MMORPG: Surviving a Death Game with a Glitched System

Approaching what may have been his last dance of death in the tundra, Ash felt an odd anticipation flood through him.

This would be the first fight where his glitch wasn’t an overwhelming factor in determining the outcome. For once, Ash could properly test both himself and his skills.

Sure, he wouldn’t take damage when [Focus] wasn’t active, but neither did he want his new equipment getting torn apart.

So, he’d act as if the clothes on his back were no different from his flesh.

Once he closed some of the distance, the Ice Golem noticed him. Unlike how it reacted in the presence of a Seal Stalker or Snow Crawler, the Ice Golem’s head — little more than a block of ice housing two glowing blue eyes — snapped toward Ash.

Its stocky body shifted into motion, icy joints creaking and cracking with every stride as it barreled toward him.

In response, Ash settled into a stance. He slid one foot back, shifted most of his weight onto it, and leveled [Sealed Fate] toward the approaching monster.

Its steps grew louder with each second until it broke through the haze and into his field of vision, its massive frame bearing down on him.

’Let’s test this...’

The Ice Golem clasped both hands together overhead and hammered them down.

Kicking off his back foot, Ash rolled to the side, then sent an overhead arced strike at the two arms as they smashed where he’d been.

’Tch.’

Ash could sense it: it hadn’t worked.

It seemed he needed to actually deal damage for [Fate’s Hand] to activate.

The Ice Golem’s head snapped back toward him. Then, without moving its legs, its entire torso twisted into a violent rotation. Its clasped arms swept low across the ice toward Ash.

Ash jumped over the attack, but the Ice Golem didn’t stop spinning. Its torso completed the rotation, bringing its arms around for another pass before Ash had even fully landed.

He vaulted over them a second time.

But by the time his feet struck the ice again, the Golem’s rotation had accelerated further. The arms whipped around again before Ash could reset his footing.

The side of its massive arm slammed into Ash’s thigh.

The hide pants completely stopped the attack, but it was clear they’d taken a noticeable hit to their durability. Nothing too concerning, but Ash didn’t want to take more if he could help it.

In any case...

The attack had stopped the Ice Golem cold.

Its rotation died abruptly, and its hulking frame sagged forward, both arms hanging uselessly at its sides.

Even someone who didn’t play RPGs could recognize it had been staggered.

’[Focus].’

Ash raised [Sealed Fate] and cleaved downward into the Ice Golem’s chest.

Like a heated knife through butter, the black blade cut cleanly through the ice, but eventually his attack stalled. The moment Ash tore it free, a large purple wisp formed and began circling the petal-like guard.

He could tell it was the [Fate’s Hand] effect given physical form — a visible indication of his accumulating stacks.

Ash had no time to waste assessing the phenomenon further. He pivoted his hips and drove a horizontal slash across the Golem’s abdomen, aiming to bisect it.

The blade bit deep, but stopped as his momentum halted.

Then the Golem jerked.

Its body shuddered as the stagger broke.

’Oh, fuck.’

Moving faster than anything of its size should have been able to, the Ice Golem ripped both arms up from its sides and swung its palms inward, trying to crush Ash between them.

Barely reacting in time, Ash jumped.

The hands thundered together beneath his feet.

But that wasn’t the end of its attack.

Rather than separating them, the Golem kept its hands clasped and violently heaved both arms upward.

They caught Ash beneath the legs while he was still airborne.

The impact folded his lower body upward and catapulted him into the sky.

[Focus] had ended just a second too late.

His body tumbled uncontrollably, arms and legs flung loose as the frozen ground rapidly shrank beneath him. The haze rushed past in pale streaks while his momentum carried him higher — first above the Golem’s head, then several body lengths beyond it.

For another brief second, he continued climbing, slower and slower, until the upward pull finally vanished.

His legs weren’t broken, but they were aching terribly from the impact.

’I’d be dead without armor!’

Instead of launching him, the attack would have simply killed him. Even with it, he’d nearly been one-shot. Hell, if he’d gotten hit by the initial slam he’d be gone.

While it wasn’t like losing health from having his limbs torn off, he could sense his HP dip under 25%.

For an instant, Ash hung nearly weightless at the apex, the tundra spread beneath him through the haze.

Then gravity reclaimed him.

Ash plummeted back down.

With what Ash could only describe as fervent glee, the Ice Golem was spinning faster than before, its arms reduced to icy blurs as they swept through the exact patch of ground he was falling toward.

Without his glitch, this would surely have been the end of Ashley Grave.

But, with it...

Ash twisted in midair, tucked one shoulder, and forced his tumbling body around until he was descending headfirst.

’This has to be perfect...’

Bringing forth the katana that was dragging behind him, he found a two-handed grip.

Then, he began counting in his head.

’3... 2...’

’1!’

The moment he got to one, he curled his body and rolled forward in the air, whipping the blade down with him.

The edge smashed into the Golem’s arms, halting both their rotation and Ash’s descent.

Before he could even properly assess the situation, Ash cast [Focus] as the Golem’s shoulders slumped, staggered once again.

Ash flipped and landed on the ice in front of it, then kicked forward.

"Die."

The katana entered the opening left by his earlier cross slice, biting deeper through the existing wound and finally completing what that strike had failed to do.

At its middle, the Golem split in half, both sides sliding apart before fading into the ground.

Left in its place were a block of ice and a blue sphere.

[You have acquired Uncommon item: [Ice Golem’s Core]]

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