The cloaked man punched Black Star’s body with great force; the force of his punch shattered the surrounding concrete area surface even more, lifted the various sizes and shapes of the destroyed ground pieces around them, created a shock wave and a strong wind blast that spread in all directions momentarily; he then landed stably on Black Star’s body that was lying on the ground, barely moving.

“Urgh… I acknowledge your power.”

Black Star, who possessed the ability to fly, lifted his body with a hard ground-shattering thump, causing the cloaked man to also taken up several meters. The cloaked man was surprised as he thought.

“What the hell, how come my attacks still don’t work on him?”

Black Star flew fast to the front of the cloaked man and punched toward him fast and powerfully. The cloaked man immediately used his cloak to block. Black Star’s fist clashed with the cloak, creating a shock wave and a wind blast that spread in all directions momentarily; at the same time, two black panels with two white texts appeared beside the cloaked man:

[ [Item Effect Activated]

[Item Name: The Cloak of Grim Reaper

Effect Name: Escape Death

Level: N/A

Effect Type: Passive

Damage Type: None

Mana Usage: None

Duration: None

Cooldown: None

Effects: Reduces damage points of any type from attacks or skills to zero and negates their effects (Warning: Only damage that hits the cloak is affected)

Side Effects: None]

[Close (Closed automatically in 5…)] ]

[ [Item Effect Activated]

[Item Name: The Cloak of Grim Reaper

Effect Name: Desperate Soul

Level: N/A

Effect Type: Passive

Damage Type: None

Mana Usage: None

Duration: None

Cooldown: None

Effects: Absorbs 50% of the damage from each attack or skill received by the Cloak of Grim Reaper and stores it. (Note: Could store damage of the last two attacks received by the cloak, and only damage that hits the cloak was absorbed)

Side Effects: None]

[Close (Closed automatically in 5…)] ]

Unlike before, the cloaked man's body was thrown backward and was still far from the ground. Black Star flew swiftly to the above direction of the cloaked man, which caused a shock wave and a wind blast, punched him downwards, and sent the cloaked man's body shot downwards, surprising him. The cloaked man looked back and realized his body had almost hit the ground. He immediately spoke in a raised voice.

"Item effect activation, Blink!"

The cloaked man's body suddenly vanished and, at almost the same time, reappeared on the ground. He stood and staggered a little, then managed to stand in a steady stance, a good distance away from Black Star. The cloaked man was taken aback as he thought.

"Did he increase the power of his attacks? This was the first time I was thrown when parrying using the Cloak of Grim Reaper. How is that possible? But, somehow I felt something weird…."

The cloaked man turned toward the Pentagon building. Many Pentagon employees watched them from behind the rows of tall metal-framed window panes; the cloaked man appeared to notice something as he thought.

"As expected, he punched me down as well to deflect my body so I don't crash into the building and hit those people...."

Black Star landed on the ground; he walked steadily toward the cloaked man as he spoke.

“Show me another trick of yours.”

The cloaked man appeared to remain calm and used a hand gesture to call Black Star to come forward.

“Then go ahead.”

Black Star stopped in his tracks and was still far from the cloaked man.

“Whether you hide it or not, you aren’t affected by me, huh? hahaha.”

Black Star laughed casually; somehow, he appeared happy.

“Be ready….”

Black Star stood in a ready-to-attack stance; he shot forward with a ground-shattering starting stomp. It didn’t take long for Black Star to close the distance with the cloaked man, and he was about to punch him again. The cloaked man appeared to have expected that and concentrated.

“Item effect activation, Repel Fate.”

A black panel with white writing appeared beside him:

[ [Item Effect Activated]

[Item Name: Cloak of Grim Reaper

Effect Name: Repel Fate

Level:  N/A

Effect Type: Active

Damage Type: Physical or Magical

Mana Usage: None (200/500 remaining)

Cooldown: 15 minutes (00:14:59 remaining)

Effects: Reverses the total damage from the last two attacks received by Cloak of Grim Reaper

Side Effects: None]

[Close (Closed automatically in 5…)] ]

The cloaked man hurtled his black armored cloak toward Black Star and hit him head-on. The black armored cloak and Black Star’s body collided so violently that it caused a shock wave, a wind blast, and sparks. The force of the cloak’s impact was greater and knocked Black Star’s body far back, crashing into the first floor of the Pentagon building behind him, penetrating to the outside of the building, and destroying the outer wall of the building. Black Star tried to stop his body from being thrown, but the powerful thrust of the cloaked man’s attack kept Black Star’s body continued to be thrown, penetrating and destroying the Pentagon wall fence. Black Star managed to land and stood steadily on the concrete surface; however, he was still continued being dragged back with his legs anchored to the surface, destroying the rough floor and asphalt road until he could finally stop several meters away outside the Pentagon wall fence.

One of the teams of heavily equipped army personnel guarding the Pentagon was only a few meters behind Black Star and was surprised to see him suddenly thrown and penetrate the Pentagon building. All the army personnel immediately aimed their assault rifles at him. Black Star looked toward the destroyed parts on the first floor of the Pentagon building before him, forming like a tunnel after being penetrated by his thrown body. The cloaked man’s attack caused Black Star’s armor to deviate slightly and then rearrange itself, slightly surprising him. Black Star appeared astonished as he thought.

“He used a strange attack again….”

Black Star appeared to have realized something.

“He used his cloak to attack, and suddenly, his attack power multiplied, which was no coincidence. Did that cloak reverse my attack?”

Black Star appeared doubtful as he thought.

“If that’s true, so my attack feels that strong, huh….”

Behind Black Star, the soldiers’ captain spoke in a raised voice as he aimed his assault rifle at him.

“You there, put your hands where I can see them.”

The soldiers’ attention was drawn to their captain, and they appeared not to expect that. Black Star appeared to pay no heed; he scanned the destroyed part of the Pentagon building. The vision behind the Black Star’s metal mask then displayed information text:

“Scan Completed: No casualties detected.”

After confirming that, Black Star stepped toward the Pentagon. Seeing Black Star, the soldiers’ captain, who had warned him earlier, turned irritated.

“Wait, I say, put your hands where I can see them.”

Black Star still ignored him and walked past the Pentagon wall fence. The soldiers’ captain turned even more irritated and continued speaking in a raised voice.

“Put your hands where I can see them, you goddammit!”

He said that as he walked toward Black Star, his surrounding comrades immediately tried to stop him. One of his comrades’ expressions turned astonished.

“Control yourself, captain! We are dealing with Black Star!”

The captain came to his senses and stopped his steps; his comrades then let him go. The captain turned to his comrades and spoke in a raised voice.

“No matter what, someone has to put their hands where I can see them today, you all understand!”

The surrounding soldiers replied in raised voices.

“Yes, sir!”

Back to the cloaked man, he didn’t look calm even though he had just dealt a powerful attack to Black Star. In the distance, behind the hollowed-out Pentagon building, the cloaked man could see that Black Star was still unaffected by his attack. The cloaked man appeared astonished as he thought.

“Damn you, monster. If I don’t do something else, I won’t be able to defeat him....”

The cloaked man appeared to have realized something.

“Open System Home Screen.”

A black panel with white text appeared before him:

[ [System Homescreen]

[Inventory] [Regular Item Shop] [Regular Craft] [Regular Brew] [System User’s Stats, Status, and Points Distribution]

[Close] ]

The cloaked man touched the words “|Regular Item Shop|”, and the black panel display changed:

[ [Regular Item Shop]

[Gold:1670

Safe Town Portal Medallion: 100 G

Health Potion: 500 G

Mana Potion: 500 G

Elixir: 700 G

Energy Drink: 500 G

Antidote: 500 G

Miracle Potion: 2000 G

Smoke Bomb: 200 G]

[Page 1 of 3] [Next Page]

[Close] ]

The cloaked man touched the text of “Mana Potion: 500 G,” a picture, and white text, then replaced the black panel display:

[ [Image of a clear glass bottle shaped like an Erlenmeyer flask with a black cap, a brown string around the neck of the bottle, and filled with blue liquid]

[Item Details:

Name: Mana Potion

Type: Consumable

Effects: Restores MP equivalent to 50% of max MP

Side Effects: None

Quantity [+] 1 [-] Total: 500 G, Purchase? [Yes] / [No]

[Close] ]

The cloaked man was about to touch the words “[Yes],” but then he stopped and appeared doubtful.

“I’d better be more vigilant since my opponent is Black Star….”