Chapter 357 Humiliating
When Kaizen used the <Giant's Lungs> ability, all of his physical attributes were doubled. In other words, it basically acted like an anabolic steroid, making him stronger, faster, and more agile, and all of that mixed with his natural reaction speed, less capable opponents didn't stand a chance.
Most players of Rise Online did not even know that such a powerful boost skill existed. There were other boosting abilities, mainly provided by support class players, and there were potions and items that boosted attributes, but doubling was something very rare. In a way, even Kaizen wasn't very aware of the magnitude of the power he had in his hands.
For this reason, the group of enemies that tried to negotiate peace with Kaizen was completely defeated within a minute. They were around level 100, except that Kaizen was a level 70 player with the base amount of attributes of a level 140 player, which, doubled by the <Giant's Lungs> skill, was the same amount of attributes as someone around level 250, because the rate of gaining attributes increases after a certain level.
As the leader of the quartet fell to his knees and looked at Kaizen with a frightened face, he wondered how in the world someone could be so powerful. The leader had only started playing three weeks after the release of RO, he had very good skills, and had only died a few times since he started playing, no wonder he was confident that he would be in a good position in the tournament, only Kaizen gave him a complete defeat that he had never imagined.
While this player was on his knees, Kaizen placed his hand inside the small flaming orb of the archer he had just killed and collected his bow, just as he had warned.
[You have obtained a 'Bow of Graham'.]
[You have received a 'Custom Knit Quota Chest'.]
[You received a 'Jeweled Crown'.]
Kaizen looked at these last two items, threw them in the direction of the quartet leader, and said:
"You can keep that."
The man, paralyzed from the heavy damage he had taken and not had time to heal, frowned at Kaizen. "What are you doing? Aren't you going to kill me?"
"You can't even move anymore, man. I will not waste my stamina on someone in such a pitiful situation. Consider it a favor, though." Kaizen said and moved closer. His feet sank into the fluffy, blood-stained snow.
Inside, the leader felt even worse than before.
This is humiliating. He thought.
He had just been easily defeated and therefore should not even be considered a threat by Kaizen, and this was an opportunity for him to stay alive and try to secure a better position for himself, but why did he feel so bad about it?
This is definitely too humiliating. To continue like this would tarnish the reputation of my name and the names of my friends. He thought again. He could see the spherical cameras flying above them, practically invisible and undetectable, but he was sure they were broadcasting all of this live. Probably the broadcast chat is making fun of me now. If I go on like this, scared, a coward, I will never find a girlfriend.... I have to look cool.
Despite everything, the player started to stand up, leaning on the ground with his two-handed sword, trying to find a point of balance. The boots of his black armor almost slipped on the snow, while his legs trembled as he tried to stand.
At the same time, as the group leader expected, the official chat of the online broadcast went wild with this simple act of steadiness.
[56Luna: Wow! He can still stand up!"
Yuri_OP: Who does he think he is, trying to get up in front of the mighty Kaizen!!! HAHA!
NEW0: Wow.
T0bby: Didn't he get tired of the humiliation?! LOL
Atumalaca: Kaizen is at a higher level. This is useless.
Shrk2: That's it, little guy! Show that Kaizen is the boss!!!]
Obviously, the crowd was divided between Kaizen's supporters, Kaizen's haters, and people who were thrilled by the scene of humiliation.
Kaizen watched as the leader of the quartet struggled to get up and let out a sigh. He knew that this was a meaningless fight, a virtual battle in a virtual world, but it seemed that for some players, honor and reputation in front of a few cameras was more important. And Kaizen would not normally condemn them for that, he just did not want to waste his time with wimps.
With a quick gesture, Kaizen drew his sword and pointed it at the leader of the group. "Do you want to continue this fight even after being defeated?" He asked, his voice firm and unemotional.
The group leader looked at Kaizen and realized he was not joking. His shoulders slumped and he bowed his head.
"No." He said, finally giving in. "I lost."
Kaizen put down his sword and turned away from the leader. "You made the right choice, but when we meet again, I will show no mercy." He said as he walked towards the exit of the battle arena. "In fact, remember all of this the next time you decide to try to corner someone who is outnumbered."
The group leader stood and watched Kaizen walk away. He knew that he had been defeated, but he realized that he had been wrong to think that he would lose his dignity by surrendering after the defeat of his comrades. In fact, his image had been tarnished from the moment he and his friends decided to hunt down a player who was alone and looked so desperate that he ran inside the tower to hide.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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