BOOM!

Kashi grinned as he slid to the right, barely dodging the chain devil's snake-like chains. The sickles smashed into the ground, caving the earth. The daeben paid no attention to the devastation as he skillfully weaved his way through the chains. The daeben, not one to only receive gifts, retaliated with a flurry of arrows whenever he got the chance, but the chains around the devil protected him, swatting most aside.

Whoosh! Bam!

The chain devil roared in rage as an arrow zipped past its defenses and struck its chest. Unfortunately, however, the devil's skin was too thick, and the strike only managed a minor injury. Kashi was not bothered too much, as he knew it wasn't a matter of his strength, but the sharpness of his arrows. He had been using level 100-120 arrows for a while now, but those level of arrows lacked the sharpness needed to pierce a monster of this level.

It was like using a plastic knife to cut human skin. No matter how strong the person wielding the knife was, as long as the blade wasn't sharp, the exercise would remain futile. The daeben made a mental note to order a new batch of arrows from the dwarves next time he visited Merriheim.

Enraged, the chain devil dashed at the daeben and struck its fist down at him. Chains wrapped around its arm flew ahead to ensnare the daeben and make sure he could not escape.

Kashi watched the incoming fist, and his gaze narrowed. Rather than retreat, the daeben charged toward the chain devil as black ki suffused around his right arm.

Bam! Boom!

Kashi dodged the chains with exquisite footwork, gaze focused until he reached the chain devil. The daeben looked at the fist that seemed to blot out the light and lashed out with a punch of his own to meet the chain devil's.

The chain devil roared in anger when it saw Kashi dared to challenge it in a show of strength and piled even more force into its punch. Whoosh! However, seemingly at the last moment, Kashi suddenly spun in place, sidestepping the fist. The chain devil was already a spent force at this stage, unable to retract its punch.

Kashi, who had been waiting for this very opportunity, suddenly punched out at the devil's arm. The massive force sent the devil's arm flying to the side, forcing the rest of its body to spin with it. The daeben seized this chance and rushed into the chained devil's space. He jumped and then delivered a devastating punch to the devil's gut.

The chained devil groaned in pain and staggered backward, momentarily stunned by the massive blow. But Kashi was far from done. Ever one to capitalize on a chance, the daeben unleashed [Asura] on the exposed midriff. The chained devil repeatedly coughed up blood as the blows bypassed its tough skin to wreak havoc on its vital organs.

BOOM!
The final blow threw the chained devil off its feet into the air. Most monsters would have needed a few seconds to regain clarity after that beatdown focused on its weakness, but the chained devil was a veteran of torture. It only needed a moment in the air before it regained its senses.

Whoosh!

The chains moved independently of the devil and zipped toward the daeben, who was momentarily locked in the final animation for [Asura]. That animation only lasted half a second, but in the realm of experts, half a second was enough to determine the winner and loser of a battle.

Kashi's gaze narrowed as he watched the chains descend upon him faster than bullets. However, there was no panic in his eyes. He had the best back-up in the world after all.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Clang!

A dozen arrows suddenly flew past the daeben and smacked the chains to the side, altering their path. Krrr! Unfortunately, however, a single chain zipped past the defenses and slithered toward the exposed daeben. Not even the Archery would be able to release another volley in time to block it. Nothing was stopping it now!

Clang!

However, just as it was on the cusp of success, a big clash rang out, and the chain was deflected to swipe past the daeben. The chain devil, who was still airborne, glared at the white-haired assassin who had suddenly appeared in front of the daeben, daggers drawn.

Blood dripped down Shadow's right arm, but his gaze remained even. This was a fair price to pay for blocking that deathblow. Shadow glared at the airborne chain devil then whispered, "Go."

"Of course," Kashi replied as an unbelievable amount of ki surged around him. With both [Ferulic's Spirit Technique] and [Angel Step's Technique] activated, Kashi's speed reached an unprecedented height.

BOOM!

Shadow swayed in place, blanketed by the sonic boom that erupted after Kashi launched ahead at full speed. The chain devil could barely hold in its shock when the daeben suddenly appeared above it, holding two of its chains in his hands.

Kashi did not give the devil a chance to react and instantly flogged the devil with its chains. His arrows might have lacked the sharpness, but the devil's chains were crafted from Darkgold Steel, a rare metal only found in the hottest regions like the depths of volcanoes. This sickles at the end of the chains were more than sharp enough to pierce the monster's skin.

As a result of Kashi's burst in strength, the sickles left deep gashes in the devil's chest as it crashed to the ground.

Kashi let out a roar as he gathered ki in his right hand and then punched out. A ki dragon shot of his arm and slammed into the downed devil, further compounding its injuries. The daeben, however, was far from through with his attacks.

Kashi spun in place, so his head faced the ground, and then 'kicked' the air. A massive explosion of ki ensued, launching the daeben with the force of a bullet into the devil's midriff. The chained devil spasmed, hands and feet flailing upward as it suffered from the deadly blow.

Kashi prepared a follow-up attack, but a thunderous roar burst his eardrums and stalled him for a second.

Booom!
The chained devil burst to its feet as it unleashed an explosion of ki that sent the daeben flying. The devil's red skin glowed bright, its eyes turning fiery red as it entered and 'enraged' state. In this state, the devil's speed and power grew exponentially. It ultimately abandoned defense, and instead chose all-out attack. Issuing a roar, it chased after the daeben, its chains moving ahead to slice off the pest's head.

Kashi's gaze narrowed as he spotted the incoming chains. He quickly righted himself mid-air and kicked the air, sending him flying in another direction. A chain flew by where he had been, but many more slid in from different directions, seemingly cutting off his escape route.

"Now this is interesting," Kashi praised with an excited grin as he bent backward, letting a sickle fly above him. Another chain sliced up from beneath him, but the daeben grabbed the chain that flew overhead and took advantage of its momentum to launch himself out of the other's path.

Kashi let go of the chain and descended onto another zooming beneath. The chain's speed provided enough weight for Kashi to dash across, dodging even more attacks. The daeben laughed as he jumped from one chain to the next, enjoying the reverse game of whack-a-mole.

A minute or so later of nerve-wracking gymnastics, Kashi noticed that the devil's red skin had begun to lose its glow. This was a tell-tale sign that it was about to lose its enraged status. Every gamer knew that the best time to unleash finishers on boss monsters was during the brief respite after a rage attack.

Kashi wielded his bow and glared at the incoming chains. This time, however, he shot to the ground, attracting the chains to follow him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Kahsi whirled around and shot out arrows as the sickles crashed into the ground after failing to crush him. Sharp eyes would have noticed that the number of chains following Kashi reduced over time as the daeben ran circles around the chained devil.

BOOM!

Eventually, the final chain smashed into the ground, and Kashi's aura vanished as he dispelled the techniques. The daeben could not maintain those techniques for too long as they seriously drained his mana and ki when active.

Similarly, the chained devil let out a weak growl as its raged status ended.

"Leila, now!" Kashi roared as he retreated, unwilling to let the opportunity pass.

Whoosh!

Just as Kashi spoke, he spotted a single arrow flying over his head toward the chain devil. Although the bolt wasn't slow by regular human standards, it was extremely slow by the rule of Lv. 150 warriors and monsters.

However, the chained devil's instincts issued loud, terrible warning signs as that arrow flew toward it. It did not know why, but it knew it had to get out of there as soon as possible! The chained devil mustered what strength it had to flee, but a loud clang thwarted its efforts!

The chain devil stared around it, shocked by the realization that its chains had been pinned to the ground by Kashi's arrows. Furthermore, the chains were anchored around it, preventing it from running in any direction! As stated previously, Kashi's arrows were not of the highest levels, meaning it would only take a bit of effort for the devil to pull out its chains.

Unfortunately, however, it would not get that chance. The one second delay caused by realizing it was chained down, was enough for the arrow to reach striking range!

Whoosh!

Kashi stared, shocked as the arrow burst into thousands of silver light petals, thick enough to shroud the entire devil from sight. The sight of those light-petals floating around the stunned devil reminded the daeben of a particular anime Suzuki once watched.

The daeben turned to look at Leila in the distance, who set down her bow as she whispered, "[Thousand Light Petals.]"

Boom!

A bloodcurdling scream rang out as the light petals engulfed the chain devil, sharp edges ripping it to shreds. A few seconds later, the petals dispersed, revealing the badly mangled chain devil. Its skin was shredded beyond recognition, rivers of blood pouring out of exposed veins.

The devil collapsed to the ground, and burst into light petals, leaving behind its chains and some other loot.

After having a taste of custom-made weaponry and armor, Kashi was no longer interested in random loot drops. He took the chains, which had shrunken to fit into his size, and left the rest. The guild would find someone who could make use of the other stuff. That was more of Leila's field than his.

Kashi also received some good news in the form of a level-up notification. No matter how much his XP gain was, clearing a room of cambion generals and killing a chain devil was still worth a few levels, especially when his actual level was so low.

Kashi smiled as he pulled up his stat window. His escapades at Kirkcour Woods, coupled with this dungeon, had increased his level to 132. That was eight levels gained since he first met Marilith. Many gamers would cry foul if this happened to them. To think defeating armies, saving an entire civilization, and clearing a room full of Lv.150 cambion generals netted him only eight levels. However, that was the reality of the massive debuff the daeben was forced to endure.

Surprisingly, however, Kashi was not discouraged by this. This time, the bulk of his experience came not from the monsters he killed, but from the XP given by completing a significant story quest 'Liberating the Centaurs.' Furthermore, gaining their loyalty increased the completion ratio of his primary quest, 'The Continent's Unification,' which also netted him a lot of XP (Experience Points).

Kashi could thus see the new path for himself. Rather than focus on killing monsters, the fastest way to level up would be to subjugate more cities or towns to increase his main quest completion percentage. As with all games, story quests always rewarded more XP (Experience Points).

Kashi closed the window with a satisfied nod, and then turned to the approaching Leila with a smile as he complimented, "Nice Shot..."

VIDEO OF THE DAY

https://youtu.be/IIMA2ZkJ16U