In light of the memories of their previous lives, Lokan's words sowed confusion among them.
"Who is he?"
"He's not one of the guys we killed before, is he?"
"Wait, wasn't he the guy who came to Trinsik's ceremony a few days ago… … ."
"I guess he went back to the city because he was in a rush. Ah, the more I think about those guards, the more pissed I get. I mean, we got robbed by this guy."
If Lokan knew them, there could only be one reason: he was one of those they had killed.
This led to a sense of carelessness in their approach.
*Swish!*
"Harm!"
Then, a hatchet flew toward one of them. Lokan took the lead and rushed in.
'PK bastards don't need words.'
"Take this!"
As Lokan ran, another hatchet flew toward them. The first hatchet aimed at the body was just bait.
After checking the gnome's reaction speed and direction, Lokan aimed the second hatchet right at the gnome's head.
"Crazy!"
As a result, one archer was brought to near death. If he had a proper throwing skill, it might have been a kill, but in the current situation, this was the best he could do.
"Protect the Archer and the Priest!"
The archer was one of the few ranged classes.
The general strategy is to target the priest with healing abilities first, but Lokan, confident he could inflict damage exceeding any heal, found the archer more troublesome at this point.
'Four melee, two archers, one priest.'
Lokan's eyes shone sharply as he rushed forward. Now only four base series, one archer, and one priest remained.
He wanted to finish off the wounded archer, but two shield-users moved to block his path.
"This bastard!"
"Kill him!"
Meanwhile, two other guys flanked him from both sides and attacked.
Their weapons were a spear and a sword. A vicious combination. The difference in reach made it difficult for anyone not yet accustomed to weapon handling.
'They are not completely without sense.'
But that was the extent of his praise. Lokan was no ordinary beginner, so he wasn't scared or embarrassed by the pincer attack.
"Hah."
Ordinary slashes and thrusts.
He turned his body lightly to avoid attacks that were slow enough to make him yawn, and delivered a heavy blow to the exposed body of the swordsman.
"Ugh!"
The sword-wielding guy crumpled first. It wasn't just a stumble; his chest was split open, and he fell hard on his backside.
"Dash!"
Next was the spearman. The gnome was startled and tried to retreat, but Lokan closed the distance faster, flying into his guard.
"Ugh!"
He didn't even need a skill. One simple axe swing. About half of its vitality was blown away.
The spearman, who had prioritized agility and relied on numerical advantage, paid the price for neglecting his stamina.
"Hey, you bastards!"
*Twang!*
Belatedly, support fire came from the archer. The one attacked first hadn't yet recovered, but the other was hiding behind the shield warriors, targeting Lokan.
But it was to no avail. Their level was twice his, but Lokan's abilities far surpassed theirs.
*Snatch!*
"… … "
Lokan casually grabbed the flying arrow out of the air and tossed it aside. It was a feat impossible without overwhelming stats, combat sense, and visual acuity combined, yet Lokan did it as if it were a joke.
"That's impossible!"
"Hack!"
At that sight, the PKers all swallowed their curses. At the very least, suspicion arose that he was using some kind of cheat program. If they reported it, they'd likely get a response saying there was no issue, but for now, they couldn't help but think that way.
Meanwhile, Lokan finished off the spearman.
"Heal! Lesser Shield!"
Instead, the priest restored the swordsman's condition. He stood up as if stepping back, and the priest's recovery and defense spells landed on him.
"Damn it."
But he wasn't Lokan's next target.
Lokan ran toward the knights holding their shields firm and, without hesitation, swung his axe against a shield with full force.
A blow amplified by 110% strength and agility!
"Strike!"
"Ugh!"
It wasn't enough to block Lokan, even for the tanks. Even without using Berserk, the defense collapsed with one axe blow, revealing the two archers hiding behind.
"There!"
They tried to scatter in panic, but it was futile.
Ignoring the collapsed defenders, Lokan rushed in and quickly used his axe to dispatch them. One clean hit per person.
Fortunately, the previously unharmed archer lost his life in a single critical strike.
[You have leveled up.]
Thanks to them, he gained another level. For normal users, PKers were judged like monsters, making them a great source of experience points at high levels.
"You hacking dog!"
"Damn it!"
The remaining swordsman and tanks, enraged by the losses, attacked wildly, but they couldn't touch a single hair on Lokan's head.
Until the end, they died believing Lokan was using cheats. They never even realized that Berserk was still unused.
Finally, when the priest was killed, the area became an item field. The items dropped by the fallen PKers littered the ground.
"Oh, this time it's savory."
Lokan gladly collected them. The level of their items was high, fitting for those who terrorized the area. The minimum grade was Superior, and there were some Magic items, placing them among the top-tier for current users.
"They've already done and eaten a lot."
When Lokan had encountered them in his previous life, if they appeared, it became impossible for nearby users to hunt. Eventually, general users united to fight against them and drove them to dissolution.
At that time, Lokan, who was low-level, had memories of joining the fray after being killed by them several times and becoming enraged.
"By the way, it was the MP Guild who led the charge against them back then."
At that time, the MP Guild became the center of the general users. As the name suggests, 'Manners Play,' they cried out for justice and took on the PKers, absorbing the damage.
Even though there were guilds similar to or stronger than the MP Guild at the time, it was a big deal, as most avoided confrontation fearing it would hinder their growth or cause losses.
As a result, it became an opportunity for the MP Guild to grow significantly.
"Thanks to that, they gained quite a reputation."
But this time, it would be different. If the MP Guild, which must be in financial trouble, continued to target him before their time came, he would destroy them properly.
"Come on, bring it on."
It would be tiresome to constantly watch for PKers who could attack at any time while hunting, but Lokan was willing to do the job.
The items obtained from dealing with them were a expected bonus, and there were also titles available for catching a large number of PKers.
"It would be nice to get the PKK (Player Killer Killer) title right now."
For that reason, Lokan waited on the spot, expecting them to attack again. He firmly believed that those known for being tenacious once they targeted someone would not give up so easily.
"Come."
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
And after a while, they really did return. Whether they sought revenge or to retrieve their lost items was irrelevant. They would all die by his hand.
"Dash!"
Lokan lightly lifted his battle axe and ran toward them.
"You son of a… … "
*Whoosh!*
This time, it was a larger group of over ten people. However, they fell into chaos as soon as they appeared. The moment the effects of their recall spell faded, Lokan jumped to a predicted location.
And he smashed one of them before they could even get into formation.
[You have leveled up.]
Another level up! As he was still only level 38, he gained substantial experience just from killing them.
"Fuck!"
"You're cheating!"
"He's only level 35!"
With a comrade's death, the PKers who understood the situation scattered immediately. It was almost funny; they had gathered many ranged classes like archers and wizards, thinking close combat was impossible for Lokan.
Thanks to this, the slow-paced priests and wizards couldn't even act before becoming Lokan's prey.
[You have leveled up.]
A few melee types tried to engage Lokan, but they were not able to control his movements. Knowing that defensive classes might withstand his attacks, Lokan pushed past or avoided the melee fighters and targeted only the wizards and priests.
In the process, he leveled up once more, and the enemy formation fell into greater disarray. The archers, who had barely created distance, couldn't draw their bows properly because their own melee allies were constantly blocking their lines of sight.
'Amateurs who've never practiced formation fighting!'
Lokan, on the other hand, was very accustomed to this kind of chaotic situation.
It was a 15 vs. 1, now a 9 vs. 1 battle, but Lokan was the one leading the dance.
"Guiding Shot!"
Even the enemies started to use their heads. Lacking confidence to hit Lokan directly, they began using skills with homing capabilities.
*Fizz, fizz, fizz!*
Their power was weak and the cooldown wasn't short, but when seven archers unleashed a volley simultaneously, it became something Lokan couldn't completely ignore.
'Well, they're not totally useless.'
*Clang, clang, clang!*
Lokan gripped his axe handle wide and deflected them all with god-like movements.
The Guiding Shot boasted 100% accuracy, but accuracy didn't necessarily equate to dealing damage.
The skill's blind spot—registering a 'hit' merely upon contact—was something he already knew.
"He blocked them!"
"Fuck, it's a hack."
Unaware of this, the archers gritted their teeth and quickly created distance, utilizing their agility—faithfully following the archer's basic principle of kiting.
"Fire a volley!"
With seven archers focusing their fire simultaneously, even Lokan found it difficult to block everything.
He had to defend his vitals with his Battle Axe, but something strange happened.
*Thud! Thud!*
"… … "
An arrow clearly hit his body, but it bounced off without piercing. Not just one arrow. As if his skin were made of steel, he repelled all their feeble arrow attacks.
'Ah!'
It was only then that Lokan recalled the cause.
The Sealed Helmet of the Lion King.
Its enormous defense power, unheard of at this stage, simply overpowered their attack capability.
'It's a real scam item.'
The total defense power of the Sealed Helmet of the Lion King was 530. The combined defense of all Lokan's other equipment was less than 150.
With this, it was possible to ignore attacks entirely or only suffer a minuscule drop in health. The item's defense was calculated holistically, reinforcing even his skin, not just the covered parts.
"What is that bastard?"
"Why aren't the arrows piercing?"
"An invincibility hack is already out?"
Lokan realized this instantly and immediately charged toward them. And he continued the slaughter with a wicked smile.