Chapter 18: Pearl King, Hundred-Eyed Giant
As the Hundred-Eyed Giant roared and rushed out of the underwater cave, the boss fight began. The druid, who had been swimming at the forefront, roared in response, transforming into a giant bear and slamming into the giant with force.
With a loud crash, Leon saw that the Squad had already positioned themselves and launched their attacks on the Hundred-Eyed Giant.
Half-submerged in the water, Leon had not been noticed by the giant, giving him a moment to plan his next move.
Before arriving, the Squad had already briefed Leon on the situation with the Hundred-Eyed Giant. This giant, much like the final boss, had three different combat forms.
Most players encountered the basic form known as the Light King. In this form, the giant's body was covered in numerous small eyes, and each eye represented both its health and attack mechanism. Every time an eye was destroyed, the giant lost 1% of its health.
When 33, 66, and 99 eyes were destroyed, the remaining eyes would release crimson beams that attacked the entire area. Any player unable to dodge or with low health would be instantly killed by these beams. This form was called the Light King.
The second form appeared roughly once every hundred dungeons. Unlike the Light King, this version of the Hundred-Eyed Giant had no eyes left, only scars of varying sizes. This was due to a powerful cyclops who, in a final act, gouged out all the eyes that had been implanted in him by the Black Hand organization.
These eyes were fashioned into a massive warhammer, which the giant wielded for devastating area attacks.
When 33, 66, and 99 of the eyes on the warhammer were extinguished, the Hundred-Eyed Giant would initiate a targeted attack. Any player named during this attack, regardless of their class, would be instantly killed unless they had a life-saving skill. This form, focused on physical damage, was dubbed the Hammer King.
The last form, the rarest and most favored by players, was the one Leon now faced. The Hundred-Eyed Giant appeared as if it were clad in armor made of shells. These shells opened and closed, revealing thumb-sized pearls inside.
Indeed, these pearls had replaced the giant's eyes and served the same function.
When 33, 66, and 99 pearls were destroyed, the remaining pearls would launch a full-screen attack. The bubbles released by the pearls were powerful, but they moved slowly and were relatively easy to dodge, making this form the easiest of the three.
However, players didn't pursue this form, known as the Pearl King, because it was easier to defeat. Instead, it was due to the immense rewards it offered. Since the opening of the main map, the Land of Desolation dungeon had been run nearly 30,000 times, yet the Pearl King had only appeared three times.
Furthermore, these three Pearl Kings dropped no other equipment except for a fist-sized pearl, which increased the success rate of all synthesis, sacrifice, recruitment, crafting, and alchemy actions by 30%. And by "all," it meant all levels and all skills.
This effect alone caused the so-called "Lucky Pearl" to sell for astronomical prices.
In addition, the Pearl King had a 50% chance of dropping an extra blueprint for a Pearl Farm. Though the resources required to build it were considerable, once constructed, it would produce 100 pearls annually. These pearls were highly sought-after materials in tailoring, leatherworking, and blacksmithing.
This effectively provided players with a stable source of income, significantly aiding their development.
[Hundred-Eyed Giant, Old Cyclops]
[Race: Modified Humanoid Creature]
[Level: Lv1 (9-Star) Boss Template]
[Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 9, Constitution 10, Spirit 5]
[Description: A modified cyclops, the shells on its body contain powerful magic pearls. Each magic pearl is the source of its strength.]
Seeing this situation, Leon's first instinct was to find a safe place to hide. After all, the benefits the Pearl King offered were too tempting, and for a moment, he wondered if the Squad might abandon him and take all the spoils for themselves.
But when he turned to look at the hunter, who seemed hesitant, Leon felt relieved.
This was just a game, and no matter how valuable the Lucky Pearl was, it couldn't sustain a player for life. A player who lost their credibility would never be accepted by others, no matter how strong they were. That much was undeniable.
Leon temporarily relaxed and focused intently on the Hundred-Eyed Giant before him, carefully observing the Squad' attacks on the giant and keeping count of how many pearls had been destroyed.
This was Leon's only option for now. Normally, every player, regardless of class, had a way of observing the enemy. When they knew the enemy's details, they could warn the team when the enemy was about to launch an attack or unleash a powerful skill.
But Leon hadn't chosen a class yet, so he had to rely on the observational skills he honed while acting as bait in the Level 0 maps to time his dodges.
When Leon had counted 30 pearls, his body tensed, and his concentration sharpened.
As the hunter and thief attacked simultaneously, Leon sprang into action. He saw all the shells on the giant's body open, releasing countless bubbles that floated upwards like a bubble storm.
The bubbles were beautiful, but Leon knew that even touching a single one would mean death. So, as soon as the bubbles were released, he rushed toward the area with fewer bubbles, preparing to dodge.
Compared to Leon, the others had a much easier time evading. The druid, in bear form, simply swiped at the bubbles floating toward him, and a gust of wind blew them away, creating enough space for him to dodge most of them. Even the remaining few didn't seem to bother the druid much.
The thief and hunter employed similar tactics, using their weapons to burst any bubbles they couldn't avoid.
As for the shaman, it was even simpler. He placed down a Flametongue Totem, and any bubbles that got too close were destroyed by the totem's fire.
Of course, Leon had no time to watch how the others dodged. Although the hunter had warned him about the trouble these bubbles posed, Leon hadn't expected them to be this problematic.
There were 660 bubbles of various sizes. If a bubble hit a player, it would explode, taking a chunk of their health. If it hit the ground, it would bounce back up and fall again. Each time a bubble was attacked or hit the ground, its damage decreased by one-third. After bouncing three times, the bubble would disappear.
The problem was, although Leon managed to dodge the first wave of bubbles, the second wave—comprising rebounding bubbles—was more erratic, throwing him off balance. By the time the third wave rebounded, the bubbles had picked up speed, almost catching him off guard.