Chapter 42: Piercing the Armored Beast
Carpe was the first to snap out of the panic.
"Whoa, that gave me a real scare."
He'd half-expected it, but when it actually happened, his body had frozen up solid.
Still, thinking about it calmly, the massive bug right in front of him wasn't all that tough.
Compared to Mainades from the pit dungeon or his Patron Spirit, this thing was pathetically fragile—barely worth mentioning.
Of course, that was purely in terms of raw power... Factor in the visuals, and it was a whole different story.
Unfortunately, the world was still all about looks.
"Huuuuh."
He took a deep breath, the cave's chilly air filling his lungs and sharpening his mind.
Alright. I'm good now.
With a cool head, the thing didn't seem quite so vicious anymore. If anything, its sheer size made it feel unreal.
Less creepy crawly, more just another monster to fight.
But that was only true for Carpe.
I'm closing my eyes. For real. Gonna plug my ears too. Damn it, soul state means I can't block 'em out!
"...You watching a horror flick or something?"
Horror would've been better. That thing's straight-up unfilmable!
And Hanjo was in even worse shape than Cheonma.
"This humble one... this humble one... cannot. Bugs are a no-go."
Even as she muttered that, she was forming hand seals, zipping left and right with her evasion skill. Baeksul was scampering after her mistress in a total fluster.
...The willpower to stick to her concept even when her mental game's shattered was impressive.
"Ninja art! Cicada shell shed!"
Wrong. She'd already retreated into her own world.
Cheonma could at least hold a basic conversation, but Hanjo seemed beyond that.
She looked like she had some deep-seated trauma with bugs.
She'd need more time to pull herself together.
"Come to think of it, her scream earlier was kinda weird..."
Not kinda—super weird.
That pleasant mid-low tone had suddenly jumped to soprano.
"Anyway, we'll worry about that later."
First things first: deal with the bug.
"Hmph. That all you got? Hah!"
Tina was holding it off solo just fine.
She easily parried the giant slater's antenna strikes with her sword.
With all its points dumped into visuals, its combat prowess was lacking.
Clang!
But Tina's attacks weren't landing much either.
That tough-looking carapace wasn't for show. Her sword strikes made it flinch, but no real damage.
"Looks like it should have a weak spot somewhere..."
Ugh. Don't look at me like that, but I got no clue on this guy. Never even imagined fighting it.
"Yeah, figured. I'll handle this—you guys work on your nerves."
Luckily, Carpe had an item perfect for scouting strategies.
"Let's check it out."
Carpe activated Dragon's Eye on the giant slater, and its info laid bare.
Ding.
Skills:
- Lightning Speed (7-star, Boss Exclusive)
- Tough Exterior, Soft Interior Carapace (6-star, Boss Exclusive)
- Body Slam (2-star)
Equipped Items: None
"Oh?"
Boss-exclusive skills, huh.
Come to think of it, Cheonma had mentioned something like that.
Like the weird cooldown on Mainades' auto-magic shield.
He tapped the skills section, and detailed descriptions popped up.
Lightning Speed Lv. 1 (Master) - 7-star
Giant Slater's exclusive skill. At 30% HP or below, enters Phase 2 with 200% increased movement speed. Can move on walls, ceilings, etc.
Tough Exterior, Soft Interior Carapace Lv. 3 - 6-star
Tough outside, soft inside. Vulnerable to physical/magic penetration, but greatly increased physical/magic defense.
• 90% reduction to physical/magic damage.
• 30% vulnerable to penetration damage.
• 50% vulnerable to elemental penetration damage.
"Penetration damage, huh..."
He'd found the weak point, but it wasn't much help.
Carpe had no piercing weapons or skills right now.
"Tch. Guess I'll have to brute-force it?"
The 90% damage cut made pure magic iffy, but he had to try something.
"Lightning Arrow!"
Boom!
The Lightning Arrow slammed into the slater's back.
As expected, it just flinched—no major damage. Just a bit of scorch on the carapace.
"How much did that do?"
Carpe had been using Dragon's Eye on cooldown during the sea cave dungeon.
And through experiments, he'd discovered a killer feature: real-time info updates.
As long as the window stayed open, it refreshed the target's stats live.
Meaning he could track remaining HP in real time.
Like right now.
"Huh?"
HP had dropped 1% from the first scan.
90% magic reduction, and one Lightning Arrow did that?
"This might actually... Hyang-ah."
"Kyuuu!"
"Rat-mouse thunder!"
"Kyukyukyu!"
Kaboom!
Calling Thunder hit the boss's back, and HP dropped another 1%.
"What the hell."
90% damage reduction, yet 1% per hit.
Without the reduction, ten spells would've ended it.
Carpe reached a conclusion.
"Tanky defense, but low HP pool, huh."
Based on the evidence, sure—but actually, Carpe was wrong.
The giant slater's HP was average or even above for its level boss peers.
The reason a 90%-reduced spell chipped 1% was simpler.
It hurt like hell!
Just Carpe and Mukhyang being ridiculously overpowered.
"Elemental Arrow cooldown's about 5 seconds, so..."
100 shots: 500 seconds. Under 10 minutes. MP pots were plentiful, no mana issues.
Plus Tina and Mukhyang's attacks—way faster in practice.
Assuming the boss took every hit, that is.
"Lightning Speed. That's the problem."
7-star boss exclusive. Nasty ability. Already fast, and Phase 2 doubles speed.
"Phase 2, and it'll be hard to land hits."
Wall-crawling chaos incoming. Hit rate would tank.
Best case: drop it to 30% in one shot...
Pie in the sky? Not entirely.
Tough Exterior, Soft Interior.
The answer was there.
"Tina! How long can you hold that state?"
"All day if needed, my lord. I won't let it near you."
"Solid. Count on you."
Heroic line got a nod from Carpe.
First: whittle to near 30%. Then the plan.
"Lightning Arrow!"
"Kyuuu!"
Bam! Kaboom!
Spells flew on cooldown. Slater's huge size made aim easy—every shot hit.
"Kieeeek!"
Repeated 1% shocks frayed its nerves, agro nearly shifting to Carpe—but
"Eyes on me!"
Tina's sword grazed an antenna, refocusing its rage on her.
Unlike users relying on taunt skills, she was different.
She'd fought Patron Spirits on the front lines in a war deciding the world's fate 800 years ago.
Binding a low-IQ monster worse than a goblin? No skill needed.
"Mana +15."
Mana stat increased by 15.
Bam! Boom!
Stat boost: 1% per hit became 1.5-2%.
About five minutes later.
Smooth sailing—HP at exactly 33%.
Whew. Whatever your plan, it's working.
Huh? You good now?
Yeah. Cracked an eye—looks manageable.
Still no straight-on stare, though.
Boss skill Tough Exterior? Damn, no penetration makes it a slog... Why's its HP dropping like that?
Got spooked at 90%, but it's peeling fine.
...Yeah. That's you alright.
Anyway, endgame now—watch.
Carpe yelled to Tina.
"Tina! Any gap in that carapace for a sword thrust?"
"...Your sword, my lord?"
Tina closely inspected the carapace.
Then nodded.
"Seems possible. But the structure won't allow deep wounds. Sword tip might nick the flesh..."
"That's plenty. Keep its eyes on you."
"As you command."
"Huu. Alright then."
Carpe pulled Green Skin Slayer from inventory and equipped it.
...Ah, got it. Doable.
Cheonma nodded, catching on.
Carpe took a short breath.
From outside its sight, he leaped at its back with full force.
"Kiggit?!"
But giant slater was a bug—an insect.
No eyes needed; sensitive antennae picked up positions.
The air's faint vibration hit as Carpe jumped.
As it turned toward him—
Carpe's gaze wasn't on the boss.
Hanjo.
More precisely, Baeksul dithering beside her.
"Quit hesitating and fire!"
RaSe pets were super smart—beyond real-world clever dogs or cats.
They understood human speech and intent perfectly.
So Baeksul got the cue from her ally and acted.
Fwoom!
Air cannon from Baeksul's mouth exploded right by an antenna.
"Kiit?!"
Sensory chaos from the blast made it flail, letting Carpe land safely on its back.
"Hah!"
Green Skin Slayer jabbed precisely into a carapace seam.
But as Tina said, it caught midway—tip only nicked flesh.
Enough.
Carpe jumped off, sword planted, and yelled.
"Hyang-ah!"
"Kyu!"
Mukhyang triggered Calling Thunder on cue.
Bolt struck the sword dead-on.
"Kieeeek!"
Sword as lightning rod—thunder ravaged internals.
Tough Exterior, Soft Interior effect: 30% bonus damage.
Lightning elemental damage: Additional 50% damage.
Giant Slater afflicted with Paralysis. Lasts 5 seconds.
Stun plus bonus damage from Paralysis.
"Mana +5."
Mana stat increased by 5.
Insurance—just in case.
"Lightning Arrow!"
"Kigigigigit!!!"
His Lightning Arrow rode the sword, frying internals again.
Thud.
The 10-Star Player's Lucky Draw