Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 46 – The Difference Between a Warrior and a Knight

—–CROW—– 

Whether hostile or friendly, a small console appears above the head of any NPC you interact with.

The console that appeared above the head of the suddenly appearing High Elf knight was red.

The console color indicating hostility is usually yellow, but it gradually darkens depending on the level difference with the opponent.

Yellow if lower than you, orange if equal or slightly higher, and red if higher.

It’s said that if the difference is extreme, it appears as a dark, dusky red, not ordinary red.

This console can also be made to appear on monsters with special skills or items, but that’s irrelevant.

“Why is something like this appearing on the 7th floor?”

The fact that it appears red even though I’m looking at it means that the High Elf knight’s level easily exceeds 50.

Even if he’s an elite NPC, why is there a guy here that ordinary 7th-floor challengers can’t possibly defeat?

The reason I could completely crush Choi Gilhyun, a 25th-floor Ranker, was solely because his skills were trash.

But even if this High Elf knight’s specs are lower than Choi Gilhyun’s, his skills will be far superior.

Can I win?

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this level of tension. My hair stands on end, but at the same time, my blood boils.

If my opponent is this strong, there must be a lot I can gain.

“Haaaah!”

The High Elf knight moved first. He charged with a loud shout, his shield raised.

Not only was his strength remarkable, but his agility was even more so.  The shield appeared before me in an instant.

– *Bang!*

I also raised my shield and countered his shield bash.  Even though it was just a clash of shields, the sound echoed throughout the forest.

Good heavens, is this a person or an 8-ton truck?

An ordinary 7th-floor challenger would have been sent flying with injuries comparable to a traffic accident from this single shield bash.

Immediately after the shields collided, he pulled back his one-handed sword.  A slash or a thrust?  Whatever it is, I’m not just going to let him do it.

I aimed a low kick at his shin a beat faster.  *Thud*, the extremely hard greaves prevented any significant damage.

Damn it, not only is he high-level, but he also has incredibly good equipment.

Ignoring the low kick, he thrust his one-handed sword. I skillfully parried the blow with my sword, diverting its trajectory.

Or so I thought.

His sword tilted slightly, pushing mine away, and his thrust instantly transitioned into a slash, aiming for my neck.

“Shit.”

I instinctively cursed and quickly lowered my posture, barely dodging the attack. A few strands of hair were cut and scattered by the blade.

Since I barely dodged, it took a little time to regain my posture to counter the next attack.

The knight’s white shield, swung without missing that opening, struck me.

– *Bang!*

I quickly used the [Iron Wall] skill to reduce the impact, but my posture crumbled, and I fell backward.

“Haaaah!”

The knight swung his sword down at my tilted body, and I quickly rolled to the side to dodge.

It was only a few seconds of exchange, but I could be certain.

That bastard, his specs far exceeding the 7th-floor level are not the main issue.

Specs be damned, he’s just incredibly good at sword fighting.

**

– *Clang! Clang! Clank!*

I blocked and parried the relentless attacks of the elf knight with my sword and shield.

“You dared to covet our forest with such meager skills, human swordsman! Pathetic!”

I could somehow block and dodge, but I couldn’t go on the offensive.  I couldn’t even shut his chattering mouth.

“Are you fighting with your tongue, you fucking pointy-eared bastard! I’ll break all your teeth if you don’t shut up!”

– *Crash!*

I forcefully charged into him with my shield, barely managing to create some distance and catch my breath.

“Huff, huff, damn it.”

While my breathing was ragged, though not to the point of exhaustion, the elf knight was breathing very comfortably.

It’s not that I have less stamina than him.  It’s because I’m using more stamina blocking his relentless attacks.

Not much time has passed, but we’ve already exchanged dozens of blows.

In the meantime, I started to get a sense of his specs.  First, the difference in physical abilities doesn’t seem to be that big, surprisingly.

My strength is higher.  His agility is a bit… no, if we’re talking pure agility, it’s about the same.

And his reaction speed and judgment are superior.  He perfectly matches my movements, even with the assistance of the [Intuition] skill.

Finally, the most important factor, skill.

He’s overwhelmingly superior.  The difference in our sword and shield techniques is too great.

My swordsmanship was developed by fighting Lizardmen on the 3rd floor.

It’s a derivative technique, combining my own know-how with what I learned by observing and mimicking Lizardmen’s fighting style.

It’s overwhelming compared to an unskilled spear technician like Choi Gilhyun, but the system still judges it as [Beginner Swordsmanship].

It’s quite impressive considering it was developed by a jobless bum like me who has never even properly exercised, let alone learned swordsmanship.

But this level is no match for the genuine swordsmanship he wields.

The depth felt in each of his techniques and movements is on a different level. It’s like the difference between a street brawl and professional fighting.

It’s only thanks to the difference in weight class, including my Strength stat, that I can even exchange blows with him.

Damn it, isn’t this too much?

How is a 7th-floor challenger supposed to beat this? This isn’t a difference that can be overcome by forming a party.

There weren’t many sword and shield warriors among the Lizardmen, so I wanted to improve my skills by fighting him, but…

This is hopeless.  At my level, it’s not easy to even hold on, let alone steal his techniques.

“Alright, fuck it, let’s stop.”

I caught my breath, regained my posture, and muttered.

“Hmph. I can’t even laugh, human swordsman. Does this look like a fight you can just stop?”

I charged towards the elf knight, who spoke with a mocking tone.  My sword clashed with his shield.

“Do you still not understand! Your barbaric, beastly swordsmanship is no match for the swordsmanship I, Perith, have honed!”

“Yeah, fucker, you’re damn good with a sword.”

“If you’ve realized that, you should surrender and beg for your life. Why do you continue to challenge me so presumptuously!”

The elf knight yelled.  Since most of what he said was true, I didn’t bother refuting.

I admit it. I can’t beat him with swordsmanship.

But you said it yourself, barbaric and beastly.

My techniques were stolen and learned from Lizardmen, and Lizardman warriors are actually much more barbaric than this.

They don’t just use weapons; they use kicks with their legs and even attack by swinging their tails.

And when they get really desperate, they bite with their saw-like teeth.

– *Grab.*

I grabbed the elf knight’s shield, which was blocking my sword, and leaped over it like a vaulting horse.

[Iron Wall]

At the same time, I used the Iron Wall skill. The effect of the Iron Wall skill is to harden a part of the body.

And there’s no particular restriction on which part can be hardened.

The part I activated [Iron Wall] on this time was my teeth.

I lunged forward, past the shield, and bit the High Elf’s nose with all my might.

– *Crunch!*

These teeth have the durability to chew even pebbles to increase my intimacy with spirits.

Since I further strengthened them with a skill, biting off a High Elf’s nose was nothing.

“Aagh!”

He probably didn’t expect this kind of attack in the middle of a sword fight, so I easily landed a clean hit.

I swung my sword powerfully at him as he faltered after having his nose bitten off.

His ingrained swordsmanship didn’t disappear, as he managed to block my sword without much difficulty even in that state.

But I had already given up on beating him with swordsmanship.

Yes, just with “swordsmanship.”

“Inventory.”

I opened my inventory and quickly changed equipment. The weapon in my right hand changed from a one-handed sword to a spear.

An unpredictable weapon switch. I can perform the technique he used to quickly switch from slashing to thrusting in a different way.

The [+5 Steel Spear] thrust forward like lightning, grazing his shield and piercing his chest.

– *Clang!*

Thanks to his sturdy armor, the damage wasn’t significant, but it doesn’t matter.  It’s just one hit.

– *Clang! Clank! Clang!*

The elf knight, perhaps experienced in dealing with spears, quickly changed his stance and started blocking my attacks.

But I’m not a swordsman or a spearman, I’m just a warrior.

I opened my inventory again and switched equipment, changing my weapon from a spear to an axe.

– *Clang!*

“Ugh!”

His defense, unable to adapt to the sudden change in attack pattern, became increasingly clumsy.

This time, from axe to blunt weapon, blunt weapon to short sword, short sword to longsword, longsword back to spear.

And as I mixed in the hand axe and dagger I was carrying at my waist, the elf knight’s body accumulated more and more wounds.

“Y-you…! How many weapons can you even wield…?”

The elf knight, gradually being pushed back, shouted and created some distance. And the next moment…

– *Crack!*

“Gah!”

A metal ball the size of a fist embedded itself in his chattering mouth.

Dagger, short sword, longsword, greatsword, short spear, long spear, axe, blunt weapon—besides the weapon techniques learned from the Lizardmen, I have another specialty.

Throwing, which I’ve steadily honed since fighting the Goblin Lord on the 1st floor.

“I told you I’d break all your teeth if you didn’t shut up.”

The unavoidable projectile, freely changing its trajectory, hit the elf knight in the face.

—–CROW—–