Slay Cyclops, Complete Novice Trial

A Cyclops, blinded in one eye and with its sense of smell completely gone, had become a perfect target.

The Cyclops could only jump and roar in place, using its hands and feet to pound the solid ground, creating more and more pits that only restricted it further.

But then, pain that seemed to wound the soul began to appear in various parts of its body.

This was the damage from projectiles from the Goblin Cleaver, imbued with Holy Damage.

One-Ear and Blood Scab were clear about their roles: to be Cheng Tian's mobile extra Inventory.

Because Cheng Tian had openly discussed the conditions for using "Knight's Throw" with them during their rest by the Campfire, they had promptly seized the opportunity. Noticing Cheng Tian had jammed his straight sword into the Cyclops's nose and that the monster had lost its tracking ability, they decisively threw their Baseball Bats, War Hammers, Goblin Cleavers, and Hand Axes from their Inventory to positions closer to Cheng Tian. Then, without any hesitation, they retreated back into the relatively safe distance of the grass.

It was clear that the two college students, who had been noisy at first, had thoroughly learned to read the room and protect themselves.

Even a blinded Cyclops was not something the weaklings they were could afford to provoke. At this critical juncture, whether they could defend themselves was no longer important. If Cheng Tian still died at this level, they probably wouldn't survive much longer either.

Cheng Tian's Knight's Throw required the currently held weapon as a template.

The Gentleman's Cane had too little damage, and the Vampire Killer did not meet the standard for projectile generation. Therefore, the timely assistance from the two human-shaped inventories was very helpful.

Even though only the Vampire Killer could maximize Holy Damage, Cheng Tian, having already taken a slam-and-throw move, no longer wanted to fight the Cyclops in close combat... What was even more unbearable than being stunned was the terrifying stench emanating from the monster.

Thus, with enough MP and the support of Innocent Souls, Cheng Tian began to circle the Cyclops with a movement like the moon orbiting the Earth. The new projectiles, enchanted with Holy Damage, began to output damage against the Cyclops.

For the thick-skinned Cyclops, both the blunt impact of the War Hammer and the blade attack of the Goblin Cleaver had their damage severely reduced. Only the single-digit Holy Damage added could take full effect, making the fight feel like scratching an itch.

The only true weak point on the Cyclops's entire body was its eyeball, but it was tightly covered by its hands. After taking a few hits from the War Hammer projectiles, it even covered its secondary weak point, the back of its head.

The Cyclops no longer thrashed around in place. Instead, it curled up with its hands covering its head, looking like it was preparing to defend to the end.

Cheng Tian, who was running in circles, found it hard to imagine how he would defeat this Cyclops with conventional attacks if he hadn't equipped the Vampire Hunter template with its Holy Whip, or if he wasn't here at all.

However, Cheng Tian didn't know that if he himself weren't present, the Red Demons and the Cyclops in this instance would not possess such a dire level of strength...

Let's talk about Capcom's most famous "Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment Mechanism" from later generations!

If Cheng Tian hadn't been here, and if the initial dozen or so people had survived, the Red Demons in this Novice Trial would have at most been a Boss Template, the Cyclops a mere Elite Template, and the Grunt Units might have more frequently dropped items like daggers, Lances, or fireballs with limited throwing quantities, which could be used without Arthur's abilities to deal more effective damage to enemies.

Theoretically, as long as enough novices survived and dared to fight, it wasn't impossible for everyone to survive, but passing this first stage with less than half sacrificing themselves should have been no problem.

Of course, the corresponding drawback would be the near impossibility of obtaining the "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons" skill, and the achievement module would likely be delayed by another one or two instances.

It was fortunate that Cheng Tian had accumulated hundreds of Innocent Souls during the previous journey, and his MP had consistently remained above a hundred. Otherwise, even if he wanted to scratch away at the Champion Giant today, he might not have been able to.

However, to maximize single-hit damage, Cheng Tian ultimately chose the War Hammer, which cost 1 MP just like the Goblin Cleaver, as his primary projectile. The throwing rate was indeed slower, but now he was hitting a stationary target, so the rate was unimportant.

Thus, the Cyclops's health was slowly but steadily chipped away by Cheng Tian, dropping from over nine hundred to just over a hundred, its total health falling below 10%... Even so, it was comparable to Cheng Tian when he first entered the instance.

Although he couldn't see the health bar, Cheng Tian could vaguely sense the Cyclops's pain and weakness. It was likely on the verge of collapsing.

But Cheng Tian didn't relax at all; instead, he became even more vigilant.

This was because a basic ability that should have been present in the original work was never displayed by the Cyclops, who kept its head protected.

Was it unable to use it? Or was it waiting for an opportunity?

Suddenly, the Cyclops moved.

It stopped shielding its head with its hands, its front completely exposed. At the same time, its entire head turned an abnormal shade of red.

Seeing this, Cheng Tian unhesitatingly retreated, creating sufficient distance.

The next second, Cheng Tian saw the Cyclops open its blind eyes, which could no longer see properly. It raised its neck, opened its mouth towards the sky, and then a massive, scorching fireball shot towards the heavens.

The fireball soared straight into the sky, finally exploding in the night sky like a magnificent fireworks display to mark the end.

Yes, Cheng Tian had been vigilant about the Cyclops's fire abilities all along. Although he didn't know that the Cyclops had the trait of being a "Weak Descendant of Flame Titan Bloodline," he always remembered that whether it was the Demon World Village or the Great Demon World Village, regardless of the modeling, Cyclops could breathe fire.

The Chosen Space had clearly made reasonable adjustments to the Cyclops based on its race, granting it a one-time Flame Breath capable of instantly killing any regular intruder.

Unfortunately, with its sight and smell both ruined, it couldn't find Cheng Tian, who was randomly circling around.

A Cyclops chosen to be a Demon General naturally had its unique qualities.

Upon realizing it couldn't harm the intruder at all, the Cyclops made the final choice of its life: to send out its last ripple to the other monsters in the Demon King's Castle—

A new human hero! Has appeared!

After spewing this last fireball, used to warn its demon colleagues, the Cyclops's health, which was close to a hundred points, instantly dropped to zero. Then, its body uncontrollably crashed to the ground.

That massive fireball had already exceeded its own limits. It wasn't something a pitiful 5MP could satisfy; instead, it simultaneously squeezed out the extremely diluted Flame Titan Bloodline within its body.

The backlash from squeezing out its bloodline power manifested as a drastic drop in vitality.

The Cyclops guarding the entrance to the Demon King's Castle was dead.

At the same time, a dazzling prismatic light appeared on the chest of the Cyclops lying on the ground. A large metal key, just like in the stereotype of medieval Europe, pierced through its chest armor and floated in mid-air. Then, as if guided by something, it flew directly to Cheng Tian.

The moment Cheng Tian grasped the Prismatic Key, three things happened simultaneously.

First, a complete set of brand-new Knight Armor donned Cheng Tian, covering his naked state, which was only clad in Strawberry Underwear.

Then, the heavily closed outer entrance gate of the Demon King's Castle not far away slowly opened.

Finally, the Main Quest timer completely froze, showing 3 hours, 45 minutes, and 39 seconds remaining.

[Main Quest complete, entering settlement phase.]