Bang! Bang! Bang!

“So, are you still going to continue to be stubborn, or are you going to admit to your wrongdoings?” Utilizing the second form of Mountain Fist on Merdus once more, pummeling his opponent’s body with a barrage of fists made out of Intent and energy, Braum decided to ask the man once more, already feeling a bit of pity from having to beat up someone so much.

“N…never! I’ll never… never tell you!” Nevertheless, Merdus continued to remain unyielding, enduring all of the pain Braum had inflicted on his body as he ignored the multiple warning signals his brain was sending him.

At that moment, only a few strands of consciousness continued to stay strong within Merdus’ mind as he forced himself to stay awake through the debilitating pain. Consoling himself that there would eventually come a point where Braum would get tired of asking him, he continued to persevere.

Fortunately for him, Braum had indeed gotten tired of asking him the same question over and over again, only for him to get the same response every time. Unfortunately for him…

Braum was already done playing around.

“Since you’re unwilling to tell us what we want to know, then I might as well end your life right now.” With his voice exuding great chill, Braum looked at Merdus as if he were nothing in his eyes, clenching his right fist as a great amount of energy surrounded it not long after, forming an intricate glove of sorts.

Soon after, he infused his Intent into the fist, with the energy surrounding it taking on a dull gray. However, after a few more seconds, this dull gray energy gradually became darker, eventually taking on a pitch black color as Braum’s fist at that moment exuding the feeling of death.

“Mountain Fist: Ultimate Form.”

“Earth Asunder.”

“Begone.” Letting out a brief exhale, Braum then sent out his right fist towards Merdus, causing the latter to wonder whether his opponent was serious or not on killing him, thinking that the man would hesitate at the very last moment. However, this wishful thinking of his was swiftly dispelled as Braum’s fist eventually made contact with Merdus’ body, causing him to feel that he was gradually being suffocated by a mountain above him.

With the feeling of looming death finally sinking in, Merdus instantly felt regret for not having told Braum his involvement in the entire incident. In fact, he felt great regret at the fact that he had not told Braum his involvement in the first place, thinking that he could have avoided his death if he had just admitted to his wrongdoings.

Wanting to at least die without regrets, Braum summoned the remaining strands of energy he could muster amidst his death, his voice reverberating throughout the room soon after.

“I… I started it! I was the one who created it in the first place!”

“Is that so?”

Whoosh!

“…” At the very instant those words came out of Merdus’ mouth, the feeling of looming death surrounding his entire body quickly disappeared, causing him to feel great confusion as he looked at the man who was about to make him disappear from the surface of the world.

Looking at Merdus with a light grin on his face, he then said to him, “Another tip to wielding your Intent, though it would be better to say that it’s a tip to improve your Intent.”

“Figure out other aspects where your Intent could be applied.”

At those words, Merdus looked at Braum with even more confusion, wondering why his opponent would give him tips on improving his Intent at such a weird time. Though, before he could even voice out the question in his head, the final strands of consciousness in his mind finally broke apart, eventually rendering Merdus unconsciousness as he fell to the floor with a light thud.

…

Ding!

Hearing notification sounds resound in their minds at the very instant Merdus fell unconscious, Valyr and Tryndall looked at each other with expectation in their eyes as they went ahead and took a look at the notifications they had received.

You have completed the City Quest ‘The Clossbay Conspiracy’.

You have gained 800,000 XP.

Your level has been increased by one. You are now Level 19.

You have gained the following stats: 3 VIT, 3 STR, 2 AGI, 5 DEX, 5 INT, 2 WIS, 3 PER, and 1 LUK.

You have gained 4 unassigned stat points.

You have gained the title ‘Adjudicator of Clossbay’.

Coincidentally, at the very moment Valyr was finished reading through his notifications, he felt a surge of power spread throughout his body, causing a light smile to appear on his face as he clenched his fists. Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief that a quest both he and Tryndall could not handle on their own was cleared, he shifted his gaze towards his friend to his right, feeling the latter’s aura surge in intensity as well.

“I’m guessing your quests are finally completed?” Unsurprisingly, Braum felt the surge in power emanating from both of them, prompting him to come closer as the two responded to his question with a light nod. In response, a light smile appeared on his face as he looked at Valyr. “With this, I think it’s time for us to finally depart.”

“Yeah.” Valyr lightly nodded, prompting Tryndall to look at the two in silence as he listened in on their conversation. “Though, might I suggest postponing the departure to the morning two days from now? I still have a few more things to settle.”

While listening to Valyr’s suggestion, a light frown crept up on Braum’s face, only for him to nod in understanding soon after as he took note of Valyr’s gaze. “Alright. We’ll also have to settle matters regarding this entire incident with this city’s mayor anyway.”

“Glad to hear.” Naturally, Valyr flashed a grin at Braum, prompting the latter to smile before shaking his head as he took a look at the unconscious Merdus.

“So, what next?” Braum asked the two, prompting Tryndall and Valyr to look at each other before looking back at the man in front of them as they shrugged their shoulders.

“We’ve already completed our quests, so we can move onto other things after this,” said Valyr to Braum. “What are you going to do about Merdus, though?”

“Well…there’s nothing else I can do but wait for him to wake up.” In response, Braum let out a light sigh as he moved closer to the unconscious man before leaning closer to his face, only to…

Slap!

Slap the man on the face.

“Though, I could also just do this.”

“…”

“…”𝗈𝒱𝑳xt.𝐂𝒪𝔪