Chapter 101: Boss Supervision (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Boss Supervision (2)
It didn't take long for the ice palace to be completed. At least, its exterior.
The Demon King roamed the castle's interior, refining the space.
The first area to be finished was a throne room, complete with a grand seat of power.
The Demon King sat on the ice throne, resting his chin on his hand at a slight angle.
He sat still, looking around as if admiring his work, before muttering something out of the blue.
“I have no subjects.”
What?
What was this sudden talk about subjects…?
The Demon King did nothing else, simply sitting on his throne until his time was up.
Once I had my body back, I hunted in Zone 5 for a while before leaving the Tower.
Checking the Communication Window, I saw a Whisper waiting for me.
[Mountain Range: Greetings, Saram123. It has been a while. On behalf of the Security Force, I want to express our deepest gratitude for clearing the 7th Floor and extending our time limit by another year.
...The reason I'm contacting you is that the Security Force, in cooperation with the Black Star Society, is planning to challenge the Zone 3 Boss, which is due to appear soon. I know this is a shameless request, but there is something I must ask of you, Saram123...]
It was a long Whisper from Alex, the captain of the Security Force.
He was asking for my help in taking down the Zone 3 Boss.
Currently, the Zone 3 Boss Gauge was at 99.1%.
Just as the Security Force and the Black Star Society executives had supervised the Zone 1 and 2 Boss fights, he was asking me to take on that role.
I replied immediately.
[Saram123: Understood.]
He didn't even need to ask.
I had already planned on watching them fight the Zone 3 Boss anyway.
That was why I hadn't attempted the Hidden Route yet, even though several days had passed since I cleared the 7th Floor. I wanted to help them out first.
Besides, the Security Force had shown me consideration in the past.
Even though I ended up fighting it alone, they had been prepared to step in and help when I was about to take on the Zone 3 Boss.
And even setting all that aside, it was simply the right thing to do.
A level 60-range boss.
One wrong move and a great many people could die.
All I had to do was watch over the boss fight and help out just enough to prevent any fatalities.
* * *
Media outlets all over the world churned out news related to the Zone 3 Boss fight.
With the majority of high-level Climbers participating, it was only natural that the battle drew public attention.
Moreover, a new piece of breaking news fueled people's interest even further.
[Knight King: Is it true Saram123 is helping with the Zone 3 Boss fight?]
[Tob: It's true. I'm in the Security Force, and they said he replied.]
[Kukakaka: Well, it's over then lol]
Governments around the world breathed a collective sigh of relief at the news.
They had been on edge until now.
This boss fight was a potential catastrophe where one misstep could lead to the deaths of their nations' precious high-level Climbers.
But with Saram123 stepping in, success was all but guaranteed, and fatalities would be highly unlikely. He wouldn't let it happen.
The day of the decisive battle arrived.
As planned, the Security Force and the Black Star Society filled the gauge to just before completion, then rendezvoused at the designated location.
Together, they would now fill the remaining 0.1% and move to face the boss.
They knew where the boss would appear. They had seen it when Saram123 fought it.
[Zone 3 (100%)]
[The Zone 3 Boss will now appear.]
And so, the gauge was completely filled.
The Security Force and the Black Star Society made their final preparations.
“It’s finally time to take down the boss.”
The minimum level of the Climbers participating in this Zone 3 Boss fight was 40.
The highest was Alex, at level 64.
Having cleared two floors in the past two years, he was currently the record holder for the Hard Difficulty and, excluding Saram123, the highest-level Climber in the world.
“There’s no need to be so tense. I’ll be fighting at the very front.”
Alex encouraged his members.
Even without his words, no one was overly nervous.
Because they all knew: Saram123 was watching over this boss fight.
If a truly dangerous situation arose, he would intervene. That knowledge provided a sense of security, a minimal safety net.
Of course, the best-case scenario was to handle it without him needing to step in at all.
Saram123 had defeated the Zone 3 Boss single-handedly when he had only cleared up to the 4th Floor.
And now, almost two years had passed since then.
If all these Climbers, gathered together, were seen fumbling and struggling to take down a single boss, it would be a true embarrassment.
“Waaaaaah—!”
The Climbers roared.
After one last morale boost, the Security Force and the Black Star Society moved toward the Zone 3 Boss's location.
They arrived at their destination.
They spotted the boss.
On the peak of a small, rocky mountain in the distance, a red wyvern lay resting.
As expected, the Climbers swallowed hard at the sight of its unimaginably massive size.
Alex exchanged a look with Li Zeyan, the head of the Black Star Society.
They had only agreed to fight together without getting in each other's way; they hadn't strategized or coordinated their moves to face the boss as a unit.
Doing so would have required them to freely disclose information like their skills, which was too much to ask, even if the two groups were on better terms these days.
From here on, it was every man for himself.
The Security Force would fight the boss as they had prepared, and the Black Star Society would do the same.
Is Saram123...
Had he arrived?
Alex glanced around.
The Communication Window was unusable inside the Tower, so there was no way to contact him.
“Ah! Over there…!”
Just then, a Security Force executive pointed to the left.
On the fiery plains, not too far away, a person wearing a mask was visible.
“It’s Saram123!”
The Climbers who spotted Saram123 began to stir.
Their momentary intimidation by the boss vanished, and their morale surged once more. Saram123 had come as promised.
Alex, too, cracked a smile and turned back to the boss.
The known information about the Zone 3 Boss was limited.
It was a flying monster, and it attacked by breathing fire from its mouth. That was all.
Considering Saram123's fight, it would probably take flight and shoot its breath attack if they got too close…
The Security Force's strategy was to have a few of their highest-level executives, including Alex, approach the boss first.
Bringing it down to the ground was the top priority.
They reasoned that the boss couldn't just stay in the air and attack with its breath forever.
It had to come down at some point. If not, it was impossible to defeat in the first place.
The plan was for Alex and the executives to dodge its attacks and hold out until they could strike its wings.
After that, everyone else would swarm the boss and attack.
Alex glanced over at the Black Star Society.
There was their leader, Li Zeyan, and the man standing beside him.
That man was Ye Chenwei, the true power within the Black Star Society.
Just as Taylor had joined from their side, it was only natural that the other side's Nightmare Clearer would also make an appearance.
Just then, Ye Chenwei looked their way.
His eyes met Alex's, and he offered a faint smile.
With Saram123 watching, Alex was less worried about the Black Star Society trying anything funny.
The only problem now was which side, the Security Force or the Black Star Society, would make the first move…
“...?!”
Suddenly, Ye Chenwei shot out toward the boss.
Li Zeyan and a few other Climbers, looking startled, hastily followed him.
The Security Force members were also taken aback as the Black Star Society charged forward on their own, eliminating the anticipated standoff.
“...Let’s go!”
Alex immediately led his executives and ran toward the boss as well.
Whatever skill he was using, Ye Chenwei's speed was incredible.
He sprinted faster than anyone, reaching the base of the rocky mountain where the boss was located.
Kraaaaaaah—!
With a roar, the boss flapped its wings, preparing to ascend into the sky.
Just then, something like a beam of light shot out from Ye Chenwei.
A cluster of light beams pierced the membrane of one of the boss's wings.
The boss, which had been rising, faltered and landed precariously.
The Climbers charged in unison toward the grounded boss.
Seeing the boss open its massive maw, Alex shouted urgently.
“Breath attack! Dodge!”
A line of fire cut across the earth.
The Climbers from the Security Force and the Black Star Society split to the sides to evade it, then continued their approach.
Alex was the first to leap high into the air, slamming his skill into the boss's head.
Chwaaaak!
Next, Taylor, who had closed in on a wing, severed its tip with Sword Aura.
Li Zeyan and the other executives also prioritized striking the wings to prevent the boss from taking flight again.
Kuaaargh—!
With both wings injured, the boss no longer tried to flap them.
Thoroughly enraged, it began to rampage on the ground, attacking the Climbers.
The rest of the Climbers rushed in to join the fray.
“Stick to its torso!”
While the executives drew aggro from the head, the relatively lower-level Climbers closed in on the torso to attack.
The Security Force members moved swiftly, following Alex's orders and hand signals. The Black Star Society did the same.
“...Breath attack!”
The boss spewed fire once more.
Only the executive-level members were handling the head, and since there was a tell before the attack, dodging the breath wasn't difficult.
The Climbers quickly adapted to the boss's patterns, attacking from their respective positions. Some focused their minds from a distance, launching magic skills.
The performance of Taylor and Ye Chenwei was particularly outstanding.
Using a variety of skills, the two of them cut and shattered the scales on the boss's neck.
Their skill was truly befitting of the Nightmare Clearers who followed most closely in Saram123's footsteps.
The battle seemed to be proceeding quite smoothly.
It's ridiculously tough, though…!
But a boss was still a boss, and its vitality was immense.
Even with the executives focusing their attacks on its head and neck, the boss was still full of vigor.
To think Saram123 had taken this thing down alone. The thought was, once again, absurd.
Just then, Alex's eyes widened in the midst of the struggle.
One of his members had broken formation and was suddenly rushing toward the head.
“...That!”
It was Vince, who had always been notoriously disobedient.
Before anyone could stop him, he leaped toward the center of the boss's head and thrust his sword, aiming for the space between its eyes.
But the blow was negligible.
The boss thrashed its head violently, and Vince, unable to get away, was flung to the ground.
“Keuk…!”
While the executives were forced to back away, the boss opened its maw toward the fallen Vince. It was a breath attack.
Just as disaster was about to strike.
KWAAAAANG!
The boss's mouth was slammed shut, and its head was driven into the ground.
“...!”
Appearing out of nowhere was the figure who had just struck the boss's snout.
It was Saram123.
A single punch had slammed the boss's massive head into the earth.
“...”
For a moment, everyone stopped attacking.
The boss, which had been motionless after collapsing, twitched and began to stir.
Saram123 pointed at the boss as if to say, Keep attacking, and then vanished.
Alex, snapping back to his senses, yelled.
“...What are you all doing! Attack!”
Everyone resumed their assault on the boss.
But the previous blow must have been critical, as the boss seemed dazed and unsteady.
The Climbers laid into the boss with far more ease than before.
Kuuuung.
After a final, desperate struggle, the boss ran out of strength and collapsed again.
[The Zone 3 Boss has been defeated.]
The message appeared.
Everyone stared at the dead boss, slightly bewildered, before erupting into cheers.
“Woah… Waaaaah!”
The Zone 3 Boss fight.
Zero fatalities. Time elapsed: approximately 10 minutes.
The clear was a complete success.