Pov Kylo Stromcrest:
*Pat *Pat *Pat *Pat *Pat.
I couldn't help but vent, since the frustration I was feeling was so great.
How, by kicking the corpse of that damn Splinter.
(Fuck, if you think about it, I almost died).
The tutorial dungeon is called "idiot proof" because there isn't a creature strong enough to kill you one-shot.
Even if the goblins are stronger than normal, they shouldn't pose a significant threat, since they're not capable of killing you instantly and thus there's some leeway in activating the bracelet.
(But things get complicated if a wild ninja rat appears).
Even the tutorial boss doesn't hit hard enough to kill you, now imagine a level 20 assassin in the rookie village....
(Fortunately, I have a spare protagonist in the backpack).
I thought gratefully as I looked at Adelina, who was lying exhausted on the ground.
[Battle Finished, Imperishable Disabled].
The instant I received that notification....
"Ughh", I felt my body lose a lot of strength, along with a series of dizziness, clearly indicating the state of my body.
(30% or 40% maybe?)
I'm talking about my leftover HP, something I may not be able to see, but I can intuit.
*plaf!
I sat on the ground and tried to recover, but there was nothing to do but rest for a few hours.
(Honestly, I want to get the hell out of here as soon as possible).
Should I do a Speedrun? It was the thought that was taking the most force in my mind.
"Here," fortunately, Luna was quite attentive and passed me a recovery potion.
*Glup, Glup, Glup, Glup
(Similar to orange juice...must be "Excellent" grade).
"Thank you," I thanked Luna with a smile and set about getting up.
*Stretching.
I stretched my limbs to test the effect of the potion.
(I regained much of my body strength and endurance, but my mental fortitude...).
This was a problem that potions could not solve: mental exhaustion.
Mental exhaustion is a very common negative state. It goes without saying, as it happens when you are subjected to a lot of stress or are submerged in an intense mental load for a prolonged period of time.
The solution to this problem is simply to rest for a while until it passes, or have your trusted cleric throw you some blessing.
(Goodbye to my perfect performance)
There are no clerics here and it's not like I want to stay in this crappy place either, so I have no choice but to continue on while I build up mental exhaustion.
The problem? No matter how good your body is, if you have too much mental exhaustion you lose a lot of concentration, which ultimately results in lousy performance.
(Never mind, let's get out of here quickly, there's no way "they" would sneak another Splinter in here).
"Kylo... I... I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything", just when I was thinking about doing a Speedrun, Elara came up to me and apologized to me.
"Don't worry, we won in the end, didn't we? That's what matters," I said with a slight smile and waving my arms as if to make her think I'm okay.
(It's not like I could blame a kid for an early-intermediate level killer showing up, either.)
"Thank you," she finally responded with a small smile, but I could tell she wasn't doing too well to say the least.
It's fortunate that Elara didn't make a big deal when the rat showed up, as that will work in my favor when we're on the fifth floor.
Still...
(I wonder what caused this tremendous change in the story?)
I thought as I took a last look at the rat's corpse.
"Let's go."
--
Floor 5...
The last floor of this tutorial, having what we call the first "boss" of the story mode, but not only that, it is also the beginning of what is called the real dungeon experience.
"It's hot..."
Right, just like Adelina said, the atmosphere on the fifth floor gets a bit hot.
Not much explanation other than the simple and generic one the game gives you....
An environment made for players to get used to all kinds of biomes and not die stupidly when it's their turn to go to a desert or some jungle.
(But if you prefer something more concrete...)
The reason for this unusual warmth is that goblin shamans use spells to acclimatize their home atmosphere and obviously not die of cold.
To understand this you must know something simple.
Mages in Aerial Chronicles are fucking fragile, so fragile that a simple fall could prove fatal.
That's why there is an unwritten rule of raising your knight level so that your body becomes resistant, and you don't die from some shockwave or some unidentified flying knife.
Shamans are practically goblin mages, but they don't have YouTube tutorials, so they don't know that, if they train their body, they won't have to waste their mana on warming up the cave a bit.
"Let's go, watch out for traps and be on the lookout for any suspicious sounds," with a serious voice, Elara ordered.
(Good, now all that's left is to kill some goblins, go to the boss room, wait for the right moment and go out like a hero).
I reviewed my priorities in my mind as I followed the others.
*Slight headache.
(Let's concentrate)
--
/Acceleration/
*Clank!
*Clank!
"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
*Shhhhhhhhrrrrrrr!
*Counter!
"Gra..."
*Shhhhhhhhrhrrrrrrr!
*Slight headache
"UFF," I took a deep breath as I scanned the surroundings for enemies.
Fortunately, there were only 2 enemies nearby and they were the ones I just killed.
(Fencing classes were the best investment I made in my previous damn life).
Who would think that the classes I asked for to humiliate the P2W bastards, would serve me so well in this world?
(Even so, my performance is horrible).
I say that because of the slight tiredness I'm feeling right now, that's something that under normal circumstances I shouldn't be feeling.
"Kylo, next time you stay behind," in a slightly irritated voice, Luna scolded me.
(I guess she still thinks there are rats out there...).
I wasn't too worried about another rat, that's because they are very expensive to train.
Besides that, unlike the previous floors, just after the boss room, there should be some mages and royal knights waiting for Elara.
It's impossible for a rat to sneak in here under their senses.
And why there was a rat on floor 4, honestly... I have no idea.
--
"JAAAAA!"
*Clank!
"GROOOOAARrrrrrrrrr...."
From behind, I watched Akane kill a slightly bored goblin.
(Give her a Katana, and she's more than twice as strong).
Sounds a bit racist, but that's how the character was created. In fact, one of Adelina's talents, "Finding the potential in others", is the canonical excuse for knowing this, as you simply have to look at the status window to figure it out.
[ Path of the Samurai] Does that trait ring a bell? Literally, she was born to carry a katana.
(Interestingly, if you give her a bow, she's also able to perform well).
Next to show off his talent was Gareth, "our mage."
*Chanting
After making sure there wasn't an ally around his target, Gareth set about making a chant that I honestly didn't bother to listen to.
| Fireball! |
As he finished his chant, in front of his staff, an incandescent ball of fire appeared that, at first glance, seemed quite powerful.
*Fshhhhh!
The fireball went straight to its target and when it hit....
*Fwosh!
It burned the goblin's skirt, exposing its noble parts.
(Tsk, mages sure are useless without a class).
"Erg!"
"Ugh!"
Both Elara and Adelina covered their mouths and retched slightly.
"Oh... sorry..."
It's not Gareth's fault... technically. Although he has received some training in his mage family, without receiving a formal class, the efficiency, and potency of his spells are horrible.
The reason he enters this dungeon with us is to create a bond so that it will be easier to integrate with Elara's "social friends".
—
After that event, it was not difficult to reach the middle part of the dungeon, since Luna, Adelina, and Elara took care of everything.
"Look, that's a shaman, be careful, it's dangerous...", as we spotted a new enemy, Elara warned us.
His stature is diminutive compared to the other goblins, but his presence is imposing. His skin, of a dull greenish hue, is tattooed with ancient runes and marked by the scars of countless rituals.
He wears threadbare, tattered robes, adorned with bones, feathers, and bits of twisted metal. Around his neck hang amulets carved from wood and stone.
He holds in his hand a twisted wooden staff, carved with arcane symbols that glow faintly with an unusual radiance.
He seemed to be casually chatting with the other goblins around him....
(6... 7, hmmm, they're not covering it up, I think it's viable...).
I had an idea, and immediately set about executing it.
*I unsheathed.
Slowly, I pulled out my specially prepared knife for this occasion and moved slowly to adjust my angle.
"Kylo, what the hell are you doing!" noticing my singular actions, Elara whispered loudly.
I paid no attention to her and...
*Zrrrrrr *Zrrrrrr *Zrrrrrr
*Throw.
Imbuing the knife with a bit of my aura, I threw it towards the shaman.
*Fush!!!
*Thud!
Hitting it right in its neck, and killing it instantly.
(Perfect)
"Holy... Prepare for combat!" shouted Elara.
"GRAAAAAAAA!!!!"
Needless to say, I got the attention of all the enemies with that attack.
-After an epic battle against 7 goblins?
Are goblin shamans dangerous, maybe?
(If you let them cast spells, yes).
As I said before, mages are fucking squishy in Aerial Chronicles, and if you take into account that that shaman didn't have any artifacts covering his body, the difficulty of killing him is greatly reduced.
(Although being in the tutorial dungeon does detract from that...).
No Shaman in the wild would show up carelessly, just like that.
"Kylo!!!, Don't... do... that... again!!!", scolding me, Elara held my shoulders and shook them.
*shaken
*shaken
"I understand, I understand, let go of me!", I had no choice but to apologize.
--
After repeating my feat 3 more times, we finally reached the final boss room.
*Intense headache.
And with it, the end of my mental.
(Now comes the most important thing, and I'm out of here).
In front of us was a giant door with the odd "mystical" decoration.
"Ok, it's the boss room, get ready, does anyone have any problems?", before entering the room, Elara asked us about our status.
We all looked at her with a serious expression and it seemed that no one had any impediment.
"Well... mom didn't want to tell me who the boss was, but she said it shouldn't be much of a problem if we coordinate, so, keep it together and listen carefully."
*Assent *Assent.
"Especially you, Kylo, don't do anything stupid again," it seems that, somehow, my awesome one-shots offended Elara a bit.
*Assent.
(It's a pity I can't carry out that order...).
*Creaaak!
And so, we opened the boss's door.
-
With a single flashing eye and colossal fists as his natural weapon, this troll is an imposing force that challenges anyone who dares to cross his path.
His skin, rough and moss-covered, is scarred from countless battles and violent encounters. Its single eye, with a piercing yellowish glow, seems to scan the horizon for potential prey. Its mouth is full of uneven, sharp teeth, ready to tear the flesh of anyone who dares to challenge it.
Or so the wiki said.
(Effectively, a troll as in Adam's story).
That's a relief, if it was the boss of Adelina's story, I'd have to improvise a bit.
The guy was lying, presumably "sleeping", in the center of the room, whose decor was no big deal.
A bone from who knows who over there, a skull over here, that thing that who knows what it is, but looks like a pile of shit....
(Nothing out of the ordinary, honestly).
*Signs.
Following Elara into a corner of the stage, we set about plotting a plan.
"Well, it's a troll, shouldn't be hard, remember what the sub-commander said?" Elara whispered a little confidently.
(If I'm not mistaken... Was that lecture on how to deal with big guys?).
"Kylo and I will distract the troll, while Luna and Adelina target his hamstrings."
"I understand."
"..."
"Right."
"Gareth, aim for his eye if you get the chance."
"I'll try..."
"Frederick and Akane, you two keep watch for anything unusual in the room, plus you'll back up in case anyone gets hurt."
"I understand."
"I'll do what I can."
"All that's left is this guy, and we're out of here, so let's do our best," Elara said, cheering us on.
--
After discussing the preliminary details, we set out to eliminate the enemy.
Elara and I approached slowly and stealthily. When we were some distance away...
*Mutual assent.
I took that step...
"Groooo?"
The moment I got a little closer, the troll seemed to sense my presence and opened its eyes.
*Gaze.
It looked at me for a moment and also at Elara before getting up.
*BAM *BAM (Footsteps).
"Grrrroooaan!"
(This is when the life bars and the boss music appear, right?)
Unfortunately, in real life, there is no such ambience.
(3 or 4 meters, maybe?)
I didn't know for sure, since I'm still very young and my perspective is different.
"Stand by."
The troll was so focused on Elara and me that he didn't notice the people behind him, at a safe distance.
We raised our swords and waited for the troll to make its move.
"GROOOARRR!!!"
*BAM *BAM *BAM *BAM *BAM.
It "ran" towards us with an angry face. I say "ran" because the guy was fucking slow.
He got close to me before what....
(Here we dodge...)
*Fushhh!
*Pam!
He throws an open palm attack in my direction.
"Now!" shouted Elara.
And from behind her, Luna and Adelina aimed for her Achilles tendon.
*Chlak!
*Chlak!
Both gave precise thrusts.
"GRAAA!" the troll howled in pain as it turned and tried to spot the culprit.
But Elara and I didn't allow it.
/Acceleration/.
I approached its left leg and then....
*Powerful vertical slash
*CHLAK!
I opened his leg slightly, though....
*Squish-squish-squish!
(Regeneration, typical of trolls)
*Chlak!
Elara also gave her attack and we immediately retreated.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
The troll turned towards us again, and this time it chose to attack Elara.
*PAMMM!!! (Crushing Fist).
"Whew," Elara dodged it by a good margin, but staggered a bit.
Seeing the Troll attacked, Luna and Adelina went back to attacking his tendons.
*Chlak!
*Chlak!
*Squish-squish-squish-squish!
And just like in our case, the troll's wounds regenerated.
(Well, now it's just a matter of repeating it and waiting for the right moment!)
What, were you expecting an epic boss fight? Well, to your disappointment, once you know this guy's pattern, it's very easy to kill him.
All you have to do is wear it out. Regeneration? There is no such free thing in this world.
It's the same with my Regeneration Supercell trait. Even if your skin and organs regenerate, you're losing HP or vitality.
*Chlak!
*Chlak!
If we could see the game interface, you might notice that your HP bar drops with every hit.
*Chlak!
*Chlak!
"GROOOARRRARRRRRRR!!!"
* CHLAK!
*Chlak!
*Squish-squish!
| Fireball! |
*Bom!
With each attack the troll received, his movements became more and more aggressive and desperate.
*PAMMM! *PAMMM!
Unfortunately, this also took away a lot of accuracy, as there were times when we weren't even close to him.
We were like this for a few minutes before.....
"GRORRR!!!"
*Pam *Pam
He would kneel down from the pain and expose his neck.
At these moments, the protagonist will pull out his trick called "miracle", power up his attack and cleanly decapitate the troll.
But what if he doesn't?
The angry troll launches a very fast attack that will remind you that buying good armor is a necessity.
(Well, with this, Adelina just has to hit it normally and wait for it to launch its attack to kill it).
"GRROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRR!!!"
"It's going to attack!"
"Move!"
*PUMMMMM!!! (horizontal powerful punch)
We all tried to distance ourselves, although I moved slightly closer to Elara. Why?
"Huh?!!!", Elara exclaimed as she tripped over a bone on the stage.
(Now!!!!)
/Acceleration/
"CAUTION!", I quickly ran towards her and pushed her out of the path of the hit.
*BANG!
[ Imperishable Activated: Physical Resistance +10 (hidden), Pain Resistance +10, Shock Resistance +10.... ]
[ Active Regeneration Supercells ]
"UGGGGHHH!"
(Fuck, how it hurts...).
I received the impact myself.
*Trrr! Trrr! Trrr! Trrr! Trrr! Trrr!
I rolled on the ground a couple of times before I stopped and was on my back.
(Good, now kill him, Adelina).
"Kylo!"
"Kylo!"
The shouts of surprise were not long in coming.
*Nearby footsteps.
"KYLO, KYLO, MY GOD, YOU'RE DYING, DON'T DIE, KYLO!" a very alarmed Elara jumped on top of me and screamed right in my face.
"Ughh," fortunately I couldn't pretend better that I was hurting horribly as I actually felt terrible.
*Intense headache.
And the headache added a bonus to my expression.
So why did I do this, am I a masochist?
No.
This is what is called "Knight sacrificing himself for the princess", a basic cliché where if the knight sacrifices his physical integrity to save the princess, he gains a lot of affection points thanks to the gratitude this generates.
Interestingly, this cliché can also be done on some occasions to gain some points with the princess-like characters in Aerial Chronicles.
And for Elara's route, this scenario is crucial.
"KYLO, KYLO, RESPOND!", Elara seemed to panic as she shook me hard.
"GROOOARr----"
*Bang *Bang
(Oh, did you kill him already, that was quick).
From a distance, I could see the troll's head detach from his body.
(Okay, now give me a potion and let's get the hell out of here).
"KYLO, *sobs*, *sobs*," with a very dramatic cry, Elara started sobbing right above me.
"Elara...", I tried to talk to her, but....
"DON'T TALK!"
(...)
*Steps close.
*Steps close.
*Steps close.
*Steps close.
And the others, as they approached, also made a bitter face, as if I were a terminal patient about to hang up the cloak, except for Adelina, of course.
(Stop looking at me like that and give me a damn potion!!! You, Adelina, stop laughing!!!).
"Elara, calm down, we have to get him out immediately," Luna, with a serious expression, said to Elara.
(Immediately? Well, if I'm charged up to the people of the kingdom...).
Although there was also another alternative.
(The bracelet...)
Which is activated in two ways, the first is that I am unconscious...
Or...
"BUT HE...he's dying because of me," as Elara maintained eye contact with Luna, she calmed down.
"Stand back everyone." Luna came over and looked at me with a grave face.
(What are you doing, are you going to give me the potion already, are you going to carry me...? Wait, why are you lifting your foot like that?)
"Sorry," she said that and right after....
*PUMMM!
*CRACKK!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," I screamed like a pig.
The immense pain I felt, along with the headache I had, combined into one big explosion in my head.
Making me lose consciousness...