Fight Back (2)

Leon used his only defensive skill, the empowered Lv.2 Block.

His swords raised just in time to intercept the incoming attacks from the enraged Frost Wyvern.

The two attacks were successfully blocked, and this time, an entirely different outcome played out.

[System Notification: The Wyvern has failed to meet the strength check.]

[System Notification: The secondary effect of empowered Lv. 2 Block has come into effect. The demonic Frost Wyvern has been thrown off balance. It has entered a state of vulnerability.]

[System Notification: Its vulnerability will end in 1 second.]

When his block was successful against the Imps earlier, it had thrown them into a state of vulnerability for 3 seconds. However, against the Frost Wyvern, the vulnerability lasted only 1 second because the Wyvern was just too strong. Even the empowered Lv.2 Block, which was ten times stronger than the Lv.1 Block, could only throw it off balance for a brief moment once its secondary effect triggered.

As for why it didn't work against the Wyvern the previous time, the answer was simple: Leon had been too weak. His skills were useless against the Wyvern. It was only after receiving the Fairy Queen's blessing that he gained the power to be a threat to it, as the blessing made his skills powerful enough to be effective against the formidable beast.

The Wyvern was thrown off balance for 1 second. Leon didn't hesitate to grasp the window of opportunity he had so painstakingly created. He activated Slash, and his swords moved like a blur as they tore through the beast's scaled flesh, carving 70 deep lacerations, each about three inches deep, across the Wyvern's chest.

[System Notification: The Frost Wyvern has taken 1,000 damage. Current HP: 8,000/10,000.]

The Wyvern roared in agony as blood sprayed from its fresh wounds. Leon immediately used Quickstep to avoid the splatter of blood that gushed out of the lacerations in the Wyvern's chest. The splatter hit the ground and froze it solid on impact.

"8,000 more HP to go, and victory is in the bag," Leon thought, his resolve solidifying.

Without wasting a moment, Leon rushed forward again. He was half certain that the crazed Wyvern would lash out the moment he entered its attack range, but he had already devised a plan against such a scenario. The instant the Wyvern made its move, he would activate Quickstep Lv. 2 to circle behind it and unleash the Divine Lunar Slash to deal a devastating blow that might just cut its HP by more than half. Leon was hopeful that it would.

His plan was perfect, but he didn't take into account one crucial factor: the Wyvern's hidden talent. The comment made by the no.1 pve player in his previous life have misguided him in this fight. 

Just like players, some boss-type monsters possessed talents, and this was especially true for hidden bosses.

The demonic Frost Wyvern had a special talent called *Combat Supremacy.* 

This talent allowed it to increase its rationality and maintain a calm demeanor the more it was injured.

Frost Wyverns were known for being among the most rational monsters, which made them difficult to kill. However, the demonic Frost Wyvern had the blood of demonic dragons coursing through its veins, making it easily susceptible to bouts of rage and recklessness. But its *Combat Supremacy* talent countered this flaw, allowing it to display the best trait of Frost Wyverns. 

Losing 2,000 HP granted it the composure it needed to face this battle with a clear head.

It quickly realized that with its current abilities, it had no hope of winning against this human it had initially dismissed as an ant.

It had to set aside its pride and turn to the runic items in its possession.

It had three of them: one it gained during an exploration of a ruin with the other retainers of the 13th Demon Prince, one given to it by its cold-hearted mother on that wintery night when she abandoned it, and the last was a gift from its lord, the 13th Demon Prince himself, for whom it had come to this godforsaken land and ended up in this dire situation.

Out of the three runic item in its possession, one would be automatically activated once its life was in danger. It was a life saving item. The other two had to be activated by itself, and it didn't hesitate to do that.

"Mother of all dragons, bless me with the Wisdom to rival the Ancients. Grant me the vision to see through the present. Duke of Steel, let your power flow into me. Empower my claws so they can dig to the depths of the earth and cut through the grandest of heavenly barriers." The Wyvern chanted. "Let my call be heard. Let my call be answered."

The second it finished its prayer, two rays of light shot out of the ruby amulet hanging around its neck. These rays of light fused with its claws, enveloping them in a sinister glow. At the same time, the pair of silver bracers etched with ancient runes that encircled its tail began to emit a soft, silvery light similar to the light of one of the moons high above. The Wyvern's bloodshot eyes receded to their normal state before they too began to glow with a powerful, otherworldly light.

[System Notification: The boss has entered its second phase. The Demonic Frost Wyvern has been equipped with two extra abilities of the EX rank.]

The chat erupted with comments:

[Error101]: "I knew this was going to happen! The game devs won't let a player defeat a monster so powerful at the start of the game.

[GamerGoddess]: "Is this really what we think it is? A death route that, once triggered, leads to inevitable defeat no matter how hard you struggle."

[GamerChick101]: "EX rank abilities? Those should be the strongest in the game, right? With two of them, its power level must've doubled. Zeus is going to find it impossible to win against it now."

[XtremeGamer]: "Stop being so negative. Nothing is set in stone. So what if the boss has gotten stronger? Zeus probably hasn't gone all out yet.

[Dragonslayer123]: "I agree with my friend above. You guys are going to eat your words soon. My God King Zeus will make it happen!"

[ShadowStrike]: "Agreed. It's way too early to count him out."

YourNemsis was silent, so was CyberBlade, but out of all the viewers they were the most anxious. After all, his victory or loss would determine who among the competitive siblings was a better gambling. 

The Wyvern's power-up was obvious to Leon, but he didn't stop advancing.

Although he didn't know exactly what its new abilities did, he didn't have the luxury of sitting around to find out.

The effect of the Piercing Strike would end in another four minutes.

His swords would lose the razor-edge enchantment, leaving him with only two uses of the Divine Lunar Slash skill to take down the beast.

This was one of the signature skill of the no.1 pve player in his past life. He was his fan, so he knew the shortcoming of this skill. It wasn't a sure hit skill and anyone could dodge it if they were fast enough. Thus, he considered being left with only the Divine Lunar Slash to take down the hidden boss of the tutorial the worst possible scenario. He had to defeat it before the enchantment wore off!

Whoosh!

As he had expected, the Wyvern clawed at him the moment he entered its attack range. Leon dodged by using the empowered Quickstep (Lv. 2), reappearing behind the creature before counterattacking. 

The Wyvern quickly turned around and blocked his counterattack with its claws.

Hmm? Leon's pupils trembled in surprise—his enchanted swords could even cut through the scales of a dragon, yet now they were stopped by the Wyvern's claws.

"It must be because of that ominous red glow," Leon thought. He guessed that the sturdiness of its claws had been amplified several times by the light that shot out from the ruby amulet. But was that its only effect?

He didn't have time to fully analyze it as, after blocking his attack, the Wyvern swung its tail towards him. Leon disappeared before he could be hit, reappearing behind it again and thrusting his swords straight ahead. The cold, sharp edge glowing golden was about to stab into its back when, as if it had eyes behind its head, the Wyvern turned around and blocked it again.

"Another failure? This doesn't make sense unless…"

Leon had a gut feeling that the Wyvern was relying on more than just reflexes to counter his attacks. But it was still just a gut feeling—far from confirmation.

What happened next, however, helped him confirm his suspicion.

He attacked the Wyvern ten different times from ten different directions, but as if the Wyvern could see them coming, it responded to each one in the most perfect way possible, blocking them all with its tail and claws.

"This confirms it—you can see into the future!" Leon blurted out after dodging its counterattack by flashing a hundred feet away.

The Wyvern let out a low, menacing chuckle, its eyes gleaming with malicious intent.

"You've finally caught on, haven't you?" it sneered. "This power, are you curious about where it comes from? Even if you aren't, I will still tell you. It comes from the bracers on my tail. If you can destroy them, you'll stop my ability to see your every move before you make it. But do you dare give it a try?"

The Wyvern's grin stretched into a creepy, toothy smile as it dared Leon.

The chat immediately exploded with comments.

[GwackGwack]: "Wait, is it actually challenging him?"

[XtremeGamer]: "No, you fool! It's an open invitation to a trap."

[GwackGwack]: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Before XtremeGamer could reply, DragonSlayer123 commented.

"The Wyvern's goal is to manipulate Zeus into going for the runic item decorating its tail by making him believe that the only way to stop its foresight ability, which lets it see all his moves and block all his attacks, is by destroying those bracers. If he falls for its words, he would miss the real danger," Dragonslayer123 commented in the chat.

[GwackGwack]: "Why are you so certain that your conclusion is right?"

[Dragonslayer123]: "It's only in poorly written comics and movies that villains expose their weaknesses to their enemies and then get fucked over. Not in this game. The monsters here are intelligent. Even the mobs are deadly, as you have already seen. So why would a boss-type monster reveal its weakness unless it had some nefarious intentions?"

The viewers couldn't help but agree with his words. 'Yes,' they thought, 'what the Wyvern said might not necessarily be the case. It could be lying for all they know. Maybe its ability to predict his moves can't be used repeatedly. Maybe it has a limited duration. Maybe it's trying to deceive him into biting the bait and falling into a trap.'

"I wonder how he will react to this," TheReaper wondered.

The viewers watching the livestream with bated breath also wondered how Zeus would respond to the Wyvern's taunt. Would he take the bait, or would he find a way to turn the situation to his advantage?

Leon knew he was walking into a trap, but the pressure of time—of the limited duration of his Piercing Strike skill—forced his hand. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it. Rushing the Wyvern like a barbarian with muscles for brains, Leon moved with purpose. Of course, he couldn't just charge straight at it—that would be suicide. He planned to create an opening, and when the Wyvern least expected it, he would strike and cut off the part of its tail decorated with the bracers.

He engaged the Wyvern in a fierce struggle, circling it and aiming for its vulnerable spots. But the Wyvern effortlessly blocked each attack with its empowered claws, its eyes gleaming with pleasure. The human was clearly not its equal—it was struggling to go toe-to-toe with it!

Suddenly, Leon's sword shot out of his hand, flying toward the Wyvern's right eye. At the same time, Leon flashed behind it and swung his remaining sword with all his strength. Now, it seemed the Wyvern was presented with two scenarios. Either it could save its life by dodging the sword threatening to pierce its brain through its eye socket, or it could protect its tail and maintain its ability.

Not only the viewers, but even Leon believed it would choose to save its life.

However, the Wyvern went against their expectations and chose to save its tail, swinging it out of Leon's reach. Just then, the crown on its head radiated with a malevolent energy. The empowered sword that was about to sink into its eye came to a sudden halt, and a terrible dizziness struck Leon. The dizziness was so intense it felt as if his world was spinning. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for the Wyvern to whip him with its tail.

Bam!

The tail struck Leon in the side, sending him flying several dozen meters away.

[System Notification: Your HP has dropped by 300 points. Status Effect: Dizziness applied. Duration: 3 seconds.]

His HP dropped by another 100 points as he landed hard on the frozen ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He coughed up blood, and the supernatural cold air in the area began to seep into his bones, causing his movements to slow.

[System Notification: Status Effect: Frostbite applied. Movement speed decreased by 20%. HP will continue to drop at a rate of 10 points per second until the frostbite is removed.]

Leon seemingly ignored all the notifications, fighting against the intense pain threatening to drown his senses as he quickly scrambled to his feet.

He got up just in time to see the Wyvern's wide-open jaws threatening to snap him in half. Considering the pain he was in, it seemed impossible to make the right judgment, but he did it.

Snap!

The Wyvern's massive jaws snapped shut just as Leon appeared a considerable distance away, his Quickstep saving him by the skin of his teeth. He landed on a patch of lush green ground, but as soon as he appeared there, a chill ran down his spine.

As if the Wyvern had anticipated his move, it unleashed its ultimate attack in that very direction.

A blast of icy breath twice its original size roared toward him with deadly intent.