Defeating Orthrus is enough for me to fill half of my Exp bar. Its almost time for me to reach Level 54 and I guess I will reach that level after clearing the dungeon.
The monsters here are all insignificant enemies and they did not pose any threat so I just killed any monsters on the way and also picking up a lot of materials, coins and equipments in which, I all stacked inside my inventory without a second look.
In my estimation, I have spent 28 minutes here on the dungeon now. Even though it is a hard one, I still managed to keep myself alive and full of HP. My HP potions and mana potions are still plenty and my Live saving skills from the Holy Knight And Cleric classes are all on backup. After hacking my way through, I finally reach the next boss room. Unlike on Orthrus' room, there is no guard this time and it will be a brawl this time.
Pushing it open, the door of the boss room rickety which is quite an eerie thing. I made a step and In saw a sharp stare coming from the Boss.
"Cerberus, the Three Headed Guardian"
Level 49
HP: ?/?
Attribute: Darkness, Flame
Unlike from the previous Cerberus, its attack pattern changed from brute strength to Magic Reliant. It usually won't go anywhere far from its first position and will only shoot attacks that are usually hard to evade or counter. Its HP is also beyond from its first limit so naturally, it has a high HP. From what I can remember, this boss has 10,000,000
I drank the Wizard Potion and Dragon Strength Potions once more and prepared to battle by changing my weapon into a gun and dash through the boss without any trace of panic. Entering its Agrro Range, Cerberus quickly rose from its position and growled as Cerberus have seen me.
"Raaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"
The ear piercing howl is much more intimidating than what I faced last time. According to my experiences, in Abyss Mode, Cerberus is no longer attacking too much physically and considered immovable. From what I can remember, Spear users have advantage against Cerberus. Accompanied with its shield and spear techniques, this is one of the best gameplay to face against a beast.
I quickly changed to Spear and shield and just as the transformation of the Versatile Weapon got finished, Cerberus already begin the assault by opening its middle mouth and forming a huge fireball aimed at me. I quite knew how difficult it is to dodge that fireball and I usually brace on it rather than dodge. Cerberus will likely follow up Lava Geyser beneath me after I dodge. In my Magic Knight times, I usually endure that attack and if I was lucky to team up with a Paladin, then it won't be much trouble as they will automatically tank it. But now that I have the ability to be a Paladin too, I don't need to rely on enduring the strike.
CRACKLE!
The fireball flew in high speed, and if one is not fast and perceptive enough, you can't dodge this fireball. Still calm as ever as I advance, I raised my shield and stood my ground.
BOOM!
I am not really that proficient and used to the shield. I might have returned and was able to use different class but it was different if you are not proficient enough on that and was not used to it. Luckily, my Photographic Memory allows me to imitate the stance of the Paladins I partied with to handle strong strikes like that. After the fireball hit my shield, I quickly shoulder the shield so that I can use the flexibility of the spear.
Using it like a pole, I quickly darted and closed the gap of me and Cerberus and quickly stab its front paws repeatedly using spear skills that is shabby but good enough to inflict damage. After doing a combo, I quickly back away before its front paws slams on me, and since I dodge away, its attack fell into the ground and leave a crater. I felt a cold sweat on the back of my head. Even though I am already able to predict and already knew its skills beforehand, I still felt a cold chill if I was hit by that attack. Being slammed and knocked down, by the boss will be dangerous enough.
Cerberus indeed never moved away and its three heads are still chomping, ready to attack me. I knew that it will be a hard fight but I am aiming to kill the boss fast so that I get to earn the first kill and also leave a fastest clear record. Cerberus slams its long tail in the ground and its body formed a low ground stance, like it is ready to pounce. It is one of its skill, Shadow Tackle. Though it is called tackle, it is more similar to Pouncing since Cerberus will use one of its three head to attack you after it performed a tackle which is quite devastating.
I quickly pull out a Petrify Splash and throws an entire bottle towards it. Petrify Splash can usually petrify anything but that doesn't mean petrifying the whole body, you can only petrify the part you have hit with the bottle. Since it is a splash, this is not just something you can expect good results.
Roar!
Crack! The Petrify Splash did not even hold Cerberus for a second and darted towards me. Calm as before, I quickly cast Freezing Prison which acts as a delaying spell against Cerberus allowing me to escape in time. Rolling away, I chanted a skill as I get a bit of distance to Cerberus.
"Thy power of the placid waters, heed my call thy which slice thy enemies to pieces, Water Blade!"
A huge arc of water slice forth towards the Cerberus. Cerberus quickly broke off from the Freezing Prison and quickly shot a Fireball towards the incoming projectile.
SSSSSSS!
Of course, I already knew that Cerberus will do that but I have already darted towards the blast. As water and fire collides, steam appears and since this game follows the Reality System, this physics is following the rule and outcome. Steam arose in the air, making fog like foliage for a while. Enough for me to hide my cover.
Su!
Closing my distance again with Cerberus, I quickly bash my shield towards the center head before doing a back flip that allows me to kick its head. Successful on doing so, I did not stop there and quickly changed my weapon into daggers which Ninja's use and since they are usually a dual wield, it appears both in my hands. I darted back to Cerberus and made calculated swings that can cancel out every spell that Cerberus tries to cast before backing off. Every combo has its end and to avoid disaster befalling after the combo, it is best to back away instead of staying close to its proximity where you have a higher chance of being slammed into the ground, reducing you into a meat paste.
As expected, Cerberus slammed both its paws to where I was earlier and made a huge crater on the floor. I still remember that Cerberus once dealt and wipe out a whole party by only slamming them all dead on the ground. It was a humiliating defeat since it was livestreamed in the internet as part of the walkthrough on dealing the Abyss Mode of the Lesser Purgatory. They were so ashamed that they restarted their accounts and changed their names. They were given the nickname "Pound for Pound Kings and Queens".
I quickly changed my weapon and since I am in a few distance with Cerberus, I cast the high critical rate skill of Gunslingers.
"Marksmanship Bullet!"
BANG!
In an instant, Cerberus' HP fell to 50% from 53% earlier. Marksmanship Bullet is a skill with High Critical ratio and High damage output with a chance to become a skill popular for gunners. Its only downside is the high cooldown which is 5 minutes. For starters, its a skill that is usually utilized on killing enemies with low HP. I casually used this skill since it wont work on bosses and I needed to keep the damage output and finish this boss as fast as possible.
Cerberus opened the three mouths together producing black spheres. This is the well known Darkness skill of Cerberus; Dark Ray. This attack is only present in Abyss Mode. Only players who dived into the Abyss Mode and reached Cerberus will know its might and even me has to endure it.
"Oh God of Light, Protect me from the tainted world of darkness and dispel the curse on me as I trudge to the light! Holy Devotion!"
"The Power of the Mankind, awaken before me and perform wondrous miracles! Let the whole world know that mankind will stand! Rapid Regeneration!"
The Dark Ray is known as a continuous skill that will last for 30 seconds and during that time, you need to endure the damages that are falling to your body. And who said that it was a very significant skill that can be dodged? No, the whole room will be engulfed by this attacks and even Cerberus is engulfed by this power. It's damage is quite dangerous as it can cause 10,000 damage per 5 seconds. When me and Dolly know it at first, we were sent immediately to the Cathedral. The only way to block it is to craft Invulnerability Juice or have a Holy Knight cast Holy Devotion and a Cleric to cast Rapid Regeneration to the whole team. This way, surviving the battle is high. If you are not lucky, then the cathedral is your destination.
Holy Devotion allows players with the effects to survive an onslaught for 30 seconds leaving them only with 1 HP. Due to that, Rapid Regeneration is a necessary thing so that once Holy Devotion's effects are gone, they can quickly regain the HP that got chipped off and fight the boss once more.
The attacks finally hit me, and I guess it has been a while since I felt the pain that this attacks inflict. I gritted my teeth as I saw all of my HP rapidly reduced to 1 HP. The pain was almost unbearable and in my perspective, this 30 seconds is pretty long.
"GRAAAH! F*CKER!" I shouted from the top of my lungs as I endure the unbearable pain. Even though it was still a game, this so annoying that pain is almost as realistic as the real world. The feeling of pain I am currently feeling is similar to those wounds inflicted when being burned or scalded by boiling water.
The 30 seconds quickly passed by and the attacks were also done but the attacks that my body felt still remains fresh. Cerberus will also momentarily rest a bit due to the exhaustion of mana power. My HP slowly grow back with the help of Rapid Regeneration and the HP potion I bought. If you survive the fight, you can now kill this guy. Besides mana exhaustion, the Dark Ray that Cerberus cast is also making its toll to the boss reducing its HP to critical levels.
Despite me, feeling so weak, I felt that it is time for me to attack again while the chance is still here.
"I am not some kind of petty player! You are just a pebble in my way! Thy power of the placid waters, heed my call thy which slice thy enemies to pieces, Water Blade!"
I raised my hand and another surge of Water Blade appeared in my hand and struck Cerberus.
RAWR?!
The Cerberus was stunned as it didn't expect me to retaliate as soon as the Dark Ball was done. Its body is in the weakest when the Dark Ball is cast.
SWISH!
As the defense of the Cerberus was down at the moment and the HP hits the Critical Levels after the attack, Cerberus has no way to retaliate and faced the attack. Due to the attack, Cerberus was cut in half and was killed immediately.
-LEVEL UP!
Wow, after the battle, I got to level up again and now I am level 54. I am one step away from beating the Lesser Purgatory. Its already 50 minutes since I attacked the dungeon. Fatigue was built to 50% already, looks like it rose a lot due to the Dark Ray attack. I have no time to rest. I need to finish the dungeon...