Chapter 120

“Someone said they were robbed of their laurel, and now they’ve even brought another one back with interest. Isn’t that great? Don’t you think so, Lunton?”

“…”

“Answer.”

“Your Highness, please… let me live… I’m not worth anything…”

“Ugh… I don’t like droning on like this. Don’t you want to see your family?”

The man grabbed the girl’s chin with one hand, his rough grip making her gaunt face squish under his hold.

“Ugh… sniff… hick… please… I’ll do anything…”

“It seems like a slave like you got lucky and managed to escape. Then you should live as if you’re dead. You know there are kids who dream of revenge? Go deal with them and bring back the laurel. Then I’ll ensure your family in the Arcelia Forest is brought to the Empire safely.”

“Ugh… I can’t… I can’t fight… I’ve never…”

“Lunton, why can’t you understand?”

With his other hand, he began to strip her robe away, revealing the terrified expression of the starving girl beneath.

The man gently ran his four fingers down the girl’s head.

“I am giving you an order.”

In his hand was a ring made of laurel.

As if proposing, he carefully slipped it onto her finger and whispered into her ear.

“They say they’ll burn the entire Arcelia Forest down soon. If you want to save your siblings, you should hurry, right?”

The girl’s ears, listening to the devil’s whisper, were sharp and long.

* * *

To confess, I was more interested in swords than magic when I was young.

Even though my new birthplace was a fantasy world, magic was just a headache-inducing discipline; knights using aura soared through the sky, so it was natural to admire them.

Above all, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I could stand on my own two legs that as soon as I was old enough to hold a wooden sword, I begged my swordsmanship teacher to teach me.

Marquis Bastion had a unique perspective on swords; he argued that one-on-one duels practiced by knights were akin to playing a game of Go.

Putting aside the question of why a game like Go, with little change in its rules, existed in a world like that, his main point seemed to be about striving for the best probability in combat.

When both sides performed their best offense and defense, the advantage always lay with the one who held the initiative. He argued that there’s no such thing as a perfect sword technique; rather, it all came down to responding flexibly to the opponent’s moves, emphasizing the virtues a perfect swordsman should possess.

At the time, when I thought of swordsmanship merely as a type of sport, I was inspired by his radical ideas and followed him like a disciple, but the time came to prove my capabilities sooner than I expected, and I regretted not being able to hear more of his lectures.

[Veixel: I’ve never tried 10/10/10, but that boss is notoriously vicious, so you really need to pay attention to your health. The necromancer can only control one doll at a time, but you’ve heard there are two additional dolls, right?]

“Yes, I know.”

[Graduate Student Rescuer: When new dolls appear, they absorb the attack patterns of the user from the previous phase, so you can’t expect the same attacks to work anymore. It’s best to utilize Adella in phases 1 and 2 and pour all your strength in phase 3.]

[LG Chaos: Are you really going to face No Name with a claymore instead of a schiavona? The main penalty has been lifted, but the weapon penalty reduces your attack power by half, which can be quite deadly, so I personally recommend something that deals more damage.]

“I’m just more comfortable with the schiavona. Plus, I need a handguard to avoid dropping the sword while casting spells.”

[LG Chaos: Okay, let’s go!]

– Wow, they skipped the whole story.

– Is this going to break through walls?

– How are we going straight to the 2nd part boss battle after breaking up with the commander? Lol.

– Let’s go!

– I love Lunton-chan♥ I love Lunton-chan♥ I love Lunton-chan♥ I love Lunton-chan♥

– Please save our Adellaㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– What will Lunton’s pattern be like in 10/10/10?

└ I think it’ll come out at 320 bpm.

└ Is this a rhythm game? Lol.

We entered a cave that exuded a chilling atmosphere.

Sure enough, a small boy suddenly emerged from the darkness, blocking our path.

[Necromancer · Lunton Nailinglink (0/1)]

The robe that didn’t fit his body dragged on the ground, kicking up dust with each step.

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… ugh, I’m really sorry…”

From the very first encounter, the girl openly displayed her remorse.

Adella seemed frightened by the sight, tightly clutching my waist and keeping her tail stiff.

“I have family I need to protect… I think you’d understand that, having been trapped in the forest…”

[Necromancer ‘Lunton’ summons a random ‘Doll 1’.]

[Infamous difficulty set to 10.]

[Incomprehensible Explorer · Mesomia Evening (0/1)]

– This is bad!

– Aren’t we facing a legendary character from the start?

└ Who is this?

└ She’s a character that comes up in the nation-building history classes at the main academy.

– She doesn’t even appear with a reputation below 3.

– Red ponytail woman, heh.

└ According to the character lore, she’s actually 59 years old, not 200 or 500.

└ Strangely, knowing she’s 59 creates a weird distance, lol.

– What’s her pattern?

[Veixel: Ah… you’ve picked a tough fight from the get-go. Mesomia Evening has a significantly high magic resistance, so spells won’t be effective; you need to engage strictly with melee weapons.]

[LG Chaos: Lunton’s summoned doll is fixed to phase 3, so Mesomia will start with a clone pattern right away. This makes it impossible for Adella to manage health on her own, so you must combine attacks.]

– I really don’t want to face Mesomia when she appears as an object in ranked games, lol.

– Even if you feel like you’re winning, health depletes quickly, and it often flips the situation.

└ Why have I never seen her while grinding rank?

└ She only appears above Platinum 4, yeah.

└ That’s interesting; I didn’t know there were conditions like that.

└ It’s more surprising that you’re playing ranked and still stuck in Bronze.

– How far does Lunton have to go to appear?

└ Diamond 4.

└ Whoa.

– Clearing Nightmare regularly is the norm to reach Diamond.

Unlike the boss battle in the first part, it seemed difficult to expect a coordinated effort with Adella. Individual attacks seemed to be the answer.

After all, the main body would be stronger than the clones, so I decided to let Adella deal with the illusions.

In truth, when facing enemies of this necromancer type, attacking the main body—the girl shutting her eyes and concentrating over there—would be the conventional path, but there was a clear reason why the viewers would advise against it.

A strong magical barrier enveloped the entire cave, preventing us from reaching the spot where the girl was. It was a type of illusion magic, after all.

I fixed my gaze on the opposing red-haired woman.

Her body was well-balanced, perfectly suited for a life as a swordswoman.

Except for one thing: her breasts were too large.

“Did you know that having large breasts decreases agility, and no matter what posture you take, you can’t escape from lower back pain?”

[Veixel: Huh?]

– ????

– What did you just say? Lol.

– Are you seriously critiquing her for her chest size?

– Mesomia’s a bit on the larger side, haha.

– No Name is on the flat side… noted.

If one genuinely wants to attain mastery in swordsmanship, removing the breasts might be one method to break through a barrier.

Isn’t there a tennis player who underwent breast reduction surgery and went from 300th to 1st in the world rankings?

Pain can be endured, but the real issue is that our bodies have an instinctive tendency to avoid painful positions, which inevitably leads to certain habits while swinging a sword.

I briefly pondered whether AI could implement such details, but for now, it was best to assume she was human.

“So, there must be certain habits or patterns; let’s exploit those.”

If she could really remove that heavy chest, it would be the cherry on top.

Even if she was dead, I resolved to elevate the level of combat we were about to engage in.

* * *

In the second league, Byeon Ji, who was actively using the little-known nickname Veixel, could hardly believe the scene unfolding before her eyes.

A streamer who had burst onto the scene in the World of Arcelia.

After watching her creative playstyle, she wondered if it was time to tackle Nightmare again.

However, as she became more accustomed to watching the fight, she quickly realized that every movement the streamer made was extraordinary.

“She’s someone who has learned to wield a sword.”

She had made her debut match in the second league after one of her team’s main players fell ill and, like most rookie professionals, had spectacularly messed up the game. She still felt immense pain when the negative comments flooded in.

Feeling a barrier even against the professionals in the second league, she doubted it was right for her to offer advice to a player like this.

Despite her shortcomings, Veixel had always lived with the pride that professionals were better than amateurs.

But this streamer was shattering that perception.

The two women within her field of vision lunged toward each other.

Mesomia was an opponent whose patterns were nearly impossible to grasp.

She had been the one who appeared as the third neutral legendary boss during Veixel’s debut match.

In the fierce 6v6 battle, Veixel had been the only one to survive, believing she could lead her team to victory by defeating just Mesomia, but she had been too nervous, falling prey to her consecutive attacks.

“People were voicing how absurd it was for a pro to be killed by an NPC.”

What kind of display would she provide now?

The first to take the offensive was No Name.

Even while running, she changed the trajectory of her sword multiple times.

Just as Veixel thought it was a waste of stamina and unnecessary, Mesomia’s counter was just being determined.

Then Mesomia quickly closed the distance upon seeing that No Name’s sword was aimed backward. It was a calculated decision based on the assumption that it would take time for the sword to return to its trajectory.

Female humanoid bosses usually have fast speeds.

Veixel’s mind raced.

She feared she would regret not informing No Name of the enemy’s armament movement speed. Byeon Ji, after all, was someone who truly loved Adella.

Then, it happened.

[LG Chaos: Now! Parry!]

“I know…!”

Ting!

Mesomia’s sword collided with the handguard of No Name’s sword, bouncing off.

“Using the handguard to parry instead of the sword?”

Moreover, following her parry, the sword that had been aimed backward now reached above Mesomia’s head.

The initiative shifted to No Name.

The advantage of using a broad sword like the schiavona is its dominance.

Once an attack begins, even if blocked, the initiative still lies with the opponent; some techniques could exert significant pressure, resetting positions regardless of a successful parry.

And No Name wouldn’t miss such a chance.

The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed through the cave.

Though it appeared they were exchanging heated blows, No Name was systematically inflicting wounds on the boss.

Feeling the urge to help, Veixel observed the battle intently.

Then, she noticed that No Name’s attacks were overly concentrated on stabbing.

Without mixing in slashes, the pattern would inevitably become monotonous.

Surely, she wasn’t unaware of that?

But surprisingly, Mesomia’s responses were too slow.

In comparison to her usual speed, it was as if she had halved her pace.

And soon enough, Veixel realized the reason behind it and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Against other broad swords, stabbing attacks could only be blocked using dynamic defense.

If one were to attempt static defense, they would need to accurately gauge the position of the thin blade aimed at them, which is difficult, and even if foreseen correctly, the attacker could simply change their target mid-strike.

However, the reason Mesomia’s dynamic defense had been so slow was that every time her arms moved sideways, they were continuously hindered by her breasts, preventing her from gaining any speed.

No Name, fixating diligently on her chest, was impressive in her own right.

Veixel, having completely forgotten she was on Discord, murmured without realizing it.

“Wow, this is honestly amazing…”

“More.”

“…Huh?”

“Is that all your observations? Don’t you have any other praises?”

“Oh… No Name, you’re the best! You’re really cool! You’ve turned the cave upside down!”

– Hahaha.

– If you can’t give advice, at least say something nice, lol.

– She really is like a cheerleader, lol.