Chapter 21
<Bad Ending Maker Episode21>
Thud, thud.
The Sword King slowly approached Oasis.
“What the heck?! Why is this happening again?!”
Startled, Oasis swung her staff wildly in front of her.
Until now, Labo had been suppressing Oasis’s heal aggro with his DPS aggro.
That’s why the Sword King had only been targeting Labo.
But when Labo stopped healing and stepped back, the aggro naturally shifted to Oasis.
Labo had calculated and ‘handed over’ the aggro so he could shop at the exchange, but from Oasis’s perspective, it was maddening.
“Master! Master! Can’t you just finish this and then go shopping? Huh?!”
However, Labo, sitting in the corner, seemed completely oblivious to Oasis’s words as he was busy browsing the exchange window.
Oasis turned her teary eyes toward the Sword King.
“Eeeek! Don’t come closer! No, please don’t come closer, Sword King!”
Whoosh!
As soon as she said that, the Sword King lunged at her. Oasis screamed.
“Yikes!”
The Sword King leaped into the air, gripping his sword with both hands and slashing downward. Oasis clenched her eyes shut and swung her staff in response.
Clang!
Weapon defense successful!
She blocked it.
However, the damage reduction rate of her staff was low.
Even though it was a unique-grade item with a bonus, the damage reduction rate of ‘Desert King’s Authority’ was only 40%.
Even if she successfully defended against the attack, 60% of the damage still got through!
“Aaaah! Healing Wave! Slow Heal! Guardian Angel’s Aura!”
As her HP dropped drastically, a panicked Oasis quickly cast healing and buff spells.
The Sword King hesitated for a moment after his attack was blocked but then charged again. His Swift Sword unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes like a storm.
“Eeeek!”
With tears in her eyes, Oasis swung her staff again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Weapon defense successful!
Weapon defense successful!
Weapon defense successful!
She blocked every single one.
Oasis deflected each of the Sword King’s relentless attacks from all directions with her staff. Her reflexes far surpassed those of an ordinary human. Though some undefended damage still got through, it was better than not blocking at all.
“……?!”
The Sword King staggered back, pulling his sword away.
All his attacks were blocked?
It seemed like the battle AI was quite flustered by this unprecedented situation. The Sword King cautiously pointed his sword at Oasis, keeping his guard up.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Taking advantage of the brief pause, Oasis quickly restored her own HP. She glanced back at Labo, but he was still engrossed in shopping.
“Masteeer! I’m really going to die if this keeps up!”
“Hmm~ Almost done~ Just wait~.”
“I can’t wait! Hurry up and help me…… Whoa?!”
The Sword King suddenly closed the distance and struck. His Swift Sword flashed as it aimed for Oasis’s head.
Oasis let out a shriek.
“In other parties, healers are treated like royalty! Why does my master treat me like this?!”
Her true feelings slipped out unintentionally.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Oasis alternated between weapon defense and healing to hold out as long as possible.
But as the Sword King continued his relentless assault, the damage she took gradually began to outpace her recovery rate.
“Ugh, ugh, ughhhh!”
She made strange noises as she barely managed to block the Sword King’s attacks, but her HP was already at its limit.
I can’t take many more hits!
Oasis’s sharp mind quickly calculated her healing output versus the damage dealt by the Sword King. The number of hits she could endure from here on out…… three more!
Desperately, she shouted toward Labo.
“I’ll die if I get hit three more times!”
Clang!
“Cough!”
As soon as she spoke, she took another hit. Her vision flashed red as death loomed closer.
But I can still take two more hits…….
As she thought this and looked up—
Whoosh!
The Sword King leaped into the air again. His longsword gathered an immense amount of magical energy.
The Sword King brought down his sword brimming with magic.
“Gasp.”
Oasis’s face turned pale.
Two more hits? Forget that—if that attack lands, I’m dead for sure!
Flash!
“I’m gonna die after all!”
Oasis gave up on weapon defense and quickly crouched down on the ground.
It’s fine. I’ve died plenty of times before…….
Suddenly, memories of all those past deaths flashed before her eyes.
She had died so many times.
Killed by PK (Player Kill), luring snake monsters to her death, falling into traps to her death, luring basilisk hatchlings to her death……
Most of them were deaths where she had been dragged into danger by Labo.
“……”
Oasis’s face suddenly stiffened.
Most of those deaths were because she had been caught up in Labo’s schemes. And this time was no different!
“Master?! I’m starting to feel really wronged here?!”
As she shouted this—
Whoosh!
The Sword King’s blade came down on Oasis.
“Eeeek!”
“Dark Hand-Shield.”
Labo stepped in between them and deployed a shield made of dark aura that absorbed the attack in an instant.
“Okay. Good job, Oasis. Leave it to me now.”
“Waaah! Master! I was so scared……”
Tears welling up in her eyes, Oasis stopped mid-sentence.
The familiar figure of her master was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a tall black knight clad from head to toe in jet-black armor with a blood-red cloak stood before her.
Oasis instinctively screamed,
“Who are you?!”
“Who else? Your master.”
Labo struck a pose as if showing off his armor that shimmered with a dark luster.
“Took a while because I went all out with an appearance change and even dyed everything.”
“You went through an appearance change while I was dying?!”
“Eh~ You didn’t die though. It’s fine. It’s fine.”
Brushing off Oasis’s frustration lightly, Labo cheerfully explained his new gear.
His face was hidden behind a full-face helmet.
“I kept my weapon, the Venom Fang, but everything else is now level 50 unique-grade gear. For my look, I mixed cash skins like ‘Fallen Paladin’ and ‘Lonely Berserker.’ How do I look? Cool?”
“Well… it has its charm…”
“You have quite classic tastes, Master……”
If one were to embody ‘Demon Lord’ as a character design—this would probably be it.
Positively speaking, there was something classic about it. But honestly speaking—it felt too cliché.
A Demon Lord straight out of tropes……
Old-Fashionashioned.
A relic Demon Lord.
“I wanted to stay true to roleplaying. A bad guy trying to destroy worlds should look like this so players can intuitively understand who he is, right?”
Labo seemed satisfied, as if he expected such reactions.
“Ah, so this guy is ‘the enemy of the world,’ they’ll think.”
Flexing sharp fingers encased in gauntlets, Labo checked over his armor’s status once more.
“……”
Watching him, Oasis suddenly thought:
Master doesn’t see himself as a player but rather as an event players will experience. He still feels less like a user… and more like a developer.
“And this look is only temporary until Season 6. I’ve got another design planned for when we start destroying worlds properly.”
“Heh, I see. You’re always thorough with your plans.”
“Of course. So let’s call this current look… hmm, a Demon Lord ‘larva’ version?”
At the mention of larvae, Oasis’s mind flashed back to countless basilisk larvae hunts.
She inwardly seethed:
Those damn larvae…….
“Alright then, let’s go.”
Having finished checking his equipment, Labo drew his sword and stepped forward.
The Sword King, sensing Labo’s item level had skyrocketed, tensed up and raised his guard.
“Blessing of North Sword Saint! Guardian Angel’s Aura! Melody of Tailwind!”
Oasis quickly cast buffs on Labo.
“Hey, fake hero.”
Fully buffed, Labo extended his left hand forward, beckoning mockingly.
“Come at me. This future Demon Lord will crush you.”
Whoosh!
Instead of answering, the Sword King charged forward.
Swish!
“Dark Flame Strike!”
Jet-black slashes struck the Sword King’s body repeatedly.
Hit!
Hit!
Critical!
Critical!
Hit!
This time, every single strike landed cleanly.
Two even critted!
And their power wasn’t something a level 50 NPC could withstand.
Poof!
The shadow of the hero who protected the world, the Sword King, shattered into pieces mid-air.
The battle ended ridiculously easily.
Was not farming gear earlier self-balancing?
Labo groaned inwardly while examining his now overpowered stats.
User ID: Labo
– Class: True Dark Knight
– Character Lv: 50
– Item Lv: 495
– STR: 170 (+120)
– DEX: 5 (+50)
– INT: 5 (+15)
– VIT: 90 (+170)
– MP: 0
With full gear equipped, Labo’s item level reached 495. With an increase of about 200 item levels, he became literally twice as strong as before.
Getting mad and equipping a full set was good, but for a level 50 character, he was way too strong. In terms of pure DPS output, he matched nearly a level 70 dealer.
Massive DPS output comes with massive cost, which is one of the drawbacks of this class…….
But covering that drawback with a dedicated healer made him excessively strong.
If he were still director, he would’ve implemented balance patches—reducing DPS or increasing costs further.
But now he wasn’t director anymore; instead, he aimed to destroy the game.
If there were loopholes or rough edges in the game system—he’d exploit them actively.
That’s why someone said cut them down, Napalm bastards.
Ding!
As the fallen Sword King’s shadow disappeared, Labo’s quest window updated.
Job Change Quest: Demon Lord Succession III
– Current Objective: Defeat shadows of the three legendary heroes
Cardmos Gargantuya, Sword King (1/1)
Kiriel Elayson, Archmage (0/1)
Edencha Chronosid, Pope (0/1)
“……?”
Looking at the shared quest window, Oasis frowned slightly.
“Uh… so what does that mean? It doesn’t end with just defeating the Sword King?”
“Of course not. They wouldn’t make job change so easy, would they?”
Labo pointed toward another door across the room.
“This quest requires defeating the shadows of the three legendary heroes. In short—three consecutive battles against NPCs.”
“Ehhh……”
“Don’t worry too much about it, though.”
Smirking from inside his helmet, Labo took the lead confidently.
“We’ll break through them in no time.”
Seeing how reliable he looked, Oasis smiled slightly.
“Yes, Master!”
Arriving at the door, both stepped inside the next room where—
Kwaaaaah!
The second among the legendary trio, Archmage Kiriel Elayson, was casting magic.
An enormous fireball, almost the size of the entire room, burned brightly in her hands above head height.
“……”
“……”
Both quickly turned around, trying to leave, but—
Thud thud thud thud!
The door locked shut, refusing to open.
Turning back around, Oasis sweated profusely.
“No way! This isn’t fair, Master! If we get hit by that, both of us will be sent straight to the afterlife together!”
“……”
“What should we do…… Huh, Master?”
Silently walking behind Oasis, Labo grabbed her shoulders firmly.
“Oasis.”
“Yes?”
“Sorry.”
“What?”
Then, crouching down and pushing her forward like a shield,
“Secret Technique(?): Friend Shield!!”
“What?! Friend Shield?!”
“Ah, not friend? Then Minion Shield!!”
“No way! Am I not even a friend?! At least call it Friend Shield! Wait—that’s not important right now!!”
Seeing the giant fireball flying toward her face, Oasis screamed loudly.
“You evil master bastardaaaaaaah!!!”
Kwaaaaahhhh!!!
The fireball exploded, filling the entire room with terrifying flames.
……And then, Oasis died.
