“Kekeke! We did well to split into two teams at the fork!”
Plan B’s guild master, ‘Rock Cho Hyunsoo’ was in a good mood.
In elite dungeon first clear competitions, not only Named boss conquest speed but also how efficiently you pass mob sections is important.
“But you left the broadcast on? Won’t this just end up benefiting others?”
“Kekeke, even if a few subsequent parties follow after watching the broadcast, it’s not a big problem. What’s important is what we show to users.”
To the question from the Plan B affiliated Fighter guild member, Cho Hyunsoo gritted his teeth thinking of GG Group’s guild master, WeGotMarried.
“It’s fine if we can’t beat Red-White guild members. As long as we provide more conquest information than GG Group, we can attract influx to the Betarion Empire side.”
“Oho, so it feels like promoting our faction while broadcasting the elite dungeon conquest process?”
Cho Hyunsoo smiled looking at the streaming window. There were two to three times more viewers watching the broadcast than usual. Probably all the floating users who watch ‘Astria Online’ broadcasts have gathered.
“It seems Plan B party is the fastest among currently broadcasting parties? Kekeke!”
[Kekeke]
[I came to listen to your laugh because it’s funny kekeke]
[Oh~ Player Cho Hyunsoo~ Are you going to clear it quickly this time~]
[He might fall like during the Green Dragon fight huhu]
[Kekeke]
[Why does this person’s laugh sound like that?]
[That’s the host’s charm point]
Cho Hyunsoo forced a smile with a slight vein popping on his forehead at the reactions of existing viewers teasing him.
“I ask for your understanding that I can’t communicate with chat during trials. Today I need to focus on conquest as the leader of an elite dungeon advance party, not as a streamer.”
Cho Hyunsoo lowered the streaming window and started giving instructions to party members.
“For now, since our side is a Swordsman Fighter combination, and the other side is a Warrior Mage combination…”
“There are two entities from the 1st Named boss here. It seems we should proceed with Swordsman and Warrior as tanks for each.”
Cho Hyunsoo nodded and looked around the 1st Named battle area once.
In the center of the horizontally long rectangular battle area, there was a cliff that looked over 30 meters wide. That cliff was blocking movement between the two sides.
And two square ring-shaped battle areas on both sides. This is the ground Plan B’s raid team is standing on now.
“It’s a unique structure. Is it telling us to handle one entity each in pairs of two?”
“Hmm…”
Cho Hyunsoo looked at the Warrior and Mage across the cliff once, then stared at the Named boss standing firmly in the center of their ground.
A giant soldier kneeling while holding a spear in one hand. The information for that Named boss is:
[1st Named]
[Level 48 Thunder Spearman]
[HP 15,000,000 / 15,000,000 (100%)]
[1st Named]
[Level 48 Earth Shieldbearer]
[HP 15,000,000 / 15,000,000 (100%)]
“This side is the Shieldbearer!”
The Warrior on the opposite side conveyed information to Cho Hyunsoo across the cliff.
“The path from the entrance splits in two, and at the end we face Named battle areas in two places too.”
“Though it’s called a 4-person dungeon, if it’s in a form where both sides can’t interfere, isn’t it essentially running two 2-person dungeons together?”
At the Fighter’s words, Cho Hyunsoo shook his head.
“Certainly from the user’s perspective, it’s a fight that has to be done with just 2 people. We probably can’t receive the other side’s party protection skills either. But it’s different for Named bosses. During the Ancient Temple too, there were patterns like dropping swords of light towards the tank on the opposite side, right?”
“Ah, I see.”
“Well, no need to think deeply. Let’s just proceed while looking at the patterns one by one for now.”
Clang.
As Cho Hyunsoo drew his sword towards the Spearman, the Warrior on the opposite side also prepared to enter while looking at the Shieldbearer.
The conquest of the 1st Named bosses, Spearman and Shieldbearer, began.
Swish swish swish!
Cho Hyunsoo carefully responded to normal patterns while swinging his sword at the Spearman.
Clang!
The ‘Thunder Spearman’ had linear and simple patterns like swinging the spear, thrusting, and slamming down. The damage seemed extraordinary, but it wasn’t difficult to block since the movements were large.
After checking about two cycles of normal patterns for 30 seconds, Cho Hyunsoo took advantage of a slight gap to check the battle situation on the Shieldbearer side across the cliff.
180-degree shield swinging, shield slam down, hiding body behind shield then swinging fist, etc. The huge shield was blocking a large portion of attacks from the front, but since the body turning motion was slow, it seemed they could easily catch the back and continue attacks using the Swordsman’s ‘Counterattack’ or Warrior’s ‘Nimble Move’, etc.
Woong, boom, boom!
The Shieldbearer looked at the Warrior and showed its back to the Mage. The Mage’s powerful skills striking that back were quickly shaving off the Shieldbearer’s HP.
“The defense isn’t high, and the attacks aren’t fast either. And.”
Thud, thud!
Cho Hyunsoo’s Fighter slammed down an axe from the air looking at the Spearman, and strongly bumped its shoulder. Right after, the Fighter sealed the stunned Spearman’s movements through the ‘Strength Contest’ skill. Over the Spearman’s body that stopped moving, Cho Hyunsoo’s quick sword strikes poured down.
“Status effect combo stun and Strength Contest work too!”
Cho Hyunsoo smiled with a satisfied expression at the Fighter’s excellent Strength Contest skill combo following the stun.
“Good. We might be able to catch the 1st Named boss more easily than expected.”
The variable that occurred in the 1st Named boss conquest that was flowing without problems was about 1 minute into the battle time.
Thud, thud!
Woong. Crackle.
“Huh!?”
Tap tap!
The ‘Thunder Spearman’ stomped twice and started gathering power. The moment thunder energy radiated from the Spearman’s body, Cho Hyunsoo hurriedly activated ‘Backward Evasion’.
Flash!
Cho Hyunsoo who used an invincibility skill didn’t take damage. But the Fighter who couldn’t avoid in time was swept up by the electric current.
“Huh?”
The Fighter made a dumbfounded expression. This was because even the Fighter’s HP who couldn’t use an invincibility skill didn’t decrease.
“Guild master, electric current is running through my body! But no damage came in!”
“An area skill with no damage?”
Cho Hyunsoo checked the electric current emanating from the Fighter’s body. Soon he could see sparks flying from his own body too.
On Cho Hyunsoo’s status window, a status effect he had never seen before appeared.
[Electric Current Stack 1 (1 minute 30 seconds)]
Cho Hyunsoo was puzzled.
The Fighter was hit by the area skill, but he resisted it, so why does he have Electric Current Stack?
“My attack power increased though?”
“A buff?”
Attack power increased by 10%.
Of course buffs come in even if you use invincibility skills.
Electric Current Stack was a ‘buff’ type, not a ‘status effect’.
Cho Hyunsoo immediately checked the status of party members on the opposite side of the cliff.
“How is it on your side!”
“We got a Rock Stack 1 buff! 10% defense increase!”
Cho Hyunsoo couldn’t help but be even more puzzled.
A Named boss that gives buffs?
The buff injection pattern came in every 1 minute of battle time. Strong sparks were now flying from Cho Hyunsoo and the Fighter’s bodies.
[Electric Current Stack 3 (50 seconds)]
Through the 3-stack buff, attack power had already increased by 30%.
After being puzzled by the Named boss giving buffs for a moment, Cho Hyunsoo excitedly attacked the ‘Thunder Spearman’ with the attack power buff.
Currently the Thunder Spearman’s HP is 71%, Earth Shieldbearer’s HP is 80%.
Two people per team.
The Spearman is handled by Cho Hyunsoo and Fighter, the Shieldbearer by Warrior and Mage.
The Spearman side with attack power buffs had more HP decrease, but for now they just need to keep dealing damage. They can think about any desperate patterns that might come out after taking down one entity first.
And.
Woong!
The sign of the fourth Electric Current Stack pattern.
Now Cho Hyunsoo didn’t even think about using an invincibility skill.
‘Electric Current Stack’ is a buff, so it comes in even if you use an invincibility skill. There’s no damage anyway.
But the fourth Electric Current Stack pattern overturned the party in an unexpected form.
Crackle!
“Huh!?”
“M-my body!”
Instantly, Cho Hyunsoo and the Fighter’s bodies stiffened.
Strong sparks had paralyzed their bodies.
There was still no damage, but they couldn’t take any actions with all their muscles stiffened.
Cho Hyunsoo painfully turned his head to look at the Shieldbearer side across the cliff.
“Ugh, ugh!”
“Why!?”
The Warrior and Mage were also stiffened, covered in rocks here and there.
The entire Plan B party with bodies stiffened.
Over them, the weapons of the ‘Thunder Spearman’ and ‘Earth Shieldbearer’ came down mercilessly.
Whack whack! Crack!
[kekeke]
[Ah~ Johnson-soo down~]
[I’m the only unlucky one~ Mr. Named~]
[Kekekekeke]
“Mr. Named! Don’t laugh! This is just the first try!”
Cho Hyunsoo, who was briefly appealing his unjustness towards the chat window after reviving, started pondering with his head in his hands.
“The body stiffens on the 4th stack? And it can’t be resisted because it’s a buff?”
“Should we try interrupting the 4th Electric Current Stack pattern with stun?”
“I tried momentarily applying down during the first Electric Current Stack pattern earlier, but it didn’t go in as an immunity judgment popped up. Though normal patterns can be interrupted with status effects, the ‘Electric Current Stack’ pattern can’t be interrupted.”
“Hmm. We’ll have to try various methods.”
Just before lowering the streaming window for the second try, Cho Hyunsoo noticed a commotion occurring in the chat window he glanced at.
[Real solo play? Live streaming?]
[Yeah clearing mob sections now]
[Kekeke moth to a flame]
[But seems to have just turned on for streaming purposes?]
[Gasp look at the back of the head! White hair!]
[It’s the white kid! It’s the white kid!]
[Gasp kekeke I’m going to watch]
[Crazy wasn’t the white kid No Name party’s tank?]
[She’s doing the first try of a 4-person elite dungeon solo?]
“W-what? White kid? Solo?”
“Seems to be Rain, that little kid.”
In Cho Hyunsoo’s mind, the white girl he had encountered in the faction battlefield once appeared.
In the streaming window he hurriedly searched and brought up, a clearly visible silver-white flash was roaming the ‘Ice Palace of the Frozen Land’ mob sections.
Is she attempting an elite dungeon first clear run solo?
Plan B party’s Fighter offered an opinion.
“Guild master, shouldn’t we watch one round of that kid trying the Named boss before proceeding?”
Cho Hyunsoo checked the mood of the chat window.
[Ooh Cho Hyunsoo is going to stream snipe the white kid]
[But aren’t you curious how it’ll turn out?]
[Astria Online’s official ad model is doing an elite dungeon solo? Can’t resist kekekeke]
[Putting aside whether it’s possible, I really want to see it?]
[Viewers are already increasing even though there was no promotion]
[Seems it was quickly discovered since there are a lot of people going around watching new dungeon tries today]
[Cuckoos have already flown to each streamer’s room]
[Yeah rumors are spreading so everyone’s rushing over kekeke]
Cho Hyunsoo’s broadcast chat window was already in an uproar.
Cho Hyunsoo sensed he wouldn’t be able to properly continue his broadcast.
More than that, his curiosity as an Astria Online user was irresistibly stimulated by Rain’s solo play.
“Ack, broadcast ends here for today! Let’s watch that first for now!”
The Plan B party that was trying the 1st Named boss all ended up becoming viewers.
They all brought up streaming windows and started focusing on Rain’s play.