Kashi groaned as he dropped to a knee. His muscles ached as he fought back against the spear bearing down on him. But try as he might, Razznik's blade grew closer to his face with each passing second. The daeben cursed and then weakened the pressure from his left hand which caused his spear to bend to the left. As a result, Razznik's spear followed the inclined slope, and then harmlessly crashed into the earth.

Kashi seized this opportunity. He sent the right side of the shaft shoot upwards to Razznik's exposed chin. BAM! To the daeben's shock, Razznik as if expecting this very move, grabbed the shaft before it could reach his jaw, having already let go of his spear the moment it began to slide.

Razznik glared at the daeben, his fierce gaze akin to the burning coals in hell. "No improvement whatsoever." Razznik kicked out, his boot crashing into the daeben's midriff. The impact caused Kashi to double over, eyes glazing over in pain. Razznik then whirled Kashi's spear and bashed him with the shaft.

Kashi was once again sent flying, only this time, he scraped along the floor, cutting himself on several sword and spear edges. The daeben eventually came to a pitiful stop, blood pooling out of numerous wounds. He had no time to rest however, as he quickly pushed himself up and then bounced backward.

BOOM!

Reality proved Kashi made the right choice as Razznik appeared next to, and then slammed the spear onto the daeben's previous location. Kashi groaned as he fixed a broken arm back in place and then glared at the man walking towards him. "You. It's easy for you to lecture me when you're a freaking god." He laughed through bloodied teeth as he challenged, "Do you really believe this would be one-sided if we—"

"On the same level?" Razznik taunted, his gaze turning harsher. "Same strength? Same speed? Is that your excuse?" The warrior sneered as he corrected, "Idiot. If I did not go out of my way to tie my stats to yours, do you really believe you could have withstood a single breath?"

"What?"

Razznik let out a snide laugh. "You still don't get it? The moment you got here, both our stats were aligned to be the exact same. The reason I seem stronger lies in the difference in our training." Razznik dropped the spear and then picked up a sword. He ran his fingers across the blade, his expression distant as he remarked, "Even the sharpest blade will rust or dull if it is not regularly sharpened and polished." He turned to look at Kashi in abject disgust. "You were handed the sharpest blade one could possibly have. But, not only did you not try to improve it, you failed to even give the minimum care, content with your superiority over mediocre opponents."

Razznik's eyes flitted over to a bow. With a snide grunt, he pulled it out of the ground and then flung it at Kashi, who in turn, instinctively caught it. "You chose the path of an archer, did you not? Something different. A path of your own to follow." As he spoke, he dropped his sword and then pulled out another bow, while a quiver of arrows appeared on both his and Kashi's backs.

Razznik notched an arrow, and then pulled the string to full length as he trained the bow at Kashi. "This path you evidently chose. Just how far did you go with it?" BOOM!

The earth erupted with a shattering boom as Kashi explosively retreated. The daeben grasped his bow, a pensive expression on his face as he quickly notched an arrow. His eyes darted around, searching for Razznik. Above! Kashi looked to the sky, and sure enough, Razznik appeared there, already letting an arrow loose.

To Kashi's shock, the single arrow split mid-flight into a salvo of dozens, which then rained upon the daeben with great prejudice. The daeben cursed as he dashed to the side, weaving his way through the onslaught. Occasionally, he would shoot down arrows that got dangerously close, but despite his best efforts, he was forced on the defensive throughout the battle.

"Look at you!" Razznik cursed as he chased the daeben through the battlefield. "Is this what you call Mastery? You chose this path yourself, yet your bow has been nothing but a gimmick! A tool useful only for Ferulic's skills. All this time and you are still stuck in Intermediate Mastery. Do you not realize why that is!?" Razznik watched Kahi weave through the onslaught. No matter how trashy the daeben had gotten, at least one thing that didn't slacken was his instinct for danger... But this was far from enough. Growling, Razznik warned, "Watch your step."

!!!

Following Razznik's warning, Kashi felt a chill run up his spine as he realized he was heading for a cliff wall. No wonder it had seemed so easy to counter the warrior's arrows. Razznik had been guiding him to this very destination. "Fuck!" Kashi cursed as he came to a hard stop and then turned around. The daeben's sharp stop inevitably caused him to get struck by a couple of arrows.

Razznik paused, eyes gleaming as he watched Kashi get consumed by the resulting explosion. "Good call," he praised. He made to notch an arrow, but then suddenly stopped and quickly backed off.

VWOOM!

Razznik's decision proved to be the right one as a giant arrow blasted right past where he initially stood. He stopped three paces back, but then suddenly jerked his head to the right. To his surprise, a small, unassuming arrow nicked his cheek as it zipped past. If he had been any slower, that arrow would have torn through his nose. Razznik tapped the blood leaking from the wound, and then looked at Kashi, who was bloodied all over from severe injuries but had a defiant glare.

"Three paces back," Kashi taunted. "Not too close—"

"Not too far. Same as always" finished Razznik. "Good. You at least still have some common sense to utilize my habits against me." Razznik raised his bow and then looked at Kashi. "Which is why this is all the more unforgivable. With everything you know, all the gifts you've inherited. If you just applied yourself, you would have conquered any field. Instead, you do not even know the first thing about being an archer."

Kashi grimaced as he gripped his bow. He wanted to retort. Say Razznik did not know what he was talking about. Who said he did not know anything about archery? He was definitely in the top percentile amongst the archers in Destia. However, the longer he thought about it, the more he realized the truth. The archery he was proud of was the one inherited by Razznik and Suzuki.

Neither men were archers by nature, and so, to them, the bow was just a tool useful for specific scenarios. This was the archery Kashi inherited. If he truly wanted to treat the bow as his own path, he would have diligently studied and practiced archery. Instead, he had always treated the bow as a vehicle for Ferulic's Overpowered Bow Techniques.

Kashi's lackadaisical attitude towards the bow was further compounded by the fact that he had not searched for any Archery training grounds since leaving Kerta. It seemed that subconsciously, he had already begun to consider himself a King, and as a result, neglected his training. Kashi's eyes grew grim. Who was he kidding? Razznik was absolutely right. He had become complacent and proud. He was trash.

"It would seem you are not beyond saving," Razznik muttered as he dropped to the ground. He dropped the bow and then took slow, but deliberate steps towards Kashi. "In fact, I would have considered forgiving you, were it not for your true sin."

"Forgive?" Kashi spat with a cold sneer. No matter how despondent Kashi felt, he would not give this man the satisfaction he sought. "You aren't even Razznik. He is dead. Who are you to forgive me?"

Razznik stopped a couple of meters away from Kashi. His gaze narrowed. "Who am I? I have had thousands of years to ponder that exact question. Do you want to know what I decided?"

"I—" BOOM! Kashi grimaced as he blocked Razznik's punch with the bow. Razznik, seemingly unperturbed, took a step forward. He alternated his arm and then launched another devastating punch. "AM—" BOOM! The impact caused cracks to run across the bow. Kashi grimaced but could only raise the bow one more time, as the next punch swiftly followed. "RAZZNIK!" BOOOOM!

Kashi frowned as the bow shattered to pieces, sending shrapnel flying in every direction. The daeben quickly expelled ki from his body, forming a mini shockwave that blasted away the shrapnel. Unfortunately, before he could celebrate this mini accomplishment, a hand tore through the ki wave and grabbed his throat.

"I know who I am," said Razznik as he slowly squeezed Kashi's throat. "Who are you? Who is Kashi? For whom do you fight? For what do you live? What is your goal? Your goal—not some meaningless quest handed to you by some game character. You do not have any, do you? You claim you want to unite the world but only do so because it was the first quest given to you. If the daeben got to you first, you would just as easily followed them."

Razznik's eyes burned with rage as he tightened his grip. "It is this stupid attitude of yours that makes you think lounging around doing nothing productive is a wise course of action." Razznik wanted to say more, but then Kashi coughed, floundering as he fought to suck in air through increasingly tighter airways. Kashi murmured something during this struggle which caught Razznik's attention. Curious, Razznik relaxed his grip as he questioned, "What did you say?"

To Razznik's shock, Kashi's eyes suddenly blazed with flaming rage. "Fool Me Once!" SHIK!

Razznik's eyes widened in shock as Kashi stabbed a pair of arrows into his arm, just below the elbow. The daeben then ruthlessly dragged the arrows towards himself, tearing a giant gash down Razznik's arm in the process.

Razznik lips twitched as he involuntarily released Kashi, having lost nerve contact with his fingers. "Ah. I forgot," he muttered as he examined the gash on his arm while Kashi quickly backed off. "That dragon killed you the same way, didn't he?" Razznik then flexed his right arm, issuing a small smile as the terrible injury healed at a speed visible to the human eye. "My apologies. I will not insult you like that next time."

Next time? Kashi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. 'Like hell there'll be a next time.' The daeben, no longer satisfied with consistently being on the defense, suddenly charged at Razznik.

Razznik, faced with the daeben's charge, likewise clenched his fist and waited. Once Kashi was within range, he unleashed an explosive punch. Kashi's gaze narrowed as Razznik's fist zipped to his face, seemingly expanding in size until it seemingly covered his vision. Kashi knew this was just an illusion, a trick of the mind that affected the weak-minded or fearful.

Kashi let out a breath and then shut his eyes. Following his instincts, he ducked to the bottom left, and then dashed forward. BAM! Kashi's brain rocked within his skull as his face crashed against Razznik's knee. Evidently, Razznik had also predicted this course of action and reacted accordingly.

Kashi's head flew back, blood spurting from his nose like a fountain. The daeben, however, buried the pain as his eyes flew open. His vision was soon covered by Razznik's palm as the warrior grabbed him by his hair. Kashi quickly formed a barrier with his arms, protecting his face as Razznik crashed the daeben's head against his knee multiple times.

Eventually, Razznik tossed Kashi across the wasteland and then watched as the daeben rolled along the ground. Razznik paused, and then examined his arm. The gash was almost non-existent, but a new scar had joined the rest. He clenched his fist and then glared at Kashi. "To be honest, I do not care what you do with your life. But your actions... Have you ever stopped to think about how your selfishness affects Suzuki?"

Kashi groaned as he coughed up blood, and then stumbled to his feet. Through swollen, bloodied eyes, he could barely make out Razznik's blurry form. "What the hell are you talking about? What do you know about Suzuki."

"Nothing," confessed Razznik. The warrior's gaze grew strong and heated as he clenched his fists. "I know absolutely nothing! Except for the fact that your selfishness is leading him to his death!" Razznik paused. Suddenly, an evil glint appeared in his eyes. "Maybe that's your plan? You want him dead, so you can take ov—"

"SHUT UP!" Kashi screamed. He visibly trembled with rage, blood dripping from his palms as his nails dug deep. "You can insult me all you want, but don't you dare question my loyalty to Suzuki! You think I will ever harm him?"

"HA!" snorted Razznik as he stormed to the daeben's front. Kashi, too weak to resist, could do nothing as he was grabbed by the hair once again. This time, however, Razznik slammed his forehead against the daeben's. "Then tell me. If you care so much about Suzuki when was the last time you willingly seceded your time in this world without either the threat of getting auto-logged out or some other issue out of your control?"

Kashi hesitated. "I—"

"You cannot remember, can you?" Razznik pressed with a sneer. "I have watched every moment of your life from the day you arrived. Looking at you, anyone would be forgiven for thinking you are the main consciousness, and Suzuki is the sub." The warrior's fiery gaze burned into Kashi's. "You know, don't you? Suzuki wants to die. But he will never commit suicide. He needs you to do it for him. To limit his ties to the living, he willingly lets you have as much time as you want. He is hoping your drive will be stronger when the inevitable battle comes."

Razznik snorted and then released the daeben. He cursed and then walked away, muttering countless swears beneath his breath. Eventually, he stopped and then rested against a tower shield stuck in the ground. He took a breath to calm his raging emotions and then glared at Kashi. "Ever since you came in here, you have stayed as long as you possibly could. You made plans with the assumption that nothing would force you out, never once considering what that would do to Suzuki. Did you forget? You are supposed to exist on Parallel roads, both existing, but never intersecting. Who gave you the right to destroy Suzuki's road?"

Kashi listlessly stared at Razznik, the fight gone from his eyes. Compared to all of Razznik's criticisms, this was the first that actually cut to his heart. When he thought back to his time over the past in-game year, he had to admit that he had indeed been selfish beyond reason. Just because Suzuki never asked, Kashi only left the game willingly, less than a handful of times.

Just as Razznik said, anyone would be forgiven for thinking Kashi was the main character, while Suzuki was a tacked-on extra. There was simply no excuse. Kashi could claim he did not mean it all he wanted. He could say he did not know. But the truth was, his mindset, even after Suzuki revealed the truth never changed. Despite boasting that he would find a way for them both to live, he never once thought of sacrificing his time for Suzuki.

Suzuki stared at Razznik with a hollow gaze. "I..."

"Do not bother," spat Razznik. "I cannot have Suzuki believing your stupid lifestyle is correct." His gaze hardened as he pulled out a sword from the ground. "There is no worth in keeping you alive. Suzuki can always make a new personality and start from scratch." Razznik walked up to, and then placed the sword against Kashi's neck. "Hopefully, they take this lesson to heart." His gaze narrowed, a sinister glint in his eyes, as he raised the sword. "Well, as long as they appear before me, I will cut down as many as do not."

WHOOSH!

Clang!

Razznik's eyes widened as he looked at the being that held his blade in its hands. A humanoid figure shrouded in white light. It was impossible to make out any defining features from this presence, but Razznik knew that his time was up the moment it appeared.

'Tch' Razznik cursed as he looked at the mysterious figure. "Are you going to interrupt me, Light-kun?"

The light shimmered as if in amusement as the somber voice of a forty/fifty-year-old man replied, "Your naming laziness never ceases to amaze me." The figure then tapped the sword. Razznik's gaze remained even as the sword crumbled to pieces that harmlessly fell to the floor. The being nicknamed Light then placed its palm on Kashi's shoulder. "I agreed to bring him to you. I never said you could kill him."

Razznik grunted and folded his arms. "Fine. But I still need to smack some more sense into him. You can wait a little longer."

Light shook its head. "No. I am afraid you have run out of time. Any more time spent here will put a significant strain on the young man's brain. Perhaps even cause permanent damage. Are you willing to risk that?"

Razznik glared at Kashi. Moments later, he picked up a sword and rested it on his shoulder. "He's not worth it," said Razznik as he waved Light away. "Get him out of my sight before I change my mind."

"Heh. Something you actually care about," Light remarked as a bright halo spread from his palm and engulfed Kashi. "I cannot tell you how fascinating this is. Then and now, two different men, but retaining the same obsession."

"Shut it." Razznik cursed as he snapped his fingers. If Kashi could see through the light around him, he would have been stunned to see the broken pieces of armor rising up from the ground. Within moments, every cracked armor and weapon was good as new. However, the truly shocking thing was what followed.

Dark energy poured out of Razznik in droves, pouring into these pieces of armor and clothing. The energy solidified within seconds and then transformed to clones of Razznik.

Without warning, the landscape transformed from a wasteland devoid of life to a battlefield packed with warriors and mages from countless classes waiting for some sort of signal.

Light pulsed as it looked across the battlefield. "I will never understand what drives you." As he said that, he snapped his fingers. The light around Kashi suddenly compressed to the size of a tennis ball. A portal leading to a dark zone appeared, which he then flicked the ball into.

Razznik's gaze narrowed as he watched the portal close. Before it closed completely, he suddenly stared at the ball and transmitted a message only he could hear. The portal closed thereafter and Razznik turned his attention to the battlefield.

Light watched from above as Razznik announced, "Same rule as always. No system skills. Let's see who lives the longest this time..."

Light pulsed, its thoughts unknown as it watched the ensuing carnage as thousands of Razznik's slaughtered each other in a bid to improve just a smidgen bit more. S0 it had been thousands of years ago when it first met this man. An endless drive to get stronger...

It wondered... Why had such a man easily accepted death?

Nornesh's Lair.

Five Minutes after Kashi's Death.

Nornesh scratched his head as he fended off a fiercely pissed off Syèl. He did not mean to kill Kashi, and he could not kill Syèl, even though the vampire was getting on his nerves. Honor dictated he had to let the halben's anger run its course. However, what if he knocked him out? That should cool him off, right?

Just as Nornesh was considering this shortcut, a bright light burst out by the mana-pool. Nornesh turned to the pool in shock. He had kept Kashi's body there, so the barrier protected it from Syèl's rampage. At this moment, however, he suddenly felt powerful life energy, the likes of which he'd never seen, bursting out of the daeben's body.

The light's distraction caused him to miss a step. As a result, he finally ate Syèl's rage-fueled fist to his jaw.

"That does it!" Nornesh roared. He made to punch the halben but paused when he noticed the vampire staring slack-jawed into space. "What're you looking at?"

"Visible." Syèl listlessly muttered and then turned to look at Kashi.

Nornesh's brows shot up, an incredulous look in his eyes as he looked at the now visible prompt.