[AWWOOOOO!!!]
I grit my teeth as I along with the rest of the party cover our ears from the boss monster's howl. The [Evil Spirit Wolf]. I never heard of that boss monster until now. Is it an exclusive monster that only appears in this [Dungeon]? Either way, I feel like we're all over our heads here. Not only that, I have no clue what its attack pattern and movements are without making a trial-and-error run of it. The only option at this point is to run. But the door behind us already closed shut and I could see that out of all of us horrified at the large black wolf, Savior was grinning ear-to-ear at the sight of it. But for the wrong reason...
"Um, teach..." I turn to M3GAN as soon as I hear her voice. "What are we going to do first? I don't know if we can do that trick we did in the past few floors."
She's right. We're facing against a larger monster than a bunch of goblins and I have a feeling that this wolf is a bit smarter compared to the previous boss monsters we faced. "Honestly, I have no idea. We might stick together, but I feel like that's what the monster wants to happen."
"So there's no way we can defeat it?!"
Yes, there is. If you're a competent leader with a high-level skillset. Unfortunately, both Savior and I don't have those traits and most of the party are nothing more than newbies and low-level players. However, there are many ways to defeat a boss monster and I don't need to be high-level or the right [Mastery] to do so.
"Other than [Dagger] and [Thunder], what other [Masteries] do you have with you and the current levels?" I whisper.
"Hmmm... I have [Fire] and [Hunting], both of them at Level 5."
I hum once I learn of this. "I think I have some ideas..."
"Hey! What the hell are you two standing around for?!" I flinch upon hearing Savior's voice, causing us to turn in his direction. "If you're done flirting, let's smack that big doggy back in the pound!"
My eyes widen to hear what he's about to do. "Save, you're not thinking of fighting that wolf without a plan?!"
"Plan, shlam! We'll just have to beat that large wolf like we always do," Savior declared. "Besides, it's 18 against 1. There's no way it can beat us so easily!"
Maybe on paper with 4 supporters (including myself), 4 Melee DPS, 5 Ranged DPS, and 5 Tanks. But the boss monsters are officially called [Dungeon Guardians] for a reason. They test not only the strength and skill of a player but also the problem-solving skills that they’re supposed to learn from conquering the previous floors of the [Dungeon]. And I have a feeling the [Evil Spirit Wolf] is no different from them.
"M3GAN, stay close to me and watch my back," I ordered.
"Why?"
"Just a hunch." That's all I can say because it will be obvious later on.
"Tanks, assume your positions! Supporters, ready your heals and buffs!" Savior ordered. "Melee, wait for my signal! Ranged..."
"Hey! Is that wolf taking a deep breath?"
I raise my eyebrow as I look up to see it doing just that as if it came out of "The Three Little Pigs". But then, I notice dark energy gathering inside its mouth.
"Damn it." I turn to the party and shout, "GET OUT OF HERE!!! IT'S GOING TO ATTACK!!!"
It doesn't matter if everyone listens to me or not. I push M3GAN to the ground and as I duck down with her, I hear some kind of flames and screams of other players nearby. I wish I could see what's happening, but I'm worried about M3GAN and myself getting caught in the crossfire if we do. When I hear no more screams, I stand up and gasp to see several players injured while some lying on the ground lifeless. Most of them are tanks and some are DPS and supports. What's worse is that I see the lifeless bodies explode into items, a sign that their characters died and are forced to log out as part of the dungeon's [Death Penalty].
"D-Did that wolf...kill them?!"
I see M3GAN already saw the damage done by the boss monster.
"They didn't just kill them," I calmly answer. "Normally, you have to wait about 2-5 hours before you can log right back in and gain temporary debuffs depending on the consecutive deaths you have. That's normally a way to discourage anyone from rushing back into the battlefield so they can learn from their mistakes and try again once they get stronger. But when you die in a [Dungeon], you only get about 1-2 hours along with the usual debuffs if you're in a party. If you die in a boss room, though..." I take a deep breath before I continue. "You can't get back inside the [Dungeon] until the current run is finished or the current party dies."
"WHAT?!" My ears almost ring when I hear her scream. "So does that mean we're down a few people for this run?!"
"Yes. The same penalty applies to special rooms such as the [Chaos Rooms]. Thankfully, we avoided losing a few players thanks to our intervention earlier. Unfortunately, the same can't be said with our current predicament."
As I say this, I notice Savior is glaring at his UI after scanning the whole room for the party's current state.
"Dammit! We lost 3 tanks, 1 DPS, and 2 supporters from that one attack!" He yelled in a tone of frustration. "And most of them are newbies, too! Just how tough is that wolf?!"
I groan as soon I hear his complaints. I quickly turn to whisper chat to communicate with Savior without attracting unnecessary attention from the wolf.
That a**hole! He's planning to sacrifice some newbies already!
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Teach, behind you!"
As soon as I hear M3GAN's voice, I turn around too late just as I find myself in a wolf's claw attack. I scream in pain as I hear the sound effects of my [HP] going down. Thankfully, one of his goons let me have a defense buff beforehand, so it only cut down half of my health from that attack. If I didn't, it's already game over due to my squishy defense. However, as I look around, I see more of the newbies got caught in the crossfire as some disappear while some are lying on the ground groaning in pain. At this rate, we'll be losing more players even if Savior goes through his sacrificial plan.
"We have no choice, guys. M3GAN, use [Fire Wall] in front of us!" I call out.
"Huh?!"
"You said your [Fire Mastery] is Level 5, right? You should have access to that spell by now! Read the incantation from the window and cast it in front of the party!" I quickly get up and run away from the now-agitated wolf raising its clawed paw to the next group nearby. "Hurry!"
"A-Alright..."
While playing the game, I read some info about some [Masteries] I currently have with me. I would have [Fire Level 5] like M3GAN. But because I didn't finish training at the
"Spirit of flames, show yourselves! Erect the shield of flames to deter my enemies!" She chants as I notice her hands raised in front of the remaining tanks. "[Fire Wall]!"
I roll past M3GAN just before a wall of flames emerges from the ground. As soon as its paw made contact, the wolf howled in pain as we slowly backed away from it.
"I don't think it worked, teach..." M3GAN muttered.
"No, it did. It's only a diversion until we come up with a plan," I said. "We just need to do what Savior is trying to do and hit everything we got."
"But you said..."
I shake my head. "I know what I said. But we don't have any option left unless we want him to sacrifice more newbies in this boss battle. However, we still have a chance to turn things around if we fight carefully. We just need to find its weak point and memorize its attack pattern."
"How are we going to do that?"
Good question. I quickly turn to Save through the whisper chat next.
I groan in frustration and annoyance. This guy has some dumb priorities.
<...You're not gonna stab us in the back, right?>
I quickly grab M3GAN's wrist and run behind the [Evil Spirit Wolf]. I can hear Savior ordering the DPS group to attack from behind as we continue running. If they keep this up, the wolf's aggro will be focused on them for now. This gives us enough time to make our counterattack.
"Ready, M3GAN?"
"U-Uh... Yeah?"
We squat down...
"One, two, three..."
And just as the wolf stumbles backward...
"JUMP!"
On my signal, we jump up and I quickly grab the fur from the wolf's large tail. Using most of my strength, I pull myself to its backside and run through its back with M3GAN still holding my hand.
"N-No way... How did you do that?!" M3GAN quietly exclaimed. "You don't seem to have any skill to jump that high."
I smirk and answer, "I just had the right timing."
She's right. Normally, it would be impossible to reach the wolf's back without the [Physical Enhancement's] [Super Jump]. However, if you calculate how many tail wags without losing your focus in the battle, there's a chance you can achieve this feat by using its tail as an elevator to its back. It's hard to achieve, but I manage to do so after a few run-ins with similar boss monsters like this one. And now that I'm here, I can use this chance to search for its weak point.
"[Aura Sight]!"
This [Magical Affinity] skill doesn't reveal any [HP] information, but it can help me find the right places by detecting some mana points in some areas. In this case, we're looking for a spot where the wolf's weak point is. After a few seconds of searching, I found the weak point.
"Gotcha... It's on its neck! We just need to hit its chin or the back for a critical hit."
"And how do we do that?"
I smirk again. "What do you think?"
It takes a few seconds to let her realize what I mean as I see her take out a strange spiky dagger from her sheath. That aside, I did the same with my [Starter Dagger] and we aimed them at the nape of the wolf. I just re-casted [Gift of Strength] a minute ago, so this last minute better be worth it.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Ready as I can be!" She answered with a smirk.
That's what I want to hear.
"[Backstab]!"
With a quick, but strong jab on the nape, we stab our daggers in and we hear the wolf howl in pain.
> [CRITICAL HIT!]
I knew it! The neck is the [Evil Spirit Wolf's] weak point! However, it has the unfortunate effect of the wolf starting to rampage around like an angry bull. We grab its fur and hang tight as it continues to growl and howl.
"AHHHHH!!!"
"Don't let go, M3GAN! We'll lose [HP] if we do!"
Still, this is a great opportunity. I make a quick whisper chat to Savior while we hang on for our dear lives.
Then, I hear his voice commanding the ranged DPS to aim at his neck. I think this is a good time for us to escape. But not before we make one more move.
"M3GAN, switch to [Fire] magic!"
"Got it!"
We raise our right arms to the nape and chant, “Spirits of flames, show yourselves! Bring the fire from my heart and help me gather into my hand! [Fire Ball]!"
We throw two balls of flames at its nape and that's all we need to release our grip onto its fur before jumping down and rolling away from the flailing wolf.
"Savior!" I call out. "Now's your chance!
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Savior then charges at the wolf with his broadsword raised just as M3GAN and I run away from the wolf. "You're mine, doggy! [Aftershock]!"
He swings his blade at the wolf's neck, leaving a large gash that bleeds out black blood as it growls in pain.
> [CRITICAL HIT!]
Alright! That should be enough to deal a large amount of damage to it.
"Yeah! Looks like that wolf is dead for good!" M3GAN cheered.
"Don't celebrate just yet, M3GAN. Look!"
I point to the [Evil Spirit Wolf] as I notice its body now covered in a red glow as it lets a loud howl.
[WARNING]
[The [Evil Spirit Wolf] has been enraged.
It's [STR] and [SPD] has been doubled!]
As expected, it entered its [Enraged] state. That means it's now in its final phase of the boss battle. By the looks of it, it took a few strong hits from Savior along with several buffed DPS to cut its [HP] down to yellow. But if we get hit by one of its attacks, then it's all over. We would keep on the defense, but we're just delaying our deaths if we do. At this point, this battle is now focused on defense to all-out offense.
It's time to end this beast once and for all.
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[Lowry's Masteries]
[Dagger] Level 6
[Fire] Level 4
[Life] Level 6
[Magical Affinity] Level 4
[Alchemy] Level 8
[Scribe] Level 7
[Magecrafting] Level 1