Chapter 31: In the Face of Danger
(Zaphro's POV)
Boss Monster: Baal (Level 200)
HP: 500,000 / 500,000
Aggro Type
High Resistance to Sword Skills
Defense: 30,000 / 30,000
Gold Drop: 200,000,000
Other Drops: Crystals, High-Level Gear (Rare to Epic), Skill Scroll – Cry of Death (AOE)
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Finally, the boss of this cursed map had shown itself.
It wasn't a great first impression.
The moment it emerged, Baal launched a brutal surprise attack that wiped out five of our teammates instantly—Ayana, Erik, Jin, Erenir, and Aryus. Gone, just like that. If I hadn't reacted in time, Slicer and Shion would've followed. Verillion's status was unknown; I hadn't seen him since the chaos started.
My Visual System was glitching—menus freezing, skill icons greyed out, feedback lagging. It was like my entire interface was breaking down. Was this some kind of status ailment? A debuff? Or was it that creepy aura Baal was emitting?
"We need to fall back—it's too risky to fight him up close," I said, helping Shion up as she staggered from the blow. The boss was still burning from my earlier spell—Engulfing Flame. Good. That gave us thirty seconds of breathing room.
"Hurry up, people! Heal and buff up! That flame won't hold him much longer!" shouted Gwydox, circling us from above. His eyes glowed a menacing red, and his shadow twisted with him like a vengeful specter.
"Use your pots. And hey, anyone seen Verillion?" I asked, looking around.
Slicer shook his head. "No idea, man. Everything happened too fast. Last I saw, he got flung into the air."
Shion glanced around nervously. "Ayana and the others are really gone, right? How the hell are we supposed to beat this thing without them?"
"We try," I replied firmly. "We hit back. We don't die without a fight."
The flames surrounding Baal finally dissipated, revealing its horrific, charred form. Tentacles twitched in the darkness. And just as our HP and MP bars started to stabilize, Verillion emerged from the shadows behind us.
"Thank goodness you're alive, dude!" said Slicer with relief.
"Yeah, sorry. Crash-landed in a nest full of mobs," Verillion replied, dusting himself off. "Took me a while to claw my way out."
We didn't rush back in. Instead, we huddled for a quick strategy session.
"The boss has both melee and long-range AOE attacks," Gwydox began, his voice low and raspy, laced with attitude. "And guess what? He laughs at your regular sword skills. You'll need to use blade techniques imbued with magic. Otherwise, you're just tickling him."
"What about weaknesses?" Verillion asked.
"He's weak to direct magic. Yours especially. And there's a juicy green gem near the base of his tentacles—right behind his head. That's the core. Hit that, and he'll bleed. But good luck. Those limbs move like a f***ing blender."
"Tch. Tough, but not impossible," I muttered. "Thanks, Gwydox."
The little bastard cackled. "You're damn right it's tough. But I ain't dragging your crispy corpse back if you mess this up. I'll be switching to support-offense mode. Gonna stir up some chaos."
"I'll stick to long-range bombardment," Verillion said. "Keep him distracted and give me a shot."
"I'll tank the bastard," said Slicer.
"I'll be striker!" Shion added, gripping her blade tightly.
"Perfect. I'll go for the weak spot. Gwydox, alert us on incoming attacks."
"On it, Papa. Let's f*** him up."
At the count of five, the formation broke. Slicer and Shion charged in, blades ready. I followed close behind, while Verillion climbed a rocky ledge to get a bird's-eye view.
Suddenly, a blinding light surged ahead of us—Gwydox had already made the first move. He darted like a banshee, hurling magic like hellfire.
"Eat this, you overgrown calamari! Void Spear!"
Black lances made of dark energy pierced the boss's eyes and sliced at its tentacles. The thing screeched, thrashing violently.
"Soul Stab!" Shion was first to land a strike, severing a smaller tentacle.
"Sword Explosion!" Slicer summoned a burst of animated swords from below, stabbing into Baal's abdomen. No reaction. Its skin was thick like steel.
I leapt into the air and cast, "Ice Spikes!" Three massive ice shards struck its back but shattered instantly—barely a scratch.
"Damn, its defense is insane…" I cursed.
"Galactic Vortex!" Gwydox roared from above. A swirling orb of gravitational force materialized, yanking several tentacles away from us—and nearly pulling the entire boss with it.
"Verillion, now!" I called out.
"Pyro Bomb!" A blazing orb of fire erupted from his staff and slammed into Baal's back. Flames engulfed it, its HP dropping to 97%.
"Twin Slash!" Shion's aerial X-strike pinned the beast's leg to the ground, immobilizing it further.
"Regolus Impact!" Slicer blasted a long-range skill at Baal's neck. The impact left a deep gash near the weak spot.
Even after all those hits, the boss's HP still sat at 90%. Our stat recovery had slowed down dramatically, a lingering effect from Baal's earlier curse. We guzzled MP and SP potions nonstop.
"Keep hitting it while it's down!" I yelled, casting Frost Field to slow it further.
"Dragon Stamp in 5 seconds, dumbasses! Five—four—three—two—" Gwydox screamed.
"Fly—now!" I shouted. We obeyed, just as Baal slammed a colossal foot into the earth. The shockwave shattered everything in a wide radius. Too late.
The force hit us mid-air. My HP dropped to 53%. Slicer and Shion were worse off—32% and 28%, respectively. Verillion stayed untouched from his perch.
"Wind Deflect!" Verillion leapt down and switched to short-range mode. "Heal up. I got this." He pointed his staff. "Tundra Wave!"
A raging storm of icy wind battered the boss, bringing its HP to 83%.
I dashed forward to follow up. "Cold Fire!" My flames struck its wings, freezing them over.
This was my chance.
I rushed in, climbing up Baal's thrashing body toward the gem. Just as I reached its head, a blade-like tail lashed out—too fast.
CRACK!
Pain exploded through my back. I was thrown like a ragdoll into a boulder. My HP crashed to 12%. Worse, I couldn't move. Stun debuff.
"Papa, move! MOVE, dammit!" Gwydox screamed. "He's charging something!"
Baal's face turned toward me. Its mouth opened wide—energy gathered at its core. Atomic Breath.
I closed my eyes. This was it.
But then—weightlessness.
I opened my eyes midair, stunned. Below me, I saw Slicer—he had thrown me out of the blast's path.
"NO! That's a one-hit kill!" Gwydox screamed too late.
The beam hit. A blinding explosion devoured the field.
I couldn't see. Couldn't hear. Until I felt arms catch me—it was Shion.
"SLICER!!" I screamed.
"PK'd," Gwydox muttered. "He's gone, Papa."
Now there were only three of us left—me, Shion, Verillion. And Gwydox, our foul-mouthed AI, still flying.
We hadn't even reached 80% of Baal's HP.
And Slicer was gone.
I clenched my fists, my body trembling from pain and rage.
No more holding back.
No more plans.
Time to go feral.
Bring it on.