[Rookie Mission: Level 2]
[Strike 100 times using Machete]
[Reward: Upgrading Slaughterer’s Weapon]
[Penalty for failure: 1000 credits deduction.
Failure to Upgrade Slaughterer’s Weapon]
Archie squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the mission that read ‘Strike 100 times using Machete.’
“Is this a bug? Previously it said 1000 strikes, now it's just 100. I'm puzzled.”
Yet, the mission held more than what met the eye, which stirred Archie's curiosity.
“Level 2! This must be about upgrading the machete. So, there are more levels… That explains the 7-day mission duration.”
Archie studied the prompt, anticipating that the mission would pose a greater challenge than before, so he double-checked to ensure he hadn't overlooked anything.
[Rookie Mission: Level 1]
[Level 1 of Strike 1000 times using Machete completed]
[Reward: Slaughterer’s Weapon Unlocked]
Archie's eyes widened in surprise at the Reward prompt, prompting him to hastily tap the back of the machete to check for a status prompt.
[DING!]
---
[Slaughterer’s Weapon]
[Inscription:
Varina, known as The Slaughterer, wielded a formidable weapon called the Slaughterer's Weapon. This weapon was a gift from her father, Awor, whom she tragically killed while trying to protect her people.
The blood of her father soaked into this weapon, and her father’s wrath cursed it, causing Varina to fall under these curses and slaughter her own people using the weapon.
Varina gave her life to seal these curses and secure the weapon.]
[Class: Common Class (Cursed) (Upgrade)]
[Abilities:
Release its curse to wield it]
[Activation: ?]
“Cursed. Does that mean, I’m also cursed right now after unlocking it… I don’t feel any strange sensation…. Or perhaps I've released the curse.”
“Which could it be?”
Baffled, Archie clicked [Yes] to initiate today’s mission to ascertain if anything unusual would occur.
Archie noticed the familiar dummy standing in the center, but apart from that, nothing happened. He didn't experience any strange sensation or pain that he had anticipated.
So, Archie, brimming with self-assurance, believed he could tackle any mission in his current state, without any apprehensions.
Archie sprinted towards the dummy, gripped the machete with both hands, aimed at the dummy’s neck, and delivered a strike, causing the head to vibrate.
[Strike: 1/100]
Archie swiftly hoisted his weapon and targeted its mid-head to land the attack.
“WOOSH!” Archie's attack missed its mark, as the dummy vanished abruptly.
Archie stumbled but quickly regained his balance, feeling perplexed. He spun around to find the dummy behind him, as if it had always been there.
Without a second thought, Archie's body sprang into action, and he raised the machete to strike down.
“WOOSH!” In a matter of seconds, before Archie could comprehend, the dummy vanished, and Archie scanned his surroundings to locate it to his right.
“What's going on…” Before Archie could finish his sentence.
“WOOSH!” The dummy vanished from the right and materialized in a blink to his left.
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"Is this mission about striking before it disappears?" Archie mumbled to himself, deciphering the mission's objective.
So, Archie spent a few minutes analyzing the timing of its disappearance and reappearance, but the dummy didn’t adhere to a specific timing or location. However, he noticed that the dummy kept vanishing and materializing all around him, within his striking range.
Archie didn’t want to wait any longer, realizing that solid plans wouldn’t work in this unpredictable situation. So, he resolved to strike the dummy until he got the hang of it.
“WOOSH!” The Dummy vanished and Archie glanced at the corner of his eyes and swiveled his head to anticipate the Dummy's appearance.
“WOOSH!” Archie spotted the dummy materialize to his right, Archie leaped off the ground by pushing from his front foot and struck the dummy.
[Strike: 2/100]
“WOOSH!” The moment it was hit, it vanished, and within a second, Archie scanned his surroundings to spot the dummy materialize behind him.
Archie leaped towards the dummy again, swung a small motion to strike it to save some time, Archie's machete successfully connected, and vanished upon contact, causing Archie to stumble and before he could regain his balance.
Archie noticed another dummy materialize to his left, Archie attempted to side-jump but fell to the ground, due to unstable momentum.
“Arrgh!” Archie let out a cry of irritation, while sprawled on the ground. He grasped the complexity of the mission and the predicament he was in.
Even though Archie made a small swing motion or leaped at the dummy to save time, his body lacked the strength, flexibility, and agility required to execute what he had envisioned.
Archie heaved a sigh and questioned,
“Now what!”
Archie rose to his feet, contemplating,
“I can’t attack continuously with my current condition. I need to strike the first one, then skip the next one, and strike the one after that.”
“I can make it work if I observe patiently and watch my movement.”
Archie decided to test this strike, let go- observe and attack strategy to complete the mission.
“WOOSH!” The dummy materialized on his right, Archie swiftly spun around and struck it. The dummy vanished and Archie spun around to his right again.
Instead of observing, Archie swung his machete at the dummy, struck it and it vanished, and the dummy materialized behind him.
[Strike: 5/100]
Archie spun around and swung the machete, successfully connecting with the dummy, which then materialized on his left.
Archie attempted a side-jump but miscalculated, failing to land a proper strike before the dummy vanished. He stumbled and fell to the ground, his face a mix of frustration and determination.
“GASP- GASP!” Archie gasped for breath as he stared at the blue sky, wondering,
‘Why did I just keep attacking?’
When Archie landed the first attack, he experienced a sensation, not of arrogance or even confidence, something made him believe that he could land another strike, if he swung his weapon.
Archie rose to his feet again and swung his machete again and again every time he saw the dummy materialize, only to fall short of striking it or fall down repeatedly.
But Archie rose to his feet again, his mind propelling his body into action, even after witnessing the difficulty of this level. Archie didn’t abandon the plan of observing and attacking, but he kept swinging every time because he simply wanted to alter his passive approach.
In a head-on battle, being passive and showing one’s back equates to instant death. Archie kept swinging his sword to engage in a head-on fight and attack actively, while passively observing.
But by combining what he knows and what he wants to learn, Archie gradually began to land successful strikes and increase consecutive attacks.
With each passing hour, Archie's movements became more precise and his body began to respond to his commands, and his swing began to refine and come under control.
[Strike: 5/100]
[DING!]
---
[Rookie Mission: Level 2]
[Level 2 of Strike 100 times using Machete completed]
[Reward: Slaughterer’s Weapon Upgraded]
---
[Rookie Mission: Level 3]
[Strike 100 times consecutively using Machete]
[Reward: Upgrading Slaughterer’s Weapon]
[Penalty for failure: 1000 credits deduction.
Failure to Upgrade Slaughterer’s Weapon]
---
[Time Duration: 7 Days]
[Time Left: 6 Days]
---
[Do you want to begin today’s mission?]
[Yes] [No]
Exhausted, Archie leaned against the wall, staring at the E-Screen, sweat dripping onto the floor.
It took a whole day for Archie to complete the mission, but before he could celebrate, another level-up mission appeared.
But Archie yearned for rest and decided to take a nap.
So, Archie opened his Rift Watch and navigated through the menus until he saw the prompt:
[Return Home Planet]
[Yes] [No]
Archie discovered he could leave this place while fiddling with the watch. Archie clicked [Yes] to rift himself and return to his room.
Archie collapsed onto the bed and glanced at the clock [03: 44 A.M].
Archie's real life and castle were synchronized, so it showed he returned at 3 am the next day after completing the quest.
Archie drifted off to sleep with a faint smile of satisfaction for accomplishing what he set out to do.