Chapter 668: Beholding a God in the Dawning Sky
That being said, my combat style is built upon two core pillars: the "As long as HP isn't zero, it's safe" theory, and the "It doesn't matter if it doesn't hit" theory. In other words, even if I talk big and act cool, what I actually have to do is go all out on evasion while carrying the handicap of being one-armed.
"This bastard, suddenly awakening its soul as a dancer...!!"
To compensate for the limbs that lost their dexterity, the "Golden Age" is disrupting my sense of distance with footwork that is completely incomparable to what it used at the start of the battle—its movements are incredibly, absurdly dangerous.
After all, it's firing off attacks that'll kill me instantly if they connect, all from within the motions of running around like an absolute maniac. Even for me, with my extreme specialization in mobility, I can't completely eliminate the risk of losing a leg if I let my guard down.
The "Golden Age"'s battle style used to center around its sword-claws, saving the "Holy Sword" for a guaranteed lethal blow. Now, however, it has transformed into a style where it sprints at high speeds while aggressively exploiting the "lag" created by the reach of its light-claws and light-stinger. Evading isn't an impossible game, but the moment I try to weave attacks into the mix, it instantly turns into a tightrope walk.
"But no matter how much you raise your specs...!"
It seems you can't fake your innate "shape," Imperial Majesty!
Slipping behind it, I landed a blow with Duxram, and then, while paying meticulous attention to my positioning, I followed up with more strikes. The moment I disengaged, I reactivated my skills and completely escaped the reach of its light.
Scorpion-type monsters of this size inevitably have weak defenses around their feet. Even setting aside the range of motion of its tail, the fact that its body is made of crystal means there are blind spots it simply cannot reach no matter how wildly it swings. Because of that, it seems to want to run around at high speeds to prevent me from getting inside its guard in the first place... but it picked the wrong opponent for a contest of speed. Unlike you, who can only run flatly across the ground, the circuit I race on spans across heaven and earth!!
"Come on, come on, what's wrong! If you're out of breath, at least let's clash head-on like men!"
For better or worse, the words I threw out were meant to inspire myself. How many years do you think I've lived a gaming life full of all-nighters? I know my own condition perfectly well—I'm starting to get sleepy!! Since I stayed up all night today without taking any specific countermeasures, if I don't keep my focus sharp, my legs might just tangle up.
A tail swing; I evaded with a jump. Judging by its footwork, it probably intends to circle around me and target my landing. If so... Exceed Gravity, activate. Space Charge, activate. Hermes Boots, activate. To think the drawbacks of chaining skills would show up here—this was the right combo, wasn't it? Execute... alright, it moved exactly as envisioned.
Riding the benefits of the mid-air jump, I further activated Orbit Movement. Evading the space-scorching laser from the upswing of its light-claw, I landed right at its feet and launched an attack.
My target is its legs. The fact that it's a destructible part is one thing, but more importantly, if I don't chip away at its mobility, I won't even be able to land proper hits. Well, destroying them would be ideal, but functionally speaking, whittling them down until it's forced to drag them is perfectly fine too.
"Throw every last scrap of remaining fuel into the furnace!!!"
Change of plans! Reacting after the fact won't cut it. Take the initiative, and close the gap on the follow-through... In other words, an offensive strategy! A rule-breaking opponent-turn skip!!
"He, hehehehe... hahahaha..."
Matching the "Golden Age"'s high-speed movement while dealing attacks, evading while dealing attacks, and then attacking, attacking, attacking, attacking, ATTAAAAACK!!!
Justice resides solely within DPS! DPS is the only truth in this world! It's no exaggeration to say that I have become DPS itself!!
"Fufufufu, hahahahahaha!! I see the truth! The blessing of the God of DPS is upon me!!"
To hell with the Goddess of RNG! DPS—the act of endlessly punching until their HP reaches zero—is what brings salvation to all!!
There's no longer any need to hold back. I activate Levin Trigger: Hazard to exert even more DPS! So what if I only have one arm! If I attack twice as much as usual, there's no problem! If I hit it four times, that's twice as much as my new usual!! Wait a minute, does that mean if I hit it ten times as much... my god, my DPS is increasing infinitely! I have to present this at an academic conference.
What's an academic conference? Whatever.
"It won't bend! It won't warp! It won't break!!"
It doesn't need to fire beams, it doesn't need to apply special attributes; just the absolute individuality of "never breaking." With the exception of a few outliers, where almost every weapon breaks or is lost, isn't this the strongest ability in ShanFro?
While in the Overflow state, I have no concept of holding back. No matter what I do, it's strictly full power and full swings, so now that I've used it, my only option is to attack and attack some more. While my heart dances with the thrill of my surging DPS, I use Quantum Gaze—which I've probably activated dozens of times by now—to force my vision and thoughts to keep up with the dizzyingly erratic situation.
Slash, slash, backstep. Split aggro with 【Fading Mirror】, close the distance, and attack again. Slash, slash, kick... The damage is garbage!! Ducking my head to dodge an incoming attack, I drop my sword on the ground and fire a spear-hand strike into the joint of its leg. My DPS is dropping—this is a critical situation! I kick the sword up from the ground, catch it mid-air, and swing all the way through...
"I can do this!! I can still run!! Hahahaha, I'm gonna beat you to a pulp!!!"
It feels like energy is seeping straight out of my neurons! The spinning of my brain has become a motor, meshing perfectly with the gear known as DPS, spinning at high speeds... Ah, crap, I need to dodge here───
"Puberuh."
"Contractor!!"
I recovered my posture mid-air and landed! Alright, I'm not dead! I'm alive! My HP is... Foo! A candle flickering in the wind!!
It's a bit too precise of an attack to simply dismiss as "fighting like a madman," but conversely, because it's too efficient, I can completely read its trajectory.
It's precisely because its movements have become an efficient, "Crystal Scorpion-like" pattern that I can directly apply the behavioral analysis I've accumulated from fighting the Crystal Scorpion family. I won't fall for the same trick twice! Evade! And then close the distance... Yes! DPS!!
"Let's have a staring contest! Slapping allowed!!"
Even a Crystal Scorpion has a "mouth." It has a gruesome shape, kind of like a shredder, so I have no intention of sticking my hand in there... but at the very least, the inside of its mouth is more fragile than the rest of its body. Alright, let's dive in.
"Grit your teeth!!"
Lethal Finishing Touch. The whole reason I intentionally stepped into the kill zone directly in front of it was for this single moment, this single strike. Eat this! The highest firepower I can output with less than ten percent of my stamina remaining...!!
"Seeei!!"
Just as expected from Duxram, the number one weapon you can treat like absolute trash. The skill effect erupted, and as damage bloomed within its mouth, the "Golden Age"'s body convulsed.
But if it would die from something like that, I wouldn't have been fighting it for hours. I can clearly see from this distance that an overwhelming amount of STR is being funneled into its deadlocked jaws... or more accurately, the unique chelicerae of a scorpion. I see, so you're planning to crunch through Duxram with the same force you use to chew through jewel towers like chocolate bars.
"But too bad for you, this thing isn't just normal steel."
This is a blade forged to fight, the sword named Duxram!! A will without hesitation creates an immortal blade. An invincible blade won't lose even if it gets sandwiched between a meteorite and the ground!!
"Critical hits in this game rely on the correct angle and..."
The kinetic energy applied to the sword and the target, regardless of its source.
In other words, even in a situation where the sword itself possesses almost zero kinetic energy, such as "the chelicerae biting down on Duxram from both sides"...!!
Gagi!!!
"Oof, my condolences."
To give an example, it's like accidentally biting down on a pickled plum pit with all your strength, and your teeth end up losing—that exact awful feeling was just demonstrated right in front of my eyes.
Because its durability doesn't decrease, Duxram effectively became the hardest substance in the world for that single instant. Feeling a slight twinge of pity for the chelicerae that chipped because they clamped down with full force, I pulled the sword out.
"What's the matter, Imperial Majesty? Your light-claws are looking a bit thin, you know?"
We've finally reached the final phase. O God of DPS, grant me your blessing!!
Author's Afterword
・God of DPS
A god widely worshipped in MMOs. Some people despise it as an evil god, but generally, regardless of whether they like it or not, MMO players inevitably end up devoting themselves to this god.
It is said that extreme fanatics will even pressure those whose main role isn't direct combat—such as healers, buffers, and tanks—into joining the faith...
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