Free Web NovelChapter 29: [29]: The Sovereign’s Vanguard, Tidal Charge
Levi stepped over the dissolving blue pixels of the last Nightmare Palace Guard and pushed deeper into the Tomb of the Sunken Sovereign.
The entrance hall was finally clear.
His mana pool was sitting at a comfortable 450 after chugging his last potion, but the digital fatigue in his arms was a totally different story. Nightmare instances didn’t just boost monster stats; they made the VR physics feel heavier. Every swing of his silver scythe dragged just a little bit more.
The white marble corridor opened up into a massive, circular antechamber. The floor was covered in a thin layer of seawater that sloshed against Levi’s boots. At the far end of the room stood a heavy set of coral doors, blocking the way to the second floor.
Standing right in front of those doors was the dungeon’s first major checkpoint.
Levi stopped right at the edge of the water and pulled up the boss’s stat block. It was a humanoid fish-monster wearing heavy, spiked iron armor. It held two massive longswords that literally dripped with swirling water magic.
[Captain of the Sunken Guard]
[Level: 22 | Elite Mini-Boss]
[HP: 15,000 | ATK: 300 | DEF: 120]
"Fifteen thousand health," Levi muttered, cracking his neck. "And a six-level gap. This is going to be incredibly annoying."
He didn’t rush in. He stood still and ran the combat math in his head. He was Level 16 fighting a Level 22. That six-level difference imposed a flat 30% Level Suppression damage penalty!
He broke it down. The Captain’s Defense was 120. Levi’s Arachnid’s Fang Scythe passively ignored 15% of enemy defense. Fifteen percent of 120 was 18. That dropped the boss’s effective Defense to 102.
His own Total Attack was sitting at 246 thanks to his SSS-class multiplier. 246 minus 102 meant his raw damage per swing was exactly 144. Now, apply the brutal 30% suppression penalty. 144 multiplied by 0.7 equaled roughly 100 Final Damage per basic strike.
"A hundred damage a hit against a fifteen-thousand health pool," Levi sighed. "That’s a hundred and fifty basic attacks. I really need to upgrade my gear."
He checked the defensive side of the equation. The Captain had an Attack of 300. Levi’s current Defense was 76. If that dual-wielding fish hit him, 300 minus 76 meant he was taking 224 damage per strike. With his 1,020 Max HP, five clean hits would send him straight back to the city respawn point.
The Captain of the Sunken Guard didn’t give him any more time to think. It noticed Levi standing at the edge of the room. The boss raised both of its water-infused longswords and roared, a permanent red buff icon flashing over its head indicating a 20% attack speed increase.
The boss instantly triggered its movement skill: [Tidal Charge]!
A wave of high-pressure water exploded from the Captain’s boots. It crossed the thirty-yard gap in a fraction of a second, moving faster than any monster Levi had fought so far.
Levi didn’t try to block. "Phantom Step!"
He burned 20 Mana, his body dissolving into dark shadow just as the massive longswords crossed exactly where his neck used to be. He teleported five meters backward, instantly creating space. But he knew the boss was too fast to just kite endlessly. He needed a wall.
"Hollow’s Ward!"
Levi dumped 150 Mana. A massive, pitch-black shield made of swirling dark matter instantly erupted around his body. The math checked out perfectly. His 40 Intelligence multiplied by 5, plus the 500 base HP, gave him a solid 700 HP shield.
He didn’t have time to admire it. The Captain pivoted instantly and lunged right at him, unleashing a furious, high-speed six-hit combo. The two longswords became a blur of blue magic and rusted iron.
Levi relied entirely on his 63 Speed to weave backward. He perfectly parried the first strike with the haft of his scythe. He ducked under the second. He completely sidestepped the third.
But the 20% attack speed buff on the boss was just too overwhelming. The final three strikes of the combo slammed dead center into Levi.
[- 224] [- 224] [- 224]!
The heavy impacts pounded against the dark-matter shield. The system calculated the hits. 672 damage taken.
The 700 HP Hollow’s Ward violently cracked like shattered glass, leaving it with a miserable 28 HP. But it held. Levi’s actual 1,020 health pool remained entirely untouched. Even better, the Gold-tier skill’s passive effect completely negated the knockback of the boss’s heavy combo. Levi didn’t budge an inch.
Standing firm right in the boss’s face, Levi capitalized on the Captain’s brief recovery frame.
"My turn," Levi grunted.
He gripped his scythe and swung hard. "Reaping Arc!"
Ten Mana drained from his pool. The silver blade glowed red and smashed into the Captain’s chestplate. The boss staggered back a step. Levi immediately followed up with three rapid basic attacks, the heavy scythe hacking into the iron armor.
[-100] [-100] [-100]
The jagged edge of the scythe caught on the boss’s scales, triggering the weapon’s passive. A small bleeding icon popped up over the Captain’s head, ticking for 5 true damage every second.
The fight instantly devolved into a brutal, sweaty test of absolute endurance. The Captain was relentless, constantly spamming Tidal Charge to close the gap whenever Levi tried to back away.
Levi had to play it perfectly. He managed his mana like a miser. He didn’t leave his [Siphon Aura] on constantly because it drained 2 Mana a second. Instead, he only toggled it on for brief moments when a stray longsword managed to bypass his evasions and actually chip his real HP bar.
Whenever [Hollow’s Ward] came off its agonizing 60-second cooldown, Levi cast it instantly, using the 700 HP shield to safely tank the elite’s heavy burst phases without giving up his offensive positioning.
Minutes dragged on. The VR helmet simulated the heavy, burning exhaustion in Levi’s real-world shoulders. The sound of clashing metal and splashing water filled the room.
Four grueling minutes later, Levi ducked under a wide horizontal sweep and delivered a heavy uppercut with his scythe.
[-100]
The Captain of the Sunken Guard staggered backward, dropping to one knee. Its health bar finally hit the critical 20% threshold, leaving it with exactly 3,000 HP.
Levi didn’t hesitate. He wasn’t going to sit here and hack away for another minute.
"Harvest," Levi whispered, completely out of breath.
He cast [Soul Harvest], burning 50 Mana.
The shadowy aura around his scythe detached, forming a massive, pitch-black guillotine blade in the air above the boss. The spectral blade slammed down with a sickening crunch. The Elite’s head separated from its shoulders and rolled across the wet marble floor.
The boss’s massive body collapsed and shattered into millions of glowing blue polygons.
[System Notification: Target Executed.]
[Movement skill cooldowns reset.]
Levi dropped his scythe into the shallow water and put his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Before he could even stand up straight, a blindingly bright crimson aura ripped itself from the dissolving pixels. It shot across the room and slammed heavily into Levi’s chest.
[Supreme Harvester triggered.]
[Captain of the Sunken Guard’s primary stat is STR (120).]
[You have plundered 5% of its core stat.]
[Gained +6 STR permanently!]
Levi let out a tired laugh as the raw physical power forced its way into his stats. He didn’t even have to lift a finger to get stronger.
A second later, the massive XP drop registered.
[System Notification: Slain Level 22 Nightmare Elite. Gained 160,000 XP.]
[System Notification: Level Up! You are now Level 17.]
The golden pillar of light washed over him, completely erasing the four minutes of digital fatigue and fully restoring his health and mana pools. He stood up straight, rolling his neck until it popped.
He opened his status menu. The 160,000 XP easily pushed him past the 350,000 threshold, leaving exactly 10,000 XP to carry over into his next bar. He needed 450,000 to hit Level 18.
He looked at his 5 free stat points. After dealing with that boss’s insane attack speed, Levi knew he needed to be a little faster on his feet for the rest of the dungeon. He assigned all 5 points to Agility.
His Agility bumped from 58 to 63. His derived Speed stat jumped from 63 to 68.
He quickly checked his offensive math. His Strength was originally 80. The +6 from the plunder pushed it to 86.
New Base Attack calculation: 86 Strength times 2 equaled 172. Add the 45 from his weapon, bringing it to 217. Factor in the massive 20% class passive, and his Total Attack hit exactly 260.
Levi closed the menu and walked toward the massive pile of loot sitting in the middle of the room. His damage was scaling beautifully, but he knew 76 Defense wasn’t going to cut it against the final boss. He needed to see what the dead fish dropped.
