Tap tap tap!
The Red-White raid party.
The 12 heroes led by Chris were sprinting through the interior of the 'Tree of the Abyss' at a fast pace.
Is about half left to reach the deepest part of this dungeon?
It didn't take that long for the Red-White raid party to break through Area 2.
The mobs in Area 2 just have high numbers and HP.
There's no intermediate boss.
While dealing with them, Chris muttered.
"We need to make as much progress as possible."
The image of Rain flashed through her mind.
Rain must be sleeping for quite a long time since she overdid it yesterday.
Chris now knew what she had to do.
Her role is to pave the way for Rain.
Even if the Red-White raid party can't clear it, she needs to tell Rain as much as possible.
Though she can't give direct help, it's possible to lighten the burden.
Chris somehow felt like she was conquering the dungeon together with Rain.
This is the Red-White raid party, no.
The entire 'Red-White Guild' including Rain.
It's a conquest done together by 13 people.
"This is probably."
"The 2nd Named boss room."
"Hmm, it's definitely similar to the 1st Named boss."
At the end of Area 2 of the Tree of the Abyss, a huge cavity encountered there.
The Red-White raid party's Ranger Disappointing tapped his shoulder and complained to his friend Ko Seungwoo.
"Oh my, how long was today's attempt schedule again?"
"Until 2 AM, so about three hours left."
"Haah~ Good thing tomorrow's the weekend. To think we have to do this for close to a month."
"Hehe, what month? Our progress is fast, right? We cleared the 1st Named boss on the second day, so by simple calculation shouldn't we clear it within a week?"
"I hope so..."
Disappointing trailed off and looked around inside the cavity.
An empty space existing inside the 'Tree of the Abyss'.
Unlike the 'Black Dragon' that was blatantly there in Area 1, there was nothing in the center of Area 2.
"It's eerie."
"Where did the boss go?"
The raid members who followed in also said one thing each.
Then.
Whoosh.
The first wind.
It came from above.
Chris looked up.
Wind? Inside this giant tree?
Swish.
"Get back!"
Chris stretched out her right arm and pulled the raid members back.
Woong!
Powerful demonic energy started concentrating in the air.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The demonic energy that gathered in an instant started taking the form of a huge person.
The first thing that emerged from it was a sword? No, it was too huge to simply be called a sword. But it definitely had an edge.
A greatsword close to a wide metal plate. If hit by that, rather than being cut it seemed your body itself would be torn off.
Whoosh!
Following that, the hand holding it and a huge armor popped out.
A being wearing full plate armor shining with a dark luster.
On the head part that looked like a helmet, huge horns were protruding.
Inside that helmet, purple light flashed.
That which fully revealed itself was like.
"Ar-armor! It's giant armor!"
"It could fit three or four people inside!"
"The armor is moving? N-no. Is there something inside?"
Amidst the raid members' exclamations and confusion, Chris calmly analyzed the target.
"This is the 2nd Named boss. ...Huh?"
Chris soon couldn't help but be flustered too.
Even the large-bodied Fighter Hopkins and Gandal tilted their heads.
"Kahah~! It's much bigger than us. But, 500 million HP? Must have seen wrong?"
"No, I saw it too. It's definitely 500 million."
The 1st Named boss's HP was 200 million.
The 2nd Named boss's HP is 500 million.
It jumped by as much as 2.5 times.
For Named bosses in the same dungeon, for HP to jump this much with just one level difference.
"It must be a monster with gimmicks to shave off HP."
Chris nodded at Deathly Death's words.
Swish.
The armor held the huge greatsword in one hand and stretched forward.
From inside that helmet, a bizarre voice flowed out.
—Uninvited guests. Did the elves use some trick?
"It's starting a conversation!"
"It's a Named boss with dialogue. Let's listen?"
—The Northern Army Commander's plan will soon enter its final stage. I won't let you interfere.
Whoosh!
The huge greatsword held by the giant armor was swung once, and a sound cutting through air that made one's hair stand on end was heard.
[2nd Named Boss]
[Level 53]
[Death Knight Jakam]
[HP 500,000,000 / 500,000,000 (100%)]
Boom, boom, boom!
The terrifying greatsword mercilessly slammed down targeting the tank Deathly Death.
The huge greatsword moves lightly like a sheet of paper.
But the mighty force behind it absolutely can't be ignored.
Boom! Boom!
Two times, three times, four times. A speed incomparable to Named bosses so far.
Though Deathly Death frowned at the damage breaking through his counterattacks, he was barely enduring by mobilizing all invincibility skills.
The interval between attacks is short too. It's impossible to maintain a damage cycle.
Deathly Death had no choice but to be satisfied with squeezing in Palm Strikes here and there using invincibility judgment after counterattacks.
"There's absolutely no opening to attack! Is this even a boss that can be tanked?"
Woong.
Boom boom boom boom!
The talismans floating around Chris struck Jakam's armor.
Chris carefully attacked while checking her damage output. At the same time, she warned the party members.
"It's a boss that's hard to tank! Be careful of aggro values! Control your damage!"
Swish.
Jakam, who was maintaining a barrage of attacks towards Deathly Death, suddenly turned into demonic energy and disappeared, then appeared behind.
A skill reminiscent of a user's backward evasion.
And at the tip of that sword, an ominous energy flashed.
Whoosh, crash!
The huge greatsword was swung, and instantly a crescent-shaped black energy extended.
"Kuaagh!"
"Uwaaaaah!"
Two melee dealers included in that range were swept away like fallen leaves.
[Raid member 'Ko Seungwoo' has died]
[Raid member 'Gandal' has died]
"What the hell...!"
Chris was appalled.
Sword energy with an incredible speed hard to react to swept through half the combat area in the blink of an eye.
"Did aggro spike!?"
"No, it's a normal pattern!"
Named bosses of 'Astria Online'.
There are certainly some that seem to have irregular normal patterns. Still, normal patterns are repetitive in the big picture. This rule hasn't been broken until now.
But this guy. For 'Death Knight Jakam' alone, the rule didn't apply.
There's no repetitiveness in patterns. He mercilessly attacks the tank, but at some point shoots sword energy.
Sword energy shot after backward evasion, is backward evasion the precursor motion?
It wasn't necessarily so either.
Crash!
Jakam suddenly turned back and shot sword energy towards the rear dealers.
Swish.
"Bae Merong, nice!"
Chris sent a thumbs up to Bae Merong who prepared 'Ice Prison' in advance, while breaking out in cold sweat at the sword energy that brushed past her body.
But that was the end.
It didn't take long for raid members to fall one by one to the sword energy attacks with speed hard to react to and terrifying range, and for everyone to be wiped out.
The aspect of attempts continued during the remaining time flowed similarly afterwards.
Jakam's patterns were powerful and fast.
Even the skilled tank Deathly Death would be flattened the moment he's hit by that greatsword, and had no choice but to be finely minced by the following attacks.
Ranged pattern, sword energy. Irregular and fast. This is instant death in one hit. The range is wide too.
Besides the crescent-shaped sword energy, Jakam showed various sword energies like a straight-line sword energy swung upwards from below, and explosion-type sword energy shot in all directions.
The meaning of a tank was just being a bullet sponge for the downward striking pattern. Even ranged dealers had to keep their eyes wide open.
Patterns with incredible speed that even the Red-White raid party members had never experienced before.
The 2nd Named boss 'Death Knight Jakam' with overwhelming normal patterns.
The Red-White raid party continued attempts for the remaining time.
But far from seeing the special phase, they couldn't even get through the normal patterns.
* * *
"..."
Eyes opened gently.
My room, on the bed.
It's dark outside.
I checked the time on my smartphone.
3 AM.
Since I fell asleep after eating breakfast, did I sleep for a full 18 hours?
Whirr-
I decided to go to the kitchen directly, loading my drooping body onto the wheelchair.
There's a way to call the housekeeping robot, but it's louder than the wheelchair. It might wake up Chris who's sleeping soundly.
Is there something simple to eat in the fridge?
I need to continue attempts today too.
Click.
I opened the door and looked to the side.
"Mmm."
Nod nod.
A red-haired woman was dozing off sitting next to my room door.
"Chris unnie."
Her feelings of thinking about me were conveyed.
I felt a warmth in my chest.
But at the same time I was worried.
Is she planning to do this in front of my room every day during the raid attempt schedule?
"What should I do."
I blankly stretched out my hand to touch Chris's body, then realized there's no way for me in my current state to take her sleeping to her room.
I felt bad waking her up. She was sleeping so soundly.
She must have stayed up almost all night yesterday too.
I went into the room and brought out a thin blanket.
"At least this."
I covered Chris's body with the blanket and gently laid her on the floor.
She didn't wake up even at my touch laying her on the floor.
"..."
After quietly looking at Chris's sleeping face for a while.
I turned my head to my room door.
[Don't come in. -Rain-]
The paper meaning "no visitors" that I put up from the start of raid attempts.
Should I take this off.
"...Huh?"
On that paper, writing I didn't write was densely written.
[2nd Named Boss, 'Death Knight Jakam']
[HP 500 million]
[Normal Patterns]
[Greatsword downward strike. Up to 4 consecutive times]
[Left-right swing]
[Sword energy, rear front crescent shape, upward straight line]
[Important: No repetitiveness]
[Might have repetitiveness if analyzed]
[Individual reaction speed is important]
[Status effects - Only on upward pattern]
[Very short possible time. 4 identical skills needed]
[Patterns are difficult but repetitive practice seems possible]
[Catching precursor motions is key]
[HP for special phase entry?]
And at the end.
[Sorry couldn't see more patterns]
"Unnie."
My eyes got a little hot.
I lowered my posture and lightly hugged Chris's body.
"Heh."
A happy smile appeared on Chris's tired face.
I returned to my room right away and lay down in the capsule.
The precious information Chris conveyed.
It saved a lot of time.
I can't waste it.
"Death Knight Jakam."
I'll take down this guy today.