Chapter 427
A weapon that doesn't break is truly a wonderful thing.
I don't have to waste mental resources on the tedious task of durability management.
Plus, with my skills restricted right now, I don't have passive skill bonuses either. So a weapon with pure, high firepower is more than welcome.
"Yahoo!!! I'm gonna crack your skull open!"
My current mental state is exactly "head cool, heart hot," and my mouth is straight out of a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The reason my mouth is like that is because I need to vent some stress by spewing insults. After overcoming numerous difficult areas, right at the end they throw in an even more maliciously designed floor. Even someone like me, who prides myself on being famously mild-mannered, would snap.
"Come on, come on, Swamp Dragon! You're the last bastion, aren't you!? Put some spirit into it, damn it!"
I kind of suspected it, you know. If Crawling Dragons showed up, there was no way the other two troublesome floors wouldn't appear.
Guess what came after the darkness? A stormy valley with slippery footing and groups of Wyverns accelerated by wind buffs!
Normally, you'd think the situation would be "difficult to fly," right? But those Wyverns fly around freely as if saying, "The wind is our friend!!"
Here I am, getting blown around by strong winds, almost pulling a no-rope bungee off a cliff, and they're over there with buffs? Are you kidding me?
On top of that, there was no place to hide. They were spitting breath attacks from safe zones, and I had to carefully pick which Wyverns to engage in melee from among them.
It's insane, it's stupid, they clearly have no intention of letting me clear this. I smashed that intent with my morning star. While searching for the hidden item on the Wyvern floor, I fortunately discovered a hidden safe area.
I would've settled for the hidden item, but after a serious fight with a horde of Crawling Dragons followed by a brawl with Wyverns, I was completely drained physically and mentally. Water never tasted so good.
I rested a bit in the safe area, cleared the Wyvern floor, and just when I thought I'd recovered mentally, they hit me with the final floor: the Swamp Dragon area. It was like they sensed my healed feelings and thought, "You wanted to drink water, didn't you?" Their malice just kept increasing.
"Ora! Right there!? While I'm focused on one, you try to chomp me from below!? I know it!! How could I not!?"
The area ratio is about 10% land, 90% water—an area clearly meant for underwater combat.
An area said to be unwinnable without any water skills.
But how many years do you think I've been playing FBO?
Underwater, water resistance prevents me from swinging the morning star fully.
At least with a bladed weapon, I could thrust and deal somewhat decent damage.
That's why I maneuver to fight using the scant remaining land.
You'd think that, right? Normally you'd think that, right?
"Hahahaha! Don't underestimate me! This skill build accounts for underwater combat too!"
But hey, don't underestimate an addict.
For an hour, I kept smacking Swamp Dragon heads as they popped up, like whack-a-mole. The number I took down? Only two.
After that, they got cautious and stopped emerging entirely. There's only one way to slaughter Swamp Dragons that won't come out: underwater combat.
I stripped off my tattered cloak and jacket, leaving only my pants on land (for decency's sake), and dove into the water, morning star in hand.
I know you probably want to ask what I'm doing or call me crazy, but I have a calculated reason for this action.
The moment I dove in, Swamp Dragons swarmed me from all sides.
If I tried to swim normally, the weight of the morning star would make it impossible, and to return to land, I'd have to abandon my weapon. Even with full EXBP, you can't gain swimming prowess surpassing a fish.
So why willingly jump into certain death?
Because I can manage with a Magic Edge application.
Taking a deep breath, I can exert myself underwater for about three minutes at most. Factoring in time to escape, my actual combat window is about a minute.
The key to that minute of combat is the Magic Edge coating only my right foot.
An air bubble on the sole of my foot—in other words, "air."
Only ten steps, but still ten steps.
Limited to one foot, but if I can brace and strike underwater, even a Swamp Dragon will get blown away!
Step one: Aerial Step to sidestep laterally.
The drawback of swimming is the inability to make sharp turns.
Due to the nature of swimming propulsion—moving forward—moving directly sideways is nearly impossible.
So, like a bullfighter sidestepping a charge, if I dodge its bite to the side, its head ends up right in front of me.
Step two: brace with Aerial Step and swing the morning star down from overhead onto the Swamp Dragon's head.
Water resistance? I brute force through it with stats.
Even if the swing is slightly slowed, as long as I have a solid footing, I can swing down with full force.
The massive impact sound, even audible underwater, chips away at the Swamp Dragon's life. Adding the bonus damage, it's considerable.
Unable to shout, I grit my teeth, flip my posture, and crush the jaw of the now-stunned Swamp Dragon with full force.
Flipping upside down might cause disorientation upon surfacing, but checking which direction my morning star sinks eliminates that worry.
After precisely three hits erase the Swamp Dragon, I surface.
With my remaining Aerial Step count, escaping to the surface is easy. But the Swamp Dragons, their comrade slain, reluctant to abandon their absolute advantage underwater, chase after me.
They won't make it in time.
I escape to the surface, then launch into the air with Aerial Step.
"Welcome♪"
The Swamp Dragons, using their swimming power to the fullest, lunge at me in the air with full-force bites. Too bad.
This isn't your advantageous underwater anymore.
I'm probably wearing a terrifying grin right now.
How do I know? Because I saw fear flicker in the eyes of Swamp Dragons, which shouldn't feel emotion.
This time, the impact sound rings out in the air. The difference this time is that to drag them onto land, I struck horizontally, sending one flying onto the shore.
With my current stats, I can't send them flying like a home run like I could at full strength. But since I'm leaping toward land, the Swamp Dragon chasing me also has momentum toward land. Using that, I can guide it to crash onto land.
While I'm at it, I launch two more Swamp Dragons that bit at me from the water onto land using the same method.
'■■■■■■■■!!!'
Once they're damaged, they won't stop attacking until they kill me.
The Swamp Dragons that landed on the cramped islet—barely the size of a gymnasium—charge at me the moment I touch down.
The sight of their massive bodies rushing at me might inspire fear, but on land, I'm not about to lose to them.
Grinning, I ready my morning star to intercept.
If they open their mouths wide, with my reach, I have no choice but to strike inside their mouths. If they close their mouths, I'm at a disadvantage. Sidestepping widely, another one bears down on me.
I feint like I'm escaping upward.
"Jaw, shatter!"
I smash the upper jaw with full force, breaking fangs.
Breaking through head-on with striking power exceeding their biting force. As they turn their head to lessen the impact, I spot their right eye and swing the morning star with all my might.
I feel the crushing sensation through my hands. I don't care.
'■■■■■■!!'
"I'll break your fangs too!!"
A morning star is easy for连续 attacks when swung to knock back, but if it gets stuck, pulling it out takes a moment. It's a bit heavy for连续攻击, I think, as I move to intercept a Swamp Dragon trying to bite me along with its dying ally.
In situations like this, it's better to spread damage evenly rather than force a finishing blow.
Using the momentum of pulling it free, I swing it to hit their mouth. If the mouth and face get knocked sideways, I use all my muscles to pivot with the momentum and slam it into their jaw, crushing bone.
"Hey, where do you think you're running?"
While I was distracted by another个体, a damaged Swamp Dragon tried to escape into the water. I stabbed its tail with my Magic Edge-coated foot, pinning it to the ground.
"You think I'd let you escape?"
Even when I played FBO, I used blunt weapons like this.
The main reason was to learn the ranges and techniques of players who favored such weapons, ingraining them into my body to counter them.
Understanding opponents' strengths and weaknesses, storing that information in my head to respond accordingly. Through that process, I naturally acquired the skill to wield weapons smoothly like this.
That's why I occasionally teach Nell, Ingrid, Esmeralda, and even Amina the logic behind the weapons they usually use.
Knowing or not knowing makes a difference in the number of possible responses.
It tried to flee, but my foot piercing its tail stopped its movement, if only for an instant.
That instant is enough to deactivate Magic Edge and use Aerial Step to leap straight up.
A full rotation in the air, the force channeled into the morning star—this blow surely crushes the Swamp Dragon's skull.
"Next, you're next!"
This battle cry, meaningless in the game, feels strangely effective against monsters in this world.
When I glare at them, they seem intimidated, their movements momentarily slowing.
They react like living creatures struck by killing intent. I don't hesitate even seeing that.
They're here to kill too.
No harm in killing them back.
Impact sounds ring out as I finish off Swamp Dragons.
When they're gone from the ground, I dive back into the water, provoke them, and haul them onto land.
Just repeating that.
And the moment I defeat the tenth one, from the land I'm standing on, I see a distant pillar of light rising high.
"The person who designed this trial really has a nasty personality, you know? Isn't this the kind of thing where the escape gate appears right in front of you upon clearing?"
The escape gate appears somewhere else, as if saying the trial isn't over until you escape.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm going, I'm going."
Considering the personality of whoever created this trial, the gate might disappear after a time limit, forcing me to start over from the beginning.
The Swamp Dragons in the water seem oddly agitated, and some are approaching as if to block my escape.
Urged on by their actions, I move toward the pillar of light.
"Hey, get out of the way."
Even for me, this harsh schedule has been tough.
But time-wise, I should have cleared it in about three days.
That means Nell and the others might have just started climbing. Maybe I can catch up with them near the hot spring area.
If so, I can soothe this exhaustion with the hot springs.
Punching away Swamp Dragons that leap from the water, I head for the pillar of light.
"...Is the pillar of light shrinking?"
As I head straight for it, the light seems to be gradually diminishing from the top down.
No way, I think, as I sprint the shortest distance at full speed, but Swamp Dragons keep appearing to obstruct me.
"No way, no way!?"
Their movements seem focused on obstructing me rather than attacking. And it feels like I'm being herded.
Desperately weaving through them, by the time I spot the land where the pillar of light stands, it's already less than a third of its original size. By the time I reach that land, there's barely any left.
"I'll make it!!"
Chased by Swamp Dragons, I leap into the pillar of light, hurriedly bringing the trial to an end.