NOVEL WEB Chapter 27
Bang! Crash!
“Two elite troops have appeared over here!”
“Deathly Death! Go deal with them right away! Bae Merong will support you! Cherni and I will handle the back monsters!”
Guuuuaaaaah!
Deathly Death charged forward, letting out a fierce battle cry. He countered the incoming magic shot and closed in on the elite troops.
Bang! Bang!
As Deathly Death easily deflected the attacks from the two elite troops, behind him, the wizard Bae Merong launched ice arrows and fireballs, chipping away at their HP.
“The elite troops have too much HP!”
“Is this supposed to be just a mob area?”
Chris and Cherni, who were dealing with the chimera monsters and demon grunts, were also having a tough time.
Individually, none were particularly threatening, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
The continuous stream of monsters pouring out of the barracks was relentless, and no matter how many they took down, there seemed to be no end in sight.
But the vanguard users, who had been coordinating effectively until now, couldn’t possibly fall in such a basic monster area.
Boom!
“Kaah!”
As the last monster fell to Chris’s Demon Sealing Technique, the elite troops that Bae Merong and Deathly Death were fighting also exhausted their HP and collapsed onto the ground.
“Is it over?”
“Probably, for this area.”
The ‘Chris Raid Team,’ having withstood a lengthy wave of monsters, finally had a moment to catch their breath.
“Is it really called a level 30 Elite Dungeon? The difficulty here is on a whole different dimension compared to the Elite Dungeons we’ve faced so far.”
“Honestly, the level 15 and 25 Elite Dungeons felt like tutorials.”
“Yeah. This really feels like the main story begins from here.”
It was a stark contrast to the previous user-friendly dungeons that had gradually familiarized them with the concepts of virtual reality dungeon play.
This was an instance dungeon ominously named the ‘Demon Lord’s Forward Base.’
It felt like a grand wave of monsters was greeting the foolhardy idiots who had dared to storm the demon’s stronghold head-on.
The HP figures of the demon elite troops evoked memories of the named monsters from earlier dungeons.
It was indeed structured to make users wish for their demise.
Chris glance around as she grumbled.
“The arrangement of the barracks from the start is malicious. That big barrack over there looks like the battle zone for a level 1 named monster, and it’s designed to force us to circle around it.”
“Hmm…”
Cherni, who was listening to Chris, became lost in thought.
“By the way, is there something like ‘shortcuts’ in this game?”
“Huh? Shortcuts?”
“You know, in soul-like classic games, there are often hidden passages or ropes to skip sections aside from the main maze-like routes?”
“Oh.”
Deathly Death nodded in agreement.
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard the term ‘soul-like games.’ I wonder if anyone in this vanguard team has tried it.”
“Probably not, right? Nowadays, there aren’t many playing soul-like games. A couple of decades ago, yes, but those gamers from then are mostly grandpas now.”
“I heard it was hard to commercialize soul-like games even after the VR systems were established. Since you could die from a single brush against an attack, they needed precise movements, but synchronization was the main issue.”
“In that sense, though, ‘Astria Online,’ with its teleportation skills and shields to assist users’ movements, is revolutionary.”
Bae Merong, who was eavesdropping on Deathly Death and Cherni’s conversation, chimed in.
“How many would dare not enter the massive main gate as soon as they enter an instance dungeon? The vanguard team would likely be anxious.”
“Or perhaps, like the heroes in novels who operate as an assassination unit targeting the demon lord’s key figure, they might have searched for alternate routes from the start.”
After throwing out a lighthearted comment, Chris clapped her hands and encouraged her party members.
“Anyway, now that we’ve made it this far, we have no choice but to move forward. We’re close to the level 1 named monster area. Let’s ignore the progress of other parties and stick to our pace.”
Clang!
Continuously fending off the incoming magic shots and the fists of Craksas.
The precise angle of the sword was crucial even when using the skill to block. It wasn’t enough to simply block attacks head-on.
I needed to accurately gauge the direction of the attack and adjust my strength accordingly.
Clang!
As the force of the magic shot hit, my slightly tilted sword naturally aligned with Craksas’s incoming kick.
Boom!
With a powerful impact, my body was shoved slightly back, using that recoil to twist my sword and unleash the Moonlight Slash.
Swish!
“Kaah!”
Thud.
That made the third elite troop fall.
There was only one elite troop left.
Glancing quickly, the last elite troop, seeming infuriated, launched another magic shot at me.
Boom!
But I didn’t move there. I simply kept my eyes on the magic shot while focusing on fending off Craksas’s attacks.
I felt an odd sense of closeness.
The life of that last elite troop now felt intrinsically tied to my own.
I sent a look his way and smiled brightly.
I need you. You can’t die yet.
With one elite troop left, I could handle it alongside Craksas.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Easily dodging incoming attacks, I interspersed my slashes with the Sword Drawing Technique and landed the Starlight Slash.
[Level 1 Named Enemy]
[Level 33 Forward Base Lieutenant Craksas]
[HP 2,001,070/3,000,000]
A single hit away from entering his special phase.
Swish!
As the last Starlight Slash brought Craksas’s HP below two-thirds, the special phase began.
Rumble.
“Crahahahaha!”
Craksas began to hover in the air, frothing at the mouth.
Clang!
In the midst of it all, my beloved elite troop made a desperate attempt to attack me again.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
As powerful magic began to concentrate in Craksas’s hand, it quickly took the shape of a violet sphere.
Boom!
And soon, it shot towards me at high speed.
Dodge!
Activating Backward Evasion gave me a moment where I felt separated from the world.
Boom!
The massive explosion erupted right where I had just been standing, leaving a huge crater in the ground.
Thanks to using Backward Evasion, I remained completely unharmed.
And then came the follow-up attack.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Magic began to gather in Craksas’s hand again.
Indeed, the problem was the second attack.
I had to avoid this one.
The cooldown from the first Backward Evasion was still at six seconds.
The spot I ended up after the last Backward Evasion was near my devoted elite troop.
The elite troop quickly swung his spear at me, but I simply blocked it and countered with a Moonlight Slash to transition into a Sword Drawing Technique.
Redirecting my gaze up, confidence blossomed on my face.
All preliminary preparations were complete.
The second area-wide magic attack.
This time, I could dodge it.
At last, Craksas’s hand aimed at me.
Boom!
The massive violet magic sphere dropped from his hand, instantly filling my vision.
I averted my gaze from it and focused on the loyal elite troop.
The ‘opponent’ I needed was you.
Meeting his startled eyes directly, I activated the prepared skill.
[Counterattack (D)]
[Usable from the ‘Sword Drawing Technique’]
[Targets the opponent’s rear (Cooldown 8 seconds)]
[(D Rank) Invincibility during casting]
Swish!
Boom!
“Kaah—!”
The elite troop cried out in agony, being swept up directly in the storm of magic, and fell, torn and tattered to the ground.
My body, blessed with the ‘invincibility’ from Counterattack, remained unscathed.
“Oh, my elite troop!”
I gazed at the fallen loyal elite troop, my expression distressed.
Wow, that could’ve been really dangerous if I had been hit directly earlier.
I couldn’t use Backward Evasion, but I was lucky I managed to avoid it just by a bit.
But who knew I could be intimidated by a named monster’s attack?
Even with a boss’s area-wide attack, lesser monsters typically survive due to system mechanics; I figured he would be the same.
Bang.
Craksas, having now landed on the ground, glared at me with gritted teeth.
“You dare to harm my subordinates!”
“One of them died due to uncle over there, you know?”
I wanted to say this but before I could, he unleashed a glaring purple light and charged at me.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
“Oh.”
As the special phase concluded, four more demon elite troops joined in.
It seemed the lesser monsters were still being refilled.
I began scouting for my next cherished elite troop while countering Craksas’s attacks.
Clang! Bang!
This time, I was able to smile while blocking Craksas’s attacks.
Special phase thwarted!
[Level 1 Named Enemy]
[Level 33 Forward Base Lieutenant Craksas]
[HP 111,070/3,000,000]
“This is absurd. This mere human brat is defeating me!”
With relentless Starlight Slashes raining down, deep gashes appeared across Craksas’s once-mighty form.
Swish!
“Graaaaaah!!”
Craksas howled in pain, turning to flee. The power emanating from him now felt pitiful.
I embedded my sword into his back and spoke.
“Hey, Uncle, you owe me your items.”
“Cough, what did you just say!?”
This would be my first interaction with a named monster, and it was turning out like this.
Anyway, Craksas was never going to respond again.
Thud.
His exhausted body fell to the ground, devoid of life after his HP was reduced to zero.
“Phew, that was tough.”
I sheathed my sword and wiped the sweat off my forehead.
Then I raised a V-sign toward the front.
Level 1 named monster defeated!