Great news!
We hit the 200 Power Stone goal last week.
So this week, you'll get 3 daily chapters. And remember, for every 200 Power Stones we get this week, we'll add another extra chapter to the daily total for next week.
Thanks for your support!
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Chapter 117: If You Can, Go Ahead!
Exit the game and create a new character. '123' is a thing of the past, and the new character, 'aaa', will become a rising star who carries the flame of hope.
This time, Mike didn't go into detail with the character modeling. Since the knight comes with armor, a sword, and a shield, his head is simply covered by the helm. This would not reveal his exquisite modeling, so he simply skipped it.
As for the burial gifts, the branch he chose before might have a special purpose, but he was not yet sure and would have to find out later. But he was sure of one thing: it would be useless against Gundyr, the Judge of Cinder.
So this time, Mike and Sarah reflected and chose the lifesaving ring that increased health. After all, when the uses of the other items are unknown, choosing equipment that increases health is a safe bet!
Skipping the intro scene, Sarah felt a sense of peace seeing 'aaa' sitting in front of her computer, with armor, a sword, and a shield in hand. An inexplicable sense of confidence washed over her!
The journey was the same as before, eliminating the zombies one by one. Then, regaining the pulse that concentrated her, she lit the first bonfire, ran to the platform, jumped into the coffin, and retrieved the white item: a wedge-shaped stone fragment of unknown use.
As for the crystal lizard on the other path, Sarah had no intention of bothering it for now. After all, all evil has its culprit, and it was not the crystal lizard that had tormented her. Her main goal now was Gundyr, the Judge of Cinder.
She crossed the stone door and entered the courtyard. In the newly opened game, Gundyr was still kneeling on the ground, just as before. The only change was the bloodstains in the courtyard, scattered everywhere. Sarah once again observed the deaths of the other players.
They were quite similar, but something that made her a little nervous was seeing several players in knight armor. Some had died tragically, as one side of the courtyard was filled with tombstones and candles, while the other was a cliff.
Through the blood-red images left by other players, Sarah saw that many had fallen to the edge of the cliff, only to be dragged away by something. This prompted Sarah to stay a little further from the cliff during the fight. Being killed by Gundyr was not shameful; it was not the first time.
But being killed by the terrain was truly humiliating. After all, it wasn't just a narrow path, but a large courtyard.
Taking a deep breath, Sarah controlled her game character 'aaa' and took a step forward, drawing the coiled sword from Gundyr's chest. After drawing the coiled sword, Sarah did not immediately retreat to create distance. Instead, she swung her longsword at Gundyr, watching her stamina bar go down and practicing her attack rhythm.
When the longsword hit Gundyr, a dark purple blood splattered.
"The boss isn't awake yet. What's the point of attacking now? It's a waste of stamina," Mike, who was nearby, grumbled.
"Can't I just try my luck and sharpen my sword? Besides, I'm keeping an eye on my health bar!" Sarah said.
But what happened next surprised Sarah. By the time Gundyr, the Judge of Cinder, was fully standing, the health bar on the interface was already partially drained.
"Oh my God, what a lucky shot!" Mike exclaimed.
'How could this happen?'
"What's a lucky shot? It's called understanding the game!" Sarah scoffed. Although she had no idea that such a mechanic existed before doing this, it didn't stop her from showing off.
It is well known that when players show off, their IQ drops, so Sarah's complacency did not last long.
"Bang!" A dull thud resonated from the desk's speakers.
Sarah, still engrossed in her boasting, had not noticed that Gundyr, the Judge of Cinder, had woken up. The halberd he held in his hand slammed into her, sending her flying.
"Something's wrong! I'm wearing armor! This damage!" Sarah's eyes widened when she saw 'aaa' fly backward.
'What had she seen? Why had her health bar plummeted by a third?'
While she was more resilient than the previous Useless Man, the key was that she could only withstand three hits instead of two. What a difference!
Watching her health bar drop and the still-menacing Gundyr, Judge of Cinder, Sarah felt her worldview shatter.
'Was all this armor useless?'
But the enemy boss clearly wouldn't give Sarah much time to think. He seemed to walk slowly, but he instantly closed the distance. Like a tiger emerging from the mountains, Gundyr swung his halberd again.
This time, Sarah instinctively raised her shield to defend herself, but she was a little regretful of the action. Because Mike had already used a shield against this boss as the Useless Man.
But the result was incredibly tragic. Not only did his stamina drop rapidly, but, even more importantly, the small broken wooden shield could not block any attacks, it only reduced the damage.
The damage reduction, approximately, went from 100 to 50. It would have taken two hits to kill him, but with the shield raised, it became four.
But what followed was a stunning surprise.
The shield in front of her perfectly blocked Gundyr's attack. She didn't lose a single drop of health!
"Invincible! So this is the secret to winning the game!"
After being attacked two times in a row, Sarah was delighted with her character's low health. Her joy was so overwhelming that she completely ignored her stamina bar.
She was still holding her shield, and before she could finish her words, the Gundyr in the game lunged at him with a powerful stride, unleashing a double sweep with his halberd. Her already low stamina bar was instantly depleted.
The game character staggered, paralyzed on the spot, and then Gundyr attacked with his right hand.
Sarah watched as Gundyr's halberd sent the character flying through the air, like a broken doll. Simultaneously, her health plummeted.
"You are dead," the words faded from crimson to black and white, still those three familiar words.
Sarah fell silent.
"You can't do that! The stamina bar is crucial in this game. Losing it is like losing health. Blocking with a shield doesn't hurt you, but it costs twice as much stamina as rolling. And wasn't the shield supposed to parry? Why can't you parry with just a shield?" Mike, standing beside her, commented on the previous battle.
The only thing that surprised him was that, although he had chosen the Knight, his defense didn't seem to have improved much. To put it in perspective, the useless character was like soft tofu, but now, after choosing the Knight and putting on the armor, he has become like hard tofu.
Although the latter is a little harder, it is still like tofu, the kind that breaks at the slightest touch.
Sarah, sitting on a stool, listened to Mike's reflections and analysis, her face clouded. "If you can, go ahead!"
"Of course! I'll show you what I can do!" Mike leaned back in his chair, while his mind was already sketching out the plan for the impending battle against Gundyr.