Chapter 278: 10-Hit Original Sword Skill
Shido landed gently on the ground and looked around, taking in the lush, green scenery surrounding him.
As he was trying to figure out where he was, a window suddenly popped up in front of him, startling him for a moment. Curious, he focused on it, and his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the words displayed before him.
<<Perception>>
"What?" Shido couldn’t help but smile wryly as he hadn’t expected to gain a skill just from observing his surroundings. However, after thinking about it more carefully, it started to make sense.
It was said that ALfheim Online’s stats were based on a player’s real-life abilities. Given Shido’s naturally sharp senses and his [Observation Haki], which allowed him to perceive things around him even without sight, obtaining the skill seemed only logical.
The <<Perception>> skill he gained functioned in a similar way, it heightened Shido’s senses within the game, allowing him to detect hidden objects, traps, and even subtle changes in the environment.
However, what was even more shocking was the fact that the skill’s stat was already at 1000 stats, which means it was already maxed out. With a skill like this, it would be nearly impossible for any enemy to land a hit on him, making Shido almost unkillable.
Reading the value of the stat, Shido couldn’t help but sigh. "Well, I guess I became a cheater without even trying."
After inspecting the skill in more detail, Shido decided to test it. The moment he activated it, a familiar sensation washed over him, just like when he used [Observation Haki]. He could feel everything around him: the presence of nearby monsters, faint movements in the air, and even the slightest shifts in the environment that would normally go unnoticed.
Opening his eyes, Shido deactivated the skill, though he couldn’t help but think how incredible it was.
Now that he had finished testing the skill and scanning the area for any signs of danger, Shido finally had the time to take a proper look at himself.
Looking down at his arms and body, Shido noticed he was wearing the default attire and light armor of an Imp, colored in deep shades of purple. However, from the way his body moved and felt, he could tell that his in-game physique wasn’t much different from his real one.
He walked over to a nearby river and peered into the clear water to see his reflection. Raising his hands, he lightly touched his face, tracing his features as if to confirm they were still his own. After a moment, he lowered his hands and nodded in satisfaction.
"Mn, still handsome as always."
Shido laughed to himself in the middle of the forest like crazy, his voice echoing faintly and startling the nearby animals. It might have seemed a bit narcissistic, but his avatar did resemble his appearance in Spirit Mode, though this time, his hair wasn’t long and white. Instead, it retained his usual style but had turned a deep shade of purple, matching the Imp race’s distinct trait.
Once he was done checking himself, Shido began getting used to the feel of this virtual world. Since it was his first time entering one, he needed a few minutes to adjust and familiarize himself with everything.
Swiping his left hand downward, Shido brought up the menu, which displayed a series of various icons. He began tinkering with the controls, exploring each feature to see what functions they offered. After a few moments of testing, he finally stopped once he had familiarized himself with everything.
"I see, I see." Shido said thoughtfully. Although there wasn’t much difference between the real world and the virtual one, he could still sense a subtle distinction between the two.
While examining the menu, Shido also navigated to his personal stats window. There, he saw detailed values for his HP, MP, and other attributes, including his newly acquired skill, <<Perception>>, which astonishingly displayed a value of 1,000.
Since he had only just entered the world of ALfheim Online, it was natural for him to have no skills yet, however he was lucky to suddenly gain a skill.
But since he was still a beginner, it didn’t really matter much for now. What Shido needed most at the moment was to get out of this place and get some good equipment first since his current gear and weapon were the lowest-tier ones available.
Not dwelling on it any further, Shido opened the menu again and activated the map function. A virtual map materialized before his eyes, and after studying it for a moment, he realized that he was currently in the Ancient Forest, located near the Sylph Territory. Now that he had a clear idea of his location, Shido planned to head toward the nearest city to buy proper equipment. However, before that, he would need to earn some Yrd first.
Using his <<Perception>>, Shido quickly located several groups of monsters scattered throughout the forest. Without hesitation, he dashed toward them at an incredible speed, only for a familiar sound to ring in his ears.
Ding!
[New Skill Learned: <<Sprint>>]
"Seriously?" Shido muttered, letting out a helpless smile as he received another skill.
...
Five hours had passed since Shido started grinding for Yrd.
Since he had logged into the game right after lunch, the forest was now cloaked in darkness, it was around six in the evening in the real world. When Shido looked up, he could see Aincrad floating high above, illuminated against the twilight sky. The sight reminded him of the recent update that had been released just last month, following a long suspension brought about by the incident involving Sugou Nobuyuki.
The latest patch had introduced several new features to the game, including a newly added dungeon, Aincrad, and a system called Original Sword Skill (OSS), which allowed players to create their own unique sword techniques.
The Aincrad floating above Shido wasn’t much different from the one he had. The only real difference was that his Aincrad had turned into the real thing, a massive, floating fortress suspended high in the sky.
Shido wanted to go there, but gather more Yrd first before flying to Aincrad.
Just as he was lost in thought, a loud roar snapped him back to reality. A group of huge plant-type monsters emerged from the forest, their twisted vines writhing weirdly.
Stretching his body, Shido drew his sword with a faint smile and said "Well then, let’s continue grinding Yrd!"
As he said that, Shido activated <<Sprint>>, his figure blurring before instantly reappearing behind the monsters. They didn’t even have time to react, within a heartbeat, ten purple slashes carved across their bodies, and the creatures shattered into countless fragments of light.
Watching the monsters vanish into particles of light, Shido calmly sheathed his sword and sat down cross-legged on the ground, as if what he had done was nothing noteworthy.
However, if any ALfheim Online players had witnessed that move, their jaws would have dropped in disbelief, for what Shido had just performed was a 10-hit Original Sword Skill, one he had personally created during the past few hours.
And he had named this Original Sword Skill <<Phantom Cascade>>.
It might sound unbelievable, but for someone like Shido, who possessed the [Swordsmanship] skill, creating a ten-hit combo Original Sword Skill was as effortless as lifting a hand. In fact, he had made it on a whim, simply out of curiosity to test how the OSS system worked.
If he really put his mind to it, Shido could create a 20-hit or even 30-hit combo. However, since he was only experimenting with the system, he had limited himself to a 10-hit combo. Even so, that alone was enough to make his <<Phantom Cascade>> the strongest OSS in existence, surpassing the current record holder, Eugene’s 8-hit combo known as <<Volcanic Blazer>>.
"Phew, It’s quite difficult to dodge this <<Post Motion>> effect."
Shido sighed as he thought about the side effects of using a high-level OSS. Many might wonder what a "Post Motion" is, but to put it simply, it’s the state of temporary rigidity that occurs after activating a sword skill. The higher the sword skill, the longer the <<Post Motion>> lasts. That’s why <<Switch>> was so important back in SAO.
Shido also suffered from this effect, which almost got him killed by the monsters. Because of that, he began experimenting to find a way to avoid entering the <<Post Motion>> state after activating a skill. And just as he expected, he eventually discovered a method to dodge the effect, though it was extremely difficult to pull off.
To achieve it, one needed exceptionally sharp senses, able to detect the exact moment the <<Post Motion>> would begin and move the instant the rigidness set in.
If it were an ordinary person, they would undoubtedly fail. However, for Shido, who had a maxed-out <<Perception>> stat, it was certainly possible.
Over the past few hours, Shido had also acquired various new skills that left him speechless. If it was only a skill then he wouldn’t be that surprised, but each skill stats was already at 1000 value.
Then again, since ALfheim Online reflects a player’s real-life stats, it really shouldn’t have been that surprising.
Shido had gained a wide variety of skills such as <<One-Handed Sword>>, <<Martial Arts>>, <<Parry>>, <<Search>>, <<Stealth>>, and many others. He also didn’t stop at creating just one OSS, he had developed more of them, though most of them consisted of eight hits or fewer hits.
After hours of grinding, Shido had slain thousands of monsters and earned at least 50,000 yrd, a considerable amount for a newbie.
Although Shido had taken a few hits from monsters when he was caught off guard by the <<Post Motion>> effect, his total health had never dropped below seventy percent. That meant he could still take on that monster before heading to town.
Shido slowly got up from where he was sitting, patted the dust off his pants, and said, "I should be able to defeat that Field Boss before I log out."
As he spoke, he extended his senses and immediately located the Field Boss he had been targeting.