Chapter 9

"O sharp blade, dwell in my hand. Here, the path of a true swordsman shall be opened."

Just like at the 【New Recruit Training Ground】, when the keywords for the 【Sword Emblem】 are spoken, the door to the Inheritance Shrine opens. After that, proceeding as before, I was able to inherit a new skill.

『Inheritance completed.』

『Skill 【Slash】 acquired.』

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【Slash】 Lv.1

- Sword skill

- By consuming MP, you can launch a slash attack.

- By infusing magic power within a limited time, a critical slash can occur, increasing the damage by 30%.

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"Alright, that's the second one."

【Slash】. This skill is also an important one for those who wield swords, compensating for the weakness of swordsmen in long-range combat.

Incidentally, to perform a critical slash, you usually need to infuse magic power in the 1 second before the slash attack is launched. By compressing this to the last 0.2 seconds, you can increase the damage, a high-level technique used by about 70% of the top-ranked players in Creon.

However, conversely, it is so difficult that even top players cannot activate a critical slash more than 30% of the time. If you fail, the activation itself is canceled, so most players usually just release a regular slash attack.

"Well, I could always activate a critical slash whenever I wanted."

Incidentally, as a supplement, 'Crest Online' is designed to be enjoyable both in parties and solo. The ability to perform long-range attacks as a swordsman with this 【Slash】 skill is one of the features that symbolizes this.

There are also skills for magic users that allow close-range combat, but I'll gather those gradually.

"For now, I have a complete set of offensive and defensive skills."

【Parry】 and 【Slash】 are both powerful and versatile skills. It's a big advantage to have learned them early on.

"With these two, it will be easier to tackle dungeons with inheritance skills other than swords... I need to revise my plans later."

After muttering this, I left the Inheritance Shrine.

The voice echoed a few minutes later.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

A boy's scream reverberated throughout the labyrinth. From the sound, it seemed quite close.

"Guess I should check it out."

From the tone of the voice, it was clear that the situation was not good. Using my mental map, I headed to the location of the voice as quickly as possible. As I rounded the last corner, the scene came into view.

"Damn it, go over there!"

"Kee!" "Sssshh!"

First, there was a single adventurer with a shield in the center. He had honey-colored hair and a gender-neutral appearance (likely a boy). Surrounding him were five monsters, including Poison Slab Rabbits and Killer Mantises.

He was undoubtedly a 【Shield Emblem】 holder. However, I suddenly felt a sense of unease.

(Could he be tackling this solo...?)

This dungeon is filled with monsters that cause status ailments, and solo play is generally not recommended. Even I would avoid it without the knowledge from my previous life. Moreover, he is a 【Shield Emblem】 holder, which is not suitable for solo play. The scene was filled with a palpable sense of unease.

Regardless, the situation looked bad. Surrounded by monsters, the boy was unable to move. If this continued, he would be killed by the monsters without a chance to fight back.

(I can't just leave him here.)

Normally, it's taboo to take over monsters that other adventurers are fighting, but in this situation, there shouldn't be any complaints. I decided to provide support.

"Kee!"

"Someone, help—!"

The monsters' attacks intensified. The boy closed his eyes, pleading for help. Judging that there was no time to rush over, I readied my short sword on the spot.

Then,

"Slash"

I swung my short sword in quick succession, launching multiple slash attacks that flew through the air. All of them were critical slashes, cutting down the monsters in one hit.

"...Huh?"

The boy slowly opened his eyes and looked around, bewildered, as the monsters dissipated into miasma. His gaze eventually landed on me.

I approached him and asked,

"Are you okay?"

"Y-You..."

The boy still seemed confused.

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Zeros Sylphied

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Emblem: 【Emblem of Nothingness】

Level: 16

HP: 160/160 MP: 55/80

Strength: 31

Endurance: 16

Speed: 31

Intelligence: 16

Luck: 16

Status Points: 0

Skills: 【Parry】 Lv.1, 【Slash】 Lv.1

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