VRMMO: Passing of the Sword

“Eee!” A bright eagle’s call sliced across the mountain, adding a thread of life to the mountain’s vast expanse of whiteness.

Snowflakes began to fall over the snowy mountain, and nobody knew if the snow would become heavier. Blue Maple gripped his swords as he walked forward slowly.

According to Blue Maple’s electronic map, he was almost at the Snow Lotus Flower’s location, and he could face the Icy Snow Wolf King very soon. He had quickly dispatched more than a dozen Arctic Snow Wolves along the way, and he didn’t waste too much time, while discovering several interesting things.

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[Snow Wolf Internal Fragment]: Using this negates fifty percent of cold’s negative effects, while increasing resistance against ice-type attacks by twenty percent. Lasts for thirty minutes. (Effects do not stack, and effective up until Rank 60.)

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Three of the Snow Wolves that Blue Maple had slain had dropped this. Ice-type resistance included reducing the duration of negative restraining effects from ice-type skills and attacks. This item seemed to be included for the convenience of players who wished to farm this map.

Blue Maple glanced at a cliff before him. Snowflakes drifted beneath it continuously, and even though he was curious what lay underneath the cliff, he didn’t dare step forward to take a look because he didn’t know if the thick snow by the cliffside would drag him down over the side with the snow if he stepped onto it.

Blue Maple tightened the robe over his body. He diverted his thoughts away from such matters, because he was about to tackle the greatest challenge of his journey, the Icy Snow Wolf King!

Blue Maple arrived at a U-shaped opening surrounded by boulders after another minute. His electronic map showed that the Snow Lotus Flower was inside. Blue Maple gradually walked towards the opening, and what was beyond the U-shaped opening gradually unfolded before his eyes.

The inner region was very spacious, about the size of two basketball courts. There was almost no cover, and a single lotus flower was sitting quietly upon a moderately tall stone wall deep inside the opening. That should be his target, the Snow Lotus Flower!

The U-shaped opening blocked the chilly winds billowing outside, but that didn’t make Blue Maple feel any relief at all, because there was a cave beneath the Snow Lotus Flower a little over a meter tall. A relatively larger Snow Wolf was inside, and Blue Maple could see its attributes from afar.

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[Icy Snow Wolf King] (Rank 60 Boss)

Attack: 589-737

Magic Defence: 426-566

Defence: 435-542

HP: 350,000

Skills: Arctic Icicle, Ice Claws, Rend, Ice Crystal Armour, Freezing Light Ray

Introduction: The ruler of Arctic Snow Mountain. It’s always protecting the mountain’s natural treasure, the Snow Lotus Flower, day and night. It doesn’t leave except when foraging for food. The Icy Snow Wolf King relies upon the Snow Lotus Flower to cultivate, and it has successfully reached Rank 60.

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The old man was a bastard who always messed with his disciple. If Blue Maple wasn’t in his Dual-Wielding Stance, along with his amplified attack damage from his two swords, Blue Maple’s attacks on the Icy Snow Wolf King probably wouldn’t exceed three digits in damage.

Blue Maple didn’t even want to provoke the Rank 50 Armor-Rending Bear King, and now he had to deal with a Rank 60 Icy Snow Wolf King. He originally believed that the Icy Snow Wolf King was only around Rank 55, but he didn’t expect that the Snow Lotus Flower enabled the Wolf King to reach Rank 60, and even gave it an additional skill.

Fortunately, his Azure Wind Sword had a +30 Armor-Piercing effect, which made his fight a little easier, but only slightly. The Icy Snow Wolf King’s attack damage, in addition to its rank advantage, meant that, if it could hit him, it could probably kill him with one hit if he wasn’t at full HP!

At least the Wolf King’s ice-type attacks were good for him because he had a Snow Wolf Internal Fragment to reduce some of that attack damage, except he didn’t know how effective it was now that he was facing the Snow Wolves’ king.

Rend was a purely physical attack, which meant it should instead deal the highest damage. Of course, that was excluding the Wolf King’s new skill. However, Blue Maple could tell from its name that the new skill was probably meant for control, so its attacking power probably wasn’t high. But he could also tell that this skill had a very low casting time, or could even be used instantly. Blue Maple would be in danger if it was an instant skill!

The Icy Snow Wolf King detected Blue Maple’s presence when he saw it, and it slowly got to its feet. It stared at Blue Maple with ice-cold eyes, and even a belittling and disdainful look, like it was looking at an ant. Blue Maple was probably no different than an ant to the Wolf King, because he was just some Level 29 fellow. Blue Maple had to admit that he could feel the pressure that emanated from powerful individuals within the game when the Icy Snow Wolf King got to its feet, but that feeling quickly disappeared.

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Ding! Game Announcement: You are being pressured by the Icy Snow Wolf King, a superior being. All your attributes are lowered by 15%!

Ding! Game Announcement: Your Winter Robe has blocked the pressure from the Icy Snow Wolf King, and your attributes have been restored.

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Seems like the old man’s robe doesn’t just block the cold. At the very least, he’s not completely cheating me.

Since the Wolf King looked down on him, then he had a chance to gain some initiative, so Blue Maple charged directly at the Icy Snow Wolf King.

The Icy Snow Wolf King did underestimate him in reaction to his attack, and swung his claw at Blue Maple like he was nothing.

Since you’re underestimating me, then you should pay the price for that! Even though I’m weaker than you, I'm not just some ant!, Blue Maple thought to himself as he continued charging forward.

Blue Maple easily sidestepped the Wolf King’s swipe before he chopped down onto the Icy Snow Wolf King’s body, and sliced at the Wolf King with his other sword. He was wielding two swords, so striking with both swords counted as a single attack, rather than one attack each.

-401, -358! Blue Maple’s left-handed attack dealt less damage than his right-handed attack by about ten percent; this fact was reversed for left-handers.

The Icy Snow Wolf King was enraged that it had missed and was struck instead. The Wolf King was preparing to attack Blue Maple again when he used Instant Chain Strike!

The Icy Snow Wolf King appeared on the Wolf King’s other side in a flash, and cut into the Wolf King with two quick strikes before using Cold Light Slash!

Blue Maple reset his basic attacks and struck the Wolf King again swiftly with his swords before his Passive enabled him to reuse his previous skill: Cold Light Slash!

Blue Maple slashed the Wolf King twice more before he kicked the Wolf King’s body with both feet. The Wolf King turned around as it lost its balance, and Blue Maple put some distance between the Wolf King and himself with a backward flip.

-408, -361, -449, -405, -362, -426!…

Six quick strikes, two Skills, and finally a kick to push the Wolf King away were completed in the blink of an eye. Cold Light Slash reset his basic attacks, and his Passive allowed him to use a weakened form of Cold Light Slash a second time. Cold Light Slash was comparatively weaker, but the Skill could still reset his basic attacks, so he still managed to strike the Wolf King twice more.

The reason Blue Maple didn’t chain his attacks with Sweeping Sword Slash, and again the second time, was because he didn’t have enough time. The Icy Snow Wolf King had already turned its head to retaliate. Blue Maple didn’t have any mana problems. He wouldn’t run out of mana if he continued drinking mana potions, and he could sustain drinking one potion every ten seconds for sixteen minutes. Blue Maple’s mana would slowly regenerate as long as he didn’t use all his Skills continuously.

The reason he didn’t use Instant Chain Strike a second time was because his Dual-Wielding Stance’s Passive ability allowed him to reuse another attack-type skill within ten seconds. Instant Chain Strike could only be used once every twenty seconds, and Blue Maple wanted to make sure that he could use Instant Chain Strike at any moment to evade attacks.

Blue Maple could still use Lightning Chain Strike at crucial moments to evade attacks or skills. Even though he couldn’t shift to any position he desired like he could with Instant Chain Strike, Lightning Chain Strike’s evasive speed was very quick, and typically used to attack multiple targets at the same time. Furthermore, he could choose any spot he wanted to land at.

Therefore, Lightning Chain Strike could serve the same purpose, except it consumed a lot of mana and had a long cooldown. That was the main reason Blue Maple avoided using it!

The Icy Snow Wolf King saw that Blue Maple had put some distance between them, and it immediately shot a frozen spike at Blue Maple with Arctic Icicle. However, Blue Maple prepared to dodge when he saw the flash of white light in the Wolf King’s maw, and the frozen spike missed completely. The Wolf King quickly charged forward, its speed was lightning quick compared to Blue Maple!

Ice Claws!

So fast! Blue Maple dodged away as quickly as he could, but the Wolf King was still about to hit him. His movement speed couldn’t keep up, so he had no choice but to parry with his sword. Even then, parrying this attack could only reduce some damage as he used the Wolf King’s own strength to divert the impact to one side.

-301!

Blue Maple used both of his swords to parry the attack, and he angled his blades diagonally so he could divert some impact. But even then, he took so much damage. His 600+ HP would probably be left with a single thread if he had been hit directly!

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Ding! Game Announcement: You have been affected by the Icy Snow Wolf King’s Ice Claws, and your movement speed has declined by 13%. This will last for four seconds.

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I’m already at such a disadvantage, and I still have to be slowed by the Wolf King’s ice-type attack. I would probably freeze over if I had taken a direct hit. This is the result of my Snow Wolf Internal Fragment’s resistance, which has reduced some of the negative effects. But that’s probably not much...

The Icy Snow Wolf King’s next swipe, a basic attack, quickly followed. But this attack was a little further away because the Wolf King’s strength was diverted away when Blue Maple parried its previous attack. He barely managed to dodge this attack, and the Wolf King swiftly opened its bloody maws and chomped down at him.

He’s not giving me any chance at all. My speed is already reduced, and unless I use Instant Chain Strike after another quick strike, I won’t have anything else to think about. Blue Maple didn’t dodge the Wolf King’s attack this time, and positioned the sword in his right hand horizontally in front of him. The Wolf King bit down on his sword, and Blue Maple stabbed the sword in his left hand into the Wolf King’s body hard.

Blue Maple was pushed back several steps in such a position before he planted his feet firmly, leaving two long trails in the snow.

Blue Maple managed to block the attack this time, and took no damage at all. The game was based in half-reality after all, and Blue Maple could still understand if he took some damage from the Wolf King’s swipe due to the shock of impact, but the game would be bullshit if he took damage from the Wolf King biting his sword.

The Wolf King saw that its first two attacks were ineffective, and it shook its head forcefully with the sword still in its mouth. Blue Maple grabbed his sword tightly and refused to let go, but the price he had to pay for not letting his sword leave his hand was that he slammed heavily against a wall.

Bam! -112!

Blue Maple took some damage. He quickly got to his feet after hitting the ground, and drank a single health potion before he quickly launched another attack at the Wolf King. Ten seconds still hadn’t passed, and he swiftly used Instant Chain Strike to switch to a better position. The last time he had used Instant Chain Strike was followed by a few swipes and a single bite from the Wolf King, and he didn’t waste much time, even though he was swung against the wall. Ten seconds hadn’t passed yet.

The Wolf King responded strongly as he lunged at Blue Maple once more, but the Wolf King was further away from Blue Maple because Blue Maple was using a sword. Blue Maple struck the Wolf King first, and he quickly switched his position behind the Wolf King before using Sweeping Sword Slash on the Wolf King’s buttocks and kicked them hard.

Bam! It was the Wolf King’s turn to crash head-first into the wall that was originally behind Blue Maple. Blue Maple dealt a string of heavy damage to the Wolf King before he swiftly pulled away from it.

Blue Maple adjusted his condition to face the Icy Snow Wolf King’s next wave of attacks. He had to prepare for the Wolf King’s increasingly furious attacks, because it was enraged!