Flashy Adventurer System : Show Off to Get Stronger!

'They're definitely following me…' Shye mused as he noticed the sneaky actions of three individuals. 'Hnngh…I can leave right now but…I wanna piss them off first…Should I do it?'

He could easily leave right now if he wanted to.

However, he has this twisted hobby of pissing off his enemies before utterly destroying their plans, hence, a dilemma.

'Well…Drone guaranteed that it would work so it should be ok…Moreover, these rats wouldn't be able to instantly kill me.'

Deciding to go through with a bad decision for the sake of satisfying his ego, Shye walked towards a dark alley where the rats would have the opportunity to make a move.

Well, there was also another reason why he wanted to go through with this.

He was running low on silver coins and the guys who were tailing him seemed to be on par with ruby-ranked adventurers.

Which means…they have money.

It was forbidden to kill someone inside a city, however, that's only if you get caught.

With the ace in his sleeves, he could escape anytime he needed to.

Shye continued walking, pretending to not notice the people following him until finally, they arrived at a secluded area.

"Well, then, why don't you guys show yourselves?" His grating voice echoed, prompting three individuals to emerge from the shadows.

"Hoh? Not bad, geezer." A man in his late 20s with short blue hair and a slender yet toned physique snickered. "Regrettably, today would be the last day you get to use your sharp instincts.

"Hahaha, Ray, this geezer is still acting tough, should we severely beat him up first before sending him to the afterlife?"

Meanwhile, as the unfriendly banter between Shye and two of the rats was unfolding, the third rat contacted his boss.

"Boss, we found him, we're on the second dark alley near Thames Street."

"Good, I'll be there in ten minutes, make him suffer while waiting for me."

"Roger."

After the call, the third rat made eye contact with the leader of the trio, Ray, before slowly circling behind Shye.

Shye wasn't too worried though,

Although three ruby-ranked adventurers were indeed a threat to him, he was equally a threat to them.

As long as he can catch and kill one guy, the remaining two would find it difficult to slay him.

'Three scouts huh? This might be a bit difficult…' Shye thought, assuming his mage battle stance.

"Hahaha! And what do you plan to do with two elemental staffs you idiot? Such absurd bluffs wouldn't work on us." Ray sneered in disdain, fully convinced that Shye was simply bluffing.

*FWIIING*

A loud screech shot across the tight alley as a transparent sphere enveloped the area, making Shye feel uncomfortable inside shortly after.

'They sealed my mana huh?' Shye pondered, remembering that Ian had a similar skill. 'Well, doesn't matter does it? I still have the option to slice these rats in half…'

Believing that Shye's silence was due to panic, Ray laughed even louder.

"Hahahaha! There's nothing you can do here, geezer. Just hand over the prime dragon scale and we shall consider giving you a quick and painless death."

"Heh, why don't you try if there's nothing I can do? Come, I'll give you guys a good whacking."

Seeing that Shye still dared to talk smack even after being cornered, Ray frowned in dissatisfaction.

He wanted to see the geezer beg for mercy.

"Bones, Summer, beat this damned goat up."

Immediately after ordering the other two rats, Ray disappeared, reappearing behind Shye shortly after.

Ray wasn't some one-dimensional or stupid guy, he knew that Shye would easily predict where he would reappear, however, there was simply nothing a manaless mage could do to defend himself so there was no point in knowing where he would reappear.

Knowing this, Ray confidently performed the most basic scout opening template.

Unfortunately for him, he encountered an anomaly like Shye who was not only a strong mage but a strong warrior as well.

Giddy, Shye turned around, immediately replacing the elemental staffs in his hands with two menacing greatswords.

He then used one of his lethal warrior skills, [Draconian Roar Lv.2], which uses one's stamina as a catalyst, to lock Ray in place.

Finally, with one swift diagonal slashing motion, Shye empowered his attack with [Power Slash Lv.4] to neatly cut Ray in half—blood spurting everywhere as the rat leader's body split into two.

"R-RAY!!" screamed the man named Bones, his focus momentarily lapsing as the harrowing sight of Ray being ruthlessly killed in one hit gnawed at his courage and sanity.

Unfortunately for him, Shye was adept at capitalizing on small windows of opportunity such as these to thoroughly dismantle assassins.

Instantly appearing in front of Bones with the help of his skill, [Dash Lv.4], Shye raised both greatswords, slashing them downwards right after as he executed another skill, [Destructive Chop Lv.3].

Bones wasn't some random beginner who would freeze up in front of death.

Recognizing that there was no time for him to execute an escape skill, he opted for an aggressive approach—mutual destruction.

Thunder sparks lingered in the air as Bones stabbed his dagger straight toward Shye's neck, a vicious look emerging on his face as he resolved to die along with Shye—or better, scare the bastard off through this simple yet effective tactic.

However, how could such an exchange faze someone like Shye?

Activating his skill, [Stoic Lv.4] which reduces all incoming physical damage by 60% for 5 seconds, Shye willingly received Bones' attack, his dagger not even managing to pierce through his glowing skin.

In exchange, he ruthlessly slashed the second rat vertically in half, causing blood to once again splatter everywhere.

"H-Hiih!!"

Summer, the third rat, was scared witless.

Wasn't the guy a mage? What the f*ck was going on?

These were the questions in his head, however, he didn't dare look for answers, opting to swiftly escape the area instead.

As long as he makes it out of the long, dark alleyway, his chances of surviving would tremendously increase.

Today wasn't his lucky day though.

While he was madly darting towards the light at the end of the alley, the skill, [Seal Mana Lv.4], timed out, giving Shye access to multiple mage repositioning skills.

Due to this, Shye easily caught up to him, grabbing him by the neck and raising him in the air.

"Now, tell me, who sent you?"