Chapter 184
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: The Bone Dragon (3)
After over thirty minutes of scouting, the only thing we'd discovered was that the spear-like dragon bones encircling the first named monster's combat area were made of metal.
"Rain, you have to be careful!"
A moment later, Chris, who had taken her ranged DPS position and finished preparing her party buffs, called out to me, her voice laced with worry.
I turned away from Chris without a word and faced the Bone Dragon.
I'm sorry, Chris.
Even for us, taking down a boss whose HP is scaled for a twelve-person raid will be impossible.
Chris probably suspected that the way I'd been soloing raid dungeons wasn't exactly normal. Still, she couldn't have guessed that it required me to die at least once.
Come to think of it, it was only natural for Chris to worry about me. I had, after all, shown her a glimpse of myself bleeding profusely after clearing the Tree of the Abyss.
But it's something I'll have to tell her eventually. I can't hide it until everything is over.
For now, all I can do is hope I don't have to use the Hero's power while fighting this thing.
Chris and Rain, a raid party of two.
The moment we stood before the first named monster, the Bone Dragon.
Beep.
The system alert sounded, indicating we had drawn its aggro.
-----!!
Rumble—!
The air trembled.
Having noticed us, the Bone Dragon let out a silent roar.
[First Named Monster]
[Bone Dragon]
[HP 1,000,000,000 / 1,000,000,000 (100%)]
Clang, clank!
The Bone Dragon, composed of a massive white skeleton.
As if to prove that its frame was indeed metallic, my sword struck its bones, sending sparks flying. At the same time, the scenery behind it was clearly visible through the large gaps in its skeleton.
Whoosh!
Its tail, made of giant dragon bones, swung fiercely toward my torso.
So dragons do have bones in their tails. I began my analysis, the stray thought crossing my mind. It was a pattern that would undoubtedly cause a long-range knockback if I didn't use Just Guard. It wasn't as fast as I expected.
In that case.
Tap, spin.
I launched myself into the air. I did a somersault, placed a hand on its tailbone, and spun once before landing back on the ground.
No need to guard. Perhaps because it was just bone, the tail wasn't very thick.
So much for its tail swipe.
"Rain...!"
Stumble.
Just as I was immersing myself in the tension of battle, I heard an impressed voice from behind me. The sound almost made me misstep as I landed.
Glancing back, I saw Chris staring at me blankly, her eyes sparkling, all while her long red hair flowed as she diligently threw her talismans.
I couldn't help but let out a small laugh, even in the heat of the moment.
Ah, right. I'm in a party today.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
Chris's talismans dotted the area around the Bone Dragon's massive body before sticking to it. Then, BOOM!, they erupted in explosions. The Bone Dragon's body trembled.
It was the Yin-Yang Master's main DPS skill, 'Sealing Formation'. Chris, who had invested even more in her items than I had. The red, blue, and green lights swirling around her Yin-Yang Orb were proof that her Legendary-grade Ecostones were active. Her weapon was socketed with Legendary-grade Ecostones, which could only be obtained by combining three high-grade Ecostones and overcoming an abysmal success rate.
A weapon studded with socket items worth a small fortune. As expected, the damage from her Sealing Formation was extraordinary, far surpassing that of a pure DPS Mage. Chris had clearly invested a lot for this raid.
Of course, the same was true for me; I could easily out-damage a normal Swordsman even without using the Hero's power.
Under the assault of two top-tier players, the Bone Dragon's seemingly endless HP was gradually chipping away.
At this rate, I might actually be able to finish this without using the Hero's power.
CRASH, CRASH!
The Bone Dragon's bony feet stomped down on where I'd been standing, as if swatting an annoying fly. Tap, tap. I moved nimbly, weaving between its legs.
It was actually easier than fighting a normal dragon made of flesh and scales. There were plenty of gaps to dodge through with just a slight shift of my body.
The Bone Dragon's normal patterns were simple. It basically used its large, massive body to try and crush me with its menacing, sharp bones. It was unique in that it was an undead dragon, but it wasn't much different from the other dragons I'd faced before.
The problem, as always, would be its special patterns.
"Divine Descent!"
Fwoosh!
Once I had a decent grasp of its normal patterns, Chris's shout was followed by a blue light enveloping my body. The Yin-Yang Master's party buff skill, Divine Descent, had been activated.
With a smile, I gripped my sword in a reverse hold and swung it fiercely.
Swish-swish-swish!
Astaroth let out a silver gleam, continuously unleashing starlit sword energy from its tip. It was imbued with a power on a completely different level than when I fought alone.
Tap-tap-tap!
At the same time, I shot forward with the burst of sword energy, lowering my stance.
Toward the neck bones, in a diagonal, upward slash.
Fwoosh!
Fueled by the buff from Divine Descent, my body, now burning with blue light, became a streak of light that shot into the air. Even the Bone Dragon's sturdy neck bones were shaved away by that rough yet beautiful power.
From the air, just above the Bone Dragon's neck, I looked down. I could see Chris through the gaps in its bones. I gave her a quick wink as I looked down and activated my cooldown reset.
One more time, in the same spot I just struck.
Fwoosh!
BOOM!
As I landed, I spun around and unleashed another barrage of sword energy, its cooldown now refreshed.
I'm going to make full use of the power Chris gave me.
One plus one doesn't equal two.
With Chris, I could become three, no, four times stronger.
This is the power of a comrade.
A feeling I couldn't experience while facing unknown enemies alone. No, it was a feeling I used to know well.
Right now, I'm a Hero fighting alongside her companion.
"Battle time elapsed: 3 minutes, 9 seconds! Bone Dragon HP at 95.5%! Based on past experience, the time attack for a raid dungeon's named monster is around fifteen minutes! If there isn't a special mechanic, our DPS is way too low!"
Chris's voice reached me from behind, filled with concern.
Judging from our experience clearing the Heavenly Divide with a four-person party, the time attack standard for dealing 100 million HP with current player specs is about fifteen minutes. This means the bare minimum DPS check for the new expansion is around 1.66 million DPM (Damage Per Minute) per person.
In that case, having dealt 40 million HP in about three minutes means our average individual DPM was a whopping 7 million.
Even considering the synergy between me and Chris, that was an incredible number. It meant that with just the two of us, we were putting out terrifying damage, well over half the output of a 12-person raid party of average players.
Top-tier players are about twice as strong as average players. Furthermore, we were two of the strongest among them. Plus, with the bonus damage from Holy Stone enhancements being effective against an undead type like the Bone Dragon, it wasn't strange for our DPM to be four times that of a player who just met the new expansion's minimum requirements.
But even so, our DPS was lacking.
"If it's not a timed pattern, then the special phase will likely trigger at 95% HP! If we have to brute-force the last 10%, or 100 million HP, there's no way even a 12-person party could clear it!"
For a 12-person Red and White raid party composed of top-tier players, it takes a little over a minute to deal 50 million HP.
By the Red and White raid party's standards, that's two minutes for 100 million, and twenty minutes for a billion. Once it enters a special phase, dealing damage will become even trickier. If there's no mechanic, a twenty-minute battle even for top-tier players? Forget it. We'd definitely face its enrage timer before then.
"It's confirmed!"
"Right!"
There's definitely a mechanic to lower its HP.
And the special phase is highly likely to trigger at 95% HP.
Chris had analyzed all of this in just over three minutes, all while continuously dealing damage.
You're amazing, Chris!
I suppressed the urge to shout that out loud and focused on swinging my sword, finally getting the Bone Dragon's HP down to 95%.
Rumble.
For a moment, the Bone Dragon's movements ceased.
The first named monster, the Bone Dragon, which hadn't shown any special abilities besides attacking with its massive body.
What kind of attacks would it use in its special phase?
Facing the motionless body of the Bone Dragon, I held my sword diagonally and stared into its empty eye sockets for about two seconds.
Suddenly, I felt the hair on my entire body stand on end.
"......!"
Dash!
Flash!
CRACKLE!
Sizzle!
A brilliant bolt of lightning pierced through the black mist, suddenly tearing through the sky and briefly connecting heaven and earth. It struck the exact spot where I had been standing just before I used my backstep.
"Lightning...!"
A powerful electric shock.
A direct hit would have instantly fried my insides.
But through that attack, I was able to identify what this creature of bone once was.
A Blue Dragon.
A dragon that wielded the power of lightning in life.
I quickly turned my head to check if Chris was safe.
"Chr—!"
Crackle!
Wiping away a cold sweat, Chris was surrounded by a Protection Talisman. The Yin-Yang Master's standing invincibility skill. It seemed to have blocked the lightning strike.
That feeling of my hair standing on end just before the lightning struck. I don't know the details, but isn't there some kind of electrical charge that gathers in a spot right before lightning hits? No matter how fast my reflexes are, I can't dodge lightning just by seeing it. I was able to avoid it by sensing it beforehand.
"It's a sequential activation pattern! Rain, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine."
If that lightning had struck Chris first, she wouldn't have been able to dodge it. She must have been able to prepare because it struck her right after it hit my position.
"The Bone Dragon's special pattern is summoning lightning!"
"In that case...!"
It won't end with just one strike.
Crackle. Sizzle.
Terrifying sparks flew up from all over the combat area.
KRAKOOM!
And soon, lightning bolts began to rain down around us.