April 11, 2011

Aside from leveling up I was doing other things to become stronger. In neither of my lives was I by any means a fighter, besides the inevitable fights that happen when one is a half Asian man in a city full of yakuza I refuse to join, and Nazis, but those involved more running than spearmanship. So I had taken it upon myself to learn how to fight with a spear, learning through online videos, and refining through actual combat with monsters, eventually getting a skill for my efforts

[Passive Skills]

Advanced Spear Arts- Lvl. 1
Type- Sear

Because You Have Used A Spear For An Extended Period Of Time, You Can Now Use Spears More Efficiently. When A Spear Is Used, Attacks With It Gains 33% Additional Damage.

Fighting the Knights and other enemies from the Job Change Quest did help with my skill in fighting humanoid opponents as well, since fighting a monster is typically more bites and claws than kicks and punches, let alone weapon based combat.

With said improvements combined with the levels I was getting from the enemies, and the armor drops increasing damage resistance to 25%, I was able to get through most of the Quest Rooms with minimal injury. Besides some cuts and bruises, I was going strong, or well, cuts, bruises, and a lot of fatigue.

FATIGUE: 86

I was starting to slow down, had been for a while, taking more hits, and taking a bit longer on each enemy with every one I took down. The fatigue was hitting me just as much, if not more, than the enemies, and with all my healing options rendered null beyond my natural regeneration, I was wearing down quickly.

As the final enemy in the room hit the floor, I was thoroughly tired, breaths ragged and legs shaking. I had lost track of how long I'd been in the quest, a few hours at least, a day at most, but other than that I was unsure. Anika will probably be mad when I get back.

The ding from a system alert quickly caught my attention.

Alarm!
[You Have Defeated All Enemies In This Room. Move To The Next Room Within 2 Minutes Or Face a Punishment Associated With This Quest.]

Two minutes was the most time the System had given me so far to rest, and if the mana I was sensing behind the door was any indicator, I knew why. It was time for the boss room.

Despite that fact, I didn't waste the two minutes, dropping to the ground and letting my back rest against the cool stone floor. There wasn't much use in strategizing, not right now, the System had made it clear that I couldn't rely on knowledge from Solo Leveling when it comes to predicting bosses, it was only luck that the mobs were the same.

There was usually a theme with dungeons, the monsters were always themed after it, and in the Job Change Quest that theme was 'Knights', chivalrous warriors donning armor, or rather, were armor, so it was safe to assume that the boss would be the same.

Two minutes passed quickly, and in that time my fatigue had lowered a fair amount, one of the many plus sides to having the System's enhanced regeneration, but I'd have to be careful, it wouldn't take long to tire myself out again.

Walking through the large doors, I entered the next room, torches lighting up on their own and revealing the large figure of the boss. He was big without a doubt, not the biggest monster I had encountered, but compared to all the other enemies in the Job Change Quest he was at least twice as tall and wide, covered in dull gray armor with faded gold lining. The boss was different from the other enemies I'd faced so far though, he had a face, a disturbingly human, ash black face, and likely some sort of body under all the armor.

[Jet Black Paladin, Iron]

Well that's a familiar name.

Iron, formerly an A-rank hunter until Sung Jinwoo killed him and turned him into one of his Shadows, though the Iron I was facing definitely didn't look human, or dead. It was probably just System bullshit, but at least he was an opponent I was familiar with.

I stood there for a moment, Iron seemed to be content having me just stare at him, reveling in the attention, at least for now, his oversized shield and hammer resting in an unguarded position. He wasn't being careless however, not exactly, I could feel his mana primed and ready, and it was likely his armor was a lot tougher than the Knights.

But, not one to miss an opportunity, I moved to strike.

The world became a blur as I launched forwards, too fast for most to see. Rearing my arm back, I aimed straight for Iron's exposed face and struck.

Quickly and efficiently moving his shield in front of his face, Iron blocked my attack, a loud clang signaling the beginning of the fight.

I pressed my feet up against the shield and pushed off, barely getting out of the way of a massive hammer swing, moving out of the way of another the moment I landed.

I tried a different angle, bolting forward, feinting a direct charge before moving behind the titan and striking out again, my spear scraping harmlessly off Iron's sturdy armor, nothing but a scratch left for my efforts.

Iron swung his shield as if the giant piece of metal were as light as cardboard, forcing me back, only to jump over another swing from his hammer.

Launching off the ground again, I threw another stab at Iron's face which, in a surprising display of agility, he avoided, ducking his head down and letting the attack slide off his helmet, leaving another scratch on his armor.

So I can damage him, if only a scratch, but what if I try something a bit stronger than a normal attack?

Deciding my next move, I rushed the boss monster, less running as much as it was a massive leap, crossing distance in a straight line faster than the average eye could see. My mana flared, and I activated my skill.

[Skill- Spear Strike Was Activated.]

Iron never tore his attention off me, his eyes widening as he tracked my form despite my speed, even if his body couldn't quite keep up.

Almost frantically, Iron brought up his shield, the tip of my spear making contact, instantly followed by the mana of my skill, hammering into the giant shield at full force, sending a deafening boom through the air, dust getting kicked up from the dispersing force.

The paladin pushed me off his shield and sent another swing of his hammer my way, the roaring strike slamming against my frantic block and selding me flying across the room, knocking me into the far wall in an explosion of stone and dust.

A coppery taste filled my mouth, and my arms were shaking from the blow, but I had little time to recover with Iron charging at me, shield first. I leapt to the side, avoiding the attack and feeling the ground shake upon landing, before taking a few more hops back to gain distance.

Iron had a grin on his face, surprisingly white teeth standing out on his pitch black face. He was enjoying this, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it as well, at least a little bit, but I pushed aside any excitement.

I needed to think, Iron's defenses were strong, even a weapon designed for armor piercing left only a scratch. He did show worry when I used 'Spear Strike' so that might be able to deal some significant damage, that and his exposed face, but his shield was getting in the way of any meaningful attacks.

Iron charged at me again, tearing me from my thoughts, shield held in front of his body and hammer raised high above his head in a blatant downward strike. I prepared to move out of the way when Iron did something I didn't expect.

He struck early.

Iron's hammer slammed into the ground, sending spiderweb cracks throughout the area and shaking the ground with the force of an earthquake. My footing robbed of me, I couldn't avoid Iron's next attack, a follow up swing that slammed into my hastily made guard and sent me barrelling through the air once again.

I didn't hit a wall this time, instead I flew across the floor, my clothes tearing and shredding as the stone floor met my body, giving me what was probably the worst friction burn ever.

I rolled to my feet and nearly fell back down to the floor, the strike had done a number on me, The right half of my clothes had all but been disintegrated, showing scrapes, cuts, and bruises over every inch of the revealed skin. It wasn't deep though, hurt like hell, but I could still function normally, it would have been worse without my armor though. My right leg seemed to have taken the most damage with a deep gash running along my thigh. That'll slow me down.

I needed to end this quickly, just two hits were enough to injure me, and the big bastard didn't even look winded. My biggest advantage was my speed and now that's been limited too, and it will only get worse the longer this goes.

My mana flared as I decided my next move, feeling the wind gather at my feet to push me forward, and then I pushed off the ground, activating the skill achieved through nothing but running, if you can believe that.

[Skill: Sprint Was Activated.]
[Your Movement Will Increase By 30%]

The ground broke and I moved, faster than ever before, I was on Iron in the blink of an eye, striking him again and again, stabs and slashes striking the titan's body in a blur of motion, hitting him like a machine gun. The damage was insignificant merely scuffs and scratches on his armor as he kept his face covered with his shield, at least, that was until I used my next skill.

[Skill- Spear Strike Was Activated.]

Suddenly, Iron's impenetrable armor took damage, with his shield protecting his face a hole was blown into his exposed back.

[Skill- Spear Strike Was Activated.]

Another stab, to the leg this time, dropping Iron down to a knee.

[Skill- Spear Strike Was Activated.]
[Skill- Spear Strike Was Activated.]
[Skill- Spear Strike Was Activated.]
…

I kept using the skill, my mana was burning up at a ridiculous rate and I could feel my fatigue rising the longer I kept up my assault, and it was worth it. With each hit Iron had a hole blown in him, a cut in his armor, his defenses were being torn down slowly but surely. This was my last ditch attempt to finish Iron off, and it was working.

I kept my focus on his shield arm, the only thing between me and a kill shot, stabbing and cutting it to the point that his arm had become a twisted heap of metal and flesh, or whatever Iron was made of, but still he held on.

Eventually though, it became too much for Iron's arm to endure, his shield hitting the ground with a clang. Seeing my opportunity, I moved in, going straight for his face, rearing back for one final Spear Strike.

Iron made one last ditch attempt for survival, swinging his large hammer with his good arm to try and intercept me. With sprint activated though, the swing was easy to avoid, giving me a clear shot.

[SKILL- Spear Strike Was Activated.]

[You Have Slain Jet Black Paladin, Iron!]

Alarm
[You Leveled Up!]
[You Leveled Up!]

I collapsed to the ground with a sigh, ignoring the pain on my everything in favor of enjoying the cold stone floor. Iron's body hit the floor a moment later, right as the pain of the fight finally caught up to me.

"...Ow," and that summed up how I was feeling at that moment. Thankfully I was quickly distracted from my pain, the familiar chime of the system grabbing my attention.

Alarm!
[You Have Defeated All Enemies In
This Room. Move To The Next Room Within 3 Minutes Or Face A Punishment Associated With This Quest.]