Chapter 45: All at Once

With the fall of the Head Sungi, messages poured before his eyes in a rapid stream.

Levan brushed his hair back and looked down at the dead Head Sungi with satisfaction.

‘War Mage really is amazing. Taking down a guy like this all on my own.’

It was even a no-hit kill—he hadn’t been struck a single time.

Most of his battles had gone this way, but landing a no-hit kill on a boss monster every time was actually a tremendously difficult feat.

So, although he earned an achievement each time, every moment still felt new and exhilarating.

Levan shifted his gaze, focusing on the other Thief Sungis that had gathered at the roar of their leader.

With the boss defeated, all that remained was to mop up the small fry. However—

Kiiiieeeng…….

“Huh?”

Over a dozen Thief Sungis he hadn’t dealt with yet were all backing away with terrified looks on their faces.

‘What’s up with them?’

That shouldn’t be how those things act.

At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind.

“Check achievement info.”

[Head Sungi Defeated Solo]

-Condition: Obtain by achieving a solo kill on the boss monster, Head Sungi.

-Option: +5 to current highest stat.

[Monkey Hunter]

-Condition: Obtain by hunting 50 or more monkey-type regular monsters and at least 1 monkey-type boss monster.

-Option: Can intimidate monkey-type monsters.

“Ah.”

After checking the achievement info, Levan finally understood why those creatures were acting like that.

‘How cute.’

Shaking in fear over a single achievement.

When it comes to intimidating small fry, there’s really nothing more effective than the head of the enemy leader.

Levan then attempted to loot the Head Sungi’s corpse.

“Item loot.”

[You have obtained Roar.]

[You have obtained Head Sungi’s Tendon.]

“Huh?”

But then, a trophy he hadn’t expected at all dropped.

Levan, not daring to hope, checked the details for Roar.

[Roar]

-Rank: Unique.

-Restriction: Universal.

-Effect: By shouting suddenly, causes all targets nearby to become paralyzed for 2 seconds.

-Cooldown: 60 seconds.

‘Whoa, this drops here?’

There’s a skill called Shout.

It’s one of the few crowd-control skills that warriors possess—by yelling at the enemy, they can paralyze their foes.

But Roar isn’t just for warriors—it’s a universal skill anyone can learn.

Moreover, it doesn’t cost any health or mana, making it one of the most efficient crowd-controls to use lightly.

‘That’s why it’s ranked Unique. Is it because I beat the Head Sungi? Didn’t expect to get this here…….’

He’d been a little disappointed at not being able to learn Shout, so this was perfect timing.

Levan couldn’t help but smirk as his lips twitched with delight.

“Gotta learn something like this right away.”

A Unique skillbook would sell for a fortune. But money could be made later by looting the Black Guild anyway.

Now, it was time to focus on upping his specs rather than cash.

Just then—

KWA-A-AANG!!

A massive explosion of fire erupted right in front of Levan’s eyes.

[Mirror Ring uses Skill Guard.]

[Skill Guard nullifies Flame Ball.]

An explosion right before his eyes.

He definitely felt the impact.

But as soon as he thought he’d been hit, the sensation vanished, replaced by the electronic sound filling his head.

‘Flame Ball?’

Even the name said it was magic.

Levan immediately crouched and turned his head in the opposite direction.

There, he saw three men he’d never seen before—no, three men who were likely magicians—all aiming their staves at Levan.

“What the?”

If he’d actually been hurt, he might have been furious, but since his defense worked, he wasn’t really mad.

So, with just a hint of annoyance, he asked again.

The man standing in the center of the three responded with a solemn voice.

“Do you know your crime?”

“Crime?”

“The crime of laying hands on our summoned beast. That crime will never be forgiven.”

“Summoned beast? So that thing was your handiwork?”

“No words needed! Die!”

The man in the center twisted his neck. He seemed to be the highest ranked among them.

At his nod, the two on either side raised their staves and began chanting spells.

‘Yep, magicians.’

He sized up the situation in a split second.

They appeared to be magicians, and in this area, the only ones who would be using summoned beasts and magic belonged to a single group.

Levan’s lips curled in a sly grin.

‘How does the timing work out so perfectly?’

No sooner had he cleared the Epic Quest than the perfect opportunity appeared to resolve the legitimacy issue he’d promised the king.

Levan silently offered thanks to Rubix as he opened the skillbook for Roar.

[Would you like to learn Roar?]

‘Of course, hell yes!’

[You have acquired Roar.]

Levan learned the skill as automatically as an answering machine, then immediately charged at the magicians.

“He’s coming!”

In Warlord, unlike in other games, there’s no stat for agility.

That’s because character speed is determined by strength.

Thus, Levan’s strength stat, which was close to 130, was more than enough to produce an explosive dash.

“Earth Spear!”

Levan’s charge was reminiscent of a raging bull.

Meaning, the sight of Levan charging straight at them was more than enough to break the courage of faint-hearted magicians.

So, the magician on the right hurriedly cast an attack spell.

The spell used was Earth Spear.

A lance of earth, sharpened from stone, shot toward Levan with deadly force.

But Levan didn’t dodge.

Instead, he lowered his forehead and charged straight into the incoming Earth Spear.

“Wh-what?”

The magician who’d cast Earth Spear let out an involuntary gasp at the reckless act.

But—

[Mirror Ring uses Skill Guard.]

[Skill Guard nullifies Earth Spear.]

Such showmanship is only possible if you have absolute faith in your defense!

Levan’s Mirror Ring activated Skill Guard for the fifth time.

“……!”

“H-how?!”

“What are you spacing out for! Stop him, quick!”

“A-ice Way……!”

“Waaagh!!!”

[Roar activates.]

[Targets who hear the roar are paralyzed for 2 seconds.]

“Ugh!!”

Just as the magician was about to chant his incantation, Levan’s roar struck him, paralyzing his entire body.

The spell he’d almost finished casting crumbled like a sandcastle.

And it wasn’t just the magician on the left who was paralyzed.

All three magicians stood frozen like statues at the same time, and Levan gave a wicked grin.

“Thunder Strike.”

[Thunder Strike activates.]

Crackle!

Blue current ran down his black club.

Levan leapt.

Just like Thor, he swung his club straight at the forehead of the one in the middle.

Crack!

It sounded like an old pumpkin being smashed.

At the same time, a bright and cheerful critical hit chime rang in his ears.

[Critical Hit!]

Closing the distance, he could finally read the name tags above the three men.

But before he could finish reading, Levan immediately used Smite to strike the left one hard on the side of the neck.

[Critical Hit!]

It wasn’t as powerful as Thunder Strike, but for a magician with almost no trapezius muscle to speak of, there was no way to endure Levan’s clubbing.

So, he went flying.

He flew in a most undignified way, like a rock flung far into the distance.

That was the end of the attack.

After swinging his club twice in a row, Levan straightened his back and turned to the short magician on the right, who was just recovering from paralysis.

Now he could see—the boy was quite young.

The magician’s name was Wilson.

Levan smiled brightly at the boyish magician, Wilson, who looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

“Want a taste too?”

Shake, shake!

Overwhelming fear.

In his terror, Wilson shook his head at Mach speed instead of answering.

Thus, all three magicians had been retired.

At that moment, a strange smell tickled Levan’s nose.

“What’s that smell… Don’t tell me, you?”

The source of the smell was Wilson’s pants.

The young magician Wilson, overwhelmed by Levan’s aura, had ended up wetting himself.

“Geez.”

No matter how young, a boy who wets his pants isn’t appealing.

Levan frowned as he opened the auction house. Then he bought an item and tore open the express delivery package that arrived.

The contents were ropes.

Levan bought plenty of rope and, choosing the sturdiest knot he knew, tied up Wilson securely.

Then, he dragged over the leader, Kante, who’d been struck on the head, and Hooli, who’d been sent flying by the club to the trapezius, and tied them up one after the other.

Once they were bound, Levan brandished his Blacksteel Club at Wilson and spoke kindly.

“Wait here quietly. If you try anything funny… you know, right?”

Nod, nod!

Since he’d made the request kindly, Wilson would surely comply.

Next, Levan strapped the Blacksteel Club to his waist and opened his inventory.

Then, he began to fit together the new Epic Cube he’d obtained from finishing the Fake Thief Sungi Hunt.

‘If my guess is right, the next epic quest is related to these guys.’

They didn’t call it an Epic Cube for nothing.

By now, Levan had come to trust the Epic Cube completely.

After all, the Fake Thief Sungi Hunt, which he hadn’t understood at first, ended up being unexpectedly helpful.

So, after securing hostages for the next quest, he set about opening the cube.

Levan began to manipulate the newly acquired Epic Cube.

Clack, clack—

[You have successfully solved Rubix’s Epic Cube.]

[Epic Quest has been generated.]

Flash!

[All at Once]

-Rank: Epic, Special, Unique, Linked.

-Condition: Restrain all magicians belonging to Passna or the Mage Tower.

-Reward: Rubix’s Epic Cube, Rubix’s Skill Cube Fragment, Rubix’s Treasure Cube Fragment, Empty Cube Frame.

“Just as expected.”

As he read through the quest details, Levan’s eyes curved into a crescent moon.

Just as he predicted.

The Epic Cube had presented exactly what Levan needed to do next.

‘Good thing I didn’t kill them.’

If they’d died, it would’ve made restraining the Mage Tower much harder.

But looking at Kante and Hooli’s health bars, they looked like they could die at any moment.

It was a waste, but he took out healing potions and poured them into the mouths of the unconscious pair.

“Uwaah!”

Immediately, Kante and Hooli shot up, eyes wide open as if possessed.

“These potions are potent.”

“Y-you…!”

“Do magicians have really tough heads or something? How do you take that hit and not die?”

“W-what are you talking about?!”

“Shut up. Enough chatter, let’s go.”

“Go? Go where, now?!”

“You’re so damn noisy… Hey, do you know who I am?”

“Of course! Aren’t you the War Mage?!”

“Good, you know. But me being a War Mage isn’t really important right now.”

“What? Then what is important?!”

“What do you think?”

“What…?”

“What’s important is that from now on, you’re all screwed. You blockheaded idiots.”

Not wanting to listen anymore, Levan gagged all three of them with rope like bridles.

Then, tying them together with more rope, he started dragging them along slowly, like herding cattle.

Just like a victorious general after a triumphant war.