World Online

Expecting to see a giant, he looked surprised as he glared at the human sized opponent that was slowly descending. 

"You must be one of the four leaders that have come here." The enemy spoke. The masculine nature only confirmed Jake\'s previous speculation. 

He took a moment to carefully judge the man in front of him. 

·ƈθm The enemy looked completely human. There was nothing even zombie like about him. Bright skin, normal, dark brown eyes, and black hair that reached all the way to his shoulders.

He also had a thin mustache that decorated his wrinkle free face. 

This was a warrior, without a doubt. He looked like he had just come out of ninth century Korea. Even the robes matched.

The boss was decked in red robes, but this was a dull red, not the bright red that was usually expected.

"And you are?" Jake asked, hesitant. 

"I am Battulda, the keeper of these gates. I am the one who shall decide if you and your group is worthy of passing these gates." The red robed man said, his voice gruff and strong. 

He raised his right hand, and a sharp light suddenly extended from his hands, slowly enlarging, extending to either side. 

The light solidified in a few seconds, until the yellow glare became metallic, revealing what it truly was: a weapon. 

Battulda was a spear user, as it was just revealed. 

"I had to face a spear user, didn\'t I? Now, I have to put some distance between him and me, or I will be in for some trouble." Jake cursed. 

He already expected this. All the reports told him that the boss monster here was going to be one that specialized in long range combat. 

That was why he wanted Myriad Arrows to be the one to fight this battle in the first place. But now, he was forced to step in. 

"Well, I guess there is nothing I cam do about this anymore." Jake said, shaking his head. 

"Since there is only one of you, that makes things very easy. This is a trial that only one person might take at a time. There may only be four attempts before you lose the chance to advance any further. And then, you will be sent away from the unknown lands forcefully." Battulda said. 

"Great. Now, I have to win. If I don\'t, then everyone is going to have a field day with me." Jake cursed. 

He rotated his wrist, getting ready. His feet were in place, ready to move when he absolutely had to. 

"Alright. The fight shall start immediately. You may make your move, Heaven Defier." Battulda pointed his spear toward Jake. 

Jake nodded. 

Swish!

Jake\'s figure disappeared. This was one of the few times he had ever taken the first step. 

Battulda barely moved. 

He simple rotated his hips, and the spear moved along with him. 

It rotated, and a green light tracked the spear\'s tip, showing where it was going. 

Clang!

The moment metal collided, Jake felt like his arm was being broken into shreds. The force of the spear propelled him back a few steps, which he took graciously. 

"Damn it. How the hell is he so strong? Just one hit and my arm felt like it was about to get torn off." Jake looked at Battulda with shock and wonder. 

"You might be an Ascended one, but I have had years of practice preparing for this. Only those who are worthy will be allowed to enter this here lands." Battulda said, his voice daunting and loud. 

"Fine. Whatever." Jake shook his head, moving once more. 

This time, he didn\'t move headfirst toward Battulda. 

Instead, he was circling the boss. 

As Jake continued circling Battulda, Battulda barely moved. He didn\'t even turn around, as if he didn\'t care whether or not Jake was going for an attack or not. 

Jake smiled as he suddenly changed directions, watching Battulda\'s immobile back, and his foot twisted left as he tried to dart toward Battulda.

But he stopped mid way and took two steps back. 

In that little time, Battulda turned back, his spear almost grazing Jake as Jake retreated back. 

"Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head? What the hell is with that reflex? I just feinted and he almost got to me." Jake shook his head with disbelief. 

Everything about Battulda didn\'t make sense to Jake. 

"There has got to be another way to crack this code. He has to some weakness. There is no way an A ranked mission is going to be this hard. There has to be a way players can win." Jake thought to himself. 

He continued monitoring Battulda\'s movements.

Jake needed to understand his opponent, and seeing that the opponent was making barely any moves, he couldn\'t understand Battulda\'s tempo, moves, and powers. 

Not to mention, Jake didn\'t even know if Battulda was a strength focused or agility focused boss. The one interaction told Jake that Battulda was already stronger than Jake, but he needed to know if the boss was also faster. 

There were too many things that Jake didn\'t know. 

"I didn\'t think I would have to play these cards so early." Jake shook his head as he snapped his hands. 

Two smooth, circular, black balls appeared in his hands. 

He threw both of them at opposite directions, each of them near were Battulda was standing. 

Of course, with those killer reflexes, Battulda just twirled his spear to hit both the balls in a single move. 

Instead of deflecting though, both of the bombs suddenly combusted. 

Two red flares came out of nowhere, and Jake smiled. 

"Alright. Now, it\'s your move." Jake said as he suddenly darted forward. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

076205