[Cyclops: Champion Template, Demon Realm Denizen. HP: 1015, MP: 5. Strength: 29, Agility: 5, Spirit: 1, Charisma: 1.]
[Demon Trait: Weak Bloodline Descendant of Flame Titans]
As a Cyclops, its racial bloodline alone made it a high strength unit. Combined with the Champion template, its Strength to HP conversion ratio was a massive 1:35.
Even if it stood perfectly still and let Chris whip it with everything he had, he'd still need more than a hundred strikes to secure the kill.
And how many hits could Chris take in return?
While he couldn't see the specific HP panel, the sheer size of the creature's frame told Chris everything he needed to know about its durability. This wasn't an opponent he could face head on.
Even if it were empty handed, Chris had zero interest in taking a single blow.
The only saving grace was that this Cyclops followed the NES version's design, it wasn't the headless rider style variant from Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
So, the question remained... how to win?
Chris glanced back, only to see deep shock and terror etched onto the faces of the two students. They couldn't even imagine standing before such a monster, let alone fighting it.
The Guide's earlier assessment had been spot on: even the "easiest" first stage of Ghouls 'n Ghosts, the "Demon King's Castle Outskirts," should have been ranked D rank at minimum, not E plus.
Tossing a group of inexperienced rookies into a place like this was like throwing pedestrians in front of a drowsy truck driver. It was a manmade disaster, pure and simple.
One mistake, and even someone like Chris, who had shown incredible combat power and potential, would be flattened.
Reaching out, Chris scooped up the floating Shedinja and began to knead it like a rubber ball. His eyes remained fixed on the slumbering giant as a plan began to take shape.
'Little guy, if you can understand what I'm saying, give me a nod.'
The oppressive silence lingered for a long moment before Chris held the Shedinja's face directly in front of his own, whispering in a low voice.
Shedinja nodded.
'You need to do this, and then that...'
Chris continued his quiet briefing.
"Hey, you two."
A moment later, the two students stiffened at the sound of Chris's voice. Their bodies were visibly trembling, their minds likely filled with all sorts of dark scenarios.
Then they saw Chris. He had already unequipped his full set of knight armor and shoved it into his inventory. Having discarded the Red Arremer wings, he was once again in nothing but his boxers and flip-flops, pressing a hand onto each of their shoulders.
But just as they expected their "Protector" to offer some words of comfort, they saw his lips pull back into a smile that made them deeply uncomfortable.
It was a look of intense excitement mixed with a hint of madness, the look of a man prepared to bet his life on a single roll of the dice. In short: he didn't look like a normal person.
"When I die, you're next! Haha!"
Without waiting for their reactions, their faces already a sickly grey, as if they were attending their own funerals, Chris turned and stalked out of the bushes. With the silent Shedinja drifting beside him, he crept toward the sleeping behemoth.
The two students were left frozen, uncertain if they should stay or follow.
As a veteran Monster Hunter player, Chris's only regret was that he didn't have a Mega Barrel Bomb G on hand. Otherwise, he would have loved to give this Cyclops a proper "Sleep Bomb" wake-up call.
As the distance closed, the giant's massive frame became increasingly oppressive.
However, when they were only thirty meters apart, the giant--still with its eyes closed--suddenly drew a deep breath, as if it had caught a scent. A second later, its single, bloodshot eye snapped open and locked onto Chris with terrifying precision!
Unlike the Red Arremer, which had a history of mercenary service and a code of conduct far more structured than its appearance suggested, the Cyclops was much closer to a pure beast.
A normal Cyclops stood well over four meters tall, but a Champion individual chosen as a Demon General could exceed six meters. They were essentially walking armored tanks, but their brains were roughly the size of a squirrel's.
A brain that small driving a body that large had very obvious advantages and disadvantages.
The tiny brain meant pain signals traveled incredibly slowly. Often, the nervous system would simply ignore minor injuries, and many mind-based spells were completely ineffective.
An idiot has nothing to fear from "Fear" or "Mind Control"!
If you found a troll who could count to three, they were a genius. If they could count to five, they were a candidate for King of Trolls. If they could count to nine... well, there was no doubt they'd been blessed by a certain Greater Daemon of Tzeentch!
The blessing usually came with a string of curses from the deity, 'Damn! An interdimensional Ogryn!'
This Champion Cyclops, recruited into the Demon King's army, was likely somewhere between a genius and a king, but its animal instincts were still far superior to its rationality.
A Cyclops's body odor was practically a biochemical weapon, but that didn't diminish its own sense of smell. To a giant, "Human" was a favorite delicacy. Like one of Pavlov's dogs, its body would react to the scent of food even before its brain fully woke up.
"Shedinja! Metal Claw! Gouge his eye!!!"
Chris was momentary stunned by the giant's sudden awakening, but he immediately reacted. He snatched the Shedinja from his shoulder and threw it with the force of a pitcher throwing a fastball.
Because Shedinja was essentially just a bug shell and a soul, it lacked the physiological reactions of a living being. Combined with its light weight, only about 1.2 kg, it flew through the air at incredible speed.
As it flew, its small claws already began to glow with a brilliant silver light.
As a one eyed individual with a trace of ancestral blood, this sentinel possessed exceptional, eagle like long range vision. It could easily lob a boulder and hit a target a kilometer away.
But as a trade-off, its single eye struggled to focus on objects at close range. It couldn't see the approaching Shedinja clearly.
Its shoulder and arm muscles bunched as it tried to raise a hand in defense, but...
It was too slow!
With a flash of silver light, the giant--which should have been nearly immune to pain--let out a scream so piercing it threatened to shatter glass!
Simultaneously, its massive 1015 HP bar plummeted to 960.
[Metal Claw! Weak Point Attack! Triple Critical Hit! Part Break!]
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]