----

The impact of Kieran's Blood Wave left Deserea in a somewhat messy state. Some of her loose garbs were stained with the blood resulting from Kieran's attack.

Because of her natural defenses and the fact the Bleed ailment didn't afflict her, the successful Blood Wave didn't produce any additional Bleed stacks, which appeared as minor lacerations.

Nevertheless, more than 20,000 damage was a significant amount considering she only had 600,000, and she didn't regenerate as quickly as bosses. Even though she was a strong NPC, Deserea failed to meet the requirements to be labeled a boss-comparable NPC.

"You're dead!" Deserea cried shrilly. "My hair is ruined, my clothes are stained, and it's all because of you. You are an irritating pissant!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sandstorm suddenly intensified while simultaneously condensing. This change affected all parties, including Deserea's subordinates. But, they were relatively unaffected given their sand affinity.

Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Bastion and the others, who groaned and covered their mouths and faces. The sand moving at high speeds felt like blades against their skin, evident by the gradual decline in the Health bars.

'Crap, she turned the sandstorm into an AoE attack in her fit of rage,' Kieran inwardly groaned. Kieran then patted the Obsidian Criollo's bottom and instructed it to go. The stallion would only become a larger liability the longer it remained on the battlefield.

Kieran could only battle without restraint once it left his vicinity. After all, many of his skills were prone to cause significant disturbances.

The Obsidian Criollo neighed and dashed out of the sandstorm, leaving Kieran alone.

Unlike his party members who were affected by the sandstorm, the crimson aura circling Kieran's body seemed to neutralize the sandstorm's damage to a certain extent. Kieran didn't wince or retreat due to the sandstorm's harsh effects.

"It's befitting of you to throw a tantrum; you seem like the type," Kieran said with a sneer. This type of egotistical and emotional opponent was usually weak to taunts. And, just as Kieran expected, Deserea reacted poorly to his comment.

"What was that?!" Deserea scowled. The sandstorm underwent another change as she extended hands with a vicious expression. The sand coalesced over Deserea's arms until they formed two slender blades with an endless supply of sand.

Whoosh!

Deserea's body seemed to dissipate into the sand as she dashed toward Kieran. The basis of the skill stemmed from an assassin's ability to conceal themself. After all, the enemies they fought thus far originated from differing variations of the Thief class.

For example, Sand Dancers were a rendition of the Rogue Class, while a Sand Thief was an enhanced version of the base Thief class.

historical

Unlike Altair and the rest, Kieran didn't panic while frantically searching for his opponent. Kieran calmed himself and exhaled. The clamor in the surrounding grew silent as Kieran's mind entered a serene world of blackness.

In this world, Kieran focused on what he usually wouldn't pick up—like the incoming footsteps in the sand masked by the violent atmospheric movements.

Kieran's eyes slammed open as he slashed Crimson Ashrune to the side.

Tang!

Crimson Ashrune collided against Deserea's sand blade while Kieran leaned back to dodge a secondary attack.

"How sneaky of you. Not only have you concealed yourself in this sand, but you're even using it to employ a dual-layered attack? Tsk tsk tsk. Are you scared? No.. you must feel inferior."

Kieran smiled and spoke with an indifferent demeanor as if he were engaging in conversation with a friend and not in a crisis.

"Are you making light of me?" Deserea's eyes flashed with a dangerous intent.

"Well, that's the thing. I'm not your subordinate, and you.. young lady, do not command my respect," Kieran retorted.

Boom!

Kieran used the opening caused by Deserea's response to unleash a swift Wild Crash. The force of the attack sent Deserea flying back despite the sand cushioning the blow.

-43,852

Deserea stabbed her arm into the sand, gradually bringing her momentum to a halt. The large divet in the sand formed by this reaction made Deserea's fury soar. She retaliated by using a sand-spring enhanced dash to unleash a barrage of slashes.

Kieran sidestepped or swayed from each attack as the carefree smile on his face grew more pronounced. Somehow, he found Deserea's frantic rush to be amusing, especially the noises of exertion she made.

'She is becoming sloppy. Unlike my class which thrives upon rage, it's an emotion that tends to deteriorate the subtlety of one's movements. Her earlier elegant movement pattern is nowhere to be found,' Kieran thought.

Deserea's upper hand vanished when she let Kieran's Health drop too low. It gave Kieran the means to overpower her not just in Attack Power but in movement speed also. So, even when she utilized the sandstorm as a surprise attack, Kieran could evade it before it dealt further damage.

Kieran's current display was the fearsome power of a True Berserker.

The more Kieran's skill arsenal expanded, the more frightening his combat ability would become. Right now, he only had six actives and one unique active skill at his disposal, but they were enough to establish a type of rhythm Deserea couldn't contest.

"Separating me from my teammates was your biggest mistake. Now die as your regret how you approached your task."

"You think you've won?! I refuse," Deserea screamed hysterically. The top of the sandstorm bent inward and fell toward Deserea as she raised one blade to the sky.

"Sand Decimation!"

A frightening display of sand manipulation prowess occurred as the sandstorm condensed into multiple large sand blades and left scars upon the earth.

Bastion and Nemean immediately activated their defensive skills once they caught wind of this attack's aftermath. Even with their defensive skills triggered, Sera rapidly exhausted all of her healing skills to keep everyone away from death.

On the other hand, Kieran smiled and revealed a card he hadn't touched thus far.

Kieran placed a hand on his chest and released a burst of anguine vigor once his Health dropped to 1%. "Death Avoidance!"

This skill's activation reversed Kieran's Health's decline and instantly restored it to twenty percent. Moreover, it remained at 20% despite the ongoing onslaught of Deserea's Sand Decimation.

'I knew it would come in handy. It might be my only personal healing skill, but its effects are astonishing,' Kieran thought.

「 Death Avoidance (Lv.1)

Skill Rank: A

Skill Type: Self-Heal

Mastery (00.00%)

Description: The skill stimulates the True Berserker's unwillingness to perish by tapping into the boundless strength of Argexes' Blood. Once this skill is activated, the user's Health will be instantly replenished to the upper threshold of Blood Mania's strongest state. After the user is healed, they will become impervious to damage for the next 3 seconds.

Consumption: 100 Mana

Prerequisites: Blood Mania Phase III

Cooldown: 600 seconds 」

Deserea panted while bracing her arm on her thigh, a sign that she had exhausted extensive amounts of Mana to unleash her Sand Decimation. Whether or not she had the means to release another was questionable.

Meanwhile, Kieran reveled in the sensation of false invincibility. Although the skill said he was impervious to damage, that wasn't exactly correct. Proof of this would appear once the update concluded and combat experienced a slight change.

Afterward, Kieran ensured his party was safe by their checking the party interface. Although the attack devasted their health bars, none of his party members died.

Once he ensured their safety, Kieran walked through the frightening battlefield, stricken by twitching Desertborn Henchmen and crawling Desertborn Leaders.

Kieran squatted before Deserea, using the tip of Crimson Ashrune to prop up her chin. "All this destruction. You would even go as far as to mortally wound your subordinates to try and claim my life. What an unfit leader."

Pcht!

Kieran stabbed Crimson Ashrune through Deserea while indifferently looking her in the eyes. "We may not be Mages, but Mana Exhaustion is no laughing matter. A body devoid of its fundamental building block is a body incapable of functioning."

Kieran twisted the blade with a callous expression. Something had genuinely snapped inside him after suffering his betrayal. Not only did he not feel aversion towards killing, but he also despised those who sacrificed their subordinates.

Deserea sputtered as blood spewed from her mouth, and her Health drained incessantly. Her eyes shifted about the battlefield, watching her tattered forces cling to the bits of life left in them.

"Because of you.. we'll lose a great deal of Experience," Kieran said. However, as an NPC, Deserea wasn't privy to this so-called Experience. Nevertheless, players would lose access to a foe's Experience if a party outside the system's control dealt fatal damage to enemies.

In other words, if NPCs turned against each other and killed a side that opposed players, the players wouldn't receive Experiencee from any of the kills. But, that was understandable given that the players did little to no work.

Kieran could control his fury only because Deserea's earliest actions salvaged the quest. She used her sand to guide the merchandise away from the battle before it grew heated. But, it never dawned upon her that this action would secure the merchandise for Kieran and the merchants.

Finally, the sand covering Deserea's arms dispersed as she desperately raised her hand towards Kieran's face. She only made it so far before Kieran exerted a fierce pressure on his blade and drove it up, cleaving her body in half.

He then swung his blade to the side, relieving it of Deserea's blood.

〈System: You have gained 213,050 Experience.〉

The others looked at Kieran wordlessly as he stood up and looked up to the sky with a face covered in blood. His mix of black and ruby eyes shimmered as if they were in their natural habit before Kieran combed through his hair and shook his head.

"It was a difficult battle, huh?" Kieran remarked.

"Ya think? Difficult doesn't begin to explain what we faced. Is this what we have to look forward to?" Bastion groaned. What disgruntled him was the fact they only received Experience from Deserea and nothing else.

On the other hand, Nemean blinked while looking at the half-bisected corpse. "Did you.. do that? Holy fuck!"

"What can I say—I got angry," Kieran shrugged. This was loosely putting it, but Kieran didn't feel like going into full detail on the matter.

The party sensed that from Kieran's demeanor and decided not to pry into the matter. In the end, it was Deserea who brought her demise upon herself. In Kieran's eyes, gender didn't matter. A similar price would be exacted if someone sought to claim Kieran's life.

Altair rubbed his chin beside Kieran. "Should we worry about more of them coming after us? I think it's safe to assume this Deserea chick is high up in the Desertborn Brigands. They'll most likely want revenge if they're a close-knit group of bandits and their higher-up doesn't return."

"Even if that's that case, I welcome their appearance. We're at a loss right now because of the Experience we didn't get. I guess the coins are acceptable, but it doesn't contribute to our level in the end," Kieran said.

"I feel the same way. Give me my damned Experience!" Bastion inputted.

"That's enough. We need to continue. We have a long way to go based on Head Merchant Penni," Kieran said.

Unexpectedly, deactivating Blood Mania also absorbed Deserea's blood that splattered across Kieran's face and turned it into Health. It seemed Kieran learned something new about his skills with each challenge he faced.