Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

Chapter 97

[Second Named Boss]

[Level 48 Lesser Demon]

[HP: 45,560,771 / 50,000,000 (91%)]

No matter the named boss, the first attempt is always the hardest.

It’s important to clash against it, learn its patterns, and establish an optimal damage cycle that matches those patterns.

For example, in the case of the demon's pattern where it swings its arms side to side, you only need to block the second strike, which has knockback. The first hit can be taken and healed with a potion, or if you have good reflexes and agility stats, you can dodge it and continue attacking.

Then, taking advantage of the delay after its next attack, you squeeze in a strong skill to maintain the damage cycle.

For a fighter, after countering the knockback pattern, you can follow up with two Rising Fists, two Straight Punches, a Spin Kick, a Turning Kick, and evade backward while resisting the AoE ground slam, closing the gap again with an uppercut.

Through repetition and mastery, you establish the most efficient damage cycle. Once mastered, you can easily double the damage output you had during the first attempt.

In that sense, the second named boss, *Lesser Demon*, standing before Chris’s party, made for an excellent practice dummy.

Chris’s party had fought a similar creature many times in *Astria Online*'s second elite dungeon, *The Sealed Demon's Tomb*. The only difference was that its HP had increased significantly, and its patterns were faster.

Boom, boom! Crackle, crackle!

Deathmaster stood firmly in front of the demon, continuing his fluid attacks. Cherni and Beimerung maneuvered expertly, dodging the threatening frontal fire patterns while relentlessly pouring in damage.

Chris clutched her talisman with a smile.

This situation favored Chris’s party.

They had often been outpaced by Rain due to her overwhelming adaptation to new boss patterns, but when faced with a familiar named boss, Chris’s party could surpass Rain’s damage output.

However, the real challenge was the special phase. This was sure to be different from the *Sealed Lesser Demon*.

The demon's HP soon reached 90%.

Chris warned her party members.

"From here on, it’s crucial! There's no way we’ll take down this much HP with brute force alone! You saw it during the mid-boss—keep an eye on the battlefield! Special objects or adds might spawn!"

Tap, tap!

The three ranged attackers, excluding Deathmaster, scattered in all directions. It was important to be ready for any special objects that might appear, ensuring quick responses.

As expected, when the Lesser Demon’s HP hit 90%, it entered a special phase.

Rrrrgh!

Whoosh! Boom!

The demon roared and stomped, leaping backward and landing in front of the door to the third zone.

Wooooong, fwoooosh!

Red dark energy began gathering in the demon’s enormous hand. At the same time, its entire body was engulfed in fierce flames, so hot that even the ice floor of the Frozen Palace was slowly melting.

Deathmaster, who had been about to engage the demon, frowned and retreated.

"Damn, I can’t get close! I’m taking continuous fire damage just by being nearby!"

"A pattern that prevents us from approaching?"

Thud, thud! Fwoosh.

"It’s immune to ranged projectiles too!"

The flames emanating from the demon’s body devoured the ranged attackers' projectiles as well.

Chris quickly gave the order.

"Forget about the demon for now! Search the battlefield!"

This was the kind of pattern that prevented the party from dealing damage. They had to execute the gimmick. If they failed, the dark energy the demon was gathering would transform into a wipe attack, annihilating the entire party.

Wooong.

Chris's prediction was spot on.

With a resonating sound, three *Lesser Demon Phantoms* appeared from three directions on the battlefield.

If you positioned the named demon at 12 o’clock, the phantoms appeared at 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and 9 o’clock.

Chris quickly made a decision.

"Deathmaster, take the 9 o’clock phantom! I’ll handle the one at 6 o’clock! Cherni, send your Gnome Spirit to the phantom at 3 o’clock! Beimerung, cover the central area!"

Tap, tap, tap!

Chris’s party moved swiftly, each taking responsibility for one of the phantoms.

Boom, boom, boom!

The phantom's patterns were simple, identical to the mid-boss—just a repeated pattern of firing dark energy shots. Chris's party easily handled the tanking.

However...

"Their HP is 20 million! It’s the same as the mid-boss!"

"It doesn’t seem like we’re supposed to take them down with brute force either!"

Hearing Cherni and Beimerung’s shouts, Chris decided to use a crowd control skill on the phantom before her.

Just like with the first named boss, this phantom might exhibit a special gesture if hit with a debuff.

Either it would vanish, or it would drop an object needed for the gimmick.

Tap, tap, tap. Talismans flew through the air and embedded themselves around the phantom, forming a magic circle. Chris also activated her Yin-Yang Orb, spinning it around and targeting the phantom’s lower body. She used both skills simultaneously to trigger a combo stun and cause a knockdown.

Boom! The talisman exploded, and the Yin-Yang Orb swept across the phantom’s legs.@@@@

Yet, the Lesser Demon Phantom remained standing.

"Wh-what?! It was immune to knockdowns when I tried!"

"Hold on, Chris. Do you see it? The three phantoms look slightly different."

"Oh...!"

The phantom that had just disappeared had

notably thinner legs than the others.

Cherni and Beimerung stared in disbelief.

"No way...!"

"They really do look different!"

Tap, tap!

Having vanquished the 3 o’clock phantom, Rain quickly spun and executed a backward evade. In an instant, she leapt across the space, landing in front of the 6 o’clock phantom.

Grabbing her silver sword, *Astaroth*, with both hands, Rain swung upwards with tremendous force, slicing through the phantom from below. At the same time, she lowered her body, planted her hands on the ground, and kicked upward with both legs.

Thud!

The phantom, now airborne, glowed brightly before disappearing.

"This phantom’s body is smaller. It seems to be the lightest one, easy to knock into the air."

Flash!

Before Deathmaster could even finish his sentence, Rain’s body flashed as she dashed toward the 9 o’clock phantom using her slashing technique to close the gap.

"She’s using backward evade and her slashing move as mobility tools."

"That’s the advantage of solo play. In party play, each class would use their own status effect skills on different phantoms."

Woooom!

Solo play. It was a race against time.

While Rain was dealing with two of the phantoms, the named demon had gathered dark energy to its limit.

If she delayed any further, the same attack that wiped Chris’s party would be unleashed.

The last phantom had a noticeably larger head. It likely needed to be stunned.

To defeat this phantom, two stun skills would be required.

Rain only had one stun skill, *Pommel Strike*. What would she do?

"Rain...!"

Chris watched Rain approach the final phantom, holding her breath.

Tap.

Rain closed the distance in an instant, striking the phantom’s abdomen with the hilt of her sword. Thud! The *Pommel Strike* connected, causing the phantom to stagger briefly. It raised its hand to cast dark energy. Woooom!

Tap. Rain leapt slightly into the air, spinning once in midair before delivering a powerful kick. Thud! The kick connected with the phantom’s temple, causing it to freeze in place before vanishing.

"She’s better at kicking than a fighter."

Deathmaster clicked his tongue.

In the virtual reality game *Astria Online*, in theory, it was possible to cause status effects by directly targeting weak spots with precise physical movements, rather than relying solely on skills.

But theory was just that—pure theory. Even Deathmaster, with his boxing experience, found it difficult to land such precise hits in the heat of battle.

Yet Rain? She had effortlessly hit the weak spot.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Woooom!

The massive red orb of dark energy in the named demon’s hand reached its final form.

Rumble!

At the same time, a huge ice mirror appeared in the center of the battlefield.

All the phantoms were defeated, and a special object had spawned.

Rain quickly hid behind the ice mirror.

BOOOOOM!

The dark energy orb slammed into the mirror, which absorbed the attack and reflected it back at the demon in the form of freezing energy.

Fwoooosh! Crack!

Rrrrrrgh-!?

The absolute cold extinguished the hellish flames, freezing parts of the demon’s massive body. The demon’s HP began to steadily decrease.

Under the *Frozen* status effect, the demon could no longer resist as Rain's starlight rained down upon it.

The demon had no chance to retaliate.

---

Swoosh.

Turning her back to her speechless teammates, Chris stood up.

She glanced over at her stunned party members and grinned widely.

"What are you waiting for? Rain-sensei has given us the answers. Time to solve the problem!"