-431- [ Aurora Shot ]

"In the SAO world, the throwing skill 'Blade Throwing' has never been highly valued, as it has been mentioned before.

Its power is low, and each use consumes limited throwing items. Carrying a large quantity of these items leads to weight issues and consumes valuable inventory space.

Moreover, focusing on this skill can be impractical due to cost concerns.

Players tend to prefer various weapon skills that can quickly improve proficiency and allow for continuous combat as long as the weapon remains undamaged.

Sword skills, in particular, offer generally higher damage compared to blade throwing skills. Thus, it's natural for players to prioritize weapon skills.

In this world, it's extremely rare to find a player who has completely mastered the 'Blade Throwing' skill, let alone achieved a proficiency level above 500.

However, Rozen, thanks to his wealth, had no such concerns. He had already fully mastered 'One-Handed Sword' and 'Martial Arts' and had maxed out the proficiency of the 'Blade Throwing' skill.

Using the 'Magic Marrow' was necessary to reach its astounding effect, it wasn't just an S-rank rare item; it also required raising the 'Blade Throwing' skill proficiency to above 900.

When Rozen acquired this item initially, he had little hesitation.

"I must treat this as my trump card," he thought.

If used effectively, it could ignore an opponent's defense, deal massive damage, and even destroy an opponent's armor, breaking down their defense. It was undoubtedly a rare and deadly weapon.

However, Rozen originally intended to use it against high-level floor bosses and never thought about using it on other players.

Now, facing Heathcliff's seemingly impenetrable defense, Rozen retrieved it.

"Clang!"

A brilliant aurora-like effect emanated from the projectile, blindingly bright.

Recognizing the sword skill used by Rozen, Heathcliff, who knew everything about this world, immediately identified it.

"That's... 'Aurora Shot'!"

It was the highest-tier blade throwing skill, renowned for its instantaneous activation and launch speed.

The item thrown by this sword skill, while not reaching the speed of light, was much faster than the speed of sound.

Rozen used the highest-tier blade throwing sword skill in combination with the most formidable throwing item to launch an attack against Heathcliff that could potentially determine the outcome of the battle.

"Go!"

Rozen released the aurora from his hand.

"Bang!"

With a sound resembling a sniper rifle's trigger pull, the magic marrow transformed into a black aurora, shooting rapidly in Heathcliff's direction.

At that moment, Heathcliff felt a genuine threat.

For Heathcliff, this attack was potentially lethal.

There was no way to block it, and the armor-piercing effect meant he would have to endure the full force of the damage.

In order to settle the duel with Rozen, Heathcliff had already deactivated his system protection.

Once struck by this attack, Heathcliff's HP gauge would undoubtedly drop below the yellow zone, and even his armor would be destroyed.

Of course, with Heathcliff's GM privileges, he could easily regenerate his armor or create the world's highest-level equipment. In that case, he wouldn't take any damage from Rozen's attacks.

Moreover, Heathcliff could generate items that countered "Magic Marrow" and completely nullify this attack.

If Heathcliff really didn't care, this battle wouldn't even need to happen.

He could simply, like last time, press a button and instantly kill Rozen, just like he did with Kuradeel.

But Heathcliff wouldn't do that.

Leaving aside individuals like Kurederu who treat this world as a stage to vent out his desire, Heathcliff wouldn't compromise this battle when faced with players who were genuinely enjoying the game.

It wasn't a matter of Heathcliff's pride being too high; rather, all of this had been decided long ago.

He had chosen to face the player who had arrived in the Ruby Palace properly.

Even if the battle happened earlier than expected and with only one opponent, it was still the final battle. If he used his GM powers, the very reasons Heathcliff had designed all of this would cease to exist.

Therefore, Heathcliff didn't even consider using his GM powers.

Faced with the attack that shot toward him like a pitch-black aurora, he had only one choice..

"Evade."

Fortunately, Heathcliff had an extremely thorough understanding of the sword skills in this world.

Before seeing the sword skill's effect, he deduced what skill Rozen was about to use based on Rozen's preparatory movements. He even instantly recalled the trajectory and speed of this attack.

So, without much hesitation, before the aurora reached him, he forcefully stepped to the side.

"Whoosh...!"

With a sharp sound cutting through the air, the pitch-black aurora missed Heathcliff by a hair's breadth, grazing his body and streaking past him.

If Heathcliff had moved after the sword skill was initiated, he would have been unable to avoid this strike.

Fortunately, Heathcliff had an extensive understanding of the sword skill system, allowing him to anticipate Rozen's attack based on his preparatory movements and successfully evade it.

However...

"Clang!"

When the aurora-like effect gleamed once again, Heathcliff, who was still in the midst of his evasive action, had his pupils suddenly contract.

Rozen held the pitch-black magic marrow high, his gaze fixed on Heathcliff, who had a drastically changed expression and a cold smile on his face.

"You should use your GM privileges to take a good look at my inventory,"

Rozen's voice entered Heathcliff's ears.

"If you do that, you'll realize that I didn't obtain just one 'Magic Marrow' but two."

With these words, the pitch-black aurora was released once more.

"Swish!"

The sound of air being cleanly cut through resonated throughout the Ruby Palace.

The pitch-black magic marrow shot directly at Heathcliff's chest, and there was no way for him to dodge it this time.

While "Blade Throwing" skills indeed had low power, they had a significant advantage—their recovery time was very short. So, when Rozen initiated the second "Aurora Shot," Heathcliff had just completed his evasion and couldn't react in time.

"...!?"

Heathcliff could only reflexively raise his cross-shaped shield. The pitch-black aurora landed squarely on the shield.

"Bang!"

In a crisp and resounding noise, the cross-shaped shield shattered instantly, crushed by the pitch-black magic marrow.

Following that, the magic marrow plunged directly into Heathcliff's shield-bearing arm.

"Splush!"

With a tearing sound, the sharp marrow pierced flesh, generating an effect light reminiscent of blood that scattered into the air.