NOVEL FROG CHAPTER 28 Ego
“So, they have enough awareness to realize who they were before and what they’ve become.”
A Paladin Knight is trained to act honorably at all times. It would explain why they didn’t attack him all at once. Despite becoming a revenant, they still retained the sense of honor not to swarm a single opponent after he proved his worth to them.
Either that, or after listening to their Knight-Commander’s wish, understood that they have to be eliminated for becoming the monster they swore to eradicate.
But back to the situation at hand, there is a duel he needs to accept.
Before answering, Adam took off his backpack,- there is no point in carrying unnecessary weight. Then he took off his cloak- he has only been wearing it to hide his identity and has kept it out of habit.
In this fight, he will need every bit of movement freedom. The cloak might get in the way at an inopportune time. It is better to remove the variable before it becomes one.
He chose not to use any of his potions; it could be seen as a dishonorable act. And neither did he intend to use oils, throwing daggers, and other items he would normally use.
For his weapon, he chose only the longsword and dagger- a bow and arrow would not be ideal against the heavily armored opponent. While the suit of armor it's wearing is worn and rusty, it could still withstand a shot from an arrow.
With all the unnecessary elements removed in his person, only then did he consider himself ready.
“I accept.”
Ding!
[The duel has begun.]
The undead knight draws its weapon- a Zweihander, and Adam did the same with his weapon.
Fire Enchantment!
Fiery red flames enveloped Adam’s weapons. Just as the flames had fully coated Adam’s weapon, his opponent made its move.
Charging Slash!
Despite the bulky appearance of the knight, his speed is surprisingly fast. Fortunately, Adam’s speed is marginally superior.
He managed to dodge just in time as the opponent’s greatsword slashed at the space where Adam was just a split second ago.
Without breaking pace, Adam used the momentum of his dodge and turned it into a lunging attack of its own and aimed for the knight’s neck.
Thrust!
However, the attack didn’t connect, the knight used its armored shoulder to block Adam’s attack to its neck.
Clang!
[You have dealt -51 damage to Paladin Owain Lvl. 152]
After his failed attack, the knight countered with an attack of its own.
Pummel Strike!
[You have taken -84 damage.]
“He’s level 152?” exclaimed Adam. “His level is higher than I thought!”
Normally, its level wouldn’t have shown due to the difference in Adam’s own level with his opponent. But the duel rule is in place so both opponent’s level is disclosed.
Adam calmed his nerves and put his focus back in the fight. He realized he has to use all his trump cards.
Blazing Will!
-1 HP
He put his dagger away and decided to focus his attack using the longsword. He then wields his longsword with two hands to further increase the damage output.
Slash! Bang!
This time, his target was the side of the opponent’s knee. The damage is minimal but it did cause the knight to lose his balance for a brief moment.
And Adam capitalized on it.
Thrust!
He once again aimed for the knight’s neck. Unfortunately, his attempt was thwarted yet again.
It was the knight’s turn to respond with an attack of its own.
Mighty Slash!
His attacks are unquestionably powerful. A single hit from a mighty slash would have most likely taken away 80 to 90% of Adam’s health.
But Adam’s speed has increased thanks to Blazing Will.
Aside from the physical buff, he decided to use the rest of his arsenal.
Firebolt!
-160
Not only did the spell inflict high damage, it also knocked the knight off balance. Adam followed it up with a melee attack.
Slash!
-72
The knight immediately got back up on its feet and responded with a charging attack.
Adam sidestepped the attack and hurled another spell at it.
Fireball!
This time, the knight was set on fire. With the damage-over-time in place, Adam followed-up with a series of melee attacks.
To the knight’s credit, it shrugged off the flames and defended itself from Adam’s attack. And when there’s an opportunity to strike, it would counter an attack of its own.
But with Adam’s increased physical abilities, the knight cannot keep up in terms of attack speed. Its strikes with a Zweihander is powerful and intimidating, but Adam can dodge it before it can connect while delivering a counter attack of his own.
He would then take advantage of that brief moment after the attack which would cause the knight’s posture to have small vulnerabilities that he can exploit.
Slash!
Mighty Blow!
Fireball!
Charging Slash!
Thrust!
Pommel Strike!
It was an intense exchange of attacks; one side attacks with strength and reach while the other relies on speed and agility.
But eventually, Adam’s buff came to an end. After 40 seconds, the Blazing Will ended. And with the cooldown of 180 seconds, it will take some time before he can use it again. Due to his Ignition Gloves' cooldown reduction, he will 'only' have to wait for 144 seconds.
But that 144 seconds might as well be an eternity for such an intense duel like this.
The knight, sensing that the buff of Adam ended, took advantage and began retaliating in earnest.
Charging Slash!
Mighty Blow!
Lunging Thrust!
But by now, Adam has gotten used to the knight’s tempo. Despite it being stronger, the heavy armor ultimately weighs it down and hampers the speed it would otherwise have. Of course, without the armor, Adam won’t have trouble dealing high damage at it either.
At this point, Adam can now dodge or evade the knight’s powerful attacks with minimal movement while at the same time positioning himself to deliver the occasional counter attacks.
His damage output is low due to the knight’s protective armor- it is a testament to how good the armor is despite it being visibly worn and rusty, but at least the fire damage is somewhat compensating.
And so, Adam’s dance with the knight’s blade continued. It is a dance where one mistake would take away all of his health; he’s still recovering from the loss of health due to the effects of Blazing Will.
While his ring is regenerating his health, it is nowhere fast enough to keep up with the damage Adam sustained. He cannot rely on health regen to save his life, one clean hit and it’s over for him.
Adam would periodically throw a Firebolt and Fireball at his opponent to ensure that the DoT remains consistently applied.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Eventually, the cooldown for Blazing Will has been reached and he can use the buff again.
But instead of using it, Adam considered his future move. Needless to say, dancing with an opponent's sword swings in mid-range combat is too dangerous to be doing if he's just gonna rely on a single skill.
He can’t just wait on Blazing Will every 2 minutes for a burst damage; all it would take is one slip up and he’s dead.
There has to be a better way…
Adam changed the type of combat; he decided to make the fight up-close and personal. He’s gotten used to the enemy’s rhythm, he can confidently dodge in his personal space to enact his plan.
He ditched his sword and applied the Fire Enchantment to his fists instead.
The knight took a pause; for a moment, it thought Adam surrendered. However, when it saw that Adam’s fists had been enveloped in flames, it understood that the enemy is still willing to fight and has simply changed his strategy. It is a testament to its devotion to the knight's creed that even as an undead, it still honor an opponent's perceived declaration of surrender.
But this made Adam wonder, if he had surrendered, what would happen then? Would they just let him go? Or would they kill him?
Dodging the enemy’s powerful strike, he tackled the knight and both of them ended up on the ground. He then threw a few punches in the knight’s face. The damage is minimal but his goal is to get into an ideal position to trap the knight.
Predictably, the knight tried to get Adam off using its left hand. As expected, it has no choice but to use its left hand as the Zweihander its wielding with its right hand is too huge and clunky to be used on an opponent close to its face.
Such a weird combat position caused the knight hesitation.
Back when it was alive, combat training dictates not to get close to an opponent armed when you are unarmed yourself. But its opponent broke that convention by deliberately ditching his weapon to fight with his bare hands.
Therefore, there was no trained response on how to defend itself when the enemy is throwing punches at its face while it is unable to use the huge sword to retaliate. Without any other option, the knight let go of the huge weapon to try and grab Adam.
But this is precisely what Adam had been waiting for.
With his opponent unarmed, he greedily grabbed its right hand and performed a locking maneuver in its arm- similar to one of the straight armlocks that MMA fighters perform.
He trapped the opponent’s right arm, and with Adam’s body covering the knight’s upper body he crossed his legs and caught the knight’s left arm with it. They are currently in a weird ‘T’ position with Adam’s arm holding down the knight’s right arm and his legs crossed to suppress the knight’s left arm.
In the end, his enemy’s sword arm is trapped, and the left arm is uselessly struggling but can’t reach him. It may not be Adam's best lock performance but he still accomplished his goal.
While it may be physically stronger than Adam, the difference is not so huge that he can escape with brute force. After all, escaping from the lock is near impossible especially if one’s joints are caught on a secure lock.
If Adam had to put it in terms of stat, then the knight had a strength at 60 while most of its stat had been used in vitality, endurance, and willpower- after all, the knight was a paladin when it was alive. But even then, both its arms are locked, its legs are uselessly kicking the ground and air as it’s unable to gain balance to stand up.
At this point, even if it’s still holding the sword, it wouldn’t have been of any use to him anymore.
The knight struggled, but it had no way to escape against Adam’s lock. When it was alive, it had some hand-to-hand training but it was only minimal. There was nothing in training that could have prepared it from falling for this kind of lockdown. After all, as a knight its skillset is with a sword, not ground wrestling.
The knight continued trying to resist. It tried biting at Adam with its mouth, but the chest piece of its armor is giving enough space between its mouth and Adam’s body so even that is of no use.
Kicking the ground to try and stand up is still useless as ever since Adam’s weight will always put it out of balance, unable to stand up. If anyone with a basic knowledge of MMA lockdowns is in the knight’s position, they would have tapped out long ago.
But the knight is so unfamiliar with this move that it didn’t even realize it's a hopeless position.
And now that Adam has secured the opponent, he activated his least utilized fire spell: Fire Breath.
Fire Breath!
With Adam's position, the flame he breathed out of his mouth hit the knight's arm first before it dispersed into the ground dealing splash damage to the rest of the knight's body. Admittedly, it wasn't a very high DPS or DoT, but what if he can do this indefinitely until the knight's HP bottomed out?
Fwooosh! Fwooosh! Fwooosh!
This is the plan Adam had come up with. Trap the knight into a lockdown and slowly but surely cook it until its HP expires. The Fire Breath doesn’t do much damage but its low cost and the sustained effect would ensure the damage-over-time persists.
As an undead, it has a high resistance to fatigue and is unable to feel pain. If Adam had done this move to a living humanoid, it would have been screaming in pain.
“Gurrragg! Gggggrrrrg! Ggggurraag!”
The knight is screaming. Not in pain but in frustration, for it cannot do anything.
Its heavy armor is working against it because the metal suit is now serving as an oven with it as the meat being cooked.
Fire Breath!
Adam is using Fire Breath in intervals so he doesn’t run out of mana but still maintain the DoT effect. And while the damage is low, it is consistent.
He estimates that the knight had around 2500 to 3000 HP. Meanwhile, his damage comes in such low increments especially since Fire Breath isn't directly being applied to the knight's body.
-14, -15, 13…
It was a long struggle on the ground.
But the knight, for all intents and purposes, has been completely neutralized.
Fire Breath!
Fire Breath!
Fire Breath!
-14, -15, 13
The Fire Breath’s DoT is small but persistent. And slowly, but surely, the knight’s health dropped to zero.
Ding!
[You have won the duel.]
Emerging as the victor, Adam stood up and checked his gain. Due to the duel’s effect, his status was automatically restored and his fatigue, health and mana loss was automatically recovered upon winning.
[You have slain Heretic Revenant Owain. You have absorbed 5000 essence.]
[You have acquired a Paladin’s Ego.]
The essence yield is notable, but it is the ego that Adam didn’t expect.
An ego is similar to an aspect of a being's will. No one knows how an ego can be formed but when it does, it can be used to infuse something,- usually a weapon, with unique and powerful enchantments.
This is not one’s consciousness or soul. An ego is just the notable traits of a living being that took form and materialized. It has no consciousness, memory, or soul.
Craftsmen such as blacksmiths, enchanters, arcane jewelers, and among others would pay for any price just to get their hands on an ego. This is because ego is the essential item used in crafting an item with unique and powerful effects.
An item with a high quality of materials and magical enchantment can only reach as high as rare in equipment grading.
But an item with an ego fused is guaranteed to be a unique item, or even legendary!
And Adam got his hand on such rare material.
However, he cannot afford to appreciate his gain for more than a brief moment. Several things happened after he won that required his undivided attention.
First, the quest from the Soul Effigy has been updated.
Ding!
[Quest: A Paladin’s Last Wish]
Description: A soul effigy contained the last will of an unknown Knight-Paladin. His comrades had fallen and became undead. Eliminate the abomination that was once his brothers.
Knights Defeated: 1/99
99 knights. It is close to his estimates of the number of undead paladins in the room.
And sure enough, another one threw its gauntlet at Adam.
“This will be a long day.”
***
“Maybe we should head back?” asked Jess to her sister. “This place is giving me the creeps.”
“No, let’s keep exploring,” replied Rebecca. “There has to be something good here.”
“I’m with her.” supported Dexter. “We should be fine for as long as we stick together.”
While out exploring the forest, the trio had found a mountain trail. Following the trail led them to the top of the mountain where they found a crypt.
After figuring out what is required to open the door, they entered it. But as soon as the doors shut on them, Jess immediately wanted to leave.
Dexter, too, wants to leave but since Rebecca wants to explore, he decided to stick with her.
Besides, now that their only way out is closed, they have no choice but to explore the crypt anyway.
They have been fighting the undead since the Forgotten Temple so they’re no strangers to monsters.
But the place was eerily silent, and something about it brings an unexplained unease to them. There are dozens of corpses strewn about all over the place as if a fight broke out. But so far, all of the corpses they’ve encountered are truly dead.
And that is what truly makes them uncomfortable. They’ve been fighting the undead for several days now and they know how tough they can be as opponents.
But who, or what, could possibly wreck this much havoc on the undead and not leave any trace?
As soon as the trio found the first corpses, they immediately checked the weapons to see if it’s better than what they’re using.
And while the durability of the corpses’ gears are bad, the damage is higher than what they had so they started wielding the dead’s weapons.
But the items left behind only adds to the eerie atmosphere the place seems to exude. The weapons that the corpses were using had been left behind; whatever killed them did not care for it.
After all, if players came here, they would have definitely looted all the gears. It may not be the best for long-term use due to its poor durability, but damage-wise it’s better than what most of the players had.
That can only mean that someone, no- something killed all the undead and mysteriously left without taking anything.
Or, maybe it’s still here. The thought brought shivers to Jess’ and Dexter.
Only Rebecca is holding herself up well. Although she too is afraid, she didn’t let it show and instead tried to look on the bright side of things.
The crypt they found themselves in is definitely a high-level dungeon. There is no doubt about that. Yet, not a single enemy to fight is present. There is something very wrong here.
If they are being honest, it is the nothingness that keeps then on edge.
And so the trio kept on exploring, they explored the first floor twice before concluding that it is indeed clear of all enemies.
As for all the loot, it’s such a shame that they could not carry them all. Rebecca is sure that a guild would have been happy to buy them in bulk for a good price.
They took the time to collect all the weapons and some of the armors in better condition and hid it in one of the chambers on the first floor. They made a hole in the wall on one of the chambers and dug a space enough to hide all the loot,
Then, they painstakingly covered it up again. This way, even if another group found the crypt, the loot they found is hidden away. While they could try and log out to find a direct buyer, it is best to fully explore the place first before striking a deal.
After that, they headed down to the second floor to continue their exploration.
The second floor was more of the same thing.
All undead enemies are destroyed, even zombies lying on coffins. And still, every single weapon and armor left behind as if the one who killed all these undead did not care for it.
They again collected every gear worth selling and hid them in one of the chambers.
And at this point, they have completely disregarded the creepiness of the place and became highly motivated in looting the place for anything remotely of value.
They made their way to the third floor.