"D-Damn it...!"

I stomped my feet in frustration as I escaped from the named boss battle area.

What the hell were those magic orbs filling the battlefield!?

Back when I was a hero, I could just slice through that kind of attack with my sword energy. But now, my body is constrained by the game’s system.

Even though my stats have improved significantly from leveling up and farming, they were still pitiful compared to my peak strength.

Galovan, too, was bound by the game’s system. He didn’t chase me once I left the kitchen building.

"Sigh."

There’s no point in longing for power I no longer have. 

Even though this world is based on *Astra*, it’s still a game, and I have to approach it accordingly.

Galovan’s magic orbs severely restricted my movement, and eventually, they would cover the entire battlefield.

They were like mines—triggered when I got too close, creating a time-attack scenario.

It reminded me of the second named boss in the level 25 elite dungeon, *Gaju’s Statue*.

If you didn't defeat the boss within a certain amount of time, the battlefield would shrink, or the number of minions would increase, making things progressively harder.

For a solo player like me, that pattern was especially challenging.

The battlefield in Galovan’s room was a square.

The magic orbs created by Galovan would chase me for about five seconds before stopping.

In my first battle, I didn’t know how Galovan would attack, so the orbs ended up in the center of the field.

"The initial placement of those orbs is crucial."

---

Whirr.

A violet orb rose from Galovan’s hand and began chasing me.

I quickly moved, leading the orb toward the edge of the battlefield.

After five seconds, I stopped near the outer boundary.

Whirr!

The orb glowed brightly and came to a halt.

Clang!

I approached Galovan and crossed swords with him.

From now on, there would be no time to rest.

I had successfully moved the first orb to the edge of the battlefield.

Without wasting any time, I threw myself into Galovan’s relentless attacks.

I didn’t have time to block every strike. I didn’t release *Sword Drawing Stance*.

By relying on the increased agility from *Sword Drawing Stance* and making quick, reactive movements, I minimized the damage.

Slash! Slash!

Galovan's daggers grazed me repeatedly, leaving cuts, but I still didn’t release *Sword Drawing Stance*.

Like a swordsman willing to trade blows, I countered his strikes, matching each wound with a strike of my own.

This damage was manageable.

The only thing I needed to block was the final, powerful strike of his combo.

Clang!

At just the right moment, I raised my sword and blocked Galovan’s final strike.

---

[Block (A)]
- Blocks attacks from the front within a 180-degree range.
- (A-Rank) Successful block within 0.2 seconds triggers a 10-second "Vitality" buff that increases all damage.

---

I successfully triggered the "Just Guard" effect, activating the buff from blocking perfectly.

A faint glow emanated from my body, indicating that I could now rapidly whittle down Galovan’s HP for the next ten seconds.

The magic orbs were piling up, even though I had carefully placed them at the edges. Soon, they would fill the entire battlefield.

Placing the orbs early on was only a way to create room to use *Counterattack* freely during the battle.

I only blocked the most dangerous attacks. I endured the ones that only caused minimal damage, relying on potions to recover.

Ignoring the pain.

Before the battlefield was filled with violet orbs...

I had to defeat Galovan.

---

[Second Named Boss]
[Level 33 Quartermaster Galovan]
[HP 224,120 / 2,610,000]

---

"Kraaaagh! You, a mere ingredient!?"

Galovan's HP had dropped below 10%.

Whirr, whirr.

Without wiping the blood from his mouth, he conjured orbs in both hands.

The galaxy of violet orbs had already filled most of the battlefield.

The orb that had chased me for five seconds stopped, and the next one soon followed.

I checked the state of the orbs and moved in on Galovan again.

There was still some room left to maneuver.

The decision to ignore my injuries and keep attacking had paid off.

Though my body, synced at 100%, screamed in pain every time I was cut, it was bearable.

"Heh."

I found myself laughing.

Why was I laughing when my body hurt? Had I finally lost my mind?

But... this felt familiar.

After a year of living in a daze, barely surviving, it felt like my blood was boiling again.

The blood of a hero who was shy in normal life but brave in battle.

"Kraaaaaaagh!"

Galovan, now completely drenched in blood, screamed in fury and conjured four more orbs.

At the same time, his HP was flashing, almost depleted.

I won’t dodge.

As the orbs rushed toward me, I activated *Counterattack*.

And in that moment, I cut down Galovan in a single stroke.

Slash!

Despite withstanding so many attacks before, Galovan was cleaved in two with surprising ease.

"Oh."

If you land the final hit with a slashing skill, they really do get sliced in half.

This game is pretty brutal, given its mature rating.

I crouched in front of Galovan’s bisected body and poked at it.

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t get back up.

---

Meanwhile...

Whirr.

A massive orb formed in Craksas’ hand, filled with immense power.

"This time, we’ll definitely succeed!"

With Chris’s shout, the raid party began timing their backstep skills.

BOOM!

The violet orb, brimming with power, hurtled toward the *Chris Raid Party* members.

Tap.

BOOM! BOOM!

"Whoa!"

"Eek!"

Chris and Deathmaster successfully dodged. But Cherni and Beimerung were caught in the blast.

Neither of them died, but their HP was dangerously low.

"D-Damn it."

Chris gritted her teeth.

Before Cherni and Beimerung could recover, Craksas unleashed another merciless attack.

BOOM!

"This is way too hard!"

Thud, thud!

Chris angrily kicked at one of the barracks tents.

Beimerung, trying to calm down the frustrated Chris, spoke up.

"Maybe this is where we need to make use of the 'invincibility during casting' mechanic?"

"Seems like it. It’s incredibly hard due to the synchronization rate and the short invincibility window, but with enough practice, it’s possible."

In fact, Deathmaster had almost completely avoided taking damage from the first wide-area attack by mastering that mechanic.

"S-Sorry."

Beimerung looked crestfallen, feeling responsible for failing to dodge and nearly causing the party’s wipe.

"The timing of the damage isn’t very intuitive, but with enough tries, you can get used to it. Still, if only the invincibility lasted a bit longer."

"Yeah! The backstep invincibility window for mages is way too short!"

Cherni quickly agreed with Beimerung’s complaint.

Chris stroked her chin in thought.

Dodging the first attack individually, then tanking the second with their bodies... It was a risky strategy, but it worked for now.

The second attack would drop their HP to near-zero, but they wouldn’t die.

Afterward, they could cautiously heal with potions.

It wasn’t the safest plan, but it was their only option.

Chris sighed.

"We’ve only had three attempts where all four of us dodged successfully."

"And after that, elite soldiers respawn, and another special phase begins. It’s a nightmare."

Cherni, lost in thought, spoke up.

"Isn’t it strange? *Astra Online* has never thrown us impossible patterns before. Even with the *Black Wyvern*, we could use the surrounding environment."

"You’re right. But this first named boss has no environment to work with. The barracks get destroyed right away, and the battlefield is just an open space. Maybe we need to take a closer look at our skills for a solution."

"Huh?"

Beimerung made a curious sound.

"What’s up, Beimerung?"

"I just leveled up my *Ice Barrier* skill while fighting the elites. Take a look at this."

Chris peered at Beimerung’s shared skill interface.

---

[Frozen Prison]
[Targets party members within 30 meters]
[Encases party members in ice, granting 'invincibility' against all attacks once.]
[Cooldown: 1 minute]

---

"See? I unlocked a derivative skill from *Ice Barrier*."

"A party protection skill...!"

Chris let out a low whistle.

"True, we don’t know what new skills or effects will emerge until our skills rank up."

"Most mages go for the fire tree because of its raw damage potential. It’s practically the meta. But since I’ve been assigned to crowd control for our party, I’ve had to use *Ice Barrier* a lot."

"Looks like by using a variety of skills, you naturally unlock this at around level 30!"

The party members’ faces lit up with excitement.

Beimerung’s *Frozen Prison* would give them a way to withstand one wide-area attack.

"Most gamers probably don’t know about this, given the focus on efficiency."

"Still, I bet some of the vanguard parties have already discovered this."

"Even the summoner class has some niche elemental trees that were abandoned. They might have..."

Chris nodded in agreement. While melee classes might not have this skill, there

 was a good chance magic classes did.

Some of the more advanced parties might have already used this knowledge to get ahead.

"But there’s no time to go and train different skills now. We’ll have to stick with backstep for one attack. Tanking the damage is way too risky. Even if we survive, a single hit from the elites afterward will take us down."

Mastering the 'invincibility during casting' mechanic tied to backstep.

In that aspect, the *Chris Raid Party* was likely ahead of the rest.

Chris rolled up her sleeves, a confident smile spreading across her face.

"Alright! We’ve got a plan! Let’s get back in there and crush it!"