The Slave Cage (2)

"Looks like someone meddlesome," scoffed the man with the iron rod, jumping back and taking a position beside the rest of the goons.

Since shapes and figures were barely distinguishable in the dark alley, the goons couldn't clearly see Nox, especially under the black cloak he wore.

Four goons stepped forward while the one in the middle stood still, observing the masked man who had just appeared.

The men slid out daggers from the scabbards attached to their waists, even though they had other weapons like swords and staffs.

After all, medium and long weapons like swords become pretty useless in narrow spaces like the alleyway.

Nox glanced at the status screens of his opponents and determined that they were manageable, but the man who stood behind them had a slightly higher level than him, which could be a problem further down the road.

"Stand back," Nox advised the teenage boy, pulling him behind him. The boy was too frightened to speak, so he simply nodded and obeyed the white-masked stranger.

Nox planted his feet firmly on the ground and took a sturdy stance, displaying his confidence and experience.

"He looks like another do-gooder, always trying to take the right path and do the right thing," mocked one of the goons as he approached Nox.

"True. I guess it's our turn to teach him that the world isn't just about good or evil. It's about the gorgeous yellow metal!" exclaimed another goon, launching himself at Nox.

Like an arrow released from a bowstring, the goon approached Nox at an incredible speed. "Die!!" he yelled as he swung his dagger at Nox.

Swish!

With lightning-fast reflexes, Nox dodged the attack and, in a swift motion, grabbed the goon's head from behind, smashing it into the ground. The other gangsters froze in shock. Even though they were players who had climbed above the tenth floor, they were unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Wh-who are you?" stuttered one of the goons, gathering his courage.

'A high-level player shouldn't be roaming about on the zeroth floor. Judging from his clothes, he isn't affiliated with the kingdom either,' thought the goon.

"I'm just a nobody," Nox replied, strolling towards the men.

The men shivered for a little while before a thought finally struck them.

'It may have been mere luck! He won't last long if we attack him at once!' the three men thought simultaneously.

They nodded at each other, understanding each other without words.

"You shouldn't have interfered with us," advised one of the men, sprinting towards Nox with his comrades.

The two goons darted toward Nox while the third jumped up in the air and launched the two daggers he held toward his enemy.

With inhumane speeds, the two men appeared before the masked man and swung their daggers at him. The daggers thrown by the third goon made their way to Nox from up in the air.

It was almost impossible to avoid all the attacks aimed at him.

Nox's shadow shivered as beings tried to emerge from within it.

"You don't need to come out for something like this," he mumbled.

He still didn't know much about his skill which allowed him to raise the dead. As such, it was best to not showcase it in front of others.

Nox threw his dagger at the knives which were thrown at him. It clashed with one of them and bounced off it, parrying the other.

He grabbed the dagger aimed at his left waist with his right hand, which donned the *Black Minotaur's Gauntlet*.

Summoning the *arcane dagger* into his other hand, he blocked the dagger aimed at his right side.

He snatched the dagger grabbed by his right hand and kicked away the goon to his right.

Using his leg, which was still extended due to the kick, he kneed the man's abdomen to his left.

The man cried as he bent down, trying to lower the severe pain in his abdomen.

Nox spun his entire body around, launching a roundhouse kick aimed at the man's head, making it crash into the wall.

Instantly, he lost consciousness.

Throwing away the useless dagger, Nox darted towards the other goon and flung his fist at the man's face before using his other hand to strike the goon's neck, knocking him out.

The third goon took a few steps back.

"Moon," Nox called out, making his dagger fly back into his hand.

"Who are you!!?" exclaimed the goon as his body shivered in fear.

"A nobody," Nox replied, walking towards him.

"You shit!!" the man yelled, raising his palms at Nox, "this skill allowed me to single-handedly slay more than ten monsters at once!!"

A glowing blue circle formed in the air in front of his palms. It had various shapes embedded in it, with a vast star drawn at its centre.

Slowly, the circle begins to spin in its place.

"Die!" the man shouted.

[The skill *Dagger Flurry(B)* has been activated]

From within the magic circle, arcane daggers began to emerge, launching themselves in front of Nox.

'This looks interesting,' thought Nox, deflecting the myriad daggers before him.

Summoning the arcane dagger, he used both hands to parry the blades aimed at him, which vaporized as soon as he slashed them.

Although their attack power wasn't much, the problem lay in their sheer number.

He also needed to deflect all the daggers, even the ones that flew past him, since the teenage boy was still cowering a few feet behind him.

Even though he had deflected over two hundred daggers in under two minutes, their number didn't seem to end.

One after the other, daggers kept on coming out of the magic circle in front of the goon's palms.

'I can win in a battle of attrition, but I don't have the time right now. It'll be best if I'm able to find Liam and Elizabeth tonight itself.'

He glanced at the boy behind him. The boy was merely a level four but didn't have any skills that stood out.

"Hey boy," Nox called out; his voice was relaxed, unbefitting of someone parrying more than two daggers a second.

"Y-yes, sir?" the boy replied, frightened by Nox's power.

"Do you have a box of matches?" Nox asked as his body automatically parried the endless daggers due to his high perception.

"A-a box of ma-matches? I'm sorry I don't," the teenager replied, "But I do have this lighter."

He took out a cheap, silver-coloured lighter from his pants pocket.

'Why does he need this?' the boy thought, confused.

Nodding, Nox ordered the boy, "Light it and throw it at them."

"W-what? I'm afraid this is just a normal light and not an item containing arcane," the boy replied, taken aback by Nox's order.

"Just do it," Nox calmly said again.

Thinking it best not to question the man again, the boy lit the lighter and threw it in front of the goon, casting *Dagger Flurry*.

The lighter slowly made its way down among the flurry of daggers.

Instants before it could touch the ground, Nox intently stared at its flame.

Obeying his intentions, the tiny flame of the dagger grew to the size of a fist and launched itself at the goon's chest.

Since the goon had donned armour under his cloak, the fire didn't pierce through him but still pushed him back, making him fall to the ground. The flurry of daggers stopped.

Before the goon could get back up, the masked man appeared beside him and kicked his head, knocking him out.

Nox looked at the last goon standing behind. Even though his comrades were knocked out, he didn't seem bothered.

"We surveyed this area for weeks to ensure there weren't any high-level players living around before making this our main location to farm humans. Since we're at the corner of the kingdom, even the guards seldom show up for patrols. Just who are you?" he asked in a grumpy voice.

Taking out the bow from his back, the man loaded an arrow before raising it at Nox.

Nox had more or less gotten the gist of the situation now. An organization had been kidnapping people and selling them as slaves, like how he was tried to be appropriated as soon as he entered the Zeroth floor.

It so happened that they had chosen this spot to kidnap any unassuming players this time. It was now highly probable that they were the ones who had taken away Elizabeth and Liam.

"I just need information," Nox replied, readying to launch himself at the man.

But, as he tried to raise his leg to kick the ground, he couldn't move it. It was stuck in place. Even though there wasn't anything holding it, Nox couldn't move his leg.

Slowly, his legs went numb. He could feel the numbness creeping up his entire body, paralyzing him.

After a few moments, he couldn't even move his hands. It was as if his entire body, except his head, had been frozen.

[The innate skill *Petrification(S)* has been used]

[The player's agility will drop to 0 for 2.34 seconds]

"Have a good time in hell," the goon said, letting go of the arrow.