Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

[Named Enemy 1]

[Level 27 Black Wyvern]

[HP 105,000/210,000]

Flap, flap, flap.

Whoooosh!

As the massive wings of the wyvern flapped, a whirlwind began to rage in the vast cave.

“Special pattern starting! Bae Merong, prepare your ‘Mana Barrier’!”

Bae Merong, the pink-haired wizard gripping her staff, nodded.

Flap, flap.

Kaaaah!

The wyvern soared high into the air and let out a roar.

Keek, keek, keek.

Baby wyverns began to crawl out from the holes in the cave walls.

“As expected, there was a special pattern in the 50% range. Let’s do just like before.”

The ‘Chris Raid’ party members, gathered around Bae Merong, exchanged glances.

Keek, keek, keek!

The baby wyverns swarmed around the party members.

Kaaaah!

Papapapap!

The wyvern, hovering in the air, let out a monstrous scream and made a large flap of its wings.

“Now!”

Whoooom!

With Chris’s shout, a flash of light erupted from the end of Bae Merong’s staff.

The light formed into a hemisphere and began to encircle the party members.

Papapapack!

The scales of the wyvern, fiercely flying toward the party members, were blocked by Bae Merong’s ‘Mana Barrier’ and vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, Chris shouted, “Spread out!”

Tatatat!

As the mana barrier dissipated, the ‘Chris Raid’ party members dashed in all directions.

Keek, keek, keek!

The baby wyverns let out strange cries as they began to chase the separated party members.

Tata!

Chris, who had distanced herself from the party members, quickly turned to face the two baby wyverns following her.

Whoooom!

The talisman Chris held began to shimmer with a blue light.

Kaboom!

The Onmyoji’s signature skill ‘Demon Sealing Technique’ impaled one baby wyvern, exploding and dealing massive damage.

Keek!

The wounded baby wyvern screamed, and at the same time, another baby wyvern that had been chasing Chris hesitated.

Chris took out a new talisman and gauged the time.

So far, 7 seconds.

“Regroup! This time I’ll block with my ‘Protection Talisman’!”

Tatatatat!

The spread-out party members moved in perfect harmony and quickly regrouped around Chris.

The ‘Chris Raid’, which had been in sync since the open beta, moved as if they were one body.

So far, 10 seconds.

Kaaaah!

The roar of the Named Enemy, ‘Black Wyvern’, echoed once more, and the second scale was shot out.

Papapapap!

The scale that had been blocked by Bae Merong’s ‘Mana Barrier’ was now stopped by Chris’s ‘Protection Talisman’.

“Spread out!”

Tatatatat!

Chris swiftly moved while checking the number of remaining baby wyverns.

One baby wyvern that she hadn’t dealt with yet.

And the party members were each marking about two.

There was enough time.

They just needed to proceed without issues and get past the 50% pattern.

Kaaaah!

Papapapap!

The third scale pattern. But this time, they did not gather.

If they gathered three times, there wouldn’t be enough time to deal with the baby wyverns.

Fortunately, Cherni, who had personal ranged protection, became the target.

Having finished off her assigned baby wyvern, Chris shouted to the party members.

“Remaining baby wyverns!?”

“One last one!”

Ka-ga-ga-gak!

Cherni, the Spirit Mage, cast ‘Stone Edge’, hitting the last baby wyvern fully.

Keek!

The last baby wyvern fell, and Chris smiled as she looked up into the sky.

However.

Flap, flap.

The ‘Black Wyvern’ was still soaring in the air, floating majestically.

Suddenly, the wyvern stretched its neck and opened its mouth wide.

Flames began to slowly rise from its mouth.

Fwoosh.

The flames flickered with a sinister red hue.

“Why!?”

Chris screamed, a mixture of shock and fear.

At that moment.

Fwoooooosh!

The wyvern’s breath engulfed the ‘Chris Raid’.

“What?! Why didn’t it come down!?”

Chris burst out in frustration, glancing at the revived party members.

“We definitely took care of all the baby wyverns, right?”

“Of course, all the baby wyverns assigned to Bae Merong have been defeated!”

“You saw me finish off the last one, right?”

“…….”

The responses from the wizard Bae Merong and spirit mage Cherni sounded, but one remained silent.

Chris fixed her gaze on the one silent.

“…Hey, Death of Death.”

Flinch.

The fighter, whose nickname was called by Chris, flinched.

“I, I can’t. The energy haunting this grave is suppressing my strength. Ugh! If only I could exert even 30% of my power!”

“This is why slowpokes are a nuisance.”

Chris sighed as she pinched her forehead. She understood.

“The baby wyverns are too fast. They have the intelligence to flee if they perceive a numerically superior enemy or are alone. It’ll be tough for a melee dealer to take down a fleeing baby wyvern in a short span.”

“Sure, they don’t easily charge in when grouped up. Would it be better if they stayed ungrouped?”

“No, the wyvern’s scale attack is random targeting. If one person gets hit by the Named Wyvern’s scales twice, they’re definitely dead. If even one party member falls, it’s considered a failure. At least once, we need to gather to block the scales.”

If they used their personal ranged protection abilities purely for survival, perhaps they could reduce it to once.

But doing so would endanger the fighter, Death of Death, who lacked personal ranged protection. If he became the target of the scales twice, he’d inevitably be reaping his life.

The melee class fighter was already struggling to just chase the baby wyverns. Expecting him to handle crowds while ensuring his own survival was unreasonable.

Relying on luck could only be considered during the first flight of 75% of the wyverns. But starting from the 50% special pattern, reckless challenges couldn’t be attempted.

Ultimately, the speed of dealing with the baby wyverns was the key factor.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Chris’s mind.

The girl who cut through monsters with her ‘Moonlight Slash’, drawing a beautiful arc.

“If only there was a warrior with area-wide attack skills.”

“Are you suggesting that this illustrious fighter, ‘Death of Death’, should be abandoned?”

Death of Death stammered as his face turned crimson.

Chris chuckled and poked him in the ribs.

“Death, aren’t you thinking about creating a new warrior? I heard warriors become pretty strong after level 16?”

“This body, devoted to fists from the beginning, has no intention of breaking my resolve now! Wooooooh!”

Thud, thud! Whew!

Death of Death continued to throw punches into the air, face as red as a tomato.

Chris left him to his own world and addressed the party members.

“Anyways, we need to move more organically. I’ll mark the baby wyverns you’re dealing with. You all focus on your assigned ones.”

*

[Black Wyvern’s Earring]

[Elite]

[Strength +13 Agility +13 Intelligence +13]

[Critical Rate +3%]

[Critical Damage +10%]

“Heh.”

Smirk, smirk.

Once again, I obtained a pair of earrings upon the first clear!

The stats were impressive too.

Critical rate increased by a whopping 2% compared to the previous accessory.

Just like in the ‘Orc King’s Cave’, this Elite Dungeon’s Named Enemy also dropped earrings.

After changing to the earrings, I satisfiedly checked my upgraded stats and continued to head downwards.

Thud, thud.

I had been walking for longer than expected.

Was there no filler monsters between Named Enemy 1 and 2 in this dungeon?

No monsters appeared around.

Instead, the hallway began to widen gradually.

“Is this far enough?”

The hallway had expanded quite a bit now, with burning blue torches lining the walls.

At the end, I scanned my surroundings.

There were slots carved into the walls, each containing something.

“Oh.”

This was a sculpture I hadn’t seen up until now.

Were they the knight statues?

Statues of knights bearing helmets stood, their swords embedded firmly into the ground.

The knights, with their swords steadfastly buried, transformed the area into a holy space.

It was like the manifestation of heroes sprung straight from ancient legends, preserved in statue form, an awe-inspiring sight.

So cool.

With wide eyes, I circled around the statues, moving forward.

And in the center of the end of this hallway, there stood a solitary statue, distinct from the others adorned on the wall, standing elegantly alone.

A wide hallway.

At its end, stood a knight’s statue all by itself.

Facing it, I began to sweat profusely.

“Could it be…”

Sparkle.

For some reason, it felt like the statue’s eyes glinted.

Was it just my imagination? It better be just my imagination.

Grrrr…

The quiet hallway suddenly began to vibrate slightly.

At first, it was just a faint tremor underfoot.

Grrrrr…

As time passed, the vibrations grew stronger.

Now, the ground was certainly shaking.

The vibrations rattled through the floor, up the walls, and across the ceiling—the entire hallway trembled.

Click.

The statue’s eyes blinked.

Like something awakening from a long slumber, the lifeless stone eyes began to gleam with life.

The statue’s face slowly shifted, changing expressions.

With intense determination and resolve, its eyes scanned the surroundings.

Click-clack.

The knight statue slowly turned its head.
With each movement, it sounded as if stone was cracking.

And at one moment, the statue’s movement halted.

Where its gaze landed was upon the interloper that had awakened its long sleep.

“Gah….”

Recognizing my presence, the statue finally took a step forward.

Thud.

[Named Enemy 2]

[Baron Statue]

[HP 308,000/308,000]

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