The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

The status displayed the moving images of player two and player thirteen. Demon tilted his head slightly, locking his gaze on player thirteen. Due to being in meditation and training for most of his idle time, he never focused on the other players until now. Player thirteen wore the uniform of the Undying Flame Sect, brandishing two icy swords in his hands and a pair of snake-like eyes.

"Regis Hyrin," Demon said. The last visions of his dreams before waking up fully in Oscar's inner world were of Oscar's battle against Regis in the Desert Realm, a troublesome opponent with swordsmanship rivaling Phillip's. Oscar only defeated him with the use of the Demon Deer Eirin Mantle.

If he went against an opponent like Regis, he risked exposing Oscar's power even further. The game never specified only one winner….and they could be ejected, not to mention the potential of being out for a day.

Pondering upon the means to defeat the opponents who surpassed his base capabilities without the mantle, Demon stumbled on the solution, taking out his alacrity card and his recently gained defense card. Augment squares suddenly became more enticing. With augments, other opponents might become nothing more than the fodder they should be.

"Let's see…" Demon shifted his attention back to the status.

From the moving images shown on the status, Regis and player two, a student of the Thousand Storm Palace, circled the platform, keeping a distance away from each other. Regis swayed his swords by his sides in a more relaxed stance compared to his enemy. Then, he sheathed one and gripped the one, which expanded into a large ice sword. Regis lowered his body into a standard quickdraw stance.

"Oh, he's already using that move." Knowing his body's needs, Demon ate some cooked meat from the turtle-crab. "He used it in the latter part of the battle against Oscar, but now he wants to end this quickly rather than play around. First, that white-haired woman, and now, Regis. Are the people from the Undying Flame Sect very adaptable?"

Regis's opponent took out an augment card. The status provided a degree of transparency, letting Demon and the other players know what cards they all held. From the list, Demon saw player two had little luck and only landed a single augment square, gaining a strength card to double his physical power.

The strength card in player two's hand activated with a burst of Ein. A shroud of unknown Ein came from above, not from the card, and enveloped his body, similar to the support spells such as healing and others. Demon's conjecture proved correct, as the source wasn't from the card itself.

Regis remained unmoving, staring at player two with his snake-like eyes. He resembled a cold-blooded predator, waiting patiently for his prey to step closer into his jaws. Even from the images on the status, Demon saw the air swirling with a chilly frost.

In response, green Ein surged from player two. A large griffon manifested by his side. He mounted the creature and flew slightly above, lifting his armament, a large green lance. His Ein continued to build until it reached its highest peak, surrounding player two and appearing like a small green sun in the air.

Regis still remained unmoving, staying focused in his quickdraw stance as always. His eyes didn't follow player two in the air. Player two dove straight down with all his Ein burning into swirling flames at the tip of his lance and griffon's beak.

"Ice against fire," Demon finished his plate of turtle-crab meat.

Instantly, player two split into two from the waist, and his griffon anima was cut apart. The infernos around him scattered. Player two could only look on in horror, a contorted face forever encased by the encroaching ice which started from Regis's clean cut. His two halves froze into ice and fell onto the platform, shattering into pieces.

"Strength was not a good card. Defense card would have been better." Demon reflected on the battle, analyzing each step. "Player two had the right idea with flames to counteract the ice, but what use are the flames if they can't protect against a powerful slash? What use is raw power if it can't defend you from the ice? What a waste of time. He couldn't injure Regis at all."

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Even though they all likely had healing elixirs, wounds could still damage their egos and mind, and long battles added to the stress. Demon wanted all of his enemies to experience more draining battles to make it easier for him. Player two wasn't useful in any way.

"This is something I could use. Taking their augment cards from a battle can work." Demon watched as Regis looted player two, taking away even the rewards from previous platforms.

"PLAYER TWO HAS LOST AND DIED. THERE ARE ONLY FIFTEEN PLAYERS LEFT. WITH THE VICTORY FROM THIS BATTLE, PLAYER THIRTEEN MAY MOVE UP THREE PLACES."

A win led to extra steps forward. Demon knew the board and current dynamic would change drastically from this information. The other players surely would go out of their way to get to others and fight for the loot of augments and advanced steps equivalent to having another turn.

Glancing at the map, Demon noted the few red dots close to him. The choice came down to which one he wanted to pursue. Continuing on his current course would leave him isolated for a longer number of turns until he reached the middle parts of the board with fewer options to move.

"PLAYER THREE's TURN."

Demon watched each player closely, gazing with his indifferent eyes and carefully analyzing every person. Some people were from the Blue Ocean Pavilion, fighting fiercely in the images. Luckily, none of them were Oscar's friends. Demon wondered how Oscar would feel seeing this.

"PLAYER ONE'S TURN. PLEASE ROLL!"

Without hesitation, Demon didn't waste a second rolling the dice. It landed on a five, a good roll. After moving forward three spaces, Demon reached a three-way fork. The map indicated no shortcomings in choosing any one of the three. Each had around the same number of spaces toward the center.

The difference was which person he wanted to fight against. One was closer to him than the other. Demon went along the right pathway, approaching the person of opportunity. Upon Demon's last step on the fifth platform, Ein burst from below, and a large shadowy monster without any tangible form moved like smoke.

"...." Demon felt the oddity and activated Eliren Breaker. What a farce. If he didn't have this, the illusion monster would have knocked him around endlessly while others watched him stay still in the real world. Through the Eliren Breaker, three beating hearts revealed themselves from within the monster.

"An illusion can be powerful. But it's not enough." Demon saw through the essence of the illusion and walked casually to the monster. Its shadowy blades and tendrils impaled and strangled him. Demon showed no reaction under his fabricator helmet, unable to feel the pain of the wounds.

With a show of force, Demon continued walking at a slow pace. The monster lessened its hold as its two red slits widened. Demon threw a Silver Star at one of its beating hearts. It broke apart and faded away.

"Even though it's an illusion. There are ways to escape. These wounds show I'm in an illusion world." Demon ignored the grievous wounds on his body. "And the way out is your hearts."

Demon shot two more into the shadowy monster, destroying its two remaining hearts. The monster growled and screeched before fading away like its three hearts. Nothing but Demon remained. Rivers of magma sped up, the platform turned to dust, and the air swirled until the world collapsed.

Opening his eyes, Demon awoke to the real world. He sat down and meditated.

"PLAYER ONE HAS BROKEN FREE OF THE ILLUSION. YOU CAN SELECT A REWARD FROM THESE TWO. FIRST, FIVE EIN BURST ELIXIRS. SECOND, AN ILLUSION CARD."

Demon selected the illusion card without hesitation. He had an ample amount of golddew figs to eat. The illusion card seemed more fitting to win this game. He gave the card a glance over, reading the unique instructions placed on it.

"Creates an outside illusion of an object, spell, or person of your choosing." Demon whispered. Very good. People easily discerned outside illusions with a good use of spells and perception, but he could use it with the right timing for a quick advantage.

"PLAYER THREE'S TURN!"

"Oh? Right. Player two is dead." Demon sat down to watch. After a full round, he realized the red dot near him started to move away from him, taking another route from their usual course.

"Is he afraid?" Demon glared coldly at the red dot. "Any step is a step forward, so he's not losing anything….should I switch targets?"

Back to the map, several red dots were closer to each other while others gained some distance. People already knew the capabilities and locations of specific players from the several rounds played. Demon tapped the hammer on the platform. He was being avoided.

"Too bad. You have no choice but to go to Regis or me. You can choose either one." Demon located Regis on the other side of his target. "It's only a matter of time."

Several turns later, player eight, Demon's target, gave up and changed his course to Demon. At this rate, Demon would be the second person to fight against a person here; the others were still a few turns away from each other. "Good choice."

Demon lifted his head, staring at player eight, a few squares away. Demon stood up and rolled the dice. He moved until he reached player eight, who wore the blue robes of the Blue Ocean Pavilion. An ally? No, only Oscar's friends were allies. This one was only a treasure chest.

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