115 - Necromancer
“They said you stole the laurel wreath, but you came back with two, including interest—how thrilled would they be? Don't you think so, Nocturne?”
“...”
“Answer me.”
“Crown Prince, please... spare me... I didn't do anything...”
“Ha... I hate it when people drag things out like this. Don't you miss your family?”
The man grabbed the chin of the robed girl with one hand. Her already gaunt, skinny cheeks were crushed under his brutish grip.
“Hic... snff... please... I'll be good...”
“Looks like one lucky slave brat managed to escape. You should live like you're dead, but no—some always dream of revenge. Go take care of it and bring back the laurel wreath. Then I'll safely bring your family from Arseria Forest to the Empire.”
“Hic... I... I can't fight... I've never...”
“Nocturne, why can't you understand?”
With his other hand, he stripped off her robe, revealing a scrawny girl with a terrified face. The man slowly stroked her hair with four fingers.
“I'm ordering you right now.”
In the Crown Prince's hand was a ring made from a laurel wreath. Like a proposal, he carefully slipped it onto her finger and whispered in her ear.
“They're going to burn down all of Arseria Forest from the Holy Kingdom soon. If you want to save your siblings, you'd better hurry.”
The girl's pointed, elongated ears trembled at the devil's whisper.
Let me confess something: back when I was little, I was actually more interested in swords than magic. Even though I'd been reborn in a fantasy world, magic was just a headache-inducing academic subject, while knights wielding aura flew through the sky like it was nothing—that naturally drew my admiration.
Above all, the fact that I could stand on two legs was so exhilarating that as soon as I was old enough to hold a wooden sword, I begged my swordmaster teacher to train me.
Marquis Bastion had a unique philosophy on the sword. He claimed that one-on-one knight duels were like a game of Go. Setting aside the question of why Go existed unchanged in that world, his point seemed to be about seeking the optimal probabilities in combat.
He emphasized that even with optimal offense and defense from both sides, the first-move advantage always favored the initiator; that no perfect swordsmanship existed in the world, only fluid responses to the opponent's moves; and that these were the virtues of a true master swordsman.
Back then, when I saw swordsmanship as just a sport, I was inspired by his radical ideas and followed him like a disciple. But the time to prove my grasp came sooner than expected, and I regret not hearing more of his lectures.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Skia Bona fits my hands better. And with the handguard, I can cast magic mid-fight without dropping the sword.”
└ Probably 320bpm
└ Rhythm game now? lololol
We entered the cave, exuding an eerie chill. Sure enough, a small figure darted out from the darkness, blocking our path.
Her robe was too big, dragging on the ground and kicking up dust with every step.
“I'm sorry... I'm sorry... sob, I'm so sorry...”
From our first encounter, the girl openly showed her remorse. Adella, spooked by the sight, clung tightly to my waist, her tail standing straight up.
“I have family I must protect... I'm sure you, trapped in the forest, can understand...”
Necromancer 'Nocturne' summons random 'Puppet 1'.
Infamy difficulty set to 10.
└ Who's this?
└ She appears in academy history class in the main story.
- Doesn't even show up below infamy 3.
- Red ponytail hottie heung
└ According to the lore book, she's 59 despite appearances.
└ Not 200 or 500, but 59—kinda weirdly relatable lol
-What's her pattern?
- Fr, even if you're winning, her grabs drain HP so fast you get turned around.
└ How'd I never see her in Challenger?
└ Only appears Platinum 4+
└ Wild, didn't know that.
└ More shocked you're Challenger instead of Bronze lmao
└ Dia 4
└ Whoa
Like in the first boss fight, coordinating with Adella was tough. Divide and conquer it is, then. The main body was probably stronger than the clone, so I had Adella handle the illusion.
Truth be told, against necromancer-types, the standard was to ignore puppets and strike the caster—the girl over there with her eyes closed, focusing. But viewers knew why that wouldn't work.
A powerful mana barrier enveloped the entire cave, blocking any path to her. Some illusion magic, no doubt.
I casually eyed the red-haired woman facing me. Her balanced physique screamed seasoned swordswoman. Except for one thing—her breasts were huge.
“Did you know big breasts lower agility and make it impossible to escape back pain in any stance?”
If you truly wanted to reach the pinnacle with the sword—no joke—removing your breasts could break through walls. Real-life tennis players had jumped from world rank 300 to 1 after reduction surgery.
Pain could be endured, but the issue was our bodies instinctively avoiding painful postures, creating habits in swings. Did the AI even simulate that? I pondered briefly but decided to treat her as human for now.
“So there must be habits—or patterns. Let's target those.”
If we could lop off those ridiculous tits, it'd be perfect. Even as an undead, I'd up my respect a notch.
Ba Yeon-ji, active in the 2nd league under the obscure nickname Veixel, couldn't believe the scene unfolding before her.
The streamer who burst onto World of Arceria like a comet. Her creative plays made Yeon-ji think about tackling nightmares again after ages.
But as she watched, recognizing the unnatural proficiency in every move didn't take long.
She's trained with a real sword.
Debuting in 2nd league after a teammate caught the flu, she'd botched it spectacularly like most rookies. The hate comments had stung.
Feeling walls even against 2nd league pros—let alone 1st—could she really backseat this person? Veixel, who'd lived with pro pride over amateurs, now saw that shattered.
The two women charged at each other.
Mesomia was nearly impossible to pattern-read. She'd been Yeon-ji's debut 3rd objective (neutral legendary boss) in a brutal 6v6 teamfight. As the last survivor, killing her would've clinched victory, but tension led to a clean sweep by her combos.
'Pros dying to an NPC?' Every insult imaginable.
What would she show?
NoName seized first move. Mid-charge, she altered her sword's arc multiple times. Pointless stamina drain, Yeon-ji thought—until Mesomia committed to a counter.
Spotting the blade aimed rearward, Mesomia closed in fast, betting recovery time.
Female humanoid bosses were speedy. Yeon-ji's mind raced: not warning about Mesomia's armed movement speed might be fatal. She adored Adella, after all.
Then—
“I know...!”
Ting! Mesomia's sword clanged off NoName's handguard and bounced away.
Parrying with the hilt, not the blade?
Her follow-through, which had swung rearward, now hovered over Mesomia's head. Momentum shifted to NoName.
Broadswords like Skia Bona excelled at pressure. Once initiated, even parries left first-move advantage; some techs reset positions without yielding control.
NoName exploited it perfectly. Metal clashed sharply, echoing through the cavern. It looked even, but she steadily bled the boss.
Yeon-ji watched intently, wanting to help. Then she noticed: NoName's attacks leaned heavily on thrusts.
Mix thrusts and slashes, or patterns dulled. She knew that, right?
But Mesomia's counters were slower than expected—half her usual speed.
Soon, Yeon-ji understood and let out a hollow laugh.
Broad sword vs. broad sword: thrusts demanded dynamic defense. Static blocks required pinpoint prediction on thin blades—hard, and attackers could feint anyway.
Mesomia's delayed dynamic defense? Her arms snagged on her own chest every swing, killing speed.
And NoName relentlessly targeted there. Impressive.
Forgetting to unmute, Veixel muttered.
“Whoa, that's straight-up insane...”
“More.”
“...Huh?”
“That's all? No other praise?”
“Ah... NoName's the best! So cool! You turned the cave upside down!”