I like them big, do you?

Chapter 44: Mana Monster

"Ah... Fuck."

Steel Melody\'s words were adequate to her situation!

She had never faced the army of falling penguins going at her! Their numbers were high, and they covered the starry sky! If those penguins \'thought\', then the beginning of the first battle was already hard!

"Fuck yeah!" Steel Melody quickly recovered herself, and she raised her shield high!

Reylin got closer to her and whispered, "Quite a fast recovery."

He had a familiar reaction, too, however.

The water penguins span in the sky, and their beaks let out water whirlpools. They emerged out of the water as fast as rockets, and their fall would be much faster and heavier!

Everyone understood it.

Reylin patted Steel Melody\'s armor, "Well. You got what you wanted. I will try to hunt him down while you block the penguins."

"Sure thing!" Steel Melody replied.

At last, the first penguin reached her shield. It landed so heavily that Steel Melody\'s boots sank into the floor a little!

Her shield\'s duration dropped, and she even suffered HP loss!

However, her smile was wider, and she giggled, "I blocked one! Haha! Give me more, old man!"

Another one came quickly after!

Her shield was foreign to magic, and Steel Melody\'s magical defense rose only after sparred with Reylin. She also formed a fire-resistance skill, but other than that, her shield was pretty exposed to the magic!

Nonetheless, the second penguin didn\'t hurt her much!

She laughed, "That sound! You heard it, Rey?!"

"I did. So that\'s where your nickname comes from?" Reylin asked while searching for the possible gap in the high mage\'s stance.

"Yes!" Steel Melody melodiously replied.

He heard the long and steel bang, which was what fueled Steel Melody\'s heart! Her body shivered with excitement, and the louder it got, the more she persisted!

Now, no one had any doubts! That girl was a masochist!

Reylin\'s eyes narrowed, "He is bringing out the second skill. It will aim for your legs."

"Magic is so annoying! If I fall, I will stand back up fast enough and protect you!" Steel Melody swore.

Reylin chuckled, "Don\'t make me just watch the show. I always participate in showtime." His hands dropped onto the floor, then Reylin focused.

His eyes were in front, and he watched the high mage\'s every movement.

That man drew a clean line before himself, then water gushed forth from it! The powerful wave shook the whole ship, and it extended its form toward the player duo!

Reylin shouted, "Flamethrower!"

His flames oozed out of his hands, and they howled in response to the incoming wave! The two elements clashed, and one promptly won!

"Hah!" Reylin laughed.

He didn\'t expect to overwhelm the opponent with his flames at the start. He imagined his flames evaporating the water, though. However, the flamethrower was not the ultimate skill at his disposal!

Even if his flames lost, Reylin kept the flamethrower going, and he slowed down the high mage!

"You like those steel bangs, Melody?" Reylin shouted, asking in a very impatient tone.

"I do! Haha!" Steel Melody replied with a ringing tone.

Reylin said, "I hate how water tries to put down my flames... And we can\'t let this man use more skills. These two are already overwhelming. That is why..."

Reylin whispered, "Flame Artist."

He slapped Steel Melody\'s armor and said out loud, "Fire Shield." A crafting class temporarily passed Reylin\'s Fire Shield for her!

Steel Melody\'s whole body and shield lit up in orange light, and she had something akin to an orange aura around her.

The water penguins evaporated on her shield, and their damage had significantly dropped!

Her eyes widened in surprise, "You can do that too?"

"I am the flames. There\'s nothing I can\'t do with it... And if there\'s a limitation, I will break it." Reylin declared, then told her, "We are in a party, so it won\'t hurt you. Go forward and let me blast his face with The Red Sky."

Hearing the skill\'s name, Steel Melody shuddered! She rarely got excited by something foreign to her. Still, her body trembled with excitement, and she let the heavy step forward!

"I will bring you to him!" She howled!

"Do it. I\'ve had enough of squatting," Reylin said with his hands on the floor!

In a slow march, the tank led the pyromaniac closer. That irked the water wave, and it seemed to become much wilder. Its water splashed around, and much more mana oozed out of it.

Reylin narrowed his eyes, hating how his flames were losing.

Steel Melody was in her own heaven, however.

The tough opponent was even more challenging than she had imagined, and her shield kept singing her favorite tune. She was excited, and she would either leave this ship by dying or as the victor!

"Water Excalibur," Kondre said, his staff pointing at her shield.

Steel Melody bared her shield, and the massive 2-meter long sword barrelled into her defense! It tore through her like paper, and the sword went through her in and out! Blood splattered forth and behind, and Steel Melody stopped.

"Haha... It seems like... this is the end of fun for me... I am not disappointed..." Steel Melody chuckled, blood dripping down from the corners of her lips.

Reylin glanced at her, "I won\'t delete you from my friend list. After this, in just a few days, something much more interesting will come out. You are invited by me."

"Hehe. Really? Then I will wait and train my skills in the meantime... You know? My shield skill tree has so many skill points I will pour them into the fire, water, and magic resistance!" Steel Melody quickly passed the news, then her body exploded into red fragments.

Reylin faintly smiled, "Interesting woman. No fear whatsoever..." He shifted his eyes to the high mage and stood up.

[High Mage Kondre Lv. 65 HP: 5000/5000 MP: 4501/12500]

"We have toiled enough. The Red Sky!" Reylin\'s Legendary Skill bloomed out in an instant.

The raging flames around him did their best to assist him, but Reylin didn\'t have time. He blew up as much mana and fire he could gather!

Since his body was the one to explode, he kicked the floor and rushed toward the High Mage!

Kondre clenched his staff and pointed it at Reylin, "Water Dolphin."

In an instant, the whole Northern Rivers Bank shook.

The waterfalls and rivers stopped, and they promptly went to the sinking ship!

They formed the water dolphin, and it towered behind the ship and Kondre as their guardian spirit!

The dolphin let out a sound as if the skill summoned the real beast, and it dropped its front onto Reylin, whose body was close to the blast!k

His eyes rose, and he snickered, "Now, I am The Legend. My flames are legendary." Reylin\'s hands went up, and he welcomed the dolphin coming at him.

The two elements yet again met, but the legendary flames shocked even the high mage himself!

"This is my strongest skill! It takes more than half of my mana! Even if I didn\'t cast it at my full mana, and it relies on the surrounding water, it can not lose to the player whose level is much weaker than mine!" That was Kondre\'s answer to Reylin\'s legendary skill.

The dolphin slammed itself against Reylin, aiming to eat him and his flames. However, the hissing sounds were what prevailed, and neither side could find an advantage.

Those two opposite elements lasted in a battle of attrition for more than three minutes. For casters, it was much longer, but each had a different reaction. The shock was plastered on Kondre\'s face, and he soon witnessed his skill fading away.

Reylin\'s flames also dispersed, and the sound of his body falling onto the knees rang out.

The fog embraced them both, but the raining water erased it in just a few seconds!

Kondre saw Reylin on the ground, without any drop of mana, and his hands still raised up as if he couldn\'t believe what had happened.

High Mage\'s lips curved up, and relief pumped his heart, "You welcomed my dolphin... And it overwhelmed you, didn\'t it? I still have more means to kill you... As long as there\'s even one drop of water, I can make it into a knife and kill you... You, who has no mana..."

Kondre\'s finger sliced through the small pool, and he conjured the knife out of nowhere. As the high mage, his body was enhanced by mana. Even if he didn\'t have even one drop within himself, his body produced mana faster than Reylin.

In short, his mana regeneration was just greater.

"Me? Welcoming your dolphin? When?" Reylin asked.

Tears suddenly gathered around the pyromaniac\'s eyes and tumbled down in a silence scarier than ever before.

Although those tears could mean utter defeat, Kondre didn\'t feel any good about these...

Reylin\'s eyes were also on the sky... It was where his dolphin initially was, but after Kondre\'s head arched, he felt like someone clenched his heart!

Reylin\'s voice boomed within Kondre\'s ears, "A starry sky... Evening... A perfect time for fireworks... At last, my beloved."

[Rey Flames Lin\'s Black Staff Weapon Tree.]

[Mana Gathering - Unlocked.]

[Long Projectile Fireball - Unlocked.]

"Paint my Crown! Hahaha!"

"When... How?" The High Mage asked his eyes on the sky.

The fireballs drew long projectile trails across it, taking over the stars and ushering Reylin\'s dominance over it! They exploded within the sky, then dropped onto the high mage!

Kondre\'s eyes rippled with fear, and he ran away. He stumbled on the way and rolled on the ground, his face in his pool.

Reylin chuckled, "Why don\'t you try killing me with that water knife? How much damage can it do, anyway? Haha! Before you kill me, I will be the one to blast your whole face, you fucking high mage! Hahahaha!"

"Stop it! Stop that skill at once! I am the esteemed high mage!" Kondre roared.

"Never heard about you, though. So much for your fame," Reylin shrugged.

The fireballs approached at a dangerous speed, and Kondre no longer dreamed of an escape. He knew very well that just a few of those would be enough to take him down... His face contorted in despair, and he whispered, "You have prepared a spell before coming here... How much did it cost?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Kondre\'s face softened, "Players... I hate players."

"I just used a weapon, the black staff. What? You can\'t store mana that easily? Do you need external treasures? You are a high mage?" Reylin\'s questions ate Kondre\'s pride.

Reylin\'s laughter heightened, then he added, just before the fireballs landed on Kondre\'s face, "Maybe you have never appreciated mana enough."

"Mana... Monster... Ahhh!" Kondre replied, then the fireball slapped his face.

His face went through the floor, and other fireballs landed around him. Some of them had missed, but Reylin couldn\'t be blamed.

He was, in the end, a new player.

However, a few fireballs landed on Kondre, and his life nearly approached its end...

"He can\'t respawn..." A cold but still pleasant voice rang out in Reylin\'s ears.

"I will miss a lot of xp, Yuki," Reylin said, then added, "At least help me leave this sinking ship."

"I came here for you," Yuki replied, and she lifted him up.

Another member of Black Rose handcuffed Kondre, and he silently took him away from the ship.

Yuki did the same with Reylin, and both of them ended up in the Northern Rivers Bank.

Their position was quite intimate, as Reylin had no stamina nor strength left, and he was hugged by the ice mage.

"Were you crying?" Yuki asked, "I didn\'t expect that from you."

"A man cries when he feels emotional. If you find it weird, I will ask you the same when you will cry," Reylin replied.

"My tears would freeze," Yuki faintly smiled.

"Frozen or not, tears are tears," Reylin said.

"I will remember that I hope."

"..."