In the basement of the Regg' Dob's Warhouse store, several sounds of metal hitting against each other echoed even to the outside.
Jae-Hwa's breathing was starting to become rarefact, gasping heavily for air as she withstood any and all attacks the skeleton performed, even if it was just for a minute.
Every slash had some weird strength weighed on it and she had only been blocking and parrying as best as she could, nearing tiredness. The bangs of her white hair were coming undone, not to mention her carefully done hairstyle was becoming loose.
"Give me a break, will you?"
She could barely manage the timing or technique to deal with a sword, no matter how broken it was, so her hands and arms started to hurt after forcing them to do the weirdest movements possible just to not get hit at the nick of time.
Calm down, getting agitated will only slow me down. Think! Think of a way to gain some distance—!
Her mind wondered what was possible to do with the things she had in hand, thinking about the environment she was in, the objects she could use or the skills that could do something.
Luckily, she remembered, although it wasn't enough to obtain distance between her foe with it alone, by using her skill
"Upper!" Screaming her strength into an upwards attack from the floor that caught the enemy's blade, she was able to make him flinch and stop his attacks for a moment. However, although it hit the blade of Eirdan's weapon, it was not enough to make him let go of it.
Now with some time to act, she quickly performed a cross in the air and used her weapon in the same way as her finishing move against Terazus. While grabbing it with both her hands instead of throwing it, Jae-Hwa forcefully jams the head of her spear into the center of the green hard leather chestplate, applying her whole strength into this one attack.
As a cross of white energy surges and sinks into the armor, it starts to create several cracks that erupt with the same white flowing waves of power until they break into a hole on the skeleton's chest.
Eirdan's eyes erupt in flames for a couple of seconds as the spear combined with the power of her skill pierced a bone of her enemy's exposed ribcage.
With fear of it being another
—SKELETON WARRIOR————————
ENEMY HEALTH: 83/120
The way things are going is good, I'm doing enough damage and I finally have a place to hit, the only problem remaining is getting used to fighting against humanoids and... That.
Just like at the start of the battle, Eirdan readied his chipped sword to his bony waist and the flames in his skull vanished, condensing into orbs in his eye sockets and mouth.
"Execute... Command..." His whisper echoed through the basement once more with the words she hoped to not hear ever again during this battle.
"
The skeleton warrior brandishes his sword upwards, to which Jae-Hwa attempts to find the right timing. This attack last time didn't appear immediately, it took a few seconds that she still had to discover.
One, two...
Just before counting three seconds, the solidified blade of wind appears in the empty area in front of her and hits against her body violently. Eventually, she reaches the rocky floor again, this time pressing her hand on her stomach, coughing with pain while wishing that it wasn't cut. Fortunately there was no wound.
Just like Eirdan's sword, the command
HEALTH: 98/140
"Twenty-five damage!? You're kidding me!"
Whether that was fixed damage, variable or whatever, it was too dangerous for her to be hit by it several times.
As quick as possible, she took out one of her
Even with clothes on, the strange rectangular syringe worked and the green liquid inside was completely used soon after, being able to restore ten points of her health.
"Two seconds, that's all I have to dodge... How ridiculous."
Eirdan's movements had slowed down to the point where she could see his attacks, even though it was still hard to evade them.
One slash after another, the skeleton would retreat his movements whenever she thrusted her spear forward. Fearlessly, her foe smacked her weapon away with his free hand and attacked with his sword, sometimes even stopping in the middle of his attack just to throw Jae-Hwa off-balance.
Surely, the intelligence of his life as an elf swordsman was influencing his movements, taking advantage of it to create such simple but effective feints.
Eirdan performs an horizontal attack that just barely misses her head, causing her to retreat once more against the wall.
His bones rattle as an otherworldly groan leaves his ardent flames of life and echo through the basement's cobblestone walls. He had done this before as his damaged sword is raised and ready to unleash a flurry of attacks the moment he becomes closer to her.
In preemptive reaction, Cho Jae-Hwa cloaks her body in invisibility with the aid of her
One step, followed by a second and then an abrupt halt, hopping to the side with an unbalanced jump.
The instant her foot had done its second step, the invisibility in her body started vanishing, startling the angry spear user.
"It could see me!? But he still hasn't turned his head... So how?"
It's not like he could listen to her words, no matter how much she talked, the lifeless body would not react, but somehow he was able to notice her while invisible and not even glancing at her direction.
The behavior from this enemy was too irregular for Jae-Hwa. Soul of an elf or not, the timings it decided to do a feint, the intelligence to know when to attack and when to retreat— there was so much strong irregularities that she was barely able to learn anything from it.
In a sense, the skeleton warrior was far stronger than Terazus.
"Damnit... What do I do now?" Still wondering what to do next, she retreats to the worn-down shelves, hoping to find anything that could help.
Aside from some empty boxes, the only useful object she could find was a matchbox with some matches inside and a couple of them outside that she used from before.
Some seconds after her hand picks up the matchbox and the content inside rattles as it hits against each other, the fearless skull rotates with extreme speed, just like a predator finding its prey.
Sound? No, he didn't react to my voice yet despite me talking louder than I should. Vision is also not it since he had his back turned to me, so how is he finding me?
In one more test, Jae-Hwa stretches her arm far from her head and moves her hand repeatedly at the same time she shouts, creating two different sounds at the same time. Even then, only after moving her feet back did the foe react and slash at her mindlessly as if it grew impatient.
In her many attempts of dodging, her fingers let go of the tiny box, dropping it to the ground. For an instant, on his final vertical attack, the elven skeleton cleanly moved his head to the same direction that object had fallen. In that single moment, it dawned on her what the answer was, so much that it caused her to let her guard down and receive the attack at full power.
HEALTH: 76/140
"Even after healing, I received too much damage... But no problem, the worst part is done. You don't see nor do you hear... You feel my movements!"
Something that she hadn't noticed yet was the fact that this skeleton had no shoes, just his bare bony feet. Sure, it's a monster now so technically he didn't need them, but it still was strange to her how his full hard leather armor stopped there.
Now that the answer was obvious, it made sense. Through his feet, or rather, his bones, Eirdan could feel the vibrations Jae-Hwa made whenever she moved or hit on something and obviously he could also feel the vibrations caused by the matchbox hitting the floor, thus why he looked in that direction.
Knowing this now, she quickly ran to grab the tiny box and balanced herself with her feet on top of a middle shelf, pointing her whole body directly at the hole in his chestplate.
Although clumsy and grabbing for her life since she was now horizontal and quite uncomfortable, she readied her spear in one hand and the matchbox in the other.
Meanwhile, the flame in Eirdan's eyes had vanished and his chipped sword was ready as his terrifying mutters echoed around once more.
"...Execute... Command..."
Cho Jae-Hwa flexed the muscles of her legs, cold sweat running down from her forehead, her crazed look returning after so long as her pale green eyes shone like the winter.
"Even I can put physics into play, even if it is not as powerful... With the combination of
Her body shone in a light orange powerful light as steam of the same hue left her skin and dissipated in the rarefact air.
DAMAGE: 35 (+22)
Finally, she pushed her whole body back, kicking the shelf down as she rocketed herself at full speed towards her enemy and threw the matchbox to the ceiling at the same time he readied his command.
"—Followed by
"...
The moment the vibrations were concentrated on top of his head, with his attention on it, Jae-Hwa found an opening to thrust her weapon.
The amalgamation of sacred energy accumulated on the tip of her spearhead and unleashed with an impact that made the whole store tremble, as if an explosion had occurred after the cross of white energy was unleashed.
Clouds of smoke and dust filled the room. Jae-Hwa now on the hard and cold floor raises her body almost forcefully just to take a look at the situation. She spins her weapon above her head, performing some wide and strong attacks to dissipate the smoke, although her bladed counterparts meet something hard to go through.
With the clouds not as dense, it became easier to observe the surroundings and find her weapon blocked by a broken bone of her enemy.
—SKELETON WARRIOR————————
ENEMY HEALTH: 48/120
Noticing he had yet to be destroyed, she atrempted to use another
ENERGY: 6/35
I messed up... I shouldn't have used
Just before she could do anything else, the bony arm of her foe raises on its own and stabs his ribcage.
Additional to the previous one made, it was now possible to see through his armor to the other side, but more important, it was possible to see the skeleton take out a giant green orb, larger than his bony hand from his upper chest, hidden by the armor.
"Please... Tell uncle Reggie... that I am sorry... That he can move on..."
His voice was more humane, the voice of a man in his twenties repenting for the unfairness of life with guilt.
Eirdan simply held the orb in front of the spear user, trembling with his fingers as if to say to end him as fast as possible.
"What are you..? No... Just battle me to the end."
His bones rattle upon somehow hearing the selfish request from the woman he was attempting to kill just moments ago. A lighthearted laugh escapes the bones of the skeleton, just like his soul that appears on top of his lifeless body, levitating like a ghost.
He was a handsome fellow with healthy proportions and a good amount of muscle. Blonde hair and green eyes like the verdant forest with knife-sharp long ears double the size of a human.
His only answer was to smile bitterly and tell a few words.
"That last impact was enough to dislocate the orb that kept me imprisoned." His voice conjoined with the skeleton's eeriness, speaking twice at the same time.
"I have no more need to fight."
His grip became tighter on the orb, creating some cracks on the surface.
"You think I can just accept that!? I will kill you, I said I would, so you think I can just accept that kind of excuse!?"
He cracks the orb some more, locking his gaze with hers with a serious expression.
"Don't push your luck... Until now you've only fought slimes, I can notice that. Right now you are weak, just take a look at your health."
Jae-Hwa immediately glances over to her status, widening her eyes in disbelief.
HEALTH: 34/140
"Your attack wasn't the only thing powered up, so don't throw your life away like that just yet, not when you can't even battle properly... Anyway, like I said... I'm done."
With some tears in the corners of her eyes of shame that she let the battle consume her so much that she forgot her own well-being, she mutters some words in consequent rage.
"Maybe you're right, maybe I'm not strong enough today, but I will not give up... I will keep moving forward and become stronger."
The handsome elf answers with but a smile just before destroying the green orb in his skeleton's hands. Just before departing and becoming particles, he warns Jae-Hwa as best as he can.
"If you ever find a group with the symbol of a wolf made of rinan, run away from them. Don't even try that foolish heroic act of yours."
Finally, the skeleton's body falls one by one until it disintegrates into particles of dust with multiple colors that vanish in the air. Only his sword was left on the floor.
—CONGRATULATIONS————————
+ 40 EXP
CREDITS: + 10
DROPPED ITEM: Broken Sword x1
Retrieving her spear to the inventory along with her armor after changing into her casual clothes, Jae-Hwa slowly goes up the stairs of the basement and unlocks the door, only to find a frightened dwarf.
Her hair was a mess, dirty and unfashionable, with her bangs dangling wildly in front of her eyes as she tried to fix them to properly see the owner with clarity. A light migraine from all the fighting and disappointment of the result invaded her head.
"It's done. It's over."
She walks back to the other side of the counter as Regg' Dob calmly sits on his stool with a confused expression.
"Did he... Say anything?"
Reggie knew that was not possible for skeletons, but even then he hoped after the countless nights he passed awake hearing what he thought to be his nephew's dying voice.
"He thought you were scared of him... That you hated him..."
"Hate—!? I could never! I was just... It's the contrary, if anything, I thought he hated me..."
Jae-Hwa merely watched in silence, mostly due to her fatigue, but part of the reason was to let him mourn in his own way.
"Eirdan also said he was sorry and that you could move on... Probably because he couldn't give you this until now."
She materializes the heavy hammer out of her inventory, placing it on the counter for him to see.
"That's... For all the trouble..." The old dwarf reads the engraved phrase as tears stream down from his eyes.
Shortly after, a couple of system panels appeared one after the other.
—QUEST WAS COMPLETED——————
—NEW SKILL—————————————
SKILL NAME: Dwarven Vigor
DESCRIPTION: Obtain the resistance of a dwarf, gaining +3 defense.
Just as Jae-Hwa was about to leave and touch the handle of the entrance's door, the counter is slammed once again.
"Oi pipsqueak! Show me your gear again!"
With the will to kill returning to her senses after hearing those words, she quickly reaches Regg' Dob and dumps her weapon and armor as rudely as possible, to which the dwarf grabs the monocle and starts examinating it again.
"Hmm... Do you have some kind of metal? Something with enough material for me to use?"
Stupefact with how serious he was taking the matter, she quickly searched her inventory and materialized the broken sword she just got.
"This was the weapon Eirdan had... But why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"He said that I had to move on right? Then, I will respect his wishes... Young lady, your custom order will be made! With this much nanite on the blade, I can improve your spear... Your armor can be reinforced, but that's the maximum that can be done on it, are you okay with it?"
After confirming with her, the dwarf swiftly opened a door on his right that led to a hidden smithy room, placing her gear on the anvil. Jae-Hwa could only glance from the side since he did not let her enter his 'sanctuary' and also did not let her go away since it was going to be a quick process.
In a matter of a couple of minutes, the forge was lit and hot enough to melt away the sword effortlessly.
"Nanite is an ore right? Do you know what rinan is?"
She shouted as Reggie prepared to improve her spear, putting some kind of dark safety googles and preforming light hits with his new hammer on the side of his anvil.
"It's also an ore..!" As he heated the spear in its full length, grabbing it with some heavy-looking tongs like it was nothing, the dwarf still found some margin to talk. "Black as the night with a hint of purple, depending on how you forge it, it can cut through mountains or protect against worldly devastations, or so the story goes, but no one was able to achieve it."
Knowing that information made her want to improve her spear even further using the hairpin she found, but if the same group with the wolf marking got involved in Eirdan's death, it was best to keep her mouth shut.
"Why do you ask?"
"Just curious. Don't worry about it."
"Alright then, you better cover your eyes. It's gonna become bright real soon."
Upon warning her, the man started hammering away on her spear, striking bright flashes of energy as the hammer's surface reached the weapon. After what seemed like ten or so strikes, he united the melted nanite to the spear and hammered some more.
On his last strike with his new prized hammer, the smithy was filled with light for a few seconds, prompting that it was completed.
After hiding it away, he starts working on the armor, using what was left of the nanite.
For some minutes, the only sound being heard was that of metal hitting metal, the sound of a smithy being brought back to life that also made the customers content.
After finally being finished, Regg' Dob closes the door and places her new equipment on the counter, covered with a cloth.
"Don't be surprised, okay? I'm almost sure you don't know this, but improving is another way of saying 'to transform' in our smith's language. Meanwhile, reinforcing is usually adding more to make it stronger. So enjoy, ok?"
Unveiling the cloth with nervousness, Jae-Hwa's gear has changed quite a lot.
Her metallic spear became gray with silver details on its shaft and the blade on the bottom remained. On what used to be the spearhead is now a mix of different parts, having a regular spear tip on the top, a large axe's head on one side and a back spike on the other side of the top, all with a silver color.
On the contrary, her armor had obtained some metal plates on the arms, torso and a big enough chestplate for her, most likely made of nanite.
—WEAPON INFORMATION——————
NAME: Ceremonial Nanite Halberd
LEVEL REQUIRED: LVL 4
DAMAGE: +18
DESCRIPTION: An improved silver and gray halberd of metal and nanite infused with the love of a grieveing smith and the remaining sacred element.
ELEMENT: SACRED
—ARMOR INFORMATION———————
NAME: Reinforced Hunter's Garb
LEVEL REQUIRED: LVL 4
DEFENSE: +12
DESCRIPTION: A reinforced rusty-brown coat, padded on the arms and hips, accompanied by a shoulder belt to hold a weapon and some nanite plates on the arms and torso along with a chestplate.
"Usually they stay the same type, but to see your spear changed to a halberd... I had forgotten this feeling... Nonetheless, it's still a polearm but it probably took this form since you used it to slash more than you used it to pierce. Now it can do both properly."
Jae-Hwa felt her new weapon in her hands, slightly heavier than before but with a good balance despite it being taller than her, if compared. She also equipped her new armor to test its balance and freedom of movement.
"Everything is great! It will be weird to use a halberd now, but I have time to get used to it, not to mention that the reinforced armor is also just like I asked!"
Reggie smiled upon seeing the excitement in her customer's face, finally remembering the emotions he had lost over time.
"That's not all! The halberd has a special effect!" The dwarf responded with the same amount of excitement. "Every time you defeat an enemy, the halberd repairs itself and it becomes sharper than before! Of course, if you are not fighting, it will just return to the standard, but... I hope you like it."
A warm in his heart surged, showing his true soft side for once as his words ended with a satisfied sigh.
Jae-Hwa couldn't do anything but forget her anger for him calling her a pipsqueak and proceed to thank him, asking for a price to pay.
"It's free, don't worry. It's my way to thank you for helping me despite being a total stranger to you. Ah... Also take this, you might need it in the future if you want to make better stuff. Also free."
In the counter, he placed a
"So, are you going to the second domain now?"
"Tomorrow. I'm too tired from all that fighting, so I'll just take it easy today and go take a well-deserved bath."
Finally taking her leave and opening the door with a jingle from the little bell on top of the door's frame, Regg' Dob mutters to himself words of gratitude, although she wouldn't be able to hear.
"Thank you lass. You were able to spark my flame, after so many years..."
—CURRENT STATS——————————
PLAYER NAME: CHO JAE-HWA // LEVEL: 4 <40/135 EXP>
BLESSING: Phantasmagoria
TITLE: Giant Slayer
HEALTH: 34/140
DAMAGE: 41 (+28) // DEFENSE: 33 (+15) // ENERGY: 6/35
WEAPON: Ceremonial Nanite Halberd
ARMOR: Reinforced Hunter's Garb
ACTIVE SKILLS:
PASSIVE SKILLS:
CREDITS: 30