Chapter 3: Tutorial (3)

The wall, stacked with stones, crumbled like styrofoam, revealing a grotesquely large monster. Each step it took reverberated throughout the corridor.

Even though I’d seen it before, the sheer oppressive aura it exuded from its ghastly appearance was overwhelming when confronted in person. It was taller than me and wielded a massive club that further emphasized its intimidating stature.

The creature, crashing through the wall and lumbering forward, let out a roar as it spotted me.

“KUOOOOOOOO!!!”

The bellow echoed thunderously, making my ears ring. It was worse than the moment you turn on music without realizing your headphone volume is at maximum.

Escaping was simple, just turn around and run. Despite its dramatic entrance, if one knew how to properly use the Shift key, escaping wasn’t much of a challenge.

However, I needed to defeat this beast.

Without the Bloodstained Sword, progression seemed impossible. Defeating the human butcher on the first encounter was extremely crucial from my perspective.

Holding the steel sword that the mid-boss had been using in my right hand, I confronted the human butcher.

In the game, when the mid-boss was defeated, it disappeared without dropping its weapon, making it impossible to pick up and use.

But this wasn’t the case here.

Assuming this was indeed the same steel sword from the game, I figured I could slay the beast in around 20 minutes, even considering its increased health due to the mod.

‘I can’t run away, I’m not sure if I can parry yet, so I only have blocking and rolling.’

I started contemplating the strategies available to me.

When wielding a blunt weapon, I could only roll to avoid attacks, but now, with a one-handed sword, I could also block.

That was enough.

‘The first attack will definitely be a charge.’

I got ready. The human butcher let out a roar and began to charge towards me, its hefty frame appearing more like a waddle than a run.

The impact against the stone wall caused it to shatter. I subtly backed away in response. I needed to secure some space if I was to roll to the side and evade the attack.

As it approached, I waited until the last moment before launching my body to the right. My body rolled perfectly on the floor,

And the monster’s large foot stomped on the empty air.

Having deftly avoided the charging attack, I immediately got up and started sprinting in the opposite direction.

The human butcher, initially confused when I disappeared from sight, turned around as it heard my footfalls. Spotting me fleeing in the distance, it let out another furious roar.

Ignoring the roaring sound, I sought the hole created by the crumbling wall and ventured into it. Bright light poured in from nearby.

Without hesitation, I ran towards that light. The beast was too occupied chasing after me, closing the distance by practically destroying the prison walls.

But I was faster. As I escaped through the hole where the light was emanating, a vast open field appeared beneath. I jumped down to that open field.

‘I could just run away now, but…’

I glanced at the giant prison gate located on the exact opposite side from me. That was the only exit from this prison. It was the only exit because the other three sides were all cliffs.

Even if I ran away from the human butcher in the corridors instead of coming here, as long as I hadn’t escaped from here, I could fight him at any time.

I just skipped all that middle process.

It wasn’t a trick discovered by the players but an intended feature by the creators of the fourth part. They said if you escaped from the human butcher and returned to where he came from, you could immediately escape.

With a crash, the human butcher who was just following me landed in the open field. The ground under his feet couldn’t bear the weight and sagged, the surrounding earth split apart.

He snorted with irritation as if frustrated with his prey running around. His mismatched teeth clashed, making a cracking sound.

Now it begins. I raised my steel sword.

Rolling to the left, I swung my sword at his body. The tip of the blade dug into his stomach, adding another shallow wound. Black blood oozed from the long wound and dripped down.

Kuaaaaaak!

I quickly retreated to avoid the tail that swung around in all directions. As soon as I did, he swung his right arm where I had just been.

Even a passing glance from such a swing could result in instant death.

The human butcher lifted a massive mace in his right hand above his head. The pattern of advancing forward while slamming down with the mace. Seeing this, I tightly gripped my sword.

It was a pattern that could be parried by bouncing off. Naturally, I assumed a stance, as if I knew how to use my body to parry, not my head.

I twisted the sword slightly and supported my right wrist with my left hand. Though I never learned swordsmanship in my life, my body reacted first and moved.

Thud! The sword, barely the thickness of a human wrist, blocked the wooden mace much thicker than a person.

To be exact, it deflected the attack. The trajectory of the huge wooden mace veered off into thin air.

‘It’s bearable.’

The shock made my palms tingle, but it wasn’t unbearable. Considering that all my stats are 1 right now, I’d be able to deflect it much more easily later.

‘It’s like the game. Don’t think too much, just swing it at the right time, and your body will naturally deflect the attack.’

In the game, the player character could deflect any attack with a single sword. It was so overpowered that it could even withstand an attack from a golem, which was significantly larger than a typical castle, without any damage.

Seeing me easily deflect a wooden club much taller than my height, it seemed that I wasn’t too different now from before. The onslaught continued thereafter. While the disparity of power between us caused me to constantly backpedal, my stance remained unbroken.

I deflected his downward swing, then another, and then another, repeating the process numerous times. Exactly at the tenth parry, the humanoid butcher hesitated. The moment I confirmed his attack pattern had ended, I immediately plunged in, brandishing my sword again and carved another wound in his abdomen.

Humiliated and injured by a human who is a fraction of his size for over ten minutes, the butcher, likely seething, tilted his body to the right and lifted his left foot. This was the kick pattern. I seized the chance to retreat, catching my breath.

Thud! The humanoid butcher stomped the ground, dust clouds erupting around him. In the game, just being brushed by the dust cloud was instant death, but I wasn’t sure about now.

‘Of course, I have no intention of testing that.’

He lifted his foot, embedded deep in the ground, and advanced again. His right hand wielding the blunt weapon was raised to the side. It was the three-hit combo pattern.

I rolled to dodge his horizontal swing and plunged inward again. Regardless of whether I moved in, the humanoid butcher swung his weapon to the end just like in the game.

His abdomen was now a mess of a long wound and oozing black blood.

‘There were no such scars in the game.’

While thinking such random thoughts, I added a few more cuts and once again put some distance between us.

If it weren’t for the kick, I could have continuously danced around him and killed him by keeping him under constant attack. However, the kick pattern was added specifically to keep me in check, forcing me to maintain some distance.

The situation continued to be one-sided. Continuous overhead swings, three-hit combo, kick, body press, charge. I avoided every single one of these and beat up the humanoid butcher.

He roared in rage and frustration, swinging his club wildly, but all his attacks merely hit the air.

As the wounds all over his body increased, the ground around us darkened as well.

‘It should be about time for his final pattern.’

I tried to estimate how much time had passed. His health should be almost depleted, and it should be about time for him to switch to his desperation move. Not being able to see the health bar was inconvenient in many ways.

Having successfully cleared the All Boss No Damage Run with the Darkest Light mod applied, and even recorded it, I remembered roughly how long it took to clear it. It took about 20 minutes to kill the humanoid butcher.

It took over 2 hours to beat him bare-handed, but just having a crude wooden club, the basic starting weapon, reduced the clear time to around 30 minutes.

Even now, wielding my steel sword, even considering that all my stats are at a measly 1, I reckon it wouldn’t take more than 20 minutes at most. Hasn’t that much time already elapsed?

As I was attempting to untangle these various thoughts, the brute suddenly stopped his actions and started to shudder intensely.

‘Done.’

I couldn’t help but cheer inwardly. That was a signal signifying that I had practically defeated the Human Butcher.