[1st Named]
[Level 27 Black Wyvern]
[HP 105,000/210,000]
Flutter, flutter, flutter.
Whoosh!
As the wyvern’s massive body flapped its huge wings, a gust of wind began to whirl inside the giant cavern.
“Special pattern starting! Bae Merong first, prepare ‘Mana Barrier’!”
The pink-haired Mage, Bae Merong, clutching her staff, nodded.
Flutter, flutter.
Kaaaa!
The wyvern, having risen to a dizzying height, let out a roar.
Kieek, kieek, kieek.
Baby wyverns started crawling out of holes that were opened all around the cavern walls.
“As we expected, there’s a special pattern at the 50% phase, too. Let’s do it the same way we’ve been doing.”
The ‘Chris’s Raid Party’ members, who had gathered around Bae Merong, exchanged glances.
Kieek, kieeek.
Baby wyverns gathered around the party members.
Kaaaa!
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
The wyvern floating in the air let out a strange cry and flapped its wings once greatly.
“Now!”
Whoosh.
With Chris’s shout, a flash of light rose from the tip of Bae Merong’s staff.
That light soon formed a hemisphere and started surrounding the party members.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
The wyvern’s scales that flew fiercely towards the party members were blocked by Bae Merong’s ‘Mana Barrier’ and dissipated in vain.
Seeing this, Chris shouted.
“Scatter!”
Pitter-patter!
As soon as the mana barrier was lifted, the ‘Chris’s Raid Party’ members scattered in all directions.
Kieek, kieek, kieeek!
The baby wyverns started chasing after the isolated party members, letting out strange cries.
Thud.
Having created distance from her party members, Chris immediately turned to face two baby wyverns that had followed her.
Whoosh.
A blue light swirled around the talisman Chris held.
Boom boom boom!
The Yin-Yang Master’s main skill, ‘Demon Sealing Technique,’ exploded as it embedded around one baby wyvern, dealing massive damage.
Kieeek!
The wounded baby wyvern wailed. At the same time, the other baby wyvern chasing Chris hesitated.
Chris took out a new talisman and gauged the time.
Up to here, 7 seconds.
“Gather again! This time, we’ll block with my ‘Protection Talisman’!”
Pitter-patter!
The scattered party members moved in unison, instantly gathering around Chris.
‘Chris’s Raid Party,’ which had been coordinating since the open beta, moved like one body.
Up to here, 10 seconds.
Kaaaa!
The roar of the named ‘Black Wyvern’ soaring in the air was heard again, and the second scales flew in.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
Those scales, which had been blocked once by Bae Merong’s ‘Mana Barrier,’ were this time blocked by Chris’s ‘Protection Talisman.’
“Scatter!”
Pitter-patter!
Chris quickly moved while checking the number of remaining ‘Baby Wyverns.’
One baby wyvern that she hadn’t managed to deal with.
And about two each that her party members were marking.
There was enough time.
They just needed to proceed smoothly like this and get past the 50% pattern.
Kaaak!
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
The third scale pattern. But this time they didn’t gather.
If they gathered three times, there wouldn’t be enough time to deal with the baby wyverns.
Fortunately, Cherni, who had an individual ranged protection, became the target.
Chris, having finished dealing with her assigned baby wyvern, shouted towards her party members.
“How many baby wyverns left!?”
“The last one!”
Clang clang clang clang!
The ‘Stone Edge’ cast by Elementalist Cherni’s earth elemental embedded itself all over the baby wyvern’s body.
Kieeek!
As the last baby wyvern fell, Chris smiled and looked up at the sky.
However.
Flutter, flutter.
The ‘Black Wyvern’ was still floating majestically in the air.
Soon, the wyvern stretched out its neck and opened its mouth wide.
Flames started to slowly rise from inside its mouth.
Whoosh.
The flames swirled with an ominous red glow.
“Why!?”
Chris’s scream-like shout.
At the same time.
Whoosh!
The wyvern’s breath engulfed ‘Chris’s Raid Party’.
“Why didn’t it come down!?”
Chris turned to look at her revived party members, bursting with frustration.
“We definitely dealt with all the baby wyverns, right?”
“Of course, I took down all the baby wyverns assigned to me!”
“You saw me kill the last add, didn’t you?”
“…”
Mage Bae Merong and Elementalist Cherni’s responses were heard.
But one person.
One remaining person maintained silence.
Chris stared intently at the person who didn’t answer.
“…Hey, Death.”
Flinch.
The Fighter’s body flinched when Chris called his nickname.
“D-damn it. The aura permeating this tomb is suppressing my power. Ugh! If only I could exert even 30% of my strength!”
“This is why melee fighters are troublesome.”
Chris sighed, touching her forehead. She could understand.
“The baby wyverns’ movements are too fast. They even have the intelligence to run away if they judge there are too many opponents or if they’re alone. It’s difficult for a melee dealer to catch a fleeing baby wyvern in a short time.”
“They certainly didn’t rush in easily when we were gathered. Would it be better not to gather at all?”
“No, the wyvern’s scale attack is random targeting. If one person gets hit by the named wyvern’s scales twice, they’ll definitely die. If even one party member dies, we should consider it a failed attempt on the spot. We need to gather together at least once to block the scales.”
If they use individual ranged protection for personal survival, they could reduce it to once.
But if they do that, Fighter Deathly Death, who doesn’t have an individual ranged protection, would be in danger. If he becomes the target of the scales more than twice, it’s an unavoidable retry.
The Fighter, being a melee class, was already overwhelmed just chasing baby wyverns. It was unreasonable to demand both add clearing and personal survival from him.
Leaving it to luck was something to try during the first flight of the 75% wyvern. From the 50% special pattern, where they were somewhat closer to clearing, they couldn’t make reckless attempts.
Ultimately, the speed of dealing with baby wyverns was the key.
Suddenly, a girl flashed through Chris’s mind.
She recalled the girl’s ‘Moonlight Slash’ that cut down monsters in beautiful arcs.
“It would have been better if we had a Swordsman with melee area skills.”
“A-are you saying you’d abandon this indomitable Fighter ‘Deathly Death’?”
Deathly Death stuttered, his face turning bright red.
Chris grinned and poked his side.
“Death, don’t you want to level up a new Swordsman? Swordsmen after level 16 seem quite strong?”
“This body dedicated to fists from birth has no intention of breaking its will now! Uooooh!”
Thud, thud! Whoosh!
Deathly Death, with his face bright red, kept throwing uppercuts into the air.
Chris left him to his own world and spoke to her party members.
“Anyway, we need to move more organically. I’ll try marking the baby wyverns that Death is dealing with together. You guys focus only on your assigned adds.”
* * *
[Black Wyvern’s Earring]
[Elite]
[Strength +13 Agility +13 Intelligence +13]
[Critical Hit Chance +3%]
[Critical Damage +10%]
“Heh.”
Smile smile.
This time too, I acquired one earring upon first clear!
I really liked its performance too.
The critical hit chance increased by 2% compared to the previous accessory.
Like ‘Orc King’s Cave’, the 1st named of this elite dungeon also dropped an earring.
I satisfactorily checked my increased stats after changing earrings and continued moving downwards.
Thump thump.
I walked for a longer time than expected.
Are there no trash mobs between the 1st and 2nd named of this dungeon?
No monsters were visible around.
Instead, from somewhere, the corridor started gradually widening.
“Is it around here?”
The corridor that had widened considerably to the left and right, blue torches burning near the walls.
Standing at its end, I looked around.
There were indentations in the walls, and something was placed in each of them.
“Oh.”
These were sculptures I hadn’t seen on my way here.
Are those statues of knights?
Statues in the form of knights wearing helmets stood as one with their swords.
The swords, firmly planted in the ground while held in their hands, made the place where the knights stood a sacred space.
It was a spectacular sight, as if heroes straight out of an ancient legend had been preserved in stone form.
It’s cool.
I walked forward, looking around at the surrounding statues with wide eyes.
And, in the center at the end of that corridor.
Unlike the other statues decorated on the walls, one statue stood majestically, separated alone.
A wide corridor.
A knight’s statue standing alone at its end.
Facing it, I sweated profusely.
“No way.”
Sparkle.
Somehow, the statue’s eyes seemed to sparkle.
Is it my imagination? It must be my imagination? I hope it’s my imagination.
Rumble.
The quiet corridor suddenly started vibrating slightly.
At first, it was just a light tremor felt under the feet.
Rumble rumble.
As time passed, the vibration grew stronger.
Now the floor was clearly shaking.
The vibration coming from under the feet transmitted through the walls to the ceiling, and the entire corridor shook together.
Crack.
The statue’s eyes blinked.
As if waking from a long sleep, the eyes that had been as hard as stone started to show signs of life.
The statue’s face slowly moved, changing expression.
Eyes full of intense resolve and determination scanned the surroundings.
Crack crack.
The knight’s statue slowly turned its head.
Every time the neck moved, a sound like stone cracking echoed.
At some point, the statue’s head stopped moving.
At the place where its gaze ended, an uninvited guest awakened it from its long slumber.
“U-uh….”
The statue, having recognized my presence, finally took a step forward.
Thud.
[2nd Named]
[Statue of the Family Head]
[HP 308,000/308,000]