Chapter 42
“I don’t need to use this on you, but... I’ll use it out of respect for landing a hit on me.”
Golden mana shimmered across Malice’s body.
“〈Adamantine Flurry〉!”
Malice’s speed increased even further.
〈Adamantine Flurry〉... A Skill that uses mana to momentarily invigorate the body and unleash a lightning-fast flurry of blows.
It was an attack Skill that Sword Saints learned early on, and something of a signature move for the class.
I already knew Malice had it.
I knocked aside the first slash with my sword, then leaned back to dodge the second.
Malice’s speed was terrifying, but the swordsmanship couldn’t keep up.
Malice’s movements were becoming predictable.
In 〈Magic World〉, many Sword Saints relied on 〈Adamantine Flurry〉 in PvP, hoping their opponents wouldn’t be able to keep up.
I was confident I could deal with 〈Adamantine Flurry〉.
I took the third slash on my shield, retreating to let the impact dissipate.
Good, I’d weathered it on my first try...
If I backed away as it activated, it didn’t seem too hard to outlast 〈Adamantine Flurry〉.
“Another one!”
From an unstable stance after completing the sword swing, Malice forced in another blow.
A heavy impact jolted through my shield.
“Guh...”
〈Adamantine Flurry〉 was a Skill that unleashed a flurry of attacks during the brief moment the body was enhanced with mana.
Therefore, the number of blows depended on the Skill’s user.
Malice managed to get in four strikes by forcing out a final attack from an awkward stance, but it left Malice off-balance.
Perhaps afraid I’d exploit that opening, Malice kicked off the ground and put some distance between us.
Perhaps wary of 〈Shadow Treading〉, Malice kept movement to a minimum.
“Hmm... Even with you focused entirely on defense, I still can’t break through. But you’re running out of options. Shall we end this?”
“Malice, I wanted to see that Skill of yours while I still had the breathing room. I didn’t want to have to deal with 〈Adamantine Flurry〉 for the first time when I was already on the ropes.”
“...What are you talking about? You think a bluff like that would scare me...”
I had three objectives in this fight.
The first was to get a look at Malice’s 〈Adamantine Flurry〉.
The second was to find a decisive opening in Malice’s defense.
The third was to manage my HP while accomplishing the other two.
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【Elymas Edvaughn】
Class: Heavy Knight
Lv: 41
HP: 38/100
MP: 41/41
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More precisely, I needed to get my HP below 40%.
Before the fight, I recalled the abilities of Malice’s weapon, 〈Demon Blade: Mizugarasu〉, calculated how they would scale with Malice’s current level, then fought while estimating the damage I’d taken and checking whether it matched my predictions.
Now, at last, I could put Skill Points into 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉.
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【Skill Tree】
[Remaining Skill Points: 6]
〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉[34/100]
〈Basic Swordsmanship〉[5/50]
〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉[0/70]
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I’ll put 5 points into 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉.
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【Skill Tree】
[Remaining Skill Points: 1]
〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉[34/100]
〈Basic Swordsmanship〉[5/50]
〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉[5/70]【+5】
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Ruche came through for me... Ruche encouraged me so I could fight with a clear head.
It must have been frightening for Ruche to speak up in front of the Count.
But that was exactly what made this victory possible.
【You acquired the Trait Skill 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉 because 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉 reached [5/70].】
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〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉【Trait Skill】
When your remaining HP is 20% or lower, your Attack Power and Speed increase by 100%.
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“Malice... this fight is ours.”
〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉... A Skill that doubles your Attack Power and Speed, but only when your HP is near its limit.
It was a powerful Skill, but because 〈Magic World〉 had a steep level-down penalty on death, it was used only by casual players who wanted the thrill of dealing massive damage.
Even if you tried to activate it, one mistake could get you killed before 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉’s effect kicked in.
Against powerful enemies, a single hit could shave off nearly half your HP, making the Skill difficult to activate in the first place.
Also, it didn’t increase your magic power, so you’d have to fight at close range with almost no HP left, which was another drawback.
However, Heavy Knights had a Skill that neatly overcame this weakness.
“〈Life Shield〉!”
I shouted as I thrust my sword upward.
My vitality took physical form... and wrapped around my entire body as a wall of light.
“〈Life Shield〉...? In this situation? That’ll just waste your MP. Have you run out of options and gone desperate?”
I heard Aizasu’s voice.
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〈Life Shield〉【Normal Skill】
Costs 20% of your maximum HP to activate.
Envelops your entire body in a shield with durability equal to the HP paid.
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It was true that 〈Life Shield〉 was best used early in a fight, when you were still testing the waters.
Especially since against Malice’s attacks, there was little difference in how much HP I’d lose whether I blocked with 〈Life Shield〉 or the 〈Frenzied Ogre Shield〉.
From Aizasu’s perspective, it must have looked like I was simply wasting MP.
But of course, that wasn’t the case.
With 〈Life Shield〉, I could safely activate the vicious effect of 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉.
If I used 〈Life Shield〉 once my HP dropped to 40% or less, I could reliably activate 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉 and still retain a powerful shield.
It was a vicious combo that turned the 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉 effect on its head: a Skill that granted enormous stats in exchange for an unreliable activation and the risk of being killed in one hit.
As I tensed my body, a red glow of mana began to seep out.
It was proof that 〈Life Shield〉 had fulfilled the activation condition for 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉.
“I’m ending this in one go, Malice.”