Chapter 9: Behind the Mask

In the split second that Venn saw the flashbang, he recognised it and reacted in an instant. He tilted his head away at the nick of time, and avoided being blinded by the intense bright light generated from the mini explosion.

Then, channelling all his strength to his legs, producing an insane burst of speed from his feet, he turned his body around and charged blindly as fast as he could towards the opposite direction that he was facing, through the poisonous fog that was just in its initial forming phase.

It was as if he knew Silverfox had a tendency to hide 10 feet behind her opponent away from their sight after creating the poisonous mist.

And he was absolutely right, it was the right gamble to make.

"Goddamnit, woman! Didn't I ask you to wait?" Venn roared angrily.

Breaking through the layers of mist, Venn's figure emerged in a flash from the poisonous fog with traces of the green gases still trailing from behind him. He was left with a single digit health remaining by now.

Within seconds, his sight locked on to the clearly stunned Silverfox who never would have imagined that Venn would find her location so easily.

Facing the unprepared and shocked Silverfox who was still in the midst of her channelling spell, Venn immediately launched his counterattack with a chain of strikes specifically aimed at Silverfox's vulnerable head.

Vicious slashes after slashes were made, and the damages were piling up for Silverfox. Slowly, Venn could see the gradual decrease in Silverfox's health bar that was hovering above her.

-8, -16, -16, -10, - 19...

Although his damage was severely lacking, Venn persevered on and continued with his swings without giving Silverfox any breather to recover herself. If he stopped now, the huge level difference between him and Silverfox would spell his doom!

If it wasn't for his critical damage being triggered, his damage would pale even further!

Fortunately, every single time when it would seem that Silverfox might gain her foothold back, Venn would cunningly interrupt her with a low kick or a well-placed knockback that would stun her momentarily just at the perfect time.

This made Silverfox even more flustered as she began to realise that she was getting beaten up by someone whose skills far surpassed her seeing that her HP bar kept diminishing but she had no way of stopping the onslaught.

"Just who is this guy? I… I can't win against him. Wait, Is he eating steamed buns while in the midst of fighting me?!" Silverfox couldn't help but feel a sense of hopelessness and dread dawning over her. It was something she had never experienced before.

She had pride in her combat skills. Even if she wasn't the best, but to be humiliated like this by a level 7 player...

Finally, with the last silver of health remaining, the attack ceased all of a sudden, and she found a dagger pointed at her neck at close proximity. Soon after, it was followed by her fox mask splitting apart into two and dropping to the ground as the durability of the item reached zero due to the barrage of strikes aimed at her.

As the mask cracked, a tiny face belonging to an oriental heritage revealed itself to Venn. Behind the mask was a young girl that looked to be around the age similar to Rena, pouting her mouth with a complicated expression on the verge of tears.

Despite making such an unglamorous facial expression, her beauty still stood out to Venn, making him lose focus for a brief moment.

Her small face was as if it was personally shaped and carved out by a goddess with meticulous care throughout the whole carving process.

Furthermore, her thin, long, and slightly curved eyebrows, and her sharp small nose were like masterful works of art tugging at Venn's heartstrings.

Unique to only her, her peach blossom eyes were strikingly charming as if it was containing the entire universe inside her eyes. Venn could swear that he could see the vast cosmos through her eyes, alluring his soul closer and closer to her with each passing moment.

Even if this was a game, Silverfox's real appearance outside of the game would still be extremely close to her in-game appearance considering the fact that looks can only be modified to around 10% in Heaven's Descent.

Fortunately, Venn was not the same young and inexperienced library rat as he was before. Shaking his head, he managed to ignore and put aside the temporary feeling of his heart racing like an unstoppable freight train.

He had more important things to accomplish, and chasing after skirts was not one of them. Aftercall, with Silverfox's life as a bargaining chip, it was a crucial opportunity that could advance his plan faster.

"Now, can we talk?" Venn spoke. Following Silverfox's silence, he calmly continued.

"I want in. I can help with the wild boss."