"Grooaaarrrr!!!" Letting out an angered cry, a bear with fiery red fur swiped down at the young man in front of it without hesitation, its every move filled with the intent to kill. Unfortunately, no matter how much force the red bear put into its attacks, the young man was able to dodge it in the nick of time.
"I guess it's time for me to make my move." Seeing as he had more or less gotten used to the attack pattern of the enraged bear before him, the young man sucked in a bit of air as he clenched his right fist, sending it out at the very moment the red bear had shown one of the openings he was aiming for.
Bang!
Crack!
"Groooaaaarrrr!!!" With how much force the young man had put behind his attack, at the very moment his fist connected with the bear's upper torso, the latter was swiftly sent tumbling backward, accompanying it the bear's now pained cry. The bear only stopped tumbling backward after colliding with a nearby tree, which increased the rage the bear felt even further.
Whoosh!
However, just as the bear was about to dash to where the young man stood, the latter decided to take the initiative after feeling like he had already stalled for so long, appearing a couple of meters in front of the bear before disappearing from its field of vision a few seconds later.
"Grooo…" Faintly wondering how the young man it had been fighting against had just disappeared like that, the bear swiftly looked around its surroundings, hoping to find any traces it could use to find the young man. With its strength being enhanced out of nowhere, it felt like there was a high chance for it to be able to find where the young man was and satiate the urge that had welled up alongside the gain in strength it had gotten.
Yet, before it could even find a single hint as to where the young man was…
"Hyah!"
Bang!
"Grooooaaarrrr!!!" Out of nowhere, the young man landed a solid punch towards the bear's exposed back, which could only curve under the strength he had put into. Once more, the bear let out a pained cry, wondering to itself how the young man had gotten on top of the tree before it could find him.
Bang! Bang!
"Groooaaaaarrrgghhh!!!" Though, unlike before, where the bear would gain some sort of reprieve between the young man's attacks, the young man decided to land a couple more hits on the red bear, a pensive expression adorning his face as he hit spots on the bear's body that weren't considered vital by any means.
Nevertheless, with how much force the young man had put into his attacks, the red bear eventually succumb to the immense amount of damage it had accumulated, letting the pain it had received consume it as its consciousness gradually disappeared.
Ding!
[With a 5 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 100%.]
[You have slain a Level 45 Red Dusk Bear (Rare Elite). You have gained 147,305 XP.]
"I guess I've already gathered more than enough data to confirm my hypothesis." Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh as he took a look at the notifications he had just obtained, Valyr decided to sit down on the ground for the meantime, recuperating the energy he had used so far. While doing so, he collated all of the information he had received from the fights he had done, closing his eyes every once in a while.
"In total, I've killed about 10 Red Dusk Bears and landed an average of 5 hits on each bear before they died from the damage." Muttering these words to himself, the gears in Valyr's mind madly turned. "Halving the damage obtained from some lucky critical hits, I could now say without a doubt that the effect the title has on the Damage Restriction System…"
"…is multiplicative." Adorning a bitter smile on his face, Valyr thought about the title's effect for a bit more, soon coming to the thought that it did not really matter whether the effect applied multiplicatively or additively. After all, against a being that was 50 levels higher than him, whether the effect was applied multiplicatively or additively, the damage he dealt would still be reduced by 90% either way.
"It's just a matter of how I get to that 90% damage reduction in the first place." Feeling a hint of regret that his small trip to Point Caelion seemed to be a waste of time due to his findings, the young man quickly thought about the other things he had gained from the experiment, such as an accurate gauge of his strength now that he was at the peak of Rank 2.
"In any case, now that I've confirmed how the effect works, I guess it's time for me to focus on upgrading the title even further." Bringing up the description of [Slayer of Ascendants] in front of him, Valyr swiftly focused his sights on the last few lines written on the screen. "Kill a thousand Mythic Elite tier monsters or higher, or kill a thousand beings at least 20 levels higher than me…"
"Well, considering how hard it is to find a Mythic Elite even with the help of the Mark of the Alltide, it's a no-brainer as to what I should choose." Making up his mind as he now had an idea of where to go next, Valyr went ahead and made his way back to the outpost surrounding Point Caelion, hoping to head back to Point Devann once he was there.
…
Whoosh!
"And we're back." Giving himself time to acclimate to his surroundings after being sent to travel through space once more, a wry smile gradually crept up onto Valyr's lips as he thought about the state of the outpost around Point Caelion before he teleported.
"Since the people at Point Caelion already know of the orc infiltration going on in Point Devann, I guess it would make sense that the other entrances already know of it as well." Though it did not really come as a surprise that the other entrances would eventually come to know of what was happening at Point Devann, it was the fact that the other entrances already knew what was going on that truly surprised Valyr.
After all, considering the amount of time that had passed between him and Zeik arriving at Point Devann and him just recently returning to Point Devann, only around three hours or so had passed since then.
"There is a bright side to them finding out this quickly, though," muttered Valyr to himself. "After all, that would mean that the kingdom would make its move far earlier than expected."
"However, I wonder if their move is early enough." Thinking about how much time had passed since he and Zeik had gone their separate ways, a hint of worry appeared on the young man's face, wondering whether Zeik had already come across the orcs and was safe.
"Well, he is a Rank 5 class holder, so I shouldn't worry too much." Deciding to believe in the man's words from before they parted ways, Valyr sped up his pace as he made his way to one of the official exits. While doing so, he thought about the site he was going to head to in order to make progress in upgrading [Slayer of Ascendants] to the next stage.
"Hmm… I guess it would be better for me to fight against monsters that are beyond 20 levels in order to ensure that I'd make progress." Valyr briefly scratched the back of his head. "Off to Site 5-S then."
"Whoa there, friend." Just as he had made up his mind on which site he was going, a man that looked to be in his early thirties stopped Valyr just as he was about to pass through one of the official exits. "I'd suggest you stay here in the outpost for the meantime, or leave the Akashic Battlefield and wait for another day."
"There are orcs currently roaming around the various sites, killing all of the humans they come across," the man continued, gazing at Valyr with a hint of concern. "I've obtained reports that even peak Rank 4 class holders are no match for these orcs, much less to say about a peak Rank 2 class holder like you."
"In fact, I'd highly recommend you to leave the Akashic Battlefield and return at some other time in the future." At these words, the man's expression turned serious. "After all, a peak Rank 2 class holder entering a site normally meant for Rank 4 class holders only means one thing."
"You have a great level of talent, and it would be a waste of that if you were to die because of them."
"I mean… you do have a point…" Though Valyr was slightly annoyed at first that a random stranger decided to block him from continuing onto the battlefield, as he continued to listen to the man's words, the more Valyr thought about what he was doing.
From the stranger's perspective, it was borderline suicidal for him to still have the courage to head out into the battlefield, even though the orc were slaying every human they saw on sight. With that, he eventually asked himself.
'Is it really necessary for me to upgrade the title as soon as possible?'
"Alright." With the question in mind, it did not take long for Valyr to make up his mind as he turned around and thanked the man for his suggestion, making his way back to the center of the outpost not long after in the hopes of hearing good news from Zeik.
