In WLO, you must traverse the fields around the city and the dungeons connected to the fields in order to develop a route to the next city.
　Naturally, there are bosses in the dungeons, and they block the passage of challengers.

　Dungeons are not limited to caves.
　It can be a forest, ruins, swamp, or even a sea of trees.
　At the very least, in order to reach the next city from the city of beginnings, it is necessary to overcome the Cave of Trials, which is located beyond the northern plains.


　And this is something I found out later.

　Just as there are bosses in every dungeon, there are also strong boss monsters in the field.
　That is the "Named Boss Monster".
　They are called "Named".

　They are truly powerful monsters, unique in their way of being and in the names they are given.
　From the Beta Test era to this day, there have been few records of Named monsters being defeated in each field.
　The conditions under which they appear, the state they are in when they are encountered, and most of all, their overwhelming strength that does not match the level of the field.
　The fact that they are so strong and so difficult to encounter explains why there are so few records of their defeats.

　However, the benefits of defeating them are tremendous, and if it's your first time defeating them, you get an extra bonus.
　There are countless players who continue to chase after Named in order to obtain these benefits.

　Incidentally, even after defeating a Named, it can be resurrected after a certain period of time. The rewards are only a little more generous the first time, but anyone can benefit from them as long as they are defeated.
　If you meet them, you will almost certainly be given a penalty, but you will also be given an equal chance.
　This seemed to be the common understanding of front-line players of the existence of named boss monsters.


　For example, Aria, the lone red wolf in front of us, had vague conditions for her appearance, and there was no record of her defeat.
　It is said that even prolonged battles are rare, and in short, it is a monster about which almost nothing is known.

　The only information known about him is that he only appears in front of 'solo players'.
　In other words, the only hope for his red wolf is a twitchy single combat.


☆☆


　The glaring eyes of the red wolf are filled with clear intentions, clearly conveying the message that it is not just a false image woven by the system.
　What comes through those beautiful moon colored eyes is pure fighting spirit and killing intent.
　The sharpness of the killing intent makes your heart tremble as you think that your head will be cut off if you are not careful for just a moment.

'Nice and tingling'.

　To deal with any kind of attack, I sit down lightly and comfortably.
　I can't stop my cheeks from relaxing. I'm not going to stop.
　I shouted out loud, unable to suppress my elated feelings.

'You're not going to give anything away, are you?
'Grrrr!

　The next moment, the metal rod and the claw strike sparked.

(Heavy!)

　Even taking into account the difference in status due to the double-scored level, I didn't think that a swing down in perfect condition would be enough to repel a mere claw strike.

　If you try to dodge the bite of the fangs by backstepping and get away from it, it will rush at you with bullet-like speed.
　But it was still a very obvious lunge.
　He dodges with a sidestep, and then, with a sudden braking motion, he is hit by a cleave with a tail as big as his body.
　He dodged the blow with his metal rod, and they both moved away from each other.



'Haha, you're kidding.

　You're outnumbered in power, outnumbered in speed, and outnumbered in size.
　But this one is more maneuverable, and more importantly, it's one-on-one. There's no need to worry about getting sidetracked.

　With a sinking sensation in my consciousness, my vision widens.
　Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.
　We can still dive. Deeper.



　The red wolf waved its paws as if it was done watching, and then jumped at me without any preliminary movement.
　Aimed for the neck. I struck the red wolf in the jaw with a well-aimed "slam" as it turned on its side to bite off its neck.

　I shook his brain.
　Although I had frightened the red wolf, I hadn't killed its momentum, so I jumped sideways with the recoil of the slam to avoid being attacked.
　You'll be able to use this to your advantage, but you'll also be able to use it to your advantage.

　I was slightly faster than him in getting out of the stasis.
　I'm not fast enough and I don't have any flying tools, so I'm at a disadvantage when I'm not passive.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with your time.
　The fact that he ducked stopped him from thinking for a few moments.

I'm not sure what to say.

　You'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.
　It's a good thing you're not the only one. He shot down the slash on his right foreleg with a metal rod and then struck him again with the momentum of his rotation.

　The unarmed slash was shot down.
　He knew that, and after ducking and dodging, he met the moonlight eyes that were staring at him.

　Four shots in total. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　I couldn't help but smile at his toughness.

　The lone red wolf. An opponent I'm no match for now?
　I'm good.
　Isn't it great?
　A thrill runs down my back, making my body tremble with excitement.

'It's a game of who's going to die, isn't it?

　As I watched the muscles in the red wolf's limbs rise, I gripped the metal rod in my hand tightly.


☆


　I wonder how much time has passed. I had been fighting for a while, and I realized something.

　In the battle against the lone Red Wolf, who is overwhelmingly superior to me, the handicap I am carrying is the biggest.
　In fact, it is not a disparity in physical status that is easy to understand.

　The most problematic point between us was the 'SP'.

　My body is a low-level player no matter how far I go, and whether I attack, evade, or leap, I must manage the loss of SP without exception.


　However, the red wolf in front of me is acting endlessly, as if it has no concept of fatigue.
　It was obvious that if he fought normally, he would run out of SP in no time and be torn to pieces when he was unable to move.

　However, even if I didn't attack, I wouldn't be able to defeat him at all.
　I had to settle for a very simple style of combat in this battle.

　Namely, a thorough counter.
　See through every move, and do the minimum amount of damage in the smallest of gaps.
　Don't lose your SP, and don't get hit.
　This is the usual way of hunting for superior players, with only that in mind.


'Aha!

　Ding!　I couldn't help the smile that fell from my face as I repelled the claw strike that made a hard sound and scattered sparks.
　I have enough SP thanks to my change in tactics. It's a good thing I'm not the only one.
　This was thanks to the drool-worthy situation of the red wolf in front of me, which forced me to adopt a hit-and-away strategy.

　Wolves are not good at close combat due to their quadrupedal nature.
　They can only display their full strength by combining their speed, which cannot be generated by bipedal walking, with the deadly weapons of fangs and claws.

　That's why Aria the Red Wolf can't take the worst option for me right now, which is to stop and fight in melee.
　I'm not sure what to make of that, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
　The Red Wolf Aria's only options in melee combat are paw slashes, bites, tackles, and tail cleaves. At most, this is all she can do.

　One of the reasons why I have been able to continue to handle the attacks of this far stronger man is because of such a simple reason.


　However, if you ask me if that makes Aria the Red Wolf an easy enemy, it does not.
　For example, a lunge accompanied by sufficient acceleration alone has the power to kill instantly, and a stop from the maximum speed ignoring inertia, followed by a series of lunge and cleave with the tail is a great threat.
　Although it doesn't use it over and over again, perhaps because it's too much of a burden, your SP will be greatly reduced, and if you don't concentrate, you'll probably die instantly.

'Grrr!

　A series of two bites that are disguised as a lunge, but stop abruptly a step before.

'Abuse ...... Natto!

　He dodged the first one by bending his body, and the second one by bending his knees and sinking.
　He kicked up his chin, which had been lifted by the bite, with a forcible summersault around the metal rod.

　He regains his stance, listening to the sound of his fangs biting into each other with a painful clang.
　As he recovered from the impact of the kick to the jaw, the red wolf's slash was repelled by the metal rod he had replaced.

'This is fun ......'.

　The counter strategy that I have shown you has the biggest disadvantage that it is not valid unless the opponent is on board.

　 Of course, it doesn't mean that I can't go on the offensive, but as I said before, the gap in stamina between me and Aria the Red Wolf cannot be bridged.
　Since I had only been able to cut down at most 10% of her stamina in the offensive and defensive moves I had made with most of my SP during the initial observation, I would probably run out of strength and die after cutting down at most 30% of her stamina in my offensive moves.

　If Red Wolf had chosen not to attack me but to wait, it is not hard to imagine that it would have been a thousand-day game.
　But that's not fighting. That's why she (Aria) got in.

　Not to be overrun by the margin of the strong.
　Just to fight as equals.

Let's continue!



　The claw that is swung vigorously is caught by a blow with all my heart, and I drop my consciousness even deeper.
　The accelerated thoughts are not stagnant, and the colorless world is vividly captured.

'Ah, hahaha!

　The attack and defense is like a tingling iainuki fight to the death.
　The unintentional feeling of pleasure that leaks out dominates my brain.

　But my mind remains calm. Don't misjudge the difference between us.
　Pushing the desire to rampage violently to the back of my mind, I stay on the receiving end.

　This battle is fun and exciting, but the end is not far off.

　With less than half of his HP remaining and his HP bar turning yellow, the red wolf took a large step away.
　The red wolf's body shook unsteadily, and its moon-colored eyes turned red.
　The glaring eyes caught me, and the red wolf stepped forward.

''Ah!

　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.
　I'm not sure if my physical strength has increased, but I'm sure my speed has increased as well.
　The claws that could not be deflected split my cheeks, and when I saw that nearly 10% of my HP was blown away, I shuddered and shook my back.

'This is the best, Aria!
'Grrrrrrr!

　In the heat of the moment, I unintentionally swung the metal rod, and it was flipped by the tail of the red wolf.
　As soon as it landed, I swung it down as hard as I could at the red wolf, which rushed at me like a bullet.
　Gosh!　In the event that you have any questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site.

'ツツ......?

　I crouched haphazardly and dodged a bite aimed at my neck as I writhed in numbness.

'You don't have time to be scared, do you!

　Her blood-red eyes glare at me.
　The battle between the two of us was about to reach its climax.