Shieldman

"This…"

Aditya's gaze fell upon an item that should have been categorized as a weapon, but its utility leaned more towards protection.

[Round Sharp Shield (Copper): Rp 2 billion ($ 123,000)]

A plain yellow shield without any motifs, with a sharp outer edge. The surface of the shield gleamed, possibly capable of reflecting sunlight like a mirror.

However, with its murky appearance, it was impossible to use it as a mirror.

Pondering about reflection, Aditya had almost forgotten his own face by now. Shaking his head, he tried to push away the sense of self slowly fading.

Death after death had truly transformed him into someone he barely recognized. Though small, Aditya truly hoped to exit this game before his sanity completely vanished.

Aditya pressed the [Buy] button without further hesitation.

He felt that this shield would greatly assist him against Bob and Bob 2.

How to use it?

Aditya didn't need to worry; he had unlimited chances to keep learning from death after death.

After purchasing the shield, suddenly his consciousness vanished. Simultaneously, when Aditya reopened his eyes, he found himself back at the Bubat square. He/She immediately kicked him out of the white room after finishing buying items at the [Shop].

"Well, Jeff, we meet again… you know I miss you?" Aditya turned back and found Jeff's grim face as usual.

"Shut the fuck up! Look ahead, idiot, don't show your back to the enemy!" Jeff hissed sharply.

"Okay, okay!" Aditya just smiled gently like a mother seeing her naughty child.

Aditya looked at the round yellow shield in his left hand. He didn't know when he had grabbed this shield, but he knew where it came from.

Just like with the clothes, sword, and large necklace on his chest, all the items on Aditya's body magically appeared as if they had always been there. But he didn't have time to contemplate how the game worked because Wisesa had cursed all his warriors to die again.

"ATTACK!!!" Aditya pushed his body to run once more.

He gripped his sword, seeing the weapon that had accompanied him through a thousand deaths, Aditya felt a closeness.

But he knew the sword wasn't the weapon to help him win against Bob, Bob 2, and the other Bobs yet to come.

Without hesitation, Aditya threw away his sword.

"Hey!" Jeff's surprised voice sounded as the sword almost pierced his chest.

But Aditya just smirked, showing that the sword nearly stabbing Jeff wasn't an accident. It was a prank they often played; Aditya teased Jeff and Jeff stabbed Aditya's chest with the spear.

In no time, Aditya found himself facing Bob and Bob 2 again. He smiled, raising the shield in his hand, ready to resume their three-way dance.

"Bobs!! Nice to meet you, my man! Meet my new partner Boob!"

Yup, Aditya named his shield Boob. Why? Cause why not!

"Who do you call, Bob (2)?" Bob and Bob 2 retorted simultaneously.

Aditya simply smiled and refocused on his adversaries.

As usual, Bob attacked with vertical slashes while Bob 2 circled Aditya, seeking a gap in his defense.

Aditya raised his shield to block Bob's attacks.

However, he knew that directly confronting Bob was unwise. Even though he wielded a shield instead of a sword, there was still a risk that Bob's strikes could shatter his arm holding the shield.

Therefore, Aditya quickly sidestepped to reduce the damage from Bob's slashes.

But just then, Bob 2 came in with a thrust from the side.

Aditya shifted his shield to block Bob 2's sword. However, it seemed that Bob 2 possessed the same strength as Bob.

Aditya's body was thrown backward, his arm bones starting to crack.

He rolled on the ground before he could stand again, suppressing the pain from his broken arm. He switched the hand holding the shield.

However, his left hand was not as trained, making his movements stiff. As a result, he was stabbed through the chest by Bob and decapitated by Bob 2.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1001st time!]

"Okay, so what went wrong?" Aditya asked himself.

He replayed his fight with Bob and Bob 2 in his head, analyzing their movements, fighting style, and how to better use Boob.

After a while, Wisesa's voice sounded again, cursing his troops to die.

"ATTACK!"

Aditya pushed his body to run once more, tossing away his sword, which once again almost stabbed Jeff in the chest.

The word "almost" made Aditya click his tongue in disappointment.

But he didn't show his disappointment to Jeff because he didn't want another spear thrust into his chest.

Meeting Bob and Bob 2 again, this time Aditya split his attention in two.

He observed how the movements and attacks of both Bobs, which initially seemed the same, began to show differences.

Aditya was very familiar with Bob's fighting style, making it easy for him to spot the differences in Bob 2's movements.

Although they both seemed to have the same speed, strength, and fighting tactics, the truth was Bob 2 was faster than Bob.

While they possessed equal strength, Bob leaned more towards brute force, whereas Bob 2 leaned towards technique.

That's why Bob 2 seemed to circle Aditya more often than Bob at the start of the fight.

Although it seemed like something Aditya could easily figure out, in reality, he had to go through ten deaths to confirm it.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1011th time!]

In their next encounter, Aditya tried to train in using the shield in combat.

He couldn't use the shield like Captain Eagle. He didn't have superhuman strength like that legendary soldier, nor did he have the same speed.

Therefore, Aditya had to find a different fighting style. One focused on small movements, not using much force, and more on parrying than blocking.

Although he could slowly train this technique death after death, the only thing changing was in his mind. His body remained that of a lazy student who had never lifted weights in his life.

Therefore, Aditya had to know how his body would move even before their weapons met.

Just like when Aditya managed to defeat Bob one-on-one before, this certainly required extensive practice. Hence, Aditya had to endure the pain of death after death.

If it took him 260 deaths to defeat Bob, then facing both Bob and Bob 2 might require many times that number. He didn't care; he had even stopped paying attention to the in-game notifications that saved him from death.

However, as usual, the Pendant of War game paid no heed to Aditya's thoughts, and the notification sounds continued loudly.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1012th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1015th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1021th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1035th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1056th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1093th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1134th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1267th time!]

Aditya slowly got used to using Boob with both hands to fight. Despite having one hand broken, severed, or unusable, he could now wield the other hand with the same expertise.

Nevertheless, Aditya still faced difficulty in finding openings in the combination attacks launched by both Bobs.

Even if he found these openings, they were so narrow that Aditya only had a fraction of a breath's time to exploit them.

His weak body once again limited the fighting strategies Aditya could employ.

Consequently, he truly had to anticipate the movements of both Bobs even before they intended to make them. Only then could he seize the opportunity to evade or parry with his shield.

This process took an incredibly long time and an immense number of deaths.

Aditya had grown numb to the pain of death. Although the pain remained unabated, his brain had adapted to not dwell on it too much.

He didn't know the consequences of forgetting the pain of death or what would happen if he truly ceased to fear death. But he had no other choice but to plunge deeper into the bottomless abyss.

His sanity began to waver, and strange voices grew louder in his mind.

Aditya truly began to hallucinate, seeing sprays of blood from his body even before the Bobs could strike his neck.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1578th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 2031th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 2890th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 3911th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 5611th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 6141th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 6871th time!]

[Congratulations, you have died for the 8617th time!]

Aditya deflected Bob 2's sword aimed at his thigh before delivering a powerful kick sideways without even looking.

*BAM!

His foot found Bob's face, who was aiming for his neck from the side.

Although the kick's damage was barely felt by Bob, it still staggered him, creating an opening for Aditya to focus on Bob 2's next attack.

Gripping Boob with both hands, Aditya swiftly side-stepped.

Bob 2's sword blurred past him so quickly it was barely visible to the eye. Bob 2 stabbed so viciously that when Aditya managed to dodge his attack Bob 2 lost his balance.

However, Bob 2 was a skilled fighter; his balance would soon be restored before Aditya could draw a breath.

Yet, as if foreseeing the future, Aditya had already raised his shield even as he side-stepped. Thus, just as Bob 2 lost his balance, the tip of Boob touched the skin of Bob 2's neck.

Blood spurted out as the sharp tip of Boob tore through the artery in Bob 2's neck.

Aditya didn't dwell on his victory and immediately leaped forward as Bob's sword would soon reach his body.

However, his movement abruptly halted when Bob 2's sword pierced his thigh. Bob 2 grasped his neck wound with one hand and thrust his sword into Aditya's thigh with the other.

Aditya, frozen in his tracks, had to endure Bob's sword piercing his back, shattering his heart.

 [Congratulations, you have died for the 10.002nd time!]

Aditya faced both Bobs again amidst the chaos of battle.

This time, he wouldn't underestimate the tenacity of the Majapahit warriors. They remained dangerous and had to be watched closely before their lives vanished completely.

The previous fights had given Aditya enough knowledge to handle both Bobs at once. He knew that after a few more deaths, he could defeat both Bobs without getting hurt.

However, as usual, Pendant of War dealt him a blow just when he began to feel like he could win this game.

Aditya saw Bob, Bob 2, and Bob 3 blocking his path.

His eyes widened, and his face turned a deep shade of red.

Yet, what came out of his mouth wasn't a curse or insult. Instead, it was a loud, raucous laughter that echoed so loudly it seemed to overpower the sounds of battle around him or shatter his own vocal cords.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

[Congratulations, you have died for the 10.666th time!]