Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: First Named: 'Bloodmaw' (2)
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*Splat!*
*Fwoosh!*
An unknown object flew at me without warning, and I reflexively used Backstep. Where I had just been standing, a viscous liquid had splattered, slowly staining the floor green.
"Ugh."
How disgusting.
I grimaced, staring at the liquid.
This whole area was just gross. The chimeras' appearances were bad enough, but their attack methods were downright filthy.
A viscous green liquid. Getting hit by that would undoubtedly be a bad time. It was obviously poison or acid, something like that.
*Tat-tat-tat!*
I immediately veered left and started running.
Considering the projectile speed of the acid, I figured I could easily get out of range by running with the movement speed buff from Backstep.
*Splat, splat!*
The maw clung to the ceiling, continuously spewing acid. The acid was sprayed a total of four times at roughly five-second intervals.
Judging by the toxic fumes rising from the green liquid, standing in that puddle would definitely get you poisoned.
Did I have any antidotes? I quickly checked my inventory. I did have a few antidotes I'd packed just in case. Of course, the best method was not to get hit at all.
Anyway, I needed to bait the acid to the edge of the area and find a way to knock that thing down.
Fortunately, the first pool of acid evaporated and faded away. It wasn't a persistent ground effect that lasted the entire fight.
A rough strategy formed in my mind.
Dodge the maw's acid attacks and perform the special phase mechanic.
Just then, the maw, hidden in the darkness of the ceiling, coiled its body tightly.
"?!"
Then, it stretched its body out long.
*Kaaaaaaak!!!!*
A shriek, far louder than any before, echoed throughout the combat area.
"An AoE pattern."
It was probably a roar meant to burst a player's eardrums or scramble their insides with sonic vibrations.
Of course, my body was perfectly fine.
I was already prepared for an AoE pattern. The moment I saw the tell, I didn't hesitate to use the invincibility frames from Backstep's casting animation.
This confirmed it. This thing was an enhanced version of 'Black Wyvern,' the first named boss of the level 25 elite dungeon.
If so, it would naturally have a mob pattern too.
My hunch was right. But it played out a little differently.
After the maw's roar, something began to fall all over the combat area.
*Splat, splat, splat.*
They were the eggs I had seen on the lower floors of this tower.
A quick glance told me dozens of them had fallen.
The first named, Bloodmaw, was the mother of the maw-type chimeras.
*Pop, pop, pop!*
As I dodged the acid and went around breaking the eggs one by one, I fell into thought.
The eggs were spread out more widely than I expected. And they were growing incredibly fast.
The eggs were rapidly changing color, their shapes morphing like cocoons. Is this how chimeras grow?
*Kaaaaaaak!!!*
After dodging the third roar with Backstep, I could see that the eggs' state changed drastically with the named monster's cry.
Rapid growth. The mother's roar was accelerating the chimeras' development.
They were easy to deal with in their egg stage. But it seemed impossible for me to break all the eggs by myself before they all hatched. I'd be lucky to get even a third of them.
In that case.
I stopped trying to break the eggs.
No need to tire myself out dodging acid and frantically resisting the roar while running around breaking eggs.
Once all the chimeras hatch, I'll just gather them up and kill them all at once.
It would be tough if I had to rely solely on 'Moonlight Slash' for AoE damage, but now, I had a skill worth trying.
Before long, the eggs began to hatch one by one.
*Kiii, kiii, kiii.*
"Oh. They're baby maws."
I grinned at the dozens of small maws rising to their feet all around me.
For a moment, I had the silly worry, *What if the baby maws are cute? How could I kill them then?* But they looked no different from their mother. They were just smaller. Still, they were about my size.
*Kiii, kiii, kiii.*
The baby maws scurried towards me. The sight of dozens of maws shrieking and charging at me was reminiscent of a scene from a dinosaur movie.
Perhaps as a side effect of their rapid growth, their HP was clearly lower than the chimeras on the lower floors. The problem was the sheer number of baby maws and the named maw's continuing attack patterns.
*Tat-tat-tat!*
I quickly started dodging the mother maw's acid while lining up the baby maws.
Then, at the right moment, I turned.
*Chk.*
I lowered my stance, bending my knees.
Gripping my hilt tightly, I assumed the starting posture.
12 meters forward, 4 meters wide.
I had a good grasp of this skill's range and damage by now.
I had also timed the mother maw's pattern.
All preparations were complete.
My eyes widened as I calmly waited for the baby maws to enter my range.
Two seconds... one second...
The moment the mother maw coiled up, then stretched out for its sonic AoE attack.
At the same time, all the baby maws entered my range.
*Kaaaaaaak!!!!*
In that instant, my body shot forward like an arrow.
[Flash Strike]
[Cooldown: 1 minute]
[Invincible during cast]
[???]
*Kwakwakwakwa!*
*Thud-thud-thud.*
The severed and torn corpses of the baby maws littered the ground around me.
*Thump.*
At the same time, the named maw dropped from the ceiling.
*Kaaaaaaak!*
Seemingly enraged, the maw roared loudly and charged at me.
I gave the maw a smile over the top of my sword.
"Now, you're dead."
***
"Okay, the second area seems to have a similar layout. Just like the first, we need to figure out the aggro range of the chimera cocoons and move between them. I'll take the lead, so follow me carefully in a single file."
"The trash mobs are easy. Or does it just feel that way because you're so good at gauging the aggro range, Chris? Other parties are probably struggling to fight their way through hundreds of chimeras from the entrance, right?"
Chris shook her head at Beimerung's cheerful voice.
"Not necessarily. The top parties would have figured out the layout of the mob sections. Remember the forward base."
"Hmm, a party like No Name certainly wouldn't have wasted time on a long, unnecessary fight."
Cherni, who was following behind Death of Death, agreed with him.
"Yes. The Rain I know wouldn't waste time in a place like this."
"Rain's party probably beat the first named boss quickly too, right?"
The first named, 'Bloodmaw'.
As expected of an enhanced version of the wyvern, there was no special mechanic to bring the boss down early. You had to just stubbornly break all the eggs.
However, for Chris's party, which had experience beating the wyvern without relying on mechanics, it wasn't a particularly difficult fight.
They resisted the AoE with party protection skills, while Beimerung and Cherni kited the acid to the sides. Then, the four of them moved in perfect sync to deal with all the eggs before they could hatch.
Killing the chimeras after they hatched was an option, but fighting so many of them while dealing with the AoE patterns would have been extremely difficult. Dealing with them in the egg stage was the easiest way.
"Definitely. The party we need to watch out for is No Name."
The No Name party, with their overwhelmingly skilled swordsman, Rain. Since Chris's party had taken down the first named boss so quickly, the No Name party must have also cleared it without much trouble.
"Come on, why is everyone talking about the No Name party? Let's just stick to our own pace!"
Chris tried to change the subject. But Beimerung, walking right behind her, was grinning.
"Ahem~? Aren't you the one who's most concerned about them, Chris?"
"W-What are you talking about?"
"You're head over heels for Rain. You want her to do well, but at the same time, you want to beat her, right?"
"......."
Chris's face turned red as she walked on in silence for a moment.
Rain was like a wary stray cat that wouldn't let anyone touch her. How much effort had it taken to lower her guard and develop a relationship where they could hold hands?
At first, Chris had been drawn to her cute appearance. But as she got to know Rain, she fell deeper and deeper for her mysterious charm.
The small smiles she occasionally showed made Chris happy.
But likewise, whenever she saw that rare, empty look in her obsidian eyes, her heart would sink.
"She's just... hard to leave alone, you know? She seems so precarious at times."
"......."
The playful laughter from behind her abruptly stopped. When Chris looked back in confusion, Beimerung had already started grinning again.
"Okay, okay, so our Chris thinks about Rain a lot. Anyway, you're not planning on letting them have the first clear, are you?"
"Of course not. That and this are two different things! It's a friendly competition."
While they were chatting, Chris's attack squad reached the upper part of the second area and soon saw a chimera in the center of the combat zone.
"Oh. The second named is just out in the open."
The head of a ferocious beast with hair sticking out in all directions, like a lion's mane.
Its massive, muscle-bound body looked like what you'd get if the Orc King bulked up.
Chris stroked her chin as she assessed its appearance.
"A lion and, hmm... a rather large demon fused together?"
"C-Chris. Did you check the named interface?"
"Huh?"
Seeing the utterly bewildered look on Death of Death's face, Chris checked the named monster's status window.
Soon, Chris couldn't help but make a similar expression.
"Wh-What is this?"
The named bosses in the 'Demon Army's Forward Base' had around 3 million HP.
The first named of 'Aspero's Citadel,' Bloodmaw, had 4 million HP.
And the second named's HP was...
[Second Named]
[Level 40 Lion Valgar]
[HP 20,000,000/20,000,000]