028 An Unlosable Battle
Babi Niflheim, despite his violent motions, employs a tricky fighting style that relies heavily on status ailments.
The status ailments he uses are ‘Curse,’ ‘Oblivion,’ and ‘Panic.’
By inflicting these with his skills and attacks, he restricts our actions and finishes us off with his Battle Axe, known for its high attack power.
The difficulty of this fight will greatly depend on whether or not you can deal with these status ailments.
“GWOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
Babi slams his Battle Axe into the ground with a roar, spreading purple smoke around him with the shockwave.
This smoke has the effect of inflicting the ‘Curse’ status ailment, which chips away at our HP each turn.
Unlike ‘Poison,’ the damage over time is low, but there is no natural recovery over time, and it can stack up to five times, so underestimating it is a surefire way to get into trouble.
“That’s not gonna work! I’ve already got countermeasures for that!”
I hold up the Holy Knight’s Round Shield equipped on my left hand and step forward, facing the approaching smoke.
The tackle, propelled by momentum, hits Babi, who was about to swing his axe for a follow-up, throwing him off balance.
“You human scum!!”
“Whoa, there.”
Babi, still off balance, swings his Battle Axe.
It’s not a particularly powerful attack, but the combination of his raw strength and the weight of the Battle Axe would inflict considerable damage if it hit.
Not wanting to lose the initiative in the fight, I calmly backstep to create distance and readjust my shield.
“(Alright, the Holy Knight’s Round Shield is working properly. That takes care of ‘Curse.’)”
‘Curse’ doesn’t recover naturally, but there are more items and equipment that can deal with it than ‘Poison.’ The Holy Knight’s Round Shield I’m wearing is one of them.
The Holy Knight’s Round Shield is a piece of equipment with the ‘Curse Nullification’ ability, usually obtained by defeating Zombie Knight-type enemies.
Zombie Knights appear frequently in early dungeons and quests, so even if you obtain it, its defense power won’t keep up with enemy attack power by the mid-game, and there are few enemies that use ‘Curse’ in the entire game. It’s a shield that’s not bad to have, but there aren’t many situations to use it… in a sense, it’s an unfortunate shield.
“(But if I’m going to solo this, curse countermeasures are essential. To reduce the risk of misjudging my condition and having an accident, I’m going with ‘Nullification’ instead of ‘Resistance’!)”
For example, the highest multiplier among curse resistance equipment is a necklace with ‘80% Curse Resistance.’
This necklace also has stat boosts and other special effects, making it far more useful as an item than the Holy Knight’s Round Shield.
However, for gamers, 80% resistance is practically the same as not working about half the time. In short, it’s unreliable.
If this were the original protagonist, the ‘Blessing of God Anubis’ special (event) buff would give him 50% curse resistance, and he could nullify it by equipping a suitable accessory, but this time, Babi can’t be allowed to escape, and resources are being used for other actions, so I can’t get that help.
Therefore, I chose the Holy Knight’s Round Shield as my first curse countermeasure.
The reliable ‘Nullification’ is easier to strategize and more stable than the unreliable ‘n% Resistance.’
Besides, if it’s the Netherworld, there are tons of dead Holy Knights, and if you ask around, some of them will probably give you one. I wonder why there are so many dead Holy Knights, it’s a mystery.
So, if he unleashes a ‘Curse’ attack, it’s a chance for free action. I can attack, or use items to recover.
“Don’t you move!!”
“No way!!”
This time, he slams his Battle Axe into the ground, and using the recoil, he closes the distance and tries to grab me.
His hand is clearly enveloped in a dangerous red aura, and if I get grabbed, I’ll take damage and be inflicted with the ‘Oblivion’ status ailment.
However, his movements are simple and easy to avoid.
On the other hand, if I get grabbed, I’ll be slammed headfirst into the ground and dragged around so much that I might have my face scraped off. I almost died from that earlier.
If ‘Oblivion’ is inflicted, all active skills become unusable for three turns. In other words, I won’t be able to use active skills like ‘Fire Sword.’
Since this world isn’t turn-based, I confirmed with God Anubis beforehand that the effect lasts for 30 seconds. That’s 10 seconds per turn.
During that time, I won’t be able to use the technique of countering the opponent’s skills with my own, like I did against Higaki, so the damage from the grab attack combined with the status ailment will put me on the verge of death.
In that case, I need to create distance and recover, or if the opponent’s stagger value is high enough, I can even counterattack with normal attacks.
“It’s too much trouble to figure that out, so I’ll just do it if I feel like it!!”
“Don’t you dare mutter in front of me! Die, die! I’ll make you die!!”
He keeps spouting low-level insults every time he attacks, it’s so annoying.
While thinking that, I deflect the continuous attacks of the Battle Axe with my shield and sword.
Basically, he does two or more attacks in a row with his afterimages, but if I know the trajectory of the first attack, I can predict what the second attack will be.
If he’s winding up, the afterimage will try to sweep.
If the hand holding the handle is one-handed, it will sweep from the right, and if it’s two-handed, it will sweep from the left, so if I determine that and change how I deflect, I can use the opponent’s attack to deflect the second attack.
If it’s a horizontal sweep, the second attack will come from the opposite direction of the first, and after deflecting the pincer attack, the Battle Axe will suddenly come flying from the front, and if I dodge that, Babi will suddenly appear behind me and grab the axe I dodged and slam it down.
“Don’t… don’t you dare mock me!!!”
In response to his scream, a giant Ashura with six arms appears behind Babi.
Each hand holds a Battle Axe like Babi’s, and after slamming them all into the floor at the same time, they twist their bodies and sweep across the entire room.
It carefully scrapes everything from the ceiling to the floor, and it’s a large technique with a guaranteed hit effect in the original game.
I immediately unleash Serpent Flame, scooping it up, and slightly lift the Battle Axe that passes just above the floor, then I run towards it with all my might and slide through.
The axe that passes under the floor destroys the ground as it passes, and the rubble that flies up pierces my body like shrapnel. In addition, the wind pressure generated by the blade becomes a wind scythe and carves into my body.
Once I get through, I’m covered in blood. Still, there’s no other way to survive this attack, and if I don’t die, it’s a small price to pay.
After surviving the big technique, the Ashura disappears. However, just before disappearing, the Ashura glares at me as if to shoot me dead, and exposed to that gaze, I drop the item I was about to use to recover.
“Ughhh!! Damn it!”
The Ashura’s glare that always activates after the big technique.
Being exposed to that gaze inflicts the ‘Panic’ status ailment.
‘Panic’ is a status ailment that makes it impossible to use items for two turns.
Normally, it’s not a very threatening status ailment, but Babi unleashes it after an unavoidable big technique, so no matter how much I try to stay ahead, I’m immediately pushed into a disadvantage.
Fortunately, it’s a relief that he can’t use this big technique continuously, but I have to survive for 20 seconds with my HP on the verge of death. If ‘Oblivion’ is added on top of that, I’ll have to rely on luck. It was actually tough.
And ‘Panic.’ There’s no countermeasure equipment, so I have to overcome it with willpower!
“Damn it!! Hang in there, don’t lose, don’t die, I’m gonna level up!!”
“Don’t confuse me with your incoherent words! Don’t disturb me! Don’t irritate me! You human scum, you’re like a cockroach!”
I grit my teeth, endure the fear, and look ahead, supporting my heart with the experience log in my vision.
Ah, it’s so scary. I hate it, I want to run away. I want to scream so much that I’m trembling.
But I can’t back down. I’ve cut off my escape route. I have to hold out until help arrives, or level up and keep my soul intact!
Encourage myself, I’m almost at the next level! The ‘Shield Manipulation’ skill is almost within reach!