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n

nThe fight with the Eight Absolutes.

nThe outline of the quest was quite clear now.

nAlthough Ian’s curiosity raised the difficulty of the quest a little more, it wasn’t a quest that would drag on.

nOnce the battle with the Eight Absolutes was done, the quest would end.

n‘Okay then, the eight battles will all be over by today. I can join the war after I finish this quest.’

nThat was all Ian needed to do.

nThe difficulty of the quest was slightly increased since he asked for information about the users.

nWoong-!

nAfter 10 seconds, the first opponent will appear.

nPrepare for battle.

nThe first Absolute of the Desert Tribe, ‘Kaizek’ of the Magellan Tribe.

nAfter seeing the message, Ian took a deep breath and waited for his opponent to appear.

nThere wasn’t much to prepare for the battle.

nThe only weapon that he could use was the ‘Judgement of the Spirit King’ and the only skill that he could use was the ‘Selamus Warrior’.

n‘By the way, the name Magellan sounds a bit familiar…’

nIan was able to realize why the name Magellan was so familiar.

nMagellan was the desert tribe that the DarkRuna guild was associated with during their first arrival on the Central Continent.

nThe Magellan was the only desert tribe that remained so far.

n‘The Absolute of the Magellan Tribe… its class would likely be a warrior or an assassin.’

nIan tackled the Magellan tribe countless times, which was why he could make a rough guess about the opponent.

nAfter a while.

nA white light appeared, and a typical assassin came out as Ian’s opponent.

nSelamus Warrior, Prove your worth to me!

nWoong –

nA voice resonated within the white fog that was spreading into the surrounding.

nIan nervously looked at the movements of his opponent.

n‘Assassin. The toughest class right in the beginning.’

nWhen he was with Kaka, there was no reason to fear the assassin class.

nWith Kaka’s inherent abilities, even the most powerful of the assassins were useless.

nBut now, Ian didn’t have Kaka, so there was no way he could relax.

n‘My opponent’s level and basic information are all hidden. Should I test the waters a little bit first?’

nWhilst Ian was thinking, his opponent, the assassin quickly ran towards Ian.

nThwatt – !

nIan’s spear and Kaizec’s swords clashed.

nTheir confrontation made Ian smile.

n‘What is this? This guy is weaker than I imagined.’

nIt was because the power that he felt from Kaizec’s swords when it came in contact with his spear was weaker than he expected.

nThat increased Ian’s confidence by a lot, making him wield his spear with pride.

nKkang- Phuk-!

nIan’s spear went through his opponent’s sword and was able to hit Kaizec’s shoulder.

nUnless there was a difference in skill, there was no way Ian—even after having the range advantage because of his spear—could’ve managed to hit an assassin with two swords.

nThe moment Kaizec’s shoulder was pierced with Ian’s spear, he disappeared like a mirage.

nPhat-!

nHowever, Ian didn’t panic.

nSince his opponent was an assassin, he knew the possible tricks his opponent could do.

n‘Back…!’

nThe skills that Kaizec used, was a class that Ian knew well about.

nIt was one of the hidden skills that many assassins have, space.

nIt was a skill that allowed one to move to their desired location in a short distance if activated at the moment of receiving damage. It was a technique that was preferred by assassins who prefer a technical battle style.

nSince the skill’s cooldown time was short and the consumption value was small, it was possible to use it constantly if the user had great control.

nHowever, there was one flaw to this skill. If the opponent had a good visual acuity, their position could be grasped.

nAs soon as the skill was activated, the after image of the one who used the skill would shake.

nThat was the skill’s biggest flaw.

nSrrrk-!

nWhen Ian felt the space distort, he turned the spear and pulled it up.

nHe turned around and strongly swung his spear.

nThe location where Kaizec moved was right behind Ian, and Ian just pushed his spear by predicting accurately where his opponent would show up.

nIt was a move that couldn’t be stopped.

nNor could it be avoided.

nKwang-!

nFatal damage was done to the Desert Absolute Kaizec.

nKaizec’s vitality has been reduced by 275090.

nBeing struck by the spear, Kaizec bounced onto the floor.

nWhat made that happen was Ian’s precise blow.

nYet he didn’t leave Ian.

nThwatt –

nIan began to move around along with Kaizec.

nHe thought that if he could keep hitting his opponent then, he could win.

nHowever, Kaizec wasn’t that easy to deal with.

nKaizec, who regained his balance, just as his name—Absolute—implies, quickly responded by lunging at Ian with his swords.

nIan was a little flustered, but he remained calm and held onto his spear.

nHe used the lower part of his spear to block Kaizec’s attacks.

nWhen Kaizec’s sword met with Ian’s spear, it made a blunt sound.

nThe distance between them opened up instantly.

nKaizec, who felt that his attacks were unsuccessful, kept moving.

nThey were getting close to each other.

nThe two of them gazed at each other and checked the distance between them.

nKaizec suddenly decided to speak.

nGreat. A warrior who can challenge the Absolute.

nIan looked down and answered him.

n“Thank you for your kind words.”

nKaizec continued.

nBy the way, did you know that the Absolute of the Selamus has never appeared after Eos?

nKaizec’s question made Ian think for a moment.

nHe remembered what he heard from Eclipse.

n“That’s right. I heard that there was only one Absolute in the Selamus Tribe till now.”

nThen, did you know that there were way too many Absolutes for the other tribes? Even our Magellan Tribe produced around 5 Absolute after me.

n“Ah, That was something I wasn’t aware of.”

nOther tribes, except the Selamus had a minimum of two Absolutes so far. Ah, the descendant of Seril came not long ago.

nIan started to listen closely to what Kaizec was trying to say.

nHe didn’t think that his opponent would attack in the middle of a conversation, but he was prepared if that would happen.

nWhy do you think is the reason there hasn’t been any Absolute for the Selamus till now?

n“I’m not sure.”

nThe reason is simple. For a long time the summoners have been training to develop their combat capabilities through their pets which get sealed rather than developing their own combat abilities.

n“Aha…”

nAs a result, the arrival of the second Absolute of Selamus was much later than the tribe of Illuosin, a tribe of priests. The gateway of Sky is the only gate through which you must pass through.

n“In the end, this game is against summoners, isn’t it?”

nNothing of that sort. A wizard or priest isn’t much different than a summoner. They also get skills sealed in the gate. The warrior and knight classes are advantageous classes, but it would be wrong to say that summoners are the most unfavoured.

n“Hearing that makes sense.”

nIan wondered what Kaizec wanted to talk about.

nAfter a moment, Kaizec spoke again.

nBut you seem different.

n“Wha.. what was it?”

nYou are better than any summoner who has ever come through the gate.

nKaizec held his swords and made a stance.

n“…?”

nIan was looking closely, waiting for Kaizec to speak.

nNormally, I don’t do this… but I will do my best. Even if you don’t win, you’ll still be able to win the next three battles with your skills.

nHrrr-!

nA black thing spread from Kaizec’s entire body.

nHe picked up his swords hanging on his back instead of his daggers. He put his daggers onto his waist.

nIan spoke while pouting.

n“Ah, can’t you just fight normally?”

nKaizec smiled and said.

nNot the voice from the air, but the voice from his mouth could be heard.

n“I can’t do that. I just met an opponent who managed to bring out the long lost passion inside my heart. But it won’t be the first for you.”

nChuk- Chuk –

nKaizec’s demeanor changed. He now started approaching Ian and said.

n“I don’t think it will, but if you win, I’ll give you a very reasonable reward.”

nKaizec started to wield his black swords.

n* * *

nBae Cheol-Hoon, an ordinary 30-year-old worker, was rushing to work after taking his meds.

nBae Cheol-Hoon was sitting on the subway chair with stooping shoulders while tapping onto his phone.

nHowever, his expression was kind of revitalizing.

n“Huh, these are the only ones?”

nHe was swiping his phone’s screen up and down.

nWhat appeared on his smartphone was ‘Betting Kailan’.

nIt was kind of a Sports app in a way for the large scale war that was happening in Kailan.

nBae Cheol-Hoon recently made a lot in Betting Kailan.

nThe maximum amount of bet was 3000,000 won, and the amount he earned in the last two weeks was around 8 million won.

nIt was due to the defeat of the high ranked guilds that he succeeded

n‘Keu, thanks to Lotus Guild, I’m now a salary picker!’

nIn fact, he was never earning that much in betting.

nDue to his personality, he liked to choose between those whom he liked and even those whom he didn’t.

nIt was the same for this bets too.

nThe Lotus Guild’s Guild Wars attracted the attention of many users.

nCheol-Hoon betted on Lotus Guild till their 7th consecutive win.

nOn their 6th war, he was a bit tiled to support the opponent, but he eventually decided to walk along with Lotus and it was a huge win.

nToday was the day for betting on the 8th war that would be held tomorrow.

nHe didn’t hesitate to bet 300,000 cash on Lotus today as well.

nIt was around 15 times the dividend, and the users’ opinion didn’t seem so good. However, he still decided to go with Lotus.

n‘What the hell? Did anyone guess that Lotus would win the 7th and 6th war?’

nOn the 5th war, the thought of Lotus winning seemed hard for anyone to accept.

nThere wasn’t any disdain towards Lotus, it was just that most of their troops were consumed in the war.

nEven in the current war, there was a shortage of troops inside the Lotus Guild, so the dividend went up.

n‘Yeah, this is what has happened. I’ll place the bets carefully on a tie from 8th to 12th.’

nHe stopped momentarily and went to another window.

nHe placed all his bets on Lotus.

nThere wasn’t any basis on why he did it.

nIf he would bet like that, there was going to be a chance that not even a single penny would come back to him, but he would earn a lot if he wins.

n“Keu, yeah! This should be enough!”

nHe put back his smartphone into his pocket.

nIf he wins, then he would earn a huge amount with his 300,000 won.

nThere was no ground for it, but for some reason, the god of gambling seemed to be helping him.

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