Flap, flap.
Whooooosh!
A fierce gust of wind swirled around the cavern as the wyvern's massive wings beat furiously. My small fra wavered, nearly swept away by the storm.
"Ugh!"
I lowered my stance, bracing myself against the wind to avoid being blown away.
Kaahhh!
The enormous wyvern ascended to a dizzying height in an instant.
Flap, flap.
Up there, it flapped its wings majestically, gazing down at with arrogant eyes as I stood firmly on the ground.
Feeling the weight of its gaze, I quickly raised my sword.
"D-damn it!"
Frustration filled as I realized my attacks couldn't reach that high. Was it 20 ters? 30 ters? At that height, even ranged attackers would have trouble landing a hit.
If I still had my old abilities and could unleash sword energy, I could’ve shot it down with ease. But for now, I could only bite my lip and wait for the wyvern's next move.
Keek.
"...?"
Keek, keek, keek.
What was that? It wasn’t the wyvern’s usual roar. It was a smaller, sharper cry.
Soon, I understood the source of the sound.
Keek, keek, keek.
Tiny wyverns began crawling out from holes scattered across the walls of the cavern.
[Level 25 Hatchling Wyvern]
[HP 11,000/11,000]
Clang! Clang!
Things were going from bad to worse. I could only think of words like “out of the frying pan, into the fire” as the hatchling wyverns crashed into . I was already struggling to deal damage to the nad boss, and now these minions were joining the fray.
But maybe, if I could deal with these hatchlings, the nad boss might descend. Just like the last elite dungeon, I hoped I wouldn’t have to fight both the nad and the minions at the sa ti.
Unfortunately, I soon realized that my hope was just wishful thinking.
Flap.
Kaahhh!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The massive wyvern, now hovering high in the air, let out a piercing roar and flapped its wings with great force.
Tatat!
Hearing the ominous sound of sothing slicing through the air, I instinctively activated my backward evasion skill.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Wyvern scales rained down where I had just stood.
"This... these are scales!"
Keek, keek, keek.
The hatchling wyverns lunged at once more, closing the gap I had created.
Clang! Clang!
I blocked their attacks as they crashed into from all directions, my eyes flicking upward to watch the wyvern above. I had to keep my focus on both the hatchlings and the nad wyvern's scale attacks.
The wyvern's scale attack interval was about 10 seconds. My backward evasion skill had an 8-second cooldown.
That left with a 2-second window to work with.
As soon as I used the backward evasion, I shifted into Draw Stance through Moonlight Slash.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
With each swing, the hatchling wyverns’ HP dropped rapidly as the slashes from Moonlight Slash in Draw Stance cut through them.
Keek! Keek!
The third wave of scales ca flying down.
Tatat.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The scales struck the ground where I had been just a mont ago.
I now had 10 more seconds.
For the next 10 seconds, I focused on whittling down the HP of the hatchlings.
As I readjusted my stance, I noticed a flicker in the sky.
A red light flashed overhead.
A cold sweat dripped down my forehead. I knew what attack the wyvern was about to unleash.
Fwoosh.
Flas ignited in the air, quickly gathering in front of the wyvern's mouth.
Keek!
With a deafening roar, the flas surged forth, engulfing the entire cavern.
The wyvern's breath attack.
The interval between the last scale attack and the breath attack was only 5 seconds.
My evasion skill's cooldown still had 3 seconds remaining.
I couldn’t dodge this one.
I was helpless as the flas consud my body.
"Ahhhh!"
"Huff, huff."
Drip, drip.
Tears stread down my face. The pain—unimaginable. What do I do? How do I deal with this?
Even if the agony lasted only a brief mont, it was far worse than anything I could have imagined.
Thankfully, the pain didn’t last long. My HP had been completely drained by the wyvern’s breath, and I had died almost instantly.
This ti, I wasn’t kicked out of the ga.
But having to experience this level of pain every ti I died...
[Sync Rate 100%]
"Huff... Huff..."
I wrapped my arms around myself, trembling at the lingering sensation of pain.
I didn’t want to give up on Astra Online. This was the only place where I still felt alive.
Should I stop trying to clear elite dungeons? Maybe I could just enjoy the ga at a slower pace, hunting safely in the fields and wandering the Astra continent.
Chris seed to like , so maybe I could get so items from her occasionally. I wouldn’t have to endure this pain just to clear an elite dungeon.
As I lowered my head, staring at the ground of the ruins, sothing unusual caught my eye—a single, out-of-place brick.
"...?"
I brushed aside the sand covering the brick.
And what I found was—
"Ah."
An emblem engraved on the brick—a family crest featuring an eagle.
I recognized it from the scabbard of soone’s sword.
‘…So, our ancestors sealed the demon sowhere in the desert!’
‘lissa, your family is amazing!’
‘It’s a family of knights, after all. I think they’re a worthy, proud part of the hero’s party!’
lissa, the female knight.
A stalwart companion who had doted on and stood by , sacrificing her life to get to the Demon King.
Her mark was here.
For a mont, I silently caressed the brick.
If I hadn’t entered this dungeon, I never would have found sothing like this.
It wasn’t just the landscape that resembled the Astra continent. Traces of my companions were scattered everywhere.
Wiping away my tears like a child, I stood up.
And once again, I stepped toward the massive cavern. Not for so grand mission.
But simply to remind myself that I existed here.
[Nad Boss]
[Level 27 Black Wyvern]
[HP 157,000/210,000]
The wyvern flew so high that even long-range attackers would struggle to hit it.
Kaaahhh!
Thwack! Thwack!
The wyvern let out a roar, and its scales rained down from the sky.
It had entered its special pattern, and this was the second wave of scale attacks.
Tatat.
I used my backward evasion to dodge the scales and once again faced the hatchling wyverns.
Keek, keek, keek.
If I could deal with all of these hatchlings, the nad wyvern would descend to the ground.
Surely, the ga was designed to make it possible to win. All I could do was bet on that possibility.
As I fought the hatchling wyverns, I ntally counted the seconds.
7 seconds, 8 seconds, 9 seconds, 10 seconds.
Kaaahhh!
Thwack! Thwack!
With a beat of its wings, the wyvern unleashed its third wave of scales.
In 5 seconds, it would unleash its instant-kill breath attack.
The cooldown for backward evasion was 8 seconds.
So...
Thwack!
This ti, I didn’t dodge the scales.
The wyvern’s scales pierced my body, dropping my HP below half.
"Ugh!"
I gritted my teeth. It hurt, but I wouldn’t die from this.
Fwoosh.
Flas flickered at the wyvern’s mouth.
3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds.
Whoosh!
And then, the breath attack surged forth, covering the entire cavern.
Seeing the firestorm approaching, I smiled.
[Backward Evasion (E)]
[Move quickly 8 ters backward, avoiding attacks from the front (Invulnerable while casting)]
[Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[Increases movent speed for 5 seconds after activation (E Rank Skill)]
By taking the third wave of scales head-on, I had saved my evasion skill. The cooldown for backward evasion had already reset.
As the breath attack reached , I activated the skill.
Tatat.
Whoooosh!
The flas swept over the spot where I had just stood.
But this ti, I didn’t die.
I didn’t even feel the heat.
‘Invulnerable while casting.’
As expected, the breath attack looked terrifying, but it was still bound by the ga’s system.
With a satisfied grin, I swung my sword once more.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Keek! Keek!
As moonlight shimred on my blade, the hatchling wyverns began to fall one by one.
Kaaahhh!
The massive wyvern let out a final roar as its body, now covered in wounds, collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Kukoom!
The enormous body of the wyvern fell to the cavern floor.
Thud.
At the sa ti, I dropped to the ground, exhausted.
Just as I thought, the nad wyvern had descended after I finished off the hatchlings.
But the wyvern had taken off into the air three tis.
The nad boss, Black Wyvern, had ascended at 75%, 50%, and 25% HP.
It unleashed three waves of scales at 10-second intervals, followed by a breath attack 5 seconds after the final scale wave.
By enduring the third wave of scales and saving my evasion skill, I could dodge the breath attack.
I sighed heavily.
"Haa."
This dungeon was designed to be annoyingly difficult.
It was structured with party play in mind.
If I had been in a party, the scale attacks would’ve been spread across multiple targets. And with a mage’s Mana Barrier or a shaman’s Talisman of Protection, we could’ve been shielded from long-range attacks.
To clear a party-play dungeon solo, I had to be prepared to take so hits and press forward.
Since the potion cooldown was 30 seconds, I could cover the damage from one wave of scales with a potion during the special pattern.
However, I had used up 10 potions just to clear this one nad boss.
It wasn’t a sustainable strategy.
I opened my inventory and frowned at the dwindling number of potions I had left.
"I used way too many potions..."
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