LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 123
Morning again, huh?
I opened my eyes and blankly stared at the dim light illuminating the dark room of Astria.
As I tried to sit up, I groaned, “Uugh.”
I wrapped my arms around my shoulders.
Hastily, I reached for the medicine and water placed on the bedside table and gulped them down.
“Hoo.”
After a moment of trembling in pain, my mind finally returned to think as the lingering agony started to fade.
The battle with the Level 2 Named Enemy, Death Knight Jacam, hadn’t gone smoothly.
There were more hurdles than I had anticipated.
The most problematic part was absorbing Jacam’s magical rampage. After being sucked into his hands, I had to enhance my body at just the right moment to break free. If I was even a second late, my life force would be drained away. If I broke free too quickly, the magic within me would explode.
If I had been with my comrades, I could have used a status-altering technique on Jacam to get him off my back.
Yesterday, I activated my belt several times. Even if I understood the gimmick, I still had to slice off 200 million HP out of the total 500 million myself.
A belt that prevents instant death once and fixes my HP at 1%.
The Hero’s Power that activates at 1% HP.
To strategize, it means I have to die.
Jacam’s attacks were brutal. He didn’t just neatly pierce my body like a Black Dragon.
I sometimes ended up getting sliced in half while trying to die as painlessly as possible. Thankfully, the gift Igrim gave me ensured I didn’t fight with just my upper body. The green light swirled around the wounds from the attacks, holding my body together so I wouldn’t split apart.
“Haa.”
I sighed.
This silly body here can’t handle the pain.
Even a little strain makes every part of me cry out in agony, demanding rest.
I sat up, staring blankly into the void, momentarily lost in thought.
Only the last Named Enemy remains.
How many times will I have to activate this belt during the battle with the Legion Commander?
Would this body be able to endure?
If I ended up spitting blood and collapsing, Sister Chris would probably force me into the hospital.
In moments like this, it was easier to live alone.
No one to nag me no matter how much I pushed myself.
As I was lost in thought on the bed, a small sound came from the direction of the door.
Scratch scratch.
“……?”
What’s that sound?
Cautiously, I got down from the bed and crawled toward the door. Using just the strength in my thighs to pull myself with my knees below, I looked a bit ridiculous, but it was easier to move this way than to ride a wheelchair for the short distance in the room.
Gingerly, I opened the door, and—
Bump.
“Ay-yah!”
Someone at the door lightly bumped their head against it.
The person who fell backward, looking surprised, stared at me.
“Gah….”
“…Sister Chris, what are you doing up at this hour?”
“Ugh ugh! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“What are you sorry about?”
“I was trying to see the last Named Enemy’s pattern and let Rain know, but something strange blocked my way!”
Chris plopped down in front of me, sobbing dramatically.
I sat down facing her and scratched my head.
What she meant was after clearing the Level 2 Named Enemy yesterday, she wanted to extend the trial time to extract as much information about the Level 3 Named Enemy as possible, but a mid-boss was blocking the entrance to the core.
“Sob, so we couldn’t get through today. S-sorry. I wanted to write down some information about the mid-boss on paper to pass it to you.”
I chuckled seeing Chris still sniffling.
She’s cute.
I like her charismatic side, but I also find this silly side she only shows in front of me adorable.
I hugged her gently.
“Gah…!”
Chris took a deep breath.
“Sister, thank you.”
“Wha-what are you thanking me for?! A useless sister like me doesn’t even deserve to be held by Rain! Yaa, yaa!”
I grabbed Chris’ hands, which were starting to hit her own head.
“What are you talking about? You help me plenty!”
“But.”
“Didn’t you first see Jacam’s patterns and tell me? It’s the same for the mid-boss. Thanks to you, I can strategy a lot more comfortably.”
This is true.
Thanks to Chris, my trial times, where I had to endure pain and use my past powers, have dramatically decreased. Without her information, my body might not have been able to withstand the last raid.
It wasn’t a lonely fight just for me.
Even if our bodies are apart, Chris is fighting alongside me.
“Sister, you’re my comrade.”
I bestowed her with my highest praise.
In the past, my comrades supported me and paved the way.
Here, even across time and space, new allies stand together against the Legion Commander.
The Hong Baek guild members and Chris.
Sister Chris is my ally too.
“Ally… it is, huh.”
Chris pondered that term, and for a moment, her expression filled with emotion.
Then, she seemed to feel a little disappointed and bit her lip.
“……?”
The outside was gradually brightening.
I munched on the boiled egg and bread Chris fed me while analyzing the info she had written about the Flame Spear Soldier and Ice Shield Soldier.
“Munch munch… So, the aggro targets change at random times, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s got this bizarre pattern, right? It beams from its eyes, and while it doesn’t deal damage, if a raid member gets hit, the aggro flicks. Regardless of damage or aggro value.”
“The spear soldier lays down fire zones in its area, while the shield soldier recovers HP.”
“Exactly! It looks like an aggro distance issue. The spear soldier seems like a ranged tank, and the shield soldier like a melee tank.”
I was watching the footage Chris had recorded. A holographic 3D video popped up on the table we were eating at, allowing us to see the battle dynamics of the Hong Baek raid from various visual angles.
I pointed at the enormous gap in the central combat area where the floor had sunk.
“We jump on these tree trunks that burst up and move over to the other side, right?”
“Yeah. It’s not that hard because we can cross in one backward evasion, but the tree trunks are barely wide enough for one person to step on. If three minutes pass, the buff expires, and we’ll die. If we cross to the opposite side before three minutes is up, the buff changes, and we go back to a three-minute countdown.”
The problem lies in this.
[Fire Injection (3 minutes)]
[Attack power increased by 30%, death if three minutes pass]
[Ice Injection (3 minutes)]
[Defense increased by 30%, death if three minutes pass]
We have to switch positions on both ends before these buffs end.
Otherwise, we all instantly die after three minutes of battle.
But if we charge in without caution, our paths will entangle, leading to a fall.
Also, it’s problematic how the tank moves.
The spear soldier shoots fire spears continuously if at a distance. Normally, we tanked by blocking and dodging this from the front.
However, during the leap over the cliff, it’s difficult to evade or defend. The tank must jump across to survive, but it’s nearly impossible to do that.
The shield soldier curls up and recovers HP when distanced from the tank. The recovery rate fills its HP in an instant.
The only fortunate part is that there’s no berserk phase?
It had the gimmick of a semi-named enemy, but as a mid-boss, it didn’t limit our battle time.
I finished my analysis and nodded.
“Hmm, it’s not that difficult. It’s just that you’re tired right now, but I think if you take a nap, you can easily iron out a strategy.”
“…Really? I don’t know what to do right now.”
“Here, let’s see.”
I pointed at the enormous trunks that had erupted from the floor in the central combat area.
“One by one, in order. And finally, the tank crosses over.”
“In order?”
“Yep. Both sides can do it like that. The person who can perform ranged tanking goes first from the spear soldier side to the shield soldier side, and they take aggro by getting hit by the laser. This way, the instant death time also changes categories and extends, and the tanking can be continued.”
“Aah…!”
“The same goes for the opposite side, where the person who can perform ranged tanking moves first, and lastly, the melee tank hands over the aggro while crossing over.”
Chris couldn’t find it just because she was tired, but it’s not that hard a method.
When the raid leader has strong charisma, other people have difficulty offering their thoughts. That’s particularly true for a raid party like Hong Baek that’s been comfortably clearing by simply following Chris’ strategies.
The others stopped thinking. They just assumed Chris would handle it again this time.
I grinned.
“This is called a train game.”
*
I’m an analysis person.
In the past, when fighting the Demon Race in this continent, it was the same. Even when facing high-ranking Demon Race like the Legion Commander, I tried to grasp their strengths and abilities as much as possible before engaging in combat.
Thanks to that, I believe all my comrades were able to live until the Demon Lord’s castle.
However, back there…
Shake shake.
I shook my head violently, gazing at the two golems standing in front of me.
What I’m doing now is no different. It has just been integrated into the game system.
[Flame Spear Soldier]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
[Ice Shield Soldier]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
The golems stood divided into left and right.
Once the battle starts, we can only move through the tree trunks that have erupted here and there.
Thud.
I stood by the Flame Spear Soldier and pointed my sword at it.
I can take this guy on alone.
The simulation is complete.
The spear soldier shoots fire spears even when its HP hits 1.
That means I need to drop both golems’ HP to 1 to clear this.
Dodging the fire spears flying from behind while crossing the gap and facing the shield soldier is no big issue for me.
But the shield soldier recovers HP when distanced.
That’s the biggest problem.
Then…
Clang!
I unleashed Unarmed Fighting Technique on the spear soldier to grab its aggro.
Rumble rumble!
The ground gave way, severing the movement between the two golems.
At the same time, a buff hit me.
[Fire Injection (3 minutes)]
[Attack power increased by 30%, death if three minutes pass]
For now, I need to chip away at the spear soldier’s HP while ensuring I refresh the buff on the shield soldier before the three-minute instant death time lapses. I’ll keep going back and forth to bring the spear soldier’s HP down to 1 first.
Then, after dropping the spear soldier’s HP,
[World Tree’s Belt]
[Elite]
[Power +50, Agility +50, Intelligence +50]
[Unique Ability: Negates one instance of lethal damage. However, HP is fixed at 1% until combat is resolved (30-minute cooldown)].
I can survive the one instant death.
So far, I’ve had to forcefully trigger it to meet damage requirements, but in this regard, it’s a pretty OP item.
Even if there’s a gimmick that prevents solo play, I can barely get through it once.
With 100 million HP, it’s impossible to slice away in three minutes.
I’ll die after three minutes, but the belt lets me survive once.
Even if the instant death buff activates again afterward, with the unique skill that triggers at 1% and an additional time of three minutes, it’s enough.
This double boss with intricate strategies doesn’t seem that complicated to me at all.
After draining the spear soldier’s HP completely,
I’ll reach the shield soldier.
I’ll activate the belt.
And cleave down the shield soldier.
It’s not a Named Enemy. There’s no need to spend too long in trials.
Just a path to the Legion Commander.
I’ll finish it in one go.
Hoo-woosh!
As I faced the fire spear shooting toward me, I took a stance.
Thud.
I crouched low, ready to unleash my sword energy.