Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Black Wyvern (2)
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*Flap, flap.*
*Whoooosh!*
The wyvern's fierce wingbeats whipped up a gale inside the cavern.
My small body staggered, nearly blown away by the wind.
"Kugh!"
I lowered my stance to keep from collapsing, bracing myself against the gust.
*Kraaaaa!*
In moments, the wyvern's massive body soared to a dizzying height.
*Flap, flap.*
It flapped its wings majestically, staring down at me on the ground with arrogant eyes.
Meeting its gaze, I quickly raised my sword.
"D-dammit!"
It was infuriating, but my attacks couldn't reach it up there.
Twenty meters? Thirty?
At this height, even a ranged class's attacks likely wouldn't connect.
If only I could still unleash sword energy like in the old days, I could have shot it down.
All I could do was bite my lip and wait for the wyvern's next move.
*Kiiik.*
"......?"
*Kiiik, kiiik, kiiik.*
What was that?
It wasn't the roar of the wyvern I was fighting.
It was a smaller, sharper cry.
Soon enough, I discovered the source of the sound.
*Kiiik, kiiik, kiiik.*
Holes dotted the cavern walls on all sides.
From them, smaller wyverns began to crawl out.
[Level 25 Wyvern Hatchling]
[HP 11,000/11,000]
*Clang!*
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
As I blocked the attacks of the hatchlings that relentlessly slammed into me, those words came to mind.
Just when I couldn't damage the named monster, minions started to appear.
Still, if I dealt with all of them, the boss might come back down.
Was it actually a relief that I didn't have to face the boss and the minions at the same time, like in the last elite dungeon?
But I soon realized that was just wishful thinking.
*Flap.*
*Kraaaaaaak!*
*Swoosh!*
The massive wyvern hovering in the air let out a roar with a great flap of its wings.
*Thud!*
An ominous sound cut through the air along with the wingbeats, and I quickly activated my Backward Dodge skill.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
Wyvern scales rained down on the spot where I had just been standing.
"Th-this is!"
*Kiiik. Kiiik. Kiiik.*
The hatchlings charged at me again as I created distance.
*Clang!*
Blocking the hatchlings' body slams from all sides, I glared up into the air.
Now, I had to worry about the named wyvern's scales while simultaneously fighting off its young.
*Flap.*
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
The second barrage of scales rained down.
*Kiiik, kiiik, kiiik.*
It was difficult, but I could dodge it.
I just had to keep an eye on the boss while dealing with the hatchlings.
The interval between the named wyvern's scale attacks was about ten seconds.
The cooldown for Backward Dodge was eight seconds.
That gave me a two-second window.
As I activated Backward Dodge, I used Moonlight Slash to switch to the Quickdraw Stance.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
The consecutive Moonlight Slashes from the Quickdraw Stance rapidly chipped away at the hatchlings' HP.
*Kiiik! Kiiik!*
Then came the third scale attack.
*Thud.*
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
I swiftly moved, and the third barrage of scales struck the ground where I had been.
Ten more seconds.
For the next ten seconds, I need to focus on whittling down the hatchlings' HP.
Just as I thought that and adjusted my stance...
*Glint.*
A red light flashed from high above.
A chill ran down my spine.
A cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I anticipated what kind of attack the named wyvern was about to unleash.
*Fwoosh.*
In an instant, a flame ignited, burning through the air and gathering before the wyvern's mouth.
*Kiiiiik!*
With a roar, it spewed forth, blanketing the entire vast cavern.
The wyvern's breath attack.
The interval between the last scale attack and this was a mere five seconds.
My dodge skill still had three seconds left on its cooldown.
I couldn't avoid it.
I was defenseless, completely engulfed in the flames.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"Heek. Hiiik."
*Drip. Drip.*
Tears streamed endlessly from my eyes.
It hurts. It hurts.
It hurt so much.
What do I do? What should I do?
The agony of my body being set ablaze was, even for a moment, beyond imagination.
Fortunately, the pain didn't last long.
I had died instantly, my HP depleted by a single breath attack.
This time, I wasn't kicked out of the game.
But to have to feel this kind of pain every time I died...
[Synchronization Rate 100%]
"Hnngh. Huuk."
I hugged my shoulders, my body still trembling from the phantom pain.
I didn't want to give up on *Astria Online*.
Because now, this was the only place I could feel alive.
Maybe I should just stop trying to clear elite dungeons.
I could just hunt safely in the fields and leisurely travel the Astria Continent.
Chris seemed to like me, so I could probably get some items from her now and then.
I didn't have to go through all this pain to clear an elite dungeon.
As I stared at the floor of the ruins with my head bowed, an unusual brick entered my vision.
"......?"
*Swoosh.*
I gently brushed away the sand covering the brick.
And what came into view was...
"Ah."
An emblem carved into the brick.
The crest of a certain family, depicting an eagle.
I remembered seeing that crest on someone's scabbard.
"...And that's how my ancestors sealed a demon somewhere in the desert!"
"Melissa, your family must have been incredible!"
"We're a family of knights, so I think we're a proud lineage, worthy of being the Hero's companion!"
The knight, Melissa.
A dependable companion from the Hero's Party who had adored me.
A companion who had sacrificed her life to get me to the Demon King.
A trace of her was here.
I silently caressed the brick for a moment.
If I hadn't come in here, I never would have seen something like this.
The resemblance between *Astria Online* and the Astria Continent wasn't just in the scenery.
Traces of my companions remained everywhere.
*Sniffle.*
I wiped away the tears I had shed like a child.
I pushed myself up.
And toward the massive cavern, I began to walk once more.
Not for some grand mission.
But simply to feel that I was here.
***
[First Named Monster]
[Level 27 Black Wyvern]
[HP 157,000/210,000]
The wyvern had flown to a height unreachable even by ranged attackers.
*Kraaaaaa!*
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
With the wyvern's roar, scales rained down from above.
The second scale attack after it entered its special pattern.
*Thud.*
I used Backward Dodge to avoid the scales and faced the hatchlings again.
*Kiiik, kiiik, kiiik.*
If I took care of all these things, the named wyvern would come back down to the ground.
They must have designed it to be beatable somehow, so that was the only possibility I could bet on.
I counted the seconds inwardly while fighting the hatchlings.
Seven seconds, eight seconds, nine seconds, ten seconds.
*Kraaaaa!*
*Swoosh!*
With a flap of its wings, the third volley of scales flew down.
Five seconds after this pattern, a breath attack with fatal damage would follow.
The cooldown for Backward Dodge was eight seconds.
In that case.
*Thwack!*
I didn't dodge the third barrage of scales.
The wyvern's scales embedded themselves all over my body, my HP dropping to less than half.
"Kugh!"
I gritted my teeth.
It hurt like hell, but it wouldn't kill me.
*Fwoosh.*
Flames began to swirl around the named wyvern's mouth.
Three seconds, four seconds, five seconds.
*Fwoooosh!*
And then, it spewed out toward the cavern.
I smiled as I watched the breath attack fill my entire vision.
[Backward Dodge (E)]
[Quickly dash 8m backward to evade an attack from the front (Invincible during cast)]
[Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[(Rank E) Movement speed increases for 5 seconds after skill activation]
By taking the third scale attack with my body, I had saved the skill. The cooldown for Backward Dodge was already over.
The moment the breath was about to touch me, I activated the skill.
*Thud.*
*Fwoooosh!*
The breath attack swept past me in an instant.
But this time, I didn't die.
It wasn't even hot.
'Invincible during cast.'
So, this was it.
As impressive as the wyvern's breath looked, it was still under the control of the game's system.
*Spin.*
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
Moonlight fell from the tip of my sword, and the hatchlings began to fall one by one.
*Kraaaaaaaaaak!*
Covered in wounds, the wyvern let out a final roar.
*Thump.*
The massive pterosaur-like body collapsed onto the cavern floor.
*Thud.*
At the same time, I slumped to the ground.
It was just as I had predicted.
Once all the hatchlings were dealt with, the named wyvern came back down.
But it had done so a total of three times.
The first named monster, the Black Wyvern, had taken to the air three times in total—at 75%, 50%, and 25% HP.
The scale pattern came three times at ten-second intervals, followed by the breath pattern five seconds later.
If I took the third scale pattern with my body to save the cooldown on my evasion skill, I could dodge the breath.
I let out a sigh.
"Hah."
They really made this ridiculously difficult.
This dungeon was structurally designed with party play in mind.
If I had been with party members, the target of the scale pattern would have been distributed, and I could have been protected by a Mage's Mana Barrier or a Yin-Yang Master's Talisman of Protection.
To clear a party dungeon solo, I had to be willing to trade flesh for bone.
Since the potion cooldown was thirty seconds, I could cover the damage from one barrage of scales during the special pattern with a potion.
But I had used ten potions to clear the first named monster just once.
The costs outweighed the benefits.
I opened my inventory and checked my remaining potions, my face falling.
"I used way too many potions."