Dragged Into Another World Because of My Otaku Friend-Chapter 172: William’s True Power

The rings flew into the air before merging with William. One of them shot toward his feet, forming a sturdy pair of boots. Another wrapped around his body, transforming into thick armor that covered his entire torso, waist, and hips. Two more darted toward his hands, reshaping into a broad shield on his left arm and a broadsword in his right.

And lastly, the final ring floated toward his head, turning into a military helmet that covered everything except a T-shaped opening, revealing only his eyes, nose, and mouth.

Each piece of equipment gleamed silver, streaked with deep green lines. Emerald stones were embedded in the broadsword, shield, the center of his armor, and the top of his forehead, forming an exotic yet majestic set.

Mirinda and Beltimore stared from behind William. They knew this set too well, and never expected to see it again after a long decade. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Emerald Guardian Set.

An epic-ranked equipment set, enchanted into magic rings. It had been scattered across all the continents, and William spent nearly five years searching for every piece. The shield was the first he obtained, found deep within a dungeon. Since then, he travelled from land to land, gathering information and completing quests, hunting down the remaining parts.

When he finally completed the set, at the same time, he established himself as one of the greatest tankers on the continent.

William gripped his broadsword and shield tightly. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. He had sworn never to use this set again, not after the tragedy ten years ago.

Like Alice, he had been offered multiple times to take the trial to increase his rank. Based on his ability and equipment alone, he could easily have become a top A-rank in the guild. But he chose to remain at D-rank.

His reason was simple, he wanted to nurture the future generation of the guild, the young prospects. If he approached them with a higher rank, they would treat him differently, too respectfully and distant. What he wanted instead was to be their friend, someone approachable, yet still able to guide them onto the right path.

"Maya, look at William. What is he wearing?" Evelyn asked as she was pulled by the light.

Maya only glanced at William for a second. She herself was confused. ’Did he hide that equipment all this time?’ she thought.

But she had no luxury to think for long, as she and Evelyn were facing a Blade Skull monster. So far, both girls managed to evade all the slashes from the creature. However, the smaller monsters swarming around them made it difficult to focus only on the skull monster.

On William’s side, he stood in front of Flame Queen Mirinda and Four-Eyes Frostbite Beltimore. His eyes were locked on the three skull monsters of different types waiting ahead.

The Heavy Armor Skull charged first. It lowered its thick armored head and rushed toward William. Its body was massive, covered in layers of skull-like plates, but the most distinct feature was its head. It resembled a huge hammer.

When it reached William, it immediately raised its head and struck. William already had his shield lifted, bracing for the impact.

Dum!

The shockwave from the impact spread through the area. A crack formed beneath William’s feet. Yet William stood firm, his left shield raised upward, pressing against the Heavy Armor Skull’s head. His knees were bent under the sheer force.

Under the pressure, William grinned. The emerald stone embedded in his shield suddenly glowed bright green.

"Raaaa!"

Boom!

The Heavy Armor Skull was hurled upward, lifted several meters into the air before crashing down far away. Its head was completely shattered.

This was the ability of the Emerald Shield, Double Deflection. It could absorb a certain amount of damage and return it at twice the force.

William straightened, wasting no time. He charged toward the remaining two skull monsters. Mirinda floated upward, releasing flame bolts toward the Tetrapod Skull, while Beltimore cast shards of ice at the Blade Skull monster.

The Blade Skull slashed through most of the incoming shards. It evaded some and closed in on Beltimore. It extended both hands sideways, ready to slice its enemy in two.

But Beltimore had other plans.

"William!" he shouted. William turned toward him and instantly understood the plan. He dashed to the nearest stone and leapt into the air.

While William was in airborne, Beltimore cast his spell.

"Ice Sculpture!"

Immediately, the ground around him transformed into frozen ice, spreading tens of meters outward from his position. Unfortunately for the nearby monsters, they were instantly encased in icy statues upon contact. The Blade Skull was frozen up to its waist, immobilized.

William landed as the floor had fully frozen. Seizing the opportunity, he charged at the Blade Skull, smashing the frozen monsters’ ice sculptures with his broadsword along the way.

Soon, he reached the Blade Skull. The monster struggled to break free but failed. Seeing William approach, it swung its hands fiercely.

William blocked the strike with his shield and kept charging. He swung his broadsword at the frozen lower half of the monster.

Ping!

It shattered into a thousand pieces. The upper part of the monster fell to the ground. Beltimore cast another round of Ice Sculpture, encasing the monster completely in ice. William jumped higher into the air and thrust his sword down, shattering the Blade Skull into small fragments.

William didn’t linger in victory. He ran toward Mirinda, who was currently hovering right and left, dodging the long, sharp tail of the Tetrapod while continuously shooting flame balls at the monster. Each time a flame ball hit, the monster shattered briefly at the impact point, but soon it regenerated.

’This monster has an insanely high regeneration rate. It’s really annoying to kill one’ Mirinda thought.

Then she caught sight of William running toward the Tetrapod from its side, shield raised. Mirinda kept casting flame balls to distract the monster, which still hadn’t detected William’s presence.

Thump!

The Tetrapod Skull suddenly felt a heavy impact on its left side, causing it to lose balance and fall sideways. It raised its head and saw a fully armored human raising a shield. Roaring in rage, it lashed its tail toward William.