"Go, go, go! Keep it up, we'll get the first Boss!!!"
Mujou was extremely excited.
The entire team was continuously attacking.
Flying Blade, Divine Druid, Blade Dancer, and Musician.
The lineup completely skipped using the Fighting Monk for Taunt, directly employing the Divine Druid and Onmyoji to protect the Flying Blade.
The presence of the Blade Dancer was due to the residual effect from when No One teamed up with Black & White.
No One watched his guild battle while also keeping an eye on Black & White's live channel.
Oh... My dream team...
This lineup was initially intended for the Phantom of Avery Snow.
The sustained damage output by the Flying Blade is absolutely overwhelming.
The Divine Druid is truly a new class that's just too broken.
If the Musician specializes in handling damage, then the Divine Druid specializes in dealing with control effects.
Both have very strong healing abilities.
This pair together really solves many survival puzzles.
The Flying Blade alone truly carries the team's damage output.
In this lineup, the Blade Dancer seems more like the one attracting aggro.
The Blade Dancer class is not at all a tank class.
No defensive buffs, no recovery, no threat-pulling skills.
The unique point of this lineup is that the only one dealing damage and attracting aggro is the Blade Dancer.
The Flying Blade's skills enables zero aggro.Therefore, the aggro will all focus on the Blade Dancer.
Thus, avoiding the attacks of the Phantom Demonic Form rests entirely on No One.
In the initial attempts, there were truly many failures, as the Phantom Demonic Form's attacks are extremely treacherous.
Fortunately, the Phantom Demonic Form is "dumber" than the Phantom of Avery Snow.
If his Master heard his inner thoughts right now, he would probably hang him up and punch him.
The Phantom of Avery Snow can alter skills and techniques to deal with opponents.
Meanwhile, the Phantom Demonic Form's attack patterns are still very rigid.
A world of difference.
Thanks to this, he is actually able to confront and deal with the Phantom Demonic Form.
After reaching the 30% phase, if players stop attacking the Phantom Demonic Form, it will immediately transform into the Phantom Demonblade.
Facing the Phantom Demonblade only leads to death. Its vitality also fully recovers.
Therefore, the source of damage against the Phantom Demonic Form must be continuous.
The skill [Ten Thousand Swords Return To Origin] of the Flying Blade perfectly addresses this issue.
This continuous damage ensures the Phantom Demonic Form does not transform into the Demonblade.
The task left is to continuously accept death to learn the attack pattern of the Phantom Demonic Form.
Thrust - Sword slash - teleport - AOE around - teleport - AOE around - sword slash - thrust.
The basic pattern is like that. Not too difficult, somewhat simple compared to some of the game's more challenging bosses.
The main issue is the two AOEs around.Each AOE will choose one of three effects: Darkness, Poison, or Burn.
Poison and Burn will inflict damage over time on those hit.
The difference is that Poison will reduce stats, prevent healing, and block the use of skills.
Burn, on the other hand, causes very high damage.
And the most challenging effect for No One is Darkness.
It causes blindness.
Every attack made while in this condition will miss.
The hardest part for the whole team is Poison.
Being unable to use skills or heal is incredibly difficult to manage.
Another major issue is that the Phantom Demonic Form will teleport before starting the AOE around it.
The teleport location of the first instance will be to a random player within the formation except for No One.
The second teleport will then return to him.
Thus, No One will certainly be targeted 100%.
If it results in Burn, it's not a concern, as having two healing machine( Divine Druid & Musician ) eliminates any worry.
But being inflicted with Poison will incapacitate a player for the duration of the effect, which is very troublesome.
If it's the Blade Dancer that gets incapacitated, they can barely manage.
If the Flying Blade is incapacitated, support can still help resolve it.
However, if the Divine Druid or Musician is controlled, the team formation becomes much more chaotic.
Especially the Musician.
Members affected by blindness or disadvantaged by Poison can be addressed by the Divine Druid.However, if the Divine Druid is affected, the whole team can be wiped out easily.
Therefore, the team must focus damage quickly to get through this stage.
Each attack is essentially a probability problem.
There are 3 players aside from the Blade Dancer.
The chance for the Divine Druid to get hit is 1/3.
Once a target gets an AOE effect, they won't be affected in the next round.
Thus, only 2 targets remain at risk for the next time.
The best possible outcome is for the Flying Blade or Musician to be affected in the first round.
In the second round, the other gets affected.
By the third round, it's the Divine Druid's turn to be affected.
This timing allows the Musician's cooldown to finish just in time to save the Divine Druid.
The Musician's shield is an early buff to prevent damage.
If the buff is used on the Divine Druid in the first round and they're not the target, the long cooldown will render it unavailable for the next round.
The speed of the Demonic form's AOE is almost instantaneous, making it nearly impossible to react with a buff in time. You can only predict it.
No One suggested Mujou to running back and forth during this segment.
He gambled that the Divine Druid would be the last target.
As long as the Divine Druid is the final target and is buffed by the Musician, the Demonic's attack pattern is determined.
Round 1: Flying Blade / Musician -> Round 2: Musician / Flying Blade -> Round 3: Divine Druid.
And so the cycle would repeat.If the Divine Druid isn't in the third round, then... reset.
The Musician will always ensure the Divine Druid stays alive to counter negative effects for the team.
Of course, there are times when luck is on your side.
AOE effects like Burn or Blind may target the Divine Druid.
In those cases, it's easier to manage.
Simply let the Musician handle the healing.
However, the BOSS also possesses artificial intelligence.
In the first three rounds, Burn or Blind might target the Divine Druid.
After these initial rounds, there's a 100% chance Poison will be directed at the Musician/Divine Druid/Flying Blade.
As for the Blade Dancer, it's a 50% chance of Blind and 50% Poison.
Burn does not occur anymore.
It identifies which effects are most effective and immediately acts upon them.
During rounds 7, 8, and 9,
the Boss ceases to single out individuals.
Instead, it focuses AOE attacks on the target it deems most important to eliminate.
In this team composition, the Divine Druid becomes the target in rounds 7, 8, and 9.
Therefore, it's a race to deal damage before rounds 7, 8, and 9 of the attack cycle.
Mujou's current team is indeed struggling a bit; they seem to be considering swapping out the Blade Dancer.
This Blade Dancer player lacks slightly compared to No One.
Their skills are somewhat lacking, making things challenging at times.However, it's not the right moment for Mujou to switch in someone new who isn't familiar with controlling the Boss. They must let the other player observe the Boss's fighting style for now, and then eventually make a switch.
The Phantom Demonic Form's play style is actually less tedious compared to the Phantom of Avery Snow.
If Snow Moon were still the Divine Druid, they might have continued the fight already. There would be no fear of being overcome by the Boss.
No One glanced at Snow Vixen.
"Is there something on my face?"
"I just find you annoying," No One made a humorously exaggerated face.
"What!?"
.
.
.
"The apples are peeled."
"Thanks."
No One took a slice and put it in his mouth, glancing at the tablet screen.
The starting lineup is Sword of Love, Lady Lam, Hana, and Ye Yu.
Currently, it's the most balanced team for both damage and survival.
Except for Sword of Love, whose Phantom Blade Class skills are purely offensive, the other three have supportive skills for the team.
However, they lack a Divine Druid for crowd control removal.
The phase at 60% will be tiring.
---
Director Minh, Tofu, and many employees are watching the screen to check the Boss fight.
"The 30% to 10% phase doesn't seem too hard? The Boss's attack cycle isn't too difficult to remember."
"That was the plan," Tofu took a sip of hot tea, exhaled with satisfaction, and laughed.
"The initial phase, usually from 100 to 80%, is designed to weed people out."
"If I have to say, it's the phase meant to scare players."
"Getting knocked out by an Ogre at one hit, or having the entire team wiped out by one stomp."
"This phase etches a memory for the players."
"To make them aware of what they're up against—a Boss."
"Most low-level players, who think the upcoming Boss won't be that terrifying, usually fall at this stage."
"That's why the Phantom of The Immortal Blade starts with a scary number of buffs. However, these buffs will gradually diminish during the fight."
"It requires someone brave enough to face the destruction."
"Only such a person is worthy to confront the essence of this game."
Director Minh gave a slightly awkward smile.
It sounded a bit over-the-top.
"After that phase, 80% to 30% is the confrontation phase."
"This is the difficult phase. It makes players spend most of their time."
"To show them what this Boss is capable of."
"To make them experience its difficulty."
"But! Difficult doesn't mean impossible."
"Their minds are allowed to think about giving up."
"But it shouldn't be ingrained deeply."
"The best feeling players should have at that moment is."
"Just wait, I'll be back!"
Tofu laughed heartily as he spoke while snacking.Director Minh knew that this work would require the employees to work overtime a lot.
So he didn't mind letting them relax.
That's why Tofu was carefree, eating and watching the live broadcast like that.
Tofu pointed at the screen.
"This phase here."
"This is the bridging phase."
"A breather."
"Boss is only at 30%! Hurry up!"
"After the tough battle from 80 down to 30."
"This is a moment to give players hope."
"It won't be too hard."
"To make players feel like the Boss is weakened."
"Make it a bit easier, let the players breathe."
"Let's go, everyone! Victory is ours."
"Even the most exhausted from the battle will once again rekindle their fighting spirit."
"Risk everything and charge ahead."
"It's so exhausting...! If it goes on like this, there's no way to get through!"
"That's what players should experience."
"When they're near the point of feeling they can't resist anymore, allow things to smooth out a bit."
Tofu spoke passionately.
Watching the young man sitting on the sofa, hugging his legs in a squat, eagerly pointing at the screen and proudly showcasing his achievements.
He couldn't help but smile.
No matter how old Tofu is, he still seems like a child.
It made him somewhat miss his own son.
"Truly, no matter how old we are, we should always keep a bit of childlike wonder inside us."
Director Minh thought to himself while smiling.
On the screen, Mujou and MaGold's team were fighting for every 0.01%.
Battling breathlessly.
11.2%
11%
10.8%
10.5%
...
"And the final stage... 10%"
"The Last Stand."
"When the Boss feels it's in a critical situation."
"Life is in danger."
"A beast won't go down without putting up a fight."
"It will tear apart."
"It will roar."
"It will show the enemy."
"Why it stands at the top of the food chain."
10%.BANG.
"Oh oh oh! What's happening! It's down to 10%!!!"
Hoang Phuong and July14 shouted loudly on the stream.
A blinding light made the whole screen impossible to see anything else.
"What's going on!?" A few people in the room started to panic.
Meanwhile, Tofu continued to stare at the blinding light.
"It's here."
"The final barrier of Demonblade."
Gurgle gurgle.
The blinding light began to be replaced by a pitch-black color.
The live Chat Channels were exploding.
[ OH OH OH!!!! LET'S F*CKING GOOOOO!!! 10%!!! ]
[ Who is it! Which team is it!!? ]
[ 10% ! 10% ! 10%! ]
[ Will they get past the First Boss tonight? ]
Everyone was in a frenzy over the light.
For a moment, they couldn't even react to see which team had reached this milestone first.On the screen, a player's hand was trembling.
The hand reached out, guiding a sword that thrust toward the Phantom Demonic Form.
The sword flashed with a golden light.
It was an Epic gear.
[Sword of Golden Rose]
"Wow...!" Hoang Phuong's voice trembled slightly.
"It's Snow Step from the Black & White Clan who pushed the Boss's health down to 10% first!!!"
"WAAAAAA!!!"
Exclamations from the commentators and chat channels erupted.
Meanwhile, Lunar Ren was waiting with Hau Hau Noodle, Cherished Dream, and TwinBird.
Seeing everyone excited because Snow Step had the Boss down to 10%, his expression was anything but pleasant.
"Tsk. That bastard."
TwinBird also looked at Snow Step on the screen with extreme displeasure.
She recalled the time she encountered him in PVP.
Snow Step in that PVP match was somewhat different compared to when he fought against TwinBird, Sword of Love, and Hana.
Quite different from when he tried to prevent the Moonlight Clan from crossing the Sea of Flames.
This made her think a lot.
In PVP, he seemed to be... much gentler.
"I'm sorry."
That was what he said during PVP.
His eyes earnest and sorrowful at that moment.
It truly made TwinBird somewhat want to forgive him.
"There's something wrong with this bastard..."Lunar Ren, did you know him?"
Lunar Ren looked at the screen and sighed.
"An ex-lover."
"What?"
It wasn't just TwinBird who was surprised.
Hau Hau Noodle and Cherished Dream also quickly turned to look at her.
"WHAT!!!?"
Lunar Ren covered her ears.
"Y-You're too loud."
All three were completely stunned.
Until now, they only knew Lunar Ren because Lady Lam had invited her.
They didn't know much about her past.
During her time in the guild, Lunar Ren was always very sociable with everyone.
So she was well-liked within the guild.
Who would have thought she had a past relationship with someone like Snow Step?
"So who ended it?"
"He did." Lunar Ren looked a bit sad.
"He wasn't brave enough."
.
.
.
After the boss's health reached 10% with that previous light, it became briefly invincible.
This was usually when the boss would "change form" and become more challenging.
Players can't deal damage to the Phantom Demonic Form at this time.
All they could see now on the arena was that it had turned completely black."What is happening! Everything's gone dark!"
Stars continually swirled around.
The body of the Phantom Demonic Form was now twitching.
The sword it was holding had turned jet black.
Its eyes were glazed over.
Whoosh.
The blue flame flared up.
Engulfing the black sword.
Becoming the only source of light apart from those swirling stars in the battle hall.
[The Phantom Demonic Form has transformed into the Phantom Demon God.]
.
.
.
"It's coming." Tofu said, smiling while munching on peanuts laid out on the table.
"The Last Stand phase of a Boss."
Moments later.
The stars in the darkness all converged around the Phantom Demon God.
Gathering all the stars onto the blazing sword.
Everything turned pitch black.
Players could barely see their own bodies.
There was only one source of light in the battle hall.
That eerie blue flame.
"The blade is the path."
"If you dare to tread, it becomes a path."
"Principles are the rules."
"If you dare to change, they will change."
"One person lies within all things."
"ALL THINGS are one."
A chanting voice resonated.
Countless strange characters emanated from the blue flame.
Born from the flame, then vanished into nothingness.
Mujou, currently sitting at the commentary desk, was intently watching his guild's lineup battle.
"Everyone, attack!"
In case the Boss repeated the 30% mechanic, the whole team would surge to attack.
Furthermore, this was an "experience" from the player First World.
The creators of these dungeons loved to turn the 10% mark into a survival battle.
"Phase..."
Tofu was happily munching on peanuts as he watched.
Director Minh sat down and joined in with the peanuts.
"Will they clear it this time?"
"Maybe ~ Or a few more tries."
"The 10% phase wasn't designed to be repeated too many times."
Forcing players to repeatedly tackle the difficulty of the previous phase only to face another one afterward.
It's very discouraging.
This phase wasn't meant for them to take their time experiencing.
It was the climax phase.
Indeed, everything was as hurried as possible.
[Parry.]
Huh-?
Slash.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
The sound of counterattacks resonated.
The Blade Dancer player couldn't quite figure out what had just happened and failed to activate the parry.
He was instantly burned to death.
Meanwhile, the other three players managed to parry in time.
A flash of blue fire sparked from where the three of them stood.
"Damn it! Giai Nguyen!!! Focus!!!" The team's Divine Druid shouted loudly.
"I... I'm sorry!!!" Giai Nguyen, the team's Blade Dancer, was in the chat room after having just died.
Giai Nguyen was a player who had only been playing First World for a short time.
His game knowledge was still very limited.So, when the other three players immediately understood the signal to activate the counterattack, he was still slower to respond.
"Tsk. I don't know why the guild leader included him in the main lineup!" the Divine Druid was ready to counterattack again if necessary.
"Because he's currently the best-equipped Blade Dancer," the Musician sighed.
"It's coming again," Snow Step remained focused on the Boss.
[Parry.]
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
Flashes of fire sparked again from their weapons.
Then the room returned to darkness.
[Too fast...!]
[Can anyone slow down that phase, please!]
[What's going on?]
No One was simultaneously monitoring his team and watching the Black & White guild's screen closely.
Snow Moon was silently observing.
She... already knew all of this.
Speaking up now would easily ruin the atmosphere.No one likes spoilers.
A moderator on the Black & White chat channel just sent an image of the recent scene for everyone to see.
No One immediately enlarged the picture to examine it.
"So that's it."
As soon as the word 'Parry' was announced.
From the position of the Phantom Demon God, four phantoms in its form emerged.
They charged at the four players.
"Look at the Boss's health bar, everyone!!!"
Golden Phoenix shouted loudly.
[Phantom Demon God 5%]
[ WOAAHHH....!!!!]
[5% health lost...! ]
[Hasn't Black & White guild's team only been parrying all this time?]
"So that's it." No One rubbed his chin.
Each counterattack reduced 1% of the health.
A failed counterattack restored 1% of the health.
The Phantom Demon God now stood still.
Looking at the three enemies still standing before it.
"The door behind me... Leads to an even worse place."
"O curious Outsiders."
"If you carry with you the gear to face the Immortal Blade."
"Then be ready. My coming sword strike will determine everything."
[. .[Parry]
Immediately, Divine Druid and Musician raised their weapons and braced themselves.
[Pa / rry]
"Huh?"
Nothing happened?
The Divine Druid and Musician were startled.
[Par / /ry]
"He hasn't swung his sword yet!!!!"
[Pa/ /rry]
"Hurry, qui-"
[[=[-/ /-]=]]
Snow Step was startled.
He raised his hand in a counterattack stance.
CLANG.
Swoosh.
Swoosh.
Sparks flew from Snow Step's sword.
He glared at the opponent he was facing.
A clone.
Wait.
In half a second, the phantom blurred and transformed into a pure black.
Not a clone.
It was the true entity.
Those stark white eyes glared at Snow Step.
The blue flames were still blazing.
[Phantom Demon God 7%]
Slash.
Ugh.A horizontal sweep.
Snow Step barely managed to use the Escape Skill of the Flying Blade to retreat.
[Sword Falling from the Sky]
The Flying Blade's escape skill directly pushed the Phantom Demon God away.
[Phantom Demon God 8%]
Just enough to escape the attack range.
The Phantom Demon God charged again.
[Sword Guard]
Just enough to block another blow.
[Phantom Demon God 9%]
[ What is that !!!!? ]
[ H-He-He cut through the System screen!!!? ]
[ This game is such a joke, only for dogs ! ]
The chat lines on the channel exploded.
Divine Druid and Musician, both players specializing in dungeons, reacted immediately when they saw the parry notification appear.
But they couldn't have anticipated it was a trap.
The Phantom Demon God had sliced through the System notification to attack them.
Lucky for Snow Step, he was a PVP player.
He didn't rely on the System notifications as signals.
Instead, he focused on the Boss's attack posture.
This is a skill PVP players must practice.
"You idiot! Stop dodging!" Mujou shouted.
Snow Step realized something too.
Every time he dodged or blocked an attack, the Phantom Demon God would regenerate health.The Phantom Demon God swung its sword once more.
CLANG.
[Phantom Demon God 8%]
The Demon God bared its teeth in a grin.
"Not bad."
Whoosh.
A sword slash immediately descended.
CLANG.
[Phantom Demon God 7%]
[So, just need to parry at this stage?]
[Not bad, at least the publisher still has some conscience.]
WHOOOSH.
Snow Step was startled.
CLANG.
[Phantom Demon God 6%]
That last sword strike.
Faster than usual.
WHOOOSH.
CLANG.
He was taken aback.
Immediately realizing what had just happened.
The pace had changed.
[Phantom Demon God 5%]
WHOOOSH.
Snow Step, startled, raised his sword.
What?
The sword had not yet reached the blade and was already halted.
Snow Step's counterattack stance had just ended.
He could see the face of the Phantom Demon God.
A face mocking him.
The blade swiftly aimed for him the moment his counterattack stance ended.
The blade touched his neck, causing blood to start dripping out.
"Damn it."
"IT'S ANIMATION-CANCEL !"
Snow Step couldn't parry anymore.
He immediately used his invincibility skill.
Slash.
Snow Step's head was severed.
That slash penetrated his immortality effect.
"The truest slash in the world."
[Sever The Sun And Moon.]
[Challenge Failed.]
No One stood frozen, staring at the notification from Black & White's team.
His face was incredibly excited.
What is this, DMG?
Snow Moon smiled at No One's expression.
The hard work of staying up late and waking up early to design the Boss by Tofu didn't seem wasted after all.
.
.
.
Tofu smiled in excitement.
Be prepared...Players !
For this...LAST STAND !