rpbooks Chapter 177: A Natural
Chapter 177: A Natural
With her dagger gripped in her weapon hand, Rias turned away from the shocked NukEncore and fixed her gaze on the wounded monsters.
As much as Martin had wanted to wipe them out in a single wave, several Dark Aquatic Ants had survived the assault he and Angel unleashed together. They slipped past the frontline with cracked shells, burned limbs, and dark fluid leaking from their wounds.
Most of them skittered forward in uneven, wobbling motions that made them look more miserable than dangerous. Even injured, though, they still carried the threat of high-level monsters. Their legs scratched over the ground in broken rhythms, and their mandibles clicked with stubborn hunger.
One clean hit from them could still punish a careless player.
Rias smiled. "A monster this weakened looks vulnerable, even if it’s much higher level than me."
Before NukEncore could reply, Rias ran forward with her body low.
Rather than rushing in blindly, she let her eyes move from one monster to another, picking apart the fight in quick flashes: a damaged leg dragging behind, a cracked shell lifting too high, an exposed joint, an open cut, the gaps between her allies, and the angles Martin and Angel had already carved open with their assault.
She saw where she could slip through first, then where she could strike fastest, then where her dagger would hurt the monster most. Every injury became a possible path, and every stretch of shadow gave her a place to disappear.
Somehow, that low posture only made her look more dangerous. With her back close to the ground and her hips shifting naturally through each quick step, the crouched stance accentuated her ass all too well.
Thankfully, or perhaps not, Martin was ahead of her and couldn’t see that angle, or he might have cleared up the misunderstanding himself.
"She’s like a catto!" NukEncore shouted.
The shout never reached Rias. Her attention spread wider instead of locking onto one target, and the noise around her fell away until only allies, enemies, and the next usable opening remained.
She spotted those openings almost at once, judged which ones were worth taking, and moved before doubt could slow her down. Where another player might have stared at one enemy and lost track of the rest, Rias kept the whole fight in view.
Each step carried her closer to a blind spot, a wound, or a patch of shade. She watched the monsters the way she would watch a critical report, calmly, quickly, and with no patience for mistakes.
The only difference was that now every number had legs, mandibles, and enough strength to rip her apart.
One ant dragged itself toward Martin’s flank, its body dipping lower on one side. The damaged right front leg forced the remaining limbs to compensate, giving its movement an uneven rhythm that was easy to read.
With Lunge carrying her forward, Rias closed the distance before the wounded ant could correct its balance.
For most players, the skill resembled a quick fencing step, a clean burst forward meant to pierce an enemy before retreating. Rias used it differently, driving herself so low that the motion looked closer to a four-legged beast’s pounce.
Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground before she slipped into the monster’s blind spot.
The ant reacted a heartbeat too late. Her dagger slid through an open wound and sank deep, drawing a wet crack from beneath the shell.
As the monster shrieked and twisted, one of its legs rose high before slamming down toward her. Rias had already expected the counterattack.
She pulled her shoulder inward, let the leg crash beside her, and felt the force of the impact shudder through the ground. A player with worse instincts might have flinched backward, but she moved closer instead.
The moment the attack missed, Riposte activated on its own.
Extra power filled her next strike. Her dagger hand tightened, and she drove the blade into the same gash again, then again, then a third time, each thrust faster and more vicious than the last.
Instead of spreading damage across the monster’s body, she attacked the weakness Martin and Angel had created, widening it until the ant’s shell could no longer protect anything beneath.
[You have performed a perfect combo on a high-level enemy on your first try!]
[You have obtained a new Dagger Mastery: Shadow Edge.]
[Shadow Edge: Attacks made from within an enemy’s shadow deal 10% increased damage. Against enemies below 50% MAX HP, this bonus is converted into 15% Direct Damage.]
[Direct Damage: Ignores defense, armor, and damage reduction.]
That’s what I’ve been aiming for. This game is very generous.
With that thought, Rias turned toward the next target. Once the mastery settled in, she started seeing the ants’ shadows as openings too.
They were no longer only wounded bodies stumbling through the nest entrance. Their bodies became shapes, angles, silhouettes, and openings. Dim light stretched their forms across the ground, creating narrow pockets of darkness where she could slip in and strike.
Rias shifted with it immediately. The mastery nudged her toward better angles, while her instincts still chose the moment to strike.
A second Dark Aquatic Ant stumbled forward with its shell split along one side. Rias circled behind the silhouette cast by its raised body instead of charging straight for it, keeping low enough that her own figure seemed to vanish into the darker patch beneath it.
Her dagger flashed once, the creature twitched, and the damage landed harder than before.
A gleam entered her eyes. So that’s how it works.
She adjusted instantly, stepping behind another ant where its damaged abdomen blocked the light and gave her just enough darkness to trigger the bonus. From there, she struck and slid away before the creature could twist around.
A leg swept at her, but she ducked beneath it. Another mandible snapped near her shoulder, close enough that she felt the air move, and she leaned aside by just enough to let it bite empty space.
Punishment followed immediately. Her dagger found the exposed seam, her foot shifted back into the shade, and the follow-up strike landed before the creature could recover.
A moment later, she was already gone, leaving the monster twitching behind her.
Rias turned the damage Martin and Angel had already dealt into clean executions.