Chapter 400: Chapter 232: After the Dreams of the Strong Ones Part 2

A rotten wooden box, a skeleton, a rusty old sword. While going through the sections of the ruins that had more recent junk littering the place all over, probably belonging after the Era of the Gods, together with Emul I step through the mechanical door that opened automatically.

And what we witness after going through the door is a spacious room, way bigger than the corridor we were walking through just now. Contrary to Emul, I know what a “cyberpunk” is, and that room was just like that. In the past it must have been a hub that would lead to many different areas. Or maybe it was and “entranceway” of sorts.

And standing right in the middle of that space was a majestic kind of being…… Seeing it right now I kind of understood what Rei meant by “Knight of the Lines”. However, I do believe that a “Contour Knight” would have been a much more accurate name here.

「I see…… There are only lines to this thing. No contents, no insides, just the contours of the monster. Interesting.」

「Sanraku-san! I don’t feel any other presences here! It must be all alone!」

Oh, so it was going to be one on one battle, huh? What is this, the spirit of chivalry speaking? Or was it perhaps something else entirely?

To describe the knight would be just as Rei described it earlier. There are only contours, with noting inside of them. Only the colors of the background that was directly behind it.

And because it was a 3D model, being able to only see its contours was giving it a truly bizarre of an appearance. It was kind of reminding me of children’s connect the dots pictures, or jungle gyms that were recently less and less seen across the playgrounds.

But no, that’s not quite it. I am sure that this is not just a powerless skeleton that is going to fall to pieces if you just hit it slightly.

And what is it that makes that noise? Is that its weapon? That big sword thing made out of lines and dots it was holding in its hand.

「Emul, if this thing wants a one on one duel, then I see no harms in accepting that. Leave everything to me and just focus on self-defense for now.」

「Roger that! I thought that you would say that, Sanraku-san!」

Was that a compliment? Should I take pride in the fact that my companion trusts me so much?

However, being cheered on from the safety of the corner of the room was not that bad of a thing once in a while.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

「It’s a one on one duel. No tricks, no dirty tactics. I’m going to beat you fair and square. So come on!」

The weapons of my choice this time around are not the double swords, but rather the shield and the single handed sword “Blue Predator”.

When was the last time that I was using the basic knight equipment like sword and shield? Was it perhaps Sh*t Chronicles Online? Sometimes before the final boss, maybe?

「I do not need any extra assistance here. I’ll show you that raw skill makes all the difference here!」

What is the difference between anti-monster and anti-player? If you were to ask me, I would say that it is the “gap of quality”.

Monsters…… In other words mobs that are supposed to be defeated for the players to grow stronger. And in order for it to stay that way, there has to be a certain “quality gap” in their stats and performance that must be prevailed no matter what.

But the PVP battle is something that is fundamentally different. Even though in game is it completely safe, the process is basically the same every time: two players try to kill one another in order to obtain victory by all means neccessary.

Because the players in games can never die, we can perform the most daredevil actions imaginable and we can challenge the most powerful monsters, demons and even gods without fear or doubt.

It may be a little bit of a thought shortcut here, but a “gap” between two players is just that: a gap. It is not a limitation imposed by the system, but the pauses and all of the small actions and peculiarities that make individual and individual.

So what am I trying to say here? Basically, the contour knight is that latter category, as there is almost no clear gap for me to exploit in its actions.

「Right in the middle…… Whoa, it’s tough……!!!」

The moment I saw the knight’s blade starting to move, I activated a skill. Then a sense on inconsistency envelops me for a mere moment, as if the world around me suddenly came to a stop.

I don’t really want to think just what kind of system governs an effect like that, but for the time being I have gained enough time to just casually move my shield to the side, in order to parry the sword and move it out of my way, so that it would no longer be a threat to me.

The only thing that accelerates here are my own thoughts. My physical body moves at the exact speed as the Contour Knight, but it is more than enough for me to parry the sword’s thrust using my shield and avoid the damage that this attack would otherwise cause.

「!!!」

I think that being able to use such skill at will would be really nice.

The time goes back to normal from being slowed down, and I managed to dodge the large sword that was coming my way, causing it to completely miss its mark.

This skill is so good. It allows you to even the chances and even brings some of the PVP battle tactics into the monster battles. This of course makes the monster battles significantly easier to handle, which can be especially helpful for players who excel at PVP and are not all that great at gimmick enemy battles.

「Is this really going to work!?」

Attacking the lines that make up the knight’s shape are basically useless. The only good thing about this situation is that attacking said lines does not deplete the weapon’s durability, so even if I swing with all of my might it does not make any difference.

However, some of the hits have proven to be effective. It seems that if you attack the places in between the lines, or the knight’s “insides”, it will be counted as normal damage.

They may be “contour” indeed, but it does not change the fact that there are contents within those contours. It is not flesh and bones and blood, but it is more like an air in the knight-shaped, air-filled balloon.

It will not explode if you poke it with a blade, but if you pierce it deep enough it is going to be more than enough to get the job done.

It is merely a theory, but as long as I continue to deplete the Contour Knight’s magic power and health, it should fall down eventually! Perhaps! Allegidely!

「As long as physical attacks are effective, I don’t feel like losing!」

When it comes to Blue Predator, aside from its normal stats it possesses an extra effect: additional extra damage against the monster with the “Underwater” trait. It is a trait that is difficult to satisfy outside of Lulilas, but its basic stats are high enough for the sword to be able to hold on entirely on its own.

The blade is not nearly as sharp as the Dullahan Blade and lack the raw power that some of my other weapons possess, but since it is made out of beasts’ claws and fangs, it is perfect for slicing and ripping bodies apart. This seems to be working particularly well against the Contour Knight.

「Fuuh…… This time around let me put some proper armor on and see how it actually goes. Let’s do this thing properly.」

I can clearly feel the power and impact of piercing the knight’s abdomen with my sword. A few seconds later, when I pulled out the Blue Predator out of its body, the knight stiffened and froze in a frightened motion, only to fall apart like a house of cards in the very next moment.

There are hardly any drop items in this place. And although I cannot be all that certain about since my level is ninety nine extended, I think that the Number of experience points from the monsters here is not all that great either.

Plus, the way in which the enemies AI was acting is annoying as hell…… Now I see. I would never like to come here ever again of my own volition unless there would be a quest that specifically points me towards here.

「Now then, Emul. Let us move forward.」