—

Dusvim crawled toward his two children’s heads while his heartrending cries echoed throughout the nearly empty area.

He agonized over the death of his children while warm tears seeped down his cheek and fell upon their chilling, clammy skin.

“My precious Vidal and Facina,” Dusvim muttered. His voice sounded defeated as it hitched multiple times while speaking this one sentence. He felt sorrow, agony, rage, and hatred all at once, but most of all, he felt despair.

Kieran shook his head as if annoyed by Dusvim’s sorrowful cries while he cradled the severed heads of his two children.

Eventually, Kieran couldn’t stomach the unbefitting display and spoke callously. “Why are you saddened by their death when your actions led them to this fate? They didn’t die for a righteous reason, which is on you—no one else.”

“Aatrox… is it best to anger him right now? I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost all reasoning over the death of his children,” Ezra worriedly asked.

“Whether or not he is angry is irrelevant,” Kieran answered. There was the slightest bit of warmth in his voice as he stared at Dusvim without averting his gaze.

“But… doesn’t seeing someone wail in emotional agony not sadden you, though?” Ezra asked. Unlike the others who struggled to watch the sight, Kieran seemed utterly unaffected.

“No,” Kieran shook his head. While answering, his fists clenched tight. ‘Did anyone reach out in my despair? Did anyone help me? No. Thus, why should I care about someone who sowed the seeds of their despair?’

The despair Kieran spoke of was multifaceted. Part of it referred to his experiences inside his orphanage, but another part referred to the reason for his initial death.

If just one person had the heart to ignore the hefty bribes from the Golden Brigade, he wouldn’t have died while bearing so much resentment.

Alas, corruption ran deep in human society.

And asking for empathy amidst that societal level where vile acts occurred as quickly as babies were born was like pulling teeth with resilient roots—extremely difficult.

In Kieran’s eyes, there was a stark difference between people who were innocent and suffered despair-inducing circumstances and people who were wicked and suffered justice for their malevolent ways. Only one could warrant empathy from Kieran.

The other… could only gain the coldest of apathy.

“How many people, merchants and innocents alike, died because of their actions? The actions of this man, his family, and all the others we killed? All due to his wicked aspirations?” Kieran asked.

His question was directed at Ezra, who smiled bitterly while watching the scene before them.

“There is no respawn for his victims. Their death is final,” Kieran added.

Ezra eventually sighed helplessly.

After all, Kieran wasn’t wrong. This was indeed justice for their wrongdoings on some level. However, it wasn’t what happened that bothered Ezra; it was how inured Kieran was.

What ordinary person wouldn’t even feel a sudden, uncontrollable onset of gloom while watching this scene?

After a few moments of sulking, Dusvim’s breathing returned to normal as he looked up at Kieran with reddened eyes. “I will kill you in the most painful way possible.”

“You’re welcome to try. But, I have no intentions of dying here,” Kieran retorted.

Dusvim kissed his children’s foreheads and closed their half-open eyes before standing tall in front of Kieran. Their similarly cold gazes met as they stood so close they could practically see even the most unsettling features.

Dusvim extended his hand, and a serrated, sectioned blade appeared inside his grasp.

At the same time, the party received information on Dusvim now that he was ready to battle.

「 Lv.43 Dusvim, The Sand Serpent (Epic NPC)

Class: Sand Controller

Health: 6,000,000

/6,000,000 (100%)

Affiliations: Desertborn Brigands 」

Many in the party gulped after seeing Dusvim’s information.

An Epic NPC?!

This was the first time any of them had experienced such an opponent. An Epic NPC was on par with an Epic Boss Monster in terms of attributes and perhaps even skill.

The Epic Rating was a level where all monsters possessed a decent amount of sentience, at least enough to make cognizant reactions or understand essential parts of combat.

At the same time, the Epic Rating was also where NPCs began manifesting unique qualities.

Whoosh! Bang! Crrrrrrr!

Dusvim slashed his sword, and Kieran naturally defended against it. However, the serrated edge created a terrible sound that made everyone cringe.

“Noo! It’s like dragging chalk against a chalkboard. Please make it stop,” Nemean wept and shuddered.

Due to the power invested in each attack, the sound was more ear-piercing than it should’ve been.

Kieran retreated after bearing the brunt of Dusvim’s attack. ‘As expected of an Epic NPC, even if he isn’t a strength-centric opponent, his Strength is high. Perhaps far higher than my own.’

After creating some room, Kieran began working on a proper formation to deal with Dusvim. “Nemean, Bastion, tank together. Camila and Sera, you’ll each focus on healing one of them. I don’t need to inform you what to do beyond that, right?”

“Not at all. I know my position well,” Camila answered.

“No, I understand, Aatrox. I’ll get the job done and help keep them alive,” Sera answered.

In the corner of his eye, Kieran caught a glimpse of Alice’s weapon and smiled. “Ah, so you can finally equip it. That means the party officially possesses 5 Unique Weapons. I suppose our next focus should be them.”

Kieran looked at Nemean and Bastion, who each donned Rare Shields rather than Unique Ones. ‘If they’re lucky, perhaps they’ll pull useful items from their chest.’

However, because they were embroiled in combat, Kieran decided not to focus on that matter any longer.

Dusvim was an opponent that required his undivided attention.

Bastion and Nemean tried tanking Dusvim’s attacks, but not only were his sword attacks mighty, but he manipulated sand faster than Vidal, and it was in larger amounts.

“Thank god we swapped out our armors, or this would be impossible!” Bastion exclaimed after noting the heavy damage inflicted by just two of Dusvim’s attacks.

There was an abundance of loot after annihilating the other Desertborn Brigands, so everyone was outfitted in full Rare Items with Item Levels of at least 40.

Bastion and Nemean focused on defending against the attacks despite being forced back a few steps with each encounter.

‘Defeating an Epic NPC in our current state isn’t impossible; it’s just difficult,’ Kieran mused while silently analyzing Dusvim’s movements. Although enraged, he wasn’t sloppy.

Furthermore, each attack aimed to kill, just as Dusvim venomously claimed.

In addition to Dusvim launching regular attacks, he also conjured and rapidly fired numerous sand spears, swords, and arrows. The projectiles bombarded the tanker’s shield with swift precision.

Compared to Dusvim’s physical attacks, his sand-based attacks were three times heavier.

“U-urgh,” Nemean groaned. “These impacts make me feel like hurling. I can’t get my combo above three before he disrupts it. Going against an Epic NPC is this difficult?”

“I understand what you’re feeling. I wouldn’t be surprised if I let one go in my pants,” Bastion huffed. As his forte was Defense, Bastion intercepted many attacks aimed at Nemean.

After watching Sera and Camila support Nemean and Bastion for a few minutes, Kieran clearly understood Dusvim’s attributes.

However, just as Kieran, Ezra, and Altair sprang into action, Dusvim opened his hand and clenched it tight.

“Sand Practice: Quicksand Binding!”

The sand snaked around everyone’s legs, but a few moved before the effects could set. Still, they couldn’t ignore the consequences of Dusvim’s attack.

〈Battle Alert: Your current environment is reducing your Movement Speed by 50%!〉

A 50% Movement Speed reduction! Everyone was appalled, especially Bastion, who was terrifyingly slow, to begin with.

Dusvim’s lips curled into a gruesome smirk. “This will be slow. You shall suffer from all the pain you’ve caused me! I will ensure that you all know excruciating agony before you perish!”

Whoosh!

Kieran suddenly appeared before Dusvim with a cold glint in his eyes. “Seriously, old man. You talk far too much. Either get on with the action or….”

Bang!

“Shut the ** up.”

Kieran lashed out his leg, but the powerful strike was blocked by the sturdy sand wall Dusvim conjured. Given the sand’s compactness, Kieran felt as if he kicked cement.

‘Funny… that didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. Could it be because of my new passive? If that’s the case….’

Kieran’s gaze shifted to his Character Panel, primarily the part that listed his skills.

「 Torment’s Benefits: Dull (Lv.1)

Skill Rank: A

Skill Type: Passive

Mastery (06.66%)

Description: The True Berserker becomes less reactive to all forms of pain due to the Volcanic Ichor’s torment. If the user suffers bodily damage that will impede battle, it is ignored for the remainder of the fight. If inflicted by abnormal effects, the effects are severely weakened. (The effect varies depending on the user’s affinity with Blood Mania.)

Note: Certain skills will heighten this passive’s effect. 」

The effects of this passive were terrific. So terrific that Kieran couldn’t understand why it was only A Ranked. A passive that ignored bodily damage? That meant the skill referred to the new status that could be inflicted.

For example, broken bones.

‘This passive is very vague, only listing the benefits of the passive. But, I’ve learned everything about this class is a double-edged sword.’

After noticing the nonexistent pain, Kieran bent his knee and straightened it with explosive power.

“Grand Stomp!”

BOOM!

The sand wall shattered, but the broken pieces quickly merged to form a rotating chakram that closely mirrored Kieran’s movements.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kieran dodged rapidly, escaping damage from this attack. But, while the focus was on him, the source of Dusvim’s fury, Ezra and the others acted.

‘I’m not alone, you old fool!’ Kieran smirked mischievously as he stopped dodging and activated Sanguine Slashes.

“Get ready for a rude awakening old man!”