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Seeing that his opponents were now taking him very seriously, Shin couldn't help but become a little more excited. He was going to deal with some skilled players after all.

He was also quite excited to test out some of the tricks that he gained during his Awakening Quest, so this was the perfect time to try them up before using them as his regular set of tricks.

Naturally, he was not foolish enough to use all of his hidden cards in just the first round of the tournament. What he wanted to try was his newly improved combat techniques and his better control over his skills.

Having these thoughts, Shin quickly assumed his battle stance once again. But he was not using his sword drawing this time. Instead, he was using an average yet unusual stance.

First, he spread his legs widely and squatted his hips while placing his left foot forward. Then he lowered his left arm a little and pointed the longsword on his left hand towards his opponents. At the same time, his other arm was also lowered in a relaxed manner as he let the tip of the [Yamato] to almost touch the ground.

The guys on the opposing side suddenly became tense when they saw that Shin was taking his battle stance and getting ready for the battle.

The melee players couldn't even help themselves but gulp a mouthful of saliva as they already experienced Shin's strength first hand. At the same time, the range and magical players at the back took a few steps backwards to make sure that Shin would not be able to get near them easily.

Unfortunately, they already fell on the hidden scheme the moment they took notice of Shin's stance. That was why Shin couldn't help but release some chuckles the moment he saw their actions.

After that, Shin immediately made his move. He kicked the ground beneath him and sent himself striding forward.

Seeing that Shin was finally coming their way, the opposing side immediately responded accordingly. The Human Guardian and Shield Warrior of the group quickly rushed forward and planned to meet Shin head-on.

At the same time, the two Master Berserkers and the Human Swordsman were left behind to build the second wall of defense in case Shin managed to get past the two Knights.

On the other hand, the trio of the Archer, Musketeer and Elementalist at the backline were not idle either. The former two were already taking aim at Shin with their respective bow and rifle, trying to snipe him down if ever he made a one wrong move.

Meanwhile the sole magical class of the group was already chanting out a strange spell. With the fluctuations of mana from the air, Shin could tell this was a somewhat troublesome spell.

These three didn't immediately attack Shin when he was assuming his battle stance, afraid that their attacks would be deflected once again just like what happened earlier. And that was why they were making sure that they were not underestimating Shin this time.

One look at their battle formations and wordless communication, even a fellow expert would be mistaken and think that this group was a team of players that was always partying with each other.

But even after seeing their actions, Shin was still calmly charging forward as if everything was going according to the plan. He was even smirking inside as he continued to rush towards his opponents.

And when he reached a few meters away from the two knights charging at him, he suddenly leaped forward before raising the [Yamato] over his head and planning to swing it downwards.

Seeing those seemingly foolish actions from Shin, the guys from the other side couldn't help but become a little suspicious.

Based on Shin's battle strength alone, they could already tell that he was not a type of person that was not going to do something meaningless, much less doing this kind of obvious mistake. But even if they had that thought in mind, they still couldn't bring themselves to ignore such an easy beef in front of them.

Given that, the trio at the back of the group chose to trust the guys in their front before raising their weapons and pointing it at Shin with an intention of blasting him off no matter what kind of scheme he was planning.

When he saw that three had taken the back, Shin suddenly formed a smirking smile behind his mask before proceeding to the step of the plan.

'Equipment Skill (Lower Armor: Megumi's Shadow): Death Travel'

Then he suddenly disappeared from his spot on the very next instant, making everyone to have a sudden chill that ran through their spines.

"Sh*t!" was the only would that they could think off as they all knew that everything was already too late.

Shin was already right in front of the Elementalist and currently in the middle of swinging his sword downwards while saying. "Let's start with you."

'Extra Skill: Destructive Slash'

Stunned!

Being caught off-guard, the Elementalist's movements were immediately immobilized after he had gotten hit by that attack. And when he realized his situation, he already knew that he was going to die if his 'comrades' didn't help him in time.

Naturally, the guys on his side wanted to salvage the situation. But before the Archer and Musketeer could even do anything, Shin suddenly turned his head at them. Then yet another chill suddenly ran though their backs, which also forced them to move away from their current spots.

The five melee players, on the other hand, found themselves staring blankly at the scene. Since they were building a good wall of defense earlier, the distance between them and their backline members was quite far; especially that two knights charging in the forefront.

Due to this considerable distance, they already know that it was to save the Elementalist even if they wanted to rush back and help him. And just like what they had expected, Shin immediately executed the Elementalist with a simple cycle of his melee skills.

'Self-Created Skill (Personalized): Triple Slash'

'Slayer Skill: Solar Cut'

'Slayer Skill: Hell Execution'

Executed!

The consecutive execution of these skills was quite fast, making it hard for the two range players to help the Elementalist even if they wanted to give him some help.

After killing his first target, Shin took a quick glaze at the Archer and Musketeer, who move away from him in different directions.

"Quite clever, huh" muttered Shin as he knew that these two were forcing him to choose between the two. And if he chose either one of them, the melee guys were going to arrive in time to protect the other even if he managed to kill that next target.

But Shin was not a total beginner on the game now, so it was natural for him to know that Archers had a quite number of escaping skills on their arsenal.

Meanwhile, the Musketeers had a few moment skills that they could use in escaping since their battle style was to take advantage of the terrain of the battlefield. And with this simple arena type of battlefield, this Musketeer was in a huge disadvantage.

Having these thoughts in mind, Shin didn't wait for anything more and immediately rushed towards that Musketeer without having any kind of delay.

"F*ck!" The Musketeer started to panic when he saw Shin choose him as the second target, especially the moment he saw the movement speed that Shin had.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Afraid that he was going to follow the footsteps of the Elementalist earlier, the Musketeer immediately started moving backwards and fired a barrage of magic bullets at Shin's direction while also empowering some of them with his skills.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Cling! Clang! Cling!

Amidst of these series of gunshots, Shin just did some dodging maneuvers to avoid each of the raining magic bullets. And with his zigzag movements, not a single attack managed to land on his body. Sometimes, he was also swinging both of his swords left and right to deflect the bullets that he couldn't dodge.

Seeing that his attacks were not too effective to slow down Shin, the Musketeer decided to abandon the idea of kitting him and focus on running away with a thought of trying to buy more time for his teammates to help him.

At the same time, the Archer in the opposite direction kept on releasing some arrows from his bow and sent them towards Shin. But as if Shin had a pair of eyes at the back of his head, not a single arrow landed at him as he managed to dodge all of them in a leisure manner; the same for the skills that he sent in the mix.

So, the Musketeer started to break in a cold sweat the moment he noticed that the distance between him and Shin was continuously decreasing instead of increasing.

Thinking that he couldn't escape this current predicament, this Musketeer decided to gamble in a do-or-die moment. With his thought, he gritted his teeth and waited for the chance that he was hoping for.

A moment later, Shin finally caught up with the Musketeer and was planning to kill him for as fast as he could. And with things reaching this point, the latter suddenly turned his body around while pointing the muzzle of his magic rifle right in front of Shin's face.

The Musketeer suddenly smirked at Shin when he saw this and said. "Goodbye~!" while pulling the trigger of his rifle and using the sure-kill skill that he had.

'Gunslinger Skill (Tier 2): Headshot Kill'

Bang!

The Musketeer was already grinning widely when the reinforced magic bullet left the barrel of his rifle and passed through Shin's head. But his eyes suddenly turned wide the moment he realized that he didn't get the notification that he killed Shin; the one that he shot was actaully an afterimage!

'Epic Combat Technique: Ghost Evanescent'

Then he suddenly heard a cold voice behind him, saying. "Nice try, but better luck next time."

After that, a sword suddenly stabbed from the back of the Musketeer and came out at his chest, stunning him in the process.

Puchi!

'Extra Skill: Heart Seeker'

Stunned!

Shin quickly pulled the [Nemesis Nullifier] back before throwing a six-consecutive stab at the Musketeer while targeting all of his vital spots.

'Extra Skill: Multiple Stabs'

Sha! Sha! Sha!

Then Shin finished off the Musketeer with a one final thrust of his sword that pierced through the body of the latter.

'Extra Skill (Tier 2): Flash of Life'

Executed!

And after killing him, Shin turned his head at the remaining guys and muttered to himself. "That's two down, and 6 more to go."

...