“Explosive Barrier! Fortify X!” Two layers of aura covered my body, one with purple color, and one with orange.

“Fluffy, take the tiger-kins to safety.”

“As you wish master” He said as he ran past the two humans.

That was surprising. I thought he’d say he won’t leave me no matter what. I guess he acts differently in serious situations?

“Now, let’s start.” I said as I started hitting the shield with my sword at a calculated tempo. “Song of Steel”

Song of Steel is a skill that pulls the aggro of all mobs that are inside a twenty meter radius around me.

The woman ran to me with her scythe, and the moment it reached me, the orange aura exploded outwards, instantly vaporizing her scythe and her left arm.

A few moments later and my whole body was enclosed in ice, from the ice spell used by the man.

For a second, I couldn't move, until a second explosion was triggered, vaporizing the woman’s legs. The man was unhurt since the explosion range was just a meter or two around me.

No matter how many times I’m attacked, the explosion range will remain the same, so I have to move closer against ranged enemies. Or I could just use “Shied Boomerang!”

I threw my shield to the man. The shield was spinning so intensely that its edges became crimson red from the heat. With the man still focused on attacking, the shield successfully connected, cutting his right leg, and burning it.

For some reason, the movement guide features for the skills was inactive. The shield did curve back, but it hit my head at full force, triggering another explosion, completely vaporizing the woman’s body. Since the shield itself was covered by the same orange aura, it was unaffected by the explosion.

That was so embarrassing…I looked stupid didn’t I?..I was the one who threw it, yet it hit me on the face…No, that was a part of the skill…it was a part of the skill I tell you!

I dashed to the man, but he disappeared. The duration of Song of Steel was already over, so he was in control of his body again. He used a teleportation skill that mages use to get away from me.

“Let’s talk about this.”

What are you spouting? You were so confident before and now that you’re losing you want to talk? The creators made a trashy npcs this time.

My only long ranged spell was Shield Boomerang, so I couldn’t finish him off. Most of my damage comes from Explosive Barrier, but if the enemy doesn’t attack, it’s meaningless…

Still, that short exchange was enough to see that I’m stronger than him. Since he came here with the confidence to defeat Fluffy, he should be at least as strong as Fluffy, meaning I’m also stronger than Fluffy. Since Fluffy is considered one of the strongest, then that means...

While I was thinking, he drank a rainbow-colored potion. “I was saving this for Ashiria. But if I could get you, then it’s fine.”

Ashiria? Who’s that?

His body became larger, and purple glowing veins could be seen from his skin. He floated in the air, and his black hair slowly got blown away by the air. On his back, a large ring appeared, with five different elements uniformly placed on it.

On the center top part of the circle was a small ball of plasma, created from the high compression of wind magic. On the upper left was a ball of black flames. On the upper right was ball of red lightning. On the bottom left was a ball of transparent ice. On the bottom right was a ball of some type of metal.

His left hand emitted light, while his right hand emitted darkness. Soon, the ring spun around, and the two elements on his hands started covering his body; his hair grew again, now gray from the combination of two elements.

“This feeling, this power, I am god!” He said as the sky turned darker.

What’s happening? Did I just trigger a hidden boss fight?

“Hahaha! Not even your or Ashiria can defeat me in this form!”

Again, who’s Ashiria?

Arms sprouted from the ground and grabbed my leg, before turning in to the same metal as the one on his ring. He raised his fist, covering it in seven different elements before dashing and punching my face. It hurt a bit, like a child’s punch.

The explosive barrier activated, but he disappeared before he was reached by the explosion.

“Your shield seems to react to any attack sent to you, but its range remains the same. That’s why you had to get closer to me isn’t it?

But that won’t work anymore. Just as you saw, I went closer to you on my own and got away before the explosion. You may be sturdy, but I just have to keep hitting you until you lose consciousness.”

…He’s right. I hate smart npcs.

[]

“What’s that!?” I said while looking at the darkened sky above the city.

The silver haired man used the opening to land a hit on me, but the opposite happened. He thought I was completely off guard due to shock, but I wasn’t, it was only an act to make him lower his guard.

Even if an outrageous event happened, as long as I’m on the battle field, I’ll remain calm. My sudden outburst earlier was a mistake caused by the thought of the kingdom’s ruler dying, and because of it he landed a hit on me.

With him focusing on offense, his guard was completely off, and I was able to cut his arms off. The sudden loss startled him, creating more opening.

With the small spots on his body that wasn’t steel, I was able to cut his limbs off. I have noticed that there was a limit to how much part of his body he can turn in to steel. Like how his stomach became steel at the price of his legs turning back in to flesh.

He fell to the ground, limbless, and before he could react, I decapitated him. He was strong, but doesn't know how to use his strength. It was like he only got his ability a few weeks ago. With the difference in experience, I defeated him.

Right after cutting his head, I went to where my father is,. To help him with my remaining lifespan; I have a few more minutes, that should be enough to defeat the second one.

When I got to the scene, there was a man who I didn’t know of, lying on the floor, lifeless. My father was filled with wounds, but he was still alive, along with my mother and little brother. They’re safe.

I can’t explain how happy I was to see them alive, but it didn’t take long before my happiness to turn in to rage and confusion.

My little brother, the one who has always supported the family in his own way, pulled two hidden dagger and killed our parents.

“Leo!” I ran to him and pointed my sword. “Why!? Why did you kill our parents!?”

“Leo? I’m not Leo. He has been dead for a month now.” He said as his body changed shape. “I can’t believe you didn’t realize I was a fake.”

“Y-You!”

Before I could cut his head off, he fell to the ground. “I’ll deprave…*cough*you…*cough*of your right…to kill…*cough*your parents’…killer…ha…ha…”

He died, with a smile on his face, happy that I wasn’t the one who killed him.

Now, with my remaining lifespan, I was alone, looking at the corpses of the people I couldn’t protect. I’m sorry father…I have failed you…I have failed the kingdom…

[]

This guy is irritating! He keeps on attacking me without letting the explosion hit him! I tried using offensive skills, but none was able to hit him! Why is Song of Steel not working on him!?

I’m still at three fourths of my health. It will take long, but I’m sure to lose if this keeps up. What did he drink anyway!?

Should I use that? It’s would be risky, but it’s better than losing slowly…

As an aegis knight, my skills are composed of defensive buffs, party buffs, and single target skills that are useless against well equipped players. But that’s not all. There’s a spell more useless than my single target offensive skills: berserk mode.

My physical damage will be increased by fifty percent of my physical and magical defense, and also gives me a large boost in speed; but at the cost of losing ninety percent of my physical and magical defense. I’ll get higher damage, but I’ll lose my specialty. There are also a few offensive skills that I can only use during berserk mode.

In terms of boss fighting, mob clearing, and fighting against players, being a tank is a thousand times better. But against this guys who moves too fast, rendering most of my skills useless, berserk mode is the best choice. It’s risky, but with this, I’ll have a chance to win.

“Just give up-”

“Berserk mode!”

My body started emitting red light. “I’ll go all out! Blood Release!”

Blood Release is a special skill for beast-kins. It increases my attack and speed, which is normally useless when I play as tank. But it really goes well with berserk mode.

My body was filled with red tattoos, and my white hair turned red. My body feels light, I feel like I could do anything, and I feel like…I want to kill…

I jumped to the enemy and slashed downwards. “Die!”

My swing created a thunderous sound, temporarily distorting space, creating a large fissure on the ground. He was able to evade, but that one swing made him hesitate.

“I want to kill! Let me kill you! Let me kill you! Let me kill you!” I said with a crazed expression before jumping again to the enemy with the intention of ripping him apart.

His body, his soul, his very existence, I want to destroy everything!