Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Top Floor, The Ancient Hero
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[Level ??]
[Ancient Hero ■■]
[HP ???/???]
My teeth clattered against each other.
The human figure whose silhouette I could make out even within the halo of light.
"The Ancient Hero."
Her name, level, and HP were not displayed.
I instinctively took a step back.
Fear of the unknown? No. This was the fear of something I knew all too well.
That thing was not a being that should appear in a place like this. No, it was a being that shouldn't exist in this world right now.
Why was 'I'...
No, why was the being that 'used to be me' here?
The Tower of Training.
What I faced at its peak...
Was the Hero, Rain.
I steadied my breathing and tried to sort out my thoughts.
The top floor of the Tower of Training, a magic circle scan.
It was probably a mirror match of sorts, where one would fight a named boss suited to their own stats and class.
But I wasn't the only 'Rain' who had existed in this world.
There was 'Rain', the user of Astria Online, and 'Rain', the Hero from a thousand years ago.
This named boss was the latter.
Though essentially the same being, we were from different points in time.
"Hah."
I sighed, pressing a hand to my aching head.
I knew 'that thing' better than anyone.
A body enhanced by the power of the Holy Sword, enveloped in a golden protective aura. Most attacks wouldn't even be able to land a hit.
Sword energy, as fast and fierce as lightning, unleashed from the mana accumulated in her body by the Holy Sword. That must have been what had sliced my torso in half.
I couldn't see it yet, but at some point during the battle, a blade of sword energy several meters long would billow from that Holy Sword, sweeping across the entire combat area. Attacks using that sword energy were impossible to dodge on sight, and even blocking them was out of the question.
"I'm the only one on hard mode."
I complained lightly.
This world was forcing a difficult path only on me.
However, knowing it well also meant I could devise a way to counter it.
Of course, if 'that thing' were real, I would have no way of winning.
"It's just a game."
As long as this world was the game 'Astria Online', 'that thing' was surely just a 'named boss' within the confines of the game's system.
If so, all I had to do was react to its patterns, deal damage, and defeat it.
But with a user character's current stats, there was no way to keep up with 'that thing's' attack power and speed. My surefire strategy of 'see and react' was fundamentally blocked.
Do I have no choice but to learn by dying a few times?
I gripped my sword tightly and swallowed.
Even if it was a death in a game, it was undoubtedly more painful for me than for others. But...
"It doesn't hurt."
I die cleanly. If that's the case, then it's almost a relief.
I don't burn to death in agony. I'm just split in half, or my head flies off, or my heart is pierced.
"Eek."
Imagining death, I almost let out a scream.
A fight I was entering knowing I would certainly die. It would be a lie to say I wasn't scared.
But I steeled myself.
For the past year, I had been extremely faint of heart.
At first, even dying in the game was terrifying, but now, I had somewhat regained my old mindset.
Even during my time as the Hero, I had fought with the resolve to die many times.
And yet, I was still alive.
Death in a game wasn't true death. My life was cheaper now than it was back then. It was just the vividly realistic sensation of death that was a little frightening.
"As... as long as it doesn't hurt too much, it's fine."
I just have to die over and over, learning the patterns one by one to clear it.
Other users do the same. Some people defeat named bosses after dozens, even hundreds of attempts.
You're no different, Rain.
It's not real death.
Just do what everyone else does.
I gripped my sword tightly and approached it.
*
"Hmm."
I was facing her again, but how should I start?
The 'Ancient Hero', still shrouded in a halo of light, appeared to be looking straight ahead.
This Hero was also undoubtedly a being within the game's system. She must have an aggro range.
Step, step.
I cautiously approached the Hero.
The flash of light that had first split my torso in half was probably sword energy.
A pattern where she shoots ranged sword energy at an opponent outside her melee range.
The Hero's fierce sword energy, sweeping across the entire front. Even if I used my Block skill, it would slice through both me and my sword.
Eleven meters.
No reaction.
In that case, her aggro range was ten meters.
I turned around.
And took a deep breath.
[Backward Evasion (C)]
[Quickly dash 8m backward to evade a frontal attack (Invincible during cast)]
[Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[(Rank E) Movement speed increases for 5 seconds after skill activation]
*Tap-tap.*
I cast Backward Evasion.
*Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!*
Simultaneously, three crescent-shaped blades of sword energy shot out from the Hero, grazing past my body.
The first step was a success.
It was just as I'd expected.
No matter how outrageously powerful the opponent was, as long as this world was a game, she couldn't ignore the 'invincibility' frames during a skill's execution.
If I had carelessly initiated the fight with a gap-closing skill, my body would have been split in two again before I even reached the Hero.
Having instantly closed the distance to the Hero using a backward movement, I turned to face her before the invincibility frames ended.
*Fwaah!*
The Holy Sword swung in the blink of an eye. I raised my own sword to block it.
*Clang-clang-clang-clang!*
A torrent of sword strikes rained down in an instant. Six times a second? Seven? Considering the fastest named bosses I had faced so far attacked about once per second, the Hero's attack speed was beyond imagination.
However, my sword, with the 'Block' skill activated, moved ahead of my reactions and successfully parried the Hero's strikes. Fortunately, she hadn't summoned her sword energy yet.
Right now, I was under the protection of the 'game system'. No matter how powerful the opponent's attacks were, they couldn't ignore the absolute system of 'skills' to harm me.
But I couldn't win the fight just by blocking. I had to land my own attacks.
When? When would there be an opening?
*Clang-clang-clang! Clang!*
As I barely managed to keep my thoughts straight, the Holy Sword's movement suddenly changed.
A swift upward slash, striking powerfully from below. My sword was knocked upward along with it.
"Ah...!"
A guard-breaking technique.
My arm flew up with my sword, leaving my upper body wide open. The Hero's lightning-fast thrust pierced through that gap.
*Thwack.*
"Keuk."
As the cold sensation of the sword lodged in my heart, my body shuddered once, and then the world went dark.
[Tower of Training, 9th Floor]
"Haa... hmph!"
After respawning and taking a moment to catch my breath, I clutched my chest where the Holy Sword had pierced me, my face a grimace.
You idiot, Rain. You should have expected she'd use a move with that kind of property.
If I had just thought a little more, I could have avoided one hole in my chest.
In any case, although I hadn't managed to land a single attack, I had gotten a decent look at her patterns. I'd made good progress for the price of one life.
*Slap.*
I slapped my cheeks with both hands.
With my resolve renewed, I approached the Hero.
"Alright, let's see the next pattern."
*Clang-clang-clang-clang!*
The thirty-ninth strike, and then the guard-break.
*Clang!*
As the Hero's sword struck, I used the recoil that sent my arm upward to pivot my body to the left.
*Whoosh!*
The thrust passed under my armpit. Without a moment to feel the chill run down my spine, I used my rotation to swing my sword with all my might. It wasn't a skill, just a crude, unrefined swing.
*Thwack!*
When my sword struck the Hero's protective aura, I felt a strong repulsion. But I had definitely landed a hit. The aura flickered, so it seemed to have some effect.
Seeing that, a faint smile touched my lips.
Game. System. Named boss.
She wasn't an untouchable being. She could definitely be beaten.
I could use Counterattack against her guard-break, but I couldn't afford to waste my invincibility frames. I didn't know when an unblockable pattern might come out.
*Woooong.*
My joy at landing the first hit was short-lived. The Hero raised her Holy Sword above her head, and it began to glow.
An attack imbued with sword energy. Unblockable.
It was impossible to dodge on sight. But because I had been prepared, I was able to read the tell. I just barely twisted my body away. The Holy Sword slammed into the tower floor.
*Craaash!* A shockwave erupted, and I saw the ground momentarily heave. It was just a vertical downward strike imbued with sword energy, yet the aftermath was immense. Was this what the demons I fought in the past felt?
It was definitely an area-of-effect damage property. Backward Evasion? No, if I increased the distance, she'd immediately fire her sword energy at me. This is where I use Counterattack.
*Ssk.*
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
The floor then exploded, devastating the surrounding area. My body, having activated Counterattack, took no damage thanks to the invincibility frames.
The Hero paused for a moment. The recovery delay after her downward strike with sword energy.
One second? Two? No time to think. I immediately unleashed several starlit strikes at the protective aura on the Hero's exposed back.
*Papapapak!*
Four hits. One more? No, the delay probably wasn't that long. I maintained my guard and assessed the situation. After a moment, the Hero returned to her initial pattern.
*Clang-clang-clang-clang!*
Ah, I think I could have landed one or two more hits.
Putting my regret aside, I calmly parried the Hero's attacks, looking for an opening.
The Hero's sword strikes were too fast to react to, but they couldn't break my guard. Her downward shockwave attack had a recovery delay.
If overwhelming speed and fierce sword energy were the Hero's weapons, then my weapon was the 'game system' itself. I could definitely win.
After the guard-break on the fortieth strike, even a non-skill attack had an effect. If the protective aura was dispelled by the number of hits rather than damage, there was no need to use skills just to deal damage.
I'll break her protective aura with direct hits, without using skills.
I'll rely solely on my reaction speed and agility stat as my weapon.
*Clang!*
On the fortieth strike, the Hero's upward slash broke my guard. Using the recoil, I spun my body and delivered three quick strikes to her body.
*Pak! Pak! Pak!*
The Hero's protective aura flickered three times. I then used Counterattack to evade the ensuing downward strike accompanied by sword energy.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
The moment my sword, now positioned behind the Hero, struck her protective aura one more time...
*Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!*
"Kugh!?"
Sword energy erupted from the Hero's body in all directions.
A countering sword aura?
My body was instantly shredded by the fierce storm of sword energy.
[Tower of Training, 9th Floor]
"Hoo."
I took a moment to catch my breath.
A countering sword aura that returns the opponent's power absorbed by her protective aura. It wasn't a skill that activated based on the number of hits I'd taken. Was it simply a patternization of my own fighting style from my time as the Hero?
Anyway, so it's a storm of countering sword aura after ten hits.
I'll be sure to remember that.
"Alright, again."