Everlast Ruins
"Grrrhh…"
A massive doll warrior towered before me, its crimson eyes gleaming murderously.
"Haaah…"
Clad in armor that was barely holding together, I glared back at the monster.
All three of the steel swords I had brought were broken and useless. This was my last one.
'But this guy… he's the last of them.'
Weakened Doll Warrior Captain.
He was the mid-boss monster guarding the final section of this zone.
Once I crushed him, the Guardian's area would be cleared.
"…Let's have some fun, shall we?"
I said it with a feigned calm, though in truth I was biting my lip hard enough to draw blood.
Gulp.
To be honest, I couldn't not feel nervous.
I knew all too well that this fight wouldn't be easy.
There's a reason they call them mid-bosses.
I didn't know his exact stats, but I could guess—he'd be roughly one-and-a-half times stronger than any ordinary doll warrior in every respect.
But soon enough, I steadied my breathing and regained composure.
'Still, I can do this.'
Hunting through the Everlast Ruins had built my confidence in combat—and more tangibly, I'd reached Level 13.
The physical stats that could be raised through training were nearly maxed out as well.
[Status Window]
Title: Brawler
Fate: Mercenary Gladiator (C)
Level: 13
Strength: 70
Intelligence: 70
Endurance: 61
Charisma: 75
Total: 276
Unspent Points: 15
When I first fell into this world…
'My total was only 173 back then.'
Compared to that miserable starting point, this was a staggering improvement—
over 100 points gained through sheer effort.
Thanks to that grind, Gilroshan had finally become a proper human being.
If I could maintain this pace, I might reach the level of a superhuman before long.
But I knew the truth.
'This is the cap for stats raised through training.'
Exactly 70.
This was the limit.
Any higher, and the "manual" method of increasing stats would stop working altogether.
In other words, once a character's Strength hit 70, no amount of physical training would raise it further.
'And once Intelligence reaches 70, even reading every volume in the Imperial Library won't raise it by 1 point.'
…As for why Gilroshan's Charisma was 75?
Even I had no clue.
My best guess was that the Imperial bloodline granted a hidden bonus of some sort.
Either way—
From now on, growth required spending the stat points I'd been hoarding.
'Yeah. Time to burn through the points I've been saving like a miser.'
I hadn't used a single one until now.
Because investing points before a stat naturally reached 70 was a waste, and I'd known that.
So I'd endured. Waited.
'Total—16 points.'
Thirteen from level-up rewards, plus the 3 bonus points given at the game's start.
My decision was simple.
"Fifteen points to Strength."
I dumped everything except one into raw power.
If I was going to clash head-on with that captain, I needed to go all-in.
[Strength has increased!]
[Strength has reached 85!]
A surge of energy exploded through my limbs, making the steel sword in my hands feel feather-light.
The gradual increases from training had been barely noticeable, but this—this was different.
Dumping all those points at once made the change unmistakable.
Now it felt doable.
'And I've hit a very important threshold, too.'
Eighty-five Strength was special—so I hadn't hesitated to invest every point.
KWAOOOOOM!
As my stats climbed, even my aura seemed to shift.
The Doll Warrior Captain roared and raised its massive sword high before charging straight at me without hesitation.
"…!"
THUD THUD THUD!
Each step shook the ground, the impact hammering through my bones.
Its charge was like a runaway locomotive—but the closer it came, the calmer I grew.
…By this point, I'd hunted exactly forty-nine doll warriors.
Alongside reaching Level 13, I'd also pushed Haewoo Swordsmanship to the next rank I'd been aiming for.
'I finally hit Two-Stars.'
As I'd mentioned before, each increase in mastery for a composite skill brought enormous change.
And now—
[Offensive Technique : Strike Sword Form 2]
KWAANG!
Clashing head-on with the towering foe, I gritted my teeth.
It felt for a moment like I might be crushed flat—
But that fear was baseless.
'This… this is doable.'
No—
It felt like I had the upper hand.
BANG!
Haewoo Swordsmanship's Strike Form 2 hit like a celebration of my advancement, driving the Captain backward with brute force.
I followed up immediately, unleashing a storm of rapid strikes, hammering that hulking body and forcing it further and further back.
'Yeah, this is what Swift Swordsmanship feels like!'
And this was exactly the synergy I'd been hoping for between 85 Strength and Strike Form 2.
It didn't show directly on the stat sheet, but the Gladiator Fate Card granted a hefty bonus to Strength by default.
In other words, Strength was everything to a gladiator—
and likewise to a comprehensive sword art like this one.
Once Strength hit 85, swordsmanship efficiency shifted.
Like a car changing gears on the highway, the skill's power jumped to another level entirely.
'That's why newbies are told to hit 85 Strength before tanking anything serious.'
And right now, I was feeling that advice firsthand.
At this level, I'd expected to just barely match the Captain in raw power—
But instead, I was overwhelming him.
BANG!
"…!"
With a violent shock, the Doll Warrior Captain staggered backward.
And in that instant, I saw it—
A faint flicker of anger crossing what had been emotionless eyes.
It made sense.
…Thunk.
My last slash had severed one of its wrists cleanly.
Naturally, the Captain was about to change tactics.
And I was already anticipating that shift.
The second phase of the Doll Warrior Captain.
'He'll start using mana now.'
From this point onward, mana-imbued sword strikes would begin raining down.
Truth be told, this was a kind of attack I hadn't properly experienced before.
During my duel with Marquis Reut, the use of mana had been explicitly forbidden by the rules.
And up until this point, every doll warrior I'd fought lacked any form of mana altogether.
Which meant that this Doll Warrior Captain was the first magical monster I'd ever faced.
'Of course, that doesn't mean he can properly wield mana swordsmanship.'
Tszzzzzzzzzz…
A faint red glow began to spread along the edge of his massive sword.
Mana had been infused into that great blade.
And in the blink of an eye, it was already descending toward my head.
But I'd already predicted it—and my sword was moving before the strike even landed.
[Defensive Technique: Guard Sword Form 1]
[Defensive Technique: Guard Sword Form 2]
There was no need to recklessly continue the offensive.
'He's not even using a real sword spirit anyway.'
If I could block it, I would. Simple as that.
I swiftly stepped back and deflected the doll warrior's sword to either side with sharp, efficient motions.
The monster, thinking it had seized the advantage, accelerated—relentlessly pursuing me.
Like a blacksmith pounding iron, it hammered down toward my head again and again.
But the wilder its attacks became, the calmer I grew.
Following the cues of Haewoo Swordsmanship's hit-point indicators, I minimized my movements—just enough to redirect its strikes.
All my focus was on timing the flow, waiting for one perfect moment.
'Just one. I only need to catch one fatal opening.'
A single chance for a critical hit.
So I waited—watching, breathing, waiting for the instant its swing overextended and its vitals opened.
'Just like now.'
CLAAANG!
As the Captain's sword swept wide to the side, leaving its guard exposed—
I instantly broke from restraint, hurling myself forward like a madman straight into its chest.
This time, it wasn't Haewoo Swordsmanship that I needed.
It was the Mercenary Gladiator's ferocity.
[Offensive Technique: Request of the Blade Dance]
Shashashak!
A brutal flurry of slashes erupted.
The third skill of the Mercenary Gladiator knew nothing of defense.
'A skill that sacrifices everything—every ounce of safety—just to carve and pierce the enemy's weak points.'
This Request of the Blade Dance was an attack art built solely for critical kills, at the cost of defense.
[Offensive Technique] Mercenary Gladiator-exclusive skill. Sacrifices defense to attempt a lethal critical strike. For every 3% of defense forfeited, critical hit success rate increases by 1%.
In other words, you temporarily traded defense for critical chance.
'But criticals aren't just about luck or RNG.'
Relying purely on percentages was meaningless.
Under the right conditions, you could surpass the stated probability entirely.
For example—
If you broke the enemy's armor, or attacked from behind…
'Or if you shattered their balance like this—'
Then their weak points would be fully exposed.
And once that happened, all I had to do was follow the system's hit-point prompts in succession.
Every strike would count as a critical hit.
The increased critical rate?
That bonus simply stacked onto the damage.
'So the real essence of a critical attack isn't chasing RNG—it's breaking through their defense with precise control and striking the exposed core.'
The result—
KROAAAAARRR!!!
A ferocious roar erupted from the collapsing Captain.
Its entire body flared blood-red as its form began to writhe and distort.
Yes. That's right.
'Now it's the final outburst.'
This was the Weakened Doll Warrior Captain'sfinal phase.
It discarded its now-useless sword and transformed its entire body into a weapon—a massive living warhammer that devastated everything nearby.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Its arms, now mutated into flail-like appendages, smashed the ground and walls in all directions.
But I raised my sword.
'Now!'
And rather than retreat, I charged straight forward.
Because this was the exact moment when its defense was at its weakest—and I wasn't about to miss it.
"Time for the burst phase!"
[Special Technique: Dissolving Blade Form 1]
My steel sword flared white.
The blade wasn't perfectly formed; some parts shimmered like heat haze, others warped and threatened to crumble—
But still.
'I can channel mana into a sword too!'
[Sub-technique] The first form of Haewoo Swordsmanship's mana manipulation method. Allows the practitioner to learn the basics of mana projection through the sword.
SHHHHHHHHHH!
It felt as though a bathtub plug had been pulled—mana surged from my core, spiraling outward in a torrent.
Since falling into this world, I'd never burned through energy this fast.
'Damn—it won't last five seconds!'
…Then I'd just finish it before that.
I could do it!
[Defensive Technique: Request of the Golden Bastion]
[Offensive Technique: Strike Sword Form 2]
[Offensive Technique: Request of the Blade Dance]
No rule said you could only use one skill at a time!
Along with Dissolving Blade Form 1, all four techniques activated simultaneously.
Hit-points cascaded like monsoon rain, overwhelming the screen.
But I could handle it.
'All offense. Forget defense this time!'
The Captain's rampaging blows were blocked with pure coin—literally paid for by the Golden Bastion skill.
Then I poured every ounce of strength from Strike Sword Form 2 and Blade Dance into the assault.
'And to top it off, my sword's imbued with mana—even if it's rough!'
Thanks to that, my attack power had skyrocketed to over ten times its normal level.
The result—
BOOOOM!
The massive Doll Warrior's torso exploded before my eyes.
[You have defeated the 'Weakened Doll Warrior Captain'!]
"Got youuuuuu!"
Of course, the system messages didn't stop there.
[Skill usage has incurred a fee.]
[59.15 Gold has been deducted!]
The sound of my wallet being emptied.
…Damn, that's expensive!
But I'd expected it, and it was still within acceptable limits.
'Now, that's not the one I'm waiting for.'
I held my breath for the next message—
And there it was.
[You have obtained rewards for defeating a special enemy!]
That one.
The fallen Captain had granted me a special reward.
[Open your special rewards.]