He knows the future?

"Noah? Who is that?"

Noah lied without missing a beat.

'He split the flames with one attack. I might be first on rankings, but I can't do that. I need to avoid fighting him.'

"Shut up. Do you think I'm stupid? It's clear you started this fire, Noah."

"Wait, how about you drop that sword so we can have a chat? I haven't done anything to you. There should be no reason for us to fight."

Cyrus gritted his teeth. "It's for the future. A monster like you shouldn't be allowed to live."

As soon as he heard those words, Noah's expression stiffened.

'I thought he was dangerous. He located me, survived the explosion, and split the flames. But… killing me is for the future? He is talking as if killing me here will end me once and for all.'

'This guy has a screw loose. No, he has lost the screw already!'

Noah tried to appease him when Cyrus suddenly disappeared. Noah activated his skill instantly.

"Holy Shield!"

A golden sphere encapsulated Noah while Cyrus appeared next to him and attacked.

Clang!

[ You have lost 5 HP ]

Noah's eyes widened.

The Holy Shield was an impenetrable fortress. Even a level 10 Adventurer wouldn't be able to break the holy shield during the 30 seconds it was activated.

Yet the player in front of him did that effortlessly.

'A skill?'

Cyrus disappeared again. He attacked from a different side. "Analyzing your opponents leisurely. Your habit of looking down on your enemies is the same as ever."

A burning cross slash flew out from Cyrus' blade, striking Noah's shield.

The damage notifications filled Noah's vision. However, Noah ignored them. Cyrus was correct. Noah needed to focus on the battle.

Cyrus kept attacking from Noah's blindspots.

The damage was accumulating. Cyrus' voice echoed from all directions.

"I was waiting for you to start the wildfire. It helped me to locate you. How does it feel, knowing you are about to die for something you haven't done yet?"

[ Alert! Your remaining HP is less than 30%! ]

Noah didn't react and waited.

"Does it feel unfair? Then carve this feeling in your heart, bastard! This is for everything you've done to us!"

[ Holy Shield has entered cooldown ]

"I won't let you bring the calamity again!"

Cyrus appeared in front of Noah, his blade approaching Noah's neck.

Noah didn't bother responding. He ran toward Cyrus instead of dodging the attack.

"Battle Concentration"

An electric spark ignited in Noah's head. The world entered into slow motion.

He saw Cyrus' blade moving at a snail's pace and thrust his own blade into Cyrus' neck.

Cyrus' eyes focused on Noah's blade. He twisted his neck to dodge.

"Flash"

A bright light flared suddenly.

"Ahh!"

Thanks to his earlier actions, Cyrus' eyes were wide open. He covered his eyes. As a result, his attack missed.

Just as he realized this—

"You missed."

A chill ran down Cyrus' spine. The voice came from behind him!

Noah's sword flashed and struck his neck. Cyrus couldn't dodge or block in this position.

Clang!

Sparks flew into the air.

Cyrus' hand moved and expertly blocked Noah's attack.

Gritting his teeth, Noah pressed forward.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

His sword failed to touch Cyrus at all.

Noah couldn't understand this absurdity. Something like this shouldn't be possible. Cyrus was disoriented due to the Flash skill, and Noah was attacking his back.

Yet Cyrus defended without breaking a sweat.

Noah retreated to collect his breath.

He remembered seeing Cyrus next to the resurrection fountain. Thus, he was a player.

It didn't take an einstein to figure out his opponent was Cyrus. The Rank 2 player who was also level 10.

Precisely because of that, Noah couldn't understand why Cyrus was so strong.

Was this the difference between support and combat class?

Cyrus opened his mouth. "You learned Battle Concentration already? You really are a monster. Even pro players and truth-realm masters need to go through arduous training to learn that skill."

Noah didn't understand what Cyrus meant by truth-realm masters, but he didn't let confusion show on his face.

"I could say the same." Noah grinned. "You didn't block my attacks with a skill. It felt more like… absolute defense."

His words caused Cyrus to stiffen. A dry laugh left Cyrus' lips.

"You really… yeah, it wasn't a skill."

The atmosphere around Cyrus changed abruptly.

"Guess I should end you now."

A strange ambiance spread from Cyrus, causing Noah's hair to stand on end.

"With this, you will never wake up again."

The flames surrounding Cyrus' blade turned black. The space started fluctuating around the blade.

"You should reconsider." Noah smiled calmly in response. "I have already won."

*

"I have already won."

Cyrus' brows creased at Noah's confidence.

"Come up with a better bluff, Noah. I know you can do better." Cyruss smirked.

Cyrus was a regressor.

He returned from the future. The future where the world was destroyed. All because of the monster in front of him.

The Harbinger of Chaos and Calamity, Noah

Cyrus would never let that happen again. He had lost the abilities he painstakingly collected when he returned from the future.

However, his knowledge and experiences were with him.

This time, he would cut the problem before it could grow. He would stop the harbinger today.

"Done monologuing?" asked Noah, with a disgusted expression. "What are you fantasizing? A future where you defeated the demon king and finished your job as the hero?"

Cyrus didn't react to Noah's provocation.

However, his resolve shook. Noah was too calm.

"Wait! You didn't!"

Cyrus checked his clothes hurriedly. But he didn't find what he was looking for.

Grinning, Noah revealed the satchel.

He took out the black rosary from it and swayed it in front of Cyrus.

"When did you steal my satchel?" Cyrus questioned with a grim expression.

Noah only smiled and didn't answer.

In truth, Cyrus had hidden the satchel inside his clothes. The black rosary was a very important item, after all. It would've been bad if someone stole it. Like right now.

"I wonder when."

Noah stole the satchel when he blinded Cyrus with flash.

Earlier when Noah saw that Cryus had hidden his satchel, Noah predicted that he might have an important item in it.

In the process, he also ended up learning 'Steal' skill.

Cyrus gnashed his teeth in frustration.

'Absolute Defence' didn't stop harmless attacks. He thus never noticed Noah stealing the satchel.

Noah opened his mouth. "It must be an important item. Since you were hiding it. How about you kill yourself if you want this back?"

"There is no need. I'll take it from your corpse." The black flames on Cyrus' blade surged. "Do you even know how to activate it?"

"I do…"

'Dammit! It didn't work!' Noah lied while retreating slowly. He had to buy time to escape this madman.

"...it's using my blood."

Cyrus' feet suddenly halted. He stared at Noah with wide eyes. His reaction didn't go unnoticed by Noah. Noah's eyes also widened.

For a moment, no one moved…

Bam!

Both of them broke into a dash.

Cyrus swung his sword to kill Noah. In contrast, Noah impaled the black rosary in his palm. The thick red blood covered the rosary.

[ Activating Hepius' Inheritance ]

[ Your Class is compatible with Hepius' Inheritance ]

[ Would you like to upgrade 'Priest' to a hidden class? ]

"Yes!" shouted Noah while dodging Cyrus' blade.

The ominous black flames on Cyrus' blade were eating everything they touched. Noah's blade broke the moment it clashed with the flames.

[ Your level will reset to level 0. Are you sure? ]

"Yes!"

Noah was reaching his limit. He continued to struggle. Without a sword, he was slowly driven into a corner.

"Flash!"

A bright light covered the surroundings.

Cyrus closed his eyes in due time to block the attack.

[ You will— ]

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes to everything!"

This damned Inheritance was taking too long!

Even if he returned to level 0, Noah would reach greater heights with a hidden class. The best part was dying couldn't make him lose his new class.

But everything would be futile if he died without taking the hidden class.

[ Are you sure? Once you make a decision, you won't be able to go back. ]

"Stop! Don't accept that!" Cyrus shouted.

Noah flicked his middle finger to him. "Yes!"

[ Binding Hepius' Inheritance to player Noah ]

[ Binding complete ]

[ You have gained Legendary Class: Hepius' Disciple ]

Noah spread his arms. He was ready to die at Cyrus' hands.

Just then—

{ What is this behavior! How can my successor be a coward! I'll rather kill you with my own hands! }

—a half-naked man with smoke for legs appeared in front of Noah and slapped him.

[ You have suffered soul damage ]

[ You have died ]

His neck bent in the wrong direction.

And Noah died before Cyrus could kill him.