MMORPG: Surviving a Death Game with a Glitched System

Ash’s head swiveled to follow the hunter as it twisted mid-roll and landed facing him on all fours.

There was no way he could react in time, still following through with his slash.

So, he canceled it.

He canceled [Focus] after only three seconds of use.

The hunter darted behind him and lunged at his back, its claws slamming into his armor.

The instant they connected, the momentum behind both Ash’s movement and the hunter’s attack vanished. A quiet thump sounded from [Spire Serpent’s Skin], but the claws left little to no damage behind.

Unfortunately for the hunter, Ash’s armor was simply too durable.

Its claws were strong, but they would never break through without a proper weapon, especially because Ash’s glitch caused his equipment to receive durability damage only at the moment of initial contact. Once the claws struck, dragging them across his armor did little to nothing. Slashing attacks like the hunter’s were naturally countered.

Ash tried to swivel around, but each new slash halted him, reducing his movements to abrupt, disjointed turns — as if he were lagging.

’It doesn’t possess any piercing attacks without its bow.’

This meant Ash only needed to worry about grappling attacks.

Grasping a piece of his equipment, even while he was in his glitched state, applied the attacker’s weight to the item. That allowed an enemy to drag Ash along with it or tear the item apart if it was strong enough.

With the hunter giving him no reprieve, turning became a slow process. Even so, Ash eventually managed to bring the beast into view.

It immediately dashed to one side, trying to circle behind him, but Ash kicked his left foot into its path, cutting it off. Before it could change direction, he pivoted and drove a switch kick into its side.

’This must look crazy to others.’

The constant pauses must have made the fight almost comical.

This was Ash’s first equal encounter — well, relatively equal — that amounted to a straight-up melee, one where he had actual equipment that wasn’t at too much risk. [Whisper of the Wind] was the only thing the hunter had a proper chance of destroying.

The hunter immediately bore down on Ash’s extended leg, trying to rip into his thigh through his armor. Within the brief gap between its attacks, he managed to tap the hunter with the tip of [Scrawler’s Crawlers].

Then again. And again.

Until Ash was in complete control.

Even if the strikes were harmless, each one was still an ’attack.’

The hunter was caught in a near-unbreakable chain of interruptions.

Slowly, very slowly, Ash managed to inch his extended leg down the hunter’s body, each tap granting him another fragment of movement. As he did, he stared into its beady, glowing red eyes and watched white foam bubble from its mouth.

Finally, his foot reached the ground, where he placed it on the hunter’s foot and began lightly tapping his boot against it.

His words came out strangely through the constant stuttering, but he managed to speak:

"Well, hunter... you were most definitely formidable. The fourth most memorable foe of my time here. I hate to admit it, but if this weren’t a one-on-one, there’s a chance you could win."

Ash slowly shifted his face into a smile during one of his narrow windows of movement. Then, he stole Cross’s line once again.

"You are worthy of my disrespect."

Ash slowly raised [Sealed Fate] while avoiding the tiny movements the hunter made in its vain attempt to grab him. However, it simply didn’t possess the wits to find a way out of the trap.

"Ah, right. Your intelligence. I think you could somewhat understand me before, but now you’ve gone quite stupid. In fact, if you had this strength and your intelligence, maybe you could win on your own."

[Sealed Fate] slowly arced around its arm, its tip gradually approaching the beast’s neck.

’All it has to do is do the same thing to me that I’m doing to it.’

That was a glaring flaw Ash didn’t wish to say aloud, even if he felt his victory was already secured...

It was a weakness almost anyone could exploit, regardless of their strength.

They could either tap Ash’s armor until they created an opening to retreat or grasp a weak point in it and attempt to rip it off or tear it apart.

It was something any creature with sufficient intelligence, given enough time, would undoubtedly learn.

Worse...

If he were facing a group, one enemy could stagger him like this while another pried apart his armor, forcing him to use [Focus] or watch his equipment get decimated, or even destroyed entirely. It was a terrifying weakness he had become painfully aware of during his brief fight against Cross and the Hounds.

Thankfully, they’d stuck to keeping him trapped, not fully understanding the bounds of his glitch. Had they known, he might have been sent to the depths of the tundra again.

It was yet another reason he had chosen Archer over Mage, since Archer had higher base mobility and could help him avoid such a situation in the first place — and why he didn’t want a melee class.

The blade, empowered by two stacks of [Fate’s Hand], finally came within mere centimeters of the hunter’s neck.

"Goodbye."

Ash waited for the perfect moment, then...

’[Focus].’

The instant his body became tangible, Ash slammed his foot down onto the hunter’s, trapping it in place.

At the same time, he thrust [Sealed Fate], already positioned at its neck, forward.

The supreme blade was far too sharp for its skin to withstand.

Even without much force behind it, the sable blade slid through its neck and out the back.

The hunter grabbed Ash’s forearm and tore into it, but it was far too late.

Rotating the blade inside the hunter’s neck, Ash threw it sideways, cutting through flesh until the weapon tore free.

The hunter’s limbs went limp.

The red glow in its eyes faded as it slumped forward, falling into Ash. Its heavy body collapsed against his shoulder, but he pushed it off and let it crash into the grass, where a message finally sang in his ears.

[You have slain a Soulless Wanderer]

[First Kill Bonus!]

[+9 EXP]

’First kill bonus...?’

It seemed the unique version didn’t count. But...

’Only nine?’

That small amount was soon washed from his mind by the three drops at his feet.

A tome, another tome, and...

’Its bow.’

The same one it had crushed with its own hands.

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