Chapter 68: Act 8: The Reason to Exist Here

Werewolf Romeo bit down on Scary Clown in one gulp. He was just about to crush Scary Clown to pieces when, unexpectedly, Scary Clown turned out to be a balloon man. After the explosion, foul-smelling combustible gas filled his mouth and engulfed his entire head.

"Surprise." Scary Clown raised his hand and snapped his fingers at Werewolf Romeo.

A single spark danced into Werewolf Romeo’s mouth. BOOM—

The violent explosion engulfed Werewolf Romeo’s head. His burly body staggered back a few steps. Shaking his mangled, smoke-billowing head, he stepped into the moonlight.

Werewolf Romeo began his recovery, but this time, an earth-shattering Transformation occurred.

Impassioned orchestral music suddenly played. Black wolves emerged from the shadows of the withered trees, surrounding Werewolf Romeo and howling in unison.

Werewolf Romeo slowly stood up. Like a devout believer, he spread his arms toward the light; yet, like a ferocious Wild Beast, he leaned forward and growled lowly at the seven of them.

[Wolfman Level 50]

[Dual Personality D / Explosion Resistance A / Poison Resistance A / Fire Resistance A / Self A / Advanced Defense A / High-speed Regeneration A / Three-dimensional Maneuvering A / Wolf Howl A / Claw Slash A / Twisted Power A / Shadowy Followers A / Power Enhancement A / Beast Intuition A / Super Reflex A / Blood Fury A / Intimidation A / Mirage A / Bone-Breaking Enhancement A / Electric Flash A / Crunch A / Moon God’s Curse A / High-speed Thinking A / Return B / Slaughter B / Destruction B]

Long, it was simply far too long. Both the Six Vice Group and Blaze found their breathing growing Heavy.

From initially worrying about being instantly killed in one move, to joking around upon discovering Werewolf Romeo could instantly regenerate to full health, they had now reached a point where Werewolf Romeo’s strength was so high they could no longer hold back. He required their absolute focus.

The only one here maintaining peak condition was the Professional Player, Greenland. Therefore, she acutely noticed Werewolf Romeo’s eerie, Silent stillness.

"Watch out!"

A chill swept over them. From behind came a scalp-numbing chewing sound.

Blaze slowly turned his head. The massive Werewolf had Silently approached them from behind, Scary Clown dangling from his mouth.

Astonishingly, Werewolf Romeo narrowed his eyes into a mocking expression. That look practically said, "Why not turn into gas and disappear?"

He was taking revenge on Scary Clown for using a gas-form Skill to toy with him.

CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH—

Werewolf Romeo threw his head back and swallowed Scary Clown in a few bites, rolling out a bright red tongue to lick his teeth.

"Holy shit!" Scary Clown landed with a THUD, falling on his rear outside the ancient altar. The sudden change of scenery left him stunned.

Standing nearby, Herbie was taken aback. She knew Blessed Ones could undergo resurrection, but wasn’t it supposed to be in a town? She suddenly understood. A Foreigner who chose the path of Vice could not enter cities; instead, they could undergo resurrection in Monster lairs.

Realizing he had been instantly killed, Scary Clown quickly stood up and tried to re-enter the Moon God Altar, but a murky fog blocked his path.

"Th-this quest really can only be challenged once!" Scary Clown lowered his voice, afraid to make any noise that might disturb his teammates.

"Isn’t this... a bit too strong?" Ripper’s expression was stiff. Werewolf Romeo was only Level 50, but the Skill Level of the Skills he possessed was almost catching up to a Hundred-Level enemy.

This was also thanks to their group of tricksters, who had caused this by using a wide variety of weapons for fancy attacks.

"I’m just saying... if one day someone asks why a boss named Romeo has Full Attribute Resistance, Spirit Resistance, and explosive damage output, don’t tell anyone we did this."

Greenland ignored her companion’s joke. She had a premonition that if this continued, the quest might fail.

In the era where full-dive virtual reality game technology had fully matured, the ability to observe changes in things and analyze logical behavior played a crucial role in gameplay.

As a Professional Player, Greenland not only possessed extremely fast reflexes and phenomenal endurance, but her keen eye for the details of unfolding events was also sharpened to the extreme.

Romeo and Juliet. The story written hundreds of years ago by that old bastard Shakespeare was a fucking tragedy.

"Blaze, this quest... no, you want this guy named Romeo to become a regional boss, right?" Greenland maintained her guard as she sidled up next to Blaze.

Blaze didn’t speak, only nodding in response.

"Then we can’t keep going like this. At worst, the Werewolf will become the dominant consciousness. We have to draw his original mind out. No, if we want the plan to succeed, we must bring him out, otherwise, he won’t meet the requirements."

Greenland grasped the crux of the problem, but the vast majority of her mental capacity was allocated to countering Werewolf Romeo’s attacks and anticipating his next move. The rest relied entirely on her Professional Player’s Beast Intuition.

She was somewhat incoherent, but it was enough for Blaze to understand her meaning.

A high enough Level, a sufficient number of Skills, a special location—the Moon God Altar—and the relevant backstory—Arcadia’s Secret. Only one thing remained.

Condition Three: [A reason he absolutely must exist here].

"It’s not special enough. No matter how strong we make him, he’s just an exceptionally strong, ordinary Werewolf. There’s nothing special about him."

"That’s true. He’s just like any other Arcadian."

Blaze actually relaxed, walking straight toward Werewolf Romeo.

"This guy is a coward who likes to hide inside his Werewolf shell. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll drag him out of there and make him say with his own mouth that he doesn’t want to die, that he wants to live."

Greenland’s facial hair stood on end as if she’d been provoked. In a quest they couldn’t back out of, where giving up meant utter failure, he was telling her at the critical moment that there was still backstory she didn’t know about!? And a massive, terrible, absolutely crucial backstory at that!?

"Fuck!" Greenland recalled the scene of Blaze and that girl named Audrey whispering in each other’s ears.

If she had just held her breath and concentrated, she could have heard them clearly. But at the time, she was too busy sporting a knowing smirk, her eyes darting between a disappointed, sorrowful Herbie and an utterly betrayed-looking Audrey, guessing what kind of love triangle and bitter drama was unfolding between them.

She had even figured out the content for tomorrow’s video.

[SHOCKING! A Suspected Third Party in Black Beast Knight Blaze and Herbie Hermes’s Relationship?!]

[In This Love Triangle, Where Does the Married Youth Romeo Stand?!]

Great! Right when her unspeakable fantasies had reached Romeo’s entrance, they were actually discussing crucial plot details!?

Please, NPCs, don’t advance the plot while players are brainstorming!

In resignation, Greenland raised the Branch Magic Staff in her hand. The Summoning items she used to Cultivate Aconite Grass Werewolf subjects were running low. Next, she would have to go in for close combat.

Werewolf Romeo turned into a blurry phantom once more. Having learned their lesson, the group scattered instantly.

In Blaze’s mind, [Danger Perception] throbbed with Madness. Clearly, Werewolf Romeo’s target was him, the weakest of the group.

He couldn’t see Werewolf Romeo, but he wasn’t fighting alone.

The benched chicken was staring intently, providing a bird’s-eye view of the entire field. Its eyes, incredibly sharp from growing pains, were dead locked on a Shadow that seemed to blend into the moonlight.

Blaze abruptly spun around, clenching his right fist and swinging it upward to his left.

SQUELCH—

Blaze’s fist collided with the palm of Werewolf Romeo’s hand, and dark blood sprayed out.

It was Werewolf Romeo’s blood.

AHOOOO—

Werewolf Romeo suddenly roared in pain. Before, no matter how much it was sliced or bombed, it would only roar in Anger. But now, it was wailing.

Because Piercing through its wolf claws was a Silver Needle.