LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 30
Leaving the warehouse area of Area 2, I arrived at the Demon Lord’s Forward Base in Area 3.
From Area 3 onwards, the barracks and warehouses were nowhere to be seen.
Elite soldiers, regular soldiers, and even the demon creatures had mysteriously vanished.
In the center of the area, there was only a vast training ground.
Could it be a training place for the martial arts faction of the Demon Race?
Did even the naturally strong-bodied demons train from the start?
Duh-dum, duh-dum.
I strode confidently into the training ground and stood in the center.
This must be the final combat area for the last Named Enemy.
It was easy to predict that the Named Enemy would be inside the wooden building directly in front of me, overlooking the training ground.
The hero, Rain, who had magnificently defeated Craksas and Galroban. My heart was filled with confidence. I felt I could take on any being that appeared before me.
With a proud voice, I proclaimed my arrival.
Hah, taking a deep breath, I unleashed a roar that burst forth from my tiny throat.
“…I’m here.”
Instead of a lion’s roar, a sound akin to a kitten’s purr spilled from the shy hero’s throat.
Uh-oh, no good. Rain, if you keep talking like that, you’ll be underestimated.
Whether it sounded like a lion’s roar or a kitten’s purr, it clearly seemed to have reached the boss at the Demon Lord’s Forward Base.
Bam!
The sound of the roof of the wooden building ahead smashing down echoed, and a being resembling a human leaped out.
Thud.
The being landed lightly on the training ground and stared directly at me.
Its body was covered in powerful muscles, reminiscent of the Level 1 Named Enemy Craksas. While Galroban was properly dressed, both Craksas and the demon man before me were completely bare-chested.
I puffed up my cheeks.
Was not wearing a top the default state of demons, or was it a point of pride for the martial artists of the Demon Race? Did they flaunt their bodies, saying, “Look how fit I am!”?
Ignoring my thoughts, the demon casually spoke to me.
“I wondered what sort of fellow it was that took down Craksas and Galroban, but it’s just a tiny human brat.”
Sorry for being small. You must love having a solid body, huh, mister?
“Martial artist demons pursue strength. Although you are an enemy to be slain, I will pay my respects for making it this far.”
Gugugugugu.
A purple aura swirled around his body, and soon, the entire training ground began to shake.
I stepped back and quickly raised my sword. Was the boss battle about to begin?
“Show me the strength that took down Craksas and Galroban!”
—
[Level 3 Named Enemy]
[Level 33 Forward Base Commander, Zarkan]
[HP 3,300,000/3,300,000]
—
It wasn’t long after the battle with Zarkan began that I felt it was surely different from previous Named Enemy encounters.
Wham!
Seizing the moment during a large kick, my Starlight Slash cut through the air.
Zarkan lightly twisted his body to evade.
“What?!”
Clang! Whoosh!
With no time to be flustered, I blocked Zarkan’s uppercut attack with my sword. My body was pushed back considerably.
Cold sweat trickled down my back. How long had it been since I was pushed back after blocking an attack? If I took that upward blow, I would certainly be sent flying. I didn’t even want to think about what would follow. There would probably be a follow-up attack prepared for when hit.
The real problem was Zarkan’s movements.
Until now, massive Named Enemies had naturally taken all my attacks. The human-form Named Enemies had high agility stats, but they never showed any signs of evasion.
For the first time here, I faced a Named Enemy that could dodge attacks.
The small body customization would factor into the agility stats. Compared to other Level-equivalent sword classes, my agility should be fairly high.
Yet, the fact that I was given an ‘Evasion’ indicator meant that this Named Enemy had agility stats that surpassed all imagination.
The thought process didn’t last long. The countermeasure was simple.
I just needed to not solely rely on agility stats and skills. I could follow Zarkan’s movements through sheer instinct and land perfect shots.
Swish!
Zarkan’s eyes glimmered with surprise as my slash struck him.
Then, he lightly kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
“!?”
Zarkan effortlessly leaped over me and unleashed a barrage of magical bullets from above.
Just before the magic bullets hit me, I narrowly used Backward Evasion to escape.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Before I even had a moment to feel a chill run down my spine, Zarkan landed on the ground and barreled toward me in an instant.
Kaang! Whoosh!
Zarkan swung his arm at me as I was pushed back from blocking the uppercut.
Boom!
The second magical bullet attack came crashing in. But this time, I barely managed to block it head-on. Yet, I had to face Zarkan’s attack again as he leaped in front of me.
I struggled to block his nonstop stream of attacks, desperately trying to think.
The patterns were relentless, even more so than Galroban. His attacks were varied and sharp. Truly, as the commander of the forward base, his regular patterns were incomparable to those of other Named Enemies.
While I could block the uppercut’s magical bullets, I wouldn’t be able to block the barrage raining down from above.
At my current state, I was barely able to cope with the flood of his patterns. Although I managed to address the evasion indication with a mix of my skill and movement, there was simply no opportunity to attack.
Then, step by step, I would solve this.
Thud.
Zarkan danced lightly in the air, preparing to unleash magic bullets upon me from above. Here, I would use Backward Evasion. This was the only route.
Boom!
Zarkan immediately launched an uppercut as he landed on the ground.
Clang! Whoosh. I blocked the uppercut and my body was pushed back, but I used a follow-up move to stay close to Zarkan.
Magic bullets had now formed above Zarkan’s hand. They were about to attack me head-on.
Now it was time for a counterattack.
Slash!
I slashed at Zarkan from behind, taking advantage of the delay in his attack to rain my assaults upon him.
“Ugh!”
Caught off guard by my slash from behind, Zarkan turned around and launched a furious counterattack.
I maintained my Sword Drawing Technique. Most of his regular attacks weren’t particularly threatening.
Attacks that could be covered by potions were manageable with my body. I just needed to handle it like I did with Level 2 Named Enemy Galroban.
I continued to unleash Starlight-infused slashes at Zarkan, grinning.
I could handle his regular patterns like this.
The problem was now with the special patterns.
—
[Level 3 Named Enemy]
[Level 33 Forward Base Commander, Zarkan]
[HP 2,970,557/3,300,000]
—
“Indeed, you possess the strength to make it this far!”
What? A prelude to special patterns? It was too fast.
Zarkan’s HP was about 90%. If he used a special pattern here, that would mean at least eight more would come.
Thud.
I watched Zarkan, who had moved to the center of the training ground, breaking into a cold sweat.
Do I have to do this multiple times? It shouldn’t be too difficult…
Gugugugugu.
Magic began to gather around his body, and the entire training ground started to shake.
As expected, it felt like an area-wide attack pattern. What would it be like?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Magic exploded from the ground, causing a series of magical explosions.
After the first explosion around Zarkan’s body, they continued to explode multiple times, expanding their range.
Concentric magic explosions—like a doughnut shape. The area where an explosion had occurred wouldn’t explode again.
In that case…
Boom!
When the explosion finally reached my feet, I immediately used an approach technique to cling to Zarkan.
Boom!
The next explosion swept through the spot where I used to stand. However, the previously exploded area near Zarkan wouldn’t explode again.
What? I didn’t even need to use an evasion technique?
I smirked and eagerly slashed at the motionless Zarkan.
However, the explosions were not yet finished.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted one after another, reaching the far end of the training ground, only to begin crashing back toward me.
“Yikes.”
Sweating profusely, I calculated the timing for the explosion as it approached me.
At last, the final explosion erupted right at my feet, attached to Zarkan’s body.
Slash!
Boom!
The last explosion could be passed through thanks to the invulnerability judgment from my counterattack.
Zarkan initiated a series of donut-shaped, concentric explosions from his body. After reaching the end of the training ground, they returned once again in a special pattern.
The first concentric explosion was dealt with using my approach technique.
For the second explosion that returned, I could utilize either Backward Evasion or my counterattack. It didn’t seem too threatening, and I had many ways to respond.
But it still might not be over.
As I cautiously stepped back, preparing for the next pattern…
Thud.
Zarkan leaped into the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He returned with the magical bullet barrage pattern aimed directly at my head.
Using Backward Evasion, I dodged the magic bullets and prepared for the next uppercut.
Oh? Wait, this is a regular pattern. Did the special phase just end with that last one?
If this continued, it might actually be easier than I thought.