"Fucking let go!"

The dwarf, who tried to send Arthur away, became irritated as the parasite became a monkey and clung onto his axe while screeching loudly. The armor protecting him became charred due to the bursts of lightning coming from the monkey's mouth.

Furious, the dwarf continued inaudibly cursing and chose to let go of the axe, thinking that it'll get rid of Arthur. Sadly, when the axe fell into the abyss, the monkey held his ankle and started pulling him down. He tried kicking him but the beast swiftly crawled around the pillar and transformed into a centipede, which released a poisonous fog, weakening the target's senses and numbing his hands.

Feeling desperate, the dwarf punched a large hole inside the pillar and entered it. As for Arthur, he decided not to continue this little play, moreover, the dwarf was by no means a weak opponent. He had an advantage right now due to the unfavorable terrain, so if they fought in another equal environment, it'll definitely be a difficult fight for the parasite.

Though he may not look like it, the dwarf was Lv12,659 and had four titles, making him quite the powerhouse.

Arthur went back to the top of the pillar and looked around, trying to locate easier targets. Fortunately, there was quite an abundance of them, participants there just reached the Overgod Realm or were still God Monarchs, they, for Arthur, are free points.

For the next ten minutes, Arthur eliminated six more targets before meeting one of the stronger opponents. He was also a player from the System Universe, a really skilled mage who started attacking Arthur the moment he saw him. He was amongst the people present at the Celestial Tribulation and had been eager to find him ever since. In fact, were it not for Maxine, who pressured him to head to the Red Tower, he'd have battled the parasite at that mountain.

The mage blinked next to Arthur then used an ice spell to temporarily lock him on the ground. Then, from behind, an invisible figure revealed itself and back-stabbed Arthur with two daggers, both with a black, sticky liquid on their sharp edges.

It was a thief belonging to Maxine's group, he was the third strongest player in the Red Tower and has mastered his class to perfection. Just as the two daggers were about to stab Arthur's back, they were met with a Dark Barrier, which slightly slowed their fast advance and this gave Arthur enough time to transform.

Although he was impaired, he wasn't stunned so he could still use skills, thanks to that, he became a thin skeleton. The daggers went through the jet black bones and totally missed, which made the thief let out a gasp. Unfortunately, Arthur was still hit by several ice spikes followed by a violent snowstorm that immobilized his feet again. In retaliation, he unleashed an absurd amount of Dark Magic which resisted the storm and pushed away the thief, plus, he used [Nether Aura] on the mage, dispelling his next spell.

Two seconds passed and Arthur was freed but the thief used the back of his dagger to knock on his head, this time performing a flawless stun. After successfully doing that, he dealt a continuous combo of slashes, breaking the bones and decreasing Arthur's Health bar. The mage also cast a spell on Arthur, a wolf made of ice leapt at him and bit his arm though it was unable to rip it off due to the parasite's tough skin and resistant bones.

Arthur lost more than 40% of his Health and he was still stunned, however, when the debuff time run out, the thief tried to stun again only for it to fail, surprisingly. It wasn't that he missed the skill or that Arthur dodged, it just meant that the passive obtained from the White Tiger, which increased the chance of negating Crowd Control skills, was activated.

Finally free, Arthur used [Faster than Death], appearing in front of the mage, who tried to use [Blink] only for it to fail due to the unstable Space. Nevertheless, the caster's reaction was top-notch as he raised an Earthen wall then turned the ground muddy in an attempt to hinder Arthur.

The layer of defense separating him from the mage crumbled after hitting it with a Fire Talisman and when the target was defenseless in front of him, he threw five Dark Talismans at once. Two were blocked by an ice barrier while the other three hit the mage's body. Arthur wanted to follow-up but the thief exited his invisibility yet again to intercept him, throwing powder in the air while using the dual daggers to attack.

It has to be said that his attack speed was impeccable, nevertheless, Arthur was also in a league of his own. Not only did he boost his stats with [Angel of Death], he also used the buff Talismans, increasing his movement and attack speed.

He blocked four hits from the thief before transforming into a monster with long arms that had long, sharp claws. The red-skinned monster waved its black and white wings, unleashing a death storm to the behind, blocking the mage, while the white wing healed Arthur's Health at an accelerated rate.

"Fuck! Where is Maxine!"

The thief crossed his daggers and tried to back away but the red monster kept slashing at him left and right, its long-reaching claws shredding clothes and cutting his skin. To make matters worse, the ground turned jet black and his legs were getting sucked in, further binding him in place. The mage wanted to land a hand but the Quad-Spirit was doing a marvelous job in keeping him busy.

His exotic dark blue robe was burned by the spirit's fire and his forehead was sweating due to the increased gravity, heavily slowing his movements and making the staff weigh a ton.

Arthur relentlessly attacked the thief, who efficiently protected his vitals but there reached a point where he couldn't block the fast slashes and received a deep and serious injury in his shoulder. The parasite was about to finish him up but the mage cast a spell which made him switch places with his teammate.

Now, he was the one receiving the full and frontal blows of the monster, which vanished, dodging dozens of ice spikes that only hit his afterimages. The thief retreated to a safe distance and signaled for the mage to get away too but the latter was hit by a white thunderbolt which stunned him.

Like a ghost, Arthur appeared behind him and cut down with his claws but the mage somehow got rid of the stun effect and waved his staff in the air, enveloping himself in a blue spheric bubble before unleashing a violent and explosive burst of mana.

The red-skinned monster was sent flying, its body bloodied. It landed on a pillar and roared loudly but didn't give chase as the two players headed toward Maxine, who was leaping from pillar to another, seemingly ready to engage in another fight.

"What damned regenerative powers!"

The thief cursed as he looked at Arthur, who's body was healing at an absurd speed. The wounds caused by the mage's last attack were gone in a few seconds, making even the caster astonished. Unlike her two teammates, Maxine was eager to fight the parasite, who transformed into a lightning bolt, soon disappearing from her sight.

"Ugh! You couldn't handle him?"

"Max! You haven't seen him fight so you can't blame us. He injured me and survived Tula's Mana bomb, are all parasites supposed to be like that?"

The green-haired pondered for a moment, her gaze lingering on the direction Arthur headed to.

"He still hasn't used his real powers. There is also that sword… the competition will be full of excitement! I can feel it."

******

"Teacher! She resembles you!"

Saly grinned as she looked at Maxine through the screen. Her hunger for constant battles was very similar to the Joker's thirst for strong opponents, though it can be said that he calmed down a lot compared to the past.

"Pft! She's nothing like me!" The Joker jokingly said, but his eyes betrayed him as they lingered on Maxine, happy to see someone like him. His fighting spirit was ignited and he could barely hold himself from going there and fight.

They were all weaker than him but that doesn't mean he cannot have fun, after all, he can always adjust his strength. The thrill and thirst that dominated him in the past had died down due to the lack of opponents that are equal to him strength. Even if he went to the strongest individuals in the three Universes and demanded to fight them, they'll refuse as they only care about their own benefits.

Occasionally, he'll fight Leiu but that will end up in him being sent to a faraway place, just like last time, when his brother blasted him to Astria, where he pretended not to know Arthur and Lucy. He knew Leiu had done it purposely but he didn't mind as he got to fight an enraged and out-of-control Arthur.