[SP] [F01] 4 Way Boss Fight «The Third Lesson, Is Just As Free»

[Tsurei 0]

But that meant nothing for deeper levels, lost in thought as he parried and avoided the golem’s powerful looking strikes, each one causing the earth to tremble and debris to fly in the air from a dust cloud with every shattering impact. He jumped out of the way, sprinting, using his dagger to deflect the strikes from the side or under, sweat dripping off his brow as he desperately ran at the golem to attack it.

Blade bouncing off the stone at times and at times cutting into them, it was inconsistent and each time he struck with all his might, using his sword arts to become a steely blur, striking at high speeds, sometimes it would work, sometimes it won’t.

He had to accept his flaws and turn them into qualities, he was who he was, all the flaws and virtues were his and made up who he was. He wasn’t going to abandon that.

 

ID# 133072

BD: 6 - 1 = Miss [Rage Blow]

MD: 9 = Crit +1

Damage Received = 5 + 1 - 8 = 1

Rei: HP: 178/180 | EN: 7 (-4+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 14/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

He was short, small, therefore agile and harder to hit, with that in mind, he kept a lower profile, keeping his stance low so he could duck under the Golem’s punches, the wind of the force sweeping through his head as he dodged the strikes by inches, doing it so closely and by such a thin thread made him pale with fear, but when he saw Rei’s grin over on the other side of the battle, he could only try to mimic him.

A small smile spread across his face, he knew what was going through Rei’s mind right now and he really couldn’t believe that it wasn’t a joke when he said that he loved fighting.

Dashing forward, under the punch, Yuta struck the golem’s ankle, when the neck kick came, he leapt onto it, grabbing on for dear life, letting it lift him higher before he pulled himself up, scrambling to leap at the golem’s head, plunging his dagger into the forehead.

It dealt damage.

He can do this.

 

ID# 133073

BD: 8 - 1 = Hit

MD: 1 = Miss

Damage Dealt = 3 x 2 [Rage Blow] = 6

Rei: HP: 178/180 | EN: 6 (-2+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

Kenji wore his plate armour, a metal shield in one hand and a sword in the other as he faced off against the Cave Guardian on his side, he was getting a feel for the combat, the blows from the golem looked strong, and he could be thrown around by them if he wasn’t careful but this was a game.

Even with his life on the line, this was just a game.

It was almost like a bad joke.

He used his shield to forcefully shove aside the golem’s punch, causing it to crunch and crash into the ground next to him, he was bolstered by his apparent strength, ignoring the debris and shrapnel clattering onto his armour, decreasing his HP by small amounts, he gave a loud roar and charged at his enemy, full of courage, that or reckless adrenaline.

He stumbled

He was clumsy.

He was reckless, and a coward.

But he wasn’t going to stop moving.

 

ID# 133074

BD: 2 - 1 = Miss [Rage Blow]

MD: 2 = Miss

Rei: HP: 178/180 | EN: 3 (-4+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

Kenji was never the most noticeable person or the most impressionable, it was clear that he was easily ignored or forgotten about. He was a tall, lanky, meek person with a unattractive appearance, all he had going for him was his vague intelligence and willingness to do quirky and funny things, because at least then he could get people to laugh.

He would willingly give the clothes on his back to someone who needed it, he would empty out his wallet if it meant it would help someone who truly needed it. He would open the door for people and stay there until everyone was through, he would stubbornly refuse to go before others and in a way, he fell into this nice guy routine because he thought it made people like him.

But not at university, it seemed so hard to get people to talk to him, or even to look at him, no one cared or recognised him there, people he talked to would forget him the next day.

 

He grimaced as one of the Golem's blows caught him in the jaw, throwing him back several meters, back where he started.

 

ID# 133075

BD: 1 - 1 = Miss [Rage Blow]

MD: 3 = Miss

Rei: HP: 178/180 | EN: 0 (-4+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

People always said, that helping others was mostly out of pity or self-fulfilment, and almost never for the actual hope that the person they were helping would have a better life. That was true of Kenji, it made him look good, inside of a selfish, attention seeking person. But the others saw through that aspect of him, it made him afraid, he ended up in their group not really by choice, but because the original clique he was in tossed him out, he was no longer amusing or funny, or everyone had moved on to concentrate on their studies, amongst everything at school, there was a tiny group that didn’t belong anywhere at all.

At first they were annoyed at him, gave him cold reception, but soon, they warmed up to him, gently accepting him for who he was, in the turbulence of puberty, it was definitely a rough and rocky road of emotions and feelings that were far too strong for their own good.

But they were past it all now, and even after all those years, they were still hanging out together, even in this death game, they were laughing together. That brought a warmth to his heart and steeled his resolve.

He refused to be left behind, he refused to be a background decoration, he wanted nothing more than to stand by his friends’ side and fight against the world.

His thoughts rampaged, his bottled emotions burst out as he unleashed a sword art that tore into the Golem in front of him, leaving several red gashes,

 

ID# 133076

MD: 7 = Hit

Damage Received = 5 - 8 = 1

Rei: HP: 177/180 | EN: 1 (+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

Ah… why was he here? Takumi sighed deeply to himself, grimacing and wallowing as he was thrown onto his back by a powerful strike from the golem for the 3^rd time he tried to approach.

He had decided to play this game on a whim, on interest from the revolutionary technology and only because Rei and Yuta were so persistent on it. He usually had no trouble turning them down since he wasn’t interested in video games all that much, but he bought it.

Look where that made him end up?

Trapped in a virtual world where he could literally die, a world of monsters, nonsensical rules and ridiculous premises.

A lack of reality, a lack of realism, and yet all five senses along with death was presented faithfully to him here, nothing could be more annoying.

He braced his spear against the floor for the next Golem punch, leaping out of the way, frustrated that it did no damage, the spear reappeared in his hand as if it never left.

 

ID# 133077

BD: 1 = Miss

MD: 1 = Miss

Rei: HP: 177/180 | EN: 0 (-2+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

He was on the high road as people called it, a man of intelligence, a student of the sciences, he was graduating from college and headed into oxford, the best university the world over, but his grades just weren’t good enough. Even being the smartest person at his school didn’t do it. He couldn’t get in and had to settle for next best. Things didn’t work out as planned and he was a little stumped, but time goes on, he went on the path of general sciences and honestly, things were really tough, all nighters, his horrible sleeping schedule got worse, he skipped lectures, asked for notes, barely passed exams, it was like a downward tumble that made him somewhat worried at where he went next.

He knew that the others felt much the same way much to his relief, as it turns out, everyone felt the same. Everyone was just a leaf on the wind going where it takes them, and more often than not they crash into a cliff.

ID# 133078

MD: 2 = Miss

Rei: HP: 177/180 | EN: 1 (+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

As the next hit shot him into the cavern wall, causing him to slid to the floor roughly with a crash, he slumped over and coughed painfully,

“I really didn’t mean that literally you know,” he groaned, looking up at the towering golem, “Ah… why am I here again?”

Pushing himself up to his feet, he charged his spear for his sword art and carefully blocked the next hit with his shield, managing to stay upright, he retaliated by plunging his spear into the stone work of the golem.

Whatever his reasons for being here was, he wasn’t going to let himself die to this, he was more than happy to give up and lie around, but the others kept pushing him on, and frankly, he was excited at what was ahead as well.

Yeah, if he wanted to see what was on the horizon, then he had to keep fighting for it. Quite literally.

 

ID# 133079

BD: 1 = Miss

MD: 7 = Hit

Damage Received = 5 - 8 = 1

Rei: HP: 176/180 | EN: 0 (-2+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

Glancing around, Rei wondered how the others were doing, he smiled when he saw Yuta preform ridiculous feats of agility and acrobatics, weaving back and forth, in and out of the golem’s swings like they were have a odd boxing match, his dagger ruthlessly shining grey slashing into the heels, the thighs, the wrist, the chest and the neck. Effective, if they were human in reality. But it still had an impressive visual effect.

Rei carefully side stepped another punch from the golem, using his palm to push himself and the fist aside as a manoeuvre, since scimitars were definitely not made to block a several ton punch from a rock. But this was a game so it hardly mattered, but still.

He looked over and found Kenji screaming at the top of his lungs, like a barbarian warrior charging at the golem in a straight line, not bothering to dodge, he would just use his shield. Smart he supposed, not the best idea, but he was certainly relentless.

 

ID# 133080

MD: 6 = Hit

Damage Received = 5 - 8 = 1

Rei: HP: 175/180 | EN: 1 (+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 8/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

He looked over at Takumi, he was trying to use tactics and ideas out of the box, but frustrated when they don’t work or conform to normal physics, he had a lot to learn still about games and their odd specific restrictions, but his free thinking was something they would need in this world. You rarely knew what worked and what didn’t after all.

He watched as Takumi impressively held his ground as the Golem stomped on him, this was a game and they were statistically far stronger than the monsters on the first floor, still, it was a heroic sight as he took the foot to the shield and stayed standing, better still when he shoved it aside and shanked them with the spear.

He glanced at everyone’s health bars, they were all doing good, better than the spiders. The golems? he glanced at their health bars, looked like the ending was nigh, it was time to end it and head back for their victory dinner.

 

ID# 133081

BD: 7 - 1 = hit

MD: 8 = Hit

Damage Dealt = 3

Damage Received = 5 - 8 = 1

Rei: HP: 174/180 | EN: 1 (-1+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 5/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

“Alright, let’s finish this up in time for dinner then, yeah?” Rei muttered to himself as motivation as he looked up at the Golem with a soft smile.

BOOM!

The foot came down at the location he was just at, behind him the golem left a huge foot print in the rock.

His heart pumped loudly in his chest, blood and adrenaline, like fire in his veins and lightning to his mind, he felt like time was slowing down for this moment and moment alone, he felt goose bumps as he jumped away from a punch that shattered into the earth, when he spun around and continued running to avoid a second punch, it felt graceful, like there was rhythm to his movements, he looked up at the golem,

“Well, it was a fun but traumatic day, so I’d really appreciate it if you would just…”

He jumped up, kicking off the arm of the golem, bouncing to the next arm, landing on top, he threw himself off that, launching at the golem’s head, and with a shining blue arc, procing a critical rather than a sword art, he decapitated the golem and landed on the ground safely past it.

"...Die," he muttered to himself dramatically as the golem crashed and shattered into a million pieces of light,

 

ID# 133082

BD: 10 - 1 = Crit +2

MD: 10 = Crit +2

Damage Dealt = 3 +2 = 5

Damage Received = 5 +2 - 8 = 1

Rei: HP: 173/180 | EN: 1 (-1+1)/18 | 3 DMG | 8 MIT | 0 EVA| 0 ACC

Cave Guardian: HP: 0/20 | 5 DMG

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

“Hahaha, that was hella cheesy,” Rei laughed at himself, wiping a tear from his eyes, he glanced over and saw Yuta, Kenji and Takumi finish off their golems in spectacular manners one by one, each of them would glance over and meet eye contact, in a few seconds, the four of them had glanced at each person in their party, smiles and grins spreading on their faces, as they walked towards the centre once more, Rei lifted his arm up.

At first confused, seeing the grin, Yuta followed the motion, raising his hand up, when the two got closer, they high fived each other with a loud resounding slap,

“Hell yeah,” Rei grinned,

“Hehe…” Yuta smiled back, they turned to Takumi and Kenji, raising their hands again, getting the point now, they also exchanged high fives as their quest updated to the last point.

`Deliver the Gem to Hannah,`

One last step and they could sleep for the day.

[Tsurei 0]

When they left the dark cave using the Glow Stone, the breathtaking scene outside the cave took them by surprise once more, the starry skies above them uncovered by clouds spread across them endlessly, like a ocean of stars, their white lights sprinkled the black blue abyss.

There the silver moon shone bright and full, the chilly air blew past them, almost freeing their hearts of the tension and worries, they had accomplished their task and something about seeing this scenery made it feel like a reward all on it’s own.

They made the hour long journey up the path, along the edge, along the walls and back into the town, appreciating the lights of the town as they walked all the way to the Silver Horned Inn.

As always, their table was open and free,

“Hey, Rossa!” Rei beamed at the bar girl who seemed surprised and dubious as he cautiously waved back, the others also waved and smiled at her, which definitely surprised her, considering that they all didn’t react much to her before, even when she talked to them.

[Tsurei 0]

“Geez… that was tough…” Rei sighed, slumping deeply and lazily in his chair,

“Yeah… seriously,” Yuta nearly cried remembering it all, “That Golem… even if it didn’t hurt, if you ever got hit by it, you’d be thrown like 10 meters,”

“It was not fun,” Takumi nodded in agreement,

“Y-yeah…” Kenji went along with it meekly, back to normal,

“You seemed pretty wild out there, Kenji,” Rei grinned over, “AAARRGGHHH” he mimicked jokingly,

“I-I was….” Kenji stammered for an answer,

“Caught up in the moment right?” Rei concluded, he nodded sagely, “I totally get the feeling…”

“You’re the only battle freak here, Rei,” Yuta smiled and waved dismissively,

“Hey, you all looked really into it as well,” Rei pouted, pointing at each of them,

“I don’t know about you guys, but I was pretty much fighting for my life there,” Takumi frowned, “And what the hell is with the physics? The thing with spears is that you can brace them against an object to destroy a stronger opponent,”

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tsurei

[Tsurei 0]

“I see you have listened well to my lectures,” Rei rubbed his chin,

“Whatever,” Takumi glanced away,

“Hey, what’s going on with you guys?” Rossa strode over, looking over at them oddly,

“What do you mean?” Rei asked,

“You guys are all smiles today, it’s kinda creeping me out,” Rossa shuddered,

“That’s harsh,” Rei raised a brow, “Hey could you get me some of that curry rice?”

“Again?” Rossa rolled her eyes,

“Hey, I like curry,” Rei shrugged,

“And you guys? All having the usual?” Rossa glanced over at the others who all nodded in affirmation, “Alright, I’ll be back soon,”

…

“So then, what’s the plan for the sword fish?” Takumi asked,

“Let’s see… it’s a little tougher than the golem, but so long as we buy some better gear tomorrow, it’ll be fine,” Rei replied,

“What do we have to do for it?” Yuta asked,

“Let’s see….” Takumi flipped through the system interface.

[Tsurei 0]

“We have to deliver that gem to Hannah, we’ll get a package and deliver it to a guy called Ol Pete down by the lakes,” Takumi read out,

“The lakes north east of the town?” Yuta raised a brow for confirmation,

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Rei nodded,

“It turns out to be a fishing pole but he needs us to help him…”

“So we’ll be fishing?” Kenji worried,

“Anyone here done it before?” Rei asked,

“Nope,” Yuta answered quickly,

“I haven’t,” Kenji shook his head,

“Me neither, anyway, once we reel the fish in, it turns out to be a Sword Fish and we have to fight it.”

“Like underwater?” Kenji frowned,

“Can’t we just suffocate it on the boat?” Yuta suggested,

“How sharp are Sword Fishes anyway?” Rei wondered,

“Sharp enough cause serious lacerations,” Takumi replied off handedly, “Anyway, after killing the fish, we go back to the NPC and he gives us some… fish.”

[Tsurei 0]

“…Seriously?” Yuta sighed deeply, “That’s useless!”

“They give us a buff I think…” Rei mused,

“A buff? Like muscles?” Kenji raised a brow in curiosity,

“No,” Rei wondered how he made that connection, “It makes us strong like, more accurate, luckier, recover more energy or hp, things like that,”

“I wonder if they taste special,” Yuta wondered,

“Whatever they taste like, I don’t want it,” Takumi concludes, “Who wants it?” he offered, looking over at them,

“I’ll take it!” Yuta and Rei called out, glancing at each other,

“Fight for it,” Takumi declared dramatically, looking down on them like the roman emperor demanding a duel for his honour,

“Fine…” Yuta sighed,

“Alright, you ready?” Rei asked,

“Yeah,”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

They show their hands and it comes to be the same, the process repeats for a while until Yuta wins, pumping his fist up in victory as Rei sighs and leans his head on the table,

“Dammit…”

“Haha! The fish is mine!”

“You can have mine too, Rei,” Kenji offered,

“You sure? The things are actually useful you know,” Rei asked,

“Yeah... I don't mind,”

[Tsurei 0]

The night passed by nicely, as they all retired to their beds, it was hard to sleep for some, their minds filled with their victory, the path ahead and the things they’d do in the future, some slept quickly since they were exhausted mentally and physically regardless of their energy bar, as for Takumi, he simply couldn’t sleep even if he tried, so he just read the guide book again.

That night, snow began to fall in earnest, not just a few but enough that the next day when they wake up that it would be a good layer of snow underneath them. It definitely meant that the weather was colder also, leaving the four of them with colds.

Sniffling as they met up the next day at the table, Rossa handed out their usual breakfasts as always,

“Here you go guys, enjoy,” she smiled cheerfully,

“Someone’s chipper,” Rei sniffed, glancing over,

[Tsurei 0]

“Yeah! I mean, it’s finally snowing!” she beamed,

“Yeah… yay…” Rei raised his hand weakly,

“Jeez, it’s your fault for not wrapping up warmly,” she shrugged,

“Yeah… right…” Rei sighed,

“So, what are you guys up to today?” she asked curiously,

“We’re going to give Hannah the gem she asked us for yesterday, then we’re going to Ol Pete by the lake to give him a delivery and help him with the fish,”

“Oh really? Hannah asked you to get a gem?”

“Yeah… it was in a dark cave full of giant spiders and walking stone golems,”

“yeesh, sounds tough,”

“It wasn’t that hard, but it was tiring…” he sighed, looking at the others, “Mentally and physically,”

“What? You guys scared of spiders?” she looked at them, vaguely mockingly,

“You would be too if they were the size of a car and wanted to eat your face off,” Rei shot back,

“A car?”

[Tsurei 0]

“Right… imagine three of these tables side by side and two tables tall,” Rei looked around for a reference,

“W-woah… that’s creepy,”

“Yeah, in the dark, 3 of them, and hordes of the small ones too,”

“Are you sure you guys are alright? Not feeling sick or anything?” she leaned worriedly,

“Apart from the freezing cold? Not really,” Rei shook his head,

“Right, you adventurers are tough after all,” she nodded, “You should be careful though, I’d hate to not see you guys come back safely…”

“Are you worried about us?”

“n-no! it’s just that we’d lose a customer, that’s all,” she looked away with a blush,

“Right…” Rei caught on, narrowing his eyes at her unconvinced,

“And we’ve gotten so used to your schedule that we always have your dinner waiting for you when you get back, so be sure to come back, or it’d be a waste of food!”

“Right, and we can’t have that, now can we?”

“Idiot…”