The Over-Break System

[Hell, I bet even Benny or Gabby could call you out in the same way. You seem to forget we have spent our entire lives together. We know you and your idiotic patterns and habits.] Rolling his eyes, Brance continued waiting for the timer to show up, which would force him to move to the next Floor.

[Bullshit,] Cynrik scoffed as he observed the Hobgoblins on the other side of the room pounding one of their fists on their chests in unison. Each one held crude iron curved swords, and after their aggressive display, each began rushing forward with bloodshot eyes.

[What is Bullshit, the fact that we all can predict how you will react or that they found you so quickly.] Smiling as he pictured the look on Cynrik’s face. Brance picked up his greatsword and checked the condition of both it and his shield.

[YES!] Unwilling to admit that Brance was right, Cynrik slashed his weapons against each other, creating a shower of sparks, and stepped forward out of the shadows.

With under a minute left on his cooldown for [Spetre Concealment,] he felt comfortable enough to play tag with the remaining five Hobgoblins until the skill was ready for use.

[How classy of a response, Big brother. What’s next? Are you going to explain the theory of relativity to me? Oh, oh, how about you help me understand aerodynamics.] Thoroughly enjoying teasing Cynrik, Brance sheathed his greatsword on his back and fastened the shield on top of it.

Ignoring his younger brother, Cynrik dashed forward at full speed, accelerating from a standstill, leaving a hazy afterimage of himself as he moved. With his MP around 40 percent and not wanting to waste any resource points, he opted to go for more physical attacks, testing the waters regarding the creature’s regeneration abilities. Racing past the first two enemies, he arrived at the third, slid on the ground, and used his shortsword to cleanly sever the warrior Hobgoblin’s leg just below the knee.

When he felt the resistance of cutting through flesh and bone disappear, Cynrik began counting. The goal was to figure out just how long it took for these opponents to heal fully. If his theory was correct, and Brance hadn’t been wrong about their innate recoverability, then the Hobgoblin he just wounded should be capable of restoring its let. The only question was if the creature would hold its stump to the severed appendage, allowing it to fuse back in place. Or if somehow it could regrow limbs.

“GROAAAA!” The one-legged Hobgoblin screamed as it collapsed onto the ground and began beating its fists into the stone slabs that made up the entire room. Each impact resulted in slight tremors reverberating within a certain distance of the creature and left behind small impact craters.

[Brance, when you realized these assholes had rapid regeneration, what kind of injury did you inflict on them?] Finishing his powerslide by jumping back to his feet and whizzing past the remaining enemies, Cynrik broke away from them, headed to the opposite side of the Twentieth Floor, and asked for more information.

[I Troyed one of them. Instead of blood-curdling screams, the creature just looked at me and grunted before dropping to its knees. In contrast, when I took off one of their arms, that only seemed to piss it off. The roar it gave in response was more like a warning to stay away than one of agony.] Thinking back to the end of his previous fight, Brance didn’t hold back his thoughts on the matter.

[Interesting, they either have an absurdly high pain threshold, or their brains are wired to associate pain with anger or rage.] Looking over his shoulder as he circled the room and lined up another drive-by attack, Cynrik’s count reached 10 seconds, and he locked onto the one-legged Hobgoblin, who had reached over and grabbed his missing leg before holding it against his stump and was in the midst of grunting in guttural words. It kept looking down at its leg for half a beat and turning its eyes upward to glare at Cynrik.

[Ok, I can confirm that pain isn’t registered as it should be to them. That and it seems regrowing limbs, Piccolo style, is also out of their abilities. I’m literally watching one reattach its severed leg by holding it against the stump. Through this, we can glean another fact. They are intelligent enough to understand how their healing factor works.] Cynrik said, Tilting his head to the side and avoiding a chunk of a stone flung by the injured Hobgoblin. Next, without breaking his stride, he jumped onto its shoulder and kicked it in the back of the head as he surged forward at one of the creatures that had its back turned toward him.

Spinning his dagger into a reverse grip, Cynrik flipped through the air and followed the red line with his blade, slicing directly through the red dot on the back of the Hobgoblin’s neck, once again triggering his [Backstab] passive and instantly decapitating the creature. Then, since he was still soaring through the air, Cynrik articulated his body, contorting himself in such a way that he flew right over its shoulder and out into open space.

|You have successfully Killed a Level 19, Tier-1 Virtual Hobgoblin.|

|You have received 5 Obelisk Kill Points.|

|You have received a 1000 Essence, XP Crystal.|

|You have received 3 Merit Points.|

By the time Cynrik landed, all four of the notifications had finished, on top of his [Spectre Concealment] coming off cooldown. So before any of the remaining four creatures could react, he vanished from sight and put distance between himself and the remaining enemies.

[Six down, four more to go.] Stopping 20 meters away from the downed Hobgoblin, Cynrik watched the bone, muscles, and skin connect from the severed leg back into place against the stump. With its leg reattached, the creature kicked out a couple of times before standing up and putting weight on its newly healed leg.

[40 seconds, it took only 40 seconds for that fucker to heal back up.] Clicking his tongue mentally, Cynrik could only watch in awe at how fast healing Hobgoblins were.

[Are you seriously experimenting in the middle of a fight…AGAIN?] Stunned by how casual his brother acted during a battle that had previously stressed him out, Brance grew annoyed and wanted nothing more than to strangle Cynrik.

[I mean, yeah. But it’s not like there isn’t a good reason. This information could save our asses one day. Imagine if the rest of the party ends up fighting against these things and underestimates them. So far, in our Beasts and Creatures class, the only thing that comes even remotely close to this healing speed is Dryads and Trolls. The fact that we have a place where we can learn and earn rewards without the threat of potential death is invaluable to me.]

[Compared to their uncivilized and greener-shaded descendants, these pumpkin heads show a high level of combat awareness, even if they’re a bit stupid and rush headlong into bad situations. But if I could heal practically any injury, I would too. Intelligence on par with a teenager, rapid regeneration, and zero fear of injuries or death. That is a terrifying opponent Brancie.] Cynrik pondered calmly as he tossed his dagger up and down, shifting his grip from reverse to standard repeatedly, almost like a person with obsessive tendencies.

[As much as I want to argue, you have a point, but I can’t help but feel your reasoning doesn’t match the easy-going tone you’re using.] Brance said as he received the notification that it was time to move to the next Floor or be kicked from the Obelisk.

|You have been inactive for longer than five minutes; if you do not choose to continue, your progress will be saved, and you will be forced to exit the Trial.|

|Would you like to continue to the Twentieth Floor (Y/N)?|

[Im moving up, my resource stats have increased by a decent chunk, so I should be able to use a few skills.]

[Copy, I’m just about to finish these guys off, I was waiting for you to catch up.] Cynrik confidently replied as he sheathed his shortsword onto his hip and began channeling Fire Mana into his right palm.

[Sure you were.] Brance said in an emotionless tone. There was no doubt in his mind that Cynrik was only playing around with his opponents. The possibility that he was ACTUALLY using all that time to study was present; however, knowing his brother, it was more about wasting as much time as possible to recoup his MP.

Tapping the button on the notification, Brance quickly teleported to the Twentieth Floor, and unlike his brother, who instantly jumped into battle, he chose to let the timer run down. Floor Twenty-One was where things would get dicey. Facing ten creatures of different races all at the Peak of Tier-1 was something that would be highly unpredictable, and Brance felt he would need all the Mana and Stamina he could get if he wanted to come out unscathed and continue his Perfect Clear streak.

So since he only had one Floor left, Brance quickly decided to do what his brother was doing and burn as much time as possible so that he could go into the next Floor with enough MP to handle any situation.

Meanwhile, Cynrik had manifested four brilliantly shining Orange condensed [FireBalls]. Allowing them to hover over every finger on his right hand except his thumb, he leveled his palm parallel to the ground and spread his fingers, each pointing at a different target. Slowly, he lined up each of his fingers with a single red line that was tethered to each of the Hobgoblin’s, and when they were all accurately in place, Cynrik shot all four miniature suns.

Each flame silently traveled until they passed the range of his stealth skill, and with four loud and hot explosions, Cynrik obliterated all of the remaining opponents. Two seconds later, the creatures shattered into particles, and the notifications rolled in.

|You have successfully Killed 4 Level 19, Tier-1 Virtual Hobgoblins.|

|You have received a Perfect Score for the Twentieth Floor Trial.|

|You have received 20 Obelisk Kill Points.|

|You have received four 1000 Essence, XP Crystals.|

|You have received 12 Merit Points.|

|All rewards will be tallied and stored. You may access the Obelisk Market Place, which is open to you every five floors. Would you like to do so? (Y/N)|

| Congratulations, you have Cleared the Twentieth Floor. Since this is the final Floor that you will be able to use the Market Place, it is recommended that you do so before advancing. When you are ready to leave, please say “Move to Floor Twenty-One,” and you will be instantly moved up to the next Floor|

Like before, instead of instantly jumping into the next Floor, Cynrik sheathed his dagger and sat down on the ground to recoup his resource stats while opening up the Obelisk Market Place to scroll through to see his options. This fight had drained a decent chunk of his Stamina, but that last attack barely touched his MP. Still, since the next Floor was a taste of the final Floor, he wanted to be squared away and ready for whatever obstacles were thrown his way.

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