Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Third Named Monster, 'Witch Frederica' (2)
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[BANG BANG BANG BANG!]
[Open up! Open the door!]
[What's with the stream pause! Why is it a black screen!]
[I wanna make a snowman with Whitey too]
[Hnngh... Show us more of Frederica]
[Show us Whitey!]
[Did We Got Married turn it off?]
[Nah, Whitey's screen went off]
[The universe was briefly turned off]
[Please... this is the only stream where I can watch Whitey and chat....]
[Tell her to open her chat!]
[Whitey's probably in the middle of a try, so she can't chat anyway?]
"H-Hold on, everyone. It's just paused, so it should be back soon... probably?"
We Got Married, the guild master of the GG Clan, was flustered.
Rain's stream, which had been broadcasting just fine, had suddenly cut to a black screen.
The mage from the GG Clan party, who was co-streaming with We Got Married, was also lost in thought.
"Hmm, did she stop the stream right before the last named monster? She showed us up to the second one, so is she saying we have to figure out the third one on our own?"
[I've shown you what you need to see. I will show no more.]
[LMAO]
[Hey, but did you guys see the 2nd named monster?]
[The demon illusions disappeared when you chained status effects on them, right?]
[Yeah, but you have to use the right status effect for each one.]
[In a party, everyone but the tank can probably take one each.]
[But does a Swordsman really have that many status effect skills?]
[Looks like she applied them with direct hits, not skills? So cool.]
[Getting a stun proc is super hard, lol.]
[Common sense doesn't apply to Whitey.]
[Oh, the screen's back.]
[Yeah!]
"...Oh!"
"The fight with the named monster has already started."
Rain's paused stream returned.
*Clang-clang-clang-clang!*
The witch, radiating a frosty aura, clashed with the silver-haired girl.
'Witch Frederica' had surrounded herself with blades of ice, using them to attack Rain.
"This one also has 50 million HP...! I wonder if there's a gimmick to deplete its health all at once?"
"Her attacks are fast and fierce. And they have a wide range, too."
"That white flash pattern... it practically crosses the entire map. Ranged dealers will have to be especially careful with that one."
Leaping slightly, twisting her body, deflecting with her sword, and thrusting her blade between the ice blades circling the witch—such was Rain's combat style.
The GG Clan party members all held their breath, focusing on the screen.
[I can never copy those movements.]
[You get faster as your agility stat increases, but it's hard to control properly.]
[Yeah, movement is supplementary. You have to rely mostly on skills.]
[True, it's not like pro athletes dominate every game lol.]
[Though the arena ranker Death of Death is a former pro boxer....]
[But that guy also grinds the game like crazy.]
[So what's Rain? A former pro swordsman? LMAO.]
[She might actually be....]
[That doesn't even sound like a joke anymore.]
"Look at that. The witch's ice blades aren't just for attacking, they're guarding, too."
"50 million HP and she can guard...! It looks like there are no blind spots, yet Rain's attacks keep landing."
"She's thrusting her sword past the guard of the ice blades. Can regular players even copy that?"
"Hmm... It would be difficult."
"Still, with a party of four, most attacks should hit. The number of ice blades is limited, and her guard loosens up during patterns that use multiple blades. Besides, it seems like ranged attacks are getting through just fine."
"Melee dealers are going to have a tough time. It'll be hard for the tank to hold aggro, too."
As the conversation between We Got Married and his party members continued, the witch's pattern changed.
*Rumble.*
With a vibration, icicles fell from the ceiling, forming five frosty patches on the ground.
"Here comes the special phase."
"Th-That!"
*Swoosh!*
Rain's form moved, leaving afterimages. In the blink of an eye, she had stepped on all five patches, making them disappear.
The mage asked with a dumbfounded expression.
"What just happened?"
"It seems to be a gimmick similar to the Ice Ogre King's frost patches in the Ice Crystal Tower. They vanished as soon as Rain moved over them."
"Did she remove them by stepping on them? But wouldn't she get the frozen status effect?"
"It looks like she used coordinate-shifting skills to cancel the freeze.... As for the exact skill order, we'll have to slow it down and rewatch it later. Even though I'm a Swordsman myself, I'm not sure."
*Fwoosh!*
After clearing the last, faraway patch, Starlight Sword Energy erupted from Rain's sword, shredding the witch's body. At the same time, she easily dodged the white flash the witch shot out. The witch, her face contorted in rage, flew toward Rain.
"It's a normal pattern. Is the special phase over? That was simpler than I thought."
"Ah, not yet! One ice blade is floating in the center!"
*Vwooom!*
The ice blade that had detached from the witch's body shone with a powerful light.
*Swish-swish-swish!*
Soon, a fierce gale of blades began to rage in the center of the combat area, originating from that single blade.
The witch gave a chilling smile and hid herself within the storm of ice shards.
From then on, the battle became a one-sided assault by the witch.
A continuous barrage of ranged blade patterns, an ice storm preventing any approach, and two white spheres of demonic energy that spawned and began to slowly pursue Rain.
Icicles fell, and frost patches formed. Not five at once like before, but it seemed they would continue to appear.
A feast of relentless patterns. There were too many things to keep track of. You couldn't even get close.
The audience was left speechless.
Breaking the silence, We Got Married barely managed to speak.
"Is... is this difficulty right? Forget soloing, even a party would have a hard time with this...?"
"If that ice storm has the same properties as the second named monster's, it'll block projectiles from ranged dealers, too. That means there's no way to attack at all."
[Ice blades flying from a distance. Orbs chasing you. Have to clear the patches too.]
[The storm in the middle keeps raging, so you can't even get close to the witch.]
[Projectiles are blocked, and melee dealers have no way to attack at all.]
[If Starlight Sword Energy counts as a slashing attack, that might get through. But doesn't it have a long cooldown?]
[Yeah, and she has 50 million HP on top of that.]
[You can't beat this even with a party. This is badly designed.]
[What's Whitey gonna do...?]
***
[Third Named Monster]
[Level 48 Witch Frederica]
[HP 39,970,496 / 50,000,000 (79%)]
*Clang!*
I parried an ice blade that flew at me and, in the same motion, stepped on a newly formed patch to clear it.
*Click.*
Lowering my stance, I unleashed Starlight Sword Energy toward the witch hidden in the storm.
*Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh!*
One, two, three, four. And, five. That also dispelled the freeze.
*Craaaash!*
"Kyaah!"
The witch was defenselessly exposed to the sword energy within the storm. But she quickly righted herself and began flinging ice blades at me again.
Even if she was immune to ranged projectiles, skills with a slashing property could still get through. However, 'Starlight Sword Energy' had a long cooldown. It was impossible to deplete all of the witch's HP with this skill alone.
At the same time, I dodged the two white orbs that had drawn near. They were slow. There was no need to use an evasion skill.
The patterns were flashy and numerous, but they weren't impossible to overcome. I just had to stay calm and deal with them one by one.
*Swish-swish-swish!*
The problem was, of course, the storm of ice shards raging around the witch.
"Kyahahaha!"
The witch let out an eerie, mad laugh from within the storm, relentlessly hurling ice blades at me.
How nasty.
If I can't dispel that storm, I have no way of dealing damage other than Starlight Sword Energy.
Of course, it's not like there's absolutely no way to approach. I just have to remember my fight against the 'Ancient Hero's' 'Sword Dance.'
Enter with a backward evasion, resist with a counterattack, deal damage with Flash Strike, and then get out. By chaining invincibility skills, I could probably deal damage inside that storm without taking any hits.
But that would be a one-time thing. I couldn't deal sustained damage. Enter the storm every minute when Flash Strike is off cooldown to chip away at her HP? All forty million of it? Not a chance.
*Swish-swish-swish!*
In that case, there must be a gimmick to stop that storm.
My eyes quickly scanned the entire throne room.
What is it? Is there some kind of special object?
The frost patches get absorbed if left alone. The ice blades just fly straight at me.
What's left is...
*Vwooom!*
...the two 'white orbs' that were glowing and chasing me.
*Tap!*
My thoughts were long, but my actions were swift.
I faced the white orbs that were slowly approaching me.
*Whoosh!*
I lined them up with an incoming ice blade.
*Boom! Boom!*
The two white orbs were pierced by the ice blade, disappearing in a bright flash of light.
*Fshhh.*
*Fwoosh!*
The storm in the center of the combat area died down, and at the same time, a white light enveloped my body.
[Attack Stack Tier 2 (1m 30s)]
Two buffs, each increasing attack power by 10%.
"So this was it."
I could use the ice blades to destroy the white orbs.
And each orb gave an attack power buff.
So the idea was to whittle down the witch's 50 million HP with infinitely stacking attack buffs.
*Flash! Rumble.*
Simultaneously, the witch's flash attack flew at me. The slash cut through the ice statues behind me.
Of course, I dodged it with a slight twist of my upper body.
"Kyaaaak!"
*Whoosh! Clang!*
The witch shrieked and flew at me. I blocked the ice blades she controlled and continued my assault.
So she gives an attack buff with each special pattern. How kind.
From behind my diagonally held sword, I gave the witch a smirk.
"Is this all you've got, sis?"