Isn't It Okay to Cultivate Myself? Chapter 42

With that, Ryan did not need to think twice before "broadcasting" the message to Jonathan and the others.

Adler did not know the reason behind it. Seeing Jonathan, that clingy nuisance, show up again, his expression darkened to the extreme.

"I'll deal with that guy. You take down Cassidy," Kasa said.

He was confident he could handle Jonathan, but he had no confidence against Cassidy.

Adler's gaze flickered slightly before he finally nodded. "End this quickly."

He scanned the surroundings, trying to find Ryan's whereabouts, but failed. Still, he had already arranged with Ryan for him to act at the critical moment. Though Ryan was not particularly strong, Cassidy trusted him completely. Thinking of that, Adler relaxed somewhat.

Ryan, I'm counting on you!

"Ah-choo!"

"Damn it, who's cursing me behind my back?"

In a corner of the Clock Tower's top floor, Ryan rubbed his nose and watched the battle below from afar.

Two versus two. There was no need to watch Jonathan and Kasa; the two were old rivals, and neither could do much to the other. The key was still Cassidy and Adler.

If this were in the game, Cassidy would have had no chance of defeating Adler one-on-one. After all, Game Characters were routinely nerfed once they fell into players' hands. Even gods could trade blows with mortals when they entered the fray.

But now, judging from her performance, Cassidy was no weaker than Adler.

Her job was Holy Word Sorcerer on the Janus Path, a pure-blooded Mage. Her spells had extremely high burst damage.

However, Adler's job was Soul Eater. Its offensive abilities were nothing special, but its durability was first-rate. Its devouring and conversion traits had once made players curse their mothers while fighting Adler.

There was no other reason—his hide was too thick. As a boss, his damage was not low either. You absolutely had to bring a healer when fighting him, or you simply could not win.

Ryan watched from afar, waiting for an opportunity.

It would be best if Cassidy could take down Adler. If she could not, he would have to step in. Most importantly, Adler could not be captured. Otherwise, even if the latter did not speak voluntarily, there was no guarantee Cassidy did not have some special means.

Hypnosis, for example.

After all, hypnosis was hardly an unusual ability in shooting games.

Boom!

An explosion rang out.

Jonathan was the first to erupt in the distance. Golden Flames ignited across his body, radiating a brilliance like the sun.

Among the Son of the Sun's Job Skills was an ability that granted a burning state, increasing all attributes, though its effect only lasted for a limited time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every strike Jonathan threw erupted with terrifying power. He seemed like a completely different person from before.

"You lunatic! The Augustus Empire is already like this—what the hell is worth selling your life for?!" Kasa grew increasingly stifled as he fought and could not help cursing.

Why else would Ryan say Shadow of Humor was a trash job?

Though the shadow's combat ability was decent, its job growth was far too low. It could not compare with Silent Nun at all.

No matter how skilled you were, if the other side could crush all techniques with sheer force, there was simply no way to play!

Jonathan locked onto Kasa's true body. Under his full-force assault, Kasa could not withstand him at all. The shadow's role shifted from assisting in attacks to passively defending.

"I was born an Imperial man. I do whatever duty comes with whatever position I hold, and my conscience is clear! Do you understand honor? Do you understand a sense of duty? You don't understand shit! You fucking don't understand anything! Why didn't your dad shoot you onto the wall!"

Jonathan roared, and blazing flames surged over his staff.

A skill?

No, it was merely momentum!

The greatest difference between reality and the game was that the performance of job abilities did not depend solely on attributes. Just as Jonathan had once told Ryan, courage and resolve—when your will was strong enough, perhaps even a Deity would cast its gaze upon you.

At this moment, Jonathan was not being watched by the Sun God, but his powerful will allowed him to merge more deeply with the Sun Path for a brief moment, unleashing even greater strength.

"Haah!"

With this strike, the ground beneath his feet shattered. The burning afterimage of his staff broke through the shadow's defenses and sent Kasa flying along with it.

"So strong."

Ryan was somewhat surprised. No wonder Son of the Sun was so popular despite being a Normal Profession. Its job traits were right there.

Shadow of Humor really was trash. Pah! Utter garbage!

Seeing Kasa fall completely into a disadvantage, the pressure on Adler instantly soared. He had originally been evenly matched with Cassidy and had hoped Kasa would deal with Jonathan before coming to help him. Yet now, the situation had completely reversed.

If he had that Third-Tier Transcendent item in hand, the situation might still have been uncertain.

That useless bastard! I really can't count on him for anything!

Adler cursed inwardly.

"I'll risk it!"

He gritted his teeth and raised his Left Hand. The Dark Ring on it suddenly emitted a dazzling glow.

In an instant, darkness shrouded the Earth. The entire barrier space was covered in cold, gloomy blackness, and wails like ghosts crying rose from all around. Cassidy took two steps back, only for ghostly hands shooting from beneath her feet to lock around her ankles. These ghostly hands were invisible and intangible, merely masses of gathered energy. They were not particularly strong, and Cassidy could break free with a slight exertion of power, but there were simply too many of them.

Evil Spirits came swooping in without end. Cassidy could only cast defensive spells to protect herself, but soon, a low chant of sorcery reached her ears.

"Supreme God of Death, great lord who governs the return of All Things to death, Your devout Believer beseeches You in humble posture, offering You the souls of the departed..."

Bzzzt!~

A piercing shriek that stabbed at the soul rang through the air. Cassidy immediately raised her staff, and the relic she had hidden beforehand resonated at the same time. The soul attacks canceled each other out, sparing her from any effect.

"Useless, Cassidy!"

Lord Adler's furious voice came from all around. A frigid aura spread across the ground like mist, and a massive figure emerged from beneath the Black Mist—twisted features, a bloated body, and utterly disproportionate limbs made Adler look like some deformed monster!

Ugly—hideously ugly. Corroded by the power of death, Adler's body had gradually become contaminated and was beginning to transform into a monster.

This was the side effect of the relic he used. High-tier relics were undoubtedly powerful, but the risks of using them were immense. Kasa's relic was also Third Tier, but it was not particularly powerful, so he could use it without being affected.

As for Adler's relic, if he had any choice, he would never have wanted to use it!

"Willing to offer your own soul to an Outer God, Adler—you've simply cast aside the dignity of being human," Cassidy said with disgust.

"Shut up! You don't understand our resolve at all!"

Boom!

A fist came crashing down.

The terrifying force nearly shattered the defensive spell Cassidy had cast.

She unleashed a Holy Word attack. Milky white light dispersed the Black Mist and shot forward as a wave of light.

Yet Adler merely opened his mouth and forcibly swallowed the attack whole!

The Soul Eater's class ability negated most of the damage for him, and with the relic's enhancement, the remaining power could not hurt Adler at all.

Realizing this, Cassidy hurriedly retreated to widen the distance.

Adler pressed his advantage. He stood over three meters tall and likely weighed four or five hundred jin. His bloated body looked like a pig stuffed full of fat, yet he possessed tremendous strength and was not slow either. Every step shattered the ground, and every punch blasted out a Big Pit.

Cassidy fought as she retreated, but every attack she landed on Adler was swallowed up by him.

Soul Eaters did not need weapons. Every part of their bodies could absorb and convert magical power.

It sounded powerful, but the class's ceiling was not particularly high, which was why Ryan had considered it mediocre.

But as a pure meat shield, it really was quite good.

"What's going on? Cassidy isn't going to lose, is she??"

Hiding in the Clock Tower, Ryan could not see clearly because the fog was too thick. Still, he could vaguely hear Adler's wild laughter, as well as figures occasionally emerging from the mist. Adler was clearly hunting Cassidy down.

Just as Ryan hesitated over whether to have Lin Qi make a move, a beam of white holy light suddenly tore through the Black Mist, followed by Adler's miserable scream.

"Arghhhhhhh!!!"

"Adler, did you really think you were the only one with a relic?"

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The sound of burning.

A gigantic Sharp Sword appeared in the sky.

Kael's Sword of Judgment.

Ryan recognized it. It was Cassidy's bonded relic in the game's storyline.

Its power was immense. Once she used it in the story, whoever she saw died.

But the damn thing was that after Cassidy came under player control, it could not be used at all.

The moment he saw the sword appear, Ryan immediately relaxed—this was in the bag.

BOOM!!!

The Sword of Judgment descended, setting off a Huge Roar across the plaza.

"Adler should be dead now, right?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a violent surge of magical power rippled beside Ryan. Then, with a bang, Adler fell out of thin air.

By then, he had returned to his normal size. He was covered in wounds and bleeding, with even burn wounds across the surface of his skin.

"Heh, heh... aahhh..."

Adler let out low groans of unbearable pain.

"Lord Adler?"

"Ryan?!" Adler turned his head, delight flashing across his face. "Quick! Take me away—get me out of here!"

"How did you get here?"

"I used an Escape Relic... Forget that. Cassidy will definitely catch up soon!"

He had used an Escape Puppet, but it was only a First Tier relic. It could leave behind a false body in his original location and randomly teleport him somewhere nearby.

"Wait, this is... Where is this? Why are you here?"

Adler looked around and only then realized they were on the Clock Tower.

"Oh, Cassidy told me to stay here and cover you." Ryan unhurriedly drew his gun. "But don't worry, Lord Adler. They won't be able to find this place for the time being."

"Is that so? But I can't get out either..." Adler carefully dragged his injured body to the edge of the Clock Tower and glanced down. The black mist was too thick to see what was happening below. "Ryan, the plan has failed. We have two choices now: either we find a way to escape with everything we have, or you take this chance to kill Cassidy. What do you think?"

Capturing Cassidy was fundamentally impossible now, and escaping was highly dangerous. If Ryan was willing, he could use Cassidy's trust in him to kill her... When the Grand Duchess questioned them afterward, they could just say there had been no other choice—it had been Ryan's decision.

"I think there's a third option," Ryan said leisurely.

"A third option? It—"

Bang!

Adler had barely turned around when a gunshot suddenly rang out beside his ear. The bullet struck him squarely in the forehead!

Adler's pupils constricted violently.

"You... why???" he asked in disbelief.

Ryan shrugged. "Adler, I'm sorry. I'm a good person."

"Good person... good person... good person..."

"Aaargh!!!"

Boom!

Even with a bullet lodged in his forehead, Adler still did not die. With an enraged roar, his originally frail body gradually began to swell.

He was transforming again!

Even if he could no longer withstand the side effects of Mental Erosion, his fury drove him to kill Ryan!

"Traitor! I'll kill you!!!"

Whoosh~

A shadow suddenly burst out from Ryan's own shadow.