Second World

Jack then picked up the pace.

There were no monsters in the vicinity. Though monsters were always sparse close to the Capital, those unknown hidden players had probably cleared out any nearby monsters to give them better control of the ambush environment.

As John had thought, there was a tree where Jack's radar showed the closest blue dot. A player was either hiding behind its trunk or up in its thick foliage. Jack continued walking normally, feigning ignorance of the players hiding all around. In actuality, he was vigilant and prepared to act if they made a hostile move.

The blue dot didn't move as Jack walked past. Had he overthought the matter? These hiding players might have nothing to do with him.

Jack passed the second closest blue dot. There was still no activity from them.

Everything was still fine when he passed the third hidden player. Jack had now entered the middle of their formation.

Jack continued his slow and leisurely walk.

He walked past the fourth blue dot hiding behind a massive boulder on the left side of the road.

With no movement from any hidden players, Jack was almost convinced that he had misinterpreted the situation.  He was ready to message his party to come out of hiding when the fourth blue dot made its move.

It sprinted very speedily towards his back.

Jack was surprised, but he hadn't let his guard down. He immediately spun around, drew his black sword, and slashed towards the oncoming blur of shadow.

The attacking shadow was startled at his prey's quick reaction. How had he discovered the ambush? He quickly changed his plans. His weapon was a short dagger; if he kept going, he might manage to stab his opponent, but he would be hurt badly by that sword slash. Trading health was not the attacker's style, so he altered his stabbing trajectory and aimed it instead at the oncoming sword.

Sparks flew as two metal weapons collided with a loud clang. The attacker was shocked when he was pushed back by a massive force and suffered 61 damage. He widened his stance as his feet skidded to a stop a few meters back and looked at his prey with wide eyes.

"Who are you? Why did you attack me?" Jack asked. The attacker had his face covered with a cloth mask.

"Are you from Death Associates?" Jack asked again.

The mysterious attacker kept his silence. Jack was confused; what's the point of using a face mask? Players could simply use Inspect skill to find out the other's identity. He used his God-eye monocle to Inspect.

Blackjack (Ranger, level 13)

HP: 230

'Blackjack? Wasn't he the Ranger that Silverwing had mentioned before? The one that was Red Death's martial brother?' Jack thought. 'He isn't a member of Death Associates, but he certainly has ties to the guild. So it was them targeting him again.'

Blackjack lifted his left-hand high. Was he giving a sign? Jack immediately sent a chat message to his friends, "Now!"

He saw his party's green dots moving towards the now black dots of the hidden players.  Neutral blue had changed to enemy black as soon as Blackjack attacked.

The black dots also started to move, but green dots intercepted the nine on the outer perimeter, and they stopped advancing. The remaining five came towards Jack.

Blackjack also seemed to have received a message from his party members as he looked at Jack in consternation.

"How did you guys find out?" He asked.

Jack didn't answer; he copied his opponent's previous silent treatment.

"Never mind, you will still die today," Blackjack snarled as two masked players joined him; a Fighter and a Magician.

Jack saw on his radar that the remaining three were approaching from behind; one was still a little distance away, the other two were close enough.

Jack spun as he executed Swing. His sword lashed out in a crescent-shaped light that swept horizontally. The two Rangers who were planning to attack from the rear were caught off guard. Both of them were hit squarely on their chests, suffering 83 and 86 damage. The force from the move threw them flying back past the Magician, interrupting the spell he was about to cast. 

"So the information is true," Blackjack commented, "you do possess monstrous attributes."

He then gave hand signals to his comrades. Swinging a sizeable two-handed axe, the Fighter advanced towards Jack while the two Magicians cast Energy Bolts from a distance. Eight bolts of energy rushed towards Jack from the front and back. Since the bolts have tracking ability, Jack didn't bother to dodge. He made rapid slashes at the bolts coming from the front and ignored the ones that slammed onto his back. He took five minor damages ranging from 24 to 28; one of the other four bolts had also gotten through.

By the time he finished dealing with the Energy Bolts, the Fighter had arrived. Jack glanced toward Blackjack's position and was surprised to find that he was no longer there. Jack couldn't afford to give it too much thought as the Fighter's large axe was speeding towards his waist.

Jack spun his body to give his sword momentum before it clashed with the axe. Jack was using one hand while his opponent was swinging the axe with two hands, but the collision threw the Fighter back while Jack stayed in his position.

Jack felt pain in his back! He guessed that the missing Blackjack had stabbed him. Blackjack had somehow silently circled while Jack was dealing with the Fighter. Jack suffered critical damage from the backstab.

Jack slashed his sword backward, but Blackjack had retreated several meters away.

The two Magicians fired Mana Bullets. Jack jumped to the side and rolled on the ground. His roll was not as elegant as the Ranger's skill, but it still served its purpose as he evaded both the Magicians' bullets.

Jack rose and was about to rush one of the Magicians as they were easier to kill.  Blackjack appeared next to Jack as if he had predicted Jack's move and thrust a Swift Stab at Jack. Jack had experienced fighting against Red Death, so he treated Blackjack as a similar expert. Jack didn't bother to dodge Blackjack's attack but instead slashed at his chest, adopting an eye for an eye method. Jack received 38 damage while Blackjack suffered 69 damage.

Only Jack could use this method to fight. His massive HP pool let him soak up damage that would kill most others. After suffering so many hits, his HP bar was still 60% full, while Blackjack's HP bar had fallen to less than half with just two of Jack's normal attacks.

Blackjack immediately stepped back out of melee range after witnessing Jack's high damage output.

As the Ranger was reluctant to approach, Jack left him and ran towards the Magician again. The Magician panicked and tried to run away, but his movement speed was utterly lacking. The Fighter with the axe wanted to chase and provide support, but his speed was not a match for Jack's either.

Blackjack realized he had made a mistake by allowing Jack some freedom to move. He immediately ran forward but, even with the speed of a Ranger, he failed to catch up to Jack in time to help.

Jack caught the escaping Magician in less than three seconds. He received two hits from the other Magician's standard attack and one stab from Blackjack's Weapon Throw during his chase. He completely ignored them as their damages were slight. Jack hit the Magician's back with Power Strike for critical damage. Jack had intentionally aimed his Power Strike downwards, which sent the Magician crashing to the ground.. Several rapid slashes to the helpless Magician lying on the ground finished him off.