Chapter 85: Chapter 21: Speedrunning [Mirror Witch]
Passing through a dark and secret fissure, a passage thick with viscous fog.
Zorn stepped onto dry, sandy earth and gazed out at the world of the Mirror Demon Realm.
The sky was low and gray, like a kingdom of burnt-out cinders.
The air was filled with the sll of char and decay.
Ruined towers, leaning and toppled, were visible everywhere.
"WOOOO..."
From ti to ti, a strange gale howled past, sweeping up ash and sparks!
As the sound of that strange gale reached their ears, a slight, stinging pain pricked at the surface of their souls.
This had no effect on Zorn.
But for his three companions, it wasn’t so easy.
Faced with the wind’s eerie, demonic wail, the faces of all three fell slightly.
Two of them imdiately took out purple potions and drank them.
These Soul Potions could bolster their souls’ defenses, allowing them to remain here comfortably.
The Druid among them, however, wasn’t afraid of the eerie demonic sound. As one who embraces nature, a Druid possesses very strong spiritual Defense.
This was the first layer of the Mirror Demon Realm, and the three of them needed to reach the fourth layer as quickly as possible.
"Let’s go!"
The Druid, Joy Bryan, led the way.
As they advanced, they would occasionally see strange, shimring mirror surfaces appear on the ground, in the sky, and on the collapsed ruins of towers.
Whenever these mirror surfaces appeared, the group would quickly detour around the area, careful to avoid being directly reflected by the strange surfaces.
As they walked, the Druid Joy kindly explained the situation to Zorn.
"Don’t get reflected in the mirrors here. Otherwise, strange mirror creatures will steal your Mirror Image, erge from the Mirror World, and attack you."
"If you can’t defeat them, escape as quickly as possible. Those Mirror Image creatures are very powerful."
As he followed the group, Zorn silently opened his attribute panel.
[Star Trace Fighter]
Level: Level 3 (52%)
[Talent]
Gangyi Iron Bone (SS-Level)
[Skills]
Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist: Level 1 (96%)
Vigorous Qi Mastery (Passive): Level 0 (72%)
Thousand Streams·Gale Step: Level 0 (92%)
...
Over this period, his Sequence Experience had been steadily increasing.
At the sa ti, two of his three Fighting Master Skills were nearing their limit.
Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist was about to reach Level 2, and once upgraded, its power would see a qualitative leap.
Zorn planned to get Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist to Level 2, then go and speedrun the boss, the Mirror Witch.
Soon, the group of four arrived at the fourth layer of the Mirror Demon Realm.
The dark, oppressive sky seed to be pressing down on them.
"This is where we fight the Mirror Image Warriors."
"We’ll be just ahead. You can find so lone Mirror Images around here to get the hang of things. When you feel you’re ready, co find us."
At this stage, the three clearly had no intention of letting Zorn join their party.
As it happened, Zorn felt the sa way.
"Thanks!"
Zorn said gratefully.
"Watch out for the Mirror Image Constructors. They’re the real trouble!"
Before leaving, Druid Joy shared a piece of advice with Zorn.
’I think...’
Zorn thought to himself.
’...they’re the ones who are in for so real... trouble!’
After the three had left, Zorn quickly found a Magic Mirror that was just beginning to form.
He didn’t avoid the mirror like the others.
Instead, he stood boldly before it.
Soon, a blurry figure faintly appeared. Then, a fully ard [Mirror Image Warrior] stepped out. It carried a Mottled Heavy Sword, and the Bronze-Colored Armor covering its entire body was damaged and rusted in many places.
It raised its sword and slashed.
Zorn caught the blade with his bare hands.
CLANG CLANG CLANG...
Sparks flew as his iron fist clashed with the rusty sword.
His entire body was as tough as steel.
This was the strength of a Level 3 Fighter.
The man and the Mirror Image began their deadly sparring match.
The Mirror Demon Realm was an excellent place for lee Players to train their Skills.
The only drawback was the scarcity of Source Energy.
After entering, there was no way to recover one’s Energy.
When one over-trained and depleted their Source Energy, they beca vulnerable to Surprise Attacks from the cunning [Mirror Image Constructors].
The [Mirror Image Constructors] were much more formidable than the [Mirror Image Warriors].
If [Mirror Image Warriors] were "normal mobs"...
...then [Mirror Image Constructors] were "elite mobs," and cunning ones at that.
After five or six minutes, sensing that the [Mirror Image Warrior] was tiring, Zorn moved in and used Strong-Handed Skull Splitter, ripping its helt clean off.
The collapsed armor was empty inside.
The armor rapidly dissolved into ash, dissipating with a swirl of sparks.
"Again!"
Zorn began his journey of pulling mobs to train his Skills.
「One hour.」
「Two hours.」
「Three hours.」
By the ti the fourth hour began, Zorn felt Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist reach a state of fullness.
"Engage in an exhilarating battle with a Caster, shatter their Spiritual Shield, and defeat them!"
This was the condition for a perfect breakthrough for Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist.
But there were no Casters here willing to take a beating.
So Zorn chose to use the Sacred Mark for the breakthrough.
The Sacred Mark constructed during the Evil Spirit Notification Ceremony had long since stabilized.
The breakthrough for Destruction Magic Ball had consud a third of it.
Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist would also require about a third.
Sitting down in a corner, Zorn drew upon the Sacred Mark from the Evil Spirit Notification Ceremony, channeling it into Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist.
Silently, the Skill completed its breakthrough.
[Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist: Level 2 (0%)]
’Ti to test it out!’
Zorn summoned another Mirror Image Warrior from the mirror.
THUD!
Zorn’s fist smashed into the Mirror Image Warrior’s head.
The Mirror Image Warrior staggered slightly, freezing in place.
The suppression and stun from the Expert Level Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist striking its head completely robbed the Mirror Image Warrior of any chance to retaliate.
Zorn followed up with punch after punch. They weren’t fast, nor were they heavy.
But it was enough to keep the Mirror Image Warrior before him in an infinite stun-lock.
He continued his unhurried assault for about a minute.
The Mirror Image Warrior was like a punching bag, with no opportunity to fight back whatsoever.
Even though Zorn wasn’t using much force, the Level 2 Mirror Image Warrior couldn’t withstand the assault of his Expert Level Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist.
With another punch...
CRACK!
The head of the Mirror Image Warrior, which had been suppressed and stunned for over a minute, collapsed and disintegrated, turning into a pile of ash.
’Not bad at all!’
The experint left Zorn quite satisfied with the performance of his Level 2 Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist.
’Well... next up... is speedrunning Lady Mirror Witch.’
He returned to the mirror.
Zorn waited for a mont.
A new Mirror Image Warrior began to coalesce. Just as it touched the surface of the mirror to erge...
...the waiting Zorn charged forward.
THUD!
Zorn and the Mirror Image Warrior tumbled together into the Mirror World.
As the Mirror Image Warrior tried to get up, Zorn landed a heavy punch on its head.
Then, Zorn began to chant the ancient Mirror Spell left by the [Legendary Ancient Mage].
Soon, a Mirror Gate appeared before Zorn.
Before the Mirror Image Warrior could attack, Zorn dove into the Mirror Gate and vanished.
The Ancient Ruins of the [Legendary Ancient Mage].
In total, there were seven strange world layers, and each world layer had seven layers of its own.
In other words, the [Legendary Ancient Mage]’s Ancient Ruins had 49 layers in total.
Each World Layer had a corresponding speedrun thod.
The speedrun thod for the Mirror World Layer was also very simple.
First, you had to collide with a Mirror Image Warrior as it erged from a mirror, which would get you into the mirror space.
Then, you had to use the Ancient Mage’s Spell to directly open a Realm Gate to the seventh layer.
From there, on the seventh layer, you had to follow a specific safe route to the Mirror Witch Tower.
However, you couldn’t enter the Witch Tower directly, as doing so would awaken the [Mirror Witch].
[Players] needed to perform a Climbing ascent up the tower’s exterior.
While Climbing, they had to progressively destroy twelve Energy Hubs.
This would trap the Mirror Witch on the top floor and prevent the hordes of powerful [Mirror Image Constructors] outside from getting in.
Next, it was ti for Players to show off their skills by soloing the [Mirror Witch] boss.
This thod also offered a very special advantage.
By using this infiltration thod and destroying the twelve Energy Hubs, the [Mirror Witch] would not awaken.
A Player would have to attack her first.
So... that raised a question.
When using a World Boss build for a speedrun... would using the Forbidden Curse [Eternal Calamity Whip] to seal the [Mirror Witch] count as an attack?
And at that very mont, Zorn, who had just spent half an hour successfully climbing the Mirror Witch Tower, was about to find out the answer.
The [Mirror Witch] lay sleeping atop the tower.
A ray of bright moonlight shone on her through a window.
Her silver, pleated court dress shimred in the moonlight.
She looked to be only sixteen or seventeen, the petite, adorable, and delicate type.
But when crushing a Player’s heart through a mirror, that small body showed no rcy whatsoever.
Zorn grasped the [Mirror Witch]’s wrist.
He activated the Forbidden Curse, [Eternal Calamity Whip].
The Forbidden Curse took effect, but Miss Witch did not awaken.
Zorn raised an eyebrow slightly.
’Hmm... now this is interesting, my dear Miss Witch!’
This Level 4 [Mirror Witch] boss had four to six powerful Skills.
To be safe, Zorn used the Forbidden Curse [Eternal Calamity Whip] ten tis in total.
The extra casts would also beco part of the Forbidden Curse, strengthening the seal on her Skills.
Without her powerful Skills, a Level 4 Miss Mirror Witch would be no more of a threat than a Level 4 [Mirror Image Constructor], with a longer Health Bar at most!
He took a deep breath.
Zorn’s hands shot out like pincers, gripping the sleeping Miss Witch’s head tightly.
"Ti to get up, my dear Miss Witch!"
Strong-Handed Skull Splitter!
The instant his Gang Qi erupted, he yanked Miss Witch from the bed and threw her into the air with a massive 360-degree spin.
As Miss Witch was flung into the air, Zorn used Thousand Streams·Gale Step to leap high into the air, catching her in his powerful arms.
Finally, he smashed Miss Witch headfirst into the ground.
CRACK!
The floorboards cracked and splintered.
Miss Witch’s skull was indeed quite hard.
A smooth little combo for a wake-up call.
Zorn could guarantee that when Miss Witch woke up, she was going to be in a very, *very* bad mood!
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