Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Single Dog Lord

SAO is very free, there are no specific professions, players can equip one-handed swords, two-handed swords, hammers, knuckles (claws), and more. Each type of weapon has its own proficiency.

However, human energy is limited, and generally, people choose to specialize in one type of weapon.

Looking around, there's no one nearby.

Keita secretly equips knuckles.

With a "OSU~" sound, he charges at the monster for close combat.

In reality, Keita practices karate sometimes by sparring with a wooden post, and other times by fighting against others.

I don't know if karate in the Conan world has mutated, but anyway, Keita's wooden posts suffer heavy wear and tear, needing replacement every month.

In fights against others, he can't go all out, some prohibited moves, like kicking at the groin or joints, aren't allowed. Keita has always wanted to try these moves on bad guys, but he never got the chance.

The game is a place to practice these techniques.

Unfortunately, Keita's real-life karate lacks elegance in actual combat; his facial expressions become unnatural and even grim when fighting. He even scared himself once, or he wouldn't be practicing alone secretly.

A group of goblins wielding wooden sticks charge. Keita grabs one goblin by the neck, fiercely kneeing its groin, then smashing it to the ground.

Instantly, the goblin's eyes bulge, bloodshot, drooling from the mouth. It twitches on the ground for a while before dissipating into points of light.

A fierce smile appears on Keita's lips as he throws punches, completely ignoring defense. One punch hits a goblin's face, sinking it in. A knife-hand strike lands on another goblin's throat, making a crisp sound, and it falls to the ground.

"Awesome!"

In less than a minute, around 10 goblins are dealt with. Although Keita is also left with low health, the satisfying feeling of landing punches on flesh makes him addicted. This might be the reason Keita chose to learn karate instead of kendo when he was young.

Ding dong~
Sonoko sends a message, asking him to meet at Horunca Village.

Horunca Village is located to the north of the Starting Town and has a giant windmill. Yesterday, Keita and Sonoko logged off in this village.

Today, they plan to farm small bosses together. Keita had noted down the locations of several bosses yesterday.

Back in the village, he looks around. He sees Sonoko playing with a stray cat, a nekomimi playing with a stray cat; it's an amusing scene.

"Sonoko, what were you doing just now?"

"Secret. Come on, let's go fight bosses today."

Keita unsheathes his one-handed sword, takes Sonoko with him, and heads to the boss location.

The monster boss they're hunting this time is called the "Single Dog Lord," a three-bar HP boss with a hidden special skill, "Single Dog's Rage." Teaming up to fight the Single Dog Lord is straightforward, as it has a regular boss skill set. However, if a couple teams up, a hidden skill is triggered.

The first two health bars of the boss are normal output, but when it reaches the last health bar, it suddenly triggers the Single Dog's Rage. It ignores male enemies and aggressively chases female enemies. During this time, the boss's speed and attack power increase significantly, while its defense drops.

After defeating female characters, the boss drops its weapon, lying on the ground vulnerable to your attacks. It occasionally lets out mocking laughter, as if taunting your inability to protect your girlfriend. Until the final moment of its death, it gives you a "low" hand gesture and disappears into stardust with a "hmph~". Although you've defeated the boss, you don't feel a hint of joy.

Why does Keita know the boss's skills so well?
Because Keita designed this boss himself. One day, he got bored and had a twisted idea, creating this mini-boss. Originally, he thought Future would place this boss after the 5th floor, as the couple system would be introduced on that floor. Unexpectedly, Future included the boss on the first floor.

Yesterday, seeing a video on Niconico with a familiar dog head, Keita decided to bring Sonoko to fight this boss.

First, Keita is familiar with the monster's mechanics.

Second, he can show off his "boyfriend power".

Not far away, a Single Dog Lord lies relaxed on the ground, swinging its legs back and forth, despite being a bit small in size.

Looking at the dog-headed creature in front of him, Keita instructs Sonoko, "Sonoko, when we break the first two bars of the boss's health, make sure to hide behind me, got it?"

"Uh, why?"

"Just trust me, you'll know when the time comes." With that, he charges towards the dog-headed creature.

As the battle begins, the first two health bars of the boss act normally, with the two players exchanging attacks, gradually reducing the monster's health.

Seeing the monster's health about to drop to the last bar, Keita gives a final reminder, "The monster is turning red, be cautious and hide behind me."

The last strike.

Roar~ The dog-headed creature suddenly turns its eyes red and roars. Its muscles tense up layer by layer as it drops its battle-axe, removes the armor on its body, throws off its helmet, and lets its long hair fly in the wind. It swiftly takes out a large cleaver from behind, bends its legs slightly, and with a forceful push, lunges at Keita.

Snap~
Caught off guard, Keita is sent flying, losing a large chunk of his health.

???

Keita is full of question marks. Why is this dog-headed creature attacking him?

"Keita, be careful!" Sonoko screams.

Keita regains his senses just in time to see the dog-headed creature charging towards him, the cleaver emitting a glaring red light.

In an instant, Keita forcefully pushes off the ground, and time seems to slow down. In mid-air, Keita's eyes rapidly move around, observing the dog-headed creature's flowing hair, which resembles a bra.

Oh shit, it's a girl.

Bang~
The dog-headed creature's cleaver slams into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Keita rolls on the ground twice and finally rolls out of the dust.

"Sonoko, attack together. This is the female Single Dog Lord. I'll engage it head-on, and you attack from behind."

Upon hearing this, Sonoko rushes behind the boss. Her two cat paws jab fiercely into the creature's waist, delivering a powerful kidney blow.

The female dog-headed creature lets out a miserable cry, and its health drops significantly.

Keita seizes the opportunity to strike the hand holding the cleaver. The creature winces in pain, dropping the cleaver and kicking Keita away.

Keita adjusts his position mid-air and charges back towards the dog-headed creature, his long sword aimed at its heart. Sonoko, positioned behind the creature, swiftly moves while stepping on its body, then launches herself into the air, aiming a throat strike at the creature.

Bang~
The dog-headed creature shatters into stardust.

Congratulations!

Keita sits on the ground, looking at his barely visible health bar, taking a deep breath, almost flipping out. Keita doesn't remember designing a female Single Dog Lord?! Dammit, it's Future again.

Sonoko excitedly pounces on Keita. "Keita, it dropped something—a white windbreaker."

"Slow down, I'm almost dead. If I die, it'll be the most unjust." Keita replies, even more annoyed. He only dropped some materials and col (SAO's currency).

"That was dangerous just now. How did you know the monster's speed would increase significantly when its health turns red? Thanks for the timely reminder, Keita."

Do I need to explain this? I originally wanted to play the hero, but it turned into the girl saving the hero.

Keita awkwardly responds, "It's okay, hahaha. Let's head back to the city. We'll buy the materials and we should be able to enjoy a hearty meal today."

"Oh hoho! o(*￣︶￣*)o Back to the city, hearty meal!"