Dragon Slayer (5)
Success and failure, winners and losers—they've always been decided by that split-second choice. So even though the summoned mobs outnumbered them, if they weren't going to give up now, they had to come up with the right answer to push through this moment somehow.
If he'd been alone, there would've been no solution at all. But fortunately, he had reliable comrades he could count on.
Even as a Knight-grade titan, Levendus had a skill called Concentrated Defense that boosted its defense by 200%. That's why it could still handle the main tank role for a bit longer.
The archer squad's combined DPS is impressive, but any single one's output is negligible. So even if Levendus goes into untargetable Concentrated Defense mode, the aggro shouldn't bounce!
But that respite wouldn't last. Levendus couldn't recover its health, and time was running out.
Sandro halted his attacks on Tu Mertus and turned to the giant ents scattered everywhere, hurling daggers and magic missiles. Regardless of whether he could hold out, preventing the summoned mobs from charging the party and breaking their formation was priority one.
"Sandro!!"
Kaiser's shout came from the left. He'd switched his flame barrier to ice mode at some point. One look in his eyes, and Sandro knew exactly what he was thinking.
He's gonna use the ice barrier's freeze effect to pull the ten ents on the left!
He couldn't kill them, but slowing ten ents with a speed debuff was manageable. Kaiser had called his name, banking on Rapunzel's heals to endure until Sandro cleared his side.
Ten was still a stretch, but it halved their burden. Sandro sidestepped the approaching ones to avoid encirclement, bursting them down one by one. Ra Chan amplified his efforts with arrows boosted by Unyielding Valor.
Thanks to their steady pace, the mobs were thinning out nicely. But as if to prove it was no ordinary boss, amid the chaos, it unleashed another breath attack.
"Dodge! Breath incoming! Enhanced magic circle!"
Unable to reach Volpo and the party with the ents in tow, Sandro used Shadow Step on Tu Mertus to evade. Kaiser, pulling mobs from afar, summoned an unfamiliar ice wall to block the blast. Without Rapunzel's clutch heals and specialized barriers, it would've been instant death.
They weathered the storm of simultaneous mob summons and breath. In the brief lull, Sandro rapidly cleared the remaining giant ents. Kaiser, down to a handful, joined in and they wrapped it up in no time.
"Breath while we're cleaning summons? Nearly died there. Sandro, even if more drop, you're not giving up?"
"It's tough, but the boss is under half HP! Titan's still up—let's shave it down as fast as we can!"
Without their quick adaptations, someone would've died, and the party would've collapsed like dominoes. Success wasn't guaranteed, but they had no choice but to charge toward the end.
Refocusing on Tu Mertus, they chipped away relentlessly. A few more breaths came, but Chuk Bol's titan shielded them all without the golem. After enduring two linked assaults while dealing damage, they finally hit the long-awaited 25% phase.
But true to its insane difficulty, the drake lived up to its name.
"Kyaoooo!"
Fwaaaa!
Entering the next phase, it hit them with a surprise Dragon Fear followed by breath—an excruciating combo. They'd overlooked it after the opener, and using it right before breath left them helpless.
Levendus, as a titan, was immune to Dragon Fear. But being locked in Concentrated Defense without stunning it was their misfortune.
The 3-second stun ended. The party took minor breath exposure but dodged behind Chuk Bol's titan with mobility skills. The NPC archers, however, flanking the titan, wiped out pathetically.
"This thing's insane! How do we even kill it?!"
"Mass Heal! Greater Heal! Chuk Bol! Quit whining and get in there for one more hit! No archers to protect now!"
Exactly. With the NPCs gone, pure burst DPS mode was the play—not cautious play.
"Die!!"
As Chuk Bol's titan charged with its long spear, the boss revealed its final phase pattern: wings spread wide, it lifted off, dodging attacks.
The sealed lair limited it to 30 meters up, but that was enough to crush their hopes. No archers left, melee titans couldn't reach.
Levendus, enduring Poison Nova, finally depleted and unsummoned. Hyunjung's Celestial Shield saved him from the follow-up magic, but he stood frozen, staring at the airborne Tu Mertus.
Maybe 'give up' crossed everyone's mind. But not Sandro's.
Simulating patterns solo during prep, he'd accounted for this.
Not a winged boss for nothing. It's a gamble... but it'll work!
He summoned his frost wolf, Rambo, and zipped to the wall. Leaping like flight, he stuck and climbed with Great Thief Willipeng's Strange Boots.
Fluid as practice, he reached the ceiling above Tu Mertus's head.
Thud!
He dropped straight down—the same diving opener. But not barehanded this time.
"Luitus, summon!"
A magic circle etched the air; Luitus burst forth. Sandro merged with the titan, crashing onto the hovering drake.
Thud! Boom!
The collision rocked the lair, followed by a heavy crash as they slammed groundward. Titanics' precise physics couldn't handle the weight on its back.
Sandro gripped its neck, stabbing wildly with his massive sword. No more strategies—just pure, efficient damage, no wasted movement.
As if sensing his resolve, the party unleashed their best skills. Hyunjung and Kaiser slashed at its feet; healers Chuk Bing and Rapunzel switched staves to bows. Pre-summoned Rambo clawed its side, applying freeze—half-effective as a field boss pet, but 50% attack/speed slow was huge. Full 100% damage too.
No archers, yet DPS matched prior pace.
15%. Dragon Fear and breath incoming, but unstunned Sandro's Judgment Advance knocked it back, canceling.
10%. It summoned 40 ents—double before—nearly panicking them. But Kaiser's Magic Missile/Fire Storm and Ra Chan's Multishot split aggro evenly. They kited toward the entrance.
"Won't last long—kill it quick, hyungnim!!"
Sandro glanced: Ra Chan backstepping, waving; Kaiser thumbs-up, pulling mobs. Hyunjung dodged front paw swipes; Chuk Bol speared relentlessly. Chuk Bing and Rapunzel healed through ranged magic.
No words needed—their comrades nailed their roles in the melee, flawlessly.
Not just competently—the optimal responses. A joy beyond trust: true reliable allies swelled his chest.
5%, 4%, 3%... The flashy name bar bottomed out. Wings flapping futilely, pinned by Luitus and Tiese Knights.
Finally, the battle's end resounded—not poison breath, but agonized screech from its maw.
"To mere humans, I... But He shall never forgive you...!"
Green winds engulfed it head to toe. Sucked into a point, it vanished traceless.
In its place: a mountain of drops unseen in any boss raid.
Corner vision filled with system logs.
'The Qualified'
'Elite Few'
'Dragon Slayer'
Dragon Slayer: Linked Quest, One-Time Quest cleared!
Even the server-wide log, never updated for field bosses, now bore their feat.
What they'd just achieved rivaled founding a nation—a monumental feat broadcast server-wide!