Chapter 185
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: 1st Named, 'Bone Dragon' (4)
Rumble, cru-rumble!
I moved quickly through the lightning that filled the area.
"Khh, Rain...!"
CRASH!
A lightning bolt struck the spot where Chris had just been before she used Backstep. After dodging it, Chris, who had paused mid-sentence, called out to me again.
"The ranged attackers are getting targeted lightning, about one bolt every three seconds! The melee fighters are getting hit with both targeted and random lightning!"
"This isn't easy."
Twirl.
Muttering a complaint, I wrapped my body in a Sword Veil.
My sword swung at high speed. The starlight gathered at its tip formed a dense screen around me. Confirming the Sword Veil was active, I launched myself toward the base of the Bone Dragon's neck vertebrae.
The lightning pattern had two main variations.
The first was the targeted lightning pattern. It locked onto a player's position before striking. As long as you knew the timing, you could dodge it. If necessary, you could even use an invincibility skill like Backstep.
The problem, however, was the second type: the randomly falling lightning pattern.
Lightning that was impossible to react to fell at random? Even with my exceptional intuition, dodging all of it on feeling alone was impossible.
My standing invincibility skill, the Sword Veil, bought me three seconds of safety. I had to get a lot done in that time. I might even have to use a cooldown reset to extend its duration.
First, I'd try hitting the motionless Bone Dragon.
Tap.
Kicking off the ground lightly, my body soared up to three meters in front of the Bone Dragon's neck.
And from here, Counterattack.
Swoosh.
As I activated Counterattack, the surrounding scenery shifted in an instant, and my view changed to that of looking down from above the Bone Dragon's neck vertebrae.
Just like that, I swung my sword toward the bones of its neck.
Clang!
"!?"
I felt a strong repulsive force. Using that momentum, I spun my body once and landed on the Bone Dragon's spine.
Vwoom.
"Huh."
I wasn't standing on bone. I was standing on something invisible. Three seconds had already passed. The hair on my arms stood on end. Did the targeted lightning strike even on top of the Bone Dragon's body? Tap! I immediately used Backstep. Cra-crack!
Fzzt.
I watched as the electric current from the lightning strike was blocked and dissipated above the dragon's body.
"A barrier?"
Was this a system mechanic designed to prevent damage during the special phase?
Tap.
Without hesitation, I leaped off the Bone Dragon's body. Cra-crack! Dodging the bolt that immediately fell toward my head, I activated Astaroth's cooldown reset. I wrapped myself in another Sword Veil and shouted to Chris.
"Chris, I don't think this is going to work!"
"Should we retreat?"
I nodded.
This was impossible. The option to interrupt the pattern by hitting the Bone Dragon was blocked. If I used up all my equipment's cooldown resets, I'd have no way to deal with the random lightning. We needed to re-establish our strategy.
Scamper!
With lightning crashing down all around us, Chris and I turned tail and fled from the Bone Dragon.
After that, we made several more attempts.
Our purpose was to establish a damage rotation and also to analyze the properties of the Bone Dragon's barrier, even for a short time, after entering the special lightning pattern.
"Hmm, the barrier that appears on the Bone Dragon after entering the special pattern feels like a shield that blocks a certain amount of damage."
"The barrier itself is showing 500 million durability. If we can break it, we can damage the main body again, but..."
I sat between Chris's crossed legs, looking at the Bone Dragon and nodding.
"The damage is ridiculously insufficient. Ranged dealers only have to worry about the targeted lightning, but melee dealers are exposed to the random lightning too. Even I can't deal damage while resisting all those bolts. 500 million with just ranged attacks? Another 500 million on top of the initial 1 billion."
"And that special barrier pattern probably won't be a one-time thing."
I shook my head back and forth.
It made no sense. Even with 24 people attacking instead of 12, we'd probably hit the enrage timer.
"Breaking the barrier with just ranged attacks is impossible. There has to be a mechanic, right?"
"A mechanic that can disable the barrier and deal massive damage at the same time. What could it be?"
Twirl.
Chris turned my body, which was sitting between her legs and facing forward, to face her.
But Chris's gaze wasn't on my face; it was directed at the bone pillars stuck in the ground, encircling the combat area.
Spear-length bone pillars, planted vertically at regular intervals, pointing toward the sky.
After looking at them for a moment, Chris grinned.
"You said those were a type of metal, right?"
"Um... right?"
"You know what lightning rods are? Those might serve a similar purpose. If so, we wouldn't need to dodge the targeted lightning if we stand near those bone structures. And if we make lightning strike them, maybe something will happen?"
My eyes widened.
"Oh. Did you try it during our attempts?"
"No. I was focused on establishing the damage rotation, figuring out the lightning intervals, and analyzing the barrier."
"And why would the named boss's barrier block lightning? If the Bone Dragon doesn't take damage from the lightning element, it wouldn't need to block its own summoned bolts. In that case, there's only one possibility."
We said in unison.
"A mechanic that uses the named boss's pattern against it."
Our minds in sync, we faced each other and smiled bashfully.
[1st Named]
[Bone Dragon]
[HP 949,997,544 / 1,000,000,000 (95%)]
Rumble, cru-rumble!
The Bone Dragon's HP hit 95%. The special phase, the lightning summoning pattern, had begun.
Chris and I no longer approached the Bone Dragon. With its massive body between us, we stood at opposite ends of the spacious combat area.
Beyond the Bone Dragon's frame, I could see Chris giving me a wink. I smiled back at her and then headed for the nearest spear-sized bone pillar.
Tap.
I positioned myself at the northern bone pillar, Chris at the southern one.
And then, we waited for a moment.
Flash, cra-craaack!
My vision turned completely white.
The targeted lightning summoning pattern.
My eyes wide, I looked straight up at it.
I wouldn't dodge.
Because Chris said I didn't need to.
I trusted Chris's words.
Whoosh!
"As expected...!"
The lightning bolt, aimed precisely at me, was instantly sucked into the bone pillar standing beside me before vanishing into the ground.
"Rain! The pillar is glowing!"
Vwoom!
The lightning rod that had absorbed the bolt, the bone pillar, was now glowing blue.
Snap.
Without delay, I placed my hand on the pillar. I clenched my teeth slightly, worried it might sting, but the current had already flowed into the ground and was gone.
Shing.
It came out easily.
A spear-sized dragon bone, glowing blue.
"Chris! The bone pillars can be pulled out now!"
"What! How can you just grab a piece of metal that was struck by lightning!"
"I'm fine, though?"
"Ah, anyway, I got it!"
I paused for a moment, holding the spear, and thought.
This... I'm supposed to throw it, right?
Holding the spear, which was taller than me, horizontally, I took a throwing stance.
I threw it toward the Bone Dragon's barrier.
Whoooosh!
CRUNCH!
The dragon bone spear I had thrown with all my might made a strange sound as it pierced about 50 centimeters into the Bone Dragon's barrier.
Chris, on the opposite side, who had been watching my actions, began to move in the exact same way.
"There are twelve dragon bones in total! If this is a recommended 12-person raid dungeon..."
"Then we have to pull them all out and throw them...!"
As if by agreement, Chris and I started moving clockwise toward the next spears.
Targeted lightning. Activate the lightning rod. Throw. Chris and I repeated this sequence a total of six times each.
Vwoooom!
Soon, the twelve spears embedded in the dragon's barrier began to glow with a blue light.
Having pulled out and thrown all the dragon bones, I watched the combat area for any changes.
"......?"
A change.
There isn't one?
"Rain!"
Cra-crack!
Tap!
After dodging a targeted lightning bolt with Backstep, I stared at the Bone Dragon with a dumbfounded expression.
"I threw them all, though?"
Shouldn't the barrier have shattered or something?
My mind began to race.
Come to think of it, the random lightning strikes weren't falling around the dragon.
Targeted lightning activated even if players were far away.
Random lightning was a pattern that only occurred when a target was within a certain range.
In that case.
Tatatat!
"The spears stuck in the barrier, we have to make lightning strike those rods...!"
Even before Chris's shout reached me, my body was already diving toward the Bone Dragon's feet.
Rumble, cru-rumble!
As I got within about 15 meters of the dragon, random lightning strikes began to fall around me again.
Tap.
Reaching one of the spears embedded in the barrier, I confirmed that the lightning striking around me was being drawn into the spear's tip.
Sizzle, sizzle!
In an instant, the lightning's current flowed into the barrier.
This was it.
Tatatat!
Cru-rumble!
I quickly circled the Bone Dragon's body, funneling all the lightning strikes aimed at me through the lightning rods.
CRACK!
And, as the final bolt of lightning flowed into the last lightning rod.
Flash, CRACK!
-----!!
Along with an inaudible roar, I heard the sound of the invisible barrier shattering.
Rumble.
The Bone Dragon fell to its knees of bone.
Mechanic completed. What's the HP?
[1st Named]
[Bone Dragon]
[HP 749,997,544 / 1,000,000,000 (75%)]
"20% in one go...!"
"Chris!"
"R-Right!"
Whoosh!
Chris drew a talisman. At the same time, a blue light enveloped my body.
[Divine Descent]
[Cooldown: 5 minutes]
[Greatly increases all party members' stats, attack power, critical hit chance, and critical damage (Duration: 30 seconds)]
Snap.
Feeling Chris's power flow into me, I held my sword horizontally.
Time elapsed so far: about 5 minutes.
We blew away 20% of its HP through the mechanic, but there's still 75% remaining.
There's no time to delay. Even if the same mechanic repeats at least three more times, our damage output will be tight.
If it comes to it.