[Level 50 Ice Ogre King]
[HP 2,114,017 / 15,000,000 (14%)]
Grrrr-!!
Cold air gathered around the ‘Ice Ogre King’s body again, and the second special cold emission pattern began.
I passed the first 8 resistances through Astaroth’s cooldown reset function. I expected there would be a second cold emission pattern. Of course, if you came through the normal route, the level penalty would be minimized so you could reduce the number of cold emissions through the torch use gimmick. But at this point with low level, there’s no time to perform gimmicks. I have to keep dealing damage incessantly.
I resisted the first cold emission bursting out with a flash using Backward Evasion. The white hexagonal crystals filling my vision came into view one by one clearly. Pretty snow flowers brushed past me with a swish. I immediately stuck to the ‘Ice Ogre King’ through an approach skill and swung my sword.
Shedding silver and starlight, one, two to the left and right. Three diagonally downward.
Second cold emission. Is the interval 2.7 seconds? About 2.8 seconds? Anyway, if I rotate cooldowns through Flash Strike, it seems the next Backward Evasion cooldown will come just in time.
Swish, my body moving to the Ogre King’s back through counterattack crossed between the snow crystal formations.
Third cold emission. My sword using Flash Strike as if to precisely cut each fluttering snowflake in half passed through bisecting the Ogre King and snowflakes.
Though the invincibility judgment is short, it’s as easy as breathing for me. A body acceleration technique using energy explosively emitted from feet touching the ground. It was my favorite technique in the past too. The sensation of becoming a beam of light cutting through the air felt good.
Fourth, fifth cold emission. Resisted in order of Backward Evasion and counterattack.
Right after, the ‘Bracelet of Hammer and Anvil’, Dwarf Ein’s gift attached to my arm, shone. With this I can use Backward Evasion, counterattack, and Flash Strike again.
Now only Uncle Ein is with me, but someday other companions too.
Sixth, seventh cold emission. I didn’t forget to swing my sword in between Backward Evasion and counterattack.
Crash!
The Ogre King stomped its foot, jumped into the air and clasped its hands together.
Last, eighth. Air jump and slam down pattern.
If I had failed to resist the cold emission even once, I would have been shattered by that slam down pattern in a frozen state.
With flashing eyes, I lowered my posture and took the stance for the final Flash Strike.
The damage output squeezed in between cold resistances is enough. There’s still time left before the final enrage pattern too.
Flash!
My Flash Strike passed through cutting the Ogre King’s body slamming down to the ground.
Groooar-!
Thud.
I headed up to the next floor without looking back at the ‘Ice Ogre King’s corpse sprawled on the floor.
[Ice Spire Tower 10th Floor]
Woong.
A familiar scanning process, and light gathers in the center of the Ice Spire Tower hall.
The being that appeared from that light is.
[Level ??]
[Ancient Hero ■■■■]
[HP ???/???]
I grinned.
“Long time no see.”
A being containing explosive power in a small body, the golden figure, ‘Hero Rain’.
Though her expression isn’t visible because she’s still wrapped in light, isn’t she smiling at me too?
“I’m going to try saving this world again.”
The Astria continent that has appeared in game form. But there’s clearly a threat.
Though that threat is only vaguely visible yet, they said it’s a world all users save together, but.
Wouldn’t I be able to do it best after all?
“I’m going to carve the names of my companions, and my name, into the Astria continent again.”
For that, I need stronger power.
Strong power that can differentiate me from others.
Is this an arrangement to make me stronger? Or a barrier to block my path?
Step by step.
I moved towards her raising Astaroth.
“So, give me back my power.”
To receive what I must receive from my past self.
I turned around without hesitation at the edge of the hero’s recognition range as mere ‘Named’, and.
Tap tap!
Used Backward Evasion.
Slash slash slash!
The barrage of fierce sword energy instantly bursting from the hero’s holy sword brushed past my body.
In that momentary instant, my body crossing between virtual and reality reached in front of the hero.
And while twisting my body, I swung Astaroth strongly.
Clang!
I felt like my eyes met the hero’s eyes.
The hero who couldn’t be completed.
You are stopped, and I am advancing.
* * *
Clang clang clang clang!
It’s more threatening than when I faced it before. The movements are extraordinary. The hero’s sword digs into various points aiming for vital spots all over my body, stabbing and slashing. I even had the illusion that attacks were coming in curving like snakes.
Flash, clang!
The hero was presenting me with splendid swordplay that wasn’t shown in our previous encounter.
But my body here affected by the ‘stat’ system has become faster than before too. Unlike in the past when I only watched for gaps behind the ‘Block’ skill, this time I was barely keeping up with the hero’s movements.
Clang clang!
The hero’s sword path comes into view. As expected, there are set patterns.
Now, I can exchange swords with it.
Clang! Golden powder scattered instead of sparks. I strongly deflected and swung silver light aiming for the hero’s side.
Clang! The hero raised its sword diagonally to block my sword.
It’s different from the past when it took hits from attacks aiming for gaps. The current hero was definitely guarding against my sword.
The golden protective aura surrounding the hero’s body. This too, will be stripped off by hit count like last time. Though I can see the hero’s sword strikes, it’s rather trickier to land attacks than before.
Shall I try going in a bit differently.
Clang!
This time I strongly struck away the hero’s sword. It’s to create an opening. But the hero used that rebound to float its body slightly.
Woong, golden energy gathered in the hero’s sword. A sword energy shockwave attack. I can’t block it.
Here, I use counterattack.
Swish.
Crash!
The ice floor hit by the hero’s holy sword containing sword energy shook, and a powerful shockwave spread around.
It’s a strong attack. There will surely be an opening. I aimed for the hero’s back and swung Astaroth.
Scrape scrape, twirl.
“!?”
I heard the sound of swords scraping against each other, not the sensation of hitting a protective aura. The hero’s sword moved in a semicircle, naturally deflecting my sword downward. Right after, it thrust in aiming for my body.
I reflexively activated ‘Block’.
Clang!
Wow, scary. If I had reacted even 0.1 seconds late, I would have become ‘Copopo skewer’ skewered on a stick.
Feeling a bit scared, I hid behind Block and glared at the hero for a moment. The hero that had stopped in the thrusting posture for about 2 seconds started swinging its sword again.
Clang clang clang!
A familiar sword path, it returned to the first pattern.
I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
I could have hit it a few times!
The hero used a kind of counterattack skill after activating the sword energy shockwave pattern. If I deal cut, I wouldn’t have to see the thrusting pattern that comes out as a counterattack.
But activating the counterattack pattern creates a 2-second gap. A counterattack that you’re supposed to ‘take’, so to speak.
For the current hero, that’s the only opening where I can land attacks.
A paradoxical situation where I have to take a counterattack for an attack opening to appear.
But I was barely able to react even in a situation I didn’t know about.
I just need to deliberately take the counterattack to draw out the thrusting pattern, block it, and feed lots of sword strikes to the hero’s protective aura that stops moving for 2 seconds.
I see a way. I can conquer it.
Slash slash slash!
2 seconds is a longer time than expected. I launched several sword strikes at the hero’s protective aura that stopped moving after activating the counterattack.
With this 9 hits, 10 hits.
Tap tap!
At the same time I created distance with Backward Evasion.
The reason I used Backward Evasion was to respond to the special pattern activating on the 10th hit. Fast sword energy won’t fly during special pattern activation. Well, there could be special patterns that spray sword energy too.
When I met the hero last time, a ‘Reflecting Sword Energy’ pattern activated simultaneously with the 10th hit on the protective aura, tearing my body to shreds.
It’s not Reflecting Sword Energy this time. What’s the special pattern?
Woong!
At that moment, light started gathering around the hero’s body.
Sign of an area skill? It’s far from Backward Evasion’s cooldown returning. It’s too late to stick with an approach skill and use counterattack. Light is already bursting out.
I urgently lowered my posture and used Flash Strike as a resistance skill.
Crash!
My body that advanced cutting through the golden light through Flash Strike was able to stick to right in front of the hero.
Just as I raised Astaroth and tried to slash the hero’s body, the hero raised its holy sword horizontally.
Woong!
Cold sweat ran at the resonant sound heard simultaneously.
Boom boom boom boom!
Golden energy explosively rose from the hero’s body.
And golden sword energy was concentrated to the extreme in the raised holy sword.
That is the stance for a ‘Sword Dance’ containing sword energy.
I can’t respond. I’ll be cut to pieces along with the sword.
Flash!
I instantly activated the bracelet’s cooldown reset function.
Screech!
At the same time, the hero’s holy sword accelerated to the extreme rushed in at me.
I can’t avoid it. I can’t block it.
It was my miscalculation to think I could see the hero’s sword. There was no sword path in the hero’s Sword Dance that had raised mana to the extreme. It just swung the holy sword containing only the will to kill me.
The weapon given to me facing the hero’s Sword Dance containing absolute power was the game’s system called ‘invincibility judgment’.
How long will that Sword Dance continue? Can I resist all of it if I use up all my invincibility skills? Astaroth’s cooldown reset function is still left. I need to be prepared to use even this if necessary. There’s no leeway to save it thinking of patterns that will come later. A Sword Dance containing sword energy is that threatening.
Swish, slash!
While I moved through the gap in space activating counterattack, the hero’s golden sword brushed past my body several times.
Sword strikes at tremendous speed. They’re even extremely concentrated with sword energy. It’s a pattern I absolutely can’t respond to. If I hadn’t used invincibility skills, my body would have been cut into three or four pieces and scattered.
The counterattack invincibility judgment ended. I used Backward Evasion immediately without giving even a moment’s gap.
Tap tap.
The hero stuck close as if chasing my body moving 8 meters back and kept launching sword strikes.
Screech, slash slash slash!
During the short invincibility time of Backward Evasion, I saw the holy sword brushing past to the left and right of my body positioned beyond space. The unrespondable Sword Dance pattern still hadn’t ended.
Just how many strikes are you launching?
The moment my body using Backward Evasion arrived after jumping 8 meters, I lowered my posture.
Flash Strike, my last remaining invincibility skill.
I need to keep wrapping invincibility skills around my body continuously. The moment invincibility judgment disappears for even 0.1 seconds, I die.
Flash!
I used Flash Strike simultaneously with Backward Evasion’s invincibility judgment ending.
Shudder.
From behind me that brushed past the hero’s body, a chilling sensation was immediately transmitted down my spine.
The Sword Dance still hadn’t ended.
There’s no time to turn my body. No time to withdraw from the Flash Strike stance.
Flash Strike’s invincibility judgment is extremely short. The hero’s Sword Dance is insanely fast.
The very short post-delay time existing the moment Flash Strike’s invincibility judgment ends. The instant time split into tiny fractions that hadn’t been a problem until now caught my ankle.
No.
I need to use Astaroth’s cooldown reset function quickly.
But the hero’s sword that caught up even to my speed that became a flash of light using Flash Strike pierced my body right after the invincibility judgment disappeared.
Stab.
“Kugh.”
The sound of flesh being pierced was heard, my body trembled once, and my mouth opened wide.
Ah, this is a sensation I’ve felt before.
Through blurry vision, I saw the golden sword that had pierced through my chest.
As expected, an existence outside the norm.
Was it impossible to overcome in one go?
I got it, just you wait.
Thud.
When the sword before my eyes disappeared, my body lost its support and collapsed forward.
Not a single ant was visible on the floor.