The demonic suppression array consisted of a pentagram core formation with a circle at each point. The symbols for the 5 main stats were inscribed in the five circles, while the symbols for the hidden stats were inscribed in the first, third and fifth circles. Corwin drew the array quickly, fluctuating his mana to account for the different strengths of the lines. Drawing the symbols inside the circles was painstaking work and couldn’t be rushed. Fortunately, Corwin’s mana was equal to the task. His familiarity trumped his speed and the array completed with 99% success, getting a delightful 150% suppression effect.

Corwin looked at the Demon once more.

Belephegorite, Junior Named Sloth Demon, Superior Lord, Level 7

HP 50,000/50,000

MP 40,000/40,000

Corwin smiled a happy smile. For the demon to have 50,000 HP instead of 100,000 it’s constitution had to fall by slightly more than half. Since the demonic suppression array affected all stats equally and so far as he knew Belephegorite had no suppression resistances, this meant he’d be fighting a creature with half the stats of a superior lord. That was roughly the power of a lord, and Corwin had fought plenty of level 7 lords by now. He was only slightly concerned as the ‘named’ status may indicate extra stats.

Regardless, the demon charged in and Corwin’s thoughts became exclusively focused on the fight ahead. He used wind charge and ducked under Belephegorite’s wing attack. He followed up with a thunder slash while the demon clawed at him. The demon quickly continued with a claw and a bite which were met with a dodge and a parry. Corwin was concerned about the fast attacks but seemed to be able to handle them for the moment. He was happy to see no skills being used, a likely sign that suppression had taken them all away.

Everything went fine until the demon hit 80% health. The demon used the skill Sloth, which temporarily reduced Corwin’s stamina by 10. This skill was too cruel as normal players would be reduced to the minimum of 1 stamina, and would faint easily from using almost any skills. Even with the ring of hidden attributes Corwin became very concerned. He planned out his fall to 7 stamina and resolved not to use any techniques this battle. He settled in for the long hall.

Sure enough, at 60% health, the sloth technique came up again, and Corwin’s stamina fell to 17. Fortunately, Corwin used very little stamina to dodge despite the pace of the demon’s blows. Near 50% health Corwin had a minor lapse in concentration and was hit, reducing his health to 80%. He was otherwise flawless and soon enough the demon reached 40% health. The last sloth hit Corwin and he was down to the expected 7 stamina.

Seven stamina was 40% more than a normal player had, but Corwin’s needs were more than that. With seven stamina, he was rather constrained. In fact, his Tier 4 character had over 1000 stamina, and he’d managed to faint from exhaustion with that character. Corwin fought bravely, but was rather nervous about the expected berserk. Just what active skills did Belephegorite have? A few blows later and Corwin was about to find out.

Corwin played the guessing game, trying to guess which skill would be the most powerful. He decided demons generally liked progression and that Belephegorite was likely to have three skills. He thus saved disrupting blow for the third skill. The first skill was unfortunately a slow. Corwin began to feel heavy as his agility decreased. It became more exerting to keep up with the Demon’s many attacks and Corwin felt his stamina slowly start to fade.

The second skill was another debuff. “Mental Laziness” subtracted 10 intelligence, making Corwin fire skills from his limited and rather depleted Mana Pool. This also lowered magic defense, likely setting up a powerful magic attack as the 3rd skill. Fortunately, disrupting blow held and Corwin wouldn’t have to find out what that powerful attack was.

Corwin held back his abilities and fought normally letting his MP build up for a burst at the end of the fight. His stamina slowly drained as the demon’s HP went down. He was keeping ahead for now but became rather concerned about what would happen at 5%. At 10%, Corwin was under half stamina, by 5% he was down to roughly one third stamina. While there was no actual indicator, Corwin could feel from experience where he was. When he burst, he received a notification that Pierce had reached level 2.

All that remained was the demon’s special ability. Fortunately, the counter that appeared on the Demon’s head was extremely long at 2 minutes. Unfortunately, Belphegorite got more aggressive, upping the pace and intensity of his attacks. Corwin dodged and snuck blows in where he could but the demon’s health bar ticked down rather slowly. Whatever took this long to charge would be extremely powerful and Corwin didn’t want to see it resolve. He reluctantly began to use his techniques, feeling the fearsome drain on his stamina. With his techniques he managed to find more openings and even hit with rapid blows. The demon’s health bar fell quickly but so did Corwin’s stamina. Finally, the timer reached 10 seconds. Corwin felt exhausted, as if he was running on fumes. His abilities came active and he burst the demon down to its last 300 HP just as the timer reached 2 seconds. With no choice Corwin used Rapid Blow and after a quick attack started to faint. The timer reached zero and a blinding flash of light emerged.

Corwin Swordborn

Spoiler : Level 7: 40% of level 8

Str: 177 (base:5)

Agi: 207 (base:35)

Con: 177 (base:5)

Int: 85 (base:5)

Cha: 85 (base:5)

Lck: 37 (base:5)

Cnc: 37 (base:5)

Sta: 37 (base: 5)

Def: 545

MDef: 333

HP: 1939/1939

MP: 1295/1295

Gear:

MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con

Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str

OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con

Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str

MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con

64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str

LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con

128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str

B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con

48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str

G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plateboots +32Str +32Agi +32Con

128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str

RR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+32 All base attributes, +32 All Hidden Attributes)

LR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+32 All base attributes,

Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels

AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes)

Skills:

Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0

Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0

Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1

Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1

Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1

Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1

Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1

Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2

Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1