'Even my blink is on cooldown, damnit…' Dexter thought.
Mana swirled around him — crimson and burning — until it formed a tornado of fire, devouring all the oxygen in its surrounding.
If not for Dexter's ultra-gaming instinct and his familiarity with mana (thanks to Gridlock's training), he would have been consumed alive by the Fire Tornado.
Switching his teleportation sandals for cloth armor — one that granted five seconds of invulnerability upon taking any damage, no matter how small — he tanked the Fire Tornado, laughing like a demon in his absurd getup.
"You know, Fiery Mistress… or whoever you are, you just gave me a brilliant idea…"
Nika stared at him in disgust, her right eye twitching at Dexter's cringeworthy act.
'This perverted man — who looks like some random wizard who forgot his pants — still has the nerve to laugh at a time like this…'
Dexter's cloak flapped wildly in the burning tornado's winds, his hands planted on his waist — or rather, the sides of his loincloth — while he wore a scholar's top, smoke curling around him. He laughed like a maniac… until suddenly, his laughter turned to panic.
"FUCK! FIVE SECONDS IS TOO SHORT!"
He then transformed his cloth armor into a healing staff, continuously restoring his health. Thanks to the surrounding flames, his rolled dry leaf burned away much faster than usual.
"You really don't give me a choice, do you?!" Dexter screamed between healing spells.
Lowering his stance, he rushed toward Nika with a determined glare.
Alert, Nika hurled Fireballs at Dexter every second. Thanks to the narrow path and her AoE skills, he had no room to dodge sideways.
But Dexter, in a sudden stroke of brilliance, did something even Nika hadn't anticipated.
With every Fireball she launched at him, he hurled a random piece of equipment from his inventory to block it.
"Th… that's allowed?!" Nika's eyes widened in shock.
Dexter laughed, but deep inside, he was crying.
'MY EQUIPMENT! MY MONEY!'
'If not for this cramped space, I could've run far away!'
'I can't even go deeper — AIs will flood this dungeon if that happens. Better to exit now than later…'
As he neared her, Dexter swung his Holy Staff at Nika, but she blocked it effortlessly.
Yet something unexpected happened — a dagger materialized out of nowhere and stabbed her in the neck.
Nika collapsed from the pain. Thankfully, her HP was high; otherwise, the sudden Dagger Strike might have killed her.
"FUCK, I'M MELTING!"
Now wearing nothing but a loincloth, Dexter bolted for the exit, ignoring Nika, who had fallen onto her butt.
…
Players around the dungeon entrance were shocked by the sudden appearance of a naked man bursting out.
They laughed hysterically as they watched Dexter sprinting, his loincloth flapping wildly in the wind.
"Look at that pervert… running naked in this area. Is he some newcomer who got lost?"
"Maybe an exhibitionist…"
"Don't mind him… focus… unless you want Ma'am FlamEmpress to burn you alive…"
A few minutes later, Nika, GreenBlob, and Lucy-chan emerged from the dungeon. Lucy-chan was supporting GreenBlob, who kept murmuring "kill me…" intermittently.
Looking around, Nika was glad to see her guild members waiting outside with happy expressions and expectant gazes — fooling her into thinking they had captured Dexter.
'Good… Let's see how that cheater changes equipment without using a bag,' she thought.
"Where's the cheater?" Nika demanded.
"W-who's the cheater, Ma'am?"
"The one who exited this dungeon… naked…" Remembering Dexter's attire, Nika couldn't help but blush.
"Ohhh…"
The players glanced at each other, unsure how to respond, until some fool happily pointed northwest, grinning.
"He went that way, Ma'am!"
Nika, who had never cursed before, did so for the first time in her life.
"FUCKING IDIOTS! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, clutching her neck as her blood pressure spiked.
…
Dexter was using Blink and Sprint on cooldown, racing through each zone — with five more remaining before the Blackreach Throne.
"/WorldMap."
A map interface appeared before him. He zoomed in on the Warring Kingdom region, checking his position.
"Now, where should I go? The rocky road or the forest?"
'Damn, it's so hard to decide… If I choose the forest, some roleplayer like Stella might be lurking there, acting like a ninja. If I take the rocky road, I'll probably run into a horde of gankers…'
'Damn this game… The difficulty keeps spiking. Good thing I can't die — bad thing is my fucking sellable equipment is now worth 82 million total.'
Walking dejectedly, Dexter chose to proceed northeast — toward the forest.
"If they're playing ninja there, then I'll do the same…"
'/Destiny.'
◸ Crafting Mastery: Level 60 (Can craft Tier VI equipment and below)
Refining Mastery: Level 60 (Can refine Tier VI materials – TVI 1 Raw + TV 2 Refined = TVI Refined)
Weapon and Armor Mastery: Level 96 (All Equipment) – Can now wear Tier 7 equipment.
Weapon and Armor Specialization: Level 45 (All Equipment) – Damage/Healing increased by 4.5%
Lifeskills: Level 23 (All Tools) – Can now gather Tier V raw materials using Tier IV tools. ◿[1]
'Leveling up through killing is so easy...'
'My decision keeps changing as I watch my level rise so quickly... Should I focus on killing? Or crafting? Maybe both? Ah, whatever...'
…
After entering the Forest Zone near the Kingdom of Eldermere, Dexter looked up, trying to see the tops of the towering trees before him.
"Damn, they're too tall..."
Casting Blink, he landed on a thick branch high above.
'Better act like a ninja now.'
Dexter changed his teleportation sandals for leather shoes that granted long-jump abilities, while transforming his other bracer into a sword capable of long-range slashes.
Exploiting the sword's extended reach, he leapt from branch to branch through the forest canopy like a monkey.
His original plan to travel from Sunscar Kingdom to Blackreach Throne within a day was failing — dusk was already swallowing the daylight.
Resting on a sturdy branch, Dexter retrieved some food from his inventory: grilled fish that Stella had insisted on giving him.
'/w Stella Arzois Hey, how are you? I don't think I can make it back home tonight...'
(Dex! I thought you forgot about me... It's okay, stay safe. I'm in Sunscar Kingdom talking with merchants. Someone even told me about a man running around naked, trying to buy a mount at a discount... At first I thought it was you, but when they described him... I knew it couldn't be.)
'Oh fuck...'
'/r Why did you think it wasn't me?'
(Well... a woman said he was incredibly handsome and masculine — like some kind of idol or something.)
'/r So you're telling me I'm not?!'
(Did I say that? Teehee~)
[1] Changing system design to reduce usage of brackets.