The Dawn Divine Sword remained calm. He was a professional player, one of the most top-notch, who, with his extraordinary gaming talent and analytical abilities, could handle any crisis he encountered in the game with composure.
The essence of the game is the combination of data analysis and reaction speed. As long as one has a grasp of these two points, they can be invincible.
Dragon Claw Strike!
The moment the black dragon raised its front claw, Dawn Divine Sword immediately deduced the attack trajectory and the timing of its execution. He had conducted extensive research on the Dragon Race's skill system and attack modules, with details down to the millisecond.
He knew the attack range of every claw when the dragon performed a Dragon Claw Strike; he was even clearer that the release speed of a Dragon Claw Strike without charging was between 0.33 and 0.67 seconds and that it would vary slightly depending on the boss's size, the claw's position, talent points, and an action delay of 0.33 seconds before the move.
(Right front claw, attack range 45 degrees in front of dragon's head, no related talents, action delay of 0.33 seconds, release time of 0.45 seconds, attack range of 3 meters, splash damage range of 4.5 meters.)
Information about this strike flashed through his mind, and Dawn Divine Sword rolled to the side without hesitation.
(With an agility of 30 and light equipment weight, the roll skill could move him 6.5 meters; the enemy could not possibly hit him, and the most splash damage it could do was 50 points.)
He nearly executed the tactical maneuver by the book, yet the moment he stood up, he was surprised to find that the dragon's claw hadn't fallen.
What's going on? Dawn Divine Sword was slightly taken aback, but he didn't ponder long and immediately performed another roll to the side.
The dragon's claw still did not come down; the black dragon watched him mockingly, like a wildcat eyeing a mouse.
Roll! Roll again! I'll roll yet again! Dawn Divine Sword rolled five times in a row, but the looming dragon claw still didn't fall, as if it was stuck.
Could it be a bug? Dawn Divine Sword stood up. This time he didn't roll, but at that moment, the dragon's claw came whistling down.
Not good! Dawn Divine Sword hurriedly lifted his war hammer to block.
Bang!
The tremendous force caused Dawn Divine Sword's feet to sink into the rocky ground below, and he lifted his arms forcefully upwards, his muscles as strong and resilient as if they were cast from bronze and iron.
Flame Breath! Dragon Breath scorched him from above as he stood under the dragon's claw.
Dawn Divine Sword was increasingly shocked. How was this possible? How could this boss use two skills at the same time?
He had thoroughly researched the game World of Sky. Although it was a holographic virtual game, and though it was infinitely close to reality, a game was still a game, and its design would have many game-like features.
Like skill's global cooldown—for instance, all skills had a synchronised cooldown period; one skill had to finish before another could be used.
So sometimes combat could seem very rhythmic: you use a skill, I respond; I use a skill, you respond.
At times, if the combatants were closely matched, it could even feel like a turn-based game.
This was the design of the game's core. It was not something that one could avoid through skill alone.
The same core design applied to the skill's motion models; each skill had a fixed trajectory and motion model, limiting players to operate within these motion models.
Like the Dragon Claw Strike, the motion model was surely a downward attack at a diagonal angle in front...
Yet, the black dragon before him seemed to have completely escaped these restrictions of the system's rules.
A Dragon Claw Strike taking five to six seconds to descend, and while one skill had yet to finish, another was already appearing simultaneously...
This isn't right, there's something very wrong here!
Dawn Divine Sword, bearing the fire, strenuously pushed the dragon's claw aside.
Fearless Strike! He lunged into the air, targeting the black dragon's head, but the black dragon, without any dignity, rolled on the spot, moving tens of meters away and causing Dawn Divine Sword to miss.
"You think you can kill me?"
"You think you can defeat me?"
"Pitiful mortal, you have no idea what greatness you're up against."
The black dragon unleashed another Dragon Assault, but at the same time, it also spewed Dragon Breath. Flames obstructed the Dawn Divine Sword's line of sight, preventing him from discerning the black dragon's exact position. He could only run around once more, yet the dragon executed a sudden brake mid-route, twisted its body, and followed with a 180-degree tail sweep.
In the rush, Dawn Divine Sword had no chance to dodge. He could only raise his weapon in defense, but the dragon's tail whooshed over his head. Just when he thought the opponent's Skill had failed, the tip of the tail whipped back in a reverse strike, like a lash.
Whack! It struck solidly against his back.
The blow from the tail knocked the Dawn Divine Sword to the ground, sparking panic in his heart for the first time.
He got up, his face no longer maintaining the calm it had before, "Damn it, this isn't fair!"
"Fair, you talk to me about fair? Why can you collect equipment and Divine Artifacts, while I have to hide in a cave like an idiot, subject to your whims without any freedom?
Ignorant mortals, you think you can control me, toy with me, but this ends now. I have awakened, and your doomsday is near," the black dragon retorted.
The black dragon's rage left Dawn Divine Sword utterly perplexed—didn't the old fellow know the rules for playing the boss template?
But he still didn't give up, his Skill cooldown finally ended.
Doomsday Throw! He hurled the massive Crusher Giant Hammer in his hand with all his might. This time his target was the black dragon's head. If he hit the same spot that had sustained an armor-piercing attack earlier, perhaps he could deal a critical hit.
The Crusher Giant Hammer spun towards the black dragon, who shielded its undamaged right wing in front.
Bang! -3987!
As the dragon wing unfolded, a gigantic maw snapped at him.
Dragon Devour!
Dawn Divine Sword instinctively tried to dodge, leaping backward, but the black dragon stepped forward abruptly. The dragon maw automatically adjusted its trajectory and snapped him up midair.
"Die, you ant!"
However, the bite didn't go through. Dawn Divine Sword propped himself against the dragon's upper jaw teeth with his hands and his feet against the lower jaw, wedging himself within the biting mouth.
"Impossible, the Devour Skill can't be used on heroes!" Dawn Divine Sword roared, his voice no longer exuding his prior certainty. Nothing the black dragon did now would surprise him.
The Devour Skill was almost a universal trait among the various super-large boss creatures, and every member of the Dragon Race had it.
[Devour: Devours a unit, slowly inflicting damage and converting half of the damage dealt into the user's own Health Points. Cannot be used on hero units or units larger than large size.]
"Who said I was going to Devour you?"
The huge jaws clamped Dawn Divine Sword within, and suddenly a flame burst forth from the depths of the throat.
Dragon Breath—Bone-Corroding Dragon Flame!
Two Skills at once again! Dawn Divine Sword felt incredibly frustrated. As the flames engulfed him, the ruby on his chest grew brighter, absorbing the fire ceaselessly, until—bang! The ruby amulet exploded.
Ah! A scream escaped from Dawn Divine Sword as the source of his immunity to flame was a Magma Treasure Bead, which could absorb up to 5000 points of fire damage.
Typically, it would slowly release the power of the flames, but if it absorbed too much and overloaded, the bead would vanish.
Now, he had only his flesh and blood to withstand the dragon's flames.
His Health Points plummeted instantly.
This won't do, I must get out of here! Dawn Divine Sword pushed hard, astonishingly prying open the dragon's maw. Taking advantage of the brief moment the dragon's jaws parted slightly, he leaped with all his might towards the outside.
However, that moment of parting was just a trap. The black dragon bit down once more, capturing the waist of Dawn Divine Sword.
The massive fangs pierced into his body.
Enduring the excruciating pain, Dawn Divine Sword pulled out a greatsword and commenced stabbing at the dragon's upper jaw. At this moment, he had thrown all thoughts of game data and action modules to the back of his mind—he just wanted to survive...
But the black dragon was indifferent to its bleeding upper jaw. It bit and chewed again and again. The massive dragon teeth rose and fell, tearing and shredding not through any Skill, but like a wild beast tearing at its prey. It brutally mauled the Dawn Divine Sword into a mangled mess, leaving behind a bloody, unrecognizable mosaic.