“……I expected it, but seeing it in person is even more amazing.”
Lize muttered as she looked at the Rock Centipede. Erica and Iris standing next to her reacted similarly. It was understandable, considering its height would exceed that of an ordinary castle when fully stretched out.
Not to mention, this was just the portion of its body that remained intact; originally, it was supposed to be another two to three stories taller. Just by sheer size, it was more than worthy of being called a final boss.
The Rock Centipede lay coiled and still, looking quite dead. Next to it was a Rune Stele that appeared incredibly small in comparison, despite it being roughly the same size as a player character.
A faint green light was emanating from the stele.
“Is there anything unusual besides what was mentioned, newbie?”
“No, nothing. Everything I said is all there is.”
After finishing my explanation, I detailed the patterns of the Rock Centipede to the three. Perhaps they had come to accept my sudden knowledge, as they didn’t inquire how I knew these things.
In truth, there weren’t that many patterns to consider. If we could just enter the 4th Phase, the strategy would be fairly straightforward.
From the 1st to the 3rd Phase, it didn’t matter whether the attacks were physical, magical, or holy; they were utterly ineffective, forcing us to rely solely on gimmicks instead.
Even in Darkest Light Mod, there didn’t appear to be any noticeable changes.
The reason remained unclear. Maybe it was the last shred of conscience from the person who created Darkest Light Mod, not wanting us to die instantly in the 4th Phase after an hour of executing gimmicks.
‘If they had that conscience, they’d reduce the number of gimmicks instead.’
After all, the heinous acts committed during the 1st to 3rd Phase had already proven the lack of any conscience.
“Focus on hitting the head as much as possible, right? That’ll make it easier to bring down.”
“Yeah. I bet just a few hits from you guys will leave it dazed.”
The 4th Phase of the Rock Centipede was a boss that allowed for what’s called a “DPS Race.”
Just a few strong hits to its head would result in a stun, and if we continued to pummel it in that state, it could be endlessly stunned until the situation was broken.
The initial process of inflicting the first stun was the only difficult part.
Its massive physique meant that hitting the head required us to induce a specific pattern. If the gap between the attacks was too big, the stun gauge would reset, making timing crucial.
Of course, that was hardly the most dangerous aspect. The real danger lay in getting so focused on hitting the head that one forgets the patterns and ends up getting hit and killed, but I wasn’t worried about that at all.
‘With their skills, I’m sure they wouldn’t even hit me if they tried.’
Its speed when charging wasn’t even close to that of a player character’s running speed.
No matter what attacks it used, considering the Knight Commanders had thoroughly studied the patterns from my explanations, they shouldn’t get hit by the Rock Centipede’s attacks.
“Got it. Lize, Erica, get ready. While it may seem easy, don’t let your guard down. Underestimating it could be fatal.”
The three knights in silver armor boldly stepped forward. I sat down on a rock behind them. There was one important thing I had to check while the Knight Commanders fought.
Elements were manifesting in their weapons. The longsword was engulfed in wind, the twin daggers in ice, and the Japanese sword was ablaze with fire.
The Rock Centipede, which had been lying coiled and lifeless, seemed to sense an unusual presence and sluggishly roused itself. Chunks of rock fell from its split head.
Since I was seated outside what could be considered the boss room in the game, I focused on its movements without worrying. Its actions would dictate our strategy moving forward.
Lize and Erica split, with Lize on the left and Erica on the right of Iris.
The first to move was Lize. She made a large circle to the left and quickly approached the creature’s backside. The Rock Centipede adjusted its head in response.
Intent on using a downward slam pattern, it took a stance, but suddenly jerked its head back as fire struck it squarely. That was Erica. Flames danced along the blade of Erica’s weapon.
The Rock Centipede, about to slam its body down, lifted its head high and yanked a stalactite from the ceiling.
‘The aggro has shifted.’
Confirming this, I resolved that I must take down the boss all by myself.
The intended pattern had changed. The Rock Centipede wasn’t the type to employ tricky patterns or fake motions. Had Lize been alone, it would undoubtedly have continued its downward slams.
However, after getting hit by fire, the aggro had jumped to Erica, leading the creature to cancel its slam and pull down a stalactite from the ceiling.
Since the Rock Centipede was so sluggish and massive, the change in its pattern was obvious. If it had been a boss whose size was just slightly larger than a human, it would have been nearly impossible to notice.
What if I attempted to confirm the boss’s pattern and respond but the aggro shifted elsewhere, resulting in an entirely different attack pattern? If the new pattern were an area attack, I would undoubtedly be a confirmed dead man.
‘I can’t risk that.’
Even while I was deep in thought, the Knight Commanders continued the fight.
Erica easily sliced a rock thrown by the Rock Centipede in half. The split and melted rock rolled helplessly away. Heat waves rose from the blade, distorting the surrounding background.
Immediately after, Lize charged in. The twin daggers grazed the left side of the Rock Centipede, slicing through over ten of its legs in the blink of an eye. The severed legs froze momentarily before shattering into pieces.
And as it turned its head, fire struck it from the opposite side. It seemed the Knight Commanders, having fought together for so long, were synchronizing perfectly.
While Lize kept spouting ice from the left to sever legs, Erica unleashed fiery slashes from the right, leaving the Rock Centipede thrashing about in confusion.
Amidst this, Iris, who had been standing quietly in place, unsheathed her longsword.
Stepping forward with her left foot to shift her weight, she brought the sheathed sword to her right side. Twisting her wrist outward, she grasped the hilt of the sword.
Whooooosh, the wind began to whip around nearby. A palpable pressure was sucked into Iris’s sheathe. The sheathe spiraled, drawing in the surrounding air.
As the distortion of wind grew stronger, and the whirlpool intensified, Iris drew her sword.
She lifted her right foot, made a half turn clockwise, and with her right foot stepping forward, she advanced a step. In that instant, the longsword was drawn from the sheathe.
The blade came down vertically.
At that moment, the whirlwind that had wrapped around the sword shot forth in a flash.
Like a thin wall made of wind, the slicing current shot straight ahead, enveloping the Rock Centipede in the blink of an eye. Boom! A heavy explosion echoed.
The moment the wind met the Rock Centipede, its body was sliced in half. The clean cut looked as if it had been smoothed out with sandpaper.
The whirlwind followed the path of the wind, spiraling and sucking in surrounding stones before exploding right next to the Rock Centipede, scattering debris everywhere.
‘Whoa, seeing that for real.’
The technique Iris just used was one of the patterns from the Iris boss battle. Getting hit by it would almost guarantee death, even in vanilla mode, let alone in Darkest Light Mod.
The Rock Centipede, now a third of its original size, staggered heavily. Seeing this, Erica, who had previously been attacking from a distance with fiery slashes, closed the gap rapidly.
Though it had shrunk significantly, the remaining length of its body was still not trivial. Erica aimed for what remained of it.
The Japanese sword in her hand was covered in flames, the blade itself nearly transformed by the fire. Flames erupted from the ground where she stepped.
Before long, Erica was directly beside the Rock Centipede. Grip firmly with both hands, she angled the blade to the left and leaped gracefully.
Her body spun clockwise in midair, and surrounding flames formed a whirlwind.
The rotating, fiery blade effortlessly melted through the bottom exoskeleton of the Rock Centipede. With only a third of its body remaining, yet another segment was removed.
The spin didn’t stop there. As she rose higher, she completed another clockwise rotation. Once more, the Rock Centipede’s body continued to melt away.
Suddenly, flames erupted from the tips of Erica’s feet. In that state, she leaped higher once more in midair and executed a final rotation for her finishing slash.
The blade sliced horizontally across the Rock Centipede’s head. The point of contact nearly evaporated. A deep gash carved into its face remained.
‘That one would’ve been hard to block as well.’
That was also one of the patterns used in Erica’s boss battle. The fire damage was so intense that proper defense with weapons was almost impossible; to block it without rolling, one would definitely need a high fire-cut shield.
As the Rock Centipede’s body dwindled, just before it could slam to the ground, blue ice erupted from the ceiling. That was Lize.
Holding the two daggers together, a long sword made of ice and frost materialized in her hands. The surrounding air froze solid, exuding chill.
The weapon was precisely targeted at the head of the Rock Centipede. Lize’s weapon had grown to match her own height.
Crack!
The ice-coated silver armor pierced the Rock Centipede’s head and pinned it to the ground. The body, now headless, slumped lifelessly to the side.
The boss battle against the Rock Centipede was over.
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