The Encounter with Lycaon of the Night Raid: Resolution
"Ah…—"
Pepper experienced the sensation of his arm being torn off for the first time. It wasn't like being sliced by a blade; it was the raw agony of muscle fibers being forcibly ripped apart, ironically anchoring his fading consciousness to his body.
Damn, it dodged that…? Got me good…
Along with the loss of his right arm, red polygons mimicking blood spurted from his shoulder stump, and his HP bar began to plummet.
I got all fired up against Lycaon, and this is how it ends…? Kinda embarrassing—makes me wanna die from shame…
The HP drain felt agonizingly slow to Pepper, slower than ever. This must be what they call a life flashing before your eyes.
When the Rock-Eating Garock Worm had swallowed him whole, death came instantly. But this time, the tearing preceded a gradual decline.
Since I didn't make it to Secandil, I'll respawn back in Fasteia and have to run the whole way again… That sucks; I came so far…
His HP ticked down like a countdown, dipping below half. Soon it would hit 3, 2, 1—and zero. Then he'd wake up in Fasteia's inn.
But Pepper's prediction shattered in an unexpected way. His HP went from 3 to 2, 2 to 1, and then to 0—
It didn't.
"…Huh!?!"
What the hell just happened? He'd definitely taken a fatal bite from Lycaon, losing his arm and suffering massive damage.
His HP and Luck stats were both at base level—no points allocated.
That left only one possibility.
"No way… Guts!?"
In gaming terms, "Guts" was that phenomenon—sometimes called the "Goddess of RNG's Whim" or a "High-Performance Focus Sash." Every player experienced it at least once, for better or worse.
By some twist of fate or sheer luck, the goddess of destiny had kicked Pepper's ass back into the fight, urging him on. Lycaon's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but it wouldn't let a near-dead prey escape. It lunged again, slamming its left foreleg down to crush him.
"Whoa—!?"
Pepper dashed away at full speed, unequipping the Vorpal Edge from his left hand to grab a simple ration from his inventory for stamina recovery. But there was a problem: In his rush from Fasteia to Secandil, he'd overconsumed rations. Only one remained.
As if to pile on, Lycaon's attacks grew even more ferocious, denying him any chance to resupply.
I ate too many rations! And like this, I can't even navigate my inventory smoothly—I'll get killed without landing a single counter!
Dodging Lycaon's assaults, Pepper dumped all 21 of his remaining stat points into one category on his status screen.
"Lycaon, this is my last desperate struggle. Watch… closely!!!"
With his remaining left hand, he devoured the final ration, restoring stamina. Gripping the Vorpal Edge once more, he shifted to offense for what would surely be his final assault.
Reversing his retreat, Pepper faced Lycaon head-on, mentally reviewing his skill arsenal.
*For Hit-and-Run to work, I need to force the enemy to attack first…! Dog-like monsters can't balance on three legs if both front paws are off the ground—they'll topple!
The action I need to bait from Lycaon is a side swipe followed by a stomp!!*
Activating Accel to boost agility, layering Step Work and Tap Step, Pepper dove into Lycaon's kill zone.
The night raider raised its left foreleg diagonally. Pepper had seen this attack enough times; the safe zone was mapped in his mind. He could dodge it… or so he thought.
Lycaon delayed the strike ever so slightly before swinging diagonally.
"What!? Are you serious!?"
Pepper hadn't anticipated this—a feint technique called "Delay," intentionally varying attack timing.
"Guh… ooooooh!"
His heart pounded like it might explode as he accelerated his planted foot further. Correcting the tiny miscalculation from the delay, he veered sharply right, closing in on Lycaon's right foreleg.
Tracking the rising right foreleg, the grounded left one, and his own position, Pepper kept stepping rhythmically, baiting the stomp.
The instant the paw slammed down, he leaped onto its top, evading the scattering rocks and shockwave.
Dodging the stomp, Pepper vaulted from the paw using One-Step Vault's enhanced leg strength. He hurled the Vorpal Edge from his left hand—
Straight at Lycaon's right eye.
Lycaon blinked it away. A metallic clang rang out. As it slowly opened its eye, the sight that greeted it was:
Pepper, his now-empty left hand clutching the Vorpal Chopper, thrusting toward the barely exposed right eye.
After losing his right arm, Pepper had poured all his points into Dexterity (DEX). It allowed him to instantly swap from throwing the Vorpal Edge to pulling the Vorpal Chopper from inventory—preparing for that one-in-a-million chance.
That "what if" had become reality. The hoarded points literally saved his life in this moment.
At point-blank range, too close for a bite or paw strike, Pepper's Boot Attack skill—consuming stamina for boosted attack speed—let his blade pierce the pupil a split second before Lycaon could close its eye.
'Garu…!?'
"Ooooooh! Spike Edge!!!"
For the first time in this battle, Lycaon howled in pain. Pepper burned his remaining stamina, plunging the blade deep, deep into the night raider's right eye—and slashing it across in a single, brutal stroke.
The Vorpal Chopper registered the tearing sensation. Black darkness oozed from Lycaon's right eye.
Taking Pepper's all-out blow, the beast staggered back several steps from the damage.
But even then, the darkness didn't lift.
The setup he'd built. The desperate strike.
Even staking everything, the night raid didn't fall.
"Ah… damn…"
Landing, Pepper stowed the Vorpal Chopper and reached for the fallen Vorpal Edge nearby. As Lycaon advanced step by step, he looked up and muttered.
Stamina depleted, rations gone—no way to recover. He couldn't dodge Lycaon's attacks, let alone parry or counter.
True checkmate.
"…You won't even kneel from that, huh? I admit it, Lycaon… This time, you win."
But next time—I'll win.
Don't forget the scar I left.
With the Vorpal Edge in hand and unyielding resolve in his eyes, Pepper declared war on Lycaon. In response, the beast seemed to quirk its lips upward, letting out a guttural chuckle.
Moments later, it raised its right paw and crushed Pepper from the head down. His miraculously surviving HP1 dropped to 0, his body dissolving into polygons and vanishing from the stage.
Lycaon's Curse Marking has been applied.
Is it a curse or a blessing?
Original Work Modification: Conditions for Applying Lycaon's Curse
In the original, it requires a front-line job to survive 5 minutes without taking damage or using instant-death attacks, magic, items, or skills while not fully depleting HP—or landing a set number of critical hits without damage against an opponent with a 100+ level gap.
However, Pepper, as a rear-guard job, earned Lycaon's recognition and received the curse.
What could this mean…?