Drake materialized back inside his makeshift camp near the sealed archway, the real-world rest having cleared the mental fatigue from the grueling SCR grind. Level 10. [Basic Slash] at 95% SCR. [Defend] at 95% SCR. The [Rare Guardian's Buckler] felt solid on his arm. This was it. He had pushed his execution for his core skills to a level likely unmatched by anyone else who had passed through the tutorial, maybe even higher than many players out in the main world.
"Ninety-five percent. That's 120% potential effect. It has to be enough to survive longer, to start dealing some meaningful damage, to figure this thing out." The grim confidence from the previous session returned, tinged with the hard-earned pragmatism of countless deaths.
He stepped up to the archway and initiated entry into the Unbeatable instance. The familiar metallic chamber formed around him, the massive Guardian Construct locking its cyclopean blue eye onto him. Drake didn't hesitate. He activated his [Guard's Whetstone] (<< Effect Applied: Minor Damage Boost (10:00) >>) and charged.
The Guardian reacted instantly. Standard Jab opener. Drake met it with perfect anticipation. << Skill Success! SCR 95%! Damage Blocked: 265! >> << Damage Taken: 65! HP: 145/210 >> "Survived! More HP left this time!"
He immediately lashed out with his sword between beats. << Skill Success! SCR 95%! Damage Dealt: 6! >> "Damage still pathetic..."
Guardian's second attack – the Sweep . Drake transitioned flawlessly back to defense. << Skill Success! SCR 95%! Damage Blocked: 265! >> << Damage Taken: 115! HP: 30/210 >> "Survived again! Critically low HP, but alive!"
He felt a surge of adrenaline. He had perfectly executed the opening sequence he'd spent untold hours grinding! What came next? The Guardian paused for a fraction of a second longer than before, then its core glowed slightly as it initiated a different attack – a quick stomp that sent a shockwave rippling across the floor.
Drake, low on health and reacting to the new pattern, tried to raise his shield again for [Defend]. But his timing, honed against the jabs and sweeps, was off for this faster ground pulse. << Damage Taken: 150! >> << You have died! >>
Respawn outside the gate. Drake stared at the archway, the brief flicker of hope extinguished. "Died on the third hit. Even with 95% SCR on the first two blocks, I barely survived. And its attack patterns change... That stomp was faster than the sweep."
He went back in. Again. And again. He perfected the 95% SCR block against the stomp timing after dozens more deaths. Now he could consistently survive the first three standard attacks (Jab -> Sweep -> Stomp, or Jab -> Jab -> Sweep, whatever the common rotation was), landing two near-useless slashes in between, leaving him with maybe 10 HP before the fourth attack inevitably killed him.
He tried different approaches. He spent another hour dying repeatedly just trying to push [Defend] from 95% to 100% against the opener, without success. The window felt impossibly small.
Could he deal more damage? His slashes hit for 6 damage. The boss likely had tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of HP. Even if he could land hundreds of hits, it would take hours, and he couldn't survive for more than a few seconds.
The grim reality settled in, heavier this time. His meticulous grind, achieving near-perfect execution that other players could only dream of, was still not enough. The damage check, or the survivability check, or both, were mathematically impossible at Level 10 with tutorial gear, regardless of his SCR. The "Unbeatable" difficulty wasn't just hard; it was literal.
Despair began to truly take root. He didn't re-enter the instance this time. He turned and walked slowly back towards Veridian Rise. What was the point? All that effort, all that persistence, culminating in... nothing. A dead end. A bricked character.
He entered the tutorial village. It felt unnervingly quiet. Checking the zone player list showed only a handful of names, mostly single-digit levels. The wave of launch players had long since completed the tutorial and moved on to Oakhaven, Silverhaven, the wider world. He was effectively alone here, trapped by his own initial arrogance. He briefly checked the external forums on his interface – pages and pages of discussion about main world content, guilds forming, market prices... and maybe one or two buried, old threads asking "Anyone else stuck on Unbeatable tutorial boss?" with the only replies being "Delete character lol". His isolation felt complete.
Dejected, he slumped onto a vacant wooden bench in the small, empty village square, staring blankly at the ground. What now? Was deleting truly the only option? Giving up on [Eidetic Execution]? The thought felt like a betrayal of the years spent earning it, a waste of the potential it offered. But what else could he do?
He sat there for a long time, lost in bleak thoughts. The remaining tutorial NPCs went about their simple, repetitive routines, ignoring the dejected adventurer on the bench. Just as he was seriously contemplating the horrifying finality of the character deletion menu, a figure approached.
It was an elderly man, dressed in simple, worn traveler's clothes, his face lined but his eyes remarkably sharp and clear. He carried no obvious weapon, but moved with a quiet, centered grace. Drake hadn't noticed him specifically during his earlier dialogue sweep, perhaps mistaking him for just another generic villager. The old man stopped a few feet away, regarding Drake with a calm, knowing gaze.
"You fight with admirable persistence, young one," the old man said, his voice quiet but carrying easily. "Against a challenge most would deem impossible, and rightly so. I have seen you return from that gate... many times."
Drake looked up, startled. An NPC had noticed his grind? "You... saw?"
The old man nodded slowly. "I have observed this Threshold for longer than you might imagine. Few possess the will to face such overwhelming odds repeatedly. Fewer still show the… refined execution I have glimpsed, even in failure. Raw persistence, however," he paused, his gaze intensifying slightly, "often lacks direction."
He extended a hand slightly. "My name is Master Kallan. I was once... more than I appear. I see an echo of true dedication in your struggle, a spark worth nurturing. Perhaps I can offer some guidance, a different path than simply breaking yourself against an unbreakable wall."
A notification popped up in Drake's vision. << Hidden Quest Offered: [Swordsman's Guidance] >> << Objective: Accept the tutelage of Master Kallan. >>
Drake stared, momentarily speechless. A hidden quest? Offered now? By this random-seeming old man who had somehow observed his private struggle? After hitting absolute rock bottom, a lifeline had appeared from the most unexpected source. Despair warred with a sudden, fragile surge of hope.
"I... accept," Drake managed to say, his voice slightly hoarse. "Please. Any guidance you can offer."
<< Quest Accepted: [Swordsman's Guidance] >> << Speak with Master Kallan to begin your training. >>
Master Kallan gave a slight, enigmatic smile. "Good. True strength is not just about hitting hard, but understanding the flow beneath the force. Come. Let us begin." He turned, gesturing for Drake to follow him towards a quieter part of the village. Hope, fragile but real, began to push back the gloom.