D.I.O

sword qi, so Arc couldnt endure for too long. Actually, it was surprising that Arcs defenses had held up this far.

“Damn it! Your defenses are truly something!”

Clang!

When his blade strike was deflected once more, Sting blocked Arcs retaliatory roundhouse kick with his elbow and was unable to stop himself from frowning at the immense internal force. While he was at a higher level than Arc, he was no match for the players strength and internal energy levels. Moreover, Sting had already unveiled all of his cards, but Arc still had the spell he was chanting, which seemingly gave him the upper hand.

“Ah, wait a moment, lets try to talk this out….”

Ting.

Yet, before Sting could try and talk their differences out, Arc had finished chanting his spell.

“Flame Buster, Part Two.”

With ating, magic power rushed out. The packets of magic power spread throughout Arcs body according to a set path laid down by his magic technique. Then, after gathering together, the groups of magic power exploded.

“Revolver.”

Bam!

In the blink of an eye, six punches simultaneously landed on Stings body, moving so quickly that the individual sounds of their collision rang out as a single thump. It had only taken a twentieth of a second to send out all six punches. This was Flame Buster Revolver. With this technique, compared to a magnum-type of shot that pressurized magic power and exploded it out, Arc had reinforced his body and sent accelerating power to his arms and elbows, which had been overlaid with magic circles. In a split second, Arc was able to launch multiple punches that carried tremendous power and speed.

The whole process was completed so quickly that the observers only saw Stings body tremble a few times before crumpling to the ground. The only hint that Arc had done anything was the steam rising from both of his hands.

Plop.

As Stings body collapsed without even a whimper, Arc took a couple of steps back and started stretching his body. The surrounding mercenaries seemed to be on the verge of attacking him, but none of them moved.

“Do I need to defeat all of these guys as well?”

If Sting had attacked alongside his mercenaries, Arc wouldnt have stood a chance, but since Sting had been neutralized, fighting the rest of the mercenaries would be akin to going up against an orc village. Obviously, if all of them attacked at once, Arc would be killed easily, but if he could move around and kite his opponents, it would only be a matter of time before they were all killed. However, while he was thinking this, Arc heard a telepathic voice.

“I dont think you need to do anything more.”

Then, a text message appeared,

/Clear!/

Arc instantly disappeared.

“W-what? Where did he go?”

The mercenaries were on edge after witnessing their monster-like leader being defeated by Arc, their adrenaline pumping. Yet, Arc had just vanished and disappeared, so the mercenaries couldnt help but look stupefied. After completing a quest, the teleportation that would take place was similar to the Recall spell from the Gate Ring, which was a return item sold at the Exchange Center. So, compared to how a user could be attacked while logging out, the transportation after a quest was instant.

“What about our leader?”

“Hes alive; hes just unconscious.”

“He truly did just leave after defeating our leader… whats going on? Were not like knights that uphold some higher principles like honor or anything like that. He only wanted to fight?”

“It seems like he also took the gold that he threw earlier. Dang, hes quite thorough.”

Unable to understand what was happening, the mercenaries constantly chatted and murmured as they helped their leader stand up. And, just then…

Clank… Clank…

“W-what kind of noise is that?”

The entire space was filled with the noise of metal-on-metal like a giant iron cogwheel turning. This sound didnt come from any particular direction or source; it rang throughout the heavens and earth.

Clank.

Alongside the heavy metallic clanking sound, a distant mountain disappeared.

Clank.

After another metallic clang, the sky and ground turned to dust and instantly threw the mercenaries into a dark, empty void.

Clank.

On the far horizon, the world seemed to be sinking into something.

“W-whats going on? Whats happening… huh? Wait. How come all the villagers look weird?”

The Phoenix Mercenary Guild was a fairly sizable organization that specialized in large-scale warfare, and their building reflected this status by being one of the biggest in the area. While the building wasnt tall enough to peer into other mercenary guild complexes, it was enough to easily look down on a vast portion of the village.

From this high vantage point, the mercenaries could see all the residents of the village looking up at the sky, unmoving. They werent even surprised or anything like that; they seemed closer to robots that had their batteries removed.

Ting.

Then, the mercenary soldier fell into the same state. Originally, the living organisms would have been suspended before the surrounding environment and programs were deleted, but since this world was recreated for a users test, the process had run backward.

Clank.

After one final clanking sound, the entire world fell into darkness.