LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 126
Puff puff!
[Severe Punishment 2 Stacks (29 seconds)]
[Taking 2000 damage per second]
I urgently gulped down a potion.
How long has it been since I drank a potion mid-battle?
The recovery from the vampiric Echo Stone equipped in my weapon socket barely managed to cover for about one stack of Severe Punishment, but by the time it hit two stacks, I couldn’t keep up with the speed of HP recovery if I didn’t consume potions.
I can’t afford to take even a moment’s break from my sword strikes. The recovery from the Echo Stone is determined by the number of hits. To survive, I must keep swinging my sword.
Kaboom, Fwoosh!
After jumping, I evaded the jump-and-breath pattern and sidestepped the purplish flash flying toward me with a counterattack, slightly widening the distance between Crow and me.
Next came the magic explosion pattern, where bursts occurred from the outside in. I learned that there was no way to resist this with invulnerability. The stacks keep increasing. As much as I can manage with two stacks, once it hits three, I won’t be able to handle it.
I’ll die once and resurrect through the World Tree’s belt. Afterwards, I’ll activate the Hero’s unique skill with my HP fixed at 1% to meet the damage requirement.
This is my formula for victory.
However, the ongoing HP reduction from the Severe Punishment debuff is a problem.
Even if I prevent instant death with the belt, I’ll die again the moment I start taking continuous damage from that debuff.
At this rate, I won’t even get to use the belt.
Snap!
Crow raised his hand.
Whap!
With my last stride, I created a five-meter gap from Crow.
Puff puff!
Concentric circle explosion. Donut-shaped. From the outside in.
Subtly gauging the distance while watching the purplish flames explode around Crow and me.
Snap!
Crow lowered the hand he had raised.
Puff puff!
A close-range explosion centered around Crow and me.
Boom!
This time, I perfectly escaped the explosion range with a backward evasion.
The radius of the close-range explosion is about 12 meters. A backward evasion moving 8 meters won’t fully clear it. I need to prepare and widen the gap a bit in advance.
Of course, even resisting within the explosion range would grant safety thanks to the invulnerability from the evasion skill.
However, the problem lies with the incoming debuff, even for me, who stands beyond time and space; I must completely escape the explosion range.
Ka-kak!
I confirmed that the explosion had completely ended and approached Crow to continue my attack. He immediately raised his claws to clash with my sword.
If you know it, this pattern isn’t a huge problem. In the end, distance is key. The debuff that ignores the invulnerability from my evasion skill is tricky, but I can avoid it by moving out of range beforehand.
Swinging to the side, I slashed with my sword, dense feathers fluttering. I ignored the claws barely grazing my face, swinging my sword diagonally upward, threading between the massive arms swinging from either side, aiming for the space left after feathers were uprooted. Flash! Dark blood splattered.
Now I’ve completely learned the normal patterns. Severe Punishment piercing through my invulnerability feels unpleasant, but as long as I grasp the range, it’s manageable. I’ve been too reliant on the system until now. In reality, such dangerous explosions should be avoided. That pattern is something I can never allow if I want to use the World Tree’s belt.
Have about ten minutes passed since the start of the battle?
How many minutes until his berserk mode?
[Named Enemy Level 3]
[Level 53]
[Commander Crow]
[HP 269,974,021 / 300,000,000 (90%)]
Crow’s HP had reached 90% before I knew it.
A special phase was about to emerge with that HP value.
And then, Crow—
Flap!
Gave his wings a single flap.
Flap, flap.
In sync with his wingbeats, the gigantic body of the creature with crow wings slowly began to rise.
I scowled, looking up at Crow, now hovering just out of reach.
Are all winged beings like this?
My eyes swept the surroundings in an instant.
There’s little time to complain. I need to quickly assess the changes in the combat area.
Woosh!
As he floated up, three massive chimeras appeared at the edge of the circular space at the very depths of the Abyssal Tree.
A chimera resembling a blend of a pig and a gigantic demon race.
It reminded me of the Orc King, the named enemy from the game’s first elite dungeon.
Boom! Bam!
As soon as the chimeras appeared, they immediately bombarded me with magical spheres. I had no time to waste as I escaped the spot. Then, I charged toward the closest chimera at 12 o’clock.
[Crow’s Chimera]
[HP 10,000,000 / 10,000,000 (100%)]
Grrr!
The chimera swung its combat hammer at me with a vicious growl.
The HP value isn’t to be taken lightly.
Based on past experience, if we don’t defeat all three chimeras in time, Crow will become berserk.
I bit my lip.
Figuring out the special pattern won’t be easy. The fight against the Level 3 Named Enemy, Crow, demands damage output suitable for a party of twelve just to deal with the minions.
What do I do?
Should I blow the belt here?
I wanted to minimize any strain on Lee Seulbi’s body.
If I borrow the power of the belt, I can use my unique skill. Alongside that, there would be no issue with damage output. But if I break the belt just to check the special patterns, I won’t have any energy left.
I have no choice. If we fail to clear the chimeras in time, berserk mode is inevitable.
Crow wasn’t static in the air.
Flap, Swoosh!
With a single flap of his wings, feathers shot toward me from his crow wings.
Looking at that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I got it. I understand.”
After all, this guy is the last one.
I have no choice but to go all out.
Boom, Crash!
The Flame Spear Soldier and Ice Shield Soldier crashed to the ground with a tremendous noise.
Joy spread across the faces of my raid members.
“We did it!”
“Finally taken down!”
Wow—!
Members of the Hong Baek guild shouted in jubilation.
After hours of trying, we had succeeded in defeating the insufferable mid-boss on par with a named enemy.
“Hah.”
Chris let out a deep sigh.
Unlike the delighted raid members, she couldn’t feel completely joyful.
They had dragged out the time far too long against mere gatekeepers. No matter how named enemy-like they were, they were still mid-bosses without berserk mode. If they had proceeded carefully without greedily chasing damage, we wouldn’t have needed to try this long.
Clap.
“Go Seung Woo, pretty good, huh? You’ve never fallen while crossing the cliff!”
“Heh. You too. That was some divine movement. Do mid-bosses not drop loot?”
Chris glared at Seob Seop Yi and Go Seung Woo, who were high-fiving each other beside her.
“What’s there to be so happy about!? It took us forever!”
“Yikes!”
They lowered their hands that were raised for the high-five.
Stomp stomp.
Chris headed toward the lair of the Level 3 Named Enemy without looking back.
“We don’t have time to waste like this. We need to move forward as much as possible.”
The weekend was almost over. Weekdays mean less trial time. We needed to accomplish a lot today.
Creeeak.
Chris looked ahead at the gaping mouth of the final chamber, gazing into what lay beyond.
Inside, there should be the final boss of the Abyssal Tree.
It’s most likely a last named enemy not to be defeated in a day or two.
Thud thud thud.
As the raid members readied consumables for the named enemy trial, Bae Merong popped up.
With her pink bobbed hair dancing, she approached Chris with a bright smile.
“Sis, you okay today? Looking really tired?”
“Huh? I’m not that tired.”
Chris couldn’t help but smile at Bae Merong’s cute expression.
Bae Merong, adept at reading the mood, had come to lift her spirits.
Shuffling footsteps.
Bae Merong swallowed nervously as she walked beside Chris, heading toward the final chamber.
“The last named enemy is ahead, right?”
“Umm… it should be, right?”
Chris entered the depths of the Abyssal Tree with Bae Merong.
What appeared before them was—
Woosh!
A sinister purple magic flowed from the body of the enormous chimera.
Unsurprisingly, in the central hall was the boss.
It looked like—
“Oh, a big crow.”
“A crow? Looks like it’s fully equipped! With feathers and wings, it fits the crow base, right?”
“It seems it doesn’t have an entry scene.”
The other raid members followed in and gasped at the sight of the massive crow.
“This is the final boss, Commander Crow, huh?”
Chris narrowed her gaze at the brightly glowing eyes of the crow.
[Named Enemy Level 3]
[Level 53]
[Commander Crow]
[HP 300,000,000 / 300,000,000 (100%)]
Flash!
BOOM!
The violet flash shot from the crow’s mouth sliced through the space, and the bodies of the raid members caught in its path evaporated.
[Raid member ‘Leroy Hopkins’ has died.]
[Raid member ‘Go Seung Woo’ has died.]
[Raid member….]
“N-no way!”
Chris quickly drew a talisman and immediately activated the party-enhancing skill, Divine Descent.
Fwoosh!
“Let’s hit it hard! Deplete that HP and let’s see its special pattern!”
Puff puff, Bang!
Amid the countless skills pouring toward Commander Crow, Chris gritted her teeth.
The speed matched that of Jacam, the Level 2 Named Enemy. Its attack range surpassed that, and the attack patterns were diverse as well.
And then—
“What the heck is this!?”
[Severe Punishment 3 Stacks (20 seconds)]
[Taking 3000 damage per second]
Chris was horrified to see her HP continuously decreasing.
“Ugh, I—I don’t know! My HP is dropping too, ugh!”
With a pale face, Bae Merong collapsed under the relentless damage of the Severe Punishment debuff.
[Raid member ‘Bae Merong’ has died.]
“Chris! I can’t take it anymore! Urgh!”
[Raid member ‘Deathly Death’ has died.]
As Deathly Death, who remained with Chris until the end, fell, Crow rolled his eyes and looked at the last remaining Chris.
Chilling.
“W-what!? A long-range pattern?!”
Puff!
Chris sent out the Demon Sealing Technique, fighting back to the bitter end.
I must see the range-aggro target pattern too.
“Ugh!?”
However, as Crow’s gaze fixed on her, Chris felt her body stiffen.
Is this the petrification pattern?
Crow reached out towards the motionless Chris.
Snap!
With a feeling of something bursting from within, Chris’s vision was tinted gray.
[Raid member ‘Chris’ has died.]