Russet's laughter echoed through the chamber, filling the air with a sense of foreboding. "You foolish mortals. Your bravery is commendable, but it will be your downfall.

"Kill them!"

With that, the conversation reached a conclusion as the army marched in on Ren and the others.

"I'll take Russet," said the Princess.

"I'll take care of the soldiers," declared the Prince.

That meant Ren was left to deal with the players. Not that he was complaining.

On the other side, Eric and his group were in a dilemma when the battle started.

"What should we do?" asked Serine, confused at the chaos of the battle that soon took place.

"Fight, of course." Xian pulled his staff and began to chant. "Isolde, cover me!"

"Egh?" Isolde didn't know what to do and was torn about whether to attack Ren or not. "B-but . . ."

"I guess we have no choice." Serine summoned her beast companion, an Ice Bear and a White Dire Wolf, all of which leaped in Ren's direction.

"Let's kill him first while he's alone," said Erica and readied her spells for support. "Once we he's, I'm sure the NPCs will retreat, and this quest will end.

Erica's words echoed in Ren's ears as he braced himself for the oncoming clash. The air crackled with anticipation as both combatants readied their weapons.

"I guess we have no choice," Eric sighed, his voice laced with resignation. With a swift motion, he equipped his dual swords, their blades gleaming in the dim light of the battlefield. The weight of his decision settled upon him, and he steeled himself for the impending confrontation.

Ren, undeterred, focused his energy, summoning a torrent of fire that burst forth from his hands. Flames danced in his palms, their intensity matching his determination to win this fight.

"Hah! That's futile!" Eric's confident voice rang out amidst the roaring flames. In a display of extraordinary agility, he vanished from sight, evading Ren's scorching attack with ease.

In the blink of an eye, Eric reappeared behind Ren, launching a swift and precise kick that sent him hurtling through the air.

Ren's body contorted and twisted as he somersaulted through the sky, his instincts guiding him to regain control, and he landed gracefully on his feet. His eyes locked onto Eric.

Eric met Ren's gaze, a smirk playing on his lips as he spoke with confidence, "I know that you're a formidable mage with incredible stats. But I've learned to anticipate magic and exploit the advantage of close combat."

Ren's mind raced, assessing the situation. He realized that Eric's strategy was astute, using his agility and expertise in close combat to counterbalance his spellcasting.

It was not simply [Blink]. The answer lay on his boots. Using a quick [Appraise], he found out that his boots [Nimble Stride], a legendary item that up his AGI by 50%, and any related [Blink] skills would have doubled effect and 50% cooldown. It was the reason why Eric was so fast.

Still, his AGI was no match against his.

I want it. Ren mused to himself, and the only way to acquired it was to kill Eric, which wouldn't pose any problem, really.

Once he killed the vanguard, the others would be easy picking. His gaze then went to Isolde, who was still undecided whether to fight or not.

Sorry for her. Ren would use her indecisiveness to quickly claim victory.

Nothing personal.

Ren knew that there might be a final boss after this, so he decided to reserve Pii if ever. The time-out was close anyway so he could afford to let out the little guy.

With that in mind, Ren casted [Multi Attack], but before he could unleash his spells, multiple elemental magic was headed his way coming from Xian, and a boost of stat enveloped Eric that came from Erica's support.

Ren clicked his tongue and blinked away just in time for Eric's blade to almost tear off his head.

Eric's attack would have been a critical hit, if ever.

While he dithered Serine's bear and wolf using simple wind magic. Still the beasts companions suffered huge damage because of Ren's high INT.

"Shit." Serine hissed. "I heard about his crazy INT but this is ridiculous. My beasts HP have reduced to more than half and both of them are already Rank-B!"

Rank-B beasts' companions have their stat in the five hundred while their HP were in the thousands and already have numerous skills in their arsenal.

"Focused!" Erica said and was quick to heal the beasts.

Eric's speed was becoming a nuisance, and those players who were supporting him from behind were even more so.

As Ren thought, once he was surrounded by players who were already in their second class and above, things got complicated.

Though their stat couldn't be compared to his, they were no pushover, and their coordination was top-notch.

But it was his turn now. With a wave of his staff, gravity struck, and everyone within a hundred-meter radius had their speed reduced while suffering from bludgeoning damage.

Another spell he unleashed was [Superior Stealth] and simple fire spells on the rest to keep them away. He wanted to unleash [Super Nova], but that cost a lot of MP.

Right now . . . he needed to help the Princess and the Prince to reduce the enemy's numbers as soon as possible so whoever the final boss was, it would appear right away so he could unleash Pii before the time limit reach it's end for the day.

Ren disappeared from sight and relocated away from the fighting. [Superior Stealth] would give him time to cast another spell and end them once and for all.

While his gravity spell had helped Prince Zeroth to eradicate his enemies with ease, the Prince didn't need it in the first place, but his speed of killing the soldiers' doubled. He was a killing machine just like Elena though the latter was currently in lock combat with Russet.

"Hoi! Isolde, don't just stand there! Attack him!" Xian shouted.