After over thirty minutes of meticulous investigation, we discovered only one thing about the first named boss's battle area: the dragon-like bone stakes surrounding it were metallic in nature.
"Rain, please, be careful!"
Chris's worried voice reached me as she stood in position as a long-range damage dealer, her party buff spells ready to go.
I turned away from her without responding, focusing instead on the "Bone Dragon" before me.
*I'm sorry, Chris.*
No matter how skilled we are, defeating this monster—its HP scaled for a twelve-player party—is beyond us.
Chris likely suspects that the way I’ve been soloing raid dungeons isn’t normal. However, she has no way of knowing the truth: that I must face death at least once during this battle.
It’s natural for her to worry. Even after clearing the Abyssal Tree, I hadn’t hidden the fact that I was bleeding heavily.
But this truth is something she must learn eventually.
It’s impossible to keep it hidden until the end of everything.
For now, all I can do is hope that I don’t need to use the power of the Hero to defeat this thing.
A raid party of just two—Chris and Rain.
The moment we stood before the first named boss, the Bone Dragon...
*Beep.*
The system’s aggro notification chimed.
-----!!
The air trembled as the Bone Dragon emitted a silent roar, acknowledging our presence.
---
*[First Named Boss]*
*[Bone Dragon]*
*[HP: 1,000,000,000 / 1,000,000,000 (100%)]*
---
**Clang! Clang!**
The massive white structure of the Bone Dragon loomed before us, its skeletal body gleaming with metallic brilliance. My sword clashed against its metallic bones, sparks flying from the impact. The sheer size of its frame revealed glimpses of the scenery beyond through the gaps in its structure.
*Whoosh!*
The dragon’s colossal, bone-composed tail swung violently toward my torso.
As my mind briefly wandered—*So even a dragon’s tail has bones, huh?*—I quickly analyzed the attack. Without triggering Just Guard, the tail's swing would undoubtedly result in a long-range knockback. However, it wasn’t as fast as I expected.
That being the case...
*Tap, spin.*
I leapt lightly into the air, flipping midair, my hand brushing against the tailbone as I used it to pivot and land gracefully back on the ground.
There was no need to guard. Being made of bone, the tail wasn’t particularly thick.
So much for its tail attack.
"Rain...!"
Chris’s awestruck voice broke through the tension of the battle, almost causing me to misstep upon landing.
Glancing back, I saw her standing there, her eyes sparkling as she stared at me in a daze while her red hair whipped around her, busy casting talismans.
Even in the midst of the fight, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Oh, right. This was a party play today.
---
*Pow! Pow! Pow!*
Chris's talismans flew through the air, landing around the massive Bone Dragon before detonating in a series of explosions. The dragon’s enormous frame shuddered.
Her primary damage-dealing skill, *Sealing Formation*, was in full effect. As a heavily invested player, Chris’s equipment rivaled mine. The red, blue, and green glows around her *Yin-Yang Orb* indicated the activation of *Legendary Grade Echo Stones*, which required incredible luck and resources to socket successfully.
A weapon imbued with Echo Stones worth tens of millions in-game currency. Unsurprisingly, her *Sealing Formation* output far surpassed that of pure damage-dealing mages. She had invested heavily for this raid.
Of course, even without the Hero’s power, my damage output as a swordsman was no less impressive.
Under the combined assault of two top-tier players, the Bone Dragon’s seemingly insurmountable HP was slowly but surely being whittled down.
---
*Boom! Boom!*
The Bone Dragon stomped down where I had been, as if swatting at an annoying fly.
*Tap. Tap.*
I moved deftly between its legs, avoiding the attacks with ease.
Compared to regular dragons made of flesh and scales, this one was easier to deal with. Its skeletal structure left plenty of openings for evasion.
The Bone Dragon’s standard attack patterns were simple—using its massive frame to crush its opponents with its sharp, menacing bones. Although its undead nature made it unique, it wasn’t significantly different from other dragons I had faced before.
The real issue would be its special patterns.
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"Spiritual Infusion!"
*Fwoosh!*
As Chris’s voice rang out, a blue glow enveloped my body—her party buff skill activating.
Smiling, I gripped my sword in reverse and slashed forcefully.
*Slash! Slash!*
Astaroth glimmered, its silver blade emitting bursts of starlike energy, far stronger than when I fought alone.
*Tap! Tap!*
Propelled forward, I crouched low, aiming my attack at the dragon’s neck bones.
---
*Whoosh!*
Enhanced by *Spiritual Infusion*, my body burned with a radiant blue light as I soared through the air. The raw, unbridled power of my attack even chipped away at the Bone Dragon’s resilient neck bones.
Hovering briefly above its colossal frame, I glanced down through the gaps in its bones and caught Chris’s gaze. With a playful wink, I triggered my cooldown reset skill and launched another assault on the same spot.
*Bang!*
Landing back on the ground, I unleashed another barrage of sword strikes, determined to make the most of the power Chris had granted me.
Together, we weren’t just two.
We were three, or even four times stronger.
This was the strength of allies.
For someone like me, who had fought so many battles alone, this feeling was foreign yet familiar—like returning to something long lost.
Right now, I was a hero fighting alongside my companion.
---
"Three minutes and nine seconds into the fight! Bone Dragon HP at 95.5%! Based on previous experience, raid bosses typically enter time-attack phases around 15 minutes! Without a gimmick, we don’t have enough damage output!"
Chris’s voice, filled with concern, reached me from behind.
Considering our pace, the fact that we had dealt 40 million damage in three minutes meant our combined DPM (damage per minute) averaged a staggering 7 million.
Even so, we were running out of time.
"There’s no doubt about it—a gimmick is required to finish this fight!"
---
As the Bone Dragon’s HP dropped to 95%, it abruptly stopped moving.
For a moment, I stood still, my sword raised diagonally, watching its hollow eye sockets.
A chill ran down my spine.
Suddenly...
*Boom! Crackle!*
A ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) blinding bolt of lightning tore through the black mist, connecting the sky and the ground where I had just been standing.
---
*A Blue Dragon.*
The Bone Dragon had once wielded the power of lightning in life.
Now, it unleashed its devastating lightning attacks. Around us, ominous sparks began to gather, signaling more strikes to come.
"Sequential activation pattern! Rain, are you okay?"
"I’m fine!"
But the battle had just begun.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Lightning rained down, forcing us into a deadly dance of survival.