Dukeram was exceedingly handsome. Heâd scanned his physical features, so he looked exactly like he did in real life.
He had a small face, dimples, curly hair, clean-cut features, and bright, sharp brown eyes.
In an age of plastic surgery, he was a completely natural handsome man!
People even modeled their characters after him.
His body was well proportioned too. He was 189 centimeters tall, and had no ounce of fat on his body.
Thus, the entertainment business called him dozens of times every day.
However, Dukeram wasnât just handsome.
He was a gaming genius. It only made sense. Despite how many skilled players there were worldwide, Dukeram had remained rank 1 since Arthâs inception. His talent and sense were undeniable.
Dukeram was supposedly part of Mensa. He had been the one to scout Jegal, who was originally from a small guild, which meant he had a discerning eye too.
Plus, there were rumors that he wasnât just rich, but filthy rich. He was purportedly the second son of the Daehyeon Group, the 2nd largest company in Korea.
Apparently, it was impossible to hate Dukeram once you met him face-to-face. It had something to do with watching him constantly try to better himself or what not.
In other words, he was a hard working genius!
Dukeram didnât have any issues with women either. He didnât have a lover, but he wasnât a womanizer.
Any woman who came across him complimented his manners and how straightforward he was with them.
He clearly possessed great leadership abilities too. After all, he immediately scouted Jegal, Eric, and other skilled individuals after establishing the Empire Guild, causing them to skyrocket in power overnight.
Jegalâs view of Dukeram wasnât an exaggeration; Dukeram was the perfect human being!
âItâs a pleasure, Mr. Stan. My name is Dukeram. Iâm the leader of the Empire Guild,â Dukeram said. There was a certain grace to his movements.
Originally, Stan believed that some spoiled brat was inside the wagon. However, he completely purged that from his mind.
The strong recognized each other!
Stan wasnât blinded by Dukeramâs face, the atmosphere surrounding him, or his flashy equipment. Thus, he realized just how strong Dukeram was.
Dukeram definitely wasnât weaker than him.
âIâve finally found a worthy opponent.â
Stan drew his scimitar. He was excited at the prospect of fighting Dukeram.
âYou said your name is Dukeram?â
âYes, thatâs right.â
âI want to fight you at full strength.â Stan glared at Dukeram.
âThatâs why I came here.â Dukeramâs eyes gleamed, and he drew the sword at his waist. Max Cain! It was one of the four peerless blades crafted by the legendary artisan, Max.
The most famous of these blades was Max Perado, the sword used by the Hero Javen!
Demon Sword Ubist had once been Max Gemina, one of the four legendary swords in the Max Series.
Stan knew exactly what Dukeram was wielding. After all, Max Cain was known for its glittering sky blue blade, as if the stars themselves were embedded within.
âMy Teros has finally found its match.â
It was an SS-rank scimitar that had originally been used by the great desert warrior, Teros. It was incomparable to the Max Series, but it was definitely a top-tier blade.
âI think words are no longer necessary,â Dukeram said.
Stan nodded his head. It was time for them to cross blades.
He leapt off his double-humped camel and landed in front of Dukeram.
âDonât interfere,â Stan said to his subordinates.
âI believe in you, Commander!â
The 4th Corpsâ troops cheered for their commander.
âThe same goes for me. Do not interfere with our duel,â Dukeram said to the Empire Guild.
âWe know youâll win.â
The Empire Guild fully believed in their leader. Not a single one of them believed he would lose.
The two took their positions and stared each other down. Neither of them moved.
However, anyone with a bit of sense knew what was happening. Dukeram and Stan were engaged in an intense imaginary battle.
Though it was an imaginary battle, it could easily turn into a real life battle at any moment.
How much time had passed?
The wind swept through the sand in between them. Despite that, neither Dukeram nor Stan made a move.
âThe Empire Guildâs leader and rank 1, Dukeram! Itâs already been 5 minutes since heâs engaged the Arabas Kingdomâs Desert Warrior, Stan, but⌠He hasnât moved a muscle yet. How long will he stay put?â
âThe tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife!â
âI wonder how Dukeram will fare against a Master like Stan?â
âAah, theyâre finally moving!â
âThe one who moved first⌠No, they moved simultaneously!â
The two rushed at each other simultaneously.
Dukeram swung his sword horizontally, while Stan swung his downwards.
A shrill, metallic âclangâ rang out.
Neither side was pushed back.
After that, the two sides clashed blades several times. It was such a simple fight that itâd make you wonder whether this was really a fight between Dukeram and Stan.
But those with a discerning eye bit their lips.
That âsimple fightâ was much more complicated than it looked.
Kang Oh knew this fact well.
He too had chased after the gaudy wagon in hopes of fighting Dukeram. Thus, he had a front row seat to Dukeram and Stanâs battle.
Kang Oh realized what the two were intending as they clashed blades.
âHe exposed himself on purpose there; wow, he didnât fall for it? Looks like heâs baiting him into doing something here. Thatâs how experts fight; they act like theyâre doing something and then do something else. But this is just a taste of whatâs to come.â
Kang Oh crossed his arms and continued to watch their battle. Eventually, Kang Ohâs eyes widened.
Dukeram wasnât being overwhelmed at all. On the contrary, he had quickly gotten the upper hand.
He was fighting the Master Desert Warrior, Stan, at that.
This could only mean one thing.
Dukeram was just a plain old Swordsman. He had to be a Master Swordsman; if he wasnât, then thereâs no way heâd be beating Stan.
âI was wondering why they were so confident. They set this up to show the world that Dukeram has become a Master.â
Other people began to make the same realization.
âAah, Dukeram isnât being pushed back at all. In fact, he seems to be winning.â
âBreaking news. Itâs highly likely that Emperor Dukeram has become a Master!â
âIt seems like Emperor Dukeram is the first player to become a Master!â
âAs expected of Dukeram.â
The correspondents went crazy. Those watching at home were completely shocked.
Experts believed that itâd take a player at least half a year to become a Master based on the way Arthâs proficiency system worked and the average playerâs growth.
However, Dukeram had blown all of those figures out of the water.
Arthtory and the other community sites went crazy. They were filled with posts exalting Dukeram.
[Dukeram is the God of Arth.]
[The First Master, Dukeram!]
Kang Oh had a bitter taste in his mouth.
If he hadnât experienced an automobile accident, and had played Arth from its inception, then things couldâve been different.
Perhaps he couldâve been the first Master. Of course, if not for the accident, then he wouldnât have his Hyper Intuition.
âMm.â Kang Oh dragged his foot across the sand. He was suddenly lost in thought.
He originally planned on challenging Dukeram. So long as Dukeram was a Master, however, Kang Oh had almost no chance of beating him.
âSo should I just back off now?â Kang Oh thought. âNo, no. Heâs the first player to become a Master! If I fight him, I may get a better understanding as to how to become a Master.â
Kang Oh had a feeling that raising oneâs proficiency wasnât the key to becoming a Master. He believed there was something beyond that!
âYeah, letâs fight him.â
Kang Oh made sure he had a return scroll ready.
He planned on fighting Dukeram, and if he need be, run away.
A game over for him was worse than it would be for other players. He couldnât afford to die here.
âEverythingâs going as planned!â Jegalâs lips curled upwards.
Dukeram and Stanâs battle gradually became more intense.
Stan attempted to retake the momentum with a combination of sharp strikes, flowing combo attacks, and skills used at the precise time.
Whatâs worse, he mixed in Desert Warrior secret techniques too.
Scorpion Kingâs Judgment!
A rainbow-colored scorpion aura attempted to devour his enemy!
Anyone cut by his blade would wither away like a mummy until all that was left was a handful of sand.
However, Dukeram was a Master Swordsman.
There was no need to reiterate how skilled he was, and all of his equipment was SS-rank too! He also knew 3 Swordsman secret techniques.
Sword that Brings Victory!
This skill would unleash a killing blow that possessed absolute destructive power.
This skill would unleash a slash that twisted both space and time!
It would either cause an attack 3 seconds ago to appear 3 seconds later, or allow a melee attack to strike someone from several hundreds of feet away.
This secret move would boost all of his abilities, increase the power behind his sword, and draw out the maximum power of his swordâs item effects!
There was no reason heâd be beaten by Stan when he had these three skills.
Ultimately, they fought for more than an hour. However, once Dukeram sliced Stanâs wrist, the battle was essentially over.
The 4th Corpsâ troops desperately cried out.
On the other hand, the Empire Guild was having a blast.
âOoh, the great Dukeram!â
âWeâll always be with you!â
âHehe.â Jegal kept smiling. What would happen if Dukeram were to kill Stan now?
Kang Oh, Helena, Bart, Raon, and Hernandez would be nothing more than the glow of a firefly. Their gentle light wouldnât hold a candle to Dukeramâs brilliant moonlight!
Plus, what would happen after the civil war was over and the Arabas Kingdom came under the control of the Empire Guild?
The Empire Guild would no longer be one of the 4 great guilds; they would surpass them and become the indisputably strongest, best guild there is!
Jegalâs eyes blazed with ambition.
Stan was a Master Desert Warrior.
Although he was losing to Dukeram, he was still a Master. Thus, he had a final card to play.
âIâm going to wait until the very end.â
No matter how great Dukeram was, he would inevitably lower his guard when victory was within sight.
That would be Stanâs final chance at turning things around.
Thus, Stan didnât give up till the bitter end. However, he didnât last long. The force behind Stanâs scimitar progressively became weaker and weaker.
It was time to decide who the winner and loser were.
Dukeram thrust his sword, aiming for Stanâs heart.
Then, Stan counterattacked at the perfect time. It was quick, precise, and sharp! It was as if a dying rat had suddenly got its second wind and bit the cat!
Dukeram quickly turned his body.
His scimitar ripped through Dukeramâs armor and rent flesh, causing him to burst with huge shards of light.
Stan grimaced, and his sword hand had lost all its strength.
Dukeram was sure that Stan didnât have anything left!
âThis is the end.â Dukeram swung downwards, aiming for Stanâs neck.
Right when Dukeramâs blade sliced through Stanâs neckâŚ
âThis is really the end!â
Stan pushed his neck forward, allowing Dukeramâs blade to push even deeper, and thrust his scimitar at Dukeramâs heart.
Red shards of light burst out of Stanâs neck like a fountain of blood.
The Sword of Demise made contact with Dukeramâs body.
With this, Dukeramâs body would wither away into a dried up husk and eventually become a handful of sand! At the very least, this battle wouldnât end in Stanâs defeat.
Dukeramâs armor radiated iridescent light. The SS-rank armor set, âInvincible Tarsonisâ, had activated its special effect.
This ability dispelled all curses and status ailments, and completely restored oneâs HP, MP, and Stamina.
âToo bad,â Dukeram said. He was completely unscathed.
âDamn it.â Stan didnât even have the energy to raise his scimitar.
Stanâs body fell to the ground.
The man who was once called the Arabas Kingdomâs Future had perished.
The 4th Corps and the Empire Guild had completely different reactions.
âI won!â Dukeram raised his sword into the air.
Then, the Empire Guildâs cheers got even louder, completely drowning out the 4th Corpsâ anguished cries.
A black object fell from the sky, landing right in front of Dukeram.
It folded its dark red wings, and two demonic horns on its head pointed at the sky.
Darkness crept out of Ubist from his right hand, while Bloodâs snow-white blade glimmered like a spotless mirror from his left hand.
âLetâs fight!â Kang Oh yelled.