Chapter 460: Raid (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 460: Raid (5)
A Lord of the Floor was a type of boss monster on each floor that appeared when certain summoning conditions were met. Normally, they were considered targets for high-rank raids, as anyone attempting to defeat one would need the specs of an experienced seventh-floor Rift adventurer at the very least. However, that only applied to the fifth floor and below. From the sixth floor up, the difficulty of each Lord of the Floor jumped exponentially, to the point where they were considered end-game content only.
So why is our first raid against a Lord of the Floor?
Considering that the highest Rift we'd ever cleared was the fourth floor's Doppelganger Forest, it was nuts to attempt to take on a Lord of the Floor. Not only that, there were only four of us. Not even enough people for a full party, let alone enough to form an attack squadron.
We do have several rank-three essences, though. I'm sure we can at least land the final blow on it.
As soon as I spotted Riakis alone in the distance, I came to a decision. At this point, it would be moronic to not be greedy.
I made a promise back then.
Like a child, I made a promise to myself that the next time I saw this bastard—
Guoooooo!
Things would be different.
"Yandel, what are we going to do?"
"Oh, I'll block his attacks, so focus on attacking back."
"...That's it?"
After hearing my simple orders, Amelia stared at me in disbelief. However, that was the closest thing to a plan of attack anyone could manage when fighting Riakis in his fourth phase. There was no reason to come up with a strategy. All you needed to do was hit him and hit him hard.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has sensed a source of life.]
When we stepped within a certain radius of him, he suddenly stopped running amok on all fours and looked our way.
Guoooooo!
With a ferocious roar, he charged at us. The sound of his footfalls was noticeably different from the first phase.
Stomp, stomp, stomp!
They were still heavy, but now, he was much lighter than before, meaning the speed at which he was running was that much faster. Riakis's Phase Four was all about agility, after all.
"Everyone, stand behind me."
Once my teammates were behind me, I cast Transcendence and Giantization.
[Your Physique grows in proportion to your Strength.]
If Riakis were still in his first phase, I wouldn't have even been able to reach his chin. However, now that he had shrunk in size and strength, I was a match for him. It was one of the many advantages of Giantization.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has sensed a great threat in you.]
When your Threat Level rose during a raid, you naturally drew the enemy's aggro. And when would this guy have ever met a threat like me? His would-be prey was now at eye level.
"Behel—aaah!"
My Threat Level had risen even without me needing to activate Wild Outburst, but I still let out a fierce roar as I headed straight for him. This was a form I liked to call Giant Shield Charge.
Booom!
There was a powerful crash as my giant barbarian shield and the giant monster's body collided. Unfortunately, I was the one who was forced backward, but I had expected as much. It would be absurd to think that I had muscle strength and stats comparable to a Lord of the Floor.
Whack!
I cast Swing and swung my hammer at him, but he didn't even flinch. Shouldn't he at least blink when someone bashed his chin in? Riakis then immediately clawed at me with his front paw, knocking me off balance.
Graaaaaawr!
Riakis's Phase Four was way too agile. I had no chance of dodging the swipe, but there was no real reason to dodge it in the first place.
Whack!
He wasn't the only one with tough skin. Just like my hammer didn't hurt him, him hitting me wouldn't hurt me either.
...But why is my head spinning?
I had to revise that assertion as soon as I took stock of my current condition. My Physical Resistance was strong enough to prevent my head from flying clean off my shoulders, but...
I can't let him hit me in the head anymore.
The shock wave from the blow rattled through my skull and down my spine. The last time I had ever experienced a head injury this bad was when I was beaten by my middle school P.E. teacher.
"Bjorn!"
I tossed the childhood memories that were clouding my mind aside and focused on the present.
Fwooosh!
He pushed forward once more, swinging his front paw at me.
Clang!
This time, I was able to block it with my shield. The timing was perfect too, as my damage dealers could now go on the offensive.
[Amelia Rainwales has cast Self-Replication.]
Amelia rushed in from either side with her clones.
Slash.
With no intention of holding back, she cast Power of the Abyss and slashed at Riakis's ankles and thighs.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Repeated Slash.]
At the same time, Ainar leaped high into the air and brought her sword down on his shoulder. However, unlike before, no explosion followed. She was no longer fighting weak mob monsters that would die in one hit, after all.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Wildness Control.]
She whipped out a skill from the very essence I had recommended to her when we received our reward from the royal family all those years ago. The effect of this skill was rather simple.
[All effects applicable to her next attack will be converted into Cutting Force.]
The damage of her three conditional skills—Blast Scars, Mandel Oil, and Residual Heat—would all be converted into Cutting Force.
Slash.
In other words, she could freely switch between raid mode and hunting mode. Although it still wasn't enough to land the final blow, she could finally tear into the boss's thick skin, earning her a few drops of his black blood.
Guooooooooo!
I knew Amelia would be able to deal some damage, but Ainar was also holding up better than I expected. All that remained was Erwen.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Concentrated Fire.]
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Element Synthesis.]
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Rupture.]
Needless to say, she was doing fine.
"Mister, get out of the way!"
Whack!
I cast Swing and swung my hammer at him, but he didn't even flinch. Shouldn't he at least blink when someone bashed his chin in? Riakis then immediately clawed at me with his front paw, knocking me off balance.
Graaaaaawr!
Riakis's Phase Four was way too agile. I had no chance of dodging the swipe, but there was no real reason to dodge it in the first place.
Whack!
He wasn't the only one with tough skin. Just like my hammer didn't hurt him, him hitting me wouldn't hurt me either.
...But why is my head spinning?
I had to revise that assertion as soon as I took stock of my current condition. My Physical Resistance was strong enough to prevent my head from flying clean off my shoulders, but...
I can't let him hit me in the head anymore.
The shock wave from the blow rattled through my skull and down my spine. The last time I had ever experienced a head injury this bad was when I was beaten by my middle school P.E. teacher.
"Bjorn!"
I tossed the childhood memories that were clouding my mind aside and focused on the present.
Fwooosh!
He pushed forward once more, swinging his front paw at me.
Clang!
This time, I was able to block it with my shield. The timing was perfect too, as my damage dealers could now go on the offensive.
[Amelia Rainwales has cast Self-Replication.]
Amelia rushed in from either side with her clones.
Slash.
With no intention of holding back, she cast Power of the Abyss and slashed at Riakis's ankles and thighs.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Repeated Slash.]
At the same time, Ainar leaped high into the air and brought her sword down on his shoulder. However, unlike before, no explosion followed. She was no longer fighting weak mob monsters that would die in one hit, after all.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Wildness Control.]
She whipped out a skill from the very essence I had recommended to her when we received our reward from the royal family all those years ago. The effect of this skill was rather simple.
[All effects applicable to her next attack will be converted into Cutting Force.]
The damage of her three conditional skills—Blast Scars, Mandel Oil, and Residual Heat—would all be converted into Cutting Force.
Slash.
In other words, she could freely switch between raid mode and hunting mode. Although it still wasn't enough to land the final blow, she could finally tear into the boss's thick skin, earning her a few drops of his black blood.
Guooooooooo!
I knew Amelia would be able to deal some damage, but Ainar was also holding up better than I expected. All that remained was Erwen.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Concentrated Fire.]
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Element Synthesis.]
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Rupture.]
Needless to say, she was doing fine.
"Mister, get out of the way!"
Since I had already fought alongside Erwen many times before, I moved to the side the moment I heard that. I knew exactly what she was aiming for.
Flash.
With a brilliant burst of light, a plant popped out of the ground.
Fwoosh!
The stalk shot forward at speeds that broke the sound barrier before smashing into Riakis.
Boooooom!
The entire area lit up from the resulting explosion.
Guoooooo!
As I watched the boss cry out in agony, I couldn't help but grin. Erwen's attack still wasn't anywhere near enough to finish Riakis off.
But jeez. With that one shot, she cracked its skull.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has cast Corrupted Horns.]
Now, the real raid would begin.
***
The first phase of the Lord of Chaos's attack pattern was quite simple. Due to his passive aura skill Rain of Despair and his Spirits of Chaos, the entire floor was gradually corroded away. From the deteriorating land, marbles that could restore his health would occasionally begin to appear. During this phase, there was only one real thing to worry about: Evil Hiatus.
It was an instant-kill ability that activated after Riakis ate a certain number of marbles, but one that was possible to avoid since all you had to do was run away. The problem was that once you left a specified radius, someone would be marked as Prey and fall into an incapacitated state. Riakis would focus his aggro on the designated Prey, and once he devoured them, his baseline stats would rise, further increasing the difficulty of the next phase.
Well, after the first phase, things get pretty simple since you go into pure combat.
The true battle began in the second phase.
Once his health dropped below a certain threshold, Riakis would feel threatened and open the Gate of Chaos, which would suck everyone within his vicinity inside. There, the ground would gradually, permanently corrode away, and each adventurer would be subject to an effect that significantly ate away at their mental state. The player had to track down Riakis in the worst possible conditions, and by the time you found him, Riakis would have already been buffed beyond belief with countless combat modifiers, making him even more difficult to fight. It was truly the most difficult phase by far.
However, it was a different story if you had a Purification Torch. So long as you managed to hold onto the torch for two days, the Gate of Chaos would close, and you would be returned to your original location.
Getting a torch for every single member of your clan is the tricky part, but if you can do it, it does make Phase Two much easier.
Of course, there was also a major drawback to this strategy. If you used that freebie to reach the third phase, Riakis would not only be in full health, but he would also be much stronger than before. Regardless, it was still better than not using the torch, which is why I used it myself back in the old days.
By the third phase, the Spirits of Chaos disappeared from the third floor. Instead, Rain of Despair began to intensify. Areas exposed to the rain would quickly erode, and the same went for your equipment. Until the labyrinth closed, your Numbered Items would lose any and all effectiveness, and the defensive capacity of even adamantium-level armor would be drastically reduced, right down to the level of ordinary iron equipment.
The third phase... That's probably when the Sawtooth Clan ended up failing.
At that point, the torches were no longer able to protect you. You were simply forced to fight an even stronger Riakis. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Sawtooth Clan had planned to defeat Riakis through sheer numbers alone, making sure to carefully manage the aggro and damage dealt.
Since I had already fought alongside Erwen many times before, I moved to the side the moment I heard that. I knew exactly what she was aiming for.
Flash.
With a brilliant burst of light, a plant popped out of the ground.
Fwoosh!
The stalk shot forward at speeds that broke the sound barrier before smashing into Riakis.
Boooooom!
The entire area lit up from the resulting explosion.
Guoooooo!
As I watched the boss cry out in agony, I couldn't help but grin. Erwen's attack still wasn't anywhere near enough to finish Riakis off.
But jeez. With that one shot, she cracked its skull.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has cast Corrupted Horns.]
Now, the real raid would begin.
***
The first phase of the Lord of Chaos's attack pattern was quite simple. Due to his passive aura skill Rain of Despair and his Spirits of Chaos, the entire floor was gradually corroded away. From the deteriorating land, marbles that could restore his health would occasionally begin to appear. During this phase, there was only one real thing to worry about: Evil Hiatus.
It was an instant-kill ability that activated after Riakis ate a certain number of marbles, but one that was possible to avoid since all you had to do was run away. The problem was that once you left a specified radius, someone would be marked as Prey and fall into an incapacitated state. Riakis would focus his aggro on the designated Prey, and once he devoured them, his baseline stats would rise, further increasing the difficulty of the next phase.
Well, after the first phase, things get pretty simple since you go into pure combat.
The true battle began in the second phase.
Once his health dropped below a certain threshold, Riakis would feel threatened and open the Gate of Chaos, which would suck everyone within his vicinity inside. There, the ground would gradually, permanently corrode away, and each adventurer would be subject to an effect that significantly ate away at their mental state. The player had to track down Riakis in the worst possible conditions, and by the time you found him, Riakis would have already been buffed beyond belief with countless combat modifiers, making him even more difficult to fight. It was truly the most difficult phase by far.
However, it was a different story if you had a Purification Torch. So long as you managed to hold onto the torch for two days, the Gate of Chaos would close, and you would be returned to your original location.
Getting a torch for every single member of your clan is the tricky part, but if you can do it, it does make Phase Two much easier.
Of course, there was also a major drawback to this strategy. If you used that freebie to reach the third phase, Riakis would not only be in full health, but he would also be much stronger than before. Regardless, it was still better than not using the torch, which is why I used it myself back in the old days.
By the third phase, the Spirits of Chaos disappeared from the third floor. Instead, Rain of Despair began to intensify. Areas exposed to the rain would quickly erode, and the same went for your equipment. Until the labyrinth closed, your Numbered Items would lose any and all effectiveness, and the defensive capacity of even adamantium-level armor would be drastically reduced, right down to the level of ordinary iron equipment.
The third phase... That's probably when the Sawtooth Clan ended up failing.
At that point, the torches were no longer able to protect you. You were simply forced to fight an even stronger Riakis. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Sawtooth Clan had planned to defeat Riakis through sheer numbers alone, making sure to carefully manage the aggro and damage dealt.
Otherwise, there's no way their battle against him would have dragged on for so many hours in the third phase.
I wasn't absolutely positive about where their raid went wrong. Something unexpected must have happened. Dungeon and Stone had always been that type of game, in which the smallest mistakes could result in irreversible damage.
Still, they must have done a good job of preparing for this. They even managed to get him to the fourth phase, somehow...
Thanks to that, their stroke of misfortune was my stroke of luck. The most difficult thing about Phase Four was having all your equipment ruined before the fight even began. Luckily for us, we didn't have to worry about that.
How could I pass up on something as delicious as this?
It was like they'd hand-delivered me the entire pie for free. Even if I ended up with an upset stomach later, it was only right for me to indulge now. Who knew, an essence might even drop. And if it did, that would make things a hell of a lot easier for us going forward.
Booom!
The bloodbath lasted for over thirty minutes. Erwen shot an arrow that sank deep into Riakis's left eye.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has cast Corrupt Left Eye.]
All right then, there went the second eye.
Whooosh!
An ominous black smoke arose from his eye socket. Beyond the smoke came a faint, eerie glow.
Even as we tore through his flesh and shot at his eyes, he no longer groaned. It was like he was growing more and more lifeless by the minute.
We've cut off quite a few of his claws already... I think that makes seven parts that've been corrupted.
The theme of the fourth phase was simple. As Riakis continued to take damage, he began to corrupt parts of his body to recover, becoming slightly stronger each time.
That makes eleven.
All we needed was one more. If you corrupted twelve of his thirty-six body parts, the battle would end.
"Everyone, get back!"
The moment my teammates got behind me, Riakis began to rush at us in a last-ditch attack.
[Riakis's corrupted power has begun to overflow.]
It was only natural that a boss would have an explosive finishing move. Now, it was a race against time.
[Blessing for Pilgrims: a mysterious energy concealed in the Chaos has begun to purify Riakis's corruption.]
It would only take about ten minutes for Riakis to completely purify his corrupted body. Before that happened, we needed to land one final—
"M-Mister!" Erwen shouted.
What was the problem? There shouldn't have been any curveballs to worry about at this point.
"Th-there are a few dozen people heading this way! Very quickly as well!"
"What?" Dozens? Who the hell was it? Was it the barbarians we left back at the camp? Did they come because they were worried about us? That was the first possibility that came to mind.
"...I think it's the Sawtooth Clan!"
Well, nothing in the world ever came easy, huh?
"What?! Didn't they fail?" Ainar yelled, unable to hide her bewilderment. I felt the same way.
What... Why are they suddenly coming back?
I didn't get it at all. Not only that, but they were coming in a group of dozens. If there were that many of them still alive, why was Riakis just wandering around alone? Didn't they fail?
I had countless unanswered questions. However, right now, there was one thing I knew for sure.
They're coming...
This was the worst-case scenario for us. There was no way they'd had a change of heart.
For them to come back just as we were about to land the final blow...
They wouldn't just sit back and watch us kill him.
Yeah, but regardless...
This doesn't change a thing.
[Purification Rate: 1%]
There were about ten minutes left until Riakis fully recovered. And our safest bet was to assume the actual time was even less than that.
Thus, I acted like the simple, fearless barbarian I now was.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
"M-Mister?"
"What are you doing?! Hurry up and kill it!"
We could worry about the future later.
Otherwise, there's no way their battle against him would have dragged on for so many hours in the third phase.
I wasn't absolutely positive about where their raid went wrong. Something unexpected must have happened. Dungeon and Stone had always been that type of game, in which the smallest mistakes could result in irreversible damage.
Still, they must have done a good job of preparing for this. They even managed to get him to the fourth phase, somehow...
Thanks to that, their stroke of misfortune was my stroke of luck. The most difficult thing about Phase Four was having all your equipment ruined before the fight even began. Luckily for us, we didn't have to worry about that.
How could I pass up on something as delicious as this?
It was like they'd hand-delivered me the entire pie for free. Even if I ended up with an upset stomach later, it was only right for me to indulge now. Who knew, an essence might even drop. And if it did, that would make things a hell of a lot easier for us going forward.
Booom!
The bloodbath lasted for over thirty minutes. Erwen shot an arrow that sank deep into Riakis's left eye.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has cast Corrupt Left Eye.]
All right then, there went the second eye.
Whooosh!
An ominous black smoke arose from his eye socket. Beyond the smoke came a faint, eerie glow.
Even as we tore through his flesh and shot at his eyes, he no longer groaned. It was like he was growing more and more lifeless by the minute.
We've cut off quite a few of his claws already... I think that makes seven parts that've been corrupted.
The theme of the fourth phase was simple. As Riakis continued to take damage, he began to corrupt parts of his body to recover, becoming slightly stronger each time.
That makes eleven.
All we needed was one more. If you corrupted twelve of his thirty-six body parts, the battle would end.
"Everyone, get back!"
The moment my teammates got behind me, Riakis began to rush at us in a last-ditch attack.
[Riakis's corrupted power has begun to overflow.]
It was only natural that a boss would have an explosive finishing move. Now, it was a race against time.
[Blessing for Pilgrims: a mysterious energy concealed in the Chaos has begun to purify Riakis's corruption.]
It would only take about ten minutes for Riakis to completely purify his corrupted body. Before that happened, we needed to land one final—
"M-Mister!" Erwen shouted.
What was the problem? There shouldn't have been any curveballs to worry about at this point.
"Th-there are a few dozen people heading this way! Very quickly as well!"
"What?" Dozens? Who the hell was it? Was it the barbarians we left back at the camp? Did they come because they were worried about us? That was the first possibility that came to mind.
"...I think it's the Sawtooth Clan!"
Well, nothing in the world ever came easy, huh?
"What?! Didn't they fail?" Ainar yelled, unable to hide her bewilderment. I felt the same way.
What... Why are they suddenly coming back?
I didn't get it at all. Not only that, but they were coming in a group of dozens. If there were that many of them still alive, why was Riakis just wandering around alone? Didn't they fail?
I had countless unanswered questions. However, right now, there was one thing I knew for sure.
They're coming...
This was the worst-case scenario for us. There was no way they'd had a change of heart.
For them to come back just as we were about to land the final blow...
They wouldn't just sit back and watch us kill him.
Yeah, but regardless...
This doesn't change a thing.
[Purification Rate: 1%]
There were about ten minutes left until Riakis fully recovered. And our safest bet was to assume the actual time was even less than that.
Thus, I acted like the simple, fearless barbarian I now was.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
"M-Mister?"
"What are you doing?! Hurry up and kill it!"
We could worry about the future later.