The Unbeatable instance materialized around Drake. Level 10. 90% SCR [Basic Slash], 90% SCR [Defend]. [Rare Guardian's Buckler] equipped. 210 Hit Points. Utterly insignificant against the colossal Guardian Construct waiting in the center of the metallic chamber. His brief moment of defiance after refusing to delete his character evaporated, replaced by the cold, hard reality of the task ahead.
"Okay. Engage. Observe. Die. Analyze. Repeat."
He didn't charge. He simply braced himself, shield raised slightly, eyes locked onto the Guardian, waiting for the inevitable opening attack. It came instantly, a blur of motion – this time, a swift, piston-like jab from its right fist, less telegraphed than the massive overhead slam he vaguely remembered from his very first death. He activated [Defend], matching the timing as best he could based on his locked 90% SCR baseline.
CLACK! << Skill Success! SCR 90%! Damage Blocked: 165! >> (Assuming 110% potential applied to ~150 base mitigation from shield/stats) << Damage Taken: 165! HP: 45/210 >>
He survived! Barely. His health bar flashed critical red. Before he could even process this minor victory, the Guardian's other fist snapped out with equal speed. With only 45 HP left, even a perfectly executed 90% block wouldn't save him.
<< Damage Taken: 170! >> << You have died! >>
Respawn outside the sealed gate. "Okay. Survived the first hit that time. Standard jab, maybe ~330 damage? My 90% block negated about half. Not enough to survive two hits. And what if it opens with that giant overhead smash I saw the very first time? That felt way stronger."
He accessed [Perfect Recall], meticulously reviewing both the first death (the massive overhead smash) and the second death (jab, then second jab). He focused on the telegraphs. The massive smash had a distinct shoulder wind-up, lasting maybe half a second. The quick jabs had almost no wind-up, just a slight tension in the arm joint milliseconds before firing.
Internal Monologue Analysis: "Two different openers. Big wind-up = massive damage, 400+, instant death even through 90% block. Quick twitch = standard jab, ~330 damage, barely survivable with 90% block. Follow-up jab is just as fast. Can't survive two standard jabs without higher SCR or finding an attack window..."
He quickly realized attacking was pointless right now. His goal had to be simpler: survive longer than 1.5 seconds. That meant improving his [Defend] SCR against the standard jab timing, pushing it beyond 90% to mitigate slightly more damage, maybe giving him a fraction more health buffer to potentially react to the second hit later. Dealing with the special attacks, like the overhead smash, would require [Defend] (100% SCR), a goal that seemed impossibly distant for now.
And so, the real grind began. Not the satisfying grind of clearing mobs and gaining levels, but a brutal, soul-crushing grind against a single opponent that killed him in seconds, repeated ad nauseam.
Enter instance. Guardian materializes. Observe telegraph. Is it the big wind-up? Yes. Don't even bother blocking. << You have died! >> Respawn. Analyze recall (confirming telegraph recognition). Re-enter.
Enter instance. Guardian materializes. Observe telegraph. Quick twitch - standard jab! Activate [Defend], focusing intensely on matching the timing fractionally better than his locked 90%. CLACK! << Skill Success! SCR 90%! Damage Blocked: 165! >> << Damage Taken: 165! HP: 45/210 >> Second jab comes instantly. << Damage Taken: 170! >> << You have died! >> Respawn. Analyze recall. "Timing still only 90%. Need to be faster on the input, match the peak of the phantom guide..." Re-enter.
This loop became his world. Dozens, then hundreds of attempts. Maybe one out of every five or six attempts, the Guardian would use the lethal special opener, granting him a free respawn without even testing his block. The other times, he faced the standard jab, forcing him to execute [Defend] under immense pressure, striving for that tiny improvement beyond 90%.
His virtual muscles didn't tire, but the mental fatigue was immense. Staring at the same enemy, the same attack, analyzing the same milliseconds of failure over and over. It was the [World-Ender Grind] from KoG distilled into its purest, most punishing form, but with the crucial difference provided by [Eidetic Execution] – any success, no matter how small, was permanent.
After what felt like an eternity, during one attempt against the standard jab: CLANG! A slightly different, sharper sound. << Skill Success! SCR 91%! Damage Blocked: 175! << Damage Taken: 155! HP: 55/210 >> << [Peak Performance Replication] updated: [Defend] SCR 91%! >> Second jab arrives. << Damage Taken: 165! >> << You have died! >>
Respawn. "Ninety-one! Locked! Blocked 10 more damage. Still died, but... progress!" The tiny victory fueled him.
The grind continued. More deaths. More analysis. More attempts. He painstakingly climbed the SCR ladder for that specific standard jab timing.
92%... << Damage Blocked: 185! >> << Damage Taken: 145! HP: 65/210 >> Died to second hit. Locked 92%. 93%... << Damage Blocked: 195! >> << Damage Taken: 135! HP: 75/210 >> Died to second hit. Locked 93%.
Finally, after countless cycles that likely numbered deep into the high hundreds but felt like thousands, he achieved another breakthrough. He anticipated the standard jab's twitch perfectly, his shield meeting it with flawless timing just shy of absolute perfection. CRACK! << Skill Success! SCR 94%! Damage Blocked: 205! >> << Damage Taken: 125! HP: 85/210 >> << [Peak Performance Replication] updated: [Defend] SCR 94%! >>
He survived the first standard hit with more HP than ever before! But the Guardian's second jab snapped out instantly. Drake, slightly out of focus due his success, failed to activate the skill in time. << Damage Taken: 350! >> << You have died! >>
Respawn. Drake stood outside the gate, the cycle ready to begin anew. He had achieved 94% SCR against the standard opening jab through inhuman persistence. He could now survive better but even then still killed in the jab combo. But victory? Victory seemed infinitely distan.The grind had only just revealed the true height of the mountain he had to climb.