Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Clearing the Tomb of the Lesser Demon
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*Whoosh!*
The demon's massive arm swung toward me.
*Clang! Tatatatat!*
After blocking the attack, I used 'Thrust' and calmly chipped away at the demon's HP.
[Third Boss]
[Level 27 Sealed Demon]
[HP 361,510/500,000]
The demon's HP was nearing 70%. It would soon enter its special pattern.
For the last 20 seconds or so, I had only been using blocks and thrusts.
The cooldown for switching to the Sword-Drawing Stance via 'Moonlight Slash' was 30 seconds.
While the damage from 'Moonlight Slash,' which could be cast consecutively from the Sword-Drawing Stance, was explosive, I needed to save the stance-switching cooldown.
Of course, using any skill other than 'Moonlight Slash' would immediately cancel the Sword-Drawing Stance.
In that case.
*Whoosh!*
On this last arm swing, just before it entered the 70% special pattern.
*Clang!*
I activated 'Moonlight Slash,' which could be cast instantly after a block.
*Spin.*
*Shwwiing!*
At the same time, the demon's HP, struck by my Moonlight Slash, dropped below 70%.
For a moment, flames seemed to flicker in the demon's eyes.
*Fwoosh!*
Even as the demon's massive forearm rushed toward me at high speed, I didn't use the 'Backward Dodge' skill.
Instead.
[Counterattack]
[Usable in 'Sword-Drawing Stance']
[Takes the opponent's rear (Cooldown 8 seconds)]
The 'Counterattack' skill, usable from the Sword-Drawing Stance.
A skill that used my explosively increased agility, something akin to teleportation.
With this.
*Shhhk.*
My body left an afterimage as I moved behind the demon, whose hand clenched empty air.
Seeing this, I quickly moved to the right and smiled faintly.
As I thought, I could dodge it with 'Counterattack' too.
There was no need to only use 'Backward Dodge' as my evasion skill.
*Thud.*
The demon jumped back slightly, creating distance between us.
*Woooong.*
At the same time, a purple energy began to swirl within its massive fist.
Before, it had cast the spell from its position because I used Backward Dodge to create distance, but it seems it creates distance itself if I'm close.
In any case, having countered the grab pattern with 'Counterattack,' I could now freely use 'Backward Dodge.'
*Kwoooosh!*
The purple orb gathered in the demon's hand came hurtling toward me.
*Tap tap!*
*KABOOM!*
My body, having activated Backward Dodge, took no damage from the massive explosion.
The 'invincibility during casting' that had negated the wyvern's breath damage.
As expected, it was also effective against the demon's magical energy attack pattern.
'Counterattack' could only be used when the target was right in front of me.
'Counterattack' for the grab pattern, 'Backward Dodge' for the ranged magic attack.
The demon's special pattern was completely countered.
*Tatatatat!*
I rapidly closed in on the demon, which had paused momentarily after its powerful magic attack.
There's really nothing else, is there?
"Then die!"
*
"It's almost the 10% special pattern! This is probably the last one!"
"Uwoooooh!"
*Fwoosh!*
The demon's massive arm swung, and the Fighter, Death of Death, who used his 'Counter' skill to mitigate the damage, immediately dove into the demon's range and threw a powerful Crushing Fist.
*BOOM!*
*Fwoosh!*
The moment the demon's HP dropped below 10%, its hand shot out and grabbed Death of Death's body.
This was all planned beforehand. Death of Death didn't use Backward Dodge and let himself be caught.
"Kuh, I'm counting on you guys!"
"Beimerung!"
*Woooong.*
At Chris's shout, Beimerung raised her staff, and a hexagram magic circle appeared beneath the demon's feet.
*Fzzt, fzzt, fzzt!*
Chris also took out her talismans, placing one on each of the hexagram's six points.
*Fwaaaaaah!*
The magic circle soon began to glow, and the demon shook its head violently in agony.
*Kaaaaah—!*
The demon lost its grip on Death of Death. At the same time, Cherni's spirit, Undine, rushed in.
*Shwaaaaaa!*
A prison of water streams, unleashed by the spirit Undine, sealed the movements of the demon, whose magic resistance had been lowered.
Seeing this, Cherni shouted.
"Six seconds left!"
"Alright! Six seconds of free damage!"
*Pew pew pew! Boom! KABOOM!*
Beimerung's Ice Arrows, Chris's Sealing Formation, and Cherni's Stone Edge rained down on the immobilized demon.
Now free, Death of Death also continuously landed Crushing Fists on the demon's massive body.
Chris smiled.
When the tank was caught by the demon's 'grab' pattern, the demon, distracted by the tank, became vulnerable to binding skills.
Successfully binding the demon allowed the entire party to deal free damage.
Through this combo, they could rapidly deplete the demon's enormous HP pool.
*Kaaaaaaaah—!*
*Woooong.*
Six seconds later, freed from Undine's bind, the demon shook its head and began to gather energy in its arm.
*Tatat!*
Seeing the prelude to the magic pattern, the party members gathered around the Mage, Beimerung.
Once everyone had gathered, Beimerung cast Mana Barrier, and the demon's purple orb exploded upon it.
*KABOOOOOM!*
The roar and shockwave signaled the end of the final special pattern, and the demon's remaining HP was...
[Third Boss]
[Level 27 Sealed Demon]
[HP 14,874/500,000]
"Hyaaaaaaah!!"
Death of Death let out a battle cry and leaped at the demon. The ranged classes unleashed their main skills.
*BOOM!*
*Kaaaaaaah—!*
The demon let out its final roar.
*Thud.*
Its massive body collapsed onto the dome floor.
*Beep—*
[The party 'Chris's Attack Squad' has succeeded in the first-ever clear of the elite dungeon, 'Tomb of the Lesser Demon'!]
"Wow, that was exhausting."
"The second and third bosses were one thing, but the first boss was true hell."
Despite defeating the final boss of the elite dungeon 'Tomb of the Lesser Demon,' the members of 'Chris's Attack Squad' looked more exhausted than joyful.
"Now we have to keep farming this place... what are we going to do about the first boss?"
"Hmm. I can't shake the feeling that we got through by luck. Ignoring the scale pattern during the final special phase and going with a personal survival strategy worked this time."
As soon as the first boss's final special phase began, Chris's Attack Squad had left survival against the airborne 'Black Wyvern's' scale pattern up to each individual and all chased after the whelps.
Fortunately, Death of Death, who lacked a ranged protection skill, wasn't targeted. If he had been hit twice, they would have failed the raid without a doubt.
Cherni opened his messenger and exclaimed.
"Wow, I've got a ton of messages. They're asking how we beat the first boss."
"Indeed. As far as I know, no other party has even cleared the first boss yet."
"What's the proper strategy? We cleared it, but I can't shake the feeling we used a workaround."
Chris rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
In any case, this was their first clear. To get accessories and class-specific weapons for all party members, they would have to keep grinding and farming the dungeon.
For smooth farming, they needed to establish a solid strategy for the first boss.
"Without our party's level of firepower, it would be difficult to even kill all the whelps before the party-wipe breath pattern."
"By the way, didn't Death of Death survive the breath pattern once? What if we try to use that? If we can get through one breath pattern, we should have plenty of time to deal with the whelps."
"Hmm. It seems the 'invincibility during casting' on 'Backward Dodge' activated."
Chris shook her head.
"It's not easy. Cherni, do you think you could figure out the exact timing of the breath damage?"
"Uh, hmm. I see your point."
The 'Black Wyvern's' breath pattern, which spewed out and filled their entire view.
Without animal-like instincts, it would be impossible to activate Backward Dodge at the precise moment the damage registered.
"If everyone in the party could do that, we could go with a strategy where everyone survives using their own evasion skills, and we use a ranged protection skill for the scale pattern. But the difficulty is too high. If even one person fails, it's an instant game over."
"Honestly, I think it's a problem that can be solved with more firepower. If we can just take out the whelps faster with Beimerung's magic, the Black Wyvern will land sooner."
"True. For that to happen, we really need a weapon for one of our classes to drop from this reward."
Chris smiled and approached the spot where the demon had fallen. It was finally time to check the reward.
[Sealed Demon's Sword]
[Elite Grade]
[Attack Power 120]
[On successful block, linked skill 'Moonlight Slash' damage +30%]
"This is incredible."
As expected of a weapon from a level 25 elite dungeon, it had amazing stats.
Compared to the 'Orc King's Weapon,' its attack power was twice as high. It was even 50 points higher than the weapons from the Phames Desert field boss.
With this much attack power and skill multiplier, they would be able to deal with the whelps very quickly.
However, it wasn't a weapon for any of the classes in 'Chris's Attack Squad.'
"It's a sword. It's a shame it's not for any of our classes, but since it's the first weapon, we can all get a good cut of the gold."
Chris sighed and opened the auction house, then froze.
The image of a white-haired girl flashed through her mind.
Would Rain be happy if I gave her this weapon?
I can just pay the party members their share out of my own pocket and buy it to give to her.
Chris had that thought for a moment, but then she shook her head.
Just giving Rain an outfit worth a single gold coin had been met with extreme caution.
It was as difficult as trying to hand-feed a can of tuna to a feral cat.
Considering Rain's disposition, she would absolutely refuse to accept such an expensive weapon.
"I'll have to get her one later when it's cheaper. Or run the dungeon with her myself until it drops."
Chris pushed aside her disappointment and opened the auction house.
And soon, she felt that same sense of unease she had experienced when they first cleared the 'Cave of the Orc King.'
"Huh?"
Because in the auction house's 'Sealed Demon' weapon category, there was a weapon that shouldn't have existed at this point in time.
[Sealed Demon's Yin-Yang Orb]
[Elite Grade]
[Attack Power 120]
['Sealing Formation' skill damage +20%]