Chapter 9: Shrilli

As the rest of Dynasty got in front of Hegen, the rest of Ouroboros had regrouped with Harrowing Owl.

"How dare you speak down on Ouroboros, you can only be courting death." bellowed Harrowing Owl.

Hegen looked surprised and asked, "Oh, has it become illegal to speak the truth? My apologies!"

This remark only further infuriated Harrowing Owl, who commanded his team to charge. As they charged, Dynasty resolved themselves to their fate while quickly shooting Hegen a frustrated glance. This could have been avoided with an apology, or he could've tried at least!

After this short, wordless exchange, Dynasty met Ouroboros' charge head-on with Crazed Maniac directly charging into Harrowing Owl. Aided by his new equipment, he didn't lose out in the slightest. Despite the slight numbers advantage, Harrowing Owl was the only top-tier expert on the team, while the rest were either regular pros or experts.

As the two sides fought for a while in a stalemate, Hegen still hadn't joined at all, much to the hatred astonishing. Shortly after they realized this, however, something astonishing happened!

Hegen unsheathed his sword again and jumped over Maniac, who was holding down Owl. As he passed over Owl, he swung his sword in a seemingly slow arc that lingered in the air as he landed. Owl, who had been watching the instigator of the confrontation the entire time, snorted and tried to sidestep the arc, only for the arc to follow him, landing directly on the back of his neck.

Maniac didn't sit still as this happened, taking the short moment that Owl switched his attention to swing his sword directly into his chest, sending him flying backward.

Without their main tank, Ouroboros' remaining members were momentarily defenseless, trying their best not to be ended by the members of Dynasty. Soon, the small numbers advantage for Ouroboros had been reversed, with Dynasty holding the advantage!

At this point, Harrowing Owl joined his team and became increasingly frustrated as time passed.

"I'll kill you all!" He bellowed before his body became engulfed in a cloud of thick smoke.

Demon quickly noticed the ability and warned the rest. "He's using a berserk skill, but I've never seen one like this. It must be a high ranking ability so be careful."

Hegen and Maniac, who were confronting Owl, steeled themselves with yet another layer of resolve but were astonished to see that Owl's body had enlarged by twice its regular size, and he had two small horns coming from the front of his head.

Surprisingly, Hegen was the one who noticed this appearance.

'How can they be here? Wait, that's not right. That's just a player taking on the appearance of one. Still, I didn't expect the Shrilli would be in this game.'

After his brief surprise, he cleared his mind and readied his sword once more. Maniac, who was less prepared than Hegen but still ready, had a thin trace of sweat perspiring from his forehead. Nonetheless, he put away his sword and readied his shield with both hands for added support before charging toward the now enlarged Owl.

Although Maniac had charged quickly after Owl's transformation, Owl still reacted quickly and sent a colossal fist flying towards his shield. Maniac tried to get out of the way but quit trying shortly after he noticed that it was pointless. As such, he poised his shield towards the blow, being sent flying by the impact. As he was sent overhead, Hegen ran towards Owl with his sword in hand.

Pointing it toward Owl as he ran, Hegen used Consecutive Lightning Strikes to keep him preoccupied. Although he had dodged all of the strikes, it took up his attention to do so. After the lightning strikes had ended, Owl went to refocus his attention on where Hegen was running from, only to notice that he had vanished!

Hegen had maneuvered behind Owl and quickly sent a flurry into his unprotected back. Owl reacted quickly, pushing off the ground and turning around to send a slash at Hegen, who had already readied his sword. As the two swords collided, Owl felt his lose momentum before being swept along by Hegen's blade, spinning out of his control like the waves of the ocean. Following this, he lost full grip on his blade as it was sent flying before Hegen sent a smooth yet quick chain of attacks, causing Owl to fade into pixels with a confused and bewildered look on his face.

After Hegen finished off Harrowing Owl, he didn't loiter. Instead, he went to help the rest of his teammates with the few remaining members of Ouroboros. They were quickly defeated without their captain, and after all was said and done, the fallen members of Ouroboros had dropped a substantial amount of loot. Harrowing Owl, in particular, had the worst luck and actually dropped two different pieces of equipment, with one even being a rare rank necklace.

Necklaces, like rings, were incredibly rare in Whispers of Elysia. This was because necklaces didn't give a flat boost in attributes, but a percentage increase. This means that no matter when you get the necklace, it will always be useful. This is different from rings, as you are able to equip multiple rings but only one necklace.

Before looking at the loot, Hegen glanced at the new notification that he had received during his fight with Harrowing Owl.

[Congratulations on creating a new skill! Please name it!]

"Blade of the Flowing Ocean"

[Skill: Blade of the Flowing Ocean

Grade: B (Can Be Evolved)

Type: Passive / Active

Passive Effect 1: +10% Agility

Passive Effect 2: +5% Perception

Active Effect 1 (The Flowing Blade): Utilize a smooth-flowing sword that carries 150% of the user's strength. Continues until the sword stops.

Cost: 0 Mana

Cooldown: 1 Minute

Active Effect 2 (Oceanic Strength): Embues the user with the power of the Ocean, allowing their next sword strike to carry 300% of the user's strength. Can not use The Flowing Blade while Oceanic Strength is on cooldown.

Cost: 100 Mana

Cooldown: 2 Hours

Description: A sword art created by 'Hegen' that harnesses the power of the ocean and flows to its rhythm. Allows one to effortlessly slice through opponents!]