I steadily made my way through the second area of the ‘Abyssal Tree.’
According to Chris’s info, there was no mini-boss. Just a path leading towards the center of the tree.
“A 12-man raid dungeon.”
As expected from its difficulty, there were many Demon Race monsters packed in. But it wasn’t a big issue. Like in the first area of the Ice Castle, I only needed to deal with the gatekeeper demons in front of the black vines separating each area. If it’s 12 people, we could handle everything easily.
Before long, I reached the battle zone against the Level 2 Named Enemy.
Whoooooo!
An entity emerged from the magic mist.
Equipped in dark armor, wielding a colossal sword the size of my torso, and glowing ominously with a purplish hue from within a Viking helmet.
That guy is the Level 2 Named Enemy.
“Death Knight Jacam.”
Since it has a big body, there will be plenty of spots to hit.
I’ve encountered these guys a few times during my hero days, but Death Knights, a type of undead, are quite formidable. They obey the commands of the one who raised them from death and can use some of their Master’s abilities from when they were alive.
In terms of strength, they are on par with Demon Commanders or higher.
Especially if it has intelligence – things will definitely get complicated.
The Level 2 Named Enemy, Death Knight Jacam, was indeed an intelligent Death Knight.
Jacam, facing me, let out a bizarre voice from within his helmet.
– Did you come here all alone? Do you trust in your own strength, or are you simply fearless?
“Who knows? Maybe both.”
I retorted back casually.
It’s been a while since I responded in such a way. No need to be polite to someone who’s half-dead.
Master.
A title granted to those who achieve a certain level of skill.
Even in Astraea, the continent of swords and magic, there was usually only one such person per era. Their abilities are worthy of respect. It’s different from my power injected through the Holy Sword. It’s a state achieved after grueling training.
But what stands before me is a corrupted soul, a being who has succumbed to the Demon Race.
Even though it’s inexperienced, I can’t help but look down on that former comrade who walked the path of the sword.
– Indeed, I can feel the immense power contained in that small body. You’re more than adequate as my opponent.
Even rotten to the core, he seems to sense something within me.
Whoooo!
Jacam’s colossal sword swung through the air, splitting it apart.
Chik!
I drew the silvery Astaroth and pointed it straight at him.
I felt my fighting spirit rising from the soul level.
A duel of swords.
However, there was a significant gap in strength.
Of course, there are means to bridge that gap.
Tat!
Pointless exchanges.
There’s no information to extract from him.
“Call your boss.”
I charged straight towards Jacam.
Flash!
[Level 2 Named Enemy]
[Level 53]
[Death Knight Jacam]
[HP 500,000,000 / 500,000,000 (100%)]
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
The massive sword in Jacam’s hand came crashing down towards me repeatedly. I narrowly slipped out of the attack range, feeling the impact on my armor.
He’s definitely fast. Slower than I used to be with the Holy Sword, though.
Did he replace the mana he used in life with magic to enhance his body?
More than anything, the nasty part is his attack method.
Quaaaang! clang!
The sound of the massive sword smashing the ground and the clash of metal against metal echoed. With such immense HP, is he even taking any effective damage?
I twisted my waist to evade the sword’s attack range, slashing at his waist as I maneuvered behind him.
Whooo!
He swung his great sword horizontally without even turning back. A chill ran down my spine, causing me to duck low. A few strands of silver hair fluttered as that sword passed by, cutting through.
My hair, which Sister Chris loves!
I felt anger bubbling up inside me and thrust my sword forward desperately.
Clang! Smash! Whoosh! Kwang!* As Jacam turned his body, I barely dodged the incoming downward sword strike and inwardly complained.
The biggest issue was this: the attack area is wide. A slight turn won’t do; I need to completely evade the attack radius.
Undead swordsman, Death Knight Jacam.
I don’t know what combat style he used in life, but now he’s attacking, relying solely on his strong armor and ignoring defense.
Instead of slicing, he’s pressing down with the blade face.
Quite a unique fighting style.
If it were a normal 12-man party raid, nearby tanks and melee dealers would also be at risk from that range. Is this the nature of a Named Enemy in a raid dungeon?
Swish.
My sword slashed through the air.
His massive body transformed into magic and disappeared, reappearing eight meters away.
Whoosh!
Jacam raised his great sword to swing.
Spot! Whooooo!
A crescent-shaped sword energy, infused with powerful magic, swept through the front.
Backward Evasion, followed by the sword energy release pattern.
If I didn’t have Chris’s info, I would have definitely panicked.
As soon as he vanished in front of me, I turned without hesitation.
[Backward Evasion (A)]
[Quickly dashes 8m backward to evade an attack from the front (invulnerable during casting)]
[Cooldown 8 seconds]
[(E-rank) Increases movement speed for 5 seconds after skill activation]
[(B-rank) Transitions to ‘Sword Drawing Technique’ after using this skill]
[(A-rank) Adds 0.5 seconds of invulnerability after using the skill]
Tat tat!
My body, slipping through the gap in space, grazed past the sword energy and reached right in front of Jacam.
Clang!
Every pattern is perilous in this raid dungeon. Normally, I’d approach cautiously, but Chris’s intel was a big help to me.
Is this roughly how the general patterns go?
At first glance, it might seem irregular, but I could find some repetition in the larger scheme.
This guy has a set pattern too. It just has a long cycle with branching patterns.
There seems to be sword energy targeting ranged dealers in between. Since I’m alone, all attention is on me, yet I could pick up a subtle difference in the release method of the sword energy.
Chris said Jacam’s patterns didn’t have any regularity. But they clearly exist. I mulled over Jacam’s patterns one by one, finding out why Chris felt that way.
While other bosses have around six general patterns that they repeat, this guy has about twelve different patterns in rotation.
An overwhelmingly high number of variations in patterns.
Moreover, if the tank is too far away and the ranged-target sword energy activates, it loops back to the first pattern. Even with party members dying and the patterns getting tangled up, it reverts to the first. That’s why it ends up feeling irregular.
Of course, this doesn’t pose much of a problem for me, but it demands some analysis for the Hong Baek raid group.
I snickered.
“In the end, you’re just a monster.”
– To compare me to a mere monster! I am the loyal servant of the great Northern Legion Commander!
Whoosh!
Jacam roared in anger, swinging his sword.
Spot! Kwang!
I sprang off lightly, standing atop the descending great sword.
– What!?
He was taken aback as he swung the sword to shake me off. I leaped from the sword, precisely striking the gap between his helmet’s eyes.
Crash!
Saw it all.
Even if he was a Master in life, in the end, he’s still undead.
Now, it’s time to observe the special phase, check the rampage timing, and see if I can unleash my power afterward.
I smiled widely.
“How long until you get angry?”
*
“Ugh.”
Chris sat up.
Then, dazed, she looked around.
This was the living room where Rain’s room was.
Chris let out a light sigh.
“I fell asleep here again.”
Outside the living room veranda, it was bright as noon. Well, it actually was noon. The time had already approached midday.
For Chris, this was a rare long sleep. She must have been exhausted after staying up for two nights straight.
But Chris is the raid leader of Hong Baek. She can’t just relax and sleep comfortably on the weekend. She needed to organize the strategies and prepare for today’s try.
As she scratched her head and sat up, swish.
What was draped over Chris’s body slid down.
“Oh.”
A white blanket had been covering her body.
This must be Rain’s blanket.
Why was this draped over her body?
Chris quickly glanced at Rain’s door.
There was a piece of paper attached.
But…
“This paper looks different.”
It wasn’t the same “do not enter” note that had been there yesterday.
Chris read the neatly written text.
[Death Knight Jacam]
[Repeating General Patterns]
[Pattern 5 – Backward Sword Energy or Forward Sword Energy]
[Pattern 7 – Upward Strike or Downward Smash]
[Once aggro changes, return to pattern 1]
[Always sword energy for ranged targets]
…
…
[Special Phase – Time-based]
[Appears after 4 minutes of combat]
[Can evaporate 20% of HP at once through a gimmick]
[Damage requirements are low]
[The key is surviving in general patterns]
[Magic Infusion -> 12x Overlap -> Magical Rampage]
[Target for magic absorption is 1]
[Unknown for 12-man parties]
[May need a special method?]
[Rampage time 15 minutes]
…
…
[Thanks to my sister, we cleared it]
[Thank you]
[Let’s do our best in today’s try!]
“Uwahhh!”
Chris grabbed the door and burst into tears.
A swell of emotions rose up inside her.
It felt different from messages via the messenger.
The feelings of caring for each other, not wanting to disturb each other’s time. In this classic written exchange, those feelings felt even stronger.
Chris kept fidgeting with the paper stuck to the door.
She wanted to rush in, hug Rain, and shower him with kisses right away.
But she can’t do that. Rain must be exhausted and asleep after the tough try.
And she is the raid leader.
Swish swish.
Wiping her reddened eyes roughly, Chris managed to calm her heightened emotions and her eyes gleamed.
“Raid members, today we’re going to give it our all.”
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