Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Clearing the Ice Crystal Tower
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[Ice Crystal Tower - 10th Floor]
"Cough, cough."
I clutched my chest as I coughed.
Thump, thump.
My breathing was ragged. My heart was pounding. All my vital signs were running wild.
My body, whose heart had stopped for a moment, was demanding a massive amount of oxygen.
Iseulbi's body in the outside world, connected to mine, must have suffered a severe shock as well. I could feel her heart racing violently.
Iseulbi, are you okay?
You can still hold on, right?
"Hoo."
I barely managed to calm myself, took a deep breath, and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
How long had it been since I was attacked from behind?
Back in my novice days, when I first experienced the Astria Continent as a game. Was it during my first elite dungeon?
Just now, my heart was pierced, and I died instantly. It didn't hurt that much, but apart from the pain, it felt awful.
The sensation of death, which I hadn't felt in a long time, was still chilling.
I sank to the ground and let out a sigh.
"As expected, she's no pushover."
Of course, I knew she wasn't someone I could beat in one go. I might have to die a few more times.
Anyway, how am I supposed to deal with that 'Sword Dance'?
A single cooldown reset wasn't enough to dodge it all.
If I used both cooldown resets, from the sword and the bracelet, I might be able to get past it.
But there would surely be a second Sword Dance.
If I use my cooldown resets on the first one, there'd be no way to avoid the second.
Somehow, I need to figure out a routine to get past it with just one cooldown reset.
The Reflective Sword Ki didn't come out on the tenth strike, so if I save my first backward evasion, I should have one more use of backward evasion or counterattack.
Or is there another way?
Of course, the Hero has power beyond the norm, but she's still under the system's control. She can be considered a 'named monster'.
A named monster in a game. That means there's a strategy to beat her.
Even the 'Ice Ogre King' on the 9th floor didn't require eight resistances. The damage just wasn't registering properly due to the level difference; at a normal level, you could probably get by with two or three resistances using the torch mechanic.
Does a truly unbeatable pattern even exist in a game?
However, it's clear that if the Hero's Sword Dance activates, it's impossible to counter without relying on items like cooldown resets. Even I couldn't withstand it all.
Does that mean it's a pattern that shouldn't be allowed to activate in the first place?
If so, then surely, before the Sword Dance activates...
"I can interrupt it?"
*CRASH! KRRRRK!*
I deflected the shockwave from her ki-infused downward strike with a counter, then immediately blocked the follow-up attack pattern. Then, using the delay from her counter, I landed the remaining ten hits.
With that, she entered her special pattern. This time, I didn't use backward evasion.
*Woooong!*
A halo of light quickly began to gather around the Hero's body.
*Shk.*
I immediately gripped my sword with both hands and lowered it.
Named monsters are normally immune to status effects. However, during certain pattern animations, they switch to having status effect resistance. If you time a chain of skills that cause status effects for that window, you can inflict them even on a named monster.
In Astria Online, the 'Warrior' class inflicts status effects on named monsters and then uses the 'Grapple' skill to lock them down.
The Warrior's bread and butter, the 'status effect chain,' which creates a window for party members to deal free damage.
Swordsmen can do it too. By chaining 'Trip' and 'Leg Slash,' they can knock down a named monster even on their own. It's not that significant, though, since Swordsmen don't have a skill like Grapple.
However, the Hero is a humanoid named monster.
Just like in PVP, couldn't I launch her into the air?
*Thwack!*
I slashed upward at the Hero's body while she was gathering her mana.
I felt her body lift, a distinct sensation of something being raised above her protective ki. It worked.
I immediately lowered my stance, raised my leg, and kicked her body powerfully upward.
*Thwack!*
The Hero's body shot into the air. The golden mana she had been gathering dispersed.
*Tap!*
I leaped into the air after her. There was no time to savor the joy of interrupting her pattern. In this opening, I could land more hits with an aerial combo.
However.
*Swoosh, clang clang clang!*
The Hero twisted her body in mid-air, righted herself, and immediately parried my strikes. Breaking out in a cold sweat, I pushed her sword away forcefully and landed.
She won't even let me hit her easily in the air, huh.
*Clang!*
I licked my lips and began to counter the Hero's sword as she rushed toward me.
I couldn't land any extra hits, but the result was clear.
I had proven that the terrifying 'Sword Dance' pattern could be interrupted before it even started.
I interrupted the second Sword Dance pattern without any trouble.
*KRRRRK! THWACK! THWACK!*
And then the third. The eighth and ninth hits.
The light radiating from the Hero's protective ki had weakened considerably.
Based on my experience from the last fight, a ridiculously desperate pattern would emerge just before I landed the final hit to break her protective ki.
But I still had my saved cooldown reset. With this, I might even be able to overcome her desperation pattern on my first try. As long as I could interrupt the Sword Dance, I didn't need to use the cooldown reset to get this far.
And, the moment I landed the final strike to meet the hit count.
*Sway.*
"!?"
*Tat!*
The instant I felt the first stir of wind, I reflexively used backward evasion.
*Fwoosh!*
In an instant, a storm of sword ki, like a blade-sharp wind, began to rage around the Hero.
"Reflective Sword Ki!"
If I hadn't seen it before, I would have definitely been hit.
Was she frustrated that her Sword Dance didn't work? For her fourth special pattern, she unleashed the Reflective Sword Ki she'd used before.
Good, this actually makes it easier. Once this pattern ends, she'll go back to her first one.
All I have to do is wait for the storm of sword ki raging around the Hero to subside.
*Woooong.*
That's when I saw it, inside the storm of sword ki.
The Hero gripping her Holy Sword in a reverse hold.
Without a moment to think, I immediately used the cooldown reset on my bracelet.
*Flash!*
Right after, a crescent-shaped wave of sword ki shot out from the Hero's sword.
Just before it could slice through my waist, I barely managed to use backward evasion.
*Fwoosh!*
As my invincibility frames were about to end, I broke into a cold sweat at the sight of the sword ki aimed at my chest and immediately followed up with Flash Strike.
The storm of sword ki? It was still raging. I couldn't get close.
*Fwoosh!*
The Hero remained hidden within the storm, continuously firing off barrages of ranged sword ki.
I gritted my teeth and activated Astaroth's cooldown reset as well. Another backward evasion, another Flash Strike. With that, I had used up all my cooldown resets and invincibility skills.
*Fwoosh!*
The baptism of sword ki wasn't over.
*KWAAAAA!*
I stared blankly at the torrent of golden sword ki that filled my vision.
And I let out a wry smile.
"This is just cheating."
*Shhhk!*
I was sliced to pieces and died.
*
[Ice Crystal Tower - 10th Floor]
"Hoo."
I had to kneel for a moment to calm myself before I could think straight again.
She fires barrages of ranged sword ki from inside a storm of sword ki? How the hell am I supposed to beat that?
My will is about to break.
*Ting.*
A flashing light in my skill window indicated I had acquired a new skill.
[Starlight Sword Ki]
[Cooldown: 1 minute]
[Fires five waves of starlit sword ki in a 15m x 3m area in front of you (4 waves at 500% of Starlight Slash's power, 1 wave at 1000%)]
Following Flash Strike from the Tower of Training, is this the new skill from the Ice Crystal Tower?
The first ranged burst damage skill given to a Swordsman. Its damage multiplier is incomparable to a ranged skill like 'Flying Sword Technique,' which is only used for pulling aggro.
This skill will be useful for dealing effective damage from a distance to bosses with tricky patterns during their special phases.
Other players will probably get this too when they clear the Ice Crystal Tower.
Of course, a skill like this is more than enough for clearing elite dungeons. No, for me, it's overkill.
But I have a duty to get something proper from her.
"This isn't my skill."
I'm going to use that golden sword ki too.
*Fwoosh!*
As I landed the final hit, a storm of sword ki erupted around the Hero. I immediately used backward evasion to create distance.
*Shk.*
Within that storm of sword ki, the Hero gripped her Holy Sword in a reverse hold.
*Shk.*
Mimicking the Hero's stance, I planted my feet firmly on the ground and gripped Astaroth in a reverse hold.
Then, I widened my eyes.
I won't dodge. I'll meet it head-on.
Surely, that sword ki is classified as a slash, not a projectile.
If so, I can parry it with my Starlight Sword Ki.
But there's an absolute difference in power. How much of the Hero's ferocious sword ki can I offset with my own?
*KWAAAAA!*
The Hero swung her reverse-gripped sword, unleashing a wave of golden sword ki.
*Fwoosh!*
In response, I unleashed my Starlight Sword Ki.
*Flash!*
The two energies collided in mid-air, emitting a brilliant flash of light. At the same time, a searing pain shot through my waist.
"Keuk!?"
A sharp agony, as if I'd been cut by a blade. Was it a partial success? It seemed I hadn't completely offset the Hero's sword ki. In the blink of an eye, a second wave of golden sword ki was flying toward me.
I unleashed the starlight again. A faint golden hue was mixed within it.
*Flash!*
My body burned from my left shoulder to my right side. But it hurt less than before.
Flash, it hurts. Flash, it doesn't.
*Wooooong!*
The starlight had vanished from my sword, replaced by a vivid golden glow.
I unleashed it with all my might.
*KWAKWAKWAKWA!*
My golden sword ki devoured the Hero's, pierced through her storm of sword ki,
and swept over her body.
*Ting.*
【Sword Ki 'True' can be used below 1% HP】
Covered in blood, I collapsed to the floor and watched the Hero dissolve into a halo of light.
And I grimaced.
So I have to be in pain to use this one, too.