The Grand Duelist

In the face of such a monster, Joseph's legs weakened and he continuously shivered in fear.

He glanced at the two women and when he found that they had determined looks on their faces. Joseph suddenly realized something.

"I'm still at Level 1 and under the protection of the system. I don't have anything to lose so why I am hesitating?!" He scolded himself and after taking a deep breath. The same determined look on the faces of the two young women appeared on his face.

"Distribute all stat points to Strength and Dexterity in a ratio of 1:1," Joseph whispered.

[All 10 Status Points are now distributed.]

With the distribution of the stat points. Joseph felt unstoppable. Using his renewed strength. He held his [Rusty Beginner Sword] in a stance before he rushed towards his opponent.

Joseph didn't have any experience fighting against an enemy like this apart from some small wolves that looked similar to the Voliwolf. But Joseph knew that from the aura of the Voliwolf alone. It was definitely far stronger than those small wolves.

"Slash!" Joseph used his strongest attack skill, Slash that dealt 110% of his Attack Damage against the Voliwolf.

[You dealt 2 damage.]

"I dealt what?" Joseph hurriedly retreated, his arms felt weak and his wrist felt sore.

[Your attack backfired due to how strong your enemy is.]

[You suffered 19 damage.]

"What the? How did I suffer damage when I was the one attacking? My attack backfired? Holy shit, why does such a broken monster exist within a Beginner Village?" Joseph couldn't help but loudly exclaim upon reading the reason why he suffered damage from attacking.

The damage that he dealt against the Voliwolf was also absurdly low. Mercenaries had a passive skill called [Bladed Weapon Mastery]. Since it was a passive skill, this was a skill that every Mercenary automatically learned upon reaching Level 2. Of course, learning skills didn't cost any skill points.

But that wasn't the point as to why Joseph's damage against the Voliwolf was ridiculously low or why he could even damage such a monster in the first place.

It was because of the effect of the [Bladed Weapon Mastery] which increased a Mercenary's Accuracy Rate whenever he was using a bladed weapon.

Increased Accuracy Rate didn't only increase one's chances of inflicting Critical Strikes, but also gave them a flat amount of Armor Penetration which negated an enemy's armor for a certain amount.

Of course, there were other variables when it comes to calculating the damage done after Armor Penetration.

But even though he was under the effects of [Direct Suppression].

His damage shouldn't be this low against the Voliwolf.

The Voliwolf that looked more like a bear than a wolf felt an itch on its body when Joseph's attack landed

It stared at Joseph and dangerously glared.

"Dodge!" Nina cried out when she saw the crimson-light within the Voliwolf's eyes. Bosses in the world of Victory could employ [Unstoppable Attacks].

Attacks of this type couldn't be blocked using normal methods. Whenever a Boss's eyes flashed with a crimson-light, the next attack would be an [Unstoppable Attack].

Joseph was too near to the Voliwolf and there was no time to dodge.

"Tagai mi ug proteksyon... Wall of Protection!" Rika hurriedly chanted before she stretched her hand out and summoned a wall in between Joseph and the Voliwolf.

The Voliwolf used a sweeping attack against Joseph. But thanks to the Wall of Protection which became an obstacle in front of the [Unstoppable Attack], the attack momentarily faltered in front of the wall before it broke the wall and sent debris flying towards Joseph.

Joseph didn't expect that a wall made from earth would be enough to protect him. He knew about the incoming attack and so, he was prepared...

But what he didn't expect was the speed of the Voliwolf's attack.

After all, [Unstoppable Attacks] were normally slow and easy to dodge.

But in the end... Joseph managed to dodge an [Unstoppable Attack] that was far too close to him for comfort.

But how did he dodge?

The answer was simple.

He didn't dodge. Since dodging was impossible.

He only survived due to the occurrence of a status effect...

[You feel fear in front of an overwhelming presence. Your knees subconsciously bend as courage is sucked away from your body due to the fear.]

Joseph's knees collapsed underneath him and his fall made him inadvertently evade the sweeping attack of the Voliwolf.

"???"

The Voliwolf looked confused when it realized that it didn't manage on sweeping away the ant on the ground. It repeatedly blinked its pitch-black eyes and there, it found that Joseph survived.

"Roaaar!" It roared in anger, apparently annoyed by how a mere ant survived an attack from one of its paws. This time, it didn't plan on making a sweeping attack. It raised a paw up in the air and planned on slapping the ant on the ground like a pancake.

After narrowly escaping death, why would Joseph be careless once again?

His experience in the Festival of Battles enabled him to shake away his fear almost immediately after seeing the raised paw in the air. Combined with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, he managed on moving.

"Ha!" He cried out and slapped both his palms on the ground, sending himself high up in the air before using that force to roll backwards towards the direction of his comrades.

Boom!

The slow-moving paw of the Voliwolf finally crashed on the ground, sending debris flying everywhere. Albeit, none of them managed to hit anything other than the cave walls, ceiling, and the ground.

Rumble!

The stalactites just above the Voliwolf collapsed.

They simultaneously fell and struck the Voliwolf, angering it even further.

"Damn that was dangerous..." Joseph sucked a cold breath upon realizing that he was now safe and away from the hands of death.

"You just realized that what you did was dangerous? I didn't think that you had the balls." Nina rolled her eyes at him, but Joseph merely smiled at her before saying in a cheeky manner.

"You thought that I had no balls? How about you check if I really do have them?" Joseph teased and even winked at Nina.

"Fuck off!" Nina violently cursed, provoking Joseph's laughter.

"Can the two of you just continue the flirting after this? In front of us is a dangerous enemy, yet you guys are casually flirting..." Rika shook her head.

Nina blushed and was about to reply when Joseph suddenly lunged at her.

"Careful!" Rika screamed and she leaped backwards in a hurry.

Bang!

While the three of them were talking, the Voliwolf was apparently angered by their leisurely manner. It attacked at the moment where it deemed that the three of them wouldn't expect its attack.

However, Joseph whose senses were sharp for incoming attacks noticed the Voliwolf's attack before it descended and so, he leaped at Nina and protected her.

Unfortunately, even though he managed to survive the Voliwolf's attack. He didn't escape damage as his body stiffened and froze like a statue while Nina was underneath him.

Nina panicked upon seeing what happened and she hurriedly pushed Joseph away from her body. But Joseph whom she expected that would stand up immediately after her pushing, fell down into the ground like a statue as blood continuously dripped from his seven orifices.

"Shit, are you okay?" She cursed and patted Joseph on his shoulders.

[You suffered tremendous damage in an instant and your body is in a state of shock.]

[You are stiffened for a few seconds...]

Joseph's vision reddened as blood filled his eyes when he collapsed above Nina. When Nina pushed him to the ground and tapped his shoulders...

He finally escaped the effects of Stiffness as blood spurted out of his mouth. Looking at his Health Bar that was now below 25%. Joseph knew that everything was hopeless by now.

Just the debris of the Voliwolf's attack alone caused that much damage, what would happen if he directly suffered from that attack?

When Joseph heard what Nina was saying. He couldn't help but cry out in annoyance: "Does a man bleeding from his seven orifices look okay to you?"

Nina froze for a moment, but she didn't reply to Joseph's sarcasm. She merely stared at the monster while holding her bow.

"You find a way to escape, me and my sister will find a way of defeating this monster." Nina lightly smiled. However, she knew in herself that although she had a Level that was more than a hundred. This monster, the Voliwolf was a beast that only existed in the 200s.

There were so many questions within Nina's mind right now. But she couldn't afford to think about them for now. It was because right now, her job was to defeat this monster along with her sister and return back to the Beginner Village. But not only that...

Nina's instincts also told her that she would find out about the truth of what happened earlier in the day if they managed to defeat this monster.

"Wait, are you serious?" Joseph mumbled in astonishment. He glanced at Rika and found that she had a light smile on her face. When their eyes met, she nodded and Joseph finally confirmed his theories about the true identity of these two.

Rika threw a potion to Joseph and the latter hurriedly gulped it down. His Health Bar increased by fifty-Percent, astonishing Joseph who couldn't help but fall into a trance.

When their raid on the Dark Wolf's Den started earlier...

Joseph found that Nina and Rika were using skills that shouldn't belong to beginner players. Especially the Blizzard that should only belong to Elementalists.

It was a class that was a possible second-advancement class for the Magician main class that only happened when you were at least Level 100.

Joseph knew that the two possessed strength greater that shouldn't exist within new players. But he didn't dare to confirm it. After all, what if the source of their strength came from a strange second-class within the innumerable second classes of Victory?

But now, now that Nina stepped up and offered to kill the enemy along with Rika. Joseph's theory was confirmed...

He nodded his head in understanding before escaping towards the entrance of the Wolf's Den.

Someone like him whose levels were not even at the two-digits. He would only be unnecessary baggage for them. Right now, what he should do was to try his best on preserving his life for the sake of the two that eagerly sacrificed themselves so that he could escape unharmed.

But wasn't the entrance to the cave blocked by dark energy?

Now that the hidden BOSS appeared. Joseph didn't think so...

After all, it was said within the Beginner's Manual that at the moment when a hidden BOSS appeared. Players could choose whether they would fight that hidden BOSS.

If they didn't want to then they can just safely escape, bringing with them the rewards that they got after defeating the main BOSS.

Wait, the BOSS?

How did a hidden BOSS appear when we still haven't even met the BOSS of this Wolf's Den?

Shit!

Joseph who managed to run quite the distance instantly turned around in an effort to warn the two sisters about the presence of the Wolf's Den BOSS that they still haven't met.

But just as Joseph turned around, he suddenly screamed in pain and stumbled on the ground.

[You suffered tremendous damage in an instant and your body is in a state of shock.]

[You are stiffened for a few seconds...]

Joseph couldn't move anymore after suffering a sneak attack from an unknown enemy.

"You're rude... instantly turning around after you saw me... You really are a disgusting bastard." A hoarse voice of a human came out in front of Joseph and he raised his eyeballs to look at the source of the voice.

Joseph couldn't voice out his panic, but inside. He was already screaming: "There was a player hidden in the dark? How did I not notice him?!" He panicked for this was the first time that his senses and intuition failed him.

But at the same time, a bitter smile emerged on his lips.

"Just as I thought, I am still not strong enough. Just because I won the Festival of Battles. I shouldn't be complacent and think that everyone is beneath me..."

"After all, there are a lot of players in the world of Victory. I was really stupid for thinking that I am one of a kind amidst them all." Joseph sighed to himself and the effect of Stiffness finally ended.

However, he still didn't move. He just laid on the ground and awaited his end. Why should he move when he only had about fifty-two percent of his Health remaining? This wouldn't be a problem if Joseph's enemy was a normal one. But against a BOSS that is likely similar to that Voliwolf?

Wouldn't his effort be wasted?

"Oiya? You're just gonna lay there and wait for your death?"

"Good, saves me the effort." The player finally approached close enough so that Joseph could see what he looked like. Joseph burned the image of the player within his heart and soul and he vowed revenge at the player once he became stronger in the future.

"Agay!!!"

"Rika!"

Rika's pain-filled scream rang out along with Nina's despairing shout. When their shouts registered in Joseph's mind, his eyes snapped open.

The player stood beside Joseph and opened a book, after a short chant. Several dark threads came out of the book and went towards Joseph's body.

[Your enemy is too strong and you are currently under the effects of Direct Suppression.]

[Direct Suppression's effect is underway. In front of an overwhelming presence, the effects of all of your attacks are greatly reduced. Skills take longer than usual to cool down and your Movement Speed is reduced by 50%.]

[You cannot resist.]

[You are currently under the effects of Life and Soul Siphon.]

[You will continuously lose a certain percentage of your Health and there's also a certain probability of damage to your soul interfering with your memories. Please be careful!]

[ You suffered 50 damage... ]

[ You suffered 50 damage... ]

[ You suffered 50 damage... ]

Why am I waiting for my death?

Why am I obediently letting him dispose of me as he please?

Why am I letting myself die so easily?

[ You suffered 50 damage... ]

Is it because I got influenced by the fact that losing in the Festival of Battles wouldn't impact me in the game apart from losing money? Is that the reason why I think of death in this game as something so trivial?

[ You suffered 50 damage... ]

Why am I so selfish...?

[ You suffered 50 damage... ]

Joseph scolded himself.

He may have thought that death in this game was trivial since he could just revive. But for those players who strived on improving themselves within the game. Death, for them, was extremely painful for it had the capability of rendering their previous efforts as useless.

Ah, I know...

It's because as a new player... I have nothing to lose...

But those sisters... I can see that they are striving on earning a living in this game, they must be doing their best in everything yet I am just gonna let them down by letting myself be easily defeated?

That can't be...

At least before I die, I must warn them of this bastard!

[ Your Health is lower than 30%. You are currently under the State of Stiffness due to the heavy damage that your body recently suffered. ]

Joseph hurriedly tried on moving his body, but his bloodied body felt extremely heavy. In fact, he felt like his body didn't even belong to him anymore.

"AAAAAAH!" Joseph screamed in indignation, anger, and helplessness. His screams echoed infinitely whenever it bounced off the walls of the cave. But when it registered in the minds of those that heard it, apart from the two sisters. They froze and couldn't move anymore.

[You heard a devastating cry of desperation. You are shocked to the core by the scream and your body is unconditionally stiffened for three seconds.]

[You cannot resist.]

"Joseph!"

"Joseph!"

The two sisters who now looked like bloodied dolls simultaneously looked behind them when they heard Joseph's scream. Realizing their mistake of being distracted on the battlefield. They leaped backwards in an effort to widen their distance from the Voliwolf.

However, they found that the Voliwolf not only didn't attack when they were distracted. It also stared listlessly at the distance and remained unmoving.

"What is going on?" Nina whispered in confusion.

"I don't care about what's going on, all I know is that this is a good chance for us!" Rika hurriedly chanted a large-scale piercing spell that could pierce the thick furs of the Voliwolf, while Nina charged a Penetrating Charged Arrow as the Voliwolf remained frozen.

[You created a latent skill: (Desperate Roar)

Once your Health Points falls below 30% you can activate Desperate Roar. A scream filled with desperation enough to shake those who listen to it. Everyone who hears the scream will fall to a state of shock and be stiffened for at least three seconds.

Characters inflicted with the State of shock and Stiffness caused by Desperate Roar will be completely immune to both debuffs at their next instance, regardless of the cause.]

Joseph saw a system notification floating in front of him. According to it his opponent was now frozen and in a state of shock for at least three seconds. He recognized this as a great opportunity...

But instead of running, Joseph raised his sword and activated [Thrust] attacking his enemy's heart.

But why would he do something like this instead of running away immediately?

It was because his enemy was in a state of shock.

[Shock - A debuff caused by sudden and instantaneous tremendous damage to a player's body or et cetera.

Once in a state of shock, one would be completely defenseless and could suffer tremendous damage that had a higher chance of critically striking, once attacked at one of the three recognized major vitals of Victory.

Major Vitals: Neck, Brain Stem, and Heart.

Tremendous damage is normally equal to a fourth of a player's current Health. But if it critically strikes it is equal to at least half of a player's Health. Only one vital could be attacked within a single instance of Shock.

Damage to a Non-Vital part is increased by a certain percentage, but that particular non-vital will now be unaffected by the next instance of Shock.]

This overpowered debuff existed in an effort to keep the game as realistic as possible. In Victory, at least you'd still have about half of your Health after being attacked in a major vital while in a state of shock.

In the outside world, if you were attacked in a vital...

Even if you're not in a state of shock, you'd certainly die.

Even the state of shock itself in the field of medicine at the outside world is incredibly dangerous.

[You were attacked at one of your major vitals. You suffered tremendous damage and is now in a state of bleeding.]

[You will continuously lose 1% of your Health Points per second within the next four seconds.]

[Your skill: Favored by Darkness resisted the effects of the state of bleeding.]

[You successfully recovered from the state of bleeding.]

[You resisted against Stiffness from suffering tremendous damage due to the effects of (???)]

There were still two seconds left of the Stiffness that Joseph inflicted against his enemy due to the effects of Desperate Roar.

Joseph took advantage of this opportunity to pull his weapon from his opponent's chest before attacking once again with a [Slash].

His defenseless enemy that couldn't move obediently took the damage. But Joseph couldn't raise his sword for the third time since his opponent finally recovered from the effects of Stiffness and he was now held on his neck by his opponent.

"YOU COCKROACH-LIKE BASTARD! WHY WON'T YOU DIE, HUH?!"

Joseph gasped for air as his opponent tightened his hold on his neck. Joseph continuously saw the appearance of several system notifications informing him of his impending peril.

[You suffered 53 damage.]

[You suffered...]

[You suffered...]

[You are now in a state of asphyxiation.]

[You will continuously lose 1% of your Health Points until the blockage in your airway is removed...]

[You suffered 10 damage...]

"JUST DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIEEEEEEE!" The thoroughly enraged player tightened his hold on Joseph's neck as Joseph's vision swam and darkened.

He struggled and started kicking at his enemy but it was useless. His enemy's level was far too high from his reach and the difference in stat points alone made this into such a futile struggle.

If the current Joseph was the Joseph before he realized the importance of living in this world for some players. He would just let himself die without any struggle since he would just revive at the Central Square anyways and as a low-leveled beginner player, he had nothing to lose.

But now that he realized that he shouldn't take a player's revival for granted since some players are doing their best on making themselves stronger in the game.

Joseph wasn't willing to die so easily right now. Even if he died, at least he died, knowing that he struggled. He could be proud of himself and he could sleep easily at night.

Unfortunately, the reality was far too cruel. Joseph's struggles eventually weakened. But just as his Health fell below ten percent, Joseph smiled and felt proud that he managed to struggle for his life that he always took for granted in this second world.

Eventually...

His Health plummeted below five percent and when it finally arrived at one percent. The thin line between life and death. His health suddenly stopped decreasing. No matter how tight his opponent held his neck, his Health wouldn't drop below one percent.

But why?

It was because...

[The effect of the Title, "Watched by the God of Fighting" has been activated.]

The activation of this title...

Signaled the start of a legend.