There it was: the quiver of cowardice. The very heresy of structure that betrayed the creature’s mortal anatomy.
“By Saint rin’s mirrored armor,” I whispered reverently, “I have found your sin.”
My fingers tightened around the hilt. The Sli King heaved forward, and I lunged to et it, channeling every ounce of pious lodrama into a single swing.
[Skill Activation: Saint’s Precision, Level I]
Damage: (9 8) x 150% = 26 HP
“Yes!” I proclaid. “The doctrine of arithtically justified violence!”
Then the rest of the maths resolved itself.
Final Damage: (9 8) x 150% = 26 HP - 26 END = 0
[-1 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 249/250
Ah. Saint rin had proven a closed system: all output cancelled within.\
Then the Sli King slapped .
[-7 HP]
HP: 35/55
Anabeth’s voice rang out. “Confird no aetheric resonance, Ser!”
I staggered backward, helt ringing, sli still dripping from my pauldrons. “I demand the next rock now!”
She plucked the next sample from her satchel and hurled it past the creature’s gelatinous bulk. The shard arced through the air like divine geotry incarnate, sailing just above a pseudopod before dropping neatly into catching range. I simply just had to hold out my hand and it landed on my gauntlet.
Saint’s breath. She calculated the parabola.
[TASK RECEIVED: Battlefield Logistics I]
Objective: Sketch a basic map of your imdiate surroundings, including enemy position and ally placent.
Boon: 60 EXP
Skill Unlocked — [Cartography, Level I]
Hold on. This is a good task with a useful skill. I’ve always been wanting to get into mapping.
Except I was currently being chased by a 300-pound custard demon.
I threw the rock on the ground for now. I could always co back for it later.
“Last one please!” I shouted at Anabeth. With another enthusiastic, “yes, Sir!”, she lobbed the final rock. It followed the exact trajectory as the last one, and I caught it with ease.
[TASK RECEIVED: Sli Specialization I]
Objective: Deal 25 total HP damage to a Sli-type enemy
Boon: 120 EXP
Skill Unlocked — [Slibane Strike, Level I]
Effect: Deals 200% damage to Sli-type creatures. Stacks with other skills.
Cooldown: 30 seconds
I stared at the crystal in my gauntlet, then at the undulating green horror before . Finally, a task that didn’t involve polite conversation, mapping, or algebraic heroics.
However, dealing 25 damage by itself was a tough task. With my current swings, I was barely scraping 1–2 HP per strike. At this rate, I’d be doing way more dodging than damage, and that was only if Saint rin’s divine patience held out. A single misstep, and this gelatinous abomination would have dissolved into sothing vaguely custardy.
I stopped worrying about what Anabeth thought. She could take notes on whatever she pleased. I was still alive, and that was the plan. I took a few noble, carefully asured steps backward to resu so semblance of safety.
Sothing important surfaced at the back of my mind: earlier, when I’d used Swordform: Guard, it had seed as though the skill had progressed a bit. I willed Ceralis to let check my Knightly Swordform progress.
[Knightly Swordform: Attack—Progress to Rank 3: 99%]
Sure enough. I squared my shoulders, channeling every ounce of precise knightly technique I possessed. I wouldn’t cut at the weak point, as it was too far away and too risky, but close enough to make contact. A perfect strike along its gelatinous bulk would do.
I lift my blade.
[-1 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 248/250
It bit through the sli with an almost satisfying squelch, and Ceralis chid:
[Skill Upgraded]
[Knightly Swordform: Attack – Lv3]
Basic sword technique for aspiring knights. Accuracy and attack efficiency: 65 ~ 70%
With this efficiency, I could muster 10 ATK from my weapon. With perfect STR, I could deal 20 damage before any multiplier. If I hit a weak point, I’d deal about 30 damage, which would translate to . . . 4 damage after going through the creature’s defense, which would an I needed . . . 62 more precise strikes to slay the creature.
Better than 1, I guess . . .
But that would an I’d only need—
A pulsating lurch of the Sli King rudely interrupted my calculations.
“By the breastplate of the Saints!” I croaked, spinning on my heel as a gelatinous pseudopod slamd into the floor where I’d just been standing. My armor clattered and groaned, clunky joints protesting every micro-adjustnt. The sli’s slow, undignified bulk barely reached .
I stumbled sideways, nearly catching a shinplate on the uneven stone. The impact shoved three ungraceful steps backward.
The Sli King’s slow, oozing pursuit continued. I’d only need about seven good strikes to unlock Slibane Strike, which would bring my attack against the King to a whopping 70, since the effect would stack. Then I’d be able to slay the creature in five strikes.
Saint rin’s mirrored armor be praised. I had a real chance.
With renewed focus, I tightened my grip on the hilt, planted my boots firmly, and charged forward. The Sli King’s pseudopods flailed like sluggish church bells, giving the openings I needed.
The blade sang as it struck the quivering cluster of parasitic slis marking the weak point.
[-4 HP]
I didn’t pause. Another calculated step, another precise swing, another perfectly placed strike at the sa trembling target.
[-4 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 240/250
[TASK PROGRESS: Sli Specialization I – 8/25 HP]
I felt power. With the rhythm of Saint rin’s own choir thrumming in my veins, I pressed the advantage. “Behold! Swordform: Third asure—Continuance!”
The strike flowed from my shoulders down through my hips.
[-4 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 236/250
Before the recoil had even reached my elbow, I twisted the blade back in a half-arc, catching the gelatinous mass mid-quiver.
[-4 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 232/250
[TASK PROGRESS: Sli Specialization I – 16/25 HP]
The Sli King shuddered. I could feel the counter coming this ti from the slow compression of its core. I raised my guard, feigned a retreat, then stepped left exactly as the pseudopod lashed forward. It struck nothing but air, slamming the stone floor.
My boots scraped across the stone just in ti for the creature’s next move: a disgusting blurp as a bubble near its crown ruptured, launching a stream of corrosive mucus.
I dropped my stance and angled my shoulder. The spit soared past my pauldrons, where it struck the cavern wall and sizzled like acid.
I had it figured out. The creature’s quiver, its sluggish recoil, the half-second delay before each compressive strike all aligned into a readable pattern.
The Sli King drew back in preparation for another slap. I counted the beat in my head: one . . . two . . . now.
My sword cut clean through its wobbling flank.
[-4 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 228/250
[TASK PROGRESS: Sli Specialization I – 20/25 HP]
I stepped with the recoil, pivoting just enough to let the return swing of its pseudopod pass inches from my visor.
Another quiver, another telegraphed lurch. I sidestepped into the arc of its wobble and brought the blade down again, exactly as the mass overextended.
[-4 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 224/250
[TASK PROGRESS: Sli Specialization I – 24/25 HP]
Saint’s breath. One more. Just one precise strike, and the boon would trigger.
Saint’s breath. One more. Just one precise strike, and the boon would trigger.
I saw the rhythm, felt the pulse, even anticipated the quiver. It should have been the perfect mont. Should have.
Except the Sli King stuttered. My rhythm faltered, and the beat I’d been counting on stretching half a second too long. My blade ca down first, eting air.
The creature’s counterstrike landed second.
[-7 HP]
HP: 28/55
Stamina: 49%
The pseudopod smashed into my breastplate with the theological force of a collapsing sermon. The impact had leached motion itself. Every breath ca syrup-thick. I’d forgotten to manage my fatigue level.
I retreated several paces, out of the sli’s imdiate reach. The creature’s bulk pressed forward, testing the distance, but I held position behind a cluster of fallen rocks. I leaned a shoulder against the stone, gasping through the helt’s slit. I hope I can buy myself so ti to catch my breath.
From sowhere behind the safety of a boulder ca Anabeth’s voice, “Still zero sign of aetheric resonance, Ser! Excellent showing of choreographed diocrity!”
I tightened my grip to stop my knees from trembling. “Saint rin grants patience. Or a bigger sword.”
[Stamina Regenerated: 2%]
[Current Stamina: 51%]
I forced my breathing to steady. The creature was closing in. No ti left for breathing exercises.
Alright, you faithless custard. Let’s resu the sermon.
It tried to lunge, but I was faster. I raised my sword in the textbook Third asure stance, just the way Sir Roland taught . The mont its mass overextended, I cut through the fold beneath its core.
[-4 HP]
Cavernous King Sli’s HP: 220/250
[TASK COMPLETE: Sli Specialization I – 25/25 HP]
[BOON ACQUIRED: 120 EXP]
[Skill Unlocked — Slibane Strike, Level I]
Effect: Deals 200% damage to Sli-type creatures. Stacks with other skills.
Cooldown: 30 seconds
EXP: 1646/2750
I grinned. Ha! Foul creature, you are mine now.
The Sli King’s surface rippled uneasily. It, too, understood the implications of arithtic.
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