The figure atop its head still hadn’t spoken, and had barely moved an inch.
Yet, the air around him felt heavier than lead itself.
[???]
[???]
[??? / ???]
More and more players began whispering.
"Is that... another boss?"
"No, I... I think it’s a player."
"Why does it have question marks?! Is that even possible?!"
"...Just like that Hungry Demon..."
[The village boss monster has been defeated by "A Random"! Congratulations to him for unlocking the path to the first city—Montville!]
A notification suddenly appeared before all the players within the village, not just those around the boss area
The tab flashed three tis, as if trying to burn itself in their mory.
And following it was silence, each player trying to process what they just witnessed.
Then chaos.
"What?!"
"No freaking way!"
"Did I just read that right?!"
The air was filled with gasps and disbelief, many still finding it hard to grasp what had just happened.
"He ended it...?"
"In one strike?!"
"He just got here!!"
However, no one could understand what really happened, not even the top mbers of Yano’s guild.
And especially not Yano.
His expression was frozen, twisted in disbelief. Blood still dripped slowly from the wound on his side, the wobbly coat around the cut slowly swelling.
’I planned so much for this day...’ he thought, his body trembling in annoyance. ’I spent weeks planning... even promoting those two to the top ten...’
His teeth gnashed together.
’And he just... cos in... and kills it?! In one hit no less?!’ he thought, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
He felt like screaming in frustration, rage boiling up within him.
He didn’t just feel annoyed, he felt extrely ashad at his wasted efforts.
anwhile, Terry’s gaze hadn’t shifted away from the figure standing atop the boss.
He remained focused on him, his brows drawn tightly together.
"A Random..." he muttered, briefly glancing at the rah floating before him once more. "Who the hell is that?"
There wasn’t a single player he’d t during the beta phase or after the launch who went by that na.
At least no one with power or presence like this.
He could tell—whoever this person was, he wasn’t a normal player.
The question marks floating above him... the inhuman strength... the sudden arrival.. none of it was normal.
The thick dust cloud had finally cleared, revealing the figure’s full appearance.
He looked quite young, like soone in their early twenties.
His long black hair swayed slightly in the wind, a few strands falling across his face, and his eyes were dark blue, looking sharp but unreadable.
The strangest part about his appearance was his skin, which glead with a dark obsidian hue, making it seem like he was coated in tar.
His elbows down to his fists were covered in thick, rock gauntlets, trailing down to the pair of daggers clutched in each fist.
The dense gauntlets suddenly cracked, rapidly peeling away, along with the
The obsidian tone of his skin also faded, replaced by a more natural, pale complexion.
The whole process only took seconds, but no one missed it, as they found it hard to take their eyes off him the whole ti.
Yano finally snapped back to his senses.
Without saying a word, he stepped forward.
A long red staff materialised in his hand with a flash, and his fingers gripped it tightly, veins bulging due to how hard he was holding it.
During his earlier fight with Terry, Yano hadn’t even gotten the chance to bring out his staff.
Everything had happened so quickly—one mont he was defending against the barrage of arrows, and the next, he was sent crashing down to the ground.
And now...
Now there was sothing far more unpredictable standing above him.
He didn’t know if this person was a friend or a foe. But he didn’t plan on taking any chances.
"Who are you?" he asked coldly, pointing the tip of his staff up toward the dark-haired figure.
The man tilted his head at him, his eyes flickering with amusent.
Then he smirked.
"I’m just a random player," he said smugly. "Nothing more, nothing less."
Yano’s eyes twitched. The calm, almost arrogant response only made him more irritated, and veins popped visibly across his forehead.
’These last few days... I’ve been getting more disrespected than ever...’ he thought, barely able to hold back to urge to attack the strange man.
But before he could move or speak again, Terry landed beside him with a soft thud.
Yano’s lips curled unconsciously in disgust, but he didn’t say anything.
As much as he hated being near him, and everything about him. they currently had a common threat standing before them.
Terry didn’t take his eyes off the man above. His expression was still, but the way his shoulders tensed spoke volus.
"Just a random player, you say..." he muttered, his eyes drifting briefly toward the question marks above the man’s head. "Then why are there only question marks above you?"
There was a brief silence before Terry added:
"Do you have any connection... to that monster from yesterday?"
The figure didn’t respond imdiately.
Instead, he smirked again—wider this ti—and slowly shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows?"
Yano’s grip on his staff tightened even more.
anwhile, up above, the man remained still atop the monster’s head, wind blowing gently through his hair.
’These question marks are making stand out too much,’ Riley thought, clicking his tongue. ’I need to find sothing to do about it. But for now... this disguise will do.’
His eyes slowly drifted downward, locking onto the two n standing beneath him.
They were both figures he had once looked up to in his past life, though one of them eventually turned to the dark side, while the other t a terrible fate at the hands of the demon lord.
Riley’s smirk widened.
’To think a day like this would co,’ he mused, his heart beating slowly. ’When I’d stand proudly before both [Yano the Great] and [Terry the Hero]...’
He exhaled softly.
’I can’t lie... it feels nice.’
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