Haaak!
I let out a scream as I lifted my body.
“Hee, hee.”
I was out of breath.
I clutched my chest.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
My heart was racing violently.
My body was tingling all over.
My hair was sticking to my forehead, damp.
My forehead was slick with cold sweat.
“……..”
With my body still upright, I looked around.
A dim single room.
My sanctuary.
In one corner, there was a pile of the remains of ‘Cup Noodle Steamed Ramen Mild Flavor’ that I had yet to throw away.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t taken out the trash for days.
I really need to throw that away.
The fully charged automatic wheelchair plugged into the charger was glowing with a green light, indicating it was fully charged.
While I was staring blankly at my surroundings, I touched my chest again.
A girl’s chest that hadn’t changed at all since I don’t know when.
Thump, thump.
The pounding of my heart had calmed down a bit.
But…
“Heek.”
I shuddered, recalling the recent memory.
Staring at the blade that had pierced through my chest and my consciousness fading away.
Experiencing my first death was quite a shock for me.
Fortunately, it didn’t hurt too much.
Just a fleeting sharpness in my chest followed by a dull sensation.
I must have taken lethal damage in one hit, draining all my HP.
“Synchronization rate.”
A synchronization rate of 100% with the body recognized by my brain in virtual reality.
It felt like I had experienced real death.
Of course, I hadn’t truly died.
I touched the area where my chest had been pierced and murmured to myself quietly.
“…Is this really okay?”
*
[Welcome to Astria Online]
After a moment’s hesitation, I had no choice but to log back into the game.
Hwiwooow.
The winds blew even inside the elite dungeon, ‘Orc King’s Cave.’
The wind seeping in from outside the cave lightly tickled my hair.
Bouncy bouncy.
My legs were still moving well.
The experience of death was terrifying, but I couldn’t possibly give up these sensations.
A reality where legs don’t move and there’s not a trace of joy.
Much more vivid sensations in the continent of Astria than in that ashen world.
I pouted.
“I’ve totally become a game addict.”
If I were to describe my current state in one word, it would only be ‘game addict.’
The character’s resurrection point was at the entrance of the level 2 named area.
The path to the level 2 named monster was neatly paved.
Since it’s an instance dungeon, the monsters I had already defeated wouldn’t resurrect.
There wasn’t any death penalty.
Elite dungeons have to be tackled by repeatedly dying and resurrecting, so if there was a death penalty, it would be unreasonable.
Pat pat.
I hurriedly moved my feet and arrived in front of the level 2 named monster.
[Level 2 Named]
[Level 16 Orc Assassin]
[HP 17700/17700]
[Level 15 Orc Mage (Ice)]
[HP 3000/3000]
[Level 15 Orc Mage (Fire)]
[HP 3000/3000]
“Umm.”
I came back, but honestly, I felt lost.
The invisible attacks from the level 2 named monster, ‘Orc Assassin,’ from behind.
In fact, I could block if I tried.
It seemed like a backstab skill, so when the Orc Assassin goes invisible, I can just turn around and adopt a blocking stance.
Unlike the fighter’s ‘counter’ skill that requires perfect timing, the swordman’s ‘block’ skill could be executed without having to see the moment of the attack as long as I maintained the blocking stance.
But what about the magical attacks from the ‘Orc Mages’ attacking my back?
“This is the problem.”
I sat down in front of the level 2 named monster, picked up a stick, and drew on the cave floor.
Swish swish.
I had all three Orcs lined up in front of me, my current formation.
But if the boss uses a backstab skill, it would play out like this.
Swish swish.
If I try to block the back stab from the boss, I would expose myself to the attacks from the Orc Mages.
“This… This!”
I sketched lines back and forth but couldn’t come up with a way to block all three monster attacks.
The block has a 180-degree frontal range.
The boss’s backstab skill is a 180-degree rear attack.
Then…
“Ah!”
Something flashed through my mind.
I lifted the stick and drew a line again.
Swish swish.
If I block upwards like this…
I could just barely reach the left attacking range of all Orcs with a 90-degree block, and the attack from the named monster that went around for a back stab would also be blocked by the 90-degree right side of the block range.
The angle couldn’t be off even a little. It had to be exactly 180 degrees.
But theoretically, it was possible.
I threw down the stick and stood up with determination.
“Alright…!”
This is possible!
With this method, I can take down the level 2 named monster!
Bouncy.
As I jumped into the recognition range of the Orc Assassin, he bared his fangs at me once again.
The sharp dagger the Orc Assassin held gleamed ominously in the cave’s torchlight.
I felt a jolt of fear.
That had pierced through my chest before.
But I couldn’t let fear stop me from moving forward.
A hero must be courageous.
I steeled my resolve and shouted at the Orc Assassin.
“Come on! Bring it on!”
*
[Level 2 Named]
[Level 16 Orc Assassin]
[HP 3011/17700]
Kakakakakang!
The Orc Assassin’s rapid five-hit combo struck against my sword repeatedly.
The five-hit attack failed, and the Orc Assassin vanished in an instant.
Behind.
I quickly turned around and activated my block skill.
Kaan!
The Orc Assassin’s back stab attack was perfectly blocked by my block skill.
Papak!
“Cueek!”
As my thrust of war pierced into him, the Orc Assassin screamed in pain.
I couldn’t help but smile slightly.
The Orc Mages had all fallen.
Now, I could turn around.
There was no need to maintain the perfect 180-degree angle of ‘side blocking’ to block both left and right attacks.
My ‘side blocking’ plan worked perfectly, allowing me to take down both Orc Mages without allowing any attacks.
The posture required extreme concentration to not let the angle falter even slightly, but I pulled it off excellently.
“Die! Die!”
As if venting all the pent-up frustration, I stabbed furiously at the Orc Assassin.
“Kiyiiik—!”
Boom.
And finally, the Orc Assassin’s HP was completely depleted, crashing to the ground.
“Ah… Ahh!”
I did it!
Bouncy bouncy.
I jumped up and down in place, feeling like I could fly.
I was so happy.
It felt like dopamine was surging out.
I, the great hero Rain, finally took down the level 2 named monster!
I didn’t succeed in one go.
I panicked at the invisible attacks of the vanishing Orc Assassin, and my blocking angle got thrown off.
I took attacks from the Orc Mages on my back and ran away like my butt was on fire.
But thankfully, I didn’t die.
As long as I didn’t allow the Orc Assassin’s back stab attack, I wouldn’t lose all my HP in one hit.
“Hehe! Hehehe!”
Laughing foolishly and relishing my joy, I settled my racing heart and approached the place where the Orc Assassin had fallen.
The item I obtained this time was, as expected, a ring.
[Orc Assassin’s Ring]
[Elite]
[Power +5 Agility +5 Intelligence +5]
[Damage reduction +1% when hit]
[Critical damage reduction +5% when hit]
It focused on defense options other than stats.
It seemed earrings increase attack stats while rings boost defensive stats.
“Heh.”
I smiled brightly and cherished the ring in my hands.
I liked it more than the earrings.
With this, I could take less damage!
*
A long corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly.
At the end lay the Orc King’s dwelling.
In the center of the large cave that revealed itself, there it was.
Krkrk.
That which oozed out a foul aura was none other than ‘a giant walking pig.’
It appeared to be three times bigger than an average adult human’s body.
The battle hammer of the Orc King looked larger than my small body.
If I got hit by that, I would definitely die in one hit.
I’d be flattened. Rain would become dried fish.
I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and checked the Orc King’s HP.
The figure was an astounding 30800.
“Hah….”
I gasped.
Almost double the HP of the level 2 named monster, ‘Orc Assassin.’
When would I ever deplete that?
But there was one thing I was thankful for.
“I’m alone.”
No other monsters were visible around the ‘Orc King.’
Of course, as I whittled down its HP, a new monster might appear like the level 1 named monsters, but I wouldn’t have to face three at once like the level 2 named monster.
That meant it would be easier.
I stepped forward with determination.
Bleep.
“Hey! You big HP pig!”
“Krkrk?”
The level 3 named monster, ‘Orc King,’ looked at me with a puzzled expression.
Pop pop.
I turned around and patted my butt.
“Catch me if you can!”
Ku ku ku ku.
“Heek.”
The cave shook.
Do named monsters, even AI ones, have feelings?
It seemed the Orc King was truly angry.
“Krrooo!”
Boom!
The Orc King let out a fierce roar, leaping into the air with surprising agility for its massive size.
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