[Level ??]
[Ancient Hero ■■■■]
[HP ???/???]
I gritted my teeth.
The figure whose outline could be discerned even within the light was.
“Ancient hero.”
There’s no display of name, level, or HP.
I unconsciously took a step back.
Fear of the unknown? No. It’s fear of something I know too well.
That is not a being that should appear in a place like this. No, it’s a being that shouldn’t be in this world now.
Why is ‘I’.
No, why is the being that ‘was me’ here?
Tower of Training.
What I faced at its end was.
The hero, Rain.
I organized my thoughts for a moment while steadying my breath.
Tower of Training, top floor, magic circle scan.
It’s probably a form of battle in which each person fights a mirror match with a boss named suitable for their specs and class.
But the existence called ‘Rain’ who was in this world is not just me who is here now.
The user ‘Rain’ of Astria Online, and the hero ‘Rain’ from a thousand years ago.
This named boss is the latter.
They are essentially the same being, but there’s a difference in time point.
“Haah.”
I sighed and held my aching head.
I know ‘that’ best.
A body enhanced by the power of the holy sword and the golden protective aura surrounding the body. Ordinary attacks can’t even inflict damage.
Sword energy bursting forth based on the mana accumulated in the body by the holy sword, as fast as lightning and fiercely strong. That must be what split my waist.
Although not visible yet, at some point during the battle, sword energy several meters long will surge from that holy sword and sweep across the entire battle area. Attacks using sword energy can’t be seen or dodged, and it’s impossible even to guard against them.
“It’s hard mode just for me.”
I complained lightly.
This world was forcing a difficult path only on me.
But knowing well also means I can devise ways to respond.
Of course, if ‘that’ were real, there would be no way for me to win.
“It’s just a game.”
As long as this world is a game called ‘Astria Online,’ surely ‘that’ too is just a ‘named boss’ within the game system’s range.
If so, I just need to respond to patterns, inflict damage, and take it down.
But with current user character stats, there’s no way to match ‘that’s’ attack power and speed. My winning formula of seeing and responding has been fundamentally blocked.
I have no choice but to learn while dying a few times.
I gripped my sword tightly and swallowed.
Even if it’s death in a game, it hits me more painfully than others. But.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
I die cleanly. Then it’s rather okay.
My body doesn’t burn painfully or anything. I either get split in half, have my head fly off, or have my heart pierced.
“Eek.”
Imagining death, I almost screamed without realizing.
It’s a fight I’m engaging in, knowing I’ll certainly die. It would be a lie to say I’m not scared.
But I steeled my resolve.
I had become extremely timid over a year.
At first, I was very scared even of death in the game, but now I’ve somewhat regained my former mindset.
Even in my hero days, there were many times I fought prepared for death.
And, I’m still alive.
Death in a game is not true death. My life is worth less than back then. I’m just a little scared of the realistic sensation of death.
“It-it’s okay as long as it doesn’t hurt too much.”
I just need to clear it while dying many times, learning the patterns one by one.
Other users are the same. There are people who take down named bosses after dozens or hundreds of tries.
Rain, you’re no different.
It’s not real death.
You just need to do the same as others.
I gripped my sword tightly and approached it.
* * *
“Hmm.”
I’ve faced it again for now, but how should I start the first move.
The ‘Ancient Hero’ still enveloped in light seemed to be looking straight ahead.
That hero too is surely a being within the range of the game system. It should have a recognition range.
Step by step.
I carefully approached the hero.
The identity of the flash that split my waist at first was probably sword energy.
It must be a pattern of spewing out ranged sword energy against an opponent out of melee attack range.
The hero’s fierce sword energy sweeping across the entire front. Even if I use the block skill, it will split me along with my sword.
11 meters.
It doesn’t recognize me.
Then. 10 meters is the recognition range.
I turned around.
Taking a deep breath.
[Backward Evasion (C)]
[Quickly propel your body 8m backward to avoid frontal attacks (Invincible during casting)]
[Cooldown 8 seconds]
[(E rank) Movement speed increases for 5 seconds after skill activation]
Thud.
I activated backward evasion.
Pitter-patter!
Simultaneously, crescent-shaped sword energy bursting from the hero brushed past my body three times.
I buttoned the first button properly.
As expected, it was as I predicted.
No matter how strong a power the opponent has beyond standards, as long as this world is a game, it can’t ignore the ‘invincible during casting’ judgment.
If I had carelessly started the battle with an approach skill, my body would have been split in half like before even before reaching the hero.
I, who had instantly approached near the hero through backward movement, looked ahead before the invincibility judgment even ended.
Flash!
The holy sword swung in in the blink of an eye. I raised my sword to block it.
Clang clang clang clang!
A shower of sword strikes pouring in instantly. 6 times in a second? 7 times? Considering that the attack interval of named bosses I’ve faced so far was at most around 1 second, the hero’s attack speed was beyond imagination.
But my sword, which had activated the ‘Block’ skill, moved ahead of my reactions and excellently blocked the hero’s sword strikes. Fortunately, the hero hadn’t raised sword energy yet.
I am now under the protection of the ‘game system’. No matter how strong the opponent’s attack is, it can’t ignore the absolute system called ‘skills’ and attack me.
But I can’t win the fight just by blocking. I need to land my attacks on the opponent.
When? When will a gap appear?
Clang clang clang! Clang!
Just as I was barely progressing my thoughts, the movement of the holy sword changed drastically.
A quick sword strike strongly swinging up from below. Simultaneously, my sword was knocked upwards.
“Ah…!”
Guard break technique.
As my arm lifted along with the sword, my upper body was fully exposed. The hero’s lightning-fast thrust pierced that gap.
Stab.
“Kek.”
With the sensation of the cold sword stuck in my heart, my body trembled once, and soon the world went dark.
[Tower of Training 9th Floor]
“Ee… eek!”
After going through the process of catching my breath for a moment after revival, I stroked my chest that had been pierced by the holy sword with a tearful face.
Rain, you fool. You should have expected a technique with such a judgment.
If I had thought a little more, I could have reduced one hole in my chest.
Anyway, although I haven’t landed an attack yet, I could see the pattern to some extent. I made quite a bit of progress for the price of one life.
Clap.
I slapped my face once with both palms.
After steeling my resolve like that, I approached the hero.
“Okay, let’s see the next pattern.”
Clang clang clang clang!
On the 39th exchange, and then the guard break technique.
Clang!
Along with the hero’s sword strike, I rotated my body to the left using the recoil of my arm being lifted.
Pat!
The thrust passed between my armpits. Without time to feel the chilling sensation down my spine, I swung my sword strongly using the rotation. It was a very clumsy swing, not even using a skill.
Thwack!
When I hit the hero’s protective aura with my sword, I felt a strong repulsive force. But I definitely landed one attack. Judging by how the protective aura flickered, it seems there was some reaction.
Confirming that, I smiled slightly.
Game. System. Named boss.
It’s not a being that attacks can’t reach. I can definitely clear this.
I could use counterattack against the guard break attack, but I can’t overuse the ‘invincible during casting’ judgment. I don’t know when an unblockable pattern will come out.
Woong.
The joy of landing the first attack was short-lived as the hero’s holy sword was raised above its head, and soon light swirled around it.
An attack containing sword energy. Can’t be blocked.
It’s impossible to see and dodge. But thanks to being prepared in advance, I could read the precursor. I barely twisted my body. The holy sword hit the floor of the tower as it was.
Boom!
I saw the ground rise momentarily along with the shockwave. Even though it was just swung down vertically with sword energy, the aftermath was incredible. Did the demons who faced me in the past feel this way too?
It’s definitely an area damage judgment. Backward evasion? No good. If the distance widens, sword energy will fly immediately. Here, use counterattack.
Swish.
Boom boom boom!
Soon after, the floor burst and devastated the surroundings. My body, which had activated counterattack, didn’t take damage through the ‘invincible during casting’ judgment.
The hero stopped moving for a moment. The after-delay of the downward strike attack containing sword energy.
1 second? 2 seconds? No time to think. I immediately launched several sword strikes containing starlight towards the hero’s protective aura showing its back.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
4 hits landed. One more? No, the delay won’t be that long. For now, I maintained my guard and observed the situation. After a moment, the hero returned to the initial pattern.
Clang clang clang clang!
Ah, I think I could have hit once or twice more.
Setting aside the regret for a moment, I calmly responded to the hero’s attacks while looking for gaps.
The hero’s sword strikes are too fast to react to, but they can’t pierce my guard. There’s an after-delay in the downward strike shockwave pattern.
If overwhelming speed and fierce sword energy are the hero’s weapons, my weapon is the ‘game system’ itself. I can definitely win.
There was a reaction even to sword strikes without using skills after the guard break technique appearing on the 40th exchange. If the protective aura is released by the number of hits rather than damage, there’s no need to use skills to deal damage.
Without using skills, remove the protective aura with direct hits.
Use only reaction speed and agility stats as weapons.
Clang!
On the 40th exchange, the hero’s upward slash released my guard, and I, rotating my body with that recoil, quickly launched three strikes towards the hero’s body.
Thwack thwack thwack!
The hero’s protective aura flickered three times. Soon I avoided the downward strike attack accompanied by sword energy with counterattack.
Boom boom boom!
The moment my sword strike hit the protective aura once after taking the hero’s rear.
Pitter-patter-patter-patter!
“Kuhuk!?”
From the hero’s body, sword energy raged out in all directions.
Counter sword energy?
My body was instantly shredded by that fierce storm of sword energy.
[Tower of Training 9th Floor]
“Phew.”
I caught my breath for a moment.
Counter sword energy that returns the opponent’s power absorbed by the protective aura. It wasn’t a technique that activated according to the number of hits taken. Is it just a pattern of my combat method from my hero days?
Anyway, it means there’s a counter sword energy storm pattern after 10 hits.
Let’s remember that for sure.
“Okay, again.”