...…

Hodgson, the Human Shield Warrior of the group, was also a candidate from the upcoming Shadow Ranking Cup; which was the reason why the group was doing their best to raise his battle prowess for as much as they could.

They didn't expect that Bover was going to betray them in exchange for some position in the Minotaur Guild. And due to that, they were gotten in off-guard when that guy suddenly casted a double weakening curse at them when the monster boss was about to get killed.

Fortunately, each of them were quite skilled players which meant they were able to respond in time before Blue Demon Kong could slaughter them. But at the same time, the members of the Minotaur Guild hiding in the distance suddenly started showing themselves.

They knew that they had their backs against the wall the moment they fell for Bover's schemes. But fortunately, a 'savior' suddenly showed up in time and killed every member of the opposing group in just a matter of seconds.

But at the same time, the group also realized that it was pretty much impossible for them to kill the monster boss now since they were affected by the double curse weakening scrolls. And if they waited for the duration of the curses to come to an end, the Minotaur Guild would come back in this place with an even larger and stronger party of players.

Well, they also couldn't leave this place even if they wanted to since they were currently trapped inside the imprisonment skill that Bover had used earlier. So, even if they somehow managed to kill the monster boss, their next problem was how to break through the dark cage.

But despite having all of these problems, Shin said that he had all of the solutions to solve each one of them. So, it was natural for them to become interested in what he wanted to say.

Shin's face suddenly turned stiff when he saw that the group was looking at him with mixed emotions. 'D*mn! I really want to rip quite a number of benefits here. But with that kind of look, I couldn't help but become guilty if I take too much from them.'

With that, he flashed a stiff smile with his lips even though it was hidden by his mask before saying.

"Of course, it is not for free and I am going to ask something in exchange.

"

Camille and her party suddenly came back to their senses the moment they heard that. –

"Of course, there is nothing free to this world.

" –

Even if their moods suddenly turned a little dejected, the group was still happy that they could escape their current predicament. And to voice out their thoughts, Hodgson asked Shin.

"So, what do you want in exchange?

"

But before Shin could even answer that question, Mason suddenly added.

"Let me remind you, we don't have much in our pockets since we are just some casual group of players.

"

'Heh! Your group is quite skilled for being a casual group of gamers,' thought Shin to himself after hearing that while raising one of his brows.

Then he released a helpless sigh before saying.

"I am not going to ask for some unreasonable demands. So, how about the final hit to that monster and half of its loot? Of course, I also have the priority for the first pick.

"

"That's!-…

" Mason wanted to say something to complain but before he could even open his mouth, Hodgson suddenly raised one of his hands to prevent him from talking. At the same time, he said some messages on the team chat channel.

Hodgson: Stop complaining, Mason. No matter how much you say, we are on the disadvantageous side of this deal. He can kill us anytime he wants and take everything but he is generous enough to let us live and share half the loot so we have no right to complain.

Hodgson: He is already giving us some a lot of face by giving us half of the loots from the monster even if he didn't need to. So, you should be grateful instead of complaining.

After pointing out that issue twice, all Mason could do was to look at the Shin with a resentment gaze but also have some gratefulness in it.

With that, Hodgson looked at Shin and said.

"Alright, we are going to agree to whatever you say. But let's form a contract first, or else this guy will not calm down at all,

" while patting one of Mason's shoulders.

"Sure!

" replied Shin almost immediately while summoning the system to form a contract.

And once they were done signing the contract, Shin turned his head at the trapped monster boss while muttering to himself.

"Now, it is time for the main event.

"

But before he started attacking, he swept his gaze at Hodgson and the others before saying.

"But before that, let's deal with your curses first, for some insurance.

"

Then Shin took out a card item from his inventory before crashing it immediately, creating a sphere of golden light that surrounded every member of the group. A moment later, everyone from Camille's party suddenly felt that their bodies were getting stronger as the dual curse casted at them was starting to take off.

The card that Shin had used was given to him by Cloe last time. It was a special item similar to Leo's 'Pardon Cards'. Its ability was just a little different because it was specialized at removing any kind of negative debuff casted to anybody instead of the system's weakened effects.

Just like that, the double curses casted on the group was immediately removed. But obviously, Hodgson's weakened state was still present; which was why Shin pulled a Pardon Card from his inventory bag before handing it to Hodgson.

"Use this thing and your weakened state will be lifted immediately,

" said Shin before rushing towards the trapped 'Blue Demon Kong' with regard to anything.

And when the group saw that, their faces suddenly turned stiff as they didn't know how to respond to it. They also fought with this 'Blue Demon Kong', so they were pretty much familiar with this monster boss' battle prowess; especially that this monster's level is over 150 which was another milestone level for monsters.

So, even if the monster boss was currently trapped inside the cage made by Bover's scroll earlier, its strength and power was definitely not a laughing matter once it got out of the cage. Moreover, it was definitely going to be in double berserk state the moment it regained its movements.

But just like earlier, they were immediately surprised by Shin once again.

The moment Shin arrived in front of the cage that entrapped the 'Blue Demon Kong', he quickly pulled the blazing Yamato from its sheath before swinging it rightwards and sending a crescent sword wave in black flames.

Shing!

'Class Fighting Style: Solar Flare'

Swoosh!

Bang!

The dark cage was immediately shattered the moment Shin's sword wave collided with it. And with that, the 'Blue Demon Kong' quickly jumped upwards trying to regain its freedom once again.

Unfortunately, a bunch of silver sword waves flew towards the monster boss and landed on its body successively, making the Kong stay in the air for a little longer.

'Slayer Skill: Crescent Cleave'

Bang! Bang! Bang!

And that was when Shin signature Fire-Ice Combo started. First, was 'Flame Burst' before being followed by 'Half-Moon Slash'. After that was the series of 'Sunshine Cleaver', 'Full Moon Slash', 'Solaris Pillar' and 'Lunar Flash' in a successive manner.

When Shin was done with the whole cycle of these skills, the 'Blue Demon Kong' finally landed on the ground. And that moment the monster boss tried to get back on its feet, Shin immediately threw two successive skills forward; which was the 'Eclipse Slash' and 'Eclipse Cross'.

And just like that, Shin ended the life of the monster boss.

Camille and the others from her group started dumbfoundingly as they couldn't believe what just happened. They knew that Shin was strong, but they didn't expect that he was 'this strong'. Not only did he kill the monster boss in a matter of seconds, but he also did it in an effortless manner.

His execution of skill was so good and too smooth. There were even no useless movements in each of Shin's moves and his transition of skills.

Mason suddenly swallowed a mouthful of saliva the moment he saw all of that. In fact, he even could comprehend what just happened. 'Looks like I really dodge a deadly bullet this time.'

At the same time, Camille and the others were looking at Shin with eyes that were filled with mixed and complicated emotion; they didn't know if they were going to feel happy or not after getting a glimpse of Shin's strength.

They simultaneously turned their heads at Hodgson as if they were saying. 'Isn't this guy may also be invited for the upcoming Shadow Ranking Cup? Are you confident at dealing with him when the two of you meet in the battle stage?'

Feeling their gazes, Hodgson couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly while saying at them.

"Let's just pray that I will not meet him in the early stages of the tournament.

"

Meanwhile, the man in question was currently looking at loots on the ground that the 'Blue Demon Kong' had dropped. Actually, he was currently looking at certain items among the loots.

The grin that he was wearing couldn't help but curve further upwards as he looked at those item loots.

"Looks like I'm in a roll today. I wonder how much luck I have this time.

"

...…