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Chapter 30: Underground Gambling Den (2)

"Hey, you! What are you doing here!?"

"Huh? I just finished preparing the accompaniments for the VIP room, so...."

"It\'s not the accompaniments that matter right now! Evacuate the VIP guests immediately!"

"Pardon? What do you mean...."

As Hans responded with a puzzled look, his senior yelled in frustration, "You idiot! Undead have appeared! I need to control the guests and secure the money, so you take care of evacuating the VIP guests and the boss first!"

"Whaaat!? O-Okay!"

Startled, Hans rushed upstairs to attend to the VIPs.

"Heeek...!"

The scene he encountered on the stairs to the second floor was shocking to him.

U-undeads! There really are undeads!

Eight undead were destroying whatever they could in the gambling den.

"Why... why are there undeads here!?"

"Block them! Don\'t let them get upstairs!"

The thugs guarding the gambling dens screamed. However, they seemed too scared to fight the undeads directly, hesitating to charge at them.

Why would undeads suddenly appear here?

Hans, wanting to avoid getting involved before sparks flew his way, opened the door to the VIP room.

"Boss! We need to evacuate immediately!"

"What? I\'m in the middle of something important, what are you talking about? And why is it so noisy outside?" Milton, who had a pipe in his mouth, furrowed his eyebrows and expressed his anger.

"Undeads have appeared! You need to run away now!"

"...What appeared?" Milton tilted his head.

This new rookie wouldn\'t be making up such a crazy lie....

He glanced at the VIP guests, then stood up. "Ahem, please excuse me for a moment."

He dragged Hans out of the room but cursed when he saw the undeads on the first floor.

"What the fuck! It\'s real!"

Feeling chills all over his body, Milton quickly grabbed his money bag and returned to the VIP guests. They laughed at Hans\'s explanation about the appearance of the undeads, along with Milton\'s pale face.

"Undeads?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Haha, it seems our boss has run out of luck. What a strange trick...."

However, their expressions hardened as they heard the sounds of destruction and screams come from downstairs.

"Is it true?" one of the VIP guests questioned him.

"If you can\'t believe it, stay here and see for yourself. I\'m leaving. Snake Brothers! Protect me."

"Yes, boss."

Two sturdy men dressed in black and white suits closely guarded Milton. Meanwhile, Milton accessed the secret entrance through a door in the room.

"Undeads! Real undeads!"

"Shit! Grab the money first!"

The VIPs, having confirmed the situation on the first floor, hurriedly gathered their money and followed Milton. The passage connected to the back door was dark, smelly, and most importantly, long.

After running for about ten minutes, the panting VIPs asked, "Where does this passage end?"

"We\'re almost there."

Milton, who had been responding to their questions, swallowed his anger.

Shit! Who the hell unleashed undeads in a gambling den?

Once they successfully escaped, he was determined to find and punish the culprit at any cost.

Now we just pass this door and we\'ll be safe!

Feeling relieved to be alive, Milton forcefully opened the tightly shut door.

The cool night air entered through the opened door, and a man greeted them warmly.

“You\'re here? You\'re a bit later than I expected."

A man protected in black armor with a worn iron sword at his waist was waiting for him. It was Kai.

***

I really set a good plan this time. Good job, Kai.

Kai\'s shoulders and nose rose high with pride, naturally, because the entire chaos was his doing.

Given the nature of a gambling den, there\'s always a chance that patrolmen can raid. Naturally, there would be at least one secret path for escape.

While pondering how to meet Milton, Kai changed his approach.

If I can\'t get in, why not make him come out?

However, a common method wouldn\'t be enough to face him directly! Therefore, he made a plan to create a disturbance, forcing Milton to run away through the emergency exit.

Operation: Burn the Raccoon\'s Den.

All Kai needed for his plan was information about the secret exit. His prediction that the manual would contain such information was spot-on, and Kai summoned undeads to destroy the gambling den while he calmly waited outside the secret passage for Milton.

"No way.... Are you the one who unleashed the undeads in my establishment?" Milton glared at Kai with a fierce look.

Since he had no intention of denying it, Kai shrugged and said, "I wonder if you liked it. They\'re quite cute if you get to know them. They even dance well."

"You crazy bastard! Do you know how much we make in one night here!?" Milton stomped the ground furiously, his anger reaching its peak.

At that sight, Kai sighed deeply and shook his head. "The crazy one is you. Now\'s not the time to worry about a night\'s earnings...."

"Shut up! Hey! Bring that bastard to me!"

At Milton\'s command, the Snake Brothers turned their heads and walked forward. The younger one, White Snake, wielded two short daggers, while the older one, Black Snake, favored a long sword.

Hissss.

As they approached with deadly intent, Kai drew a normal-ranked iron sword he had purchased at the auction house. He couldn\'t use the Long Sword of the Enlightened One yet due to the level requirements.

His current iron sword, worth merely 20 silver, could hardly be considered in good condition.

"Just so you know, I haven\'t been learning swordsmanship for long, so I can’t go easy or anything like that."

"Finish him!"

At Milton\'s shout, the men charged.

Kai calmly lowered his stance, recalling Master Huey’s teachings.

-Lower your stance and widen your field of vision.

-Breathe deeply. Continuously supply oxygen to your brain. Act with your chest until the fight starts, and with your head once it begins.

-Don\'t look at the enemy\'s weapon, but their arms, legs, wrists, and ankles. There lies the hint of their next move.

-Once you\'ve drawn your sword, don’t hesitate.

-You\'re a novice. You carry a sword, but fundamentally, you’re a weak Cleric. Instead of despairing over the differences, leverage your own strengths.

Though the teachings lasted only a week, Huey was a competent and excellent swordmaster. His basic training increased Kai\'s physical stats by about 10 each, laying the foundation for his swordsmanship.

The difference between them and me.

Kai neither had the Strength stat of Warriors nor the agility of Archers or Rogues. Even if he engaged in a sword fight with them, fighting in the same manner as them was impossible.

My nature is a Cleric!

He had to engage in battle in his own way. Following someone else\'s path wouldn\'t allow him to surpass them, not in a lifetime.

"Solaris Blessing, Solaris Armor, Bless, Shield of Light, Spring of Restoration!"

Kai buffed himself while setting up a spring behind him.

In the meantime, White Snake, wielding two daggers, lunged at Kai.

It’s over.

Witnessing this, Milton and Black Snake relaxed their guard. They had seen this countless times before, and the outcome was always the same.

"Die!"

The daggers flew and targeted Kai\'s heart and solar plexus.

Kai got stabbed.

[Your weak point has been attacked. You\'ve received 2,710 damage.]

[Your weak point has been attacked. You\'ve received 2,805 damage.]

[You have been poisoned with Swamp Spider venom. Vitality decreases by 150 every second.]

"Ah, you\'ve noticed by now. This dagger is coated with a lethal poison."

White Snake licked his lips, expecting Kai to scream any moment.

However, Kai was deeply contemplating, even amidst the situation.

My own fighting technique.

He wasn\'t overwhelmingly strong or fast, but he had something he was more confident in than anyone else.

Holy Power and Stamina.

These were the basic stats that a Cleric focused on. Therefore, Kai had one of the highest Stamina stats after the tank classes. Moreover, those weren’t his only weapons.

"Sunlight’s Warmth."

[Restored 5,515 HP.]

[Poisoned status effect removed.]

If Warriors and Knights were the strongest spears that could sweep away all enemies before them, Kai was the strongest shield that wouldn\'t die no matter how much he was hit.

Kai\'s hand moved like lightning and grabbed White Snake\'s wrist. As Kai, who had been poisoned, forcefully grasped his wrist, White Snake was greatly taken aback.

What? How can he move like this after being poisoned.... Wait! His complexion is normal!

That meant he wasn\'t poisoned!

Fear of the unknown sprouted in White Snake\'s mind, which had been as calm as a lake. That tiny bit of fear momentarily made White Snake\'s actions hesitant.

Kai didn\'t miss this opportunity and swung his iron sword with his other hand.

"Ugh!”

Just as the iron sword was about to pierce White Snake\'s heart, he managed to shake off Kai\'s grip and stepped back significantly.

Kai looked down at his palm and acknowledged his mistake.

Their Strength stat is higher. I can\'t surpass them in attack power and speed.

That was the crucial difference in the critical moment.

In the past, he would have felt helpless and just sighed.

But now, there’s a way.

Kai immediately opened the interface window and set a timer.

"Set for 18 seconds."

[Timer set for 18 seconds.]

[18, 17...]

The moment the timer started, Kai activated his first Unique skill.

"Supernova."

As soon as he cast it, his body began to heat up as if he was in a sauna.

[All stats have increased by 30.]

Power surged through his body.

"Phew, I don’t think I’ll be able to use this in the summer."

Kai, smiling, didn\'t just enjoy the power but also assessed the situation of his enemies.

I can only maintain this state for at most fifteen seconds. Not a second can be wasted!

Kai, gripping his iron sword firmly, darted forward.

"Huh? H-his movements are suddenly...!"

White Snake, who had backed off to avoid Kai\'s sword, was shocked. He was shocked at Kai\'s movement, which was incomparable to just moments before.

This time, Kai\'s attack pierced through White Snake\'s heart!

"Aaagh!"

White Snake’s Stamina began to plummet rapidly.

Unable to watch any longer, Black Snake sprang forward. "How dare you crazy bastard attack my brother!"

A long sword, gleaming with moonlight, aimed straight for Kai\'s neck.

Kai\'s eyes, watching the sword come toward him, settled coldly.

It’s not a fight that will end with just one or two dodges.... In that case....

Sacrifice the flesh to save the bone!

Kai tightly pressed his lips together and watched the sword pierce his neck.

[Your weak point has been attacked. You\'ve received 3,518 damage.]

The pain wasn\'t severe. It felt more like the dull end of a ballpoint pen pressing against the skin. After all, it was just a game.

Wh-what? He didn\'t dodge this attack...?

Black Snake was greatly taken aback by the success of his attack.

The brothers had to become cruel and venomous to survive in the back alleys. That became their driving force, making them strong enough to earn the nickname, Snake Brothers, for their venomous nature.

I didn’t think there was someone crazier than us!

Kai was a strong-willed person who didn\'t even blink when a sword was thrust into his neck! Such an act wasn\'t easily done even by players who were absolutely confident in their safety. Automatically closing one\'s eyes when something approached was an instinctive reaction for anyone not trained to do otherwise.

"Now, it\'s my turn, right?"

Kai released White Snake\'s wrist he had been holding.

After being stabbed in the heart multiple times, White Snake staggered and fell, while Kai firmly grabbed the long sword that Black Snake had thrust into his neck.

"Arghh!"

As his long sword was trapped in Kai\'s neck and hand and was unable to pull it free, Black Snake let go of the sword and stepped back.

"Where do you think you\'re going!?"

Flash!

Kai\'s iron sword sliced from left to right like lightning.

"Horizontal Slash!"

This was the result of Kai\'s effort, swinging his sword 80,000 times over the past week!

Without any fancy techniques, the clean and simple sword strikes sliced through Black Snake’s throat like lightning.