"But Boss, you are D Rank, and even with this plan," Tom was shocked when Asher told him the original plan.
"I can handle it. You don't need to worry about it," Asher said.
Tom couldn't help but think it was a bad idea, but he followed through with it as Asher instructed.
And right now, he was looking at Asher while regaining access to the Fourth Level.
"Even with that drug..." Tom was still not fully convinced that it was something Asher should do.
The entire Second Level and Third Level were much smaller than the First Level, but they were still so massive that it took time for Kai to reach his first target.
Kai was moving quickly but not so fast that his presence would be sensed. There were a few A Rank Hunters on the third level, but no A+ Rank hunters like him.
He was fully confident in dealing with anyone below his rank, and with the current artifacts amplifying his abilities considerably, he was confident that he could stealthily kill them all.
"Fire Claw," he ruptured the heart of an A- Rank hunter.
And he dropped the body to the side.
"I will get it done in 6 minutes," Kai muttered as he moved on.
In a few seconds, he came across a group of three A- Rank hunters. It was an arduous task, but unlike in the security room, he didn't need to worry about not damaging the surroundings anymore.
"Mirage," Kai said as the A-Rank hunters saw an image of Kai approaching from another direction.
"Who the hell is this," one of them shouted as he flared his mana.
But he felt a bit different; his senses, his mana flow was sluggish. But he didn't think much about it.
All three of them took out their weapons and saw a masked face approaching them.
But unfortunately, that was just an illusion Kai made, and before they could notice it, all three of them had their backs to Kai.
"Sea of Flames, gather in my hand," Kai finished his chant as he performed one of his wide-ranged skills.
"What-" Before they could comprehend what happened, their bodies got engulfed in hot flames.
Although under normal conditions, they would be able to react to Kai's attack much earlier, right now, the very air they were breathing was filled with an odorless drug that tampered with their senses and mana flow significantly.
No one could sense it unless they used their mana, which was why most of them were still unaware of what was happening to their bodies.
Kai threw out three daggers at their heads, and none of them could even muster their auras to defend themselves as they were still under the pain and shock of Kai's previous attack.
In an instant, Kai had dealt with four A- Rank Hunters.
"4 more," Kai said as he left the burnt corpses of the A- Rank hunters behind.
He moved towards the direction of the entrance of the Third Level as he knew the positions of the rest of the guards.
But he had no idea about the 2 A- Rank Hunters that Asher was approaching.
Asher went ahead as he stopped and looked at 2 people chatting with each other as they stood near the hallway.
His crimson red eyes were focused on their weapons, and he could see that both were mages as they had no weapons.
It made it even easier for him as mages were most affected by the poisonous drug that Asher had filled the air with.
But he waited a few more minutes as he watched the two of them.
'10...9...8....7....6...,' Asher started counting.
Finishing his count, Asher gripped his sword as he started moving towards the two A-Rank hunters.
He controlled his breathing, and his eyes were focused.
Although he had a chance to quickly kill one of them, the moment he did, the second hunter would be alerted. And if he made a single mistake, even a weakened A-Rank hunter was enough to kill him.
Both of them were chatting, not noticing Asher's presence.
"Hahaha," one of the hunters laughed loudly.
But the moment he laughed, Asher moved behind him.
"Swift Strike," his sword traveled through the neck of one of them, instantly killing him.
[ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ]
[ Host has leveled up ]
The blood spurted onto the other mage's face as his expression changed instantly.
In a single moment, the person he was talking to was dead. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
Asher didn't waste a moment as he looked at the dumbfounded mage.
'Mir steps,' his body disappeared and reappeared near the mage.
Asher swung his sword toward the mage.
"What?" he spoke out but immediately flared his mana.
He dashed away from his position and looked around him. He raised his hand to touch his neck, and he found he had received a wound.
A thin line of red bloomed at the base of the mage's neck, showing where Asher's blade had grazed him.
"Where the hell are you? Show your face, bastard!" the mage said, but his senses grew sluggish.
The more he used mana, the more he could see that his mana control was not exactly how it used to be.
He wanted to raise a mana barrier, but he couldn't. In front of an invisible opponent, that was the last thing he wanted to happen.
Not only was he experiencing the drug's effect, but even the armor that Asher used on Dane and Kai was showing its effect. It was the same armor that weakened the person in close proximity to Asher.
'Mir Steps,' Asher said as he dashed towards the mage.
He was not going to waste this precious chance that he had received.
The mage flared all his mana to increase the pressure in his surroundings. He was sure whoever attacked him was of a lower rank than him. He could deduce this much from the fact that he was still alive.
Asher squinted his eyes as his grip tightened. His movement slowed, but he pushed his body nevertheless.
The mage's response was right, but he couldn't think that Asher's movement technique would allow him to close the distance between them so quickly.
It was too late. If he had managed to do this a couple of seconds earlier, it would have delayed Asher enough so that the mage could gather enough time to increase the distance. But in his weakened state, he was not capable of doing so.
Asher could see that his strike was slowed due to the sudden mana pressure he was enduring, but his sword still reached the neck of the mage as he sliced his body from the edge of his neck.
[ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ]
[ Host has leveled up ]
Asher looked at the bodies of two A-Rank hunters as he took a deep breath.
Tom, who had stopped for a second to look at Asher's fight, was amazed beyond belief. He had just seen a D-Rank hunter kill two A-Rank Hunters. Even though his presence was concealed by Kai's ability and the weakened effect of the drugs in the air, he could not think of a single D-Rank hunter who could do something similar.
He could not sense it himself, but he was sure the mage had used his mana to suppress him, but he still failed.
<Boss, Kai has reached the Third Level Entrance>
<You should go there quickly>
<I have already opened the entrance for the Third Level>
<You don't have to enter through the Fourth Level as there is an entrance for the Fifth Level inside the Third Level>
<I have checked the system in the Third Level, so you will be able to access it directly>
Tom was still in the process of taking over the fourth level, and because he had no idea about the fourth level, he advised Asher to skip it altogether.
"Okay," Asher replied.
While Asher was moving, Tom grew more confused as he needed to take over the Fourth Level.
The path that Asher was taking was different from the one on which Kai currently was.
He traveled through the path, passing by various rooms which he ignored.
He soon arrived at the room where the entrance to the Third Level was, and when he entered the huge room, he saw a body badly burnt.
As Asher entered the room, he could see Kai standing in a room full of marks formed due to his attacks and fire magic.
"Ah, these ones were quite good," Kai said as he looked down at two bodies.
Judging by the fact that Kai had to use such spells, Asher could deduce that the last two guys were at least A Rank hunters.
Asher's eyes turned as he looked at the half-opened metal door that was the entrance to the Third Level.
"Oh, that. I got a bit reckless with my spells," Kai said, scratching his head.
Asher knew that Kai would reach his limit soon as casting all the highest-tier spells he knew would slowly take a toll on him.
"Let's go. We will directly go to the Fifth Level from here," Asher said as both of them entered the Third Level.
