Thunk!
“Wow! They cleared this without a 5-star hero? I totally thought it was impossible!”
“What was that just now? Did they just resurrect or something?”
“Good job!”
As I returned to the stage, the heroes buzzed with excitement.
Heh.
Is it really that amazing?
I’d heard this dungeon was quite difficult, but it didn’t feel all that tough.
Seeing everyone so hyped made me feel somewhat proud.
“Hahaha! You know what this is? This is the Tome of Gold and Dusk — a resurrection item used to revive!
It’s the first ever in the server, something only our player has!”
“Oh! That’s right! There was such a book? I fixed it up but totally forgot!”
“So you transferred it to the Fairy’s trait? That’s awesome!”
Gobori’s words made the Sage and the Raider excited.
“But why wasn’t it given earlier? You could’ve handed it over in advance, right? Was there a reason?” Zeke the Spearman asked, curious for a moment, but—
“Hehe. There’s a reason for everything! If we’d given it too early and the book got consumed, the plan would’ve failed. So we waited for a time with as few variables as possible, and if the first strike failed, we had a backup ready. That’s the strategy!”
Gobori answered confidently.
Seeing Gobori so happy made me feel proud too.
“Oh dear? Why am I the only one being praised? I did everything! It was possible because of my healing and traits!”
At that, Rose interrupted with a hint of irritation.
“True! The Fairy’s traits were crucial! Continuous healing and evasion traits that prevent damage from the top action! You were the most effective healer in this dungeon!”
“Jack did a great job too, little fairy!”
“Good job! Haha!”
Other heroes chimed in with praise.
“Hehe! Glad you noticed! Feel free to praise me more!”
Rose blushed at the reaction.
With more heroes around, the excitement from the boss battle lingered.
“Bori.”
“Yes, big brother!”
“Your strike— it wasn’t originally an explosion, right? The sentry didn’t use bombs at first.”
I looked at Gobori for a moment and asked.
“That’s right. This was the first time the bombs were used.”
“So the strike changed with the amplification?”
“Exactly! But why do you ask?”
“Oh. I just tried mine and it stayed the same. I expected a flashy strike like yours but was a bit disappointed.”
“My strike is cool? That self-destruct?”
“Isn’t it? It’s powerful.”
“Hahaha! If you say so, then it must be! Well, some strikes change automatically like mine, but most don’t. I’m a special case!”
“Is that so? What a shame.”
I nodded at Gobori’s words.
I had hoped for a new strike, but it remained Flurry of Strikes as before, which felt a bit disappointing.
“Oh dear? What are you two talking about without me? Leaving me out?”
Rose fluttered over, shrugging her shoulders with a light laugh.
“Just talking about strikes. Gobori’s strike changed but mine stayed the same. I asked why.”
“Oh, strike? You wanted yours to change too?”
“Right? My strike is boring right now.”
“Well, if there’s demand, the player will change it. You’re our user’s favorite character, aren’t you? If you want to use it in PvP, you’ll have to change it eventually.”
“Change? You can change your strike?”
Rose said something that caught my attention.
“You could change your strike?”
“By the player’s ability?”
“Hahaha! Yes! Some special strikes are limited to certain heroes, like Emperor Arcturus! He’s a limited strike hero!”
“Most strikes can be changed by the player’s choice! Although the available strikes depend on the class!”
“So don’t be too disappointed. Later on, you can even change strikes in the Plaza!”
Gobori and Rose answered.
Ahh.
So that’s why the Emperor has no substitute hero.
Remembering something, I tapped the screen.
[★★★ Indomitable Sword Stalker Seed]
[Traits]
[Equipment]
[Skills]
[Strike]
The word ‘Strike’ popped up boldly.
It was the phrase I saw when I was amplifying myself.
I’d completely forgotten that it even existed.
“But can’t you use a strike? You could’ve used it from the start. I never saw you use it.”
Gobori asked Rose at that moment.
“Heh. That’s because I’m too strong. It’s all about balance, balance!”
“Stop with the nonsense again.”
“It’s not nonsense! I have evasion traits but lower health. One strong hit and I’m done, so timing is tricky. Do you know how hard it is to get my health below half?”
“Oh, so the condition is hard to meet?”
“Yeah! That’s why I keep getting replaced! Instead of studying this great body!”
“Heh. That’s because better supporters exist than you…”
“Eeek!”
They kept bickering.
Well.
Rose is a 4-star, so she could have used a strike from the beginning.
But since she’d easily died even from weak attacks, she probably never used it.
If she had to use it…
“You’d need equipment that boosts health, or something to survive a one-hit KO. Or some way to self-harm to use it safely. Then you could use it reliably.”
“Oh! That’s exactly what training is! Did you hear that? Just do it like that! Then this body will flip the dungeon upside down!”
Rose got excited by my words.
“Heh. If that worked, other players would’ve already done it. But no guides exist, right? That means it’s inefficient. Either there’s a better alternative making investment pointless, or the efficiency is terrible!”
“Hey! Why are you spoiling my plan? Want a scolding?”
“Try it! Try it! Ebe be!”
Gobori and Rose fought again.
Anyway, efficiency huh.
[★★★★ Fairy Rose of the Rose Blossom] [Strike]
[Little Fairy’s Whirlwind]
Removes debuffs from allies and grants 2 seconds of unstoppable status.
I briefly checked Rose’s strike.
It removed all debuffs and granted unstoppable.
Judging by the description, it was quite a solid strike.
But the problem was timing.
From a player’s perspective, having to press ‘Strike’ on the screen, I wondered how effectively this could be used.
If it’s even slightly too early or late…
It’s all over.
‘Wait.’
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Other players might not be able to do it, but could I?’
I can watch the screen and the dungeon at the same time.
I could use Rose’s strike at just the right moment.
I felt like an OP player all by myself.
[★★★ Indomitable Sword Stalker] [Strike]
[Flurry of Strikes]
Spins the body, dealing 500% critical damage to nearby enemies.
Then, I checked my own strike.
500% critical damage to nearby enemies.
The number was high but not all that attractive.
How do I see the strikes I can switch to?
Maybe press the ‘Strike’ next to the name?
[Strike] [Current Level: 45]
[Wind of Scars] [Lv. 25 Consumption]
[Shield of Justice] [Lv. 25 Consumption]
[Quick Draw!] [Lv. 30 Consumption]
Found it.
But it seemed like changing strikes cost levels.
I checked each strike carefully.
[Wind of Scars] [Lv. 25 Consumption]
Throws a sharp wind that slashes enemies.
Applies up to 10 hits of critical damage.
Wow.
This strike was on a whole different level from Flurry of Strikes.
Throwing wind to slash enemies?
Now this is a strike!
[Quick Draw!] [Lv. 30 Consumption]
Draws the sword in one swift motion and slashes.
This strike always hits!
The ‘Draw’ strike looked quite good too.
Looking at these, they felt like upgraded skills.
Since they can only be used once, they must have dramatic effects.
[Strike] [Current Level: 45]
[Ferocious Tiger, Fierce Dragon Slash] [Lv. 100 Consumption]
[Emergency Inspection] [Lv. 100 Consumption]
[Meteor Slash (True)] [Lv. 100 Consumption]
‘Huh?’
While browsing strikes, I found a familiar name.
[Emergency Inspection] [Lv. 100 Consumption]
Slashes the target while moving quickly.
If used again within 10 seconds, can use [Regular Inspection].
Emergency Inspection.
Looking up, the Sword Ghost was talking with other heroes.
But isn’t 100 levels too much?
That level should be achievable with 4-star amplification.
Hmm.
Alright.
There’s a proper order to things.
Amplification comes before strikes.
Changing strikes can wait.
Then, let’s open some cards.
The screen showed the recently acquired ‘Special 5-star Card’ along with 27 cards collected while running the dungeon.
I’d open these cards before heading back to the dungeon.
Bang!
“Oh! Opened a card!”
“What? What did you get?”
The heroes reacted to the explosive sound.
“322.”
[Star King of the Labyrinth]
The hero summoned from the Special Card was a hulking giant wearing a skull helmet.
A physique similar to the Overlord?
Steam puffed from between the golden helmet plates, and his eyes glowed with a red light.
He looked quite strong.
“Eeek! It’s a beast! You got a beast!”
“Run!”
“Ahhh!”
Suddenly, chaos erupted.
Before I could react, “Krara!!!”
Thunk!
The skull giant grabbed me.
Ahh.
A beast like Kkotdori, attacking me.
And it hadn’t disappeared because there were still fifteen heroes left on stage.
Blinking eyes while trapped by the giant, “Big brother!”
“Oh no, Dolsoe!”
Gobori and Rose panicked.
But there was no need to worry.
I sent the giant on screen into storage, Whoosh! Thud!
“Ugh!”
Falling, I landed hard on the table.
I scratched my head with a relaxed smile.
“Ugh, what just happened? That was a beast, right? Did the player put it in?”
“Oh no! You pulled a beast from a Special Card! Our player has no luck!”
“Are you okay? That was a surprise!”
“Captain, are you alright?”
The heroes who ran away rushed back.
“Thanks. It’s nothing serious.”
I grabbed Sword Ghost’s hand and stood up.
But are beasts really considered trash among heroes?
Still, no need to be upset.
I calmed the heroes and flipped the next card.
[☆ Healing Potion]
[☆ Healing Potion]
Thunk! Thunk!
As expected, the first card was a potion.
[☆ Healing Potion]
[☆ Healing Potion]
[☆ Healing Potion]
[☆ Healing Potion]
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk!
“What is this!”
“This sucks!”
“Damn trash game! Ugh!”
The heroes sighed as potions fell one after another.
I closed my eyes and tried to keep my blood pressure down.
[★ Goddess of Silver Radiance]
Paang!
“Oh! 4-star!”
“Healer!”
Then a 4-star hero appeared.
‘High Priestess of the Silver Flash?’
Ah.
I misread it.
It was not the High Priestess of the Silver Flash but the Goddess of Silver Radiance.
Seems like a different character from the Priestess I met yesterday.
But… the face looked somewhat familiar.
Well, it probably wasn’t the same hero.
The Priestess from yesterday wore neat priest robes, but this one wore a revealing outfit exposing her chest and thighs.
I ignored it and flipped the next cards.
[★★ Cobalt Automatic Crossbow]
[★★ Sturdy Club]
[☆ Healing Potion]
[★★★ Dwarven Chainmail]
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk!
***
A few more cards later—
“Huh? Isn’t that the person we met yesterday?”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“The Priestess who just appeared! She’s the foul-mouthed Priestess we met yesterday!”
“Foul-mouthed Priestess?”
The Apprentice came over, excited.
The foul-mouthed Priestess from yesterday?
‘Could it really be her?’
“Huh?”
The Priestess also looked up at that.
She’d been shyly covering her exposed skin, but
“How…!”
Her eyes widened as she spotted me.
The Priestess who cursed so much during yesterday’s game.
She had been summoned in my game.