War Grounds 19 ROCKSALT VS. YAMASTEH

Yamasteh moved in a blur, the flames in his gauntlet leaving a fiery trail of red and gold.

Thud!

A dull sound could be heard as the impact of Nisha's punch was effortlessly neutralized. RockSalt barehandedly blocked him. The force from the brief clash caused the unsettled dust to form a shroud around the two characters. Yamasteh immediately distanced himself from the vile creature, retracting his fist and leaving the waning smokescreen.

RockSalt's form no longer belonged to that of the human race. The hundreds of dead bodies around him further amplified his horrific looks.

"You're aware that your account may be crippled in exchange for that mutated race, right?" Yamasteh's expression was grim. Holy Rage was one of his strongest skills, but it did not even make a difference in RockSalt's health.

The inhuman form of Stone Trooper's guild leader, suddenly made sense. Usually, quests are only given out in one's racial territory. A character having two races was impossible at first thought, however as the game developed, players discovered a way to merge races into one - a process called mutation. By killing a lot of hostile NPCs and collecting their life essences, one may evolve their race with the aid of dark arts.

"Haha! 'The weak may ask, but they'll never get an answer.'"RockSalt grinned as he mocked Nisha, using the latter's previous words. "You're too full of yourself, young man! Just because you're a member of a strong guild doesn't mean that you could act high and mighty, especially that you're all alone here in my territory. Now, die and become my weapon's food!" A dozen of purple tentacles that were thicker than before immediately lashed out towards Yamasteh's position.

"Shit! Shit! What do I do? What do I do?" Meanwhile, Al was in the middle of deliberating whether he should reveal himself or not. Against a Level 79 Player, what could a measly Level 1 do?

Yamasteh was barely dodging the onslaught of RockSalt. More tentacles were starting to disperse, making their way toward the escaping players. At the same time, the previously cornered members of the two guilds, entered into a bloodbath as they slew the disarrayed players.

"Run! Save your lives!" The crowd panicked. Their numbers rapidly decreasing as more tentacles started to appear.

"It took me a long time to get inside the Open World! Please have some mercy towards me, RockSalt. Nooooo! Someone, please! Helpppp meee!" A Human Swordsman yelped as a tentacle dragged him to death.

As a class belonging to brawlers, Yamasteh had no long-ranged attacks. Also, the number of tentacles attacking him was increasing.

[You have a message from Tripod Sunset.] A notification appeared in Nisha's display.

[Opening message...]

[Hey, Mr. Prodigy! Where are you now? The training is about to resume in twenty minutes. Everyone is already gathered here in the designated place. You're the only one who's missing.]

[I'm in a bit of a knot hehe. Will be back there in ten minutes.] Nisha quickly replied as he continued to dash around the perimeter of RockSalt.

[Okay. Don't abuse Trainer Lidar's kindness. Have some shame!]

Yamasteh was currently running on top of the buildings, with the tentacles tailing him. The distance between him and these freak-looking appendages was shrinking by the minute. '9 minutes left.'

[Hi, Big Brother. Are you still alive?] Nisha still managed to squeeze a message for Al.

[Sorry..sorry...sorry...I've brought you much trouble today, Nisha! Please stop this now and save yourself. You're just in a one-hour break, right? You'll still have to travel back to where you came from ( T_T )], Al immediately replied with an apologetic tone. He was currently on a retreat as he was almost captured by a tentacle a while ago.

[No worries, Big Brother. They'll pick me up anyway when I'm late xexe. Plus, I'm an advocate of anti-bullying back in school. I won't be able to sleep if I let this pass.]

[Ehehe.] Al could not believe Nisha's response. All he had managed to reply was a half-baked laugh and a sweating-smile emoji.

'This boy knows no fear.' Al muttered to himself, shaking his head.

"This is getting boring, don't you think?" RockSalt had grown tired of chasing Nisha. However, Yamasteh was still moving, not minding his enemy's taunt. He kept on circling, hoping to find an opening.

"Come, I'll fight you toe to toe. It had been a while since I had a stretch. Also, I remembered that you mentioned a while ago that you alone is already enough to wipe us all out of here, right? I want to see the guts behind that claim. Come!" RockSalt withdrew the tentacles, his mouth gaping wide as the tongue-like objects returned to where it came from. Suddenly, his character convoluted, the veins in his body protruding.

A red-edged flamberge sword was starting to come out of RockSalt's mouth. This weapon's stats could not be checked, but the silver-labeled name was left for display.

[Spinal Thorn, Crafted by StrayGear]

'StrayGear?' Nisha frowned. He was not ignorant of the hotshots from other guilds. StrayGear was the famous forger of the 3rd ranking Guild, Eternal Vespers.

"Oh, come on. I hate waiting!" RockSalt grumbled as his character disappeared from his position, instantly appearing on the rooftop where Yamasteh was currently situated. "Come, I'll give you another shot to punch me, you lousy brawler." RockSalt wickedly grinned as he gestured a taunt with his bandaged hand.

"Xexe. Do me a favor first. Command everyone to evacuate from Alistor. I don't want my hands to be mired with the blood of rookies." Nisha confidently responded.

"Haha! Aren't you demanding too much? What would I get from that? I could just kill you now, kid." RockSalt mocked.

"Xexe. I'll give you a good fight, and I'll stop running away from here on. Last man standing." Nisha's voice was decisive.

"Hmmm. I'm not expecting a long fight from you anyway. So, that's a nonsensical offer. What about this? You join my guild tomorrow." RockSalt counter-offered.

"And why would I join the guild of someone I had defeated?" Nisha was not joking as he already claimed the victory.

"Haha! You're an arrogant one. You had already died a million times in my mind." RockSalt was amused.

[Attention to all players inside the city. Stone Troopers will shut the gates after five minutes. Requesting all residents to please evacuate from Alistor City in the meantime. The guild will not be responsible for your losses if you fail to comply.]
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The city announcement rang twice, warning all players and NPCs inside Alistor. However, even without the announcement, many players were already pushing their way out of the city, causing a stampede on the other exit points. Even the stationed members of the guild, Predators, found it hard to slash everyone down.

"Run! This city is about to be destroyed!" A player that had survived the massacre from the main gate screamed as he struggled against the flood of players passing through the tiny gate on the east side of Alistor.

"Xexe. Thank you. Finally, I can go all out. Forgive me for destroying this city, though." Nisha said it politely.

"Don't worry. The NPCs will just repair the aftermath of your fall. However, you had just lost your chance of a free punch. Die!"

Clang!

RockSalt wildly slashed his weapon, but Yamasteh blocked it with his golden gauntlet. Sparks scattered between them, as Nisha lost 3% of his HP, even after defending - the difference in strength was evident. Furthermore, something abysmal suddenly happened as the sword transformed into a nest of tentacles, wrapping around Nisha's arm.

"Let me see that face of yours before you die!" RockSalt's massive hand grabbed Yamasteh's masked head, and smashed it on the roof of the building, destroying the entire structure.

Al was shivering as he witnessed the scene. 'Oh no, Nisha will die.' Suddenly, a system alert jolted him.

[1st Phase of Open World's Analysis completed. Do you wish to continue with the 2nd Phase?] Finally, SARS showed up.

Chapter end