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*Whoosh!*
The demon’s giant arm swung towards me.
*Clang! Slash! Slash!*
I blocked the attack and used *Thrust* to steadily chip away at the demon’s HP.
---
[3rd Named Boss]
[Level 27 Sealed Demon]
[HP 361,510/500,000]
---
The demon’s HP was now around 70%. Soon, it would trigger its special pattern.
For about the last 20 seconds, I had only been using *Block* and *Thrust*.
The cooldown for switching to *Draw Stance* with *Moonlight Slash* was 30 seconds.
While the damage from consecutive *Moonlight Slashes* was immense, I needed to save the *Draw Stance* cooldown.
After all, using any skill other than *Moonlight Slash* would automatically cancel *Draw Stance*.
So then...
*Whoosh!*
As the demon prepared for its last arm swing before entering its 70% special phase...
*Clang!*
I activated *Moonlight Slash* immediately after blocking.
*Swish!*
At the same time, my attack brought the demon’s HP below 70%.
For a moment, I thought I saw flames flicker in the demon’s eyes.
*Flash!*
The demon’s massive arm came rushing towards me, but I didn’t use *Backward Evasion*.
Instead...
---
[Counterattack]
[Usable from *Draw Stance*]
[Teleports behind the target (Cooldown: 8 seconds)]
---
*Counterattack*, a skill usable in *Draw Stance*.
Using my dramatically increased agility, I could teleport behind the demon almost instantly.
*Swish!*
Leaving an afterimage behind, my body moved to the demon’s back, and its hand grasped at empty air.
Seeing this, I quickly moved to the right, smiling slightly.
As I thought, *Counterattack* could dodge it too.
There was no need to rely solely on *Backward Evasion*.
*Thud.*
The demon hopped back a little, putting some distance between us.
*Vwoom.*
At the same time, a purple glow started swirling in the demon’s huge hand.
Earlier, when I used *Backward Evasion*, the demon cast its magic attack from where it stood. But now that we were close, it was creating distance before launching the attack.
Either way, now that I had countered the grab pattern, I was free to use *Backward Evasion*.
*Boom!*
The purple energy orb in the demon’s hand came hurtling toward me.
*Tatat!*
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
I activated *Backward Evasion*, and though the massive explosion engulfed the area, I took no damage.
The invincibility granted during *Backward Evasion* had worked against the demon’s magical energy attack, just as it had with the wyvern’s breath attack.
*Counterattack* could only be used when an enemy was directly in front of me.
So, for the grab pattern, I’d use *Counterattack*, and for the ranged magic, *Backward Evasion*.
I had perfectly countered the demon’s special pattern.
*Tatatat!*
Taking advantage of the brief pause after the demon’s powerful magic attack, I quickly closed the distance.
There shouldn’t be any more surprises now, right?
"Now, die!"
---
"Almost at the 10% special pattern! This should be the last one!"
"Let’s do this!"
*Flash!*
The demon’s huge arm swung toward us, and *Deathmaster*, the fighter, used his *Reversal* skill to mitigate the damage before charging in with a powerful punch.
*Boom!*
*Flash!*
As the demon’s HP dropped below 10%, its hand moved swiftly, grabbing *Deathmaster* in its grasp.
This was planned in advance. *Deathmaster* didn’t use *Backward Evasion* and allowed himself to be caught.
"Urgh, I’m counting on you!"
"Beimerung, now!"
*Vwoom.*
At Chris’s shout, Beimerung raised his staff, and a hexagram magic circle appeared beneath the demon’s feet.
*Flash! Flash! Flash!*
Chris also took out talismans and placed one at each point of the hexagram.
*Fwoosh!*
The magic circle began to glow brightly, and the demon thrashed its head wildly in pain.
*Kaaaaah—!*
The demon released *Deathmaster* from its grip, and at the same time, *Cherni*’s water spirit *Undine* charged in.
*Swoosh!*
The water prison created by *Undine* locked down the demon, its magic resistance now lowered.
Seeing this, *Cherni* shouted.
"We’ve got 6 seconds!"
"Great! Free damage for 6 seconds!"
*Slash! Boom! Boom!*
Beimerung’s ice arrows, Chris’s *Sealing Formation*, and *Cherni*’s *Stone Edge* rained down on the immobilized demon.
Freed from its grasp, *Deathmaster* also delivered a flurry of powerful punches to the demon’s enormous body.
Chris grinned.
If the tank got caught by the demon’s grab pattern, the demon would focus on them, making it vulnerable to binding spells.
Once the demon was immobilized, the whole party could deal free damage.
This combo allowed the party to quickly whittle down the demon’s massive HP pool.
*Kaaaah—!*
*Vwoom.*
After 6 seconds, the demon broke free from *Undine*’s binding, shaking its head as it gathered energy in its arms.
*Tatatat!*
Recognizing the signs of an incoming magic attack, the party quickly regrouped around Beimerung.
Once everyone was gathered, Beimerung cast *Mana Barrier*, and the demon’s purple orb exploded against it.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
With a deafening roar and explosion marking the end of the final special pattern, the demon’s HP dwindled to:
---
[3rd Named Boss]
[Level 27 Sealed Demon]
[HP 14,874/500,000]
---
"Haaah!!"
With a shout, *Deathmaster* charged at the demon again. The ranged classes unleashed their most powerful skills.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
*Kaaaah—!*
The demon let out one final roar.
*Thud.*
Its massive body collapsed to the floor of the dome.
*Beep—*
---
['Chris Raid Party' has successfully defeated the elite dungeon 'Lesser Demon’s Tomb' for the first time!]
---
"Whew, that was exhausting."
"Yeah, the 2nd and 3rd named bosses were tough, but the 1st named boss was the real nightmare."
Even after defeating the final boss of the elite dungeon, the members of *Chris’s Raid Party* looked more relieved than happy.
"We have to farm this place now, but what are we going to do about the 1st named boss?"
"Hmm. It definitely felt like we got lucky this time. In the final special phase, we ignored the scale pattern and went for individual survival, and it worked."
During the 1st named boss’s final phase, *Chris’s Raid Party* had abandoned the scale pattern from the airborne *Black Wyvern*, focusing instead on hunting down the wyvern’s hatchlings.
Fortunately, *Deathmaster*, who had no ranged defenses, wasn’t targeted, or else they would have failed the raid if he’d been hit twice.
Checking his messages, *Cherni* let out a gasp.
"Wow, there are tons of messages asking how we beat the 1st named boss."
"Yeah, I haven’t heard of any other parties even clearing the 1st named boss yet."
"What’s the proper strategy? We managed to beat it, but it feels like we cheesed it a bit."
Chris rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
Even though this was their first clear, they still needed to keep farming this dungeon to gear up all their party members.
To do that efficiently, they needed to establish a reliable strategy for the 1st named boss.
"Without our level of firepower, most parties wouldn’t be able to take out all the wyvern hatchlings before the wyvern’s breath attack wipes everyone out."
"Didn’t *Deathmaster* survive the breath attack once? Maybe we can use that to our advantage. If we can survive the breath attack, it’ll give us more time to handle the hatchlings."
"Hmm. It seems like *Backward Evasion* triggered its invincibility during the attack."
Chris shook her head.
"That’s not going to be easy. Cherni, do you think you could figure out exactly when the damage from the breath attack hits?"
"Uh, well... that’s tricky."
The *Black Wyvern’s* breath attack covered the whole screen, making it almost impossible to see when the exact damage window occurred unless you had animal-like instincts.
"If everyone could time their evasive skills perfectly, we could use that strategy, and then use ranged defenses to survive the scale pattern. But that’s really hard. If even one person fails, it’s game over."
"Honestly, I think we just need to boost our firepower. If Beimerung can handle the wyvern hatchlings faster, the *Black Wyvern* will come down from the sky sooner."
"Right. That’s why we need to get the right weapons from this dungeon’s drops."
Smiling, Chris approached the fallen demon’s body. It was finally time to check the rewards.
---
[Sealed Demon’s Sword]
[Elite Grade]
[Attack Power 120]
[Increases *Moonlight Slash* damage by 30%
on successful blocks]
---
"Wow, this is amazing."
It was truly a weapon worthy of a level 25 elite dungeon. The stats were incredible.
Compared to the *Orc King’s* weapons, the attack power was double. It was even 50 points higher than the field boss weapons from the *Pames Desert*.
With this much attack power and skill bonuses, they’d be able to clear the wyvern hatchlings much faster.
But, it wasn’t a weapon for any of the *Chris Raid Party* members.
"It’s a sword. It’s too bad it’s not for any of our classes, but at least we’ll get a good payout from this first drop."
Chris sighed, about to open the auction house menu, but paused for a moment.
A white-haired girl flashed through her mind.
Would Rain be happy if I gave her this weapon?
I could just pay out my party members from my own pocket and give it to her as a gift.
The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but she quickly shook her head.
Rain had been extremely cautious, even about accepting a 1-gold outfit.
It was like trying to hand-feed a wild cat that had never come near a human before.
With her personality, there was no way she’d accept such an expensive weapon.
"I’ll just give her one later when the price drops. Or maybe I’ll farm it myself and give it to her."
Chris forced herself to put the idea aside and opened the auction menu.
And then she felt it again—the same strange sensation she’d had after clearing *Orc King’s Cave* for the first time.
"Huh?"
In the auction house’s *Sealed Demon* weapon category, there was a weapon that shouldn’t be available at this point in the game.
---
[Sealed Demon’s Talisman]
[Elite Grade]
[Attack Power 120]
[Increases *Sealing Formation* damage by 20%]
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TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!
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