Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Bald Mountain's Guardian, Lumberjack Prince Randver
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He was one of the countless victims who had suffered at Loki's hands.
Randver, caught up in Loki's pranks, had an affair with a noblewoman and was sentenced to eternal torment tending the funeral pyre until his death.
Randver felled every tree around him with his massive axe.
The prince, who had abandoned his inheritance and duties, could no longer hold back his laughter.
He was sick of resenting the past or cursing the gods.
One day, after devoting himself solely to swinging his axe day after day, he reached the realm of mastery.
Beautiful combos without a single wasted motion.
Randver had come to love the six relentless axe swings he unleashed without pause.
What did that mean?
It meant Hanami had been neatly sliced into seven pieces.
"Fuuuucking helllll!!!"
"You lasted 30 seconds longer than last time!"
"What good is lasting?! How the hell do you dodge that thing?!"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a lesson."
"Fuuuuckiiiing helllll!!!"
"You got this!!"
Randver had fallen for Loki's schemes and slept with a woman of noble birth.
That one night of fiery passion destroyed the prince's life entirely.
The woman was trampled to death by a horse, and he was exiled to Bald Mountain.
"...That's the lore, but honestly, it's kind of his own fault."
"Odins Son has some surprisingly solid lore like this. Especially in item... equipment tooltips?"
"Hmm. Then, the aftermath of King Harald, who got NTR'd by Randver..."
"Sensei!! Help me first!!"
Amid the lively chat, Hanami was visible rolling around on the floor nearby.
This was her third attempt.
Her health was in tatters, and running low on stamina, she was bisected by the massive axe blade and met death once more.
Everyone watched the familiar message pop up and burst into laughter.
Everyone except Hanami.
"Aaaargh!!!"
"That's three times now, right?"
"Alright, that'll do for warm-up."
"Hey, Sensei? Guys? I'm right here listening."
"Oh, really? I'll deal with you all later, for real."
"Uhahaha!!"
That laugh from her was surprisingly hearty.
The two moved a bit away from the boss room.
"Still, you lasted pretty long on the third try."
"..."
"At first, you couldn't even time your potions, but last time you chugged them all before going down."
"Is that... supposed to count as lasting?"
"It does. Your skills improved."
Hanami thought to herself.
This voice sounds like a total con artist.
Though filled with suspicion at first, she was starting to buy into it.
She figured she needed to pitch-shift it to a normal voice to judge properly.
"Now do you get why I told you to unbind the attack key?"
"No clue, you bastard..."
"Pardon?"
"No, I mean... no idea, Sensei."
"Focusing only on dodging made survival way easier, right?"
"No? Not at all?"
"Think about it. Stamina management is boss fight basics."
"Uh...?"
"Newbies don't even know how much stamina rolls cost, so just repeating dodges builds skill fast."
Hanami had been too busy rolling around to think straight.
Was that it?
She'd just been scrambling to evade, barely registering anything...
"Looking back, it felt like I was seeing more patterns...?"
"Exactly. Now that you've got real fight experience, here's some advice."
In games, bosses generally have advantages over players.
That's what makes the challenge worthwhile.
Vast health pools, overflowing stamina, huge frames with long reach... especially in the Odins Son system where everything starts and ends with stamina, players were hopelessly outmatched.
"So you can't go aggressive. Passive response is key."
"Ooh... kinda getting it, kinda not."
"That's why I unbound attacks. Newbies talk a big game about defense but swing anyway. Then they run out of stamina and die."
"Ah. The 'roll then one smack' rule? Viewers told me."
Jin-cheol patiently explained stamina in detail.
It wasn't really about landing that one hit.
The key was learning to manage stamina.
And that just dodging patterns successfully didn't strain stamina much.
"See? No attack key, just rolling, and stamina felt plentiful."
"Huh. Kinda?"
"Classic newbie trap. Dodging's hard, so they get greedy in openings, burn stamina, and dodging gets harder."
Jin-cheol being good at eye-level teaching wasn't weird.
Back in the day, the whole Odins Son Minor Gallery crew had been desperate to reel in newbies...
"Anyway. Once you're comfy dodging, you'll figure out stamina use, and have room for attacks. Get my profound wisdom now?"
"...But wouldn't it have been better to explain that first?"
"Where's the fun in that?"
"What'd you say, you bastard? Ah. Sorry."
Truth was, rolls weren't invincible.
They cost more stamina than attacks.
Dodging with rolls was a losing trade.
Spamming them blindly in PvP led to stamina deficits and straight to Groggy.
But PvP tips might be too advanced for now.
Jin-cheol swallowed the trivia and prioritized helpful info.
"Bosses are kinder than PvP, at least."
"...Huh?"
"Super considerate."
"Wha...?"
"Way better than PvP players dying to gut Nami."
"A... ah?"
"Don't get greedy for attacks, Nami, and you'll adapt. I checked your YouTube vids—Gleipnir didn't seem too bad?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. With a little help from me, you'd have beaten it quick."
"Uh... uh-huh."
"Nami. Don't get down. You've got talent."
Hanami and the viewers shared one thought.
Good thing this guy didn't go into voice phishing or a cult.
Absurd nonsense, but that calm voice made her think, Maybe...?
"Alright, lesson two. You're warmed up, so I'll unlock light attacks!!"
No. Don't say it like you're granting a favor...
"Odins Son has four attacks. What are they, disciple?"
"Yes! Light, medium, heavy, special!"
"Wrong, disciple!! For your level, it's light light light light."
"...Ugh, so frustrating."
"Hm? What was that?"
"...Light light light light, Sensei!!"
Hanami was a pretty good student.
Not skilled, but quick to pick up instructions.
"Specials are weapon skills—OP ones trivialize difficulty. Try 'em when you get good ones later."
"Sensei uses only longswords like me."
"At my level, normals outdamage skills."
"?"
Not that Hanami had great reflexes.
Just tons of experience?
She'd said over five years post-pro, just on endgame content.
Definitely felt like ingrained tricks from various games.
Though the muscle memory needed a good smack to wake up after so long...
"But no Afterimage today? Viewers love flashy stuff."
"Afterimage? Not that hard."
1. Mash any attack.
2. Roughly time the end and stance-switch.
3. Yes, good job. (Praise mandatory.)
4. Try varying timings... now!
"Blue effect just now? That's Afterimage."
"...Wait, did I just land Afterimage?"
"Yes. Do it consistently per attack, and Valhalla awaits."
"..."
"Haha, sounds crazy, right? That's why no Afterimage today. Basics first."
Sensei was solid too.
Especially used to clinging to newbies.
Desperately coaxing, Please play our game!! wasn't new.
"Ah!! Almost had it, off by a beat!!"
"Off-beats like that mean you're getting the feel. It's all about familiarity..."
"Ugh, so annoying, Sensei..."
He knew when to dangle a carrot for her frustrations.
"Eyy, special favor. One more tip. At this range, casually circling triggers his charge, right? Roll straight through for potion window."
"Ooh...!! Wait, give honey tips like this first!"
"Then you won't improve."
"No...!! I'm a newbie!! Don't train me so hard!!"
"Custom strats like this are one-and-done. Can't follow you for every boss."
"..."
Hanami couldn't say she'd delete this crap game post-collab.
She was a pro streamer who read the room well, so the collab stayed chill.
She was gradually getting the hang of the boss.
Right around mastering phase 2.
About the 20th try, thinking just chip more health.
Did she hit her groove? Blood flowing free?
Hanami rolled past the overhead chop, circled clockwise, awaited the pattern.
Charge? Sweep? Kick?
One prepped option popped up.
Senses primed, she parried.
Coolly landed one hit.
Rolled again, seized another chance—one hit.
Suddenly thinking Wait, am I winning?—another hit.
Hanami defeated the boss.
Almost anticlimactically easy.
"Wha. Huh?"
"...Got him!! I beat him, Sensei!!"