REWCS 09

Episode 9: The Constellation’s Game [Leica]

Within Leica’s world, Epic Monsters are powerful creatures also known as ‘Elite Monsters’ or ‘Unique Monsters.’
Of course, they’re not comparable to boss-level monsters, but still, they are incomparable to ordinary monsters.
Especially since these Epic Monsters possess at least one unique skill, it’s common for 2-3 or more players to form a party to raid them.
Because to break the mechanics and seal the skill, at least one extra person is needed.
Naturally, solo play was possible if sufficient stats backed you up, but…

Click-

└ Streamer took out the shovel? lol
└ What? Fighting right away?

Dave at level 9, wearing equipment at the level of rags, obviously did not fall into that category.

Howl-!!

So, the Constellations could only be bewildered from the start.

└ Stream…er? Not making a party?
└ No, you’re just charging in? Not level 19, but level 9?

Even the Constellation who issued the mission, ‘Mad Scoundrel 2nd Imperial Seat.’

└ Streamer dude;;; you do have a Return Scroll, right?

No matter that the mission was set up to prank the streamer, they hadn’t even imagined a development where he’d charge in without even a party.

└ Seems like it’s the streamer’s first time with an Epic mob?
└ Of course it’s his first, he’s level 9;;
└ Being first isn’t the problem lol usually even first-timers don’t headbutt in like that without thinking lol

So, the Constellations were certain.
Soon, that naive player guy…
would be struck by Moon shadow Wolf’s skill, left on the verge of death, and in a panic, tear his Return Scroll.

└ Oh, the wolf is coming!

Grrr-!

└ Kya, look at that killing intent for a level 15 Epic.

But no matter how much the Constellations fussed, Dave showed no reaction.
Instead…

Tatata-!

…he just rushed towards the Moon shadow Wolf, smacking his lips (?) as he went.

[Encountered ‘Moon shadow Wolf’.]

Of course I knew.
I knew that if I failed to avoid the Moon shadow Wolf’s unique ability, ‘Moonlight Onslaught,’ I could be left on the verge of death.
So, I also knew that the easiest way to hunt Moon shadow Wolf was to break the mechanic itself, preventing the unique ability from activating in the first place.

[‘Moon shadow Wolf’ is casting ‘Howling’.]
[Moonlight descends through the darkness.]

Howling, the condition for triggering Moonlight Onslaught.
Preventing it from doing that is the easiest method in the Moon shadow Wolf raid strategy.
But…

‘Haven’t fought it that way since after my 3rd play through.’

For someone like me who has hunted at least thousands of Moon shadow Wolves, there’s no reason to go through that hassle.
Why?
Because I can just dodge it all.
It’s not that I’ll dodge with overwhelming physical ability.
Stat-wise, Moon shadow’s stats are obviously much higher than mine now.
So, seeing it and dodging is nearly impossible.
However… based on the Moon shadow Wolf’s attack pattern, I can preemptively occupy a position where Moonlight Onslaught can’t reach.

Tatata-!

Like this.

[‘Moon shadow Wolf’ is casting ‘Moonlight Onslaught’.]

When you hunt Moon shadow Wolf about ten thousand times, there are patterns you learn even if you don’t want to.
It’s not something I consciously remember with my head.
My body just reacts on its own.

└ What? He dodged Moonlight Onslaught?
└ At level 9?
└ Seems suspicious.

There’s always a preparatory motion when Moon shadow Wolf casts Moonlight Onslaught, and just by recognizing that, I’ve naturally reached a state where I can find the blind spot.
For a talented hero aspirant to survive, this level of effort isn’t a choice but a necessity.

Grrrr-!

And once this is possible, the moment Moonlight Onslaught is activated actually becomes the best timing to deal damage.
While rushing down with the moonlight, the Moon shadow Wolf becomes completely defenseless.
The shovel blade, thrust up in perfect timing, accurately targets and digs into the wolf’s nape.

Swish-!

Honestly, with my attack power, piercing its hide in one go is nearly impossible.
But when it’s defenseless due to Moonlight Onslaught and has rapid inertia in the reverse direction…

Stab-

…even a small force can deal explosive damage.
A Counter Attack.
In Leica, this method of using the opponent’s own speed and force against them is called a ‘Counter Attack.’

Screech-!

From the sudden immense pain, the wolf screamed and retreated.
It must have been startled.
If my weapon weren’t a shabby iron shovel but superior Tier 2 equipment, it would have been such a perfect Counter Attack that I could have mortally wounded it in one hit.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised too.
I aimed for it, but I didn’t expect it to land this cleanly.
Were Counter Attacks always this easy?

└ Wow, streamer, what?
└ This is also suspicious…?
└ If that was intentional, it’s insane.

The creature, baring its teeth even wider as if in considerable pain, now fiercely lunges, targeting my nape in return.

Howl-!

Now is actually the time to be more nervous.
For me, dealing with the creature in an unstructured melee is more difficult.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I can’t do it.

Swish-!

Dodge what can be dodged.

Tat-

Block what can’t be dodged, simple as that.

Clang-!

In the end, if you just focus perfectly, there’s always a way, right?

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A clear, metallic sound rings out as if metals were clashing.
The sound of the iron shovel and the creature’s claws colliding.
Proof that the parry attempt with the back of the shovel succeeded perfectly.

[Perfectly defended against ‘Moon shadow Wolf’s’ attack.]
[Damage reduced by 99%.]

By the way, 99% is a value close to a perfect parry, isn’t it?
This is also supposed to be really difficult…

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After consecutively blocking the swinging fore paws, I pushed right into the creature’s inner space.
Then, rotating my body, I struck its abdomen with the shovel’s handle…

Thump-

…and using the rotational force, I quickly dragged the shovel blade up towards its nape once more.

Slish-!

This was the spot I had been aiming for from the start.

[Successfully exploited ‘Moon shadow Wolf’s’ weak point.]
[Ignores 55% of Defense.]
[Power increased by 78%.]

It’s only natural that a mortally wounded area itself becomes the most vulnerable weak point.
And there’s no method to deal stronger damage than accurately attacking this spot.

Grrrr-

You can tell just by seeing that over 30% of the creature’s HP bar has been sliced off—the effect is truly certain.

└ Crazy wtf;;;
└ What did you just do?
└ Did you see the parry?
└ No, the parry was insane too, but how did you deal that damage?
└ fr lol what the hell did you do to cut its HP that much?
└ Does the shovel have Armor Penetration or something?

A satisfied smile naturally forms at the Constellations’ amazed reactions.
Cute guys.
They seem to have many questions, but…

Clang-!
Swish-!

Sadly, I’m not leisurely enough to explain all that either.

Howl-!!

The completely enraged wolf creature cast Howling once again.

[‘Moon shadow Wolf’ is casting ‘Howling’.]

It means the creature is preparing a second Moonlight Onslaught.

[Moonlight descends through the darkness.]

If I miss the timing here and allow the second Moonlight Onslaught, no matter how well I’ve done until now, there’s no answer other than tearing the Return Scroll.
So I focused.

[‘Moon shadow Wolf’ is casting ‘Moonlight Onslaught’.]

And with just one step.

Tap-!

That concise movement was enough to evade Moonlight Onslaught.

Screech-!

Moonlight Onslaught isn’t the type of skill that can change trajectory mid-cast.

└ Wow, what? Dodged it again?

And now it was my turn to punish the creature.
When a big skill fails, a correspondingly big risk follows, after all.

Crack-!

A rather heavy impact sound rings out as the back of my shovel strikes the creature’s occuput.
But such an ordinary(?) attack doesn’t deal significant damage to the creature.
My iron shovel is a weapon with lower attack power than even the default equipment the village chief gives, so ordinary attacks alone can’t deal much damage.
So, this too was just a buildup to target the creature’s weak point.

“Phew.“

I flipped the shovel I had swung down in the opposite direction, forcefully striking up under the creature’s jaw with the shovel’s handle.

Thwack-!

Naturally, its chin was lifted, inevitably exposing its wounded nape.
Into that spot, I mercilessly drove the shovel blade once more.

Stab-!

This time, I ignored over 70% of its defense.
Meaning I dealt even greater damage than before.

Gurgle-!

The creature makes a painful, blood-gurgling sound.
And now, the final phase.
It seems just a bit more focus will do it.

[‘Moon shadow Wolf’s’ HP has fallen below 30%.]
[‘Moon shadow Wolf’s’ unique ability, ‘Bloody Fury,’ activates.]

The key to this final phase is preventing the creature from ‘activating’ Bloody Fury.
A unique ability that grants life steal and increases speed by about 1.5 time the moment it sees the opponent’s blood.
A common ability among beast-type Epic Monsters; once allowed, it becomes a headache.
The life steal makes a prolonged fight likely, and the increased speed doubles the mechanic’s difficulty.
For me, who is significantly outmatched in stats, it’s a situation I must avoid.
How do you stop it from being used?

Swish-

I just don’t take damage.
I just don’t get hit.

Clang-!
Swish-!

As the combat tempo gradually intensifies, the Constellations’ chats flow rapidly.

└ What the;;; a level 9 is really soloing Moon-Wolf?
└ i c a n t b e l i e v e m y e y e s
└ ;;;;;; He might really kill it at this rate ;;;;;;;;;
└ Streamer, what the hell is that shovel?
└ I’m telling you, that’s an artifact.

It seemed viewers increased amidst the chaotic fight, but I decided to finish off the Moon-Wolf first and check later.

Crunch-!

After shoving the shovel into the mouth of the creature trying to bite my forearm with its last strength,
I drew a dagger from my waist, holding it in a reverse grip, and mercilessly stabbed it into the wolf’s nape.

Stab-! Stab-! Stab-!

And my final attack succeeded in completely severing the creature’s breath.

[Inflicted critical damage to ‘Moon shadow Wolf’!]
[Successfully defeated ‘Moon shadow Wolf’!]

Even I thought it was a fight that flowed smoothly.

‘Damn…! That was sick.’

With my stats, I don’t think I could have shown a more perfect raid.

└ Wow… He really killed it.
└ Kyahhh the fight was tasty o.o
└ Is this the Shovel Master? o.o.o

I knew I wouldn’t fail to kill it, but I didn’t know I could kill it this cleanly and perfectly.
From the Counter Attack to the perfect parry.
To pull off this level of performance against an Epic with over twice my stats…
It definitely feels like combat is going more according to plan than when I played the beta version.
Did I… actually awaken or something after coming to the official server?
That aside…

[Gained experience.]
[Level increased.]
[Reached Level 10.]

Maybe because it’s my first Epic monster hunt after entering the official server, the dopamine is significant.
Epics definitely have a satisfying feel to them.

[Succeeded in solo play against an Epic Monster with abilities twice your own.]
[Conditions have been met.]
[The ‘Giant Slayer’ title’s grade has grown.]
[Hero -> Legendary]
[The ‘Giant Slayer’ title’s effect has increased by 1.5 times..]

Seeing the expected rewards stream in, a satisfied smile naturally appears on my lips.
An extra title freebie, plus some decent junk item rewards.

[Acquired ‘Moon shadow Fang’ item.]
[Acquired ‘Silver Wolf Hide’ item.]
[Acquired ‘Mark of Moonlight’ item.]

Seeing it even drop the useless junk item ‘Mark of Moonlight,’ this wolf is indeed the Moon shadow Wolf I knew.

└ Whoa;;; ㅅㅂ;;; didn’t Moon-Wolf get nerfed?
└ Where is there a nerf in Leica lol
└ Streamer, is this bastard really a newbie? The stench of experience is vibrating from this fight;; o.o.o
└ The shovel performance went hard;;

Hehe.
Having Constellations watching and admiring doubles the satisfaction.
Now, if I use my Flaying trait to farm some LP and collect the mission reward…
Today is a perfect start, isn’t it?
But just as I was writhing in happiness at that moment,
something happened that made my eyes widen in disbelief.

Woohoo-!-!

When I didn’t have even a speck of expectation…
A pillar of light suddenly erupted from the Moon shadow Wolf’s corpse.

└ Oh what, wait.
└ Light pillar on.