Deep within the mine, light and shadow intertwined.
The battle between the man and the monster had already lasted for ten minutes.
For Ye Yi, these ten minutes were like dancing on a knife's edge; any tiny mistake would lead to total defeat.
The Mine Troll's health had been whittled down to 70%.
"Roar..."
The Mine Troll panted heavily, its body covered in fine wounds. Its simple brain couldn't understand why the little speck before it was like a fly—clearly killable with one swat, yet impossible to hit.
What angered it even more was that its proud "Regenerative Constitution" seemed to have failed.
Whenever its wounds began to heal, that damned human would throw a fireball over, searing the wound and interrupting the recovery.
This was the experience Ye Yi had summarized from his past life: trolls feared fire. Although the fire damage wasn't high, it could produce a "Grievous Wounds" effect, suppressing health recovery by 50%.
"Rhythm."
Ye Yi muttered to himself.
His breathing had been adjusted to a rhythm completely opposite to the Mine Troll's attack frequency.
The Mine Troll raised its hand; he inhaled.
The Mine Troll smashed down; he exhaled and dodged.
The Mine Troll stiffened; he struck with his sword.
This was the "Dance of Ice and Sword."
"Ice Spike!"
Ye Yi released another Ice Spike while moving. Now, his control over mana had reached a level of precision down to the single digits. Every drop of mana had to be used where it mattered most.
This time, the Ice Spike accurately pierced the lower edge of the Mine Troll's right eye socket.
Although it wasn't blinded, the extreme frost instantly froze half of the Mine Troll's face, creating a blind spot in its vision.
"An opportunity!"
A cold light flashed in Ye Yi's eyes.
He did not pull away again, but instead made an incredibly reckless move—
In the gap while the Mine Troll swung its bone club, he stepped directly onto the Mine Troll's thick knee and used the momentum to leap into the air!
This was a pure physical action without any system assistance. In reality, with his physical condition, he absolutely could not have done it. But in the game, his high agility attribute made it possible.
Mid-air, Ye Yi was level with the Mine Troll's single eye.
The Mine Troll clearly had not expected the food to deliver itself to its door, and subconsciously opened its huge mouth to bite.
"Too late."
The heaven-swallowing demon sword in Ye Yi's hand was held high, the dark red patterns on the blade now flashing intensely like a breathing light.
This was the demon sword's hidden passive—[Combo Accumulation].
Those dozens of previous, insignificant basic attacks were not just to whittle down health; they were to accumulate power for this single strike.
"Demon Sword Heavy Cleave!"
This was a pseudo-skill Ye Yi created by utilizing the game's action detection. It channeled his entire body's strength and gravitational potential energy into the blade, combined with the weight of the demon sword itself.
"Puchi!"
The black blade edge pierced the Mine Troll's murky single eye without any resistance.
Right up to the hilt!
"Awoooo——!!"
A shrill, agonizing scream echoed throughout the entire mine.
"-888!" (Fatal Weak Point Critical Hit + Defense Break + Accumulated Damage)
A massive golden damage number floated up.
Nearly a thousand damage!
The Mine Troll shook its head frantically; Ye Yi gripped the hilt tightly, as if riding a mad bull.
Black blood gushed out, splashing all over Ye Yi. As the blood landed on the heaven-swallowing demon sword, it was instantly absorbed completely.
The demon sword let out an excited hum, and its attack power temporarily increased by 5 points.
"Get down!"
The Mine Troll reached out to grab Ye Yi on its face.
A second before the giant hand closed, Ye Yi pulled out his sword and landed steadily with a backflip.
At this moment, the Mine Troll's health instantly dropped below 50%.
Having lost an eye, it fell completely into a Berserk state.
[System Notification: Mine Troll has entered "Berserk" state! Attack power increased by 50%, attack speed increased by 30%, defense decreased by 20%.]
Its originally grayish-white skin instantly turned crimson, and the bone club in its hand swung like a blur.
"Gone mad?"
Ye Yi retreated quickly, opening up some distance.
Although the berserk Mine Troll's attack power was terrifying, because it was blind, its attacks were chaotic, just smashing wildly at the air.
The surrounding stalactites were smashed like tofu, with stone fragments flying everywhere.
Ye Yi hid behind a large boulder, panting heavily. His stamina bar was nearly empty; that previous burst of attacks had exhausted almost all his strength.
But he could not stop.
The Berserk state had a time limit, usually three minutes. But these three minutes were also when the BOSS was most vulnerable because its defense was lowered.
"Wealth is found in danger."
Ye Yi glanced at the last remaining health potion and two mana potions in his bag.
He rushed out once again.
This time, he no longer sought to strike vital points but focused on the Mine Troll's lower body.
He moved like a ghost through the rock piles, utilizing the Mine Troll's blind spots to slash the demon sword across the Mine Troll's ankles and the back of its knees over and over.
"-60!"
"-65!"
Against the Mine Troll with lowered defense, every strike dealt significant damage.
Although the Mine Troll was blind, its hearing remained. It chased and attacked frantically based on the sound of Ye Yi's footsteps, but missed by a hair's breadth every time.
Two minutes passed.
The Mine Troll's health dropped to 10%.
Ye Yi's health also dropped to less than 50 points (hit by splash damage from flying stones).
"One last gamble."
The Mine Troll also seemed to feel its life slipping away; it stopped its wild smashing, its chest heaving violently. Black blood flowed from its blind eye socket, making it look hideous and terrifying.
It was charging up.
This was its final struggle before death—[Earth Shatter].
It had a larger range and higher damage than the previous stomp.
If he did not interrupt it, Ye Yi would surely die.
There was only one way to interrupt it: kill it before it finished charging.
It still had 1,500 health.
Ye Yi had no way out. He downed his last mana potion, and a faint black light ignited on the demon sword.
He charged at the charging Mine Troll.
The Mine Troll sensed his approach, and a cruel smile split its lips. It had been waiting for this moment.
"Die!"
The Mine Troll released the skill early; though it was not fully charged, it was enough to shock Ye Yi to death.
The bone club smashed toward the ground.
At this critical juncture, Ye Yi made a move that defied common sense.
He did not dodge, nor did he jump.
While running, his body suddenly slid forward like he had no bones. Staying close to the ground, he slid right through the tiny gap under the Mine Troll's descending bone club!
This was the "Limit Shuttle" he had mastered through countless life-and-death battles in his previous life.
Above was the bone club carrying an aura of destruction; below was the cold rock.
Ye Yi slid between the Mine Troll's legs.
He suddenly straightened up, gripping the sword with both hands, the tip pointing upward.
"Break for me!"
This strike was not just a physical attack, but an outpouring of Ye Yi's will from two lifetimes.
With an unstoppable momentum, the heaven-swallowing demon sword pierced through the Mine Troll's lower jaw from below, stabbing straight into its brain!
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
The light of the Mine Troll's about-to-erupt skill dimmed in an instant.
That massive bone club hung suspended just one centimeter from the ground.
"Rumble..."
Like a great mountain being toppled.
The Mine Troll's massive body fell backward, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Ye Yi was pinned underneath, but he did not struggle.
Because that pleasant, heavenly sound reached his ears.
[Killed Mine Troll (Lord Level), obtained 20,000 (+20,000) Experience Points!]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 10!]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 11!]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 12!]
[...]
Golden light flashed repeatedly as Ye Yi was bathed in the glow of leveling up; all his injuries healed instantly, and his fatigue was swept away.
He had won.