[Southeast Divine Mark Activation 0/1]
[Southwest Divine Mark Activation 0/1]
[North Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
"A defense dungeon, you say?"
"Yeah. The activation level of Divine Marks in other areas we've been through has been reset, right?"
"Hmm, certainly."
Chris's party successfully dealt with all the lamias quickly and activated the Divine Mark.
But.
Hiss hiss-!
"Chris unnie, lamias again!"
"Ugh, there's no end in sight!"
Whoosh!
Crackle!
The Mage Bae Merong activated 'Aerial' to restrict the lamias' movements. At the same time, she prepared Arcane Burst. The Elementalist Cherni also skillfully half-buried the lamias using the earth elemental 'Gnome'.
As the second wave of lamias ended, Chris made a decision.
"Let's split up."
"Split up?"
"Yeah. There's no point in staying put in one place. Even if the Divine Mark here is fully activated, who knows what will happen the moment we leave. Just looking at the dungeon progress conditions, this crazy lamia wave won't end until all locations' Divine Marks are fully activated."
"To handle all these lamia waves alone? It won't be easy. I'm a Fighter, after all. I'd prefer not to be put on the same level as Mages with many area skills or Elementalists who can use spirits."
Certainly, Deathly Death's fighter class, lacking in area skills, won't have an easy time defending as a melee class that has to walk up to enemies.
"Still, we have no other choice, right? And there are three locations where Divine Marks are buried, while we're four people. Death, you take charge of this place where activation has already started. I'll stay with you too."
Chris smiled and patted Deathly Death's back.
Following Chris's instructions, Bae Merong and Cherni headed to the southeast and southwest locations where Divine Marks were.
"If we had a bit more time, I think we could have conquered the Tomb of Swords. It might have been easier if we got new skills there. ...Did Rain get a new skill?"
"Hehe."
At Deathly Death's question, Chris smiled proudly.
"...I see, she already conquered it on the first day. How on earth did she break through that Ancient Master? I figured out how to break the Blue Dragon Sword Energy, but the time attack was very tight. But, well. Certainly if it's Rain."
"What's this, why are you so interested in our baby? You, perhaps..."
Chris's eyes narrowed. Deathly Death broke out in a cold sweat and feigned ignorance.
"Ahem, it's purely curiosity and admiration. I'd appreciate if you didn't misunderstand."
Boom boom, boom!
Meanwhile, Chris was bursting the bodies of lamias sporadically approaching through her sealing magic before they could get close.
Chris's skill damage, armed with legendary weapons, special grade echostone, and fully enhanced high-grade magic stones, was indeed extraordinary. Despite being skills of the Yin-Yang Master class specializing in party enhancement, Chris's skills boasted firepower no less than pure DPS Mages.
As Chris dealt with the lamia monster wave while having trivial conversations with Deathly Death, worry about Rain began to creep into her mind.
"This dungeon is impossible to solo play."
It's physically impossible.
No matter how strong Rain is, she doesn't have three bodies. There's no way to defend three areas simultaneously alone.
What is Rain planning to do?
[Southeast Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
[Southwest Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
[North Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
(All Divine Marks Activated)
(8% until 1st Purification Complete)
[???]
[Celestial Basin Overall Progress 0/1]
Before long, the activation conditions for the southeast and southwest Divine Marks were met. Bae Merong and Cherni had reactivated the Divine Marks. Judging by the 1st purification percentage starting to rise, it was expected that the final named boss would appear when this gauge reached 100%.
"Hm?"
Chris, who was yawning at the northern Divine Mark activation point during a momentary lull, noticed new messages appearing in the party chat window she glanced at.
[Cherni: Special individual appeared at southwest point!]
[Cherni: It's a red giant lamia!]
[Cherni: Its HP is insane!]
Cherni's urgency could be felt through the chat.
"A special individual!?"
Chris checked the chat window and immediately prepared to head southwest.
"Death, can you protect this place alone?"
"I'll try."
Leaving Deathly Death behind, Chris quickly headed to the southwest point.
Tap tap tap!
Beep.
[Party member 'Cherni' has died]
[Southeast Divine Mark Activation 0/1]
[Southwest Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
[North Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
Before Chris could arrive, the death announcement for the Elementalist Cherni was output. It seemed he couldn't withstand the special individual's attack.
"Eek...!"
Chris bit her lip.
The clear appearance of a named-class lamia individual.
The lamia wave wasn't just ordinary lamias. A named-class individual from an elite dungeon would be difficult to handle alone.
The southwest area's Divine Mark that Cherni left needs to be reactivated immediately.
Swish.
Chris, who was heading southwest in a heated state, stopped for a moment. And fell into thought on the spot.
She thought about rushing into the southwest area in anger, but if the red giant lamia is a named-class individual, it would be difficult to face alone. She could be taken down instantly like Cherni.
"For now, waiting for Cherni to rejoin is the priority."
A few minutes later, Chris could see Cherni, who had revived at the entrance of Celestial Basin, running breathlessly between the rocks.
Chris snapped sharply at Cherni.
"You're late...! Can't you move faster?"
"Huff, huff, I'm sorry!"
"What happened? Explain in detail."
"So, after dealing with the lamias in the open space and activating the Divine Mark, I was facing the additional wave when suddenly a giant lamia with red scales burst through the solid rocky ground. Its HP was considerable too. 70 million."
"70 million...! That's quite named-class level."
They were used to the hundreds of millions HP of named bosses from the previous raid dungeon, the Abyssal Tree, but 70 million is a burdensome figure even for current users whose specs have risen a lot through legendary equipment. As a named-class individual, its defense will also be higher than ordinary lamias.
"And it has a gimmick that reflects attacks through a red magic barrier. I used a big skill with my body, not my spirit, and the projectile was reflected right back at me."
"A reflection barrier...?"
It's a very tricky pattern. Is there a gimmick to disable the barrier?
"Can we do it with two people?"
"It won't be easy. But we can't all four come here right now."
Bae Merong in the southeast and Deathly Death in the north each need to protect their Divine Marks. Chris considered gathering all four to deal with the red lamia first, but that would leave the north and southeast empty. Then they'd have to start over from the beginning, activating them again step by step.
"Let's try with the two of us first, and if we both die, then we'll all gather to deal with the giant lamia first and start over. As a named-class special individual, it should be a one-time monster. It won't keep coming like ordinary lamias."
Moving quickly while talking, Chris and Cherni finally arrived at the open space.
The pile of stones where the Divine Mark was buried had been dug up, and the Divine Mark that was inside had lost its light, carelessly thrown aside.
And the monster around it was.
Just ordinary lamias.
Chris and Cherni had dumbfounded expressions.
"What? Where did the giant lamia go!?"
"Huh? Bu-but surely."
Chris turned a dubious expression towards Cherni. Cherni was sweating profusely.
"You, you didn't die getting overwhelmed by an ordinary lamia wave while slacking off, did you?"
"N-no, that's not it! L-look over there! That's the hole the giant lamia burst out from!"
"...Hm? There is indeed a hole. Hehe. I was just kidding."
Chris laughed and patted Cherni's back. Before Cherni could voice a disgruntled protest, Chris's expression hardened again.
"The giant lamia disappeared. Can you understand what this means?"
"Hm? Didn't it just finish its job and go home?"
"No! It means the danger isn't just here! You, reactivate this. I think I need to go to other marks."
Other locations are in danger.
Chris's judgment was accurate. And fast.
But the giant lamia's movement was faster.
Before Chris could leave the southwest, Bae Merong's messages started appearing in the party chat window.
[Bae Merong: Chris unnie! Southwest!]
[Bae Merong: Giant lamia, red!]
[Chris: There's a reflect damage gimmick! Refrain from big attacks as much as possible, and hold on until I arrive!]
Bae Merong is an excellent mage. Even if she can't take it down alone, she should be able to hold out quite long just by drawing aggro and kiting.
Chris, moving her body quickly, began to analyze the strategy for this dungeon.
Defense dungeon, Celestial Basin.
Three defense points.
Four party members.
Special individual, giant lamia randomly appearing.
Chris understood to some extent the role of the fourth party member.
"Three out of four defend each location, and the remaining one needs to move around lazily and help block the red giant lamia."
But the additional party chat that came up immediately shattered Chris's expectations.
The special individual wasn't just one red lamia.
[Deathly Death: Blue giant lamia appeared in the north]
[Deathly Death: Urgent, support needed]