Chapter 50 : Battle at The Forest (4) "No.. Ian!", Crane bellowed with rage. Seeing one of his subordinates died in front of his eyes was a huge blow toward his pride. Ragna didn't pay any attention toward him, he just moved toward his next target, the priests. They were all in the rear position because one of the archer's task was to protect the priests. Actually, it was supposed to be the thieves' job but Ragna had killed them all. Crane was at the center position, but he couldn't do anything. He quickly shouted, "Jeanne, Brute, Brann! What are you doing! Come ever here and protect us!" Even though he knew he had to protect his subordinates, he was a normal mage, unlike Ragna. He couldn't just charge toward him like a warrior because that was just similar to him throwing away his life for free. He decided to just start chanting for another spell while waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. The priests were frantic when Ragna approached them. They quickly chanted for magical resistance boost for themselves. Unfortunately, before they could finish chanting it, a boulder was already thrown toward them. Bam! One of the priests instantly died because she was hit by the full brunt of the attack. The other priest had managed to dodge in time but his chant was interrupted. He quickly tried to start chanting it again, but unfortunately, Ragna was already in front of him with his dagger brandished. Shua! Ragna's dagger cleanly sliced the priest's throat. The blood gushed like a waterfall, it was the sign of a critical hit! The priest could only stare at him slack-jawed while Ragna continued to swiftly throw a few slash toward his body. In just a moment, the priest lost his life and fell to the ground. It was at this moment that the ground beneath him flashed with blue light. Magical symbol formed in a blink of an eye and a frost lotus appeared from the ground. It quickly exploded into countless flakes of snow! Ice Lotus! Crane's eyes flashed with cold light. He too was unwilling to see his subordinates suffer from enemy's attack. It was one of his strongest skill which he had gotten from a difficult quest. If the target got hit by it right at the center, the target would undoubtedly suffer no matter how thick their health was. Unfortunately for Crane, Ragna had dodged it right before it could hit him. Even though he suffered some damage from the explosion, his health was still nowhere near depleted. "What a terrifying skill.. So the rumor is indeed true. Crane really put an astonishing amount of his point into his intelligence. That should mean he doesn't have many points in his endurance", Ragna quickly charged toward Crane. If he couldn't kill him quickly, he would suffer from another of his attack. Seeing Ragna made his way toward him, Crane didn't flinch. He started chanting for another spell with a solemn expression. It was at this moment that a female swordsman showed up to block Ragna's path. She was Jeanne, the highest leveled player on Crane's side. "You will die here!", she shouted while brandishing her sword. The sword was thin, but it had a strange pattern engraved on its blade. From the looks of it, the sword should be nothing common. Her movement turned blurry as her sword slashed toward Ragna. In a blink of an eye, she had slashed three times toward him. It was a skill exclusive to Swordsman, Blade Dance. The principle of the skill was to send a number of sword slash as a projectile toward the opponent. The range wasn't that great and the skill was considered to be a semi-ranged attack. The number of slashes would increase as the skill progressed further. Normally, swordsman could only slash for up to two times, but Jeanne actually had the capability to send out three slashes! Ragna could see Jeanne's attack coming toward him. Brann and Brute were also moving toward his back to surround him while Crane was silently chanting for another of his strongest skill. The situation was dire! However, Ragna's expression was one of excitement! Only in this kind of difficult situation would his blood boils! "It seems like I can't hide my skill anymore." Suddenly, the dagger in his hand disappeared and his Ancient Blood Gloves materialized. Ragna quickly closed his eyes and his hand started glowing with crimson colored light. All of his opponents were startled when they saw him closing his eyes. At this kind of moment, it would be unwise for them to think that Ragna had accepted his death. They knew that he must be up to something! Unfortunately, they didn't have any choice but to continue attacking, especially for Jeanne who had already sent her attack. Everyone watched with their eyes glued to Ragna. The sword slashes were about to hit him! Suddenly, Ragna's body swayed mysteriously. He moved his body in a strange manner. His move seemed natural and yet otherworldly. One slash.. Two slashes.. Three slashes! He managed to dodge all of them! No.. It was as if the attack actually helped him to dodge. He used the force from the attack to help him! Everyone was shocked when they saw the scene that was happening right in front of their eyes. Bro, you can dodge that kind of movement while closing your eyes? Why don't you just go and join a circus! Their shock didn't last long. After broken through Jeanne's sword slashes, Ragna was now right in front of her. The glow in his finger had reached its peak and he quickly swiped his hand toward Jeanne's body. Crimson Claw Strike! Jeanne was thrown flying into Crane's position. Ragna wanted to use her as a distraction to disrupt Crane's chant. After flinging her, he turned toward Brann and Brute and sent another Crimson Claw Strike toward them, sending them flying in the same manner. He was about to resume his attack toward Crane and Jeanne when he suddenly sensed an intense feeling of danger. He hurriedly looked at Crane who was pointing his finger at him. Apparent in his eyes were a boundless killing intent. His chant hadn't been interrupted! He too, possessed incredible willpower and concentration! "FROST NOVA!" Suddenly, a huge sphere made of frost materialized above Crane. It then made its way toward Ragna in an indescribable speed. At his current situation, he wouldn't be able to dodge it by just swaying his body. The projectile was too huge! It was Crane's strongest and his signature skill! Whooosh!! Ragna looked at the incoming frost sphere. Actually, he could dodge the attack by taking a huge damage. However, he didn't choose to dodge. Instead, he decided to face it frontally! His lips turned into a smile and his eyes were flashing with a desire to battle. He didn't want to retreat.. He wanted to fight! COME AT ME! It was at this moment that Ragna entered another trance-like state. His right hand was extended in front of his chest while his left hand was kept closer to his body. A strange light enveloped both of his hand and his hand movement suddenly turned blurry. ESSENCE MANIPULATION! The Frost Nova suddenly stopped in its tracks when it was right in front of Ragna's palm. Ragna quickly pulled his right hand back and strangely, the force inside the attack was slowly being dispersed by him. His left hand moved to the position where his right hand had been to continue dispersing the attack. Ragna's health was rapidly depleting but the Frost Nova in front of him was also being dispersed in a terrifying speed. Finally, he extended both of his hand back to the front of his chest and slowly pulled it to both of his sides. He was tearing the spell apart! Shua! The Frost Nova was forcefully torn by Ragna! The residue of the attack enveloped his hands and if we looked closely, we could see that in both of Ragna's hand were a small-sized Frost Novas! His Essence Manipulation was a success! Ding! You have successfully executed the Essence Manipulation to steal the force from a Magical Attack. Because of its difficulty, 25% of the Frost Nova's attack will be added to your next attack. Your next attack will also share a similar property to it. Ding! Because of your impressive feat, your Essence Manipulation skill proficiency has risen. Essence Manipulation : Beginner Level 3 -> Beginner Level 5 Ding! You have been granted an additional reward : All stats +5 A barrage of notification screen appeared in front of Ragna but he didn't pay any attention toward them. While letting out a loud roar, he swung both of his arms to the direction of Crane and Jeanne. Instead of the normal ranged attack of the Crimson Claw Strike, the attack now consisted of a crimson-colored Frost Nova that emitted terrifying pressure! Crimson Nova Strike! The attack moved toward Crane and Jeanne in an indescribable speed. They didn't try to dodge or do anything. They were only looking at the incoming Crimson Nova with a lifeless expression. Everything that had happened was too much for them to process. If there was one thing in their mind, it should be that they really regretted provoking him. Ragna was just too terrifying after all. BAM! The attack killed them instantly. Without both of them, the battle was already as good as over. ... Crane opened his eyes. He was inside his room at a boarding house. He too was a freshman like Raka. His expression was full of disappointment. Never had he thought that Ragna would be THAT powerful. His mind was still in shock but suddenly the sound of a message notification woke him up from that state. He let out a deep sigh and opened his phone. It was from his in-game group. Jeanne : Boss, are you okay? Ian : Boss, are you okay? Drom : Boss, hello? Brann : Boss! Don't commit suicide! Crane quickly typed a message to answer them. Crane : I'm sorry.. Before he could put his phone back, a barrage of notification flooded the chat. It was, of course, his subordinates. Jeanne : Don't be... Brute : I should be the one saying sorry.. he moved past me easily.. Ian : BOSS! IT WAS MY FAULT! I was incompetent T.T Drom : NO! It should be me! I can't gather enough information! Punish me! Liana : He may be fierce! But you are the coolest, Boss!! ... .. Seeing all the concern from his subordinates, Crane couldn't help but reveal a slight smile. He quickly turned his phone off and began to think what he should do in the future. "At least, I'll ask him to spare them. They had nothing to do with him after all.. Everything is my fault", Crane muttered silently. ... Inside the Digdaya Corporation HQ.. "Patih! We found something in the Astral Realm! It's the signal of a Soul Ranked Skill!" One of the operators hurriedly shouted. "Soul Ranked Skill? Impossible.. at this stage of the game, there's no way that a player can unlock the Realm of Soul! Where did the signal come from?" Patih exclaimed. The operator answered him apologetically, "I don't know Patih, the signal only appeared in just a second. It seemed like the Skill hasn't been perfectly mastered, resulting only in a slight fluctuation." Patih sucked a deep breath of cold air, "To be able to excite the fluctuation of a Soul Ranked Skill! It should be impossible for normal players. Unless.. he's one of Nayana's successor!" Patih added, "I need to report this to Prabu. Pay more attention to the general direction of the signal. We won't be able to directly monitor them once they've entered the Ruin!", The black robed Patih quickly turned around and vanished from the control room. "As you commanded, Patih", The operator bowed to the spot where Patih was with pious expression in his eyes.