be you, wouldn't it?"

"Huh?" Raising his brow in bewilderment, the man turned his head around to where Shinto was pointing at. There, he quickly took notice that the boss was approaching them steadfastly. "You... Do you really think you can solo him?! That brawler girl is incompetent as hell! Haven't you seen her fight?!"

"Well... We'll see about that." With a smile, Shinto began waving his wooden staff around, silently chanting out a spell. "I'm just a support, remember? So... Why don't you have some fun with him first?" In the next instance, a black cloud protruded out into the area.

"A-Ack... What the...?! What's this?!" Crying out in shock, Ractron was blinded by the purple fog created by Shinto's [ Shadow Field ] skill. "Ugh... You... Come back here you bastard!" Attempting to fan the fog away, the shadows began to slowly disperse, and what greeted him after was the fact that both Shinto and Frey were now nowhere to be found. "Tch... Dammit! Where the hell—"

However, before he could even look around to find them, Black Fang had already approached Ractron from behind. "Grr..." With saliva dripping down from his mouth, the enraged wolf lifted up his paw as he soon swiped his claws at Ractron.

"E-Eek!" In a desperate attempt to dodge, Ractron swayed to the side, barely evading his attack. "You damn bastard! How the hell do you think you can defeat him without me?!"

"Awoooo!" Howling into the night, the battle between Ractron and Black Fang ensued.

...

By a small distance away from the ongoing boss fight, two players—Shinto and Frey, could be seen silently hiding behind the bushes near the open area.

"Phew. If we hide here, we should be out of the aggro range of the boss," the young man muttered out in thought as he scrutinized the area, taking note of a tree behind him. "Let's stay here for a bit till the fight ends."

"Hah... Hah... Wait..." Letting out an exhausted breath, Frey turned to face Shinto as she then asked. "I-Is it really alright to leave that guy alone?"

"Hmm? Did you want me to join hands with him or something?" Shinto questioned as he slowly climbed up the tree in order to get a better view of the fight.

"What? No, no! Why would I want you to join hands with him?! He betrayed my friends!" she pouted. "But uh... What I mean is, isn't that big wolf almost dead? So... Couldn't he just kill him on his own?"

"Well... If he has some godly dodge skills, then sure," he shrugged. "Otherwise... Only a miracle can save him from inevitable death."

"R-Really...?" Frey blankly blinked at the statement. "Is he at that big of a disadvantage?"

"It's a boss for a reason," he yawned lazily as he rested his back against the tree. "So, soloing them would be out of the question unless you're prepared enough. Which clearly, that guy isn't."

"Is that so?" Frey thought to herself. "Huh, wait... IS THAT WHY HE NEEDED A SUPPORT?! Wow! I'm glad you didn't join him then. Let him suffer for all I care!"

"Mhm..." Nodding his head, Shinto's eyes glanced over towards the struggling Ractron as he battled against the boss. "...the fight should be over soon enough. So, relax for a bit."

"Hey... Hey... SUPPORT!" Upon finishing his sentence, a loud roar could be heard from Ractron. "I-I need heals! Please! Save me! I'll do anything!"

"Yawn..." As if ignoring his cries for help, Shinto closed his eyes.

"Support! No... Shino! No, wait... Shiro? Ah, Shinto! Helpp! We can split the rewards 60-40! Maybe even 70-30! Heck... I can just give you all the rare rewards! Just, heal me, please!" Continuing to cry out, Ractron's desperate attempts in dodging Black Fang's attacks slowly began losing momentum. "Eeek! Shinto! I beg of you! I'm about to die here!"

"Hey, Frey, how's your stamina?" Shinto asked.

"Um... It's still low. Can we still do it?"

"No problem. I'll handle the technical part, you just deal damage." Shinto stretched his arms as he then jumped down from the tree. In the next moment, he began approaching Ractron and the big wolf.

"Shinto!!! So you decided to come around after all?!" With a delighted expression, Ractron leapt up into the air, evading yet another attack. "Hurry, heal me so we can end the boss once and for all!"

"Hmm... Let me make a counteroffer first," Shinto calmly said as his staff pointed towards Ractron. "100-0 plus your death."

"W-What? This is no time to be joking! Hurry, heal me!" Ractron shouted out. "Quickly... One more hit and I'm dead!"

"Oh? Do we have an agreement?" He gently smiled as he moved the edge of his staff over to Black Fang. "Then, it's a deal."

"You... YOU DAMN BASTARD!" Played as a fool by Shinto, Ractron cursed. "#&@%!"

"Thanks for the offer!" With a chant of his spell, a white point of light protruded out from his staff. "You won't regret it."

[ Shadow Diviner - Divinity Point ]

At the moment that he shot out his skills over to Black Fang, the boss had already dealt the final blow to Ractron—turning him into grey ash.

"########!!!!!" With his last words, he was now nowhere to be seen.

[ Ractron has fallen! ]

"Right. With that out of the way..." Averting his attention to the boss whose aggro now shifted to Shinto, he shouted out his command. "Frey, now!"

"I-I'm on it!" From the bushes came Frey as she charged toward Black Fang. However, she was left with an uncertain doubt in her mind. "But wait... Shinto! Wouldn't one hit from the boss result in your death?!"

"Well, yes," he replied nonchalantly, dodging the constant barrage of attacks coming from the boss. "But, that's only if I get hit. So just go all out and finish off the boss!"

"A-Alright, so, just go all out! Got it!" Reaching the boss, Frey's fist clenched tightly as she struck the boss continuously. Skill after skill, basic attack after basic attack, her strikes slowly lowered the remaining boss' HP. Meanwhile, Shinto was evading Black Fang's attacks without issue.

"Grr..." Growling out in anger, the wolf's attacks could only hit empty air. "Awooo!!" Roaring loudly in his last stand, the hunter became the hunted.

...

[ You have defeated (Black Fang)! ]

[ You have levelled up to level 7! ]

[ You have levelled up to level 8! ]

[ You have obtained 20 Stat Points. ]

[ Your Shadow Stat has increased by 1. ]

[ You have reached 10 Shadow Stats! The skill: (Shadow Calling) is shaking. ]

[ Your Divinity Stat has increased by 1. ]

[ You have obtained (Black Fang Ring) ]

[ You have obtained (Black Fur) 10x ]

[ You have obtained (Fanged Claws) 10x ]

[ You have obtained (Black Fang's Tooth) 1x ]

As the ashes scattered into the night sky, two players could be seen alone on the now empty field, standing under the moonlit skies. There, the brawler—Frey, could be noted staring off into the distance with a blank, dumbfounded look.

"D-Did we do it...?" she muttered out in disbelief. "W-We really did it, right? Right?!" Turning towards the direction of Shinto, he only nodded his head in reply. "W-Woohoo! We did it!!"