*Rumble, rumble!*

The entire boss room shook.

At first, the movement was barely noticeable. But then, an odd sensation rose from beneath my feet, enveloping my body. It felt as though I was floating in midair, like gravity had momentarily vanished, and my body seemed to rise upward.

*Thud.*

*Kiing.*

As soon as the shaking subsided, the wall through which I had entered opened, revealing a completely different scene from the first area. The hallway beyond the door emitted a faint green glow. It wasn’t that the magic stones had changed color; rather, this was an entirely different zone.

The whole boss room had moved downward, like an elevator, bringing me into the second zone.

From the moment the walls rotated, I had a sense that the ancient Dwarven technology was on par with lost technology. Or perhaps, the game developers had tweaked the ancient temple’s design to make it more like an instance dungeon.

Either way, the layout of this instance dungeon was fascinating.

*Whirr.*

Entering the first cube-shaped room of the second zone, I was greeted by another puzzle, similar to the floor panel puzzles from the first area. Only, this one was far more complex.

“Hiii…”

I let out a groan.

This wasn’t fun at all.

---

The second zone was more complex than the first. There were more cube-shaped rooms, and not only were there puzzles, but there were also mechanics that required me to defeat monsters within a set time.

The real problem, however, was that the rooms in the second zone had doors in all four directions. Even excluding the door I had entered through, there were still three paths I could take. And to make matters worse, the rooms themselves would occasionally shift locations.

In a maze like this, the right-hand rule didn’t apply. With rooms constantly shifting, even map reading was useless. Given this structure, it was likely that the boss room was centrally located.

As long as I didn’t go in circles, I could make it through. The occasional corridor room reassured me that I was heading in the right direction. After all, in a cube-shaped room structure, there isn’t always just one path to the boss.

As long as I didn’t keep spinning around, I’d eventually get there.

“Here we are.”

Finally, I arrived at the second zone’s boss room.

The green glow from the magic stones that illuminated the walls bathed the room in light, and I looked toward the center.

There it was. A golem that appeared to be the named boss.

A wooden figure—no, a tin doll? Since it was made of magic stones, maybe I should call it a magic stone doll.

The golem stood about the size of an average adult male, with a head devoid of any facial features.

It reminded me of an old fighting game where you could select a wooden or tin doll character. This was exactly like that.

The real issue was that there wasn’t just one golem.

In the center stood the named golem, and surrounding it, at the three vertices of a triangle, were three smaller golems, similar in appearance. They seemed to be stationed as guards around the named golem, forming a triangle.

One golem in the center, and at each vertex of the triangle surrounding it, there was a slightly smaller golem.

“What a tricky setup.”

I’d fought named bosses with mobs accompanying them before. These golems looked like they were built for ranged attacks.

If I faced the named boss head-on, I could keep two of the mob golems in my line of sight. However, I’d have to deal with the third one while it was behind me.

Was there a way to reposition the mob golems?

Or perhaps I could just focus on the named boss and the two visible golems, while using invincibility skills to handle the attacks from the one behind me.

Sitting down on the ground, I clutched my head and simulated several combat scenarios in my mind.

Rushing in blindly would be difficult. I needed a solid plan before engaging in battle.

But then…

“Huh?”

It wasn’t surprising that I muttered in confusion. The information that appeared in front of me when I activated the named boss status interface was strange.

[Second Named Boss]  
[Level 45 Magic Golem Akan]  
[HP 2,000,000/2,000,000]

[Level 45 Magic Golem]  
[HP 2,000,000/2,000,000]

Their HP was lower than the named bosses from the previous elite dungeon, *The Outpost*.

But more strangely, the HP of the mob golems and the named golem were identical.

Just like the confusing layout of the dungeon, my thoughts were caught in a maze.

What does this mean? Am I supposed to defeat all of them, including the mobs?

While 2 million HP might seem low for a named boss, considering the mob golems had the same amount, this wasn’t something to take lightly.

Magic Golem Akan was sure to have a berserk phase as well. If I started by taking down the mobs, I’d undoubtedly run into the berserk timer.

Unlike the Minotaur’s berserk phase, which involved buffs to its attack and speed along with a barrier, if Akan’s berserk phase included restricting the battlefield or unleashing repeated AoE attacks, it would be unmanageable.

I’d have to unravel this step by step.

I drew my sword and prepared for battle.

---

*Boom! Crash!*

Amidst the sparks flying in every direction, the named golem ‘Akan’ swung its magic blade at me.

*Whish!*

I ducked my head to avoid Akan’s slash, only to feel a chill creeping up from behind me. In an instant, I chained two skills together.

*Tat-tat!*

Using backstep followed by an approach technique, I narrowly avoided the ice projectile launched from behind.

Indeed, the golems’ attacks were predictable. When I got close, they clumsily swung their magic blades, and from a distance, they shot fireballs and ice shards.

But despite the simplicity of their attacks, the battle itself was incredibly difficult. A straightforward one-on-one fight with the named boss would’ve been much easier.

Right now, I was essentially facing four bosses at once.

Fortunately, amidst the chaos, I was able to standardize their attack patterns.

First, I avoided the named boss’s melee attacks while maintaining pressure.

Then, I synchronized the two ranged golems’ attacks, so I could block their projectiles simultaneously. Since both were at the same distance from me, their projectiles didn’t arrive out of sync. Plus, the interval between their attacks was long enough to handle.

As for the golem behind me that I couldn’t see? I relied on invincibility skills to deal with its attacks.

Using every sense and skill I had, I blocked and dodged, continuing to chip away at the named boss.

Even though I couldn’t mount a full-on assault, Akan’s HP was dropping rapidly.

Considering it had such low HP, I’d be able to take it down faster than most named bosses if I could maintain this rhythm.

---

[Second Named Boss]  
[Level 45 Magic Golem Akan]  
[HP 1,799,105/2,000,000]

*Whirr.*

When Akan’s HP dropped below 90%, a strange resonance filled the room, and the battlefield changed.

*Clang!*

The sensation that traveled through my sword turned into something familiar—reminiscent of when I struck the Minotaur’s barrier.

At some point, a red barrier had formed around Akan’s body. The damage reduction was severe, about 90%, making it impossible to continue the fight as is.

I calmly assessed the situation.

Just like the Minotaur, there had to be a way to dispel this barrier.

What about the mob golems?

Both of the golems in front of me had red barriers, just like the named boss.

*Swish! Crash!*

While sweeping aside two incoming fireballs, I caught a glimpse of the golem behind me.

The barrier around that golem was blue.

*Whoosh!*

I dashed toward the golem with the blue barrier in the blink of an eye.

In that brief moment, I had figured it out.

I needed to use the golem with the blue barrier.

As I approached the mob golem, I immediately used *Counter* to bring all four golems into view.

The golem with the blue barrier switched to a melee attack pattern, swinging its blue magic blade at me.

*Clang! Boom!*

I blocked the attack, holding my ground as I re-evaluated the battlefield.

This position was much more manageable than worrying about attacks from behind. However, I still couldn’t attack the boss from here.

*Clang!*

I swung my sword at the blue golem, but I felt the same recoil as when I struck the named boss’s barrier.

As expected, the mob golem’s barrier functioned the same as the named boss’s. I couldn’t defeat the mobs through brute force either.

So, what had changed? What pattern should I use?

*Clang! Whirr!*

When I blocked the second blue magic blade from the mob golem, my sword started to glow faintly with a blue hue.

*Clang!*

By the third attack, the blue glow on my sword had intensified.

It was clear now.

“Aha.”

I had to charge my sword by blocking the melee attacks from the golem with the blue barrier. Once the sword was fully charged, I could use it to break the red barrier on the boss.

A charging mechanic, huh?

I kept blocking the blue golem’s attacks, enduring until my sword was fully charged.

*Flash!

*

Finally, my sword shone brightly with a powerful blue light.

*Whoosh!*

Seizing the moment as the mob golems’ attacks let up, I dashed straight toward Akan in the center of the battlefield.

*Crack!*

As I slashed with my glowing blue sword, Akan’s red barrier shattered like glass.

*Sparks!*

Akan emitted violent sparks, as if a machine had malfunctioned, before collapsing to its knees.

*Boom!*

I easily deflected the remaining magic projectiles from the other golems, lowering my stance and gripping my sword tightly.

“Alright.”

Puzzle solved.

Now it’s time to go all out on damage.