Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Rotten Knight, Veronine (3)
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The Rotten Knight Veronine is strong. He drives me toward death without a shred of mercy.
Tadak!
Lightning-fast movements. A supple body that defies his massive bulk.
But being strong doesn't mean you win every fight.
Veronine's attacks in phase two are starting to become readable. Even in his wolf-like charges and menacing bites, I can spot [specific patterns].
This isn't unique to Soul games. Fighters in martial arts all have their own distinctive movesets.
So if you can read them, dodging with rolls isn't that hard.
And unfortunately for him...
I've done this exact thing for 20,000 hours. After that, it got even tougher, so I lost track of the precise time.
"Grrrk!"
Anyway, Veronine's fangs graze past me. From his perspective, it must be driving him insane—every single attack of his just barely missing.
But my attacks all land cleanly. He doesn't even try to dodge; he just charges in desperately to bite me to death, leaving him wide open to the longsword's blade.
Kaang!
Bone spurs shatter, blood sprays.
Having transformed into a wolf-like shape has left natural openings in his flanks. I roll to the side as much as possible, targeting those gaps, swinging my longsword whenever an opportunity arises.
Each hit sends a thrill through the longsword. Who knows—maybe this blade is getting swept up in the ecstasy of battle just like me.
But the peak of that insane thrill comes when...
Kaaang!
...the longsword clashes against the greatsword embedded across Veronine's gut.
"Kieeeek!"
The damage output is on another level.
When I swing the longsword like a club and slam it into the greatsword, steel meets steel in a shower of sparks, and...
"Kiek! Kwek!"
Veronine's health bar fluctuates wildly in an instant. A massive chunk of HP vanishes—HP that no ordinary newbie could ever chip away at. It's only about 5%, but still.
Anyway, that greatsword is his one and only weakness. When he came back to his senses earlier, he essentially handed me this opening on a platter.
I won't let this chance slip away.
It's as if that knight is begging me to end his life.
Please kill me. Finish me off completely.
Well, how can I refuse?
I'll pour everything I have into it.
Kaang! Kang!
In this relentless assault targeting only the greatsword, Veronine's health bar visibly shrinks.
"Kkuguguguk!"
To turn the tide, he charges at me desperately once more.
This feral beast, lost in agony and madness, strains to sink its teeth into my neck.
Taat!
I roll backward to evade its gaping maw and razor-sharp fangs. But his attacks don't end after one.
Kwaduk!
Even though I rolled away in time, that vicious mouth and teeth end up right in front of my face. A follow-up bite.
"Ugh...!"
I hurriedly roll back again to create distance. That was close.
If that grotesquely wide jaw snapped shut on me, my body would be bisected in an instant.
But I can't just roll forever.
My stamina is steadily draining.
Every roll and action eats away at my stamina. Once it's depleted, I won't be able to swing my sword properly, jump, or roll anymore.
Of course, in the full-dive game Deathcall, stamina isn't visible as a bar. Instead, realistic debuffs affect my entire body.
Hooook—
My breath comes in ragged gasps. The continuous exertion burdens my body, and my overall speed plummets.
But Veronine's onslaught shows no signs of stopping. He rampages like a rabid animal, charging wildly.
"Geuk!"
Those hideous fangs are way too close. Up close, they're less like teeth and more like honed bone shards.
I dodge once more. Now my lungs are burning at their limit.
Sweat pours like rain, my vision blurs. It feels like I've sprinted 500 meters at full speed.
My heart pounds like it's about to burst, and my mouth tastes of metallic blood.
But these [rules] don't apply only to me.
"Kruk, kruuk..."
Veronine and all the bosses—no, every moving creature in the game—can't unleash infinite attacks either.
That savage wolf pants heavily, drooling saliva and blood after his reckless assault.
We glare at each other, both exhausted.
But in my eyes, a very welcome clue appears.
The greatsword's hilt is glowing. Something's about to happen any second.
The moment I see it, despite my heaving breaths, I slowly close in on him and...
Kaang!
...squeeze out my last reserves of strength to swing the longsword into the greatsword.
It could be seen as incredibly reckless. Normally, I'd manage my stamina carefully, mixing rolls and attacks...
But this strike had to succeed.
Veronine's weakness—the greatsword—is flashing gold, and his remaining health bar is now below half.
If my guess is right, landing a direct hit at this timing will...
Put most boss monsters into...
"Kieeeek!"
...a groggy state. Just like now!
Even Veronine, the player-slayer, isn't exempt from this rule.
The moment my feeble attack connects, he lets out a shriek and collapses.
The gaping wound from the greatsword that once pierced his guts now gapes irreparably, a horrific sight.
"Kiek! Kieeuk!"
A pained whine emanates from the wolf's maw. I approach slowly as it flops on its side, legs twitching helplessly.
A groggy boss is prime for a devastating blow.
Just then, a pretty solid finisher pops into my head.
I grip the baseball-bat-thick hilt of the greatsword with both hands, plant my foot on Veronine's body, and twist the massive blade viciously...
Kwajik!
...ripping deeper into his innards and wound.
Kieeeek!
A grotesque scream echoes through the entire cave. With the greatsword fully impaling him, rotten blood gushes from the torn flesh.
I roll backward immediately to gain distance. As his health drops, Veronine goes even more berserk, but as victory nears, I grow calmer.
"Grrrk! Kkugek!"
He launches himself with all four legs, ferocious.
It's an attack brimming with killing intent, but unfortunately, it won't reach me.
Paat—!
I roll at the perfect timing once more. Even so, his sharp bone spurs rake my body, forcing blood to spill...
But such minor pain won't kill me. I die when I fail to roll properly—not from the agony wracking my brain and mind.
Roll, evade, swing the longsword again.
Until the cave floor is covered more in blood than mud.
Until his shattered bones and spilled guts halt his movements.
"Kyak!"
I dodge all his attacks with rolls...
Kaang!
...and precisely target the greatsword in his openings.
Sparks fly before my eyes. In response, thick black blood oozes from the gash, and Veronine convulses, rampaging wildly around the cave.
20%.
15%.
10%.
Now terror seeps into its howls. Even this instinct-driven beast senses its own death and feels fear.
But escape isn't an option for it. It knows death awaits yet still lunges to crush my neck.
If it could just bite me once.
Just one solid hit, and Veronine could live.
Kwajik!
But those fangs only tear at my afterimage and empty air, pointlessly.
And when an attack fails...
...it always takes a hit from me.
Kaaang—!
The greatsword and longsword vibrate together.
This greatsword once stood by its knight's side, sharing in countless kills.
Now its massive blade trembles as if repenting its past sins. The way it's gradually twisting counterclockwise almost looks like it's bowing its head in atonement.
My plain longsword is the one forcing it to move.
It started embedded neatly in his abdomen, but now it's bent nearly 90 degrees, mangling the wolf's torso.
Yet even in this final moment, Veronine thrashes to bite me.
Frighteningly tenacious. But—
Kwak!
Veronine's fangs slice through empty air once more.
I'm still alive.
His pupils slowly dilate. My figure reflects in those expanded depths.
The arc of my longsword swung with all my might, exploding in sparks at the tip.
The metallic rupture heralding death.
Kaang—!
The greatsword spins rapidly.
Blood sprays.
The massive body splits apart.
Seogeok!