LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 116
Chris’s ‘Hongbaek Raid’ was enduring a tough try.
Ka-a-ah-!
Thud, thud, whoosh!
Kaka-kang, p-p-pak!
“Guh!”
“Ah!?”
The Black Dragon slammed its front paw down and quickly spun its body. The ranged dealers within the reach of its tail scrambled to use their counters, but they could only panic and get knocked back far due to the massive damage penetrating their guards.
The Abyssal Tree Level 1 Named Enemy, ‘Black Dragon’, was less than half the size of the previous region’s World Boss, ‘Green Dragon’.
It might seem obvious, but just because it’s smaller doesn’t mean it’s weaker.
The Black Dragon’s magical resistance and defense were on par with the Green Dragon. Smaller means it was more nimble. It could even wield strange powers.
Wuuung!
Dark energy began to gather around the Black Dragon, and it soon took the shape of a spear.
Papap, sweee-k!
The twelve spears created by the Black Dragon shot out in all directions, tracing bizarre trajectories.
Chris, who had been tracking the trajectory of the spears, shouted the moment they approached her closely.
“Now!”
Wuuung!
P-p-pak!
On the side of the melee dealers, Bae Merong, and on the side of the ranged dealers, Yeon Mina. The wizard’s long-range protective magic, ‘Mana Barrier’, shielded the party members.
Chris smiled at Bae Merong.
“Bae Merong, nice job! It’s tough for the melee dealers, huh? You’re doing a great job.”
“Eh, I’ve done a lot of melee positioning while riding the bus.”
Bae Merong expertly responded to the melee patterns, protecting the melee dealers behind the tank.
Long cooldown and rare invincibility skills like ‘Ice Prison’ shouldn’t be wasted carelessly. Normal patterns must be countered with appropriate skills whenever necessary.
There is a way to rely on each raid member’s invincibility skills, but if even one fails the resistance and dies, the strategy becomes very difficult. If there are skills that can protect party members, they should be actively utilized.
In fact, it was the tank, Deathly Death, who had the toughest position.
No matter how small the Black Dragon’s size was, there was a considerable distance for the protective skills to reach him by the head.
But he skillfully used left and right guard stances, countering resistances and employing backward evasion against the Black Dragon’s patterns.
The attacks of the ‘Black Dragon’, which were frighteningly fast and powerful even in normal patterns, took quite some time for all party members to get used to.
Whether in an Elite Dungeon or Raid, it ultimately comes down to mastering through repetition.
The final strategy speed varies depending on how quickly they become accustomed.
And, made up entirely of skilled users, the Hongbaek Raid quickly got the patterns down.
From this try onwards, all party members were skillfully responding to the patterns.
[1 Named Enemy]
[Level 53]
[Black Dragon]
[HP 180,154,007 / 200,000,000 (90%)]
Checking the Black Dragon’s HP, Chris shouted to her raid members.
“From now on, it’s the real deal! Special phase starts at 90%! Make sure you’re clear on the strategy!”
Ku-ughuuuu-!
Flap, flap.
As the HP went below 90%, the Black Dragon began to flap its wings.
Hooouuuug!
The gale created by the flapping sent the raid members reeling, and the dragon’s giant body began to rise into the air.
Flying pattern, unable to attack.
Flap, flap, flap.
Ka-a-aah-!
The Black Dragon’s body soared into the depths of the Abyssal Tree, where the ceiling was not visible.
A moment later, a storm of magic emitted from the dragon enveloped the party members.
The continuous breath that lasted until all party members were wiped out was not a pattern that could be countered by party protection skills.
It was truly an extermination move.
In the previous try, four of the raid members had died, leaving eight to face this pattern, but they could not find a way to counter it.
“This time for sure.”
Chris’s eyes scanned the surroundings.
This time was different from the last try, where they faced the special pattern in confusion.
There would be a special gimmick to release the dragon’s flying state. Or perhaps a shield to get through its breath unharmed.
Wuuung!
Soon, Chris’s eyes caught sight of three purple magical circles rising in the combat area.
Small enough for just one person to step onto.
The three magical circles generated at the outer edges of the combat area formed a perfect equilateral triangle.
Tat tat tat!
Chris ran quickly towards the magical circle that had formed near her and ordered the other Onmyoji, Catcher Yi.
“Catcher Yi, do you see the magical circle nearby!? Please step on it!”
“Okay!”
Tat tat tat!
He quickly responded. The party’s wizard, Yeon Mina, also checked the surrounding situation and began to run towards the remaining magical circles.
As Chris reached the magical circle, the closest Catcher Yi arrived first.
The moment he stepped onto the circle.
A strong purplish energy surged upwards from the magical circle.
Flash!
Kwa-a-aah!
“Ugh, Aah!”
Catcher Yi’s body evaporated with a scream.
[Raid Member ‘Catcher Yi’ has died.]
Afterward, the magical circle vanished as if it had fulfilled its purpose.
Chris was aghast.
“What!?”
Can’t step on it?
That’s the only special object?
Checking the situation on the opposite side, Yeon Mina hesitated for a moment before activating her personal invincibility skill, ‘Flame Protection’, and stepped on the magical circle.
Papapapap!
“Kuhuk!”
The Flame Protection was instantly stripped, and Yeon Mina’s body also evaporated.
[Raid Member ‘Yeon Mina’ has died.]
Were two of the three magical circles fake?
Then, the real one is this?
Tat tat.
Using backward evasion, Chris put on the Onmyoji’s protective buff and stepped onto the magical circle.
Paat!
Stepping onto the last magical circle, green light burst out. And then, it quickly disappeared.
Chris cautiously opened her tightly closed eyes.
No damage came in.
How about the change in the combat area?
Creeeak.
[Magic-Infested Ant]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
“What, what is this!?”
“That’s the ant from earlier! Three ants appeared!”
Ooooh-!
The very moment the magical circle reacted, three magic-infested ants emerged from the center. They swung their wooden limbs and attacked the raid members.
Beneath Chris, where the magical circle had disappeared, lay a green orb.
[Essence of the World Tree]
[Gimmick Item]
[The power planted by the World Tree within the Abyssal Tree, which has taken away one’s life.]
Tap.
Chris quickly picked up the green orb and threw it at the closest ant.
Fwoosh!
As the orb hit one of the ants, light erupted from it.
Soon vitality surged through the ant’s limb, and green leaves began to sprout.
[Purified Ant]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
“This, is this it!”
However, that was the end of it.
The one purified ant struggled against the two magic-infested ants, but it was no match.
Moments later, the Black Dragon’s breath brutally engulfed the Hongbaek raid members.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!!!
Special phase’s time limit expired, raid wipe.
“Shall we tidy up here?”
“Special pattern starts at 90%. Black Dragon flies. Three magical circles appear.”
“From the magical circles stepped on by Yeon Mina and Catcher Yi, magic erupted.”
“And from the magical circle stepped on by Sister Chris, green light burst out, revealing the ‘Essence of the World Tree’ gimmick item.”
“The ant hit by it turned into a purified ant.”
The Hongbaek raid members gathered at the entrance of the Level 1 Named Enemy, organizing the information obtained from this try.
Deathly Death stroked his chin and muttered.
“Hmm… three magic-infested ants, one purification item. The numbers don’t match.”
“The other two magical circles must have a purpose too.”
Chris was reviewing the footage from this try.
Black Dragon HP at 90%, flying pattern begins, followed by the appearance of three magical circles.
“…Huh?”
The three magical circles appeared one by one with a slight interval.
The order was that the magical circle near Chris was the first.
Chris nodded.
Since it was a virtual reality game with restricted front visibility, she couldn’t keep an eye on the entire combat area alone. But with the recorded footage, that’s a different story.
“It seems there is an order to stepping on them. Let’s try stepping on them in the order they appeared next time.”
90% special phase.
In the center of the Level 1 Named Enemy combat area, the melee dealers each attracted the aggro of the ants.
Whoosh! P-p-pak!
“Guh, is it not yet!?”
“These three ants hurt too much!”
Tat tat tat!
Paat!
This time, Chris stepped on the last magical circle and obtained the green orb.
“Okay, completed the last magical circle! Throw them all!”
Fwaaaaash!
Wuuuuung!
The three ants, hit by the Essence of the World Tree secured by the ranged dealers, all got purified, and they began to emit green light together.
The green light energy emitted by the three ants soon formed a hemispherical shield.
Chris’s face brightened.
“This is it! Everyone, gather in here!”
As all the raid members entered the green light hemisphere,
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The unrestrained breath of the Black Dragon burst out, covering the entire combat area.
The raid members took no damage.
Silently…
As the breath ended, the drained ants were also absorbed by the Abyssal Tree.
Flap, crash.
Kya-a-aah!
The Black Dragon landed back on the floor of the Abyssal Tree, having finished its flying, and let out a roar filled with dissatisfaction.
The faces of the raid members lit up.
“You did it, we made it through.”
“The first special phase is complete!”
Chris shouted cheerfully.
“Great, let’s keep going! We just have to repeat the same for the next special phase!”
However, today’s attempt could only end at 60%.
The first special pattern had been relatively gentle.
The real challenge starts from the second special pattern.
The difficulty would rise exponentially.
The spears of magic generated around the flying dragon tormented the ranged dealers tasked with the gimmick.
The number of magical circles they needed to erase and ants they needed to purify had increased to four.