"I... I lost." Hank seemed to have difficulty accepting the current reality. But when he felt the emptiness in his right hand, he finally realized that his weapon had been severed.
However, for Hank, what truly shattered his will was not the breaking of his weapon.
It was just a well-crafted weapon, made of pure iron but still far inferior to enchanted weapons. Its breaking only indicated a difference in material quality, unrelated to strength.
In fact, during their recent exchange, he had been consistently in a disadvantaged position.
Even if he possessed immense strength, it was useless if his opponent refused to engage in direct confrontation.
This was a gap that material quality couldn't determine.
However, what truly baffled him was the complete ineffectiveness of his cherished skill, the Hammer Shock, in the recent bout.
If the first failure could be considered an accident, witnessing the same outcome for a second time left him utterly bewildered. He couldn't fathom why it had failed.
What was that afterimage?
Sean sheathed his longsword, then turned to walk towards Cecilia. Sean knew that Hank was utterly defeated.
At the moment he admitted defeat, his Will attribute had plummeted to "10(13)." It was equivalent to a complete denial of his years of effort. This fundamental self-denial meant that he had no chance of ever rising again.
Attribute weakening came in two forms. The first was temporary weakening of current attributes, which typically occurred in the face of major setbacks.
However, as long as one persevered, these attributes would eventually grow. The second was the most severe form, the weakening of growth limits, which was Hank's current state.
In such cases, there was virtually no chance of improvement.
Of course, there were exceptions to everything.
Sean looked at Cecilia. Her rapid increase in intelligence and willpower remained a mystery. However, he would never consider Hank, a wretch like him, worthy of comparison to Cecilia.
"How did you do it?" Cecilia looked up at Sean, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Just a little secret." Sean gently patted Cecilia's head. It was only in moments like these that he showed a tender side.
The Hammer Shock skill, in the early days of "Miracle," was considered extremely powerful. In fact, more than half of the warrior players chose to advance to the "Gladiator" class when they reached the third tier. But was this skill truly unbeatable?
Not really.
The skill was described as "disrupting the center of gravity."
In other words, it only affected the balance if the target was not in motion.
If the target was in motion, its center of gravity remained stable.
The only effect was a brief dizziness within a one-foot range.
However, later, players discovered that when the hammer fell and the ground reacted, using any ground-based, fast-moving skill could grant immunity to this effect.
Similarly, this was also effective during the skill casting phase.
And sprinting happened to be a ground-based, fast-moving skill.
Sean had countered both of Hank's sprints in this manner.
In the era Sean originally came from, PVP battles were essentially tests of will unless the difference in technical skills, equipment, or levels was overwhelming.
Because all the unique aspects of each class, essential combat skills, and even equipment attributes were to the extent that they could be remembered at a glance.
Therefore, whoever revealed a vulnerability first would meet their demise.
So, in this world, Sean's current tier might be quite low, but his broad perspective and extensive knowledge made it impossible for even eighth-tier or higher classes to compare.
"Hmph, if you don't want to say, forget it," Cecilia huffed, pushing Sean's hand away. "You had me worried."
"I know." Sean smiled. He had sensed the magical fluctuations in the air during their battle. However, in contrast to the knowledge he had gained about these skills, what Sean found most valuable in that fight was the "Mystic Swordsmanship" passive skill.
Through this battle, Sean finally confirmed that "Mystic Swordsmanship" was not a simple passive skill.
Although it was described that way in the skill description, he had a profound feeling when he held the sword.
This swordsmanship was etched into his bones and soul.
When he clashed with Hank for the first time, he utilized the "memories" of this swordsmanship embedded in his soul to concentrate all his strength at the tip of his sword, creating that powerful impact.
In their second exchange, when Sean decisively drew his sword and didn't give Hank a chance for a strength contest, even leaving an opening on his defense, it was still a result of this swordsmanship's memory.
In fact, even if Hank hadn't used his second Hammer Shock, Sean was confident he could have disabled Hank's weapon in the next minute. However, that outcome, though a victory for Sean, would not have been as impactful.
Fox glanced at Hank, sighed softly, and gestured for someone to take him away.
With his insight and knowledge, Fox naturally understood that Hank was beyond saving.
But what could he say? He had no expertise in business matters, and even normal negotiations were not his strong suit.
The only thing he was good at was combat, but his responsibility was Roen's safety.
Giving Roen a gentle push, he brought Roen, who was completely lost in thought, back to the present.
Compared to Fox's vision and knowledge, Roen was completely clueless in combat.
Although he had a talent for business, he was still relatively young and lacked negotiation skills.
However, he wasn't as terrible as Fox in these aspects.
Now that he had snapped out of his daze, he immediately approached Sean.
At the same time, he addressed the other guards around him, "This is Mr. Sean, your new commander. He will be in charge of the upcoming mission to subdue the Dogheads tribe."
The remaining ten or so individuals exchanged glances but remained silent.
They had all witnessed the battle just now. Even though Sean was only a second-tier warrior and didn't even have a formal class, their strongest member, Hank, had lost.
With their abilities, did they have any hope of victory?
"Master Roen, even if you say that..." A brief silence and eye contact did not mean everyone had accepted this outcome.
A young man, around twenty years old, and clearly a third-tier Shieldbearer, spoke up. "But does Mr. Sean really know how to fight? We are not attacking a group of Dogheads; we are assaulting a Dogheads tribe. There's a substantial difference in essence."
"Trust me, I know more about them than the Dogheads themselves," Sean turned to face the young man, who was only a few years older than him but significantly more experienced in terms of strength.
"I understand you've just experienced a heavy defeat, and it has left a shadow on your body and mind. Don't be surprised that I noticed; many of you have unnatural expressions."
"But what I can tell you is that you can completely wash away your shame as long as you're willing to pick up your weapons again and follow me forward."
"Of course, I must make something clear upfront," Sean began, his gaze sweeping over those who were unharmed or whose injuries wouldn't hinder their combat capabilities.
However, most of them couldn't meet Sean's eyes directly.
Back when he played "Miracle," he had experienced numerous party wipes due to people not pulling their weight. But reality was vastly different from a game.
Here, if an unexpected wipe were to happen, the consequences were clear. Sean would rather have fewer people than include those barely qualified.
What disappointed Sean somewhat was that there weren't many who dared to meet his gaze, and those who did were mostly middle-aged.
The younger individuals who were supposed to bear the future of the Black Cat Guild's elite guards seemed to be shrinking away.
Nevertheless, Sean didn't desperately need a large number of people. More members did provide a greater sense of security.
After all, this was reality. There were no restrictions like "limit to five players" or "ten players" in a dungeon.
The reason the Starfall Forest dungeon limited to ten players was also due to Sean's safety concerns.
If the team was too large, even before reaching the Black Soil Land, they would become prey for the monsters.
However, this "Dogheads Gathering Ground" was somewhat different.
Although it was within the fog of the Starfall Forest, this dungeon did not belong to the forest's area, at most, it occupied a gray zone.
This was the most peculiar aspect of this dungeon – it was completely different from the Starfall Forest.
Although there were many small monsters, they didn't pose a significant threat.
Moreover, since the Dogheads were humanoid creatures rather than beasts, their fighting style was comprehensible, and any vital area could be lethal.
Most importantly, these Dogheads had already fought the Black Cat Guild's vanguard troops to a standstill.
Therefore, the number of Dogheads in the camp shouldn't be too large, which, from another perspective, reduced Sean's consumption and the overall danger.
However, if there were a few third-tier Thieves, it would make passing through this dungeon even simpler.
But before that...
Sean turned to Roen and smiled, showing his teeth. "Now, it's time for us to have a little talk."
"Talk...about what?" Roen felt a chill run down his spine when he faced Sean's smile.
"Of course, we'll talk about the reward," Sean said, his face displaying a smile he thought was most elegant but would be seen as devilish by others.