Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Gatekeeper: The Spearman of Flame and the Shieldbearer of Ice
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"We... we did it!"
"Aaaah! We really beat it!"
"Those patterns were a real nightmare... Do we have to fight it again if we wipe? I don't think I have it in me."
Blocked by the barrier that had formed during combat, the dead players who had been huddled together at the entrance to the second boss's area erupted in cheers.
Beimerung let out a sigh that could sink the earth and collapsed onto the floor.
"Haaaaah..."
"You did great, Beimerung."
Chris smiled brightly and patted Beimerung on the head.
Beimerung looked up at Chris with a pout.
"...You've been so focused on Rain lately, you don't pay any attention to me... You used to call me cute all the time, remember?"
"Hey now, my little junior, you're still cute."
"Hee hee."
Chris, who had been looking at Beimerung with pride, suddenly checked the time.
Just how long did it take to defeat Zakam?
Their scheduled raid time for the day was almost over.
"This is a problem. I didn't think it would take this long."
Chris wore a troubled expression.
The plan had been to finish off Zakam as quickly as possible and use the remaining time to gather information on the final boss, but things hadn't gone according to plan.
"By the way, it was easier than I thought, wasn't it? Once you get used to his terrifying normal patterns, the mechanics themselves don't seem like a big deal."
Chris shook her head at the Ranger Seopseobi's casual remark.
"What are you talking about? Without Rain's information, do you really think we could have cleared it today?"
Seopseobi paused, then stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"Hmm... you're right. We would've never figured out how to trigger Mana Overload with 12 stacks of Mana Infusion."
"And the subsequent absorption, feeding, and groggy patterns would still be a mystery."
Beimerung and Cherni chimed in.
"Seriously, it would've been too hard if we just had to brute-force it. Rain's alone, right? How on earth did she figure out all these mechanics? Was it possible because it's a timed instance? Still, to clear it, she'd have to deal 200 million damage herself..."
"Maybe someone's helping her? No matter how good Rain is, it's hard to imagine her clearing a raid dungeon all by herself."
"That's not it. If she wasn't alone, figuring out the Mana Overload mechanic would have been the first hurdle. What kind of party would even think of letting one person get 12 stacks of Mana Infusion?"
"I-Is that so?"
Beimerung and Cherni looked puzzled at Death of Death's rebuttal.
Chris nodded.
"If we'd had several days of attempts, we might have discovered it through trial and error. But... in a single day? When it's hard enough just to survive the normal patterns? Impossible."
Rain.
The more Chris learned about her, the harder it was to fathom the limits of her abilities.
*Clap!*
Chris clapped her hands to get the squad's attention.
Rain was fighting her own battles. It wouldn't do for them to gossip about her.
Chris shot a look at her squad members that clearly said, 'I'll kill anyone who bothers my Rain.' The squad members, who had been chattering about Rain, caught their breath and fell silent.
"Alright, alright. Like I always say, we need to go at our own pace, right? Let's start with the auction, shall we?"
Then, she grinned and linked the dropped item.
[Ring of the Abyss]
[Legendary Grade]
[Strength +80, Agility +80, Intelligence +80]
[Damage Taken -12%]
[Critical Damage Taken -30%]
[Unique Ability: All damage taken from NPCs -10%]
(Binds on Pickup)
"Ooh, I see. So the second boss drops a defensively-oriented ring. It's similar to the drop table in the elite dungeons."
"To be honest, even with gear like this, you still get one-shotted in a raid dungeon."
"What are you talking about? Damage reduction is important. With something like that, you can trade blows in elite dungeons just by relying on Ecostone recovery, right? You don't even have to use counters for minor patterns. Even if HP is mostly meaningless in Astria Online, damage reduction is a crucial stat."
"And the stats alone make it worthwhile."
"If you specially enchant it with Mana Crystals and swap the stats for PvP options, you could go on a rampage in faction wars."
"With stats like that, I don't think you'd die to one of Zakam's sword strikes. I'll use it for dungeons. Maybe I'll bid on another one for PvP later if one drops."
In 'Astria Online,' players didn't have armor items. Before the bizarre power of mana, metal armor was meaningless. It wasn't that there were no cosmetic items like armor, but they were purely for looks.
Armor made of mithril or enchanted with magic might offer sufficient protection, but that was a story for NPCs. For the 'Adventurers from the Stars'—the players—the 'ring' item had taken its place.
A ring, which didn't restrict movement and provided high stats along with excellent defensive capabilities. It held a value comparable to earrings.
However, the members of the Red and White attack squad could only drool as they watched Chris. They couldn't win a bidding war against her.
Chris chuckled and placed her bid.
"I'll bid 2,000 gold. Looks like you'll all be getting a hefty payout."
"Woooah! As expected of Squad Leader Chris!"
"Sob, I'll follow you for life! I love gold the most!"
Seopseobi, the gold-loving Ranger, shed tears of gratitude.
"So, we're extending today's raid time, I take it."
"Tomorrow's Sunday, isn't it? I'll push back tomorrow's start time to make up for the extension, so let's try to make a little more progress today."
The twelve members of the Red and White attack squad pushed on, even after their regular raid time had ended.
Their steps were relentless as they traversed the third area.
Chris had a duty to pass on information to Rain. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to just passively receive the strategy.
[Swordsman 'Drizzle Rain' (Offline)]
Rain was still offline. She must have gotten plenty of sleep, but Chris could guess how agonizing the process of attempting Zakam must have been.
Her real body would need time to recover its strength as well.
Chris roughly wiped her eyes, which were threatening to turn red for no reason, and stepped beyond the third area.
They finally arrived at the deepest part of the 'Tree of the Abyss.' What looked like an entrance was a curtain formed by massive tree trunks.
Before it.
A hollow that looked like a boss arena.
And, two colossal statues.
[Spearman of Flame]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
[Shieldbearer of Ice]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
"This is...!"
"Gatekeepers! A mid-boss!"
A layout that drained the squad of their energy.
The combat area was split into left and right sides.
"The layout is similar to the first boss of the Frozen Palace of the Tundra, isn't it?"
"Hmm... even the gatekeepers are tough."
"There's no cliff in the middle or anything, right? We should be able to go back and forth?"
"Should we split into two groups?"
Chris stared at the two colossi with a hollow expression.
*We're in a hurry. We don't have time to be held up by things like this.*
But this was no time to be dumbfounded.
Chris shook her head hard and gave her orders.
"Let's split up for now. Death of Death, you tank the Shieldbearer. I'll take the Spearman."
The twelve members of the Red and White squad split into two groups of six and took their positions before the Spearman and the Shieldbearer.
And then.
*Vwooom.*
From atop the curtain of tree trunks leading to the third area, a demon appeared.
Chris looked up at him and gritted her teeth.
"Gatekeeper Veid...!"
It was the same demon who had been controlling the ants at the entrance to the first boss's area.
"Kakakakat! You trespassers, to think you've reached the entrance to the Corps Commander's sanctum! Did Death Knight Zakam fail to do his job properly?"
He sneered, looking down at the attack squad.
Then, he raised his hand.
*Vwoooooom!*
Mana gathered in his hand.
*Rumble! Craaack.*
The colossi, which had seemed like eternal stone statues, began to rise to their feet at Veid's gesture.
And then.
*Ruuuumble.*
*Creeak, craaack.*
The 'Tree of the Abyss.'
The entire ominous combat area moved.
"W-What!"
"It's an earthquake!"
*Ruuuumble!*
Amidst the violent tremors, the squad members all lowered their stances and looked around.
*Creeaak!*
The ground the players were standing on.
Naturally, it too was part of the tree.
*Creak, craaack!*
It began to move.
The floor gave way.
All that remained was a narrow, square combat zone centered on the 'Spearman of Flame' and the 'Shieldbearer of Ice.' A small battleground for each party to stand on.
All the other parts of the floor had collapsed, revealing a bizarre black pit.
"A-A cliff!"
"It's just like the first boss of the Frozen Palace of the Tundra! No, is it a little different? S-Still! We can't cross to the other side anymore!"
Chris's eyes scanned the combat area.
Had all the floor collapsed except for the ground each boss was standing on? No. Wooden pillars rose up at intervals of about eight meters.
It would be difficult, but it seemed possible to cross to the other side by using an 8-meter movement skill like 'Backward Evasion' to jump on them.
*But if we're supposed to fight them separately in two groups, there shouldn't be a need to cross over, right?*
That question was answered as soon as the battle began.
*Fwoosh!*
Flames began to swirl around the bodies of all the squad members standing on the 'Spearman of Flame's' side.
[Flame Infusion (3 min)]
[Attack Power +30%, death after 3 minutes]
It was the same on the 'Shieldbearer of Ice's' side. A cold aura began to radiate from the bodies of the squad members gathered around Death of Death.
[Frost Infusion (3 min)]
[Defense Power +30%, death after 3 minutes]
Chris was horrified.
"This is insane...!"
The meaning of this buff was clear.
Before three minutes were up, the members of both groups had to switch places.
By stepping on the wooden pillars spaced eight meters apart.
And crossing the chasm where the floor had collapsed.
Chris screamed.
"Aaargh! In this dungeon, even the gatekeepers are boss-level!"