“Heavens, what happened here?” Far from where Klaus was battling the Ground Drake Lizard King, a group of warriors arrived, staring in disbelief at the battlefield. Thousands of Tier 3 monster corpses lay scattered across the ground.
The shock was written across their faces. These warriors, all of them Master stage experts, had clearly been through their own struggles. Yet, seeing the sheer number of fallen monsters before them, some began to turn pale.
Soon, more people started arriving, including several Grandmaster stage experts, each wearing the same look of astonishment. A few minutes earlier, when the Flame Ball had exploded, it had drawn attention from those scattered throughout other regions of the Forbidden Zone.
They had rushed over at full speed to investigate the chaos, but by the time they arrived, only the bodies of Tier 3 monsters remained. There was no sign of the person responsible. Greed quickly crept into some of their eyes.
“Who could have killed this many monsters?” one Grandmaster stage expert asked, his voice filled with awe.
“Why bother asking?” another replied, his gaze filled with greed. “There’s no one here. This is a rare opportunity. We should grab these bodies and run before whoever did this comes back.”
“Do you have a death wish?” a more clear-headed expert retorted, surveying the battlefield with caution. “Whoever did this must be powerful enough that they can kill you in an instant. Look at how many monsters they took down.”
“Then what should we do?” someone else asked nervously.
“Let’s survey the area first,” the cautious one suggested. “If we’re certain no one’s around, we can take what we want.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and began to spread out, carefully moving around the battlefield, searching for any signs of danger.
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed from far away, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. The sheer force of the roar sent pressure crashing down on them, forcing several to buckle under its weight. But just as suddenly as it had appeared, the pressure was wiped away by a powerful booming sound.
“Hurry! There’s a battle up ahead!” one of the experts shouted, quickly darting toward the direction of the noise. The others followed closely behind, racing toward the new source of chaos.
Rushing forward, they arrived at a section of the ground that was still smoldering from the explosion. Charred earth stretched before them, the air thick with heat and smoke.
“Heavens, what could have caused this?” someone muttered, voice filled with awe.
“More importantly, who could have caused this?” another person asked, eyes scanning the scorched surroundings. They all stood still for a moment, staring at the devastation in disbelief.
“Look ahead, Someone’s still fighting” the leader of the group suddenly called out, pointing toward the distance.
Everyone immediately moved closer, straining to see what was happening. As they got a clearer view, one of the warriors gasped in shock. “Is… Is that the Ground Drake Lizard King?” he shouted, his jaw hanging by a thread.
“Oh my god!” another exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. “It’s the Overlord of this region! The Ground Drake Lizard King!”
They all stared in shock at the sight ahead of them. But it wasn’t just the monstrous creature that held their attention. There, in the midst of the chaos, stood a lone figure—a white-haired boy, battling fiercely against the Overlord.
“Who is that kid?” someone whispered, eyes wide with disbelief. “Why is he fighting the Overlord?”
The warriors watched in stunned silence, unable to tear their eyes away from the impossible scene unfolding before them.
“Fuck, he’s overpowering the Overlord! Quick, someone records this!” a figure exclaimed, frantically looking around. Seeing that everyone else already had their recording devices out, he quickly fumbled for his glass phone and started filming the battle.
Up ahead, Klaus continued to circle the Ground Drake Lizard King, unleashing fire attacks with relentless precision. Each strike landed with deadly accuracy, his movements smooth and calculated. The arcs of fire he conjured were sharper than ever, each one shimmering with a golden aura.
Ever since awakening his sword aura, Klaus had experienced explosive growth in his swordsmanship. Every strike now carried an extra force, enough to cut through even the toughest defenses of the monster. No matter how thick its hide, his attacks always left a mark.
Suddenly, the Ground Drake Lizard King let out a deafening roar and leaped high into the air. Its colossal body came crashing down toward Klaus, aiming to crush him beneath its massive weight. But Klaus only smirked and dashed forward, disappearing and reappearing at the monster’s tail just as it was about to land.
His sword gleamed crimson, and with a swift slash, he cut into the beast’s tail, igniting it in flames.
Klaus didn’t stop there. As the monster began to descend, he swung his sword again, this time striking its side. The force of the blow sent the monster crashing into the ground with a thunderous boom, causing a massive shockwave that pushed Klaus back several meters.
“Fuck, having a big body sure has its perks,” Klaus cursed, picking himself up from the ground. He shook off the impact and dashed forward again, sending out a few more blazing fire arcs before closing the distance between him and the beast.
“So it seems my defense still needs some work,” Klaus muttered to himself. After narrowly surviving the heatwave and shockwave from the flame ball’s detonation and now being thrown back by the monster’s weight, he realized he was still lacking in defense. Even with all his power, there was more to improve.
But he wasn’t done yet. He would keep pushing until he reached his limit—if he had one at all.
BOOM!
The Ground Drake Lizard King slammed its massive claws into the ground, causing spikes of hardened earth to erupt and shoot toward Klaus. Klaus smirked, effortlessly dodging some of the spikes while shattering others with quick, precise strikes from his sword.
The Ground Drake Lizard King was an earth-type monster, fully adept at manipulating the earth element. Its attacks were earth-based, each designed to crush or impale its enemies. But Klaus wasn’t worried. His agility far outmatched the colossal monster.
He moved with incredible speed, his reflexes razor-sharp, and before any of the monster’s attacks could even reach him, Klaus would disrupt them with ease.
Klaus knew he wouldn’t have had such an easy time if the Ground Drake Lizard King had been a human. A skilled human opponent might have predicted his moves, adapted to his speed, or countered his attacks. But this monster, for all its raw power, lacked that level of strategy and finesse. It relied too much on brute force and the overwhelming strength of its element.
“It’s not even my match,” Klaus sighed, his tone calm as his speed suddenly increased. In an instant, he appeared directly in front of the Ground Drake Lizard King. His sword flashed forward, aiming for the monster’s neck. Just before the blade entered its thick hide, it glowed a brilliant blue. With one swift motion, Klaus buried the sword to its hilt in the monster’s neck.
The beast’s eyes widened in shock for a brief moment, then turned completely white, frozen in place. Its massive body trembled violently, trying to resist the unnatural cold spreading through its veins. But it was too late. The ice had already taken hold, freezing its blood and locking its body in place.
The Ground Drake Lizard King, once full of life and ferocity, stood completely still, now lifeless.
Klaus stood beside the frozen corpse for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. He calmly withdrew his sword, wiping it clean. No blood flowed from the wound—the ice had sealed it completely. The towering monster, the Overlord of this region, was dead, its reign brought to an end.
The onlookers, who had been filming the battle with their recording devices, stood frozen in place like statues. Their faces were pale with shock, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Klaus ignored them for a moment, bending down to retrieve the monster’s core. He stored it away without a word, then finally turned to face the experts.
They stood there like mannequins, still holding their devices, eyes wide with disbelief.
“It’s dead,” someone blurted out, breaking the silence. The voice snapped the others out of their daze. Slowly, they began to gather their senses, staring at the colossal, lifeless body of the Ground Drake Lizard King lying before them.
“Wait… It’s him! The Pretty Boy!” another person exclaimed. Now that the fight was over and Klaus stood visible in the open, everyone finally recognized him. He was the infamous “Pretty Boy” who had been causing an uproar on the internet lately.
Over the past few days, people had been scrambling to get a new image of him, but no matter how hard they tried, he always seemed to slip through their grasp.
Just a day ago, a user by the name of @GoodBoyBen posted a selfie with Klaus, captioning it: “Big brother is in seclusion, so no one should bother looking for him.” The post exploded, causing a storm online. Thousands of people, from curious fans to high-profile companies, flooded @GoodBoyBen’s direct messages, demanding to know Klaus’s whereabouts.
Brands and businesses wanted to sign deals with him, while people from all walks of life were desperate to learn more about the enigmatic white-haired youth. Because of the frenzy, @GoodBoyBen became an overnight sensation. Yet, despite the attention and offers, he remained tight-lipped, refusing to share any more information about Klaus.
Then, just a day later, another user, @Hi_Its_Me_Mandy, posted a thread filled with various selfies of her and Klaus. In each photo, Klaus was wearing the same clothes as he had in @GoodBoyBen’s post. This stirred even more chaos online, with people becoming even more desperate for any sight of him.
Now, standing before them in the flesh is Klaus, the Pretty Boy everyone has been looking for. They didn’t know how to behave. They just stood there looking at him with both shock and reverence.
“Fuck, I am heading over,” A young lady with a bow on her back said walking toward Klaus with shaky confidence
“Brother…” She started to speak but she realized she didn’t know his name, nobody did.
“Klaus” Klaus responded with a small smile making his name known to everyone now.