Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

Chapter 18

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*Flash!*

*Clang!*

A flash of light from my sword struck the statue, the sharp slash hitting its body.

A sound like striking solid metal echoed through the air as sparks flew, leaving a gash in the statue’s surface.

*Whoosh!*

The statue swung its enormous sword with one hand. The sword, as large as my entire body, came crashing down, threatening to cleave me in two.

But the movement was slow and wide. With my current agility in *Draw Stance*, I could easily dodge without the need to block.

*Tatat!*

*Whoosh!*

I dashed to the right, narrowly evading the statue’s massive sword as it embedded itself into the floor of the corridor.

*Tatat!*

*Slash! Slash!*

I swiftly circled around to the statue’s right side, launching consecutive *Moonlight Slashes*. The rapid, powerful attacks steadily reduced the statue’s HP.

*Oooooh!*

Could a statue make noise? A strange sound echoed through the corridor as if it were vibrating from deep within the stone itself. I used *backward evasion* to put some distance between myself and the statue.

*Oooooh!*

At the same moment, the statue gripped the sword with both hands and slammed it into the floor with great force.

*Boom!*

A shockwave erupted from the tip of the statue’s sword, spreading through the walls and up to the ceiling.

The entire corridor shook violently. Would it collapse?

*Rumble, rumble.*

The shockwave rippled outward, but I was already out of its range and took no damage.

The statue, as sturdy as if it had never been worn down by time, stood tall, its HP reflecting its resilience.

However, the pattern wasn’t particularly threatening.

The shockwave that originated from the sword was flashy but had a limited range. A single *backward evasion* and two additional steps were enough to get out of harm's way.

And its other attacks? With my increased agility in *Draw Stance*, I could dodge them easily, as the statue's movements were slow compared to the sharp, quick attacks of the wyvern.

That meant I didn’t need to block; I could just stay in *Draw Stance* and keep slashing with *Moonlight Slash*.@@@@

Dodging attacks while continuously slashing the named boss’s HP down—I could call this technique "Rain’s Apple Peeling."

*Tatat!*

As soon as the shockwave pattern ended, I quickly closed the distance with the statue and unleashed another round of slashes, the moonlit sword flashes illuminating the corridor.

[2nd Named Boss]

[Master’s Statue]

[HP 263,510/308,000]

The statue’s HP, which had once seemed endless, had now dropped significantly.

Based on my experience fighting previous named bosses, it wouldn’t be surprising if a special pattern appeared soon.

*Whoosh!*

I easily dodged the giant sword the statue swung at me, staying alert.

How will it react?

Would it transform like a robot with a second or third phase? Maybe it’d start firing lasers from its eyes.

But the sign of the special pattern came in a way I hadn’t expected.

*Crack.*

It wasn’t something I saw—it was something I heard.

*Tatat.*

The sound of something breaking gave me an ominous feeling, so I quickly moved away from the statue.

What was that sound?

Actually, I had heard it before.

Back when I first encountered the statue.

"Guh!"

Forcing myself to look toward the right side of the corridor, I saw what I had feared.

The statues that had been mere decorations on the walls...

*Crack. Crack.*

One of them was now rising from its dormant position.

---

"Huff, huff."

I hid around a corner in the corridor, catching my breath.

The statues, having lost their target, returned to their original positions as if nothing had happened.

It was almost as if they were pretending they hadn’t moved at all, and I puffed out my cheeks in frustration.

What now?

Three statues were manageable. I could probably handle four if I really pushed myself.

But it was obvious that four wouldn’t be the end of it.

Even without counting, I could tell there were more than twenty statues lining the walls of the corridor.

No doubt about it.

As time passed, they would all rise, one by one.

It was a time attack pattern.

A dungeon meant for four players. An elite dungeon.

If a party of four with strong firepower challenged it, they’d probably only have to deal with three or four additional statues before defeating the boss. But on my own, I’d have to face at least ten.

And the more statues there were, the harder it would get.

But I had no choice.

I was alone, with no party members to rely on for damage.

I had to do as much damage as possible, all by myself.

It was a matter of adapting.

I quickly formulated a plan.

"I’ll ignore the *Knight’s Statues* and focus on beating the *Master’s Statue* to death."

Time for the "Just Focus on One" strategy.

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[2nd Named Boss]

[Master’s Statue]

[HP 22,041/308,000]

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Boom!*

*Tatat!*

*Slash! Slash!*

"Die! Die already!"

By now, I was being chased by a total of eleven statues.

After multiple attempts, I had mastered the art of "dribbling" them.

As long as the *Knight’s Statues* were moving to chase me, they wouldn’t attack. All of the statues were "melee walkers."

So, I just needed to keep running around while only focusing on the *Master’s Statue*.

It sounded easy, but the process to get here had been far from simple.

If I miscalculated the distance even slightly, several statues would simultaneously trigger their shockwave patterns.

Watching them all embed their swords into the ground and unleash shockwaves was like a grand fireworks show. I had to sprint away as fast as I could while admiring the view.

But I had finally made it this far.

I closed the distance and completed a *Moonlight Slash* cycle.

Then, as the *Knight’s Statues* caught up, I evaded them

and closed in on the *Master’s Statue* for another cycle.

Repeating that over and over, I finally saw the *Master’s Statue* nearing its end, its HP dangerously low.

One more hit.

"Die!"

Ignoring the *Knight’s Statues*, I rushed forward for the final blow.

*Flash!*

The last *Moonlight Slash* flashed with brilliance.

*Ooooooh!*

The *Master’s Statue* trembled violently before collapsing.

The light in its eyes faded, and the stone pieces crumbled as the statue lost all strength.

*Crack.*

The remaining *Knight’s Statues*, now close to me, stopped their heavy movements.

*Thud.*

I collapsed among the statues, utterly exhausted.

With a blank expression, I managed to say one thing.

"I... I did it."