The Grand Duelist

The stiffened Abyssal Flame Master stared at Joseph as the latter stood up, took a stance with his sword and [Thrust] it at his heart.

[You suffered tremendous damage in an instant and your body is in a state of shock.]

[You are stiffened for a few seconds...]

[You resisted against Stiffness from suffering tremendous damage due to the effects of (???)]

Stiffness caused by the state of shock from Desperate Roar didn't stack with Stiffness caused by other attacks. This meant that Joseph only had two seconds left before his enemy could move once again and finish him.

The moment his sword pierced his enemy's heart. Joseph took a deep breath and fiercely pulled it out.

Without blinking nor taking a break. He sliced at Abyssal Flame Master's neck and then slashed his head, causing devastating amounts of damage made possible by attacking Abyssal Flame Master's vitals.

"Impossible..." Abyssal Flame Master coughed a mouthful of blood.

A kick flew and sent him rolling on the ground as the effects of Stiffness caused by Desperate Roar finally ended.

"You bastard... you'll regret opposing me!" Abyssal Flame Master stood up and raised his staff towards the skies. Dark energy gathered around his staff and a cloud full of the same dark energy formed overhead just below the stalactites.

The cloud made of dark energy looked ominous, and Joseph's instincts repeatedly told him to run away from that cloud of darkness. But Joseph knew that he had to face his enemy.

Running away wouldn't solve anything at this point in the battle, it would just exacerbate the problem and lower his morale.

He had to face his enemy, no matter how impossible it was to defeat him. He must persevere and not give up like what he always did back when he was still a challenger of the Festival of Battles.

"Now that I think about it, your face looks quite familiar..." Abyssal Flame Master suddenly spoke up when he saw the look of determination on Joseph's face: "It feels like I have seen you before, but that's impossible..."

"This is the first time that we met and all those whose face I saw ended up dying with their memories altered..."

But after a few moments...

"Ah!"

... Abyssal Flame Master suddenly screamed in realization.

"You're that Madman of the Festival of Battles!" He pointed at Joseph and laughed out loud after finding out the answer.

The Madman of the Festival of Battles. His name resounded throughout the entire world of Victory for a few days. He was praised and likewise criticized by everyone. Praised, because of his amazing tenacity. But criticized for his apparent desperation for money.

It was obvious for everyone about why Joseph was trying so hard on completing an almost impossible mission of defeating a Great Magician that was considered to be at the peak of the current world of Victory if compared to other players.

Apart from the promised rewards of a million dollars, nothing else was listed as a reward and so...

Money was obviously Joseph's motive.

Abyssal Flame Master read that article from top to bottom and he found the Madman of the Festival of Battles as an interesting man. Someone that could defeat a Great Magician must be someone whose strength, should be far greater than him. But what was happening now?

The so-called Madman of the Festival of Battles was currently helpless before him?

It should be the other way around!

Realizing these facts. Abyssal Flame Master's smile deepened. He unknowingly challenged a great figure and made a move that could be considered as courting death itself.

But right now, he was winning against that so-called madman, an absolute monster that defeated a Great Magician that stood at the realm unreachable for players.

Joseph kept his silence towards what Abyssal Flame Master was saying, his face was posted several times within the forums of Victory and reprinted for no less than a dozen times by media stations as their front-page image.

He knew that subterfuge wouldn't possibly work, and he never really intended on hiding his identity for as long as it wasn't necessary.

"Although I can't understand why the God that I serve dislikes you. There's only one thing that's for sure... You will surely die under my hands today..." Abyssal Flame Master grinned at Joseph.

He finally stopped talking for once, but this meant bad news for Joseph who secretly hoped that his enemy's talkative nature would continue so he could secretly revise some of his plans.

"Hoping that an enemy would give you enough time to think. It really is wishful thinking." Joseph thought to himself. He then took a deep breath and adjusted his stance.

The cloud made of darkness approached Joseph from the air, while Abyssal Flame Master took a dagger that dangerously shone in a greenish-light of poison before he rushed at Joseph.

"This is bad."

Joseph's instincts told him that he must not let the cloud of darkness arrive directly over his head. But since the two of them were in a cave. Joseph's movements were limited, while his enemy that had the upper hand against him, moved like he was just casually strolling in his backyard.

"This bastard..." Joseph cursed, Abyssal Flame Master attacked with his dagger and Joseph didn't dare to catch it with his [Rusty Beginner Sword]. Even though their stats were even. Joseph wasn't sure if the power of their items were balanced against each other.

Facing a dagger that emanated the ominous stench of poison. Joseph didn't dare to gamble with chances as he retreated with a [Backward Leap].

"Too predictable!" Abyssal Flame Master cried out and his dagger suddenly squirmed like a viper and headed towards Joseph's direction.

"Shit!" Joseph moved according to his instincts. He raised his sword right in front of him, barely blocking the incoming attack. He used the force of that attack to roll backward and further widen his distance from his enemy.

"Oh? You managed on blocking that...? As expected from someone who acquired the ire of the Gods..."

Abyssal Flame Master was still speaking nonsense that Joseph couldn't understand. 'What ire of the Gods? Unless he also has a Hidden Quest that's opposite of my quest, why would he say something...'

'Wait!' Joseph inwardly screamed.

An epiphany struck him: 'Shit! This bastard also has a Hidden Quest from the God of Darkness. That quest should be to eliminate me... If this is true then my chances of surviving this ordeal and acquiring the rewards from that so-called Impress quest is greatly reduced!'

Joseph's mind quickly spun. He stared right into his enemy and took a deep breath. Against an enemy that didn't want him to see the end of the day. Joseph knew that he couldn't be passive.

If he wanted to survive and win, he must do something that could make him turn the tables against such a powerful enemy.

Just as Joseph was thinking about his plans.

His instincts suddenly kicked and he subconsciously jumped towards the side.

Bang!

A dark-colored lightning bolt descended and struck the location where Joseph stood just a few moments ago. Cold sweat filled his back and he couldn't help but gulp a mouthful of saliva when he found that the epicenter where the lightning bolt descended now looked like it was filled with lava.

"Damn it how strong is this guy? God of Fighting, I thought that you'd make an even field where I can fight properly against this guy? It's true that our stats are even, but he's cheating! He can use the skills that he had before his level and stat advantage disappeared!"

Joseph inwardly cursed the God of Fighting in his heart, but he couldn't really do anything about it. Gods were known as eccentric characters. Apart from the Goddess of Light, Rhinna whose presence was scattered around the world of Victory.

Most Gods were reclusive and had eccentric personalities.

One of those was the God of Darkness that could be described as the amalgamation of mood swings. His whimsical manner often made him a laughing stock amidst his fellow Gods. But all of them couldn't deny the God of Darkness' strength and influence.

After all, so long as the light in the world exists. Darkness could never disappear.

"I need to keep track of that cloud of darkness..." Joseph thought to himself and found that the cloud of darkness automatically followed his movements every three seconds.

This meant that every three seconds, he must move to a new location or he would be struck by a powerful lightning bolt from the cloud.

"Where are you looking?" Abyssal Flame Master suddenly appeared at Joseph's side. He aimed his dagger at Joseph's neck in an effort to strike Joseph's vitals.

But Joseph suddenly folded his knees, directly collapsing underneath Abyssal Flame Master as he carried his right elbow and buried it deep into Abyssal Flame Master's stomach.

[You suffered 23 damage.]

For reference, a Level 1 character possessed only a thousand Health Points and two-hundred Mana Points. Even though 23 damage looked incredibly low. Against a character that was only Level 1.

This attack meant that Joseph removed at least two percent of his enemy's Health Bar in just a single attack.

Abyssal Flame Master was in disbelief. Not only his opponent possessed shamelessness in battle and moved like a hooligan. His skills in Martial Arts was also decent.

Suppressing his anger.

He widened his distance from Joseph and started chanting.

"Like I'd let you!" Joseph rushed at Abyssal Flame Master, and when the latter saw all of these happening. A small smile lifted on his lips. His staff disappeared, replaced by the poisonous dagger as he welcomed Joseph's arrival with a thrust of his dagger.

"Your mother dropped you on the ground when you're just a baby!" Joseph suddenly insulted him and his dagger's trajectory faltered from the confusion that he felt.

[Your enemy's words have confused you.]

[Your movement will be far slower than you expect.]

[This effect lasts for a few seconds.]

"Now is my chance!" Joseph saw this opportunity and he hurriedly sidestepped. Dodging the dagger, he turned his body and attacked with [Slice] at his enemy's torso. But before his attack could arrive, a thunderous roar rang out from the skies, interrupting him from attacking.

"That goddamned cloud!" Joseph cursed. He forcefully retracted his [Slice] and successfully dodged the bolt of lightning sent by the cloud of darkness.

[You forcefully retracted an attack that was already sent. Such forceful movements burden your body.]

[Your Movement Speed is lowered by 20% for a few seconds. This is a natural phenomenon and cannot be resisted.]

"Shit!" Joseph cried out loud when he saw the messages contained within the system notifications that appeared before him. He had never forcefully retracted an attack before.

That was the reason why Joseph felt shaken when he saw that his Movement Speed would be lowered by a significant amount as the aftermath of retracting a sent attack.

"An opening!" Abyssal Flame Master saw this opportunity and he hurriedly moved.

His dagger that gleamed dangerously with the light of a nightmarish poison neared Joseph whose expression looked grim and desperate. Right now, he really hoped that a miracle would happen so that he could escape his enemy's incoming attack.

But the reality was far too cruel.

[You suffered 232 damage.]

[The attacker's weapon contains poison!]

[You are suffering from the poison and will continuously lose 10 Health Points for five seconds...]

"10 Health Points?" Joseph doubted the message that the system notification. Although his enemy had the same level and stats as him, it wasn't certain if his enemy's items also downgraded.

In that case, wasn't it obvious that his opponent's items would be on a higher spec than him?

But right now, his opponent's weapon only dealt a measly 232 damage and 10 Health Points per second as a status effect from the debuff, "Poison" that his enemy's weapon possessed.

This only meant one thing. Not only their levels and stats were even.

Everything that they had in possession was also downgraded for the sake of a fair fight.

But in that case, the God of Darkness really was too dirty. The God of Fighting wanted an even fight between him and Abyssal Flame Master. But he secretly restored his Apostle's strength by giving permission to his Apostle on using high-leveled skills in this fight.

Abyssal Flame Master was taken aback when he saw that his enemy's Health Points didn't sink as much as he expected. But thanks to his extensive experience with fighting against fellow players. He quickly regained his mentality and stared right into his enemy.

Even though the strength of his equipment were invalidated by the God of Fighting for the sake of creating an even fight...

Abyssal Flame Master believed that he had a higher chance than Joseph on winning this battle. After all, he was decent on using his dagger, and he could also use high-leveled skills due to the help of the God of Darkness.

Staring at Joseph that was currently suffering under the effects of "Poison".

Abyssal Flame Master lightly laughed and said: "Now, do you understand? The sheer difference between the two of us isn't something that a God could just invalidate. Experience is something that is accumulated, it cannot simply be rendered obsolete so easily..."

Abyssal Flame Master ignited a small Fireball above his palm. His eyes turned frosty as he stared at Joseph that wouldn't die like a cockroach as he said in a nonchalant manner: "This, will make you understand how futile is the struggle that you are doing right now."

He pointed at Joseph and said: "Discharge, Fireball."

The ball of fire that floated above Abyssal Flame Master's palm answered his command, and it flew like a shooting star towards Joseph.

The sheer speed of the Fireball rendered dodging useless...

Joseph didn't even bother moving as he welcomed the arrival of the meteor that would undoubtedly end his life in Abyssal Flame Master's eyes.

Boom!

A great inferno along with a loud explosion occurred within the tight cave. Stalactites that hung proudly on the ceiling of the cave descended like thorns of flower towards the location where the Fireball exploded.

When all of them collapsed, everything was covered in a thick smoke of dust and by now...

Abyssal Flame Master was sure that his enemy was dead.

But why wasn't he informed about his quest's completion? Could it be that...

Abyssal Flame Master suddenly trembled in fear. But he didn't dare to believe the theory that he reached.

However, when he opened his Quest Menu and found that his Hidden Quest was still marked as ongoing.

His eyes widened like saucers as he whispered into the air with fear.

"Could it be that..."

"The game is bugged...?"