Sena's body swiftly stepped ahead of Julian, while holding her sheathed sword in her left hand.
"Hm?"
The moment Julian cast the spell, he noticed something strange, different from the tooltips. He cast all three hands on one target.
However, the spell wrote he could cast one grasp per target.
"Julian, how long until it can move?"
"Twelve more seconds."
Because he summoned all three hands, the immobilisation time increased, but Julian saw the blue bar for his MP drop by almost half just casting on Shadow's Grasp.
'It cost 30MP, double the usual?!'
Once again, Sena lowered her hips and took in a deep breath.
She pulled back her sheath, thanks to her long arms and her blade being on the shorter side for two-handed swords.
An Azure aura like a water fountain swirled and danced around her body, gathering into her sheath and likely wrapping the blade.
"I will cut you down!"
—Kang School Style – Flowing Swallow Strike
Once more, her sword flickered. The first slash sliced the air in a devastatingly accurate arc, left to right—an arc of light following the blade as it shimmered.
Instantly, she stepped forward, following up with the flick of her wrist. The reverse sweep cleaving the massive apes' chest. The twin arcs of light formed the shape of a swallow, and the trailing aura became its wings as she dealt 24 damage to the giant beast.
ROAR~
The monster's name was Dreadpaw according to the interface.
A golden border around its red health bar, but despite the 24 damage from Sena and the 17 damage from Shadow's Grasp. The bar shrank a small amount.
'I wish I had the analysis skill…' Julian complained.
It was a neutral skill that any class could learn as long as they bought the Skill Scroll at the Auction House or killed monsters for hours in order for it to drop.
His staff flickered with a black aura before he flung the crackling black orb at the monster, aiming for its face.
Because the monster was fighting against the claws holding it in place. Dreadpaw couldn't avoid the spell as it exploded for 45 damage and hit his abdomen with a loud bang.
"Sena, there are 8 seconds before it can move."
Her body adjusted to the special skills cooldown before lifting her sword again.
Because the world was still a game and hadn't fused with reality.
There were cooldowns and moments after a person used a physical attack that left them vulnerable for a second or two.
This was known as an animation lock in games, and the game world immobilised melee fighters to match this concept until the first month ended and the limits and restrictions started to fade.
Along with safety measures.
"Hah!"
With a rapid slash, she cut across the bear's face, creating a deep gash and adding a bleed effect to the boss, causing 3 damage and a constant 5 damage every three seconds from the blood.
"Shadow Bolt."
Julian's staff once again flung another bolt of shadow at the monster, but this time it suddenly started glowing with a red aura.
Pang
The bolt impacted its body for only 20 damage, before shooting back at Julian at high speed, creating a loud whistle in the air as the red aura faded.
"Shit…"
"Julian!"
The speed of the black orb was terrifying when he faced it.
His body moved slower, as if someone were holding him down. He couldn't move rapidly like when duelling Sena in the training room due to the same restrictions a melee fighter had. Casters would be lethargic after casting spells, but it was less impactful.
However, the Debuff for casters was something that increased with each spell cast, until they took a break or moved.
Sena responded as her body shone with a blue aura.
A different motion compared to the graceful nature of her Flowing Swallow Strike.
Bang
Julian's body rolled along the floor, his body aching as the trunk of the tree exploded, a bolt shaped hole now opened inside.
'It took half the damage and reflected the other half back at the caster.'
This attack carried a violent aura and formed the image of a tiger behind her back, as she sliced vertically down for 17 damage using her Mocking Blow and refreshing the bleeding effect.
• Dreadpaw will attack Sena for 10 seconds
• Dreadpaw took 5 bleeding damage.
Now he knew the monster had a counter. He couldn't waste his remaining 25 Mana and stumbled to his feet while gazing at the timer.
"2 Seconds!"
The ape's body began thrashing around, immediately clawing at the shadow hands that stated to fad, a dark red glow in its eyes that intensified as the monster's strength surged.
"Sena it's going to break free, defend yourself." Julian shouted, his voice husky as he glanced at the red light that wrapped around Dreadpaw's HP bar. "It's enraged…"
[◊ Dreadpaw has entered the Enraged state ◊]
Dreadpaw
• Level: 6
• HP: 154/300
• MP: 20
• Attack: 9 → 14
• Defence: 3 → 1
• Speed: 3
• Magic: 1
• Total: 16 → 19
The glow of its health bar pulsated violently, which signified its boosted power, with the red glow slowly draining to show a visible indicator of its duration.
Sena's eyes never left the beast, but her body started to become sore.
Because this game trained the people inside, their muscles would become sore, tired, and strained, like training in real life.
Sena shifted her weight, lowering the centre of her gravity while holding her blade in front of her chest, with her aura wrapped around the blade's edge like waves.
"I don't need two seconds." Her voice sounded dry, like she needed a drink, but steady and unyielding.
With a sharp breath, she lunged forward, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. Her first slash cut through the ape's upper chest before she tilted the sword and carved a deep gash across Dreadpaw's upper arm as her aura shimmered following the tip of her blade.
She stepped back, avoiding a brutal claw swiping across her face, as blood sprayed from Dreadpaw's wounds after dealing a satisfying 10 damage.
Sena didn't pause, pivoting on her heel she spun into a third strike, but the red of her cheeks and slight grimace showed Julian she pushed too hard.
Her blade arced upwards, catching the monster's chin with a devastating upward slash.
The last of her azure energy dispersed and rippled outwards, leaving the air shimmering as an enormous figure shook in the air, revealing a critical hit dealing 21 damage.
"Haa… damn…"
The massive beast roared in agony, but its body crashed into Sena who tried to block with her blade, causing a loud clang as she suffered 11 blunt damage, making her arms to drop.
"Sena, pull back."
Julian clenched his staff the moment it tried to attack Sena again, both hands above its head while growling. Black energy swirled at the tip as he flung the attack without caring to protect her from further damage.
"Shadow Bolt!"
The crackling black orb shot forward, aimed directly at Dreadpaw's face. Yet, the beast, still suffering from the deep gashes from Sena couldn't avoid it, and the impact created a shockwave of dark energy, wounding the ape for 45 Damage.
However, Julian's relief was short-lived, as the monster's eyes flashed and its fur shimmered with a sudden red glow, and his instincts screamed danger.
"Shit…"
ROAR
Before he could speak, the beast ignored Sena's slash, cutting through its right forearm for 5 damage.
Instead, the ape's thighs bulged before it dashed at Julian with an explosive leap.
'Make it!'
He couldn't avoid the ape.
With less than 30 yards (ca. 27 metres) between them, his staff glowed black as he desperately cast another Shadow Bolt while gritting his teeth.
"Julian!" Sena shouted, her body already moving before her mind could catch up.
The games' punishment on casters causing post-cast lethargy, which made quick movements nearly impossible.
His heart sank as the huge black ape approached the moment his bolt shot from the tip of his staff.
BOOM!