......
The idle people, who did not have anything better to do and waiting for the news regarding the Shunkai Forest to arrive, saw a certain post of an anonymous person in the online forums. They then clicked it out of curiosity, especially with the title that it had that was saying – "The reason for the strange events of Shunkai Forest" –
Right after they played the video and saw the intense battle between the two sides, the views immediately went wild.
"Woah! What is this? Is this really from the same game that we are playing?"
"Holy! Look at that guy 1-vs-3-ing three people! The heck! He is dodging and blocking bullets while throwing slashes at the other dude."
"D*mn! He can cut magic spell magic spells too!? Who the heck is this dude?"
"Dude! Look how he dodged those bullets and cut those spells while fighting. He is such a badass! Does he have multiple eyes to see everything? Does he even have a blind spot?"
"That Assassin is doing great as well! He is preserving his life against such a powerful opponent."
"That Holy Mage is quite skilled too! Look at her saves that are always on the clutch. Her heals, barriers and holy spells always come at the right time."
"Man~! Look at those shots! It is fired with high-level gun-fighting techniques! That marksman is really good."
"But that dude fighting the three of them alone is such a monster! He is suppressing them without breaking a sweat! He looks like someone taking a casual walk in the park!"
The comments immediately flooded in as they saw the battle. They were quite surprised but stunned as such battles where a single person fighting against a group was a common occurrence these days, particularly when elites and experts of the game wanted to showcase their capabilities.
It was not until some people managed to recognize the three people fighting the mysterious expert.
"Wait! Isn't that Phantom? That Assassin looks like Phantom."
"Holy Sh*t! It is really 'Phantom'! The 'Fleeting God' Phantom! What the heck? He can't shake off his opponent no matter how hard he tries! Who is this guy they are fighting?"
"That Holy Mage! She is the champion of the last Challengers Cup! The new goddess!"
"'Goddess of Sacred Magic' Sylvie!"
"No wonder her spells are on point. But she still can't save Phantom even with her skills? This is nuts!"
"Now I remember! That gunslinger! That gunslinger is that dude from Mercenary War Incident!"
"Claude! That must be Claude, the Maverick God."
"Wait! There are also those two other people! That guy near Claude must be his brother! Wolf, a top-class Maverick Ranker.
"And that guy protecting Sylvie is Valdez! Maverick God Valdez!"
After recognizing the people fighting Shin, these people became even crazier. They were losing their minds after realizing the facts. They were also now looking at Shin as if he was some sort of a monster.
They also started guessing his identity.
"The heck? Three godly players and two highly skilled ones yet they still can't defeat a single person!? Just who is that dude exactly?"
"Holy Cow! This is madness! Two Godlike Players and a Maverick God ganging up against a single person, but they still can't win and lose instead? That dude must be a powerful Godlike Player too!"
"Must be one of the top gods of the game! Who is he?"
"He is using dual-wielding swords! He must be one of the top swordsmen of the game!"
"And he is using lightning? Who among the top godlike swordsmen has such mana?"
Due to the top players using their unique methods and showcasing their special mana manipulation techniques, the players realized that there were such techniques were quite common in high-level battles.
In the current time, you could not be considered a true expert if you could not harness a unique version of your mana manipulation. It became one of the requirements to become a true expert within the game.
It also became the identity of the top players, particularly those guys sitting at the top of the rankings.
Some of the bored people even created a list where they showed the unique mana manipulation of some top players within the game.
On the side where Claude and Wolf were located, the Phantom Clone of Shin also appeared. Unlike the two clones on the other side, this Phantom Apparition used the 'Phantom Dance' without any hesitation, surrounding the pair of brothers with multiple copies of Shin.
Wolf wore a solemn expression when he saw that they were surrounded and nowhere to run.
Claude quickly responded, jumping over his brother and starting to spin in the air while firing in every direction. He was using 'Random Firing' to shoot all the Clone Phantoms.
Unfortunately, his bullets only went through the bodies of the apparitions as if they were nothing but illusions.
Sensing that his allies were currently occupied with something, Phantom immediately realized the predicament that he was in. He knew that he could do nothing but watch himself get killed by Shin.
But before the scene inside his head played out, something strange suddenly happened.
Clank! Clank!
Shin, who was about to swing his sword at Phantom, suddenly heard a very subtle sound of chains that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Then, when he swept his gaze at his surroundings, his eyes suddenly turned wide while his pupils shrunk greatly.
He suddenly realized that there were pitch-black chains surrounding him. They suspended in the air and formed a spiral with him at the center.
They were just a meter away from his body, making Shin wonder when they appeared.
Clank! Clank!
Then when Shin was still confused, the chains suddenly tightened and rapidly shrunk, seemingly trying to wrap themselves around him.
Swoosh!
Shin used 'Void Steps' without any hesitation and appeared a few meters away from his previous location.
But before he could even catch his breath, he immediately sensed an incoming threat coming to his side and seemingly heading toward his neck.
Swoosh!
Shin quickly ducked forward, barely dodging the sickle that flew past over his head. It even left a trail of crimson light in the air, signifying that it was no ordinary attack.
Shin did not have the time to think whether the one, who ambushed him was working with Phantom and the others, as he quickly retreated once again after sensing the slight trembling of the earth underneath him.
Bang!
Right after he left, another sickle suddenly shot up from the ground along with the chains connected to the bottom of its handle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few more attacks tried to catch Shin, but none of them managed to even touch the edge of his cloak as he skillfully maneuvered himself while dodging each of them – jumping, backflipping, hopping, spinning, and cartwheeling in the process.
The attacks only stopped when he distanced himself far enough from the range of the chained sickles.
"Hoo~! That is close," when Shin stabilized himself in the distance and raised his head to look at the person, who just ambushed him.
That was when he heard the latter talk. "Tsk! Tsk! You sure are a slipper b*st*rd. To think that you are still able to escape such a perfect ambush!? I just missed the perfect opportunity!"
"I must admit that you are worthy to be hunted," he added while laughing maniacally.
Pogo, the Killer Clown, suddenly appeared a couple of distances away from Shin, catching the chained sickles that came at him before licking its curved blade.
Shin instantly recognized the guy as he had seen the video of the battle between this clown and his senior brother.
He then slightly knitted his brows deeply, finding that the situation was getting a little troublesome.
But, at the same time, it was also getting more interesting.
He smiled under his mask before fixing his grip on his swords, preparing for another round.
...