Jason's eyes gleamed with joy. The Wyvern was infinitely close to striking Zeus dead. He was only a breath away from winning against his nemesis. Defeating him was always a pleasure for Jason. He thought, 'I can't wait to see the look on his face when he realizes he's lost. Watching him eat his words, seeing that smug expression wiped off his face... it's going to be priceless.' He had already planned to rush into TheReaper's room which was adjacent to his if the latter lost the bet to make fun of him.
The other viewers who had bet on Zeus failing the tutorial started chanting.
Drop dead! Drop dead! Drop dead! Please!
As for the ones who had bet on Zeus passing the tutorial without dying even once, most of them resigned themselves to the fact that they were going to lose some money today and sighed in disappointment, while a few of them hoped for a miracle that will allow Zeus to overcome this situation and help them win the bet.
As if their wish was heard...
Just as the Wyvern's claw was about to crush Leon, an irresistible pressure, countless times greater than the icy aura emanating from the Wyvern and freezing the world around it, descended from the heavens.
The Wyvern froze, its claw inches away from ending Leon's life.
The massive eye in the sky, which had been blocking the moons, burst like a rotten fruit, sending a torrent of blood and viscous, jelly-like fluid raining down upon the earth. As they splattered across the ground, they stained various spots in the forest with dark crimson patches and oozing gelatinous streaks.
With the eye gone, the two moons of Eldoria became visible once more.
The sea of swirling dark clouds with an opening in the middle that had blanketed the sky over Darkwood Forest for as long as the natives of Dawnspire could remember dispersed entirely.
The wind stopped blowing.
The rustling of leaves ceased.
The world quieted down.
It was as if time itself had come to a standstill!
Findig out it was suddenly immobile, the Wyvern's eyes widened beyond the size of saucers in sheer terror. Now they threatened to pop out of their sockets.
"What… what is this power?!" it stammered, its voice quaking with fear.
This was unlike anything it had ever felt before. It was a power so overwhelming that it threatened to crush its very soul.
Leon's lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. The moment he have been holding on for have arrived. He thought, 'I managed to survive long enough against an adversary dozens of time stronger than me to give her a reason to intervene. The Queen has finally graced us with her presence.'
Meanwhile, watching the wyvern stop an inch away from claiming Zeus's life, confusion erupted within Jason.
"What's going on? Why did it stop? Why isn't it finishing him off?" A wave of unease took hold of his heart. He had a sinking feeling that things were about to take a sharp turn against his expectations.
The chat erupted in confusion as well.
[Dragonslayer123]: "Did my wish actually get heard? A higher being must've intervened; otherwise, how can we make sense of this?!"
[XtremeGamer]: "Bro, I've come to like you in the short time we've spent in this livestream, but... you're delusional."
[Dragonslayer123]: "Thank you."
[XtremeGamer]: "??" He didn't mean it as a compliment. [Dragonslayer123] was the type of person who had no enemies.
[TheReaper]: "I think this is some kind of hidden mechanic. It might've been triggered because Zeus met the conditions to activate it, or there could be other reasons entirely. It might not even be a hidden mechanic—it could be something else altogether. But whatever it is, it just saved his life and me from losing the bet. I can only be thankful for that."
[LordLangya]: "If it's a hidden mechanic, it's a hell of a lucky break for Zeus. But luck doesn't last forever. He'll still need a lot of strength to survive the confrontation with the wyvern that might continue at any time, and where's he going to get that? Though I would like to see him strike down the arrogant wyvern, how dare it look down upon us humans?"
[GwakGwak]: "Zeus has to die! I bet so much; I'll be broke if he survives!"
[XtremeGamer]: "Well, that'll be well-deserved! Who told you to bet against my idol?!"
The viewers were wondering whether this was a bug or part of the game. Their questions were swiftly answered when Leon was bombarded with system notifications in-game.
[System Notification]: The Fairy Queen has sensed a great disturbance in one of her domains.
[System Notification]: The gaze of a higher being has been directed towards the Darkwood Forest.
[System Notification]: The Fairy Queen has caught sight of a lesser demon in her third domain. The Fairy Queen is enraged. "How dare a mere lesser demon go against the pact I made with the Demon King and invade my sacred lands!" She curses.
[System Notification]: The Fairy Queen wishes for its immediate death.
[System Notification]: The Fairy Queen is too far away to maim it.
[System Notification]: The Fairy Queen is impressed by your ability to remain headstrong in the face of death. She is further impressed by your ability to resist the Demonic Frost Wyvern's signature skill that can send terror into the hearts of even the bravest of men. She has decided to use you to deal with the demon that has trespassed into her 3rd sacred domain. You are too weak, so she has decided to strengthen you.
As soon as this notification sounded, the silver moonlight cascading down from the sky coalesced into a figure so radiant it was painful to look at. The figure opened its palm towards Leon. Its size decreased rapidly as streams of pure, glowing silver light gushed out of its palm and flowed into Leon and his equipment.
[System Notification]: A small portion of the Fairy Queen's magic has been transmitted to you and your equipment.
[System Notification]: All status effects have been removed. You are no longer suffering from any afflictions.
[System Notification]: Your HP has been fully recovered.
[System Notification]: Your body has been nourished by extremely pure magic. All your stats have been temporarily boosted to 50. Your HP has increased to 500 because your Vitality is now 50.
[System Notification]: All talents related to the current stats have been unlocked.
[System Notification]: The cooldown of all your skills has been reduced to zero.
[System Notification]: All your skills has been strengthened by 10 times.
[System Notification]: Your damage has increased to 250 as your strength stat has increased to 50 and your weapons are enchanted.
The viewers calculated this was high enough to strike an Imp dead even if you don't aim for their vitals or trigger the instant kill mechanic of the game!
[System Notification]: You have been granted two new skills:
Piercing Strike: Allows you to enchant the weapons in your hold with the Razor's Edge enchantment. This enchantment significantly increases the sharpness of your weapons, enabling them to cut through even the toughest materials, such as steel and dragon scales. It's important to note that not all dragon scales are vulnerable to weapons with such an enchantment. The effect of Razor's Edge lasts for 5 minutes. Can only be used one time.
Divine Lunar Slash: Allow you to unleash an arc of celestial might from your sword. This attack is capable of slicing through anything in its path and can strike enemies at long range with incredible force. Can be used twice.
[System Notification]: Your physical defense has increased to 5000. Your physical damage negation stat has increased significantly.
[System Notification]: You have been granted magical protection. 50% of all magic damage dealt to you will be negated.
[System Notification]: The effect of the Fairy Queen's blessings will last for 10 minutes.
The small figure in the sky dissapeared after transmitting its powers to Leon.
Countless jaws fell. The viewers were shocked to the point of being speechless.
Leon looked at the Frost Wyvern, who had begun to regain control of its body after struggling furiously to break free from the Fairy Queen's distant and offended gaze.
"The playing field is now even. You have no advantage over me, little lizard," he said.
The Frost Wyvern's eyes narrowed with fury. "So what if you've reached the same power level as me? I gained this power years ago, and I have never been negligent in my training. You have just obtained it."
"What are you trying to say?" Leon asked, his voice calm yet challenging.
"I am better at controlling my powers than you. You may have cheated your way to power, human, but you can't escape your fate. You are going to die tonight." The Frost Wyvern replied.
Hearing its words that was more like a declaration, Leon smiled mockingly. He had years of experience handling power far beyond what the Wyvern could comprehend. He knew how to wield the strength of even lords, the strongest beings in the first expansion of the game.
"Are you done bullshitting?" Leon retorted. "If so, come at me!"
"As you wish!"
The Frost Wyvern had learned its lesson the hard way. Playing with its prey had brought it nothing but trouble, so it didn't hesitate to go all out from the very start.
It reared back, opened its massive jaws to an impossible degree, and unleashed a torrent of icy breath toward Leon.