It was as if I had eight arms.
Actually, it was as if six of my arms had a mind of their own. I could feel how sharp and strong each blade was, the sheer power of their will to protect me and act on my behalf.
The six blades pushed the creature back, two of them turning with an insane speed, hitting the monster on its right rib. I saw blood gush from the wounds, however looking closer the cuts did not seem deep.
The horned lion roared, swinging its mace once again in my direction. I rolled to the side, feeling the ground shook by the sheer strength of the attack.
“Do you think you can defeat this thing?”
Aída’s voice came into my ears, a hint of fear blending in. At that point, I had even forgotten I was giving a show not only for that damned system but also everyone inside the wall. Lovely.
“I will defeat it either way, so tell everyone to watch closely. Their walking bank will give them a nice show.”
It would be great if I had no fears or reluctance whatsoever regarding what I had just said. Yet my words still rang true; I had to defeat that monster, whether I could or not. Either I lived to tell the tale—
Or my story as Park Eun-Woo would end altogether.
The monster was not only filled with bloodlust, at that point, it was filled with rage as well. It took all six swords to block its attacks, chills running through my spine whenever I saw that mace coming down.
I could feel the blades tremble and vibrate as if they were literally part of me, my own body reacting to every block, every cut, every missed strike.
After the creature was well used to the six swords dance, I did another foolish thing; tested my luck again.
I waited for the mace, using the six swords to diverge the attention as I rushed to the side and attempted my very first real attack.
[Primal Sword: The Ace of Wind]
[The mythical sword belonging to the Court of Swords since the beginning of creation. It is the manifestation of the Court's ideals and beliefs. It holds within the power of Air.]
[Rarity: Unique]
It was time to see how unique that weapon truly was, and if it was any good.
The horned lion’s skin was thicker than I had anticipated, my wrist aching with the impact. I barely managed to cut through its flesh, a thin trail of blood going down its abdomen.
The creature saw the new sword, looking down at me with hatred and scorn. Yet before I could call back the other sword, the beast hit me with its free hand, sending me flying meters away.
My legs hit the border of the first ditch, my body bouncing off with the impact and falling into the second one. My hands desperately grabbed a root that was sticking out of the earth, my heart racing and kicking as I heard the ground shake harder as the creature rushed to my side.
The moment that thing jumped, if I hadn’t been able to get up from the ditch, I would be as good as dead.
And we both knew that.
I used the swords as steps, climbing my way out of the ditch in time to hear the furious roar behind me, as well as to see the mace flying in my direction as if it was aching for my blood.
I used one of the floating swords to push my body to the side while another tried to change the direction of the mace, and be it luck or a well-done tactic—it worked.
I fell to the ground, feeling the earth wet with blood as the mace dropped heavily a few inches from me.
Somewhere deep inside my mind, I was fully aware of the things I would see behind me if I just turned around. I had seen it from above and I had seen it from across the screen, yet being so close to the bodies that not only could I smell their death but also hear and feel the stillness of the air…
It was just different.
I was afraid of looking back and meeting one of their eyes. Knowing I was, even if indirectly, responsible for their demise. For it was my plans, the structures I bought, my miscalculations.
I had previously thought that, even with the final wave, the new monsters would follow the same pattern as the others. Something alike the knights. Not only did I not expect that massacre, I still had no idea how I would kill that creature.
Perhaps that was why no one voted for me to be their leader. Even with that stupid "Fool’s aura", people can recognize true leaders with a glance.
They exhale confidence and trust, they are someone you know you can rely and count on to take you to victory.
Yet I was not someone like that. Kurosawa was that person, the person others would cheer on and chant his name. A true general, a true leader.
I was simply a man trying not to make a fool out of myself. One that had a lot of money.
And luck.
“Please, listen clearly." Aída's voice echoed in my ears. "One of our guys analyzed this thing, to try to find its weak points.”
“And?”
“…it has none.”
Well, that was surely promising.
The Tesla coils were still very functional, the electricity moving around them in a constant rhythm. I kept trying to remember if the horned lion had been stricken by those before, yet my memory failed me.
That meant I had to see it again, for myself, right?
The coils were the only structures left, and the ones that apparently did not need an operator. However, there were a few variables that could make this plan of mine as useless as it could get.
First, I did not know if the structure would see me as a potential target as well, or if it was only programmed to attack the monsters. If I remembered the description right, each one of those things carried currents between one and three million volts.
If the coils saw me as a target as well, and I got hit…things would not turn out pretty. And at that point, I was not sure what was worse. Me dying or that monster being unaffected by being hit by three million volts.
Perhaps dying electrocuted was the best option at that moment, out of all of my options. So maybe it was finally time to test out the theories.
The creature let out a furious cry, one that echoed throughout the entire space, one that vibrated through my flesh and bones.
“Can this guy see if our buddy here is resistant or stronger to some kind of attack?”
“It is stronger against physical attacks.” The dryness of her voice matched the gaze I gave to the sword in my hand.
“Lovely.”
As the monster began attacking me directly, I had to use three swords—plus my own—to successfully block each strike.
Even as I blocked, every time its mace hit my sword directly I could feel my entire arm shake, my bones almost cracking under its pure and sheer strength.
The Primal Sword was lighter and faster than any of the others, however not even such a fancy, unique sword was doing any real damage to the creature.
Behind me I could hear the coils and their electricity, making the hair of my neck rise on its own. All it took was one second of distraction, one moment of hesitation, and the horned lion sent the Primal Sword on my hand flying.
It made four full circles in the air before it fell, sinking right in the middle of the trail between the two coils. As I glanced back, from a distance I could see movement within the forest. Another horned creature was coming.
“Oh, fuck me…”
The swords came to my side all at once, blocking the first monster’s attack as it tried to smash my head into the ground. I heard—before I sensed anything else—the second mace flying toward me. Without thinking I dove into the ground, feeling something fly right above my head.
That damned system—wasn’t that getting a bit unfair?
The second creature almost looked like a bear, the horn somewhat different but just as sharp as the first's. I rushed toward my sword, my hand reaching toward its pommel so I could pull it from the ground, when the coils started to react and hit the sword.
It was as if the weapon had turned into a lightning rod.
The monsters closed on me, the horned lion throwing the horned bear its weapon; a spiked club. They both glared at me not only with hunger but with maddening eyes.
“You better have a plan, and you better do it now.” Aída’s voice reached my ears, my heart racing even more as I realized how screwed I truly was.
“Sure thing…”
My plan, for the moment, was to not die.
It seemed like a very good start.
Six swords were not nearly enough, as I divided three to each monster their defensive power dropped by half. It was not enough to block each of the creatures' attacks, so I mostly used their senses to know which ways each attack was coming. To gain enough time so I could dodge.
All the while, as the coils’ electricity kept hitting the Primal Sword again and again, it almost felt like…was it actually playing a song?
Hah, that system was really messing with me.
The strikes of the attacks were almost following the same rhythm as the “song” being played by the Tesla coils, making my blood run even faster in my veins, my heart beating so strong against my chest I could almost feel its vibrations.
Was I in a different situation or a better position, I would almost think it was cool. As if I was some hero fighting against the final boss.
Did the others could also hear the song? I was actually afraid of this being my mind losing its last shred of sanity.
I could not keep that play forever; I was getting tired as the fight stretched and the moment I dropped my stamina would be the moment I would die for sure.
I had to find out a weakness, if not a weakness, anything that could deal enough damage to those creatures.
They were resistant to physical damage, so attacking them with the swords would be meaningless, especially when I needed to close our distance in order to attack them.
The floating swords did not have enough strength on their personal attacks, after all. I glanced over all the fallen structures, thinking about the possibilities.
I had enough money to either upgrade the coils or buy something new. If I were to buy another structure, it could only be another trap since all the others dealt physical damage, apart from the coils.
Yet the coils were too expensive, I would surpass the current quota. If I could use coins for anything, it would have to be with upgrades.
But how? I couldn’t control their direction, and with the Primal Sword being used as a freaking lightning rod, it was too risky to try and pull it out myself.
So what could I do?
I opened my inventory, my eyes changing focus from the raging monsters to my items. I really didn’t have much—but I had one last card. Five of Cups.
The idea bloomed in my mind, something that could be as crazy as it could actually work. It would all depend on my luck.
[Coins: 10]
So why couldn’t I upgrade my status a little bit?
[Do you wish to spend 675 points to increase Coins by 5?]
675?!
That system was trying to rip me off, it was 75 points before to increase it by 3!
I confirmed as I rolled to the side, the mace and the club clashing together as both horned lion and horned bear glared at me, revealing their blackened teeth.
If I was correct in my suspicions regarding the cards, there was only one instance where that card would help me.
Only one.
Out of the four possibilities, there was a 12% chance of me getting the actual option that would save my life. And I could only hope my foolish luck would be enough.
[Do you wish to use this card? It will disappear after one use.]
I pressed the button so hard my finger hurt.
[Passive Skill - The Fool’s Journey I]
[Active]
[The card’s attribute will be stronger!]
[Picking Attribute…]
The card appeared before me, with the monsters right behind it. The card started to shake, its size getting bigger and bigger.
[Attribute chosen]
My heart stopped, the six swords around me shaking with my own anxiety and fear.
[Element]
I barely had the time to climb on top of two swords, the water exploding out of the card as if a dam had suddenly burst open. The water spread through the entire space, both creatures standing almost knee-deep into the water that would not stop coming, washing over the broken structures and dead bodies.
The remaining four swords immediately went around the Primal Sword stuck in the ground, my fingers moving furiously as I opened the coils' information.
[Do you wish to upgrade Thunder Dance?]
[Do you wish to upgrade Thunder Dance?]
[Upgrading…]
[Upgrading…]
[Current voltage...]
[100 million volts]
The scene that happened next was almost beautiful to see. With the rhythm still being played by the coils, their electricity hit the Primal Sword, the tallest out of all of them, creating an electric chain that ran between the four other swords. And apparently, they were all made of a very conductive metal.
Both horned creatures froze in their places, the scent of burned, rotten flesh spreading throughout the space like a plague. Their roars echoed for the first few seconds, their screams so loud I had to close my ears even though I was above them both, up in the air, balancing myself on top of the swords’ blades.
Finally, the creatures dropped to their knees, falling with their faces onto the water. It took about ten seconds for my breathing to normalize, and a few more for the water to stop flowing out of the card.
I kept staring at those bodies, glancing toward the forest entrance every now and then, waiting.
Praying.
And at last…
[Congratulations! You survived the Third Wave!]
[You concluded the Trial for Two of Wands - Defend the Castle!]
Pure relief spread to me, my body so light I could swear I was falling.
However, it took a moment to realize I was really falling, all six swords gone. Yet even before I hit the ground, I closed my eyes for I had no more energy to keep them open.
Even then, I fell with a smile.