novelraw Chapter 88 : Elden's Top Sword, Next (4)
Chapter 88 : Elden's Top Sword, Next (4)
Elden's Top Sword, Next (4)
Even amid the cheering from viewers, Lee Gyeongbok couldn't fully relax and celebrate.
After all, all he had done was block the initial strike. Now, the real boss fight was just beginning in earnest.
As if to prove it, the undying ones, repelled by Aiden's sword strike, surrounded and charged at him.
- Oh shit;; Those bastards are coming again
- What kind of cheat is "undying"!
- The headcount's insane, fuck
- Wouldn't it be fair to give him a break, at least?
- FromSoft: Why is he even trying to clear this! Just reset!
- Nope~ Go back~ No resets~ Not gonna change my mind~
The scene of no fewer than twenty undying ones rushing toward him looked no doubt threatening. But to Lee Gyeongbok, it only 'looked' that way.
"There sure are a lot of them."
He had no intention of just waiting around to be surrounded. Lee Gyeongbok spun his sword lightly, adjusted his grip, and charged right in.
Five undying ones thrust their weapons at him.
However, not a single one managed to graze a hair on his body.
"They really are clumsy, probably because they're AI."
The moment he finished that sentence, the undying ones collapsed, coming to a stop.
He instantly created an escape route.
"But the real one is obviously this way."
Beyond the broken encirclement, aiden's greatsword came flying horizontally. It wasn't as if he had just stood there idly watching while the undying ones tied up Lee Gyeongbok's feet.
― Waaaaah!
― The big one's coming again!
― Shit, that thing is way too big, lol
― He takes out all the undying ones, lol
― Roll! Roll now!
The greatsword tore through the air like a tidal wave. The undying ones caught in its path were swept away like fallen leaves.
Moreover, since the strike swept across horizontally, there was no way to dodge past it. The viewers naturally expected Lee Gyeongbok to roll along the ground.
But his choice was different.
"I don't have the temperament to just take a hit!"
Lee Gyeongbok ran at Aiden and unleashed a sorcery. A blue flame whip shot out, wrapping around Aiden's upper arm.
His body, which narrowly avoided the sword, soared directly toward Aiden.
But—
- Uh, huh??
- The line! The line is breaking!
- What?! What the fuck??
- Hang on tight! You're gonna fall!
Lee Gyeongbok furrowed his glabella.
A golden aura streaming from Aiden's body had neutralized his sorcery.
The whip snapped, and his body was instantly sent plummeting down. If he were an ordinary man, he would have panicked and been helpless.
"Ah, I was hoping to land a hit."
But Lee Gyeongbok calmly used sorcery to pull the bodies of the undying ones toward him, using them as a buffer.
- ????
- That's insane reaction speed, lol
- The Undying Cushion has confirmed performance, lol
- What kind of personality is that!
After stabbing the struggling undying one with his sword to stop it, Lee Gyeongbok shrugged.
"They don't die, so it's fine, right?"
- Wow, lol, he still has the composure for banter in this situation
- An idiot whose only concern is the broadcast...!
- Black Company CEO's personality revealed?
- And here he is grinding people as a matter of course?!
- Press X to pay JOY to the editor.
- LMAO, is he actually happy or what
As Lee Gyeongbok carried himself with ease, it infected the chat window as well. But that didn't mean the situation had improved.
"But, if not even the dragon's breath works, this might be tricky."
Lee Gyeongbok scrunched up his nose as he watched Aiden readjust his grip on the sword. At first glance, it didn't seem like there was any way to attack Aiden.
- How the hell are you supposed to beat this, anyway?
- The Scoville rating is way too high, holy crap
- For real, this is just too spicy
Viewers immediately sympathized. Experienced players who had seen the ending weighed in.
- Only damage-over-time works for this
- Yeah, if you hit the feet at least, you can deal some damage
- It's a bit easier if you have magic...
- Bringing a bow or crossbow and shooting is an option!
- Taking out the undying ones is good, too!
- Yep, aiden's aura maintains the undying ones, so as you kill them, his aura depletes.
- Look at all these noobs backseating, lol
- Isn't this basically a grind?
- Whatever you do, it'll take a crazy long time, lol
- Longer stream? I actually love that!
While subduing the undying ones, Lee Gyeongbok read through the chat.
'I could do it that way, but it wouldn't be any fun.'
He did not agree with the viewers' suggestions.
'If I can just aim for the weak point, that's enough.'
With heightened focus, his sixth sense and spiritual energy told him that Aiden also had a weak point.
The problem was that its location was inside the armor Aiden wore. With his sorcery suppressed, it seemed impossible to climb that colossal body.
'There's no way the developers would make a weak point that was unreachable by design.'
But Lee Gyeongbok didn't give up easily. If a weak spot had been created, it meant the developers expected someone to find a way to exploit it.
"I'm going to focus a bit."
- Focus mode activated!
- Perfect Focus ON!
- What's this? Is this a hint for something?
- Ah, it's that thing, lol (no idea)
- Whatever it is, it's definitely badass
- Is there another way?
- Is he just forcing it because it's a stream?
- Just let him enjoy it
As he declared it, the chat window, which had calmed down, flared back to life. But Lee Gyeongbok didn't spare a glance for even a single character in the chat.
'There must be a way.'
As he focused his intent, his spiritual energy responded. The surging energy manifested his sixth sense, gathering information.
Inside what felt like a suspended moment, the background faded out. Of the twenty undying ones scattered by Aiden's strike, only a few remained.
And then, like color being painted in, a crimson carpet appeared. At its end was an iron throne, and before it stood the massive form of Aiden.
'I see it.'
The throne was large enough for Aiden to sit in. By using it, he could reach Aiden.
The problem was, to get there, he had to break through the undying ones and Aiden himself.
It was extremely dangerous.
'But it'll be fun.'
As soon as he'd decided, time returned to normal. Lee Gyeongbok sheathed his sword and sprinted straight onto the carpet without hesitation.
- Suddenly charging headlong?!
- Why put away the weapon?
- What's he doing! What the heck is this?!
- After thinking, I guess he concluded that all he can do is reset? lol
- Lol, go! Headbutt him!
- What's this, pokémon or something, lol
- The big one's coming again!
Aiden didn't remain still. As the little human charged at him, he slammed down his greatsword.
Lee Gyeongbok didn't slow down. He spread both hands and conjured a sorcery.
'If I'm even a bit late, I fail!'
An incorporeal whip wrapped around an undying one. As he yanked it with both hands, Lee Gyeongbok's body shot forward like a bullet.
Even as he moved, his hands didn't stop. From one undying one to the next.
What he'd thought was a disadvantage—the number of undying ones—had actually become a benefit.
- Whoa, lol
- Crazy evasive maneuvering!
- He's using the undying ones like this, huh
- Is this the true cost-performance ratio of Elden's Only Sword!
- What's with this "bus stop" meta!
- Why is there a bus stop, fuck, lol
Thanks to this, Lee Gyeongbok not only broke past Aiden in an instant but managed to get up onto the throne.
But things didn't unfold smoothly after that.
"You are not worthy to sit there!"
Aiden, having already turned his body, slammed his greatsword down onto the throne before viewers could even react in surprise.
And Lee Gyeongbok—
"It's only hard the first time."
He raised the Dragon Scale sword again to deflect the greatsword.
"The second time is easy."
Lee Gyeongbok grinned.
The height of the throne and Aiden's attack, and the alignment of their eye levels—just as he had predicted, everything unfolded as he'd hoped.
He leapt without hesitation and ran up the sword blank.
It was then that viewers finally realized Lee Gyeongbok's intent.
- ???????
- Was he seriously trying to go up there and fight directly?
- Are you insane, lol
- (PerStampCon)(PerStampCon)(PerStampCon)
- Ah, lol, that's Elden's Only Sword for you!
- Memo: If dragon's breath doesn't work, just climb up yourself
- What are you going to do with that memo, fuck, lol
- Unparalleled achievement that no one else can replicate!
- Weren't you going to show us just that one thing? lolol
- Stream sniper: This place's service is so generous^^ I'm in such a good mood now
- Turns out this is an achievement jackpot, huh?
- Oh no! All the sparrows are dying!
Amid high praise from viewers, Lee Gyeongbok arrived at Aiden's arm. Of course, aiden didn't just watch.
His other hand swept toward Lee Gyeongbok, as if brushing off dust.
- Ah...! He's blocked right away
- It was a good try
- So close! What a shame
There was nowhere to dodge and his sorcery was suppressed. This time, viewers braced themselves for the end.
However, Lee Gyeongbok boldly flung himself outward. Before the gasping chat could even react, a blue whip shot out.
What he grabbed onto was none other than a flapping cloak.
- Oh!
- Wow, lol, he grabbed that
- Right! That part's fine!
- Amazing observation skills!
- Insane situational awareness
Unlike the armor, the cloak was ornamental and without aura. Using his falling momentum, Lee Gyeongbok swung himself like a pendulum.
'Now!'
Reaching the optimal point, he released the sorcery and, still airborne, drew his sword.
Blue flames blazed as he sliced a vertical arc through the air. The golden aura split, leaving a line across the breastplate.
With a heavy, dull sound, the breastplate cracked and fell away. Lee Gyeongbok landed and widened the distance.
- Did I really just see that?
- Seriously;;; Were you in a circus troupe?
- His physical skills are insane, lol
- Beyond human performance, unbelievable
Viewers couldn't hide their astonishment at the unfolding spectacle. But an even more shocking scene followed.
- Huh?
- What is that?
- Eh? What the heck;;;
- Wait, wasn't Aiden a giant?
- Never imagined THAT identity!
- Wow, shit, he was a golem
Inside the split breastplate.
What was there wasn't the body of a giant, but a crystal covered in golden runes.
- What the heck is going on!
- Is our cute little nuna a golem too?
- How did a golem have a daughter;;
- Was she an adopted daughter?
- So they were under a golem's rule all along? -Ah, lol, isn't this totally GodPako?
The viewers were in shock. But Lee Gyeongbok remained calm.
He had already figured out, while gathering information, that Aiden wasn't a living creature.
What mattered was something else.
'As expected—since it's the final boss, there must be more.'
The threat he'd felt from the undying ones vanished in an instant. As proof, the undying ones suddenly collapsed.
But the warning ringing in his mind only intensified.
- Huh? Why'd they do that?
- Whoa, it's entering Phase 3 right away
- Phase 3?
- Holy shit, the Scoville score is off the charts again
- ???: Do Japanese people just not know when to quit...?
- What else is going to happen now?
The answer was revealed quickly. Red runes appeared on Aiden's hand and sword blank.
It was a type he'd already seen once: a rune with an 'instant death' effect.
- Wow, lol, so now the attacks are instant death?
- Weren't they always instant death anyway?
- Yeah, with a Godple character, your body's like paper—a single hit is fatal
- But the audacity to fly around like that in such a body?
- Now that I think about it, it's just ridiculous, lol
Surprisingly, viewers weren't all that shocked. From the start of the game, any attack was a guaranteed one-shot kill for the character.
'No, it's not just that.'
But Lee Gyeongbok's face hardened. He sensed that the increased threat and warning meant more than just the added instant death effect.
To prove it, aiden raised another hand. Aura condensed in front of it.
As a question mark appeared in the chat window—
"Vanish."
With that one word from Aiden, a laser was fired. Lee Gyeongbok, having predicted this, dodged, but a blood-red rune was left where the beam passed.
- Fuck, so you don't just die if you get hit
- Instant death zone generator, lolol
- Take this! Heavenly Demon Death Beam!
- Fuck, lol, death beam, lol
- Why is it like this?
- So isn't this basically a time attack now?
- This is crossing the line, seriously, lol
- I feel like I'm losing my mind! My brain's short-circuiting!
Viewers were aghast.
Now, the longer time dragged on, the more the instant death zone would expand, guaranteeing death. Even the undying ones had fallen, rendering evasive movement with sorcery impossible.
- Was this even designed to be cleared?
- Normally, that instant death zone is purified by the sacrifice of the spirits
- Eh? But Godple doesn't have those
- That's the problem, fuck, lol
- If it weren't for the stream snipers...
―Did Eclipse clear this solo?
- If you come solo, nuna takes the hit for you
- Wait, the witch nuna sacrifices herself?
- Oh, now it's not a spoiler anymore
- So if you come solo, it's a guaranteed bad ending
- Dude;; This is headed for a bad ending even now!
The mood in the chat window turned grim.
Even with the exposed crystal, there seemed to be no way to attack it. Viewers thought that not even Lee Gyeongbok could beat it under these circumstances.
But he didn't give up.
'Almost there!'
If he could just strike the fully exposed weak point, he could win.
With a stern face, he dodged lasers and summoned his sorcery.
Instead of several strands, he concentrated the blue flames into one, then snapped his wrist and hurled the Dragon Scale sword.
The blue flames curled around the hilt of the sword as if alive.
Before viewers could even question what was happening—
"Here I go!"
Lee Gyeongbok swung with all his strength as if cracking a whip.
The Dragon Scale sword shot forward like a shell—crash!—and embedded itself in the crystal with a sharp shattering sound.
- Insane, lol
- There was a way to do that!
- If you can't go there yourself, just throw it!
- Decisive and brilliant, lol
- Godple wins! Godple wins! Godple wins!
- He actually did it!
The viewers cheered. But Lee Gyeongbok clicked his tongue briefly.
The reason became immediately clear.
"That was plenty threatening."
Though Aiden staggered for a moment, he quickly reached up and twisted the Dragon Scale sword embedded in his crystal.
"But your fate hasn't changed."
With a dull sound, the sword blank broke.
'Was it too shallow?'
The moment the attack connected, Lee Gyeongbok realized it. The sword had pierced the surface of the crystal, but hadn't reached the most crucial core.
- The Dragon Scale sword broke?
- It's unique grade, and it broke?
- Well, he did block Aiden's attack twice with it...
- Any other weapon would have already been shattered, lol
- Ah... So it's really game over now
- So close, what a shame ㅠ
- It's Elden's Only Sword, so this much is expected, lol
- If he resets now, he'll probably clear it right away!
- Damn, if it weren't for the snipers, he'd have cleared it ages ago
The viewers lamented.
Meanwhile, aiden raised his greatsword. Like a pronouncement of execution, the final strike came down.
Was he going to give up now?
Lee Gyeongbok didn't move from the spot.
With thunderous noise, the chat fell silent as if mourning his first failure.
Then—
- ?
- Why didn't Yudahee show up? -What? What happened?
- No way, he didn't block with his bare hands, did he??
- Then it really is a wuxia game, lol
- Oh! Isn't it that thing?
- What thing?!
- Oh? No way?
- He had one weapon left!
- LOL, is he really using that?
The chat window began to move again.
The viewers, baffled just a moment before, remembered something they'd forgotten.
"Wow, that's intense."
The mood, once grim, was instantly reversed by the sound of his voice.
Lee Gyeongbok was still alive.
And then—
- Broken lol greatsword lol
- Is this for real, right now?
- Only a hardcore gamer would use a broken greatsword!
- Even broken, it's still a sword!
- Is this that thing about a master not blaming his tools?
- The realm of the Only Sword? That's just crazy, lol
- PerSe! PerSe! PerPerSe!
- Lol what even is PerSe, lmao
'A broken greatsword,' the symbol of the hardcore gamer, a weapon famous for being the sturdiest of all.
With just that short blade, Lee Gyeongbok deflected Aiden's greatsword.
He briefly caught his breath and spoke.
"I've taken down a golem once before, remember?"
Lee Gyeongbok showed no intent of allowing Aiden another chance to attack. Again, he wrapped the broken greatsword in sorcery and threw it.
Though the Dragon Scale sword had broken, shrapnel still remained in the crystal.
The flying blade struck those fragments dead-on, and with a cracking sound, a fracture appeared and golden radiance burst forth.
With that, aiden's giant form slowly began to collapse.
― WA!WA!WA!WA!WA!
- Wow, lol, he actually cleared it
- Godple wins! For real, won! Godple wins! For real, won!
- 5252 Knew you could do it! 5252 Knew you could do it!
- (Kemalcon)(Kemalcon)(Kemalcon)
- Of course it makes sense~! Of course it makes sense~! Of course it makes sense~!
- Only Sword punch! Only Sword punch! Only Sword punch!
- Ah, this is what they call 'perfect'. Only on Godple's stream.
- Yeah, lol, cleared it under the worst conditions!
- What's even more amazing is that it's shortest time speedrun, no survival skills, no-death clear
- Wow, lol, is that a triple crown?
- Because it's Elden's Only Sword (nods)
As victory was decided, the chat window exploded in response. Lee Gyeongbok finally relaxed and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Whew, it was definitely tough, being the final boss fight."
With those words, the viewers' attention immediately returned to him.
- You really worked hard!
- Yeah, lol, this was the worst boss fight in history
- But also the best, you know?
- Fact) all
- If you keep this up, we'll never be able to watch other streams!
- There's a reason for the super company
- Unique grade streamer class, lol
Just as Lee Gyeongbok started to smile at their reaction, about to say more—
Suddenly, a blaring warning tone rang out.
[Warning!]
[Computational overload detected!]
[It is recommended that you cease device use immediately.]
[If the overload continues, the device may be forcibly shut down for user safety.]
A message appeared before his eyes.
Both Lee Gyeongbok and the viewers were puzzled.
"Overload? What's this about?"
- What, is this another Perfect Bug?
- It didn't come from EldenSoul?
- Looks like a direct capsule warning?
- Did the capsule have these warning messages?
- What the heck, first time seeing this lol
- If it's mentioning safety, that sounds dangerous?
- Feels like it's the end of the stream
- Whoa? Does this mean end of stream?
Despite the flood of chat, there was no solution for the phenomenon.
[〉This is the manager.]
[〉After checking the manual, it seems the capsule's processor is overloaded.]
[〉Since it's related to your brain, there could be safety issues. We'll need to end the broadcast, so please understand.]
A message from Park Juho soon appeared in front of Lee Gyeongbok. It didn't come as a private message—perhaps so viewers could see it too.
"Ah, then I'll have to end today's stream here."
- ?
- Eh?
- They're saying it's a safety issue—why are you still typing, lol
- Manager! Please ban anyone still typing hooks!
- Yeah, lol, what if something happens to Godple
- Endings are best savored slowly, anyway!
- The timing for ending is perfect, lol
- Even the god of broadcasting must recognize Godple's talent
- First time seeing this kind of end-of-stream, lol
- Which capsule does Godple use? Reality one?
- Didn't know there could be a problem like this
- (Perba-con)(Perba-con)(Perba-con)
- See you again tomorrow!
Since this was a different kind of situation, the viewers accepted it without protest.
"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow for the true ending! Trha!"
***
**New Names/Locations/Skills/Techniques:**