The Bloodcrown Rider burst through the trees and ran straight at Noen. Leaves scattered under his boots as the blue staff swung toward Noen's head. Noen stepped aside just in time. The staff slammed into a tree behind him with a loud crack, bark flying everywhere.
The Rider ripped it free and swung again. Noen ducked under it and moved back between the trees, boots sliding through wet leaves. Another strike came immediately. He leaned away. The staff cut through the air right in front of his face.
The Rider didn't slow down. He kept pushing forward, forcing Noen back through the forest. A thrust shot toward his chest. Noen twisted aside and the weapon punched into the dirt instead. Before the Rider could pull it back, Noen kicked the shaft away and slipped past him.
He kept dodging. The Rider chased him through the trees, each strike hitting harder than the last. A trunk cracked when the staff smashed into it. Branches snapped. Leaves drifted down around them. At first the attacks were controlled. Now they were getting rough.
Another heavy swing came toward Noen. This time he stepped forward instead of back. Noen slipped inside the range of the staff. His Blade flashed. He drove it straight forward. Into the Rider's eye.
For a split second everything froze. Then the Rider's body glitched violently. Suddenly he stood several meters away. The blade tore free as the distance snapped open between them. Dark blood began to run down from the damaged eye. At first it looked normal. Then it changed. The blood thickened… darkened… turning into a deep red that almost looked black as it spread across the Rider's mask and down his armor.
The eye itself began to glow faintly red. The poison from the Duskfang Blade was spreading. The aura around him flickered. Blue. Blue. Then it shifted. Red. A deep, angry red.
The Rider moved again. The staff slammed into Noen before he could fully react, knocking him sideways across the forest floor. He rolled through the leaves and pushed himself back up, barely avoiding the next strike as it smashed into the dirt beside him. The Rider kept attacking, faster now. Noen dodged the first swing, but the second clipped his shoulder. Pain shot down his arm and he lost his balance.
His foot slipped on the wet leaves. He hit the ground hard. Above him the Rider stepped closer. The blue staff rose slowly. Then the top of it split open with a metallic sound. A sword slid out from inside it. A hidden sword. The Rider raised it high above his head. Blood continued to drip from the poisoned eye, thick and dark as it ran down his face. Then he grinned. A wide, horrible grin. The red aura flickered violently around him.
Below him, Noen lay on the forest floor, chest heaving as he stared up at the descending blade. For a moment his mind went blank. Then panic hit him. —No—no—NO! This is it…—
And the sword fell.
It was a blur of black steel, descending toward Noen's face. He could feel the heat of the red aura. Death was millimeters away.
Suddenly, a notification flashed in his peripheral vision, brighter than the sword itself.
[Reward delivered: Inventory now available]
The system window snapped open of its own accord. Noen didn't have time to think. He reached his hand into the flickering blue light of the inventory screen as the blade grazed his hair.
He gripped a cold, heavy object and ripped it out.
"REBOUND!"
A shimmering barrier erupted around him, faster than the speed of light. It clung to his skin like a second layer of armor. The Rider's sword slammed into the shield. Instead of cutting through, the force of the impact reversed instantly.
BOOM.
The Rider was catapulted backward by his own strength, his body glitching so violently that he looked like a smeared painting. Question marks began to swarm around him like flies.
Noen didn't wait. He scrambled up, his adrenaline peaking. He leapt into the air screaming, spun Duskfang twice, and drove the blade down into the Rider's chest. He didn't stop at one. He stabbed again. And again. And again.
[Obligation Quest: Defeat the Bloodcrown Rider. Completed!]
Noen didn't even hear the chime. He kept striking, watching the poison damage seep into the Rider's glitching form until his arms grew heavy. He finally slumped back, chest heaving, gasping for air as the monster grew still.
He stared at the system screen.
[Click here to see rewards.]
Noen looked down at his blood-stained blade. "W-How... how did I even beat that thing? What rank was he?"
He collapsed onto the dirt, the silence of the island returning. He looked at the inventory window, still open and glowing. "The inventory had exactly what I needed," he muttered, watching the Bloodcrown Rider's body begin to dissolve. "If this were a movie, I'd call that plot armor."
He stood up, wiping sweat and grime from his forehead. "Why me? Nothing about.... anything makes sense."
Suddenly, the world exploded into light. A blinding white flash erased the dark trees and the red tide. Noen squeezed his eyes shut, his ears ringing.
When he opened them, the air was different. The smell of salt and rot was gone, replaced by the scent of asphalt and cold wind.
"D-Derby Line?"
Noen spun around. He was standing in the middle of a street. He was alone, surrounded by the quiet houses of the border town, until a heavy hand slammed onto his shoulder. He jumped, spinning to see a heavily armed Beast Slayer in tactical gear.
"What are you doing here?!" the man barked, his rifle held tight. "Get out of the danger zone, kid! The beast might be down, but this area hasn't been given access to the public yet!"
Noen scratched his head, his brain still trying to process the shift from a nightmare island to a quiet US suburb. "I... uh..."
The soldier shoved him toward the perimeter with the barrel of his weapon. "Move it! Now!"
Noen nodded quickly and started running. —I have no idea where I'm going," he whispered to himself, "but I definitely don't want trouble with the government. Like that Kaelin guy. —