Fighting a Lossing Battle

Imagine standing at the edge of a bottomless pit, where a single tap on the back is all it would take to send you plummeting into the depths, the darkness swallowing you whole.

That heart-shattering feeling is what Karsha experienced when he saw the monstrosity he was meant to fight.

"I mean, I'm up for Tier 6 Mutants, but this snake monster is too colossal for a tiny bug like me," Karsha complained, his voice trembling like a massage chair.

The snake lay 54 meters long, its head alone having a surface with a diameter of 1.5 meters. Its eyes were as big as Five basketballs, radiating red, murderous smoke. Its obsidian fangs, 60 centimeters long, pierced through the sides of its mouth like curved daggers. The scale carapace-like skin was dark red.

"This is insanity. How can I fight this?" Within 20 seconds, Karsha complained over 20 times, showing just how terrified he was.

< The host should take this as a practice run for the battle with the Overlords. >

The system, not knowing when to comfort and when to encourage, decided to make Karsha curse even more. Taking this as practice was all well and good, but Karsha had been overconfident and failed to notice that not every monster could be provoked.

< Mutant Lava Wyrm >

Tier: 6

Class: Dark Mutant

Attack Power: 5200 ~ 7200

Skills: ????????????????????

The information alone left him wondering if the system had intentionally omitted crucial details. Such skills were essential when facing an opponent; omitting them was like teaching someone to fly a plane without explaining how to land.

< Standing and doing nothing is not going to help. Complete the quest. >

"I know that, system. No need to rub it in my face," Karsha muttered as he unsheathed the Devil's Tooth and the Amber Jinx Longsword. His eyes focused on the monstrous creature, which appeared relaxed yet ferocious.

"Let's see how fast I can end this madness," he declared, dashing toward the monster, yin-yang lightning streaking behind him.

His sudden movement mirrored the first combination from the Initiate Bolt technique he had mastered within the subspace. 'Thunderous Dash'—the name said it all.

Gathering the electricity flowing through his body into his legs, Karsha propelled himself forward with immense force, creating a thunderous roar.

One could harness such momentum to deliver a devastating blow if skilled enough. After all, no matter how sharp a sword is, it requires force to cut through even a thread.

However, despite Karsha's recent advancements in swordplay, when he landed his first sword strike, his blade bounced off the monster's tough skin.

"That's not good. That shouldn't have happened, right?" Karsha questioned, his movements not slowing at all. "This is not good," he muttered again.

The lightning continued to streak behind him as he fought. The massive body of the Lava Wyrm crawled across the ground, its tail slapping the walls of the domain and creating cracks.

"Thud." The same sound was produced again, making Karsha frown. The attack shouldn't have produced that sound. Despite putting all his effort into the strikes, the scaly skin produced a rubber-like sound instead of the expected clank.

The sharpness of the swords wasn't inflicting any significant damage. The only upside was that whenever he landed an attack, a small portion of the monster's HP was drained away.

The domain had taken effect, and the monster received a debuff, albeit temporarily. The Domain was proving to be a great advantage, allowing Karsha to control the fight within its confines.

However, what happens when the domain fails to suppress the target? What happens when the target is too strong to be controlled in such tight quarters? More importantly, what happens when the target possesses fire attributes?

Under normal circumstances, these three questions wouldn't appear in the same sentence. I mean, who would be unlucky enough to face an opponent who fits all three criteria?

Karsha, the unlucky guy, found himself fighting the behemoth that seemed more interested in breaking free from the domain than attacking him.

The snake's tail slammed hard, creating cracks and widening them with each subsequent slam.

Five minutes passed, and the domain continued to weaken. Karsha ran around the monster, attacking it while doing his best to avoid being slammed.

"It's damn it, this domain won't hold. I can try using brute force and attempt to create an opening. I mean, what did I learn the 108 combinations for? I should test it out and see how effective it is."

"Boom!" Karsha dashed forward again, but this time, he jumped into the air. He spun, creating a net of lightning energy. Utilizing the momentum from the jump, he crashed forcefully onto the snake's back, causing it to crash to the ground.

-10,000

"Slash, slash!" Two sword attacks landed on the monster's side, producing the same thud sound as before. The cracks widened, and eventually, the domain walls fell in 9 minutes.

"Here we go." Saying that Karsha channeled his yin-yang lightning into his sword and dashed at the snake. It spat bullets of venom, but Karsha deftly dodged them, making it look like child's play. In reality, Karsha used the second combination, 'Zephyr Shift'.

Zephyr Shift enabled swift sidestepping mid-dash, allowing the user to evade incoming attacks almost subconsciously during a dash.

It can be used to evade most forms of projectile attacks if not all. In this instance, Karsha was saved from an agonizing burn from the venom of the Lava Wyrm, thanks to the second combination.

He circled the massive body of the beast, sending an attack or two before retreating.

This time, however, the attack packed a serious punch. The yin-yang lightning took a huge chunk of the monster's HP, but in return, the monster slammed its tail, sending Karsha hurling back like a ragdoll.

"Damn, that hurts," he groaned as he slammed into a tree 1 km away. His body was bruised, but his armor remained as neat as ever—black as coal, dark as midnight.

Karsha stood up, feeling like he had just survived a car crash. "This is madness. If I'm suffering like this, how am I going to face the overlords?"

Perhaps the Dark Mutant heard his plea for help, a mistake Karsha shouldn't have made. This harmless comment provoked the Dark Mutant into attacking in rapid succession, aiming at Karsha with its venom.

Venom darted like bullets, threatening to burn the soul out of Karsha's body. He found himself in a perilous situation, arching his body in constant maneuver.

It could have been worse if he had faced the Dark Mutant before consuming the Lightning Fruit. Thanks to the awakening of his lightning and speed boost, he narrowly evaded the venomous projectiles.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Karsha exclaimed his body, mind, and soul in agony under the relentless assault. The Dark Mutant showed no mercy, continuing its never-ending barrage of attacks.

"I'm tired of this shit!" Activating Bolt Blitz, Karsha moved in a zigzag pattern, closing the gap between them. His swords crackled with unholy electricity.

His movements shifted seamlessly from one form to the next, evading the venom bullets that never ceased. Helpless, but relying on the OP 108 movement combinations, he managed to bridge the gap.

The Lightning-infused sword slashed with unholy intensity, but the effort was futile against the rubber-like nature of the Dark Mutant's skin. It only left a small scratch on its body.

As the first ten minutes passed, Karsha felt a surge in strength, his power increasing by 50% as his Rage Swordsman skill activated, adding a significant buff to his attacks.

Unable to rely on the domain, Karsha focused on debuffing the monster to buff himself. The blessings from his sheath, the sword buffs, and the passive ability of his sword intent combined with the 50% boost from Rage Swordsman propelled his attacks to new heights. The snake began losing substantial chunks of HP, but Karsha wasn't faring any better.

The Dark Mutant showed no signs of slowing down. Both combatants unleashed barrages of attacks while defending and evading. Karsha constantly evaded, though it proved challenging. The constant twisting and turning left his body sore and in pain.

Yet, this pain was a blessing. Had he been slightly slower in his evasions, both his armor and body would have turned to ash. Karsha had already glimpsed the vast disparity between himself and the Overlords.

If he struggled against a Tier 6 Dark Mutant, Karsha knew he had a long way to go before he could even scratch the skin of one of the 10 Overlords.

Realizing this, Karsha's mood shifted. His face contorted with rage, and his eyes gleamed with determination.

"That damn feeling again. What's happening to me?" The sensation he had been experiencing in his swords resurfaced. This time, however, Karsha decided to delve deep into it—a risky move, but one that proved fortuitous.

He couldn't afford to waste any more time; already, 20 precious minutes had slipped by. The sensation intensified, stronger than ever before.

His attacks grew more intense, dealing massive damage output. In what seemed like an instant, five minutes had passed.

< The host has less than 5 minutes to complete the quest >

Karsha focused solely on harnessing the sensation within his sword, ignoring everything else around him. Three minutes flew by swiftly, during which the snake's skin became riddled with wounds and sword marks.

Subconsciously tapping into an innate talent, Karsha amplified his sword attacks exponentially.

"Almost there," Karsha muttered, feeling the sensation within his grasp. But suddenly, the system message appeared before him.

< Quest Completed, Congratulations host. >

"What the hell..." Karsha cursed out loud.