Whoosh- Thwack! Crack! Boom!
Dodge, strike, slip away, smash. Not a single hit landed on him, yet the sound of him hitting came out ten times a second.
That was the answer to this game. Don’t get hit, only hit.
“Wow… Do kids nowadays play games that heart-pounding?”
Doyeong clicked his tongue. Is that a tank? He’s just a crazy berserker.
[Evade!]
[Arrogance Stack: 2]
As he slipped the attack, 0’s knuckles pressed down hard on the boss’s knee. The massive Abyssal Watcher staggered momentarily. Seizing the opening without hesitation, 0’s relentless barrage began.
Tat tat tat tat tat―!
A rapid series of strikes too fast to see. The word ‘Critical’ cascaded across the screen like a waterfall.
Doyeong’s old computer cried out under the strain of the flashy effects. Frame drops rattled the screen, but 0’s movements were artistic. Without taking a single hit, he steadily chipped away at the boss’s health.
When the boss’s health dropped below 60%, crimson steam burst from the gaps in its armor.
[System: The Abyssal Watcher is going berserk!]
[Warning: Attack speed increased by 50%!]
Whether due to the phase change or aggro reset, the boss locked its gaze onto Doyeong.
[Party] 0: Where are you looking.
[Party] 0: Don’t look at the audience, look at me. I’m the main character.
0’s chat message flashed by.
Matching the phase, the boss gripped its greatsword with both hands and wildly smashed down. The ground cracked, and pillars of lava shot up. At the same time, the entire map was covered with red marker zones.
Any normal DPS would have stopped their damage and fled, or a tank would use an invincibility skill at this timing.
But 0 didn’t back down — instead, his eyes glowed red.
[Tyrant’s Gaze]
[Taunt: Aggro priority locked]
Red glimmers sparked around 0’s figure. The overwhelming aura seemed to command, “Only look at me, don’t look anywhere else.” The boss, losing control, slammed its greatsword down at 0.
Ting-!!
This time, 0 crossed the magically armored arms and directly blocked the greatsword.
Parry.
Pure skill bounced back the massive force of the giant. Sparks flew where metal clashed against metal.
As the boss slammed down again and again, after the first parry 0 barely moved, only swaying his upper body left and right like he was rooted to the spot.
Dodge left. Dodge right. Sway once more.
The massive blade brushed past 0’s face, slicing the earth beneath, but didn’t disturb a single strand of his hair.
[Arrogance: 7 Stack]
[Arrogance: 8 Stack]
[Arrogance: 9 Stack]
[Arrogance: Max Stack!]
Finally, the gauntlets on 0’s hands glowed bright crimson. His attack power was amplified to the limit.
[Party] 0: Watch carefully. This is the real deal.
0 pushed off the ground and leapt forward. A long blue afterimage followed. The moment 0’s fist sank into the boss’s chest, a shockwave rippled outward in a circle, knocking over nearby lava pillars.
KRAAAASH!
The impact felt like it vibrated beyond the monitor, violently shaking the screen. The bass in Doyeong’s headset echoed loudly, as if it might tear.
Doyeong swallowed dryly.
This guy’s crazy…
That damage wasn’t from good equipment alone. It was a perfect cancel—slipping in two jabs during the boss’s normal attack animation.
Mastering the invincibility skill just before the AoE hit by 0.1 seconds, flawlessly chaining cooldown skills—it was genius-level play. Even at his peak, such a user was rare. Maybe even better than himself back then.
The boss’s health bar began melting like ice cream.
30%… 15%… 7%…
“It’s done. It’s over…”
Whatever happened, good was good. Doyeong exhaled in relief, leaning back in his chair.
That was when it happened.
At 5% health left, 0 stepped on the boss’s shoulder and leapt high into the air. Defying gravity, he hung there. Crimson magic coalesced in his right hand like a blazing sun. The surrounding air sucked in as the screen warped.
[Overload Smash]
It was the ultimate skill of the Phantom Breaker class. Consuming all [Arrogance] stacks to deliver a nuclear explosion-sized shockwave forward.
Liking flashy finishes, 0 pulled out his most expensive and powerful card for a sure win.
0’s fist reached its peak and began to drop. It was a perfect ending.
But.
Huh?
Doyeong’s eyes narrowed. The instinct of a farmer, or rather a strategist from seven years ago, sounded a red alert.
The boss was acting strange.
At death’s door, the boss would be unleashing an AoE in a dying frenzy or shouting. But instead, it stopped attacking and froze in place.
And then.
A sinister purple glow flashed from the eye slits of its helmet. Transparent, hexagonal shields began to stack like mirrors around its body.
[Mirror Shield]
A very small but deadly cast bar appeared above the boss’s head.
Doyeong’s spine chilled. His skin prickled.
‘Mirror Shield.’
A pattern that hadn’t existed seven years ago. But as a twenty-year veteran gamer, there was no way he didn’t know what it did.
That had to be a reflection.
Physical damage reflected 100% back.
But 0’s fist was already at its peak, beginning to fall.
…Huh.
0’s player bit his lip. His brain froze. Skill cancel? Impossible. The command was already input, and the character floated in the air. If it hit as is, his entire billion damage dealt would bounce back.
Instant death.
My +15 Mythical weapon? Full potions? All that investment turned into the blade that killed me.
“Damn it.”
The player’s real-world self lazily lifted his hand off the keyboard and closed his eyes.
I’m done for.
At that moment, multiple scenarios played through Doyeong’s mind.
If that fist hits the boss? That enormous damage in the billions bounces entirely back on 0.
From what he could tell, 0 was a damage-oriented evasion tank. A crazy player-tank who grabbed aggro by overwhelming DPS. His defense had to be paper-thin.
The result was obvious. Instant death.
0 dies → Aggro bounces → I die too.
[Death Penalty: Most valuable item destroyed]
In Doyeong’s mind, a vision flashed of the tractor in his countryside yard exploding with a ‘bang!’
Not just the tractor.
Grandfather’s dentures, grandmother’s pain patches, the heating bills this winter…
50 million won. My entire fortune. My lifeline.
“No!!! My money!!!!”
Doyeong’s pupils shook violently, as if from an earthquake.
There was no time to think anymore. The vision of the tractor exploding and his empty bank account flashed before him like a slide show.
His fingers moved instinctively. A dormant sense roared to life like a tractor engine.
If that lands, 0 dies. If 0 dies, I die. If I die… my 50 million won goes up in smoke.
The vision of the countryside tractor burning swiped across his mind.
No. My tractor. My heating oil. My livelihood.
I have to stop it. By any means.
Doyeong’s gaze fixed on the quick slot down in the corner of the screen. It held worthless skills, the ones everyone ignored—skills picked up and discarded during the tutorial.
[Hotkey 20: Hard Stone]
Throws and deals ‘1’ damage. (Extremely hard)
It was a skill added for fun, to interrupt mobs and apply brief staggers. The stagger window was very short, and used poorly it could trigger unwanted boss phase changes, so it was rarely used.
But what Doyeong’s party needed now was just a brief moment. Phases didn’t matter.
This is it.
But if too fast? The brief stagger from the stone would end, and the boss would continue casting. Too late? The reflection damage kills 0.
There was only one chance. The fraction of a second before the boss completed casting, right before the system declares ‘cast complete’.
Now.
Doyeong held his breath and pressed the trembling mechanical keyboard.
Tap.
The scruffy rabbit on screen pulled a stone from its pouch. No flashy effects or grand sounds. Just one pebble the size of a fist flying in a parabola. Amid 0’s crimson magic storm, the stone was almost invisible and insignificant.
But the result was anything but insignificant.
Just as the boss’s cast bar reached 99.9%.
Clack!
A crisp, clear hit rang out, cutting through the battlefield’s roar. The stone struck precisely between the boss’s helmet eyes.
[Forced Stagger!]
The boss’s head snapped back. The skill bar being cast shattered like glass and disappeared. Thanks to that, the reflection shield didn’t regenerate.
And 0.1 seconds later.
KRAAAASH―!!!
0’s [Overload Smash] struck the boss’s defenseless crown head directly. The huge explosion sound was followed by a white flash on the screen.
[System: ‘Abyssal Watcher’ Defeated!]
Among the dust clouds kicked up by the toppled giant boss, 0’s character landed lightly.
