Rumble rumble.
Along with the vibration of the 2nd Named boss room cube, Chris’s Raid Party entered Area 3.
“Wow, it’s creepy.”
Bae Merong wrapped her arms around herself and looked around.
The light emitted by the magic stones forming the walls of Area 3 was a vivid red. That lighting created an eerie atmosphere throughout the dungeon.
“There were exactly four golems, so we could each take charge of one, so it wasn’t that difficult.”
“At first we spent some time not knowing how to strip off the barrier. Who knew it was a gimmick where you had to use a counter skill against the close-range magic blade pattern to charge. While we charged magic on the mob golems, Death did an excellent job taking care of the Named Arkan.”
At Chris’s words, Deathly Death shook his head.
“It wasn’t difficult at all. The boss’s pattern itself is very monotonous. Since I just had to use party protection skills for the full area-of-effect attack that comes out after stripping off the barrier, there weren’t many external patterns to worry about.”
A gimmick where the barrier color changes on a timer.
After charging magic from the mob golem with a different color from the boss, if you approach the boss and hit it, you get a 10-second extreme damage time. The damage time until barrier regeneration was extremely short, but it wasn’t a big problem because the boss’s HP itself was low.
Woong.
When the party arrived at the first cube room of Area 3, red light platforms rose from various places on the floor. It’s the puzzle gimmick they went through in Areas 1 and 2.
“Alright, is it my turn again?”
“They say even a worm will turn, you’re really good at solving puzzles.”
Cherni rolled up his sleeves and took the lead. Bae Merong giggled while watching Cherni solve the platform puzzle.
“…The 1st Named shell game gimmick, Rain’s eyes might have been able to see it. But the enrage pattern that must be faced due to absolute lack of damage output… And the 2nd Named, is this really a structure possible to solo?”
Deathly Death glanced at Chris, who was muttering to herself lost in thought.
“Chris, you’re thinking a lot today.”
“Hm? Ah. Death, what do you think?”
“About what?”
“2nd Named Magic Golem Arkan, do you think you could solo that?”
“What!”
Deathly Death made a surprised expression. Then he crossed his arms and groaned.
“Hmm, since you’re asking I’ll think about it but… Fighting a boss with difficult patterns 1:1, and fighting a boss with monotonous patterns 2:1 or more are problems of different dimensions.”
“What kind of problems?”
“First, with multiple recognition, it’s hard to standardize battle patterns. There are so many possibilities. Especially in the case of a Named using ranged patterns. Projectile speed, timing of using counter skills like counterattacks and blocks, proper timing of using invincibility skills. If you misjudge the distance control even a little, thousands and tens of thousands of variables will arise as projectile speeds change. It’s not the kind of thing you can learn just by trying many times.”
“In the case of low HP mobs or normal monsters, you can just deal with them before getting hit. While taking minor attacks with your body. But in the case of the 2nd Named, the HP of the mob golems and Named golem are the same. If you try to deal with the mob golems first, you’ll get caught in the time-based enrage pattern.”
The 2nd Named’s enrage pattern is a continuous full area-of-effect attack that doesn’t stop until the party is wiped out.
Before Chris’s Raid Party discovered the charging gimmick after inducing close-range patterns, they had no choice but to face the enrage pattern because they couldn’t break through the barrier.
Deathly Death closed his eyes and started running battle simulations.
“Soloing 2nd Named Arkan. If I were to try, the biggest problem would inevitably be the one mob golem I have to keep at my back. You can use invincibility skills with proper timing, but this is a virtual reality game where vision is limited to the front. Can you use invincibility skills matching the timing of attacks flying from behind without even looking back?”
“If you solo, you have to face the Named golem plus three mob golems at once. The magic attacks coming from behind would be the biggest problem indeed.”
“If you try to turn around and block, you can’t see the patterns of the other three. If you take the Named’s magic blade and mob golems’ magic on your back all at once, you’d have no choice but to retire in one go.”
Deathly Death’s conclusion was ‘impossible’.
While sticking to the mob to charge magic, you just need to use counter skills facing forward, but eventually you have to enter the center of the triangle position to attack the boss after stripping off the barrier with charged magic.
You have to avoid area-of-effect attacks, maintain uninterrupted damage until barrier regeneration, and then smoothly transition back to charging position. Moreover, you have to respond to the mobs’ patterns flying in between.
Is this really a battle method possible to solo?
Chris had no choice but to shake her head too.
“No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem possible.”
Chris’s Raid Party, having passed through the last corridor room, entered a wide boss room.
It’s a huge circular battle area, not the cube-shaped rooms they’ve been through so far.
The magic stones engraved on the boss room walls were flickering, alternately emitting blue, green, and red light, the colors of the areas they’ve passed through so far.
“This is the last Named boss room.”
“Can we beat Rain’s party this time?”
“It’s up to us.”
Chris grinned at her party members and stared at the center of the boss room.
The 1st and 2nd Named waited for the party in the boss rooms of each area. But in the 3rd Named boss room, the Named wasn’t visible yet.
And when Chris’s entire party fully entered the boss room.
Boom! Boom!
Huge swords of light and darkness were thrust into the ground. And soon, bright light and deep darkness burst out simultaneously from there.
Flash!
As the auras of light and darkness dissipated simultaneously, two beings revealed themselves within.
Beings with two pairs of wings, in human form, about twice the size of an adult male.
Their appearance with pure white wings and jet-black wings even gave a hint of holiness at a glance.
Their faces made of magic stones were staring at the humans with expressionless faces.
These are ancient golems too. They’re just modeled after angels.
The soft white and black auras flowing from their bodies are also based on the magic of magic stones.
But.
“Oh my.”
Chris couldn’t close her mouth as she looked at the Named status that soon popped up in front of her eyes.
She had never seen anything like this before.
The boss structure users faced for the first time.
It was two Named entities.
[3rd Named]
[Level 45 Ancient Golem Archangel Dominion]
[HP 10,000,000/10,000,000]
[3rd Named]
[Level 45 Ancient Golem Fallen Angel Baliel]
[HP 10,000,000/10,000,000]
Flash, boom!
Though not as good as Swordsmen and Fighters, Yin-Yang Masters’ close-range counter skills are excellent too.
Chris spread a large talisman in front to block Archangel Dominion’s light blade, and used that recoil to create distance.
The Archangel raised its hand into the air. Chris started running quickly to the left.
Boom, boom, boom!
Small swords of light generated in the air and thrust down where Chris had passed. It’s a ranged pattern similar to the 3rd Named ‘Zarkan’ from the Outpost. The pattern of small light swords thrusting down from the air could be avoided from direct hits if you don’t stop moving.
Among the Archangel’s close-range patterns, there’s one where it lays down a light platform around itself and stops moving. At that time, deal maximum damage from range, then stick close again to see the close-range sword swinging pattern before inducing the ranged pattern again to reset.
‘Archangel Dominion’ had patterns good for ranged classes to deal damage.
The skilled Chris Raid Party quickly established response methods for normal patterns.
Chris took on tanking ‘Archangel Dominion’, Deathly Death took on tanking ‘Fallen Angel Baliel’.
Chris glanced at each Named’s HP.
[3rd Named]
[Level 45 Ancient Golem Archangel Dominion]
[HP 8,800,547/10,000,000]
[3rd Named]
[Level 45 Ancient Golem Fallen Angel Baliel]
[HP 9,650,419/10,000,000]
“The Archangel’s HP dropped much more! Bae Merong, focus a bit more damage on the Fallen Angel side!”
“Got it!”
Bae Merong, who had been dealing damage to the Archangel, turned her head towards the Fallen Angel.
Whoosh, whoosh! Clang!
Fallen Angel Baliel had no patterns of shooting from range. When distance was created from the tank, it would raise its sword of darkness and quickly make charging attacks.
“Ugh, the Fallen Angel’s patterns are fast and strong! The rest should avoid approaching within a certain distance!”
Deathly Death was struggling alone to block the Fallen Angel’s attacks. Compared to the Archangel which was relatively easy to deal damage to, the Fallen Angel had patterns that were tricky for damage dealers to attack.
The dark blade swinging pattern left and right had quite a wide range and even aftershocks. If a ranged damage dealer carelessly approached, they would be torn apart in an instant.
Only now that she had become somewhat familiar with the Archangel’s normal patterns, Chris could progress her thoughts.
If they take care of one angel golem first, they should be able to catch the remaining one relatively easily.
But is that really the right strategy?
A Named that becomes alone might do anything.
If asked whether they could control the 10 million HP and take them down simultaneously, that didn’t seem easy either.
“For now, let’s proceed like this until the special pattern! Oh, already!?”
Woong.
Light energy started gathering in the Archangel’s body. A sign of a full area-of-effect attack.
The HP isn’t at a section where a special pattern should come out. Then, it’s a time-based special pattern.
“Bae Merong, Ice Prison!”
Flash!
Immediately the party members’ bodies froze, and a powerful flash swept through the entire boss room.
The moment the area-of-effect attack passed, the Archangel made a strange action.
Swish.
The Archangel raised its hand looking in the direction where Deathly Death was.
Chris shouted urgently.
“Death! The Archangel is aiming that way!”
Flash!
Before Chris’s words finished, a huge blade of light thrust down above Deathly Death’s head.
Crash!
Deathly Death, who was watching the Archangel intently with sharp eyes, instantly used Backward Evasion. His body escaped outside the attack range of the thrusting light sword.
Deathly Death, as if nothing had happened, countered the Fallen Angel’s pattern charging in with raised dark sword and said.
“What did you say?”
“Ah, nothing. Well done! Hehe.”
Chris chuckled and started focusing on responding to the Archangel’s patterns.
But she missed the fact that the huge sword of light thrust into the ground targeting Deathly Death didn’t disappear immediately and was softly glowing.
The second time-based special pattern.
This time, right after the Fallen Angel’s area-of-effect attack, a huge sword of darkness thrust down on Chris who was dealing with the Archangel.
Crash!
Because it was a pattern she had seen once before, Chris was prepared too. She splendidly avoided the Fallen Angel’s sword.
But after the second sword thrust down, Chris detected something strange.
“Death, did that sword of light thrust on your side disappear?”
“A platform has been laid centered on the sword of light! The range is quite wide too!”
Deathly Death’s battle area had narrowed. He was responding to the Fallen Angel’s patterns more arduously than before.
“Oh no.”
The sword of darkness thrust around Chris was also slowly generating a dark platform.
As the pattern progressed, the battle area was narrowing. There was still a lot of HP left on the bosses.
Crash, crash!
The third time-based special pattern, this time two swords of light fell consecutively on Deathly Death’s side.
Deathly Death used Backward Evasion, trying to overlap with the existing light platform.
But he couldn’t overlap with the second blade because the cooldown on Backward Evasion hadn’t returned yet. In the end, a platform was generated around the Fallen Angel.
“Ugh, uugh! The battle area has become too narrow! Kyaah!”
“Urgh!”
Bae Merong, who was hesitantly moving sideways between the light platform and dark platform, was cut down by the Fallen Angel’s dark blade and collapsed. Cherni retired after touching a light platform while trying to avoid a dark blade.
Deathly Death and Chris struggled on alone, but it was beyond their ability.
In the end, after the platforms of the fourth special phase were laid, the boss room was completely covered in light and dark platforms, making it impossible to continue the attack.