“Kekeke, pitiful trash, beg for mercy, I shall grant you a swift demise.” (Evilkinds language)
The Rogue Shadow Demon Swarerock, brimming with smug delight, slowly approached Tyler and Viviana. Unbeknownst to it, a Floating Crimson Sword had silently maneuvered behind the demon.
Tyler could see the sword, yet continued pleading for his life. Indeed, Tyler was merely pretending. From the moment Viviana decided to feign exhaustion of her magic energy to lure out the demon, Tyler had known her strategy through mind-reading. However, Viviana had initiated the act without consulting Tyler, intending to deceive him as well.
Tyler played along, pretending to be oblivious to Viviana’s act while he put on an Oscar-worthy performance, begging Swarerock for mercy, all in preparation for the decisive strike to come.
In the blink of an eye, the Floating Crimson Sword accelerated, aimed straight at the demon’s head. But suddenly, the demon vanished into thin air.
“What’s going on?!” Tyler leaped to his feet, staring at the spot where the demon had disappeared. He saw that the identification information for the demon’s shadow was: “Shadow concealing the Rogue Shadow Demon.”
(Is it hiding within the shadow?)
(Is this the effect of its third skill?)
Tyler immediately placed the luminous magic stone behind himself and Viviana, fearing the demon could move within the shadows and attack from behind.
“Ah, I was too slow, and it escaped!” Viviana, pretending to be dazed, stood up in frustration. In her plan, the previous attack should have been fatal.
“My lord, are you good now?”
“No, I am not. I am furious.”
Tyler saw that Viviana’s magic energy had dwindled to “280/3170.” If the battle continued at this rate, she would soon be really drained.
“Kekekeke, such amateurish control of magic energy; did you really think I, the ‘Summoner,’ wouldn’t see through it?” the evilkind language echoed from within the shadow.
If Tyler and Viviana didn’t act soon, they would be dragged into the demon’s pace.
“My Lord! It seems the demon is hiding within the shadows!”
“You saw it?”
“Yes, I’ve had excellent vision since I was young.”
Tyler’s claim was flimsy, but Viviana wouldn’t pass up even the slightest chance at this point. Knowing her magic energy was scarce, Viviana retrieved a blue potion from her bag and chugged it without hesitation.
Through his identification ability, Tyler saw that the potion was called “Potent Magic Energy Elixir – 100ml.” Its effect was “Upon consumption, recover 30 Magic Energy per second, lose 10 Life Energy per second. Each 10ml consumed lasts for 1 second. The effect is nullified if the Life Energy is insufficient.”
As soon as Viviana finished the potion, the cave shook once more.
Two newly summoned Granite Evil-Eyed Stone Serpent- slithered menacingly toward them, one from the left and one from the right.
“Hiss—Kekekeke, your performance was quite convincing, but alas, you cannot kill me,” (Evilkinds language)
“Hiss—let us see how long you can endure, kekekeke.” (Evilkinds language)
The Rogue Shadow Demon, full of self-satisfaction, laughed through the summoned creatures, and Tyler could tell that this time, the demon wouldn’t be fooled again before it had killed them both.
.
Within the gloomy cavern, Viviana, wielding her Floating Crimson Sword, engaged in a dance of death with two Granite Evil-Eyed Stone Serpents.
In order to conserve her Magic Energy, she fought with utmost caution. From her focused gaze, it was evident that she was thinking rapidly.
Tyler, on the other hand, wracked his brain, for he could see Viviana’s Status Information more clearly than anyone else. He knew that the diminishing Magic Energy of Viviana was the death countdown for both of them.
He recalled that the Rogue Shadow Demon’s attributes were highly imbalanced—its Life Energy and Endurance were low, but its Magic Energy was astonishingly high.
(5650/9780…)
Based on these figures, Tyler estimated that under the worst circumstances, the Rogue Shadow Demon could still summon seven or eight Granite Golems, or perhaps five or six Granite Evil-Eyed Stone Serpents.
Given Viviana’s Magic Energy recovery to over 600, she could barely cope with this, but if the Rogue Shadow Demon had any hidden tricks, they would be in grave danger.
If they were to bypass the summoned creatures and attack the Rogue Shadow Demon directly, its diminutive form would make hiding in the cave all too easy, especially since it could take refuge in the shadows…
“My Lord! Cover me for a moment!”
Suddenly, Tyler lunged forward, and as he neared the shadow concealing the Rogue Shadow Demon, he abruptly brandished a luninous magic stone, illuminating the entire shadow!
“How the hell did you know…?!” (Evilkind language)
From the vanishing shadow, the Rogue Shadow Demon leaped out at a rapid pace, but its speed was so great that it didn’t give Tyler a chance to catch it. In the blink of an eye, it escaped to another shadow, and…
“I’m done playing! Time for you both to die!!” (Evilkind language)
As the Rogue Shadow Demon’s voice fell, the cave began to tremble violently, and this time, six Granite Golems appeared at once, joining the two Granite Evil-Eyed Stone Serpents to encircle Tyler and Viviana in an impenetrable formation. 𝗈𝑽𝑙xt.𝓬𝑜𝑚
Worse still, due to the obstructed line of sight, Tyler could no longer discern which shadow the Rogue Shadow Demon was hiding in.
“Be crushed under the chaos of the rubble, kekekekeke!” (Evilkind language)
The encirclement of the Granite Golems and Granite Evil-Eyed Stone Serpents began to shrink. Although Viviana could defend herself, Tyler was in peril.
—(Crimson Sword Array)
Viviana plunged her Floating Crimson Sword into the ground, and instantly, seven crimson beams shot out from beneath Tyler’s feet, forming a protective ring around him.
This move depleted another 300 points of Viviana’s already scarce Magic Energy.
If possible, Viviana would have liked to envelop herself within the “Crimson Sword Array,” but at her current level, it could not accommodate two people and, moreover, if both of them were inside the array, they would be unable to attack the summoned creatures.
“Do not worry; I will protect you,” Viviana assured the hunter, even under this circumstance.
In the increasingly confined space, the Granite Golem demons and Granite Evil-Eyed Stone Serpents bypassed Tyler and focused on besieging Viviana.
Holding her Floating Crimson Sword, Viviana relied solely on her sword skill to combat these formidable stone demons.
To avoid depleting her Magic Energy and succumbing to dizziness, she dared not use any more magic. Her sole Magic Energy consumption now was the maintenance of the “Crimson Sword Array” that protected the hunter.
One by one, Viviana’s marvelous sword skill dismantled the Granite Golems’ mobility, but in the midst of this dark and chaotic environment, she failed to notice several long-eared hopping mice “licking” her shadow.
“Master! Those hopping mice are a problem too!”
By the time Tyler noticed, it was already too late.
Viviana’s Magic Energy suddenly dropped to zero, and an overwhelming dizziness engulfed her mind, causing her to collapse helplessly to the ground.