Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

"This is getting pathetic," Yohan said, his voice filled with sarcasm even though he was still vigilant against Arthur.

Arthur's mind raced, as he began to formulate a plan after making sure his theory was indeed correct. 'This guy's invisibility isn't perfect. He has to reappear to attack me. I just need to bait him into making a mistake.'

"Come on, Yohan," Arthur shouted, his voice taking on a mocking tone. "For someone who's so cocky, you sure like to hide in the shadows. I thought you were just walking around peacefully, what happened?"

Silence.

Then, like usual, Yohan materialized a few feet in front of him, his smirk sharp and venomous. "Afraid? Of you? Don't flatter yourself."

Arthur grinned. 'Got you.'

He lunged forward, his dagger glinting. But just as before, Yohan vanished with a soft chuckle, leaving Arthur swinging at empty air.

"Damn it!" Arthur shouted, slamming his fist into the ground in frustration. "Stop running, you spineless rat!"

From somewhere nearby, Yohan's laughter echoed again. "This is too much fun! You're like a toddler throwing a tantrum."

Arthur's eye twitched, his patience wearing thin. "Fun? Oh, I'll show you fun," he muttered, a dangerous glint in his eye as he began formulating his next move.

All the while, Borak and Hank continued wreaking havoc on Yohan's teammates in the background. The players were in disarray, their earlier confidence shattered.

Amid the chaos, Arthur couldn't help but smirk to himself.

'Keep laughing, Yohan. Let's see how long your tricks last'

Yohan, cloaked in his invisibility, silently observed Arthur's movements. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the white cat on the nearby tree.

'Damn it,' he thought, frustration bubbling under his calm exterior. 'Every time I get within range to attack, that damn cat stares directly at me. It's like she knows exactly where I am. If she alerts him...he can deal some serious damage to me, I don't have many health potions left.' His thoughts trailed off, the possibilities sending a chill down his spine.

He gritted his teeth, trying to dismiss the unease.

'No. She hasn't done anything so far. Maybe she's just pretending to be intimidating. She hasn't attacked once since the fight started.' His gaze flicked to her golden eyes, which seemed to pierce through his invisibility like she could see his very soul.

Yohan shook his head and turned his focus back to Arthur. 'Fine. I'll ignore her. The cat hasn't done anything to intervene, so I'll just keep up the pressure.'

He inched closer to Arthur, the seconds of his skill ticking down.

'Five seconds. That's all I have to land a hit and back off. If I can't bring him down in a few more attacks...' His gaze darted to his teammates, who were fending off Borak and Hank with difficulty. One of them collapsed to the ground under Borak's charge, their health bar flashing empty.

'...then this is over.'

His frustration mounted. Yohan had been trying to keep up the illusion of control, taunting Arthur, baiting him, but the reality was far grimmer than he let on.

'I can't attack with full confidence, not with that damn cat watching me like a hawk. If I slip up, I'm finished.'

Yohan clenched his dagger tighter. 'No choice now. I'll make my move and finish this before it's too late.'

He dashed forward, his Silent Step making his movements almost imperceptible. The world around him blurred as he closed in on Arthur. But as he raised his dagger to strike—

Golden eyes turned toward him.

The cat didn't move, didn't hiss, didn't attack. It only stared.

Yohan froze for a split second, an inexplicable shiver running down his spine.

'What is that thing? Why does it feel like it's waiting for something?' He forced himself to shake the thought off and pressed forward. His dagger glinted as he aimed for Arthur's exposed back.

"Not this time," Arthur muttered under his breath.

In an instant, Arthur pivoted, his dagger already moving to meet Yohan's invisible strike. The blades clashed mid-air, a metallic ring echoing through the forest.

'He blocked me?!'

The force of the block sent Yohan stumbling back slightly, his invisibility flickering as his form became visible once more.

Arthur smirked. "You thought you could keep playing this little game forever? I've got news for you. You're not the only one who knows how to adapt."

Yohan's eyes widened. 'How? How did he know where I was? He doesn't have any detecting talent nor skills from what he showed so far.'

His gaze instinctively darted to the cat. She remained seated on the branch, grooming her paw as if the fight was beneath her notice.

Arthur noticed Yohan's gaze flicking toward Neko, his suspicion obvious to the naked eye. A smirk formed on Arthur's face as he realised what was happening.

'He thinks Neko helped me figure out his movements. Well… he's not entirely wrong, but it's not like she's out here giving me a play-by-play,' Arthur mused, the humour of the situation making it hard to suppress a chuckle.

For the past five minutes, Arthur had been carefully studying Yohan's tactics.

At the start of their fight, Yohan's attacks had landed effectively, but as time passed, his advantage seemed to evaporate. Now, none of his attacks were hitting their mark. It wasn't because Arthur was getting better at dodging his attacks or blocking them, no, it was simply because Yohan was no longer attacking.

Arthur noticed that every time Yohan came out of invisibility, he would steal a glance at Neko, who was seated nonchalantly on the branch.

It was subtle, but after a few repetitions, it became clear to Arthur.

'Ah, I see. Yohan thought she would give him away, so he wasn't risking it. He was baiting Neko into actually giving me information to check, or so he thought?' Arthur thought, barely holding back a laugh. 'To be fair, he's not entirely wrong. Neko can clearly see him, but the reality is much funnier than he thinks.'

Arthur galnced at Neko.

She was lounging on her branch, golden eyes half-lidded as she idly swished her tail. She hadn't moved a muscle to intervene, yet her mere presence was enough to unnerve Yohan.

'She's doing absolutely nothing, and yet everyone is scared of her. How does that even make sense?' Arthur thought, his smirk turning into a full grin.

Yohan's hesitation to engage fully, his constant glances at Neko, and the paranoia etched on his face only confirmed Arthur's theory. The lazy cat on the branch had done nothing.

'To think the most dangerous weapon in my arsenal against this guy is a lazy furball with an attitude problem,' Arthur chuckled inwardly. 'Honestly, I don't even blame him. If I didn't know better, I'd be terrified of her too if she could see through my strongest skill. But in reality…'

Arthur's gaze flicked to Yohan, who was clearly overthinking every move he made.

Arthur shook his head lightly, pretending to stretch his arms as he readied himself for Yohan's next move. 'Oh well. No need to correct him. If he wants to waste energy worrying about my lazy, unbothered primordial cat, that's on him.'

His smirk widened as he thought, 'Thanks for the assist, Neko. Not that you care, but I owe you one for just... existing.'

Another scream from behind drew Yohan's attention. He turned just in time to see another one of his teammates fall under Hank's claw skill. Their health bar dropped to zero as they turned into particles.

'It's falling apart,' Yohan thought, panic creeping into his chest. 'If they all die, I'll be alone against him and those summons. I have to end this now.'

Arthur stepped forward, his blade steady in his hand. "Your team is losing. Your tricks aren't working. You've got one chance to surrender and save yourself. Or," he paused, his smirk turning cold, "you can keep this up and watch how that turns out."

Arthur waited for the next opportunity.

He stood still, his stance seemingly relaxed, but his eyes darted around subtly. His hand hovered over his midsection, ready to protect his vital areas.

'I've got a rare rank armour equipped,' he thought, his grip tightening around his dagger. 'He won't kill me with one hit unless regardless. I just need to protect my head and chest to be on the safe side.'

Yohan watched from the shadows, smirking to himself. He was impressed by Arthur's composure but mistook it for cockiness. 'Standing still? Idiot. Fine, I'll give him a move he won't expect.'

With silent steps, Yohan crept closer, his invisibility holding strong. His eyes flicked to Neko for a moment. Neko was seated on a branch and looked lazily in his general direction, her golden eyes unblinking.

'She's a problem, but I can handle this. I'll attack from the back, make it look like that's my target, then switch to the front at the last second.' Yohan tightened his grip on his dagger and lunged forward.

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Arthur felt the impact before he saw the attack. The dagger plunged into his side, just below his ribs.

-10HP

Yohan's grin widened. 'I was right. He fell for it.' He twisted the dagger slightly, but something was wrong. When he tried to pull it out, the blade wouldn't budge.

"What the hell?" Yohan muttered, tugging harder.

Arthur let out a low chuckle, his teeth bared in a menacing grin. "Hehe, caught you."

With one hand holding the dagger in place, Arthur's other hand shot forward. He grasped at the air, and Yohan's invisible wrist materialized in his grip.

Yohan's eyes widened in disbelief. "You took the hit just to catch me? You're insane!" he shouted.

Arthur's grin only grew wider. "Maybe I am. But now you're screwed." He slammed his fist into Yohan's face with all his strength.

Critical Hit!

-10HP

Yohan staggered back, but Arthur's grip tightened, yanking him forward like a rag doll. The shimmer of invisibility flickered once, twice, then vanished entirely.

His nose dripped crimson, and his health bar blinked red, teetering on the edge of depletion. He looked dazed, confused, and utterly humiliated.

"You think you can play mind games with me?" Arthur spat, pulling Yohan closer.

His free hand reached down to the dagger lodged in his side. With a grunt, Arthur wrenched it out and tossed it to the ground like it was an old toy.

Without hesitation, Arthur's fist flew again, square into Yohan's face.

Critical Hit!

-10HP

Yohan's head snapped back, his legs wobbling like noodles from the pain.

Arthur, smirking devilishly, leaned in close, waving his hand dramatically in front of Yohan's bloodshot eyes. "Hello? Can you see me now?" he teased. "What happened to your big scary invisibility? Gone? Just like your dignity?"

Arthur flicked Yohan's forehead for good measure, the light contact making the battered player stumble slightly. "How's it feel to be exposed, huh? Did the cat bite your tongue...heh."

The remaining team members, scattered across the battlefield, exchanged wide-eyed glances. One of them, barely clinging to life under Borak's unrelenting stomping, whimpered, "Is he… mocking our leader? While beating him to death?"

The one pinned under Hank muttered through heavy breaths before turning to pixels, "Who did John provoke? This isn't a player… it's a monster. How the hell is he this strong this early in the game?"

Another groaned, trying to crawl away while muttering, "What kind of sociopath throws away a dagger to punch someone with their bare hands? That's just... barbaric."

Arthur overheard the muttering and turned his gaze toward the group, his smirk deepening. "Oh, don't think I've forgotten about you. I'll be with you guys in a second," he said, almost cheerfully, as if addressing a queue at a bakery.

Turning back to Yohan, Arthur tilted his head. "Hey, buddy," he said, his tone mockingly gentle. "You're looking kinda rough. Want a potion? Oh wait…" He leaned in close, lowering his voice to a whisper. "You don't have time to drink one."

Yohan tried to throw a punch in sheer desperation, but it failed miserably as Arthur dodged it lazily, watching with amusement.

"Okay, okay," Arthur said, laughing. "This is getting sad. Let's wrap this up, shall we?"

He turned to Borak and Hank, gesturing to the rest of Yohan's team. "You two, finish cleaning up over there. I'll take care of this one."

As Borak and Hank resumed their brutal work, Arthur crouched down next to Yohan, who lay crumpled on the ground. "Any last words before I send you back to the respawn screen?"

Yohan groaned weakly, "You… you're insane…"

Arthur chuckled, standing tall. "And...you are shit. Don't let me see your face again, or next time I'm stomping you to death."

With that, Arthur delivered one final blow to Yohan, sending him straight into pixelated oblivion.

[You have Killed a human, Yohan (Level 5).]

[You have gained 40 Silver Coins]

Hank and Burak also started their slaughtering.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[You have killed ... (level 4)]

...

[Ding!]

[You have levelled up to Level 5]