Chapter 9
Various monsters inhabited the Forest That Devours Darkness.
Starting with Dark Wolves that travel in packs.
There were also creatures like Ironbeak Owls, Black Silk Snakes, and Shadow Boars…
Many dangerous monsters, but the most dangerous one among them was the rabbit.
“Be careful!”
“Huh?”
Daehyeop Kim stopped his hand that was about to touch the extremely cute black rabbit when he heard Raven’s shout from behind.
The black rabbit’s expression twisted grotesquely, making it hard to recognize.
“What the…!”
Startled, Daehyeop Kim kicked off the ground and created some distance from the rabbit.
“What the hell is that thing!”
“It’s a Black Phantasmal Rabbit. It lures people or natural predators of rabbits with its adorable appearance, and then devours them.”
―――
What kind of rabbit is that?
Man-eating rabbit wtf kekeke
Wasn’t Akashic Records supposed to be a healing game?
I screamed when the rabbit’s face contorted.
―――
Daehyeop Kim’s thoughts weren’t too different from the reactions in the chat.
“Is that really a rabbit?”
“…No one has actually seen the true form of the Black Phantasmal Rabbit.”
“What? What does that even mean…”
If it’s called a Black Phantasmal Rabbit,
Shouldn’t it at least fall under the category of a rabbit?
“Anyone who’s seen its true form has died.”
“Well, that’s…!”
What an encouraging story!
Daehyeop Kim swallowed the rest of his sarcastic words and looked straight ahead.
Through the dark, invisible path in the Forest That Devours Darkness under the overcast night sky…
Dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes stared at Daehyeop Kim and Raven.
[You have entered combat with the field boss ‘Black Phantasmal Rabbit’ of the Forest That Devours Darkness.]
[BOSS Black Phantasmal Rabbit Lv. 10]
Daehyeop Kim steadied himself and braced for the fight.
He instinctively knew that this was a real monster, incomparable to the ordinary creatures he had faced so far.
―――
The field boss is a rabbit keke
Honestly, if you’re scared, give a thumbs up.
First person to discover the boss, Shin Daehyeop
Gonna show us a solo raid?
Bosses like this can’t be seen by skip-lovers.
―――
Currently, Daehyeop Kim’s level is 9.
Meanwhile, the Black Phantasmal Rabbit’s level is 10.
Even at the same level, it would be questionable whether soloing this boss is possible.
Let alone when his level is lower than the boss.
No matter how much Daehyeop Kim had overcome Simma and gained enlightenment,
There was no way to counter an overwhelming difference in power.
As proof, Daehyeop Kim’s health was already more than half depleted.
“Damn, those rabbit bastards.”
Whether they were illusions or the real thing,
It was hard to distinguish in this chaotic situation, and Daehyeop Kim’s concentration was slowly crumbling.
Taking advantage of this gap, the Black Phantasmal Rabbit slowly closed in on Daehyeop Kim like a predator hunting its prey.
This time, he would definitely record his first death in virtual reality.
Just as such thoughts filled Daehyeop Kim’s mind.
“Run away.”
A resolute voice filled with determination echoed.
“What?”
“I’ll be the bait.”
Daehyeop Kim’s gaze turned to Raven.
Raven was already drenched in blood.
The bite marks of the Black Phantasmal Rabbit were clearly visible.
Raven’s body was already in shambles.
“What the hell are you saying…”
Ding!
[Escaping from the Forest That Devours Darkness]
A choice appeared.
A choice that didn’t care for the respect of choosing.
“Is there any reason to hesitate? Our relationship isn’t deep enough for us to risk our lives.”
That goes for you as well.
There’s no reason for you to risk your life.
Daehyeop Kim could die and come back to life.
After all, he was a player.
But Raven was an NPC.
If he died, it would be permanent.
“…There’s not much time left.”
Raven’s words felt like they were indicating the remaining time of the choice timer.
―――
Go take the profit!
Oh no, Raven’s going to be corrected.
The rabbit is punishing him with an illusion.
Mister Rabbit~ Kill Raven.
Daehyeop’s first death? Let’s go!
You gotta give what you gotta give…
―――
“Pfft!”
Daehyeop Kim burst out laughing, breaking his concentration.
“Ah, seriously.”
These crazy viewers.
They were making jokes even in such a serious situation.
“Raven.”
“…Yes.”
Daehyeop Kim pushed the annoying choice to the corner of his screen.
“Neither of us is going to die.”
“But…”
“No buts.”
If I say we’re not dying, then we’re not dying.
Even as he said it, Daehyeop Kim wasn’t very confident.
This was a small hope he’d discovered during the battle.
‘If I defeat the illusions, my experience goes up.’
Of course, the rabbit’s illusions didn’t give much experience.
Killing ten of them was equivalent to a single level 6 Dark Wolf.
But the important part was that ‘my experience goes up.’
Currently, Daehyeop Kim’s experience was at 98%.
Reaching level 10 would restore all the health he’d lost.
‘But that’s not enough.’
This was a kind of gamble.
A gamble where he hoped something special would happen upon reaching level 10.
“Come behind me and take a defensive position! Hold out as much as you can. Just hold out… because I have a plan!”
At Daehyeop Kim’s shout, Raven moved behind him.
The two of them braced against the onslaught of the Black Phantasmal Rabbit.
Even in this situation, Daehyeop Kim maintained his focus and analyzed the Black Phantasmal Rabbit’s patterns.
‘The real body is hiding among the illusions of the rabbits.’
One rabbit that jumped at them to bite had a noticeably higher jump than the others.
It would have been difficult to notice at a glance, but with focus, it was possible to identify the pattern.
‘99.9%!’
He’d already located the real body among the illusions.
Even if there wasn’t anything special upon reaching level 10, it no longer mattered.
“All I can do is give my best.”
[Level Up!]
Finally, the long-awaited level-up message appeared.
A pure white light burst forth from the darkness, illuminating everything.
***
“Uh… What time is it?”
Waking up from sleep, I checked the time.
“I only slept for an hour…”
Maybe it was because I passed out like a corpse after watching that insane playthrough by the deceased.
Even though I’d slept for two hours, I didn’t feel like my mental fatigue had lessened at all.
“I wonder how he’s doing?”
If he’d skipped the main story, he would have reached the capital of the Empire by now.
If not, he might still be with Raven, talking or experiencing the ambush event.
He could still be stuck in the Forest That Devours Darkness, enjoying the early-game content.
I felt an urge to check Daehyeop Kim’s stream or browse the forums.
But I held back the temptation and entered the capsule.
I connected to the virtual reality and moved to the director’s space.
―――
[Normal Class]
Warrior, Rogue, Hunter, Mage, Priest
(Planned or in Development)
Elementalist, Swordsman
- ·····
······
[Secret Class]
Martial Artist, Ranger, Bard, Cultist, Shaman
- ·····
······
[Sub Class]
Knight, Mercenary, Gambler, Blacksmith, Appraiser
- ·····
······
―――
The basic framework was already set.
All that was left was to define the keywords and skills of the Secret Classes.
And balance them by comparing with the other classes.
“When am I supposed to finish all this…”
Facing the overwhelming workload, I suddenly hated my past self.
What kind of confidence did I have to start all this back then?
Did I not even think about how my future self would suffer?
No matter how much I questioned myself, nothing came of it.
I stopped blaming myself and poured my concentration into work.
How much time had passed since then?
“It’s…”
After finishing the skill design for the last Secret Class, I checked the time.
“…A whole day has passed?”
I had been so focused that an entire day had flown by.
Worried that my skin might have suffered damage, I looked in the mirror, but it looked the same.
If anything, I felt like it was glowing even more, as if I had become a little prettier.
‘Well, there’s no way my body would deteriorate.’
After all, this was a body with a Dragon Heart implanted in it.
It was a body beyond the realm of humans.
With nearly infinite mana, the body would never age and always possess abundant vitality.
‘And just a little bit of rest is enough to recover my mental strength.’
Perhaps it was because I had endured so much in the Other World.
No amount of work-related stress could break my spirit anymore.
“I don’t feel sleepy at all…”
Suddenly, memories of my time in the Other World came to mind.
There was a time when I couldn’t sleep for days, isolated in the Demon Realm.
Monsters contaminated by demonic energy were everywhere around me, making it impossible to sleep.
I really thought I was going to die back then.
If the Crown Prince’s rescue team had been even a little late, I would have died on the spot.
Maybe because memories like these were engraved in my mind…
I made it a habit to sleep whenever I had the chance, even though I no longer needed to sleep now.
Even now, having reached a state where I no longer required sleep, the habit persisted.
Still, I wasn’t in the mood to force myself to sleep right now.
‘The urgent matters have mostly been taken care of, and there’s nothing else to do.’
Maybe I’ll browse the forums for a while.
‘I couldn’t finish watching the broadcast yesterday, so it feels a bit lacking.’
I guess I’ll have to satisfy my curiosity by browsing the gallery.
With that thought, I logged into the gallery.
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
―――
Daehyeop Kim’s Awakening Clip Was Just Like a Movie [504]
My Heart Raced for the First Time Watching That Scene Last Night [560]
Martial Artist’s First Awakening Skill & Information [435]
Raven << Could He Actually Be a Cross-Dressing Woman? [841]
Daehyeop Is Just a Quote Machine [387]
Current Perfect Summary of the Martial Artist [1025]
Analysis of the Black Phantasmal Rabbit’s Patterns [322]
―――
Just by looking at the titles of the gallery’s popular posts, I could tell what had happened recently.
‘So, Daehyeop Kim encountered that guy.’
The Field Boss of the starting area, the Forest That Devours Darkness, the Black Phantasmal Rabbit.
This Black Phantasmal Rabbit was a sort of learning device for players.
It was designed as a preview for raid content that would be added later, so this early experience would be a big help later on.
‘It wouldn’t have been easy, though.’
Some of the Black Phantasmal Rabbit’s patterns were quite unfair if you didn’t know them and would simply get hit.
‘But if you manage to break through the patterns successfully…’
The strategy difficulty would drop sharply.
―――
[Title] Martial Artist’s First Awakening Skill & Summary
Fighting Spirit (Passive Skill)
- Constant Buff, reduces incoming damage by 10%
- If HP is below 30%, reduction increases up to 30%
- Correction Level +5, Attack Power +5
- Unlocks the ‘Combo’ combat system
Total Annihilation (Active Skill)
- AoE skill, main damage skill
- Cooldown: 10 seconds
- Can link with other skills
- Deals damage to all enemies in a straight line
Forward Leap (Active Skill)
- Movement skill
- Cooldown: 15 seconds
- Can link with other skills
Martial Soul (Active Skill)
- Buff skill
- Cooldown: 60 seconds, Duration: 20 seconds
- Cannot link with other skills
- Grants Agility +10 to self and all party members
The only combo revealed so far is Forward Leap followed by Total Annihilation.
Effect: Total Annihilation deals additional damage based on the distance moved by Forward Leap.
Exact numbers haven’t been revealed, so no idea.
Martial Artist << Overpowered? Upvote if you agree.
Recommended: 1258 | Not Recommended: 0
―――
[Comments 435]
That passive is insane, is that even fair?
ㄴ Other classes’ passives must be just as good. Chill, man.
ㄴ 10 points gained for free, happy day happy day! LOL
ㄴ And it even has extra damage reduction.
Martial Soul << This skill alone makes Martial Artists a must-have for any party LOL
ㄴ It’s basically the same as leveling up your party members by +10.
ㄴ The more I think about it, it’s really OP.
ㄴ An overpowered hexagon-shaped skill that needs to be balanced right away.
- ··
―――
[Title] Current Perfect Summary of the Martial Artist
Can serve as the main tank with passive skills.
Can be a secondary tank with passive skills.
Can be the main DPS with Total Annihilation.
Can be a secondary DPS with Martial Soul.
Has movement skills, so survivability is good.
Martial Artist << There’s nothing it can’t do.
Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) in Akashic Records history.
―――
[Comments 1025]
Only one class, Martial Artist, has been revealed, yet people are already calling it GOAT.
ㄴ LOL, I bet the Mage will be even more OP.
ㄴ Martial newbies OUT!!!
ㄴ Martial Artist fanatics have lost it.
ㄴ They’ll balance it out before official release anyway.
Ah, I thought it was just gas, but… for reference, I like Martial Artists!
ㄴ Martial peacekeeper LOL
ㄴ Freaking Martial Peacekeeper.
ㄴ This guy’s a real Martial Peacekeeper.
ㄴ A Mage disguised as a Martial Peacekeeper disguised as a true Martial Peacekeeper.
- ··
―――
The only job revealed so far is Martial Artist.
Because of this, the so-called “Gal Cup” tournaments started popping up between the Martial Artist and imaginary jobs that haven’t even been released yet.
Among these hypothetical matchups, the Mage class seemed to be the most common opponent for the Martial Artist.
It probably has something to do with the final scene in the trailer, where I fought against Elder Lich.
―――
[Title] Isn’t Martial Artist just another martial arts cliché?
Even just looking at the skill names, they’ve got nothing to do with martial arts.
Why are old martial arts fanatics so obsessed with the Martial Artist class?
Give up and just pick the Mage or Cleric.
―――
[Title] Are there any idiots still choosing Martial Artist after seeing the trailer?
(A screenshot of Aurora beating down Elder Lich)
Haha, can’t you see our lady beating up that skeleton bastard?
Stylish mages are the only hope for Akashic Records!
―――
Even if it’s not a top-ranked post, almost every other discussion in the game’s forum is filled with arguments about this hypothetical tournament.
“It’s pathetic…”
Although I said that, I found myself…
Click-click-
[Title] I think the Mage is superior to the Martial Artist…
…Typing out a post more honestly than anything else.
—
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