Rimbor.

The blazing hot blue spheres charged for them.

Aqua's eyes widened as she swiftly conjured her «Blue Tower Wand».

She used the 『Mana Shield』 magic skill.

In an instant, a translucent energy barrier enveloped them, deflecting the incoming spheres of energy.

The impact reverberated through the protective shield, causing their HP to drop by just a few, but the barrier held. The damage was originally meant to be somewhere around 83 to 80, but due to the function of 『Mana Shield』 which was a protective barrier that absorbed 50% of incoming damage for 1 minute, it was reduced.

[ Shinʼs current HP: 472/490 ]

[ Aquaʼs current HP: 389/420 ]

[ Malinaʼs current HP: 275/306 ]

When it came to taking damage in Elden Online, there were three factors to be considered.

- HP

- IA (Incoming Attack)

- DEF: (VIT / 2) + (DEX / 4)

The DEF of Shin, Aqua and Malina were respectively: 17, 6 and 6.

A player's DEF and the DEF of their equipment were added together in a straightforward manner. The equipment's DEF value directly contributed to the overall DEF of the player character. So if a character had a base DEF of, say, 10 and equipped an armor with a DEF of 5, the total DEF would be 15. Buffs could affect DEF.

So, a simple calculation would be...

— IA - (DEF) = MD (Mitigated Damage)

...

"Is everyone okay?" Aqua asked.

"Y... Yes..." Malina said while Shin nodded in response.

"I knew we shouldn't have come here," Aqua continued, worry evident in her eyes.

"Calm down, nowʼs not really the time for complaints. We need to deal with this," Shin replied.

Meanwhile, Malina, already trembling with fear, voiced her escalating concern, "This is bad... I'm really scared..."

The dust began to clear.

A figure emerged from the dilapidated weapon's store. It was a burly, bald man with a fiery red beard and a wide grin plastered across his face. He clutched a short staff adorned with a lustrous red gem, draped in a crimson robe with ornate golden armor.

Shin glanced at the staff in the man's hands before turning to Aqua, "Do you think he's a player?"

"It's hard to say, if he is, there's no reason for him to attack us," Aqua replied, carefully observing their new visitor.

Strategically utilizing the cover of the lingering smoke, Shin activated his 『Status Vision』 to appraise the enigmatic figure before them. To his surprise, he discerned that the man's name was Rimbor, and he was an NPC, not a player.

The lack of player ID said it all.

Aqua and Shin remained huddled behind the protective energy barrier

Aqua turned to Shin with pure determination in her eyes.

"Shin, we need to at least try talking to this, Rimbor, before we escalate this any further. It might be vital to the game's progression."

Shin furrowed his brow and shook his head slowly.

"Talking isn't our best move right now, unless you wanna get blown up..."

"But Shin, we don't know what the game demands! It could be a critical part of maybe even leveling up. Don't you think?" Aqua mentioned.

When NPCs interacted directly with players, it typically indicated their importance in advancing the game. Aqua preferred dialogue as the primary means of communication for this reason. However, Shin doubted they would encounter any NPCs that would aid their progress. With newfound consciousness, NPCs had the freedom to choose between good and bad, deviating from the GMs' original intentions.

In summary, NPCs could do whatever the fuck they wanted.

"Look at that man," Shin directed her gaze back to Rimbor. "The first attack we hit us with was nothing less than a level 10 explosion spell, he looks like he's a noisy guy and I'm sure there were better ways he could've taken us out..."

"So?"

"That means, his type is the blow stuff up and regret it a little later..."

Aqua saw some sense in what he said. "So what do we do?"

"We need to be cautious and come up with a solid plan before we engage."

"Do you have one?" She asked.

Shin rubbed his chin. "No, not really."

"Eh?" Aquaʼs shoulders collapsed.

Shin yawned a bit. "I'd rather do what he's doing... fight now and regret it later."

Aqua hesitated, but with a resigned nod, she agreed.

"Fine, but if we have the opportunity to learn more, we should take it."

Shin then turned his attention to Aqua.

"Aqua, what's your 『Status Vision』 rating? Could you appraise that staff?"

Aqua's eyes flitted to the staff, then turned back to Shin.

"No, my skill level isn't high enough to appraise it. But I'll keep an eye on things."

"That's enough information for now," Shin said.

In Elden Online, all players were given the general appraisal skill called 『Status Vision』. However, this skill had a limitation - it couldn't appraise anything that was 10 levels higher than the player's level. Consequently, Aqua couldn't appraise Rimbor's staff, indicating that the staff was at least level 19. While players could appraise monsters and their abilities, it wasn't applicable to all monsters, as it sometimes depended on the game masters' settings or if the monster had the ability to hide its status.

"You guys stay back," Shin said.

Aqua didn't want him to face this alone. She then said, "I can hel..."

"No." A quick interjection from Shin. Then, Shin looked at Malina who was still a little shaky. "Stay with Malina, as a support mage you're not really useful in 1v1 fights."

Although blunt, Shin's observation was accurate. In a 2v1 battle against Rimbor, Shin's success hinged entirely on his ability to defend Aqua. While Aqua could provide buffs, it was common knowledge that targeting the support mage would disrupt the main fighter, Shin. Unfortunately, Shin currently lacked the strength to safeguard Aqua while facing Rimbor.

Aqua tightened her fists a bit. "Okay then, I understand.." she lowered her head.

"Good," he replied.

With a quick motion of his fingers, Shin materialized a transparent blue screen with details of his equipment.

He calmly swiped through the menu.

«Black Phoenix Robe» (Equipped).

The moment he equipped this, a small black flame manifested and enveloped his body, transforming into a sleek and powerful black robe with lustrous golden designs.

He then efficiently equipped both his «Ring of Sorcery» and «Amulet of Strength».

Aqua observed Shin, marveling at the rare and high-level items that adorned him.

'Where did he get these from...?'

[ Shin's current HP: 496/514 ]

The smoke cleared as Rimbor, still clutching the staff, peered through with a fierce glare. "AREN'T YOU BASTARDS GONNA COME OUT AND FIGHT ME?! OR ARE YOU PUSSIES?!" he bellowed.

Shin slowly emerged from the dissipating haze and carefully addressed Rimbor, "Explosions aren't the only noise you'll be making today."

Rimbor grinned maliciously, "You've got quite the tongue for someone about to get blown up, boy."

Rimbor pointed his staff forward, the big red gem at the tip of the magic staff started to glow and a surge of energy crackled around him. "Heh, get ready to meet your en..."

Just as he was about to unleash his magic, Rimbor paused.

It wasn't an intentional action, rather, it was a moment of enlightenment.

He immediately noticed he wasn't facing any ordinary opponent. Rimbor had already assessed that the individual he was up against, was definitely a player...

Not by word, but rather, by action...

Shin calmly extended his hand. A surge of darkness began to swirl around him, coalescing into a sleek, pitch-black sword that sent shivers down Aqua's spine.

«Sword of Shadows» (Equipped).

"Is that... a sword?" Aqua gasped, bewildered by the sudden appearance of such a dark and ominous weapon.

Aqua was absolutely astounded when she laid eyes on the weapon.

It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

And what made it even more remarkable was the fact that Shin, who belonged to a different class altogether, was wielding it with such finesse. He was an Engineer and his class was typically limited to using armor and guns. Swords were never part of their arsenal.

"It doesn't make any sense..."

But in that moment, Aqua's curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn't resist using her 『Status Vision』 to appraise the sword.

• «Sword of Shadows»

- One handed weapon

- Attack Power: 55-70

- Bonus: +3 STR, +2 DEX

- Required Level: 15

- Required STR: 30

Aqua was positively breathless at what she discovered.

'It's not possible... Shin doesn't have the required strength or level to use that sword, how is he able to...'

There was a lot of unanswered questions, but now wasn't the time.

Undeterred, Rimbor taunted, "Nice trick, but it won't rattle me."

Shin nonchalantly rested the black sword on his shoulder, his gaze as sharp as the cold steel he now wielded. "Can't help it if the sword's this cool," he deadpanned.

Rimbor bellowed with laughter. "You son of a bitch! Feel the heat of my power!"

"Cringe, but okay..." said Shin.

With a quick motion, Rimbor unleashed his magic skill, 『Bang Barrage』, conjuring ten spheres of blazing hot fire.

"150% base attack damage!" he announced

The spheres hurtled towards Shin, expanding the air around them, as it moved.