Elias wished he had more time to train his brand new Weapon Skill. However, he did not regret using most of his time determining several in-game mechanics. It will be useful in the near future after all.
But now, he needed to deal with the consequences of his action.
"At least I have mastered Energy Slash and Heavy Slash." both would allow him to deal a lot of damage to Human Puppet Ver.2. It's a pity he will not be able to use Energy Thrust and Sword Block. The latter would especially be useful in blocking the Human Puppet's attack.
"3, 2, 1," counting down, Elias watched as a circle light up, a figure slowly emerging out of it. As Human Puppet Ver.2 came out, he used Observation instantly.
[ Human Puppet Ver.2
Race: -
VIT: ?
STR: ?
AGI: ? ]
"That's helpful," he muttered to himself. He thought that the increase in Intelligence would help him discern some of the Hidden Boss stats, but no dice.
He could still fight the Human Puppet Ver.2, but it would be the equivalent of fighting it while wearing a blindfold. Still, he had to try his best, as the rewards would push him further than other players. Well, regular ones that did not partake in the Hidden Tutorial Challenge.
For the earlier part of the fight, Elias observed the Hidden Boss, noting key characteristics. First, Human Puppet Ver.2 has 4 arms, instead of two. Second, those arms each hold one Weapon. Fortunately, they looked like they were made of wood. However, he was not sure if it just looked like wood or real wood. Still, being hit by a wooden staff still hurts, so it's better for him to not get hit in the first place.
The last thing he noticed is the fact the Human Puppet had a glossier wooden skin, for the lack of better words that can be used to describe how the wood seems to shine from a certain angle.
He did not know what it meant but if he took a guess, it likely meant Human Puppet Ver.2 has higher Vitality than the previous version. Which he somewhat expected. Doesn't mean he had to look fighting a Boss with such high Vitality, but he's the one to partake in the challenge, so he had to deal with it.
After a minute of stand off, Elias made the first move, discerning the fact the Human Puppet will be waiting for him to start the challenge, ergo making the first move.
And he was right, by his fifth step, Human Puppet Ver.2 started to move.
'It's slightly faster than the previous one,' he noted, watching as the Human Puppet closing the distance faster than its predecessor. However, just because it moved faster didn't mean it could react quick enough.
Elias swung his blade at the lower part, aiming for the Puppet's right thigh. The Human Puppet's lower right arm swung the staff in its hand in the path of his sword, while the rest of its weapons aimed at Elias himself.
Just as he planned.
He pulled back his sword quickly, before sliding left, avoiding the incoming blows. The Human Puppet slightly staggered forward, it's momentum causing it to stumble slightly.
Elias took the chance and got behind it before using Heavy Slash on its unprotected back. While it took a long time, well, longer than it was possible to get in the middle of a fight, to use the full-powered version of the Weapon Skill, he can use a quicker version, one that took less time but sacrificing power while consuming three fourth of the Energy used by the full-powered version. A waste of Energy but a necessary one if he wanted to deliver a strong blow from the start.
The Heavy Slash cleaved the Human Puppet, pushing it forward and causing its stumble turned into an outright fall. As it was pushed into its knees, Elias did not waste the opportunity and used two consecutive Energy Slash. The first aimed at the right arms while the second aimed for the left arms.
The blue-colored Energy Slash flew towards the arm, cutting through it and reducing the limbs of the Human Puppet from 6 to 4.
The Human Puppet had used its four arms to support itself so it could stand back up, so losing two of its arms caused it to almost fall completely on its belly. Something Elias took notice and took the opportunity to step on its back, causing it to essentially lay on its front.
He watched as the Human Puppet's cut limbs regrow faster than its predecessor. Elias did not plan on letting it regrow its arm in peace. He preferred said limbs to remain in pieces.
Pouring more of his Energy to use Energy Slash, Elias could feel his Energy reserve depleting quickly. Fortunately, he believed he could use around 4 Energy Slash, or 2 Heavy Slash after this. Plus, it's not like his Energy will not recover on its own.
2 more Energy Slash, the rest of the limbs were chopped off, with the slowly regrowing being cut normally, albeit with more strength compared to chopping its predecessor's.
With all its arms removed from the equation, it is impossible for the Human Puppet to get back up. Not like it will stop trying to do so. Elias could see it using its head to push itself upward. However, a single stomp from him caused it to remain on the ground helpless.
Elias had a smile on his face. Before, it took him an hour just to kill Human Puppet Ver.1. With Heavy Slash, he wondered how long it will take?
The Human Puppet, despite being an automaton made out of wood and should not feel any emotion, finds itself shivering. For some reason, it was in distress, and that it should flee before it could suffer even more.
It didn't know why it felt this way, until a Heavy Slash slammed on it'd back, causing the Human Puppet to feel like it was being bashed by a sledgehammer. More blows fell on its back as the Human Puppet Ver.2 suffered even worse defeat compared to its predecessor.