Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 5: Swordplay

Shit!

Bark peeled behind him. Another Wood Wolf.

Two were already in front of his shield. The third had spawned behind him.

He was already down forty-six HP. Fortify was still on cooldown, and his shield had already paid for every mistake.

[Shield Durability: 114/120]

[Fortify: Cooldown (0:07)]

[Damage Taken: 311]

He didn’t have time to turn. If he tried, he’d give the two in front a clean angle.

So he made the ugly choice.

He squared his shield to the front arc and let the wolf at his back go for his spine.

A strange hunch prickled up his spine. Not fear, just timing.

Wait... Don’t turn.

If he turned, he’d lose the front. If he didn’t, he could keep his shield where it mattered, and catch the bite on steel.

He snapped his gaze left, then right. One wolf was already centered. The other was drifting, hunting his flank.

Threat latched onto the one hunting his side. The wolf’s angle snapped inward like it had been yanked by a leash.

Martin shifted one foot and tilted his shield, lining both front wolves up in the same lane.

He kept the shield forward. Both wolves were in front of it.

The first bite hit.

[Perfect Block!]

A heartbeat later, the second lunged into the same lane.

[Perfect Block!]

Something in him clicked, sharp, like his body recognized the timing before his mind did. The bite was coming from behind, right on the edge of his next block. He didn’t look back.

He switched his sword grip and drove the blade back just as jaws closed on steel.

[Your Steel Sword has lost 6 points of durability!]

Martin’s lips pulled into a victorious smirk.

I did it. I defended myself fucking perfectly.

He didn’t lose any HP in that exchange. The impacts still spiked his Damage Taken, but he stayed standing, and that mattered more than a clean scoreboard right now.

The third wolf had clamped its wooden jaws onto his steel blade and froze, as if its simple little brain didn’t understand what to do next.

Good. Stay there.

Martin used the bite like a hook. He yanked hard, dragging the wolf’s head and shoulders off-line, then swept the sword forward and slammed the monster into the nearest trunk.

The thick bark thudded.

[-59 HP!]

The moment the wolf at his back was pinned, Martin snapped back to the front. He adjusted his grip, drove his shield into the two wolves, and caught a half-beat of stagger.

He shield-bashed to buy space.

Then he cut, two short slashes, and shifted his feet to reclaim the lane.

It’s not just "block." It’s positioning. Angles. Rhythm.

And I need the sword for defense too. The shield can’t cover everything.

The forest didn’t give him walls. It gave him ambush points.

They peel out of trees. So I need a "wall" that isn’t a tree. Something that can’t spawn behind me.

He moved, not running yet, just drifting through the woods while the wolves prowled after him.

One block came a hair late. The bite still met metal, but it hit closer to the shield’s edge and rattled his arm.

[Shield Durability: 110/120]

He kept moving.

Then his boot skidded on slick moss.

For half a breath, his weight shifted wrong. The shield dipped. The lane widened.

A bite flashed for his ribs.

Martin didn’t backpedal. He stepped through instead, cutting the angle with his shoulder and slamming the shield forward to reclaim his front.

The impact rang, and his feet found ground again.

Each time they snapped at him, Martin got sharper. Micro-adjustments. Tiny tilts. Half-steps that kept every bite in front of his shield.

Then the three wolves lunged together.

Not perfectly synchronized, staggered, trying to pincer him anyway.

Martin stepped into it. One hard forward step. He rotated his shoulder, angled his shield, and drove it out like he was about to bash straight through them.

BANG!

DING!

[Perfect Block x3]

Three impacts. One clean front arc.

He didn’t check the counter on every hit, only when it felt like it mattered.

[Damage Taken: 782]

The forest noise blurred for a heartbeat, just block chimes and wolf cries, almost like music. Then, underneath it all, he caught something else.

Water.

A steady rush, faint but real.

Should I kill them now? Nah.

They’re my dogs.

Follow me. I’ll take you to your grave.

—

The closer he got, the louder the water became. Behind him, the pack answered with a chorus of growls.

More peeled out of trees behind him, one after another, until the pack at his heels was too large to count.

Ahead, the forest opened.

A small waterfall spilled into a lake that stretched for miles. Open shoreline. No trees. No trees close enough for them to peel out behind him.

But if there’s a water monster...

Whatever. That’s a risk I can actually plan for.

He checked the system.

[Time: 31:05]

[Damage Taken: 1569]

I don’t know what that means compared to other Guardians, but it’s time.

My stamina’s going. If I don’t reset the pace, I’ll pay for it.

Players didn’t feel pain in the game, but exhaustion still came.

For Martin, it felt like someone had strapped weight onto his back. His left arm was the worst, his shield arm. Forearm heavy. Wrist slow. The kind of slow that broke perfect block rhythm.

When his forearm slowed, his shield angle slipped, and one bad block could chew through durability in seconds.

My body can’t keep up with what I’m trying to do. Fine. I’ll start with the puppies I know best.

The ones who’d forced him to improve.

The ones who’d chased him the longest.

He targeted the wolf with the lowest HP, slammed his shield into its face, then followed with a quick thrust.

[You have killed the Wood Wolf Lv. 1]

One.

Two, and...

His vision jolted.

Shit! Too much realism!

Martin dropped to one knee and braced himself on his sword, breathing like he’d just run a real mile.

In front of him, the wolves growled low and victorious as they closed in.

He forced air into his lungs and held himself there.

Not yet.

One wolf lunged first.

He met it with his shield, not for a perfect block, just enough to steal its balance, and drove his sword up under its jaw.

[You have killed the Wood Wolf Lv. 1]

The moment the body dissolved, something warm surged through him. His vision snapped sharp. The weight on his shoulders vanished like it had never been there.

[Level Up!]

For a single heartbeat, Martin felt whole.

Then the warmth cut off.

[Level Synchronization Active]

[Level Restored: 1]

His lungs stayed full. The burn in his forearm eased. The surge refilled him.

His level didn’t stay, but the breath in his chest did.

Martin stared at the message, and the wolves kept coming.