NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49
Ding!
“Ah, Helperte was a tough cookie.”
CRUNCH!
“Probably the trickiest of all the opponents I’ve faced so far.”
WHOOSH!
“Light, come here!”
WHOOSH!
As soon as I heard Helperte’s voice, I backed off.
SWISH!
With the sound of his voice and motion, a pale light gathered on Helperte’s great sword.
That’s a skill bosses usually have.
Since this was a new skill pattern, I decided to take a step back and respond appropriately.
SWISH!
Helperte’s attack followed.
His great sword swung with fierce intent.
But it was at a speed I could react to, so I didn’t hesitate to attempt a parry.
THUD!
Instead of the clear metallic sound I was expecting, a groan echoed and my warrior rolled across the temple floor.
“What the heck, is this an un-parryable attack? There hasn’t been anything like this until now.”
GASP!
“Ugh, gotta dodge this!”
NEW PATTERN!
“Is there stamina reduction when I get parried in return?”
THWACK!
“Must be because of the fire. This is a high-parry game, so there’s no way it can keep me from parrying. If that’s a skill, it should have a duration—just need to dodge until it runs out?”
The hazy light clinging to Helperte’s weapon gradually transformed into burning white flames.
That was a divine flame commonly used by clergy, the holy fire.
DOINK!
Oh look, I’m getting purified by that divine light, as if I wasn’t a good person.
FUMP!
“Feeling like a demon over here…”
“Kind of weird that the purification isn’t working, right?”
“Looks like a succubus if you ask me.”
PSH!
“Well, would you look at that.”
PING!
“I can definitely dodge his attacks now since he’s on fire.”
Seems I could easily avoid attacks compared to the initial strikes.
While dodging Helperte’s blows, I waited as the flame slowly extinguished from his sword.
About twenty seconds passed.
As soon as the flame went out, I rushed in and slashed at him a couple of times.
The health bar next to Helperte’s name didn’t budge much.
“Wow, he’s got a ton of health.”
Sure would be nice if they reduced the health a bit and increased the challenge of the patterns instead.
I genuinely thought it would just stretch out the clear time.
Wasn’t someone saying this battle was turn-based?
Since I just attacked Helperte now, it was his turn to attack.
SWOOSH!
The wind howled.
His dual-wielded great sword sliced through the air.
Because of the weight and speed, instead of a slicing sound, it sounded like a cannonball was fired.
WHOOSH!
If it were anyone else, they would’ve been helpless under that fierce attack.
But I felt I could avoid it just fine.
The straight slash came down from above toward my left shoulder.
I stepped to the right and managed to evade Helperte’s swing.
When I pressed the right movement key to react to the attack, I thought I was in the clear.
“Heh, you thought you’d miss me?!”
SHOUT!
With a loud yell, Helperte’s swinging blade suddenly changed direction and lunged at me again.
Right, the sword that was supposed to come down straight suddenly curved sideways mid-air.
Even with the sudden change of direction, the power of the attack didn’t even slightly diminish.
“What the hell?!”
SCREECH!
What is this, some Brazilian kick?
Who does a sword move mid-air?
To dodge what felt like a critical hit even if I brushed against it, I risked rolling forward.
ROLL!
Rolling away left a dent in the ground underneath the massive sword, which was now buried half in the earth.
His great sword was now sticking out of a hole in the ground.
I narrowly avoided being hit.
But the turn still hadn’t passed yet.
I was throwing my balance off by dodging with such a big movement.
I couldn’t let my guard down because Helperte was no pushover.
“I won’t let you slip away…!”
WHOOSH!
Helperte yanked his sword out of the ground and charged at me with tremendous force.
The relentless assault continued with a lightning-fast thrust.
Just as I hesitated, my warrior suddenly sprung to action.
CLANG!
He underestimated me with that attack.
It came at me as honestly as before, but maybe because it was a rushed attempt the power was halved.
I was able to parry the attack without any issue.
With my sword, I knocked away the tip of Helperte’s great sword.
With a dull clang, Helperte staggered briefly.
That momentary stiffening when a boss gets parried occurred.
Because the great sword was so heavy, or maybe because Helperte’s grip was insane, the hand holding my warrior’s sword trembled.
Like before, when I was hit against.
“Wait, again, stamina loss? Is there stamina loss when I parry too?!”
Because of my low stamina, I couldn’t unleash a powerful attack.
After landing several hits on Helperte in his staggered state, I backed off.
YIKES!
“How many patterns are you hiding?!”
“Seriously, what the hell is this?”
HACK!
“If you hit his sword, you might get a stamina debuff?”
“Being a paladin sure is tough.”
SHRUG!
“Not as easy as it looks, huh?”
“Like, is this a paladin or a berserker?”
“Right? LOL”
“Doesn’t the design just prohibit quick clears?”
“Did you guys see that sword movement in the air? What is he, super strong or something?”
“The game is seriously garbage sometimes…”
“Such high praise!”
“I thought it was a trial where a senior paladin helps a newbie, but instead it’s like catching a rat!”
LAUGH!
“Yeah! LOL Those teachings are definitely toughening up the newbies.”
“I see that now.”
Lucky for me, my health hasn’t even budged.
It’s because I’ve allowed no attacks.
I gripped my sword firmly and took a step back to face Helperte.
Hopefully, there wouldn’t be additional patterns, right?
DING!
“This guy’s tough, real tough.”
I mumbled as I sat on the fallen body of Helperte.
Fortunately, aside from the changing sword path resulting in stamina loss, there weren’t any other patterns.
Once you understand the patterns, the following steps are easy.
So long as I dedicate time to slowly conquer him.
The moments dragged on thanks to the abundance of HP and the many non-attacking patterns.
MOLE! MOLE! MOLE!
“Did I just win it on one try? LOL!”
“Even managed not to get hit at all!”
WOWZA!
“How many HP does he have?!”
“Pretty much dragon level, huh?”
“Dragon knight for sure! Wow!”
“I can forget about fast-running now.”
“So you did go ahead with the paladin class?”
“Let’s go paladin~~~~~”
“It should be time for an alert to pop up now.”
DING!
-You have completed the trial!
WHOOOOSH!
You have cleared the hidden challenge!
-New options appear!
#Light’s Guide
“The one who guides and leads. There will be light for those who follow it.”
[Job Effect: Paladin exclusive skills can now be used. The effectiveness increases based on proficiency.]
#Corrupted Berserker
“Why can I not die? The more I spill blood, the clearer my mind becomes.”
[Job Effect: Can use berserker exclusive skills and traits. The effectiveness increases based on proficiency.]
“Helperte was a berserker, huh.”
DING!
“That explains a lot.”
“What the heck did he do to get both options appearing?”
“Let’s hear the challenge achievements!”
With overwhelming strength!
-Subduing the paladin Helperte (Condition: Defeat Helperte without allowing attacks.)
“That’s what it says.”
I presented the appeared system window to the viewers.
“He did seem a bit odd for a paladin.”
“Guess he was originally a berserker before changing classes.”
“A pretty predictable backstory.”
“If it weren’t for Molru, you’d never see this path, LOL.”
DING!
[Strong Guy Special has donated 10,000 won!]
-So what are you choosing? Of course the berserker, right?
“Strong Guy Special: Gotta go berserker!”
“But Molru is a girl, isn’t she?”
“Doesn’t matter. Playing like a strong guy.”
“Real strong guys are paladins, you know?”
“Why throw away the heavy armor look?”
“But that holy fire looked tempting for a paladin.”
“If you’re not going berserker, chop off your cock!”
“Info: That doesn’t exist.”
“Sticking with Molru’s style actually fits in as a berserker.”
“What are you on about? They’re dodging all over, but being a berserker means you should take some hits.”
“This demon-like Ryeon doing a paladin is hilarious too.”
Well, true.
I don’t exactly think I suit the paladin vibe.
Me, chanting spells, slashing enemies, and praying to the gods?
I can’t even imagine that kind of ridiculousness.
But on the contrary, how about a berserker?
The more blood I spill, the stronger I get—truly the menace of the battlefield.
Drenched in the blood of foes and myself, refusing to fall; that’s my style.
I like efficient combat.
Never leaving openings for enemies allows me to avoid getting hit.
That’s why my playstyle is nothing like that of a berserker.
Considering these elements, the job I would choose is…
“I…”