The Grand Duelist

"Reveal Vitals!"

Joseph reappeared behind the old man and the ticking of a time bomb started. Reveal Vitals only lasted for half a minute and even though attacking a weakness revealed by it increased its duration by a second.

Joseph was not confident enough with his skills that he could make it last long enough against such a monster.

However, he knew that with the percentage-based damage dealt by Reveal Vitals based on the enemy's Maximum Health. He knew that even though he was weak, he could still inflict heavy damage against his enemy. But that didn't mean that his ability was enough for such an endeavor.

Joseph spotted a red circle on the old man's shoulder and he ruthlessly slammed down on the old man's shoulder.

Crash!!!

An ear-splitting sound rang out, Joseph unexpectedly missed even though his attack was done abruptly and as fast as he could. Instead of hitting the shoulder, his attack struck the chains that the old man raised before him in defense.

Bang!

The old man raised his hand and a surge of matchless strength was released. Joseph's eyes widened in shock, he hurriedly raised his sword in front of him to block, but his mind quickly spun and he activated a skill instead.

"Parry!"

A formless barrier surrounded his body and the tyrannical strength of the old man sunk like stones dropped into a deep ocean in the face of Joseph's armor. This scene astonished the old man and Joseph quickly took advantage of this to widen his distance away from the old man using Backward Leap.

"You... that aura... such an incomparably pure divine aura cannot possibly exist within the confines of this dungeon."

The old man suddenly spoke up, his voice trembling like a sieve and his eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"You... Just who are you?"

He asked, but Joseph answered with a sweeping slash that he sent from where he was standing at the distance.

Clang!

A fierce sound rang out, the old man easily blocked Joseph's attack but his shock never diminished. But before he could even think any further. He woke up from his trance due to the fact that Joseph rushed at him once again.

"What are you doing? Do you really want to die that much?!" The old man was astonished. Why was Joseph rushing at him instead of waiting for his attack? Wasn't it he, the one that should attack, and Joseph should be the one that should react? Why was their situation reversed?

Joseph remained unfazed in front of the old man but even he could not help but feel nervous inside. Numerous weaknesses appeared on the old man's body, but it was easily patched by the old man making it useless for Joseph.

The weaknesses revealed by Reveal Vitals weren't actually weaknesses that were just made for the sake of the Grand Duelist. They were legitimate weaknesses that if attacked, could definitely cause heavy damage to one's body.

Unfortunately, the old man knew more about his body than the system. He knew where his weaknesses were located and when Joseph moved to attack them, he seamlessly covered them without even breaking a sweat.

"Kid, you're interesting... Each of your attacks is clearly aimed towards my weaknesses, but do you really think that you can successfully inflict damage against me with those amateurish movements of yours? You're like a kid in a play-fight against me!" The old man mocked, but Joseph did not mind.

He treated this battle as a legitimate one and so, he knew better than listen to his enemy's taunting.

Joseph pounced on the old man and the latter merely stepped to the side and even kicked Joseph's ankles so that he would lose his balance.

"Hahaha, how naive!" The old man mocked once again when his kick connected with Joseph's ankles and the latter fell straight towards the ground.

"I am naive?" Joseph suddenly spoke. While he was falling to the ground, he twisted his body and attacked.

"Discharge!"

The attacks that he swallowed earlier through the use of Parry was now being discharged by him in a single devastating attack. The old man's eyes widened in shock, clearly astonished by the sudden change in the situation. His shock did not last for long though due to his experience in battles, but it ultimately couldn't do anything against Joseph's attack.

Boom!

The Rusty Beginner's Sword ruthlessly smashed on the old man's chest, and the sound of glass breaking rang out when the blade plunged. The old man coughed a mouthful of blood and he flew backward like a kite that lost its strings.

[ You dealt 1,235,162 damage! ]

The combination of Reveal Vitals and the attack that he consumed earlier using Parry dealt such heavy damage. It was completely unimaginable that someone as weak as Joseph could produce such strength. This was the reason the old man was thoroughly shocked by what happened.

"You... why are your attacks so heavy?"

The old man looked at Joseph and squeezed out these words amidst his bloodied lips.

"None of your business." Joseph coldly replied. He had no intention of talking with the old man right now until the old man realized his true identity. Joseph wanted nothing but to prove his existence as a myth in front of a legend without spelling it out for him.

"I see, in that case then I must really not underestimate you anymore..." The old man stood up and wiped the blood that drenched his lips.

"Since you're a member of this damned place, you must know about my true identity, right?"

The air thickened, and the old man continued on speaking: "You must have thought before you came here that since I am just a blacksmith, I should be weak and only good for production, right?"

"Yes, that must have been what you thought. That really happens all the time... Every bastard that I meet always underestimate my strength just because I am a blacksmith... It's amusing... It's ridiculous that there are numerous bastards like you that want to court death..."

Light flash, thunder boomed and lightning descended from the skies.

However, the old man merely waved his hand towards that lightning and when it was about to hit him. The unexpected happened.

The lightning crashed against his hand, but it merely sizzled before dissipating into nothingness accompanied by a booming sound of thunder that lingered for more than a short moment.

"That Lightning is exasperating... However, I consider you, deserving to witness my true strength..." The old man stared right into Joseph and the latter gulped a mouthful of saliva. Sweat formed on his forehead, and cold sweat likewise drenched his back.

His knees looked like they were about to collapse any moment, but Joseph remained steadfast with the help of Mythical Authority and his promise of avenging Ezreal. Carrying those wishes, Joseph's resolve hardened and he then took a stance, awaiting the old man's attack.

"Looks like you are prepared to die... Good, then..." The old man opened his palm and a single-handed hammer made of a diaphanous material appeared in his hand. However, that was not the end, an anvil also appeared in front of him and the old man squatted down and said.

"... You must wait... Let me make a weapon first so you can face me at my strongest."

"???" Joseph looked confused.

But amidst his confusion, the old man then casually hammered on his anvil in front of the flabbergasted Joseph who now had question marks floating above his head.

"What the fuck?!"