Chapter 92

□■【■■】

【The King of Destruction】.

One of the four ＜Super-Class＞ individuals affiliated with the kingdom, he has reigned as the unchallenged top of the kingdom's extermination ranking in ＜Infinite Dendrogram＞ for two years.

Moreover, despite his name being concealed, numerous anecdotes about him are widely known.

The extermination of the kingdom's 【Tri-Polar Dragon Gloria】, the 【Corpse Fortress】 incident in the ＜South Sea＞, the 【Kimun Kamui】 incident in the heavens, the mountain range disappearance incident due to a private battle with a 【Land God】 in Cardina, the ＜Super-Class Embryo＞ Laputa's crash in the Yellow River—these and many other incidents are too numerous to list.

However, despite being seen as a central figure in these numerous incidents and often mentioned in rumors, there is almost no information about 【The King of Destruction】's name or what kind of person he is.

Rumors are so vague that it is uncertain whether his avatar is human or not, with descriptions ranging from "white," "black," "different every time," and "fluffy and soft." ... In fact, these rumors were not entirely wrong.

Among the information circulating in the streets, there are two pieces of information with high credibility.

One is that he is a super-class job in the demolition category.

【Demolitionist】 is a job that specializes in increasing STR status, primarily excelling in object destruction during sieges.

However, it is a job category with low AGI and END, and is not suitable for frontline roles.

Now, regarding 【The King of Destruction】...

◇◆◇

□■＜Jando Grassland＞

It was a scene reminiscent of a boy's manga from decades ago.

A man kicks a monster, sending it flying sideways to collide with and obliterate other monsters.

Another monster leaps at the man from behind, but his fist is already under its jaw, and an uppercut sends the monster flying into the atmosphere, turning it into a star, not just figuratively.

Within a minute, over three hundred monsters are shattered... no, "destroyed."

All of this was the work of the man—【The King of Destruction】.

"…You've got to be kidding me."

It's no wonder that Franklin, who witnessed this carnage, muttered these words. The monsters he was destroying, like a mob in a beat-'em-up game, were not mere cannon fodder. Each one was a monster of the sub-dragon class, comparable to a high-level combat job. In fact, considering their lack of hesitation to throw their lives away, they were even tougher than average sub-dragon class monsters. Yet, they couldn't even slow him down. The man's foot crushed a monster as he took a step, his casual swing of the arm shattered another, and a mere graze from his fingertips instantly killed a sub-dragon class monster. The monsters, as fragile as paper, were "destroyed" one after another. Even if this carnage was caused by some skill, such as "destroy anything you touch," it would still be understandable. However, no such skill was being used. None at all. It was simply because 【The King of Destruction】 was "strong."

"……"

A sigh of exasperation, beyond mere amazement, escaped Franklin's lips. This was because he understood the reason and meaning behind the carnage better than anyone else present. To demonstrate this understanding, Franklin's right eye glowed blue.

High-level and super-class jobs have unique skills and secrets specific to each job, and Franklin's super-class job, 【Grand Professor】, is no exception. One of its unique skills is the 【Analytical Eye of Wisdom】. By continuously observing a target, this skill reveals the target's status, skills, growth potential, status abnormalities, and drop materials. Even if the target has skills like 【Concealment】 or 【Disguise】, they will eventually be stripped away with continuous observation. If visualized, the skill descriptions gradually clear up like a fog, and the status values rise from 0 at a rate of about 2000 per second, stopping when they reach the correct values. For example, even a stealth-specialized 【Absolute Shadow】 like Marie would have her status completely revealed in about ten seconds. Therefore, Franklin could see 【The King of Destruction】's status and skills. Indeed, he could see them.

【The King of Destruction】's job level alone was 1080, and his STR (Strength) value was still rising, even after surpassing ten thousand.

"This is bad..."

The status revelation by the 【Analytical Eye of Wisdom】 stops when it reaches the target's status. This means that 【The King of Destruction】's STR is well over ten thousand and still rising. It's an order of magnitude higher than the status of a specialized super-class job, which barely exceeds ten thousand. It's not just the job status; the corrections from ＜Embryos＞ and equipment are also likely contributing, but it's still extraordinary. Additionally, the 【Analytical Eye of Wisdom】 would show the skill being used if the target used one. However, since 【The King of Destruction】 appeared on the battlefield, no skill has ever glowed. This was proof that he was "destroying" countless monsters with sheer strength alone. All of 【The King of Destruction】's destruction was... normal attacks without any skills.

"…If it's just STR, he might be on par with 【The Beast King】"

He compared him to the strongest ＜Master＞ he knew, muttering this. If it's just STR, 【The King of Destruction】 might be the strongest among all ＜Masters＞.

"Yes, just STR."

The other stats are not high. It's not that they appear low because STR is so high; all stats except for six-digit STR and five-digit HP are in the four-digit range. Especially AGI is barely in the four-digit range. The balance is clearly off. For a frontline role, one should specialize in either AGI for supersonic movement or END for withstanding continuous attacks. A super-class frontline job would have at least 5000 in one of these. But 【The King of Destruction】 is different.

【The King of Destruction】 is a build known as STR max.

He specializes in STR alone, sacrificing everything else. This means his attack power is likely high. With the corrections from ＜Super-Class Embryos＞ and equipment, he is currently displaying a monstrous level of strength. However, he wouldn't normally survive. Even sub-dragon class monsters with speed specialization have AGI five times higher than 【The King of Destruction】. With a build that sacrifices everything but STR, he would normally be one-sidedly damaged and eliminated by the AGI-specialized attacks. In fact, a subsonic-speed monster was trying to bite his throat from a blind spot,

only to be crushed by a fist that appeared out of nowhere.

"It doesn't make sense, you know..."

The specs he can see and the carnage before his eyes seem to align but are actually off. To anyone other than Franklin, who can see 【The King of Destruction】's specs, he just seems strong. However, only Franklin, who can see the discrepancy, understands it. And Franklin also knows that this discrepancy is not caused by any skill. Therefore, the answer is starting to become clear... but he can't understand it. There is only one answer, but it's something he can't accept. That answer is,

"…'Real-world combat techniques,' or something like that, right?"

◇◇◇

□ Duel City Gideon, Central Colosseum

"‘If the opponent is ten times faster, then read ten steps ahead.’"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Apparently, he reads the opponent's movements and places his attacks at points where the opponent can't change course."

"Ugh... What's that supposed to mean?"

In the Central Colosseum, where the main event of the night, the ＜Super-Class Clash＞, was supposed to take place, two ＜Masters＞ stood on the stage, watching the live broadcast. One was 【Super Warrior】 Figaro. The other was 【Corpse Immortal】 Shunba. They had fought in the ＜Super-Class Clash＞ and were trapped in a time-stopped barrier by Franklin's scheme. Now, they were merely watching the second ＜Super-Class Clash＞ of the day. Of course, the other ＜Masters＞ in the colosseum, especially those trying to rescue them, had hoped that the two would join the reinforcements on the battlefield. However, Figaro had no intention of joining the ongoing battle, and Shunba was completely in spectator mode, with no intention of participating. When they don't want to listen, they don't listen. This is one of the troublesome aspects of ＜Super-Class＞ players, who are the top-tier players and often eccentrics. The ＜Masters＞ near the stage reluctantly gave up on their help and headed to the battlefield. They had the hope that "if something happens in the colosseum, they will act" and the assurance that "Tian's safety in the colosseum is secured," which was indeed the case. For now, the two were just chatting.

"But, you know a lot, don't you?"

"Shun told me when we had a sparring session after he became 【The King of Destruction】. I asked him, 'How do you block my attacks, which are far superior in AGI?' and he replied with that."

"Yeah, that bear blocked my attacks too. ...But, can you really 'read ten steps ahead'?"

"He can. He used to dabble in martial arts."

"Wow, martial arts are cool. I might choose it when I get to Junior High. ...But, isn't it only for boys?"

"You can find gyms or dojos in most cultural areas, even if it's not part of the curriculum."

"Maybe secret realms have even more amazing martial arts. That's how it was here."

"Yeah, like the ＜Super-Class Job＞ 【War God】 found in the Yellow River. I was surprised to find out that the 'god' series, which I thought was limited to weapons and elemental magic, also included 'unarmed combat.'"

"Speaking of which, the general who obtained it under those conditions must be crazy! That bear is a close match too! He's crazy!"

"I'm Shun's friend, but I can't deny that."

They were supposed to have a fierce battle just a short while ago, but now they were watching the live broadcast from ＜Jando Grassland＞ while chatting like old friends. It's not like they had the old delinquent mindset of "once we've exchanged blows, we're friends," but perhaps they share similar sensibilities as top-ranked duelists. Indeed, their conversation was like that of friends.

"By the way, wasn't he in a costume? What's with that outfit, just the bear?"

"That equipment is a variable type. It's officially an ancient legendary 【Costume】, but it's actually a mythic 【Divine Garment】. You know how some bosses in retro games transform and reveal their true form? It's like that. It's a rare type of equipment that drops from such bosses."

"...I've never seen a boss like that in a retro game."

"Really? If you explore the ＜Tomb Labyrinth＞, you'll encounter a boss rush at the end with a 1% chance of appearing."

"...What? Have you tried over 100 times?"

"Probably not. I've tried 214