Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Special Entity, 'Giant Lamia' (1)
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[Southeast Divine Mark Activation 0/1]
[Southwest Divine Mark Activation 0/1]
[North Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
"A defense dungeon?"
"Yeah. The activation status of the Divine Marks in the other areas we passed through has been reset, right?"
"Hmm, you're right."
Chris's party had successfully dealt with all the lamias at high speed and activated the Divine Mark.
However.
Sssssst-!
"Chris, more lamias!"
"Ugh, there's no end to them!"
Whoooosh!
Crack!
The mage, Beimerung, cast 'Aerial' to restrict the lamias' movements. At the same time, she prepared an Arcane Burst. The spirit master, Cherni, skillfully had his earth spirit 'Gnome' half-bury the lamias.
As the second wave of lamias ended, Chris made a decision.
"Let's split up."
"Split up?"
"Yeah. Staying holed up in one spot won't get us anywhere. Even if this Divine Mark is fully activated, we don't know what will happen the moment we leave. Just look at the dungeon's progression conditions. This insane lamia wave will only end when the Divine Marks in all locations are fully activated."
"Handle this entire lamia wave alone? That won't be easy. I'm a Fighter, after all. I'd appreciate it if you didn't put me in the same boat as a mage with lots of AoE skills or a spirit master who can use spirits."
Indeed, for Death of Death's Fighter class, which lacked AoE skills and was a grounded melee class, defense would not be easy.
"Still, this is the only way, isn't it? Besides, there are three locations with Divine Marks, and there are four of us. Death, you take this spot since it's already started activating. I'll stay with you."
Chris chuckled and patted Death of Death on the back.
Following Chris's instructions, Beimerung and Cherni headed to the locations of the southeast and southwest Divine Marks, respectively.
"If we had a little more time, I think we could have conquered the Tomb of Swords. It might have been easier if we'd gotten a new skill there... Did Rain get a new skill?"
"Heh."
In response to Death of Death's question, Chris smiled with pride.
"...I see, so she conquered it on the first day. How on earth did she get past that ancient master? I figured out how to counter the Azure Dragon Sword Ki, but the time attack was extremely tight. But, hmm. If it's Rain, I guess it's possible."
"What's this? Why are you so interested in my girl? You're not... perhaps..."
Chris's eyes narrowed. Death of Death broke into a cold sweat and tried to look nonchalant.
"Ahem, it was a pure expression of curiosity and admiration. I'd appreciate it if you didn't misunderstand."
Pop, pop!
Even during their conversation, Chris was using her Demon Sealing Formation to make the bodies of the sporadically approaching lamias explode before they could even get close.
Armed with a legendary weapon, a special-grade Ecostone, and fully enhanced top-tier Magic Crystals, the damage from Chris's skills was truly exceptional. Although she was a Yin-Yang Master, a class specializing in party buffs, her skills boasted firepower comparable to that of a pure-damage mage.
As Chris bantered with Death while dealing with the lamia waves, a worry about Rain began to creep into her mind.
"This dungeon... it's impossible to solo."
It was physically impossible.
No matter how strong Rain was, she didn't have three bodies. There was no way for her to defend three areas simultaneously by herself.
What could Rain be planning to do?
[Southeast Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
[Southwest Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
[North Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
(All Divine Marks active)
(8% until first purification complete)
[???]
[Basin of the Heavens Overall Progression 0/1]
Before long, the activation conditions for the southeast and southwest Divine Marks were met. Beimerung and Cherni had reactivated the Divine Marks. Seeing the first purification percentage begin to rise, they predicted that the final named boss would appear once the gauge reached 100%.
"Hmm?"
Yawning at the north Divine Mark activation point, which had entered a brief lull, Chris's gaze fell upon the party chat window, where new messages began to appear.
[Cherni: Southwest point, a special entity has appeared!]
[Cherni: It's a giant red lamia!]
[Cherni: Its health pool is insane!]
Cherni's urgency could be felt through the chat.
"A special entity!?"
After checking the chat window, Chris immediately prepared to head southwest.
"Death, can you hold this place on your own?"
"I'll try."
Leaving Death of Death behind, Chris quickly headed for the southwest point.
Tap, tap, tap!
Beep.
[Party member 'Cherni' has died.]
[Southeast Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
[Southwest Divine Mark Activation 0/1]
[North Divine Mark Activation 1/1]
Before Chris could even arrive, the death announcement for the spirit master, Cherni, appeared. It seemed he couldn't withstand the special entity's attack.
"Grr...!"
Chris bit her lip in frustration.
The appearance of a clear named-level lamia entity.
The lamia waves weren't just composed of normal lamias. A named-level entity from an elite dungeon would be difficult to handle alone.
They had to immediately reactivate the Divine Mark in the southwest area that Cherni had left undefended.
She stopped in her tracks.
Chris, who had been heading southwest in a fit of anger, paused for a moment. She stood there, lost in thought.
She was furious and wanted to charge into the southwest area immediately, but if the giant red lamia was a named-level entity, it would be difficult to face alone. She could also be taken down in an instant, just like Cherni.
"First, I should wait for Cherni to rejoin us."
A few minutes later, Chris saw Cherni, who had revived at the entrance of the Basin of the Heavens, scrambling toward her from between the rocks.
Chris shot a sharp glare at Cherni.
"You're late...! Can't you move any faster?"
"Pant, pant, I'm sorry!"
"What happened? Explain in detail."
"Well, I had dealt with the lamias in the clearing, activated the Divine Mark, and was fighting the next wave when suddenly, a giant lamia with red scales burst through the solid rock floor. Its HP was substantial, too. Seventy million."
"Seventy million...! That's on par with a decent named boss."
They had grown accustomed to the hundreds of millions of HP of the named bosses in the Tree of the Abyss, the last raid dungeon, but seventy million was still a daunting number, even for current players whose stats had risen significantly with legendary gear. If it was a named-level entity, its defense would also be higher than a normal lamia's.
"And it has a mechanic where it reflects attacks with a red demonic energy shield. I used a major skill with my main body instead of my spirit, and the projectile was reflected right back at me."
"A reflection shield...?"
A very tricky pattern. Was there a mechanic to disable the shield?
"Can the two of us do it?"
"It won't be easy. But all four of us can't come here right now."
Beimerung in the southeast and Death of Death in the north had to protect their respective Divine Marks. She had considered gathering all four of them to deal with the red lamia first, but that would leave the north and southeast points empty. In that case, they would have no choice but to start all over again, activating them one by one.
"Let's try with the two of us first. If we both die, then we'll all gather, deal with the giant lamia, and start over. Since it's a named-level special entity, it's probably a one-time monster. It won't keep spawning like the normal lamias."
Moving quickly even as they talked, Chris and Cherni finally arrived at the clearing.
The pile of rocks where the Divine Mark had been buried was dug up, and the Divine Mark inside lay carelessly tossed aside, its light extinguished.
And the monsters around it were...
Only normal lamias.
Chris and Cherni stared with dumbfounded expressions.
"What the, where did the giant lamia go!?"
"Huh? B-but, it was definitely..."
Chris gave Cherni a suspicious look. Cherni broke out in a nervous sweat.
"You weren't slacking off and got mobbed by a regular lamia wave, were you?"
"N-no, I wasn't! L-look over there! That's the hole the giant lamia came out of!"
"...Hmm? You're right, there is a hole. Hehe. I was just teasing."
Chris laughed heartily and patted Cherni's back. Before Cherni could voice a disgruntled protest, Chris's expression hardened again.
"The giant lamia is gone. Do you know what this means?"
"Huh? Didn't it just finish its business and go home?"
"No! It means this isn't the only place in danger! You, reactivate this spot. I think I need to go somewhere else."
Another location was in danger.
Chris's judgment was accurate. And fast.
However, the giant lamia's movements were even faster.
Before Chris could leave the southwest, messages from Beimerung began to appear in the party chat.
[Beimerung: Chris! Southeast!]
[Beimerung: Giant lamia, the red one!]
[Chris: It has a damage reflection mechanic! Avoid big attacks as much as possible and hold out until I get there!]
Beimerung was an excellent mage. Even if she couldn't kill it alone, she should be able to last for quite a while if she was just kiting it and holding aggro.
Chris moved swiftly, beginning to analyze the strategy for this dungeon.
A defense dungeon, the Basin of the Heavens.
Three defense points.
Four party members.
A special entity, the giant lamia, appears randomly.
Chris was beginning to understand the role of the fourth party member.
"Three of the four will defend their respective locations, and the remaining one has to run around like crazy to help fend off the giant red lamia."
However, the next party chat messages that appeared immediately shattered Chris's predictions.
The special entity wasn't just the one red lamia.
[Death of Death: North, a giant blue lamia has appeared.]
[Death of Death: Urgent, need support.]