The First Boss Hunt

We stood before the gate leading to Sky Road, the planet where Normal Element appeared as the boss.

"Make one last check of your potions and repairs... Weren't you the one who said you'd handle the briefing, Imda? Did you study up on Normal Element, too?"

"Yes, sir! Yessir!"

He drew a deep breath and launched into his explanation with all the force he could cram into his voice.

"Element! It's a pun on elephant and element, meaning the boss uses all kinds of elements... a giant elephant boss that wields multiple elemental powers."

"Stop putting your thoughts next to me. Like Imda said, Element is a massive boss that, for an early-game boss, has the absurd distinction of using four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire."

Still, for all its stats, its patterns were easy enough that it got treated like a sturdy punching bag.

"Then why'd they make it like that? Wouldn't it be better to lower its HP and make the patterns nastier?"

"It's probably designed to make you fail to burn through its HP in the time limit... so you'll spend money and boost your gear."

Well, that was irrelevant to us. We'd have more than enough damage.

"If everyone's ready, let's head out. Time for the hard carry from the SSS-grade Mika full-transcendence dealer."

As the name suggested, a road woven from clouds welcomed us. When I looked around, I could see pure white clouds drifting everywhere. They'd recently remastered bits and pieces all over the place, so for Unknown Universe, it was actually decent to look at.

"Pretty good graphics, right? Admit it, this game's a god-tier title."

"Ah~ thank you to our dear Mwering for saying it looks so beautiful!"

Before climbing the cloud road, I arranged the party formation.

"Jeong-yong, take the lead."

"Yes, sir. Leave it to me."

The first rule of Unknown Universe aggro systems: monsters attack the first user they spot. So if the tank goes first, it's easier to draw their attention.

"And once we spot mobs, Imda, our debuffer, will lay down a curse, right? This part matters."

Because the moment a curse is cast, the aggro instantly swings ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward the debuffer.

"At that point, Jeong-yong..."

"You mean I pop the aggro skill, the shout, right?"

I answered him with applause. Our party was the best. And Mone, standing beside me, was the master of the second-ranked guild on her main character, so she would know what to do without me saying a word. Nothing to worry about.

"Next, Imda and Mone, please stand on either side of me."

"Yes, yes!"

"So that's the plan you're using?"

"Yes. The classic of classic 1-DPS party setups. The queen-protection meta."

"If aggro gets dragged onto the dealer, it becomes harder to keep up damage. So you'll surround me and make sure the boss doesn't lock onto me as much as possible."

"From here on out, I need to focus, so I might not be able to look at donations or chat. Party members, please turn off your streams and focus only on my voice in-game."

We had only been walking the cloud road a short while when the pure white clouds gradually bled dark and turned into storm clouds.

"Everyone. You probably get the gist by now. Mobs are about to appear."

That was when a monster information window popped up on my screen.

"It's a Crown Wolf. The lowest of the low among fodder mobs."

"Huh? I can't see it..."

Far away. Hmm. Maybe it was too distant to make out clearly. Then I'd better give a proper briefing.

"Northwest."

Right on cue, a wolf formed from clouds floated into view from that direction.

"Uh... it really showed up. How did Haruru know?"

"It's one of the support abilities of SSS-grade Mika. It boosts detection a ton. Since she's full-transcended, she noticed it way faster than someone like me who only has the base copy."

"Imda, how do we handle the C-grade Crown Wolf?"

"I've heard it's annoying because it moves like a cloud. So first we should reduce its movement speed. I'll cast a curse."

"I'll leave it to you."

And with the curse applied, aggro shifted to Imda.

"Jeong-yong! Aggro with your shout!"

"Uwooooh!!!"

"No, no. I mean use the actual shout skill, not just scream..."

"Don't worry. Of course I used the skill too."

"Right."

That formed the opening for a free damage phase. I drew my sword, set myself, and charged straight in. Since it was just a trash mob, I didn't even need a heavy attack.

"Oh. Wait, what? It got added to the codex? You can all see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that too, right?"

The loot is used as a kind of pity material; if you fail to record the codex through normal drops, you can collect enough pieces to force the entry. So I didn't need it.

"Imda said he had everything done. Jeong-yong and Mone, which one of you still hasn't had the codex entry registered?"

"Mine got registered, luckily."

"Agh... mine didn't, sir."

"Then I'll give my loot to Jeong-yong."

"Thank you. I'll pass this down as a family heirloom for generations!"

"N-no, use it for the codex registration."

***

As we made our way deeper into the planet toward the boss, Element, the surroundings gradually darkened. It was one of Unknown Universe's game systems: night had fallen. Mone, who knew that well, explained it for the others.

"When night falls, some stats related to sight, such as detection and accuracy, are reduced."

They hadn't even listened with one ear when Imda explained it earlier. These people were far too obvious.

"Haruru, what should we do? Wait for daylight? Or..."

"Let's use the power of an SSS-grade spirit. Since it's a light-element spirit, it can brighten the whole area, can't it?"

"I thought of that too, but then when we face the boss..."

"I'm full-transcended, so I only have cooldowns; I don't consume MP."

"Right?"

"Mone, keep your strength in reserve. There's a moment later when I'll need you to buff me."

"Understood."

"Nice~ This is why people spend money in Unknown Universe. Nothing doesn't work."

At that moment, I heard the cry of an animal. It wasn't barking to threaten us. It was the sound something makes when it's suffering and collapsing.

"Oh. What was that?"

Then Imda stepped up and gave the briefing.

"It's a C-grade nocturnal monster, a Bag Rat. The notes say its weakness is light. It probably collapsed after seeing the intensity of Haruru's light."

"Hahaha."

It was a pretty ridiculous sight, seeing it go down to a light I'd only been using as utility and not even as an attack. So that's why people keep talking about light-element builds.

"Don't do that."

SSS-grade full-transcendence Mika felt great to use.

Thanks to that, we were able to reach the boss room safely. I saved on potions, no. I didn't use a single one.

"All right, everyone. One more step and it's the boss. Let's kill it quickly and wrap this up."

The main course wasn't the boss fight. It was the negotiation with the goddess afterward. Then Ulsan's pride shouted so loudly it seemed ready to tear the sky apart.

"Uwooo!! Fighting!!"

"Whoa. That scared me."

"Sorry. I got carried away without meaning to. I can't believe I'd be this happy to raid without having to go to work."

"It's fine. You all seem composed now, so I'll go in. Even if it's a boss, the plan doesn't change. In fact, it might end even faster than the trash mobs. We're going to brute-force it."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

As soon as we entered the boss room, lightning flashed through the storm clouds and split the sky apart. In the gap, a giant elephant made of four elements appeared.

The screen shook, and the elephant's roar thundered through the room.

Glancing at the chat, I found nothing but positive reactions, and that made me smile despite myself. Let's make sure we don't embarrass the boss that came in looking so cool. Let's finish it coolly too.

"Haruru, want me to hit it with a movement-speed curse?"

"No, please use the detection-reduction curse. I'm planning to get behind its weak point, its neck, and finish it in one shot."

"Understood!"

"Uwooo! Confirmed!"

After the curse, the tank's aggro juggling was beautiful to watch. I didn't need to worry about it. I drew my sword and poured light into it.

"Cosmic Slash, Chapter Zero. Swing twice at the air to build Mika stacks."

"Mone, I'd like the Super Icarus buff, please."

"Of course."

The risk didn't matter. I just had to kill it within the buff duration. I leaped toward the giant elephant's neck.

"Cosmic Slash, Chapter One."

One of the skills of Cosmic Blade.

Mika's light and the sword's violet glow, reminiscent of the cosmos, spread together rather beautifully. The light that had been billowing outward gathered back into a single line and sliced through the elephant's neck.

"One stroke, two halves."