“Kekeke! Splitting into two teams at the fork was a great idea!”
*Plan B’s* Guild Master, Gyuam Jo Hyunsoo, was in a good mood.
In the elite dungeon speedrun competition, not only was the speed of clearing bosses important, but how efficiently you handled the mob sections played a crucial role as well.
“But didn’t you turn on the stream? Aren’t you worried about helping other players catch up by showing everything?”
“Kekeke, even if a few trailing parties watch the stream and follow along, it won’t be a problem. What matters is what we show the players.”
Jo Hyunsoo thought of *GG Guild Master* Woogyeol and clenched his teeth.
“It’s fine if we don’t beat *Red and White*, but we have to provide more information than *GG Guild*. That way, we can attract more players to Betarion Empire.”
“Oh, so you’re using the elite dungeon broadcast as a way to promote the faction too, huh?”
Jo Hyunsoo grinned and glanced at the stream’s chat. There were two to three times more viewers than usual. It seemed that most of the users who followed *Astria Online* streams were tuning in.
“Looks like *Plan B’s* party is the fastest among the ones streaming right now. Kekeke!”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ kekeke]
[I came just for your laugh ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Oh~ Jo Hyunsoo, will you clear it quickly this time?]
[He might flop like with the Green Dragon ㄷㄷ]
[kekeke ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Why does this guy’s laugh sound like that?]
[That’s his charm point]
Jo Hyunsoo forced a smile, a vein popping on his forehead as his usual viewers teased him.
“I won’t be interacting much with the chat while we’re trying to clear. Please understand, today I’m here as the leader of the elite dungeon vanguard, not a streamer.”
Closing the stream window, Jo Hyunsoo began giving instructions to his party members.
“We’re a warrior-tank combo, and the other team is fighter-mage. So...”
“This first boss is two entities. The warrior and fighter will tank each one.”
Jo Hyunsoo nodded as he surveyed the first boss room.
The battleground was a long rectangular area with a wide cliff, about 30 meters across, splitting the room in half. The cliff prevented the two sides from crossing.
Each side had a square-shaped arena, one for each team. This was where *Plan B’s* raid team now stood.
“Interesting layout. Does this mean we’re supposed to fight one boss each in pairs?”
“Hm...”
Jo Hyunsoo looked at the fighters and mages on the other side of the cliff, then turned to the boss standing in the center of their own arena.
A massive golem was kneeling, holding a spear in one hand. The boss info read:
[1st Boss]
[Level 48: Spearman of Thunder]
[HP: 15,000,000 / 15,000,000 (100%)]
[1st Boss]
[Level 48: Shieldman of Earth]
[HP: 15,000,000 / 15,000,000 (100%)]
“We’ve got the Shieldman over here!”
The fighter on the opposite side shouted over the cliff, sharing the information.
“So, after splitting paths during the mob section, even the boss room is divided in two.”
“Even though it’s a four-player dungeon, if we can’t interfere with each other’s fights, it’s basically two separate two-player dungeons happening at the same time, right?”
One of the warriors noted.
Jo Hyunsoo shook his head.
“It may look like a two-person fight from the player’s perspective. But as we’ve seen before, bosses can still affect the other side. Remember how in the ancient temple, the sword of light would fall on the other tank?”
“True.”
“Well, let’s not overthink it. We’ll figure it out as we go.”
*Shing.*
Drawing his sword, Jo Hyunsoo charged toward the Spearman. On the other side, the fighter prepared to engage the Shieldman.
The battle against the first bosses—Spearman and Shieldman—began.
---
*Papapapat!*
Jo Hyunsoo slashed at the Spearman, carefully dealing with its basic attack patterns.
*Clang!*
The *Spearman of Thunder* had simple, straightforward moves like sweeping thrusts and downward strikes. The damage was high, but the telegraphed moves made them easy to block.
After about 30 seconds and two full cycles of basic patterns, Jo Hyunsoo had enough breathing room to check on the other team.
On the opposite side, the *Shieldman of Earth* was performing wide sweeps with its shield, slamming it down, and hiding behind it to punch. The shield blocked most frontal attacks, but its slow turning speed left openings that the fighter could exploit with back attacks. The mage was landing powerful spells on its exposed back, steadily draining its HP.
“Neither defense nor attack speed is particularly strong. And...”
*Boom! Boom!*
Jo Hyunsoo’s warrior slammed his axe into the Spearman, stunning it and then using the *Struggle* skill to hold it in place. While the Spearman was frozen, Jo Hyunsoo unleashed a flurry of sword strikes.
“Status effects like stuns and struggles work!”
Grinning with satisfaction at the warrior’s successful combo, Jo Hyunsoo smirked.
“Good, this first boss might be easier than I thought.”
The battle was going smoothly—until about a minute in.
*Boom! Boom!*
*Zzzap!*
“Huh!?”
*Tat!*
The *Spearman of Thunder* stomped twice, gathering energy. As electrical energy surged from the boss’s body, Jo Hyunsoo quickly used *Backstep* to dodge.
*Flash!*
Jo Hyunsoo, using an invincibility skill, avoided the hit. But the warrior wasn’t as fortunate, caught in the current.
“Hmm?”
The warrior blinked in confusion. His HP hadn’t dropped.
“Guildmaster, I’m crackling with electricity, but I didn’t take damage!”
“No damage from a wide-area attack?”
Jo Hyunsoo noticed sparks coming off the warrior’s body. He also saw faint arcs of electricity on himself.
Checking his status window, he noticed a new effect he hadn’t seen before.
[Current Overload, Level 1 (1:30 remaining)]
Jo Hyunsoo was puzzled.
The warrior had been hit, yet he, who dodged the attack, also had the *Current Overload* status.
“My attack power increased?”
“A buff?”
His attack power had risen by 10%.
Even using an invincibility skill, the buff still applied.
The *Current Overload* wasn’t a debuff but a buff.
Jo Hyunsoo quickly called over to the other party.
“How’s it going over there?”
“We’ve got *Rock Overload* here! Our defense went up by 10%!”
Jo Hyunsoo grew more and more confused.
A boss that gives buffs?
---
Every minute, the buff pattern repeated. Now, both Jo Hyunsoo and the warrior were sparking intensely.
[Current Overload, Level 3 (50 seconds remaining)]
With 3 stacks of the buff, Jo Hyunsoo’s attack power had risen by 30%.
The boss’s strange mechanics no longer puzzled Jo Hyunsoo. With the attack buff, he was enthusiastically hacking away at the Spearman.
Currently, the Spearman was down to 71% HP, while the Shieldman had 80% remaining.
The two-on-two setup seemed balanced, with Jo Hyunsoo and the warrior handling the Spearman and the fighter and mage dealing with the Shieldman.
Despite the Spearman’s health dropping faster thanks to the attack buff, Jo Hyunsoo wasn’t worried. He’d deal with any enrage mechanics later.
Then...
*Wuuung!*
The fourth *Current Overload* pattern was starting.
By now, Jo Hyunsoo didn’t even bother using invincibility skills. The buff still applied regardless, and there was no damage anyway.
But the fourth overload brought an unexpected twist.
*Zzzap!*
“Huh!?”
“M-My body!”
In an instant, both Jo Hyunsoo and the warrior were paralyzed.
The intense electric charge had locked their muscles in place, leaving them frozen.
While no damage came from the electric shock, they couldn’t move a muscle.
With effort, Jo Hyunsoo turned his head toward the other side.
“Nngh... What’s going on?”
The fighter and mage on the other side were also frozen, covered in patches of stone.
The entire *Plan B* party was paralyzed.
Above them, the *Spearman of Thunder* and *Shieldman of Earth* swung their weapons down without mercy.
*Crash! Boom!*
---
[Kekeke ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Jo Hyunsoo down~]
[Not just me, but everyone’s unlucky today~]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“Guys, stop laughing! This was only our first attempt!”
After reviving, Jo Hyunsoo glanced bitterly at the chat, trying to explain his frustration.
“We get paralyzed at the fourth stack? But it’s a buff, so we can’t resist it?”
“Should we try interrupting the fourth *Current Overload* with a stun?”
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
“We tried stunning the first overload, but it was immune. Normal patterns can be interrupted with status effects, but *Current Overload* can’t be stopped.”
“Hm. We’ll have to experiment a bit.”
Just as he was about to close the stream window and prepare for the second
attempt, Jo Hyunsoo noticed a sudden stir in the chat.
[Is that real? A solo run?]
[Yeah, someone’s clearing the mob section right now]
[LOL are they crazy?]
[But the stream looks like it’s just for show?]
[Whoa, look at the back! White hair!]
[It’s *Whitedog*!]
[No way, is she doing a solo run of an elite dungeon?]
[Wasn’t she the tank for the No-Name Party?]
“What? *Whitedog*? Solo?”
“Isn’t that *Rain*, that little girl?”
Jo Hyunsoo remembered the white-haired girl he had once encountered in a faction battle.
Quickly searching for the stream, he found it. Sure enough, there was a flash of silver cutting through the mob section of *Frozen Palace*.
She was attempting to solo clear the elite dungeon?
One of his warriors spoke up.
“Guildmaster, should we watch her tackle the boss before continuing?”
Jo Hyunsoo glanced at the chat.
[Is Jo Hyunsoo going to watch *Whitedog* solo?]
[Honestly, aren’t you curious?]
[The official model for *Astria Online* is soloing the elite dungeon? Can’t miss that ㅋㅋㅋ]
[The curiosity is killing me!]
Jo Hyunsoo’s chat had already exploded with excitement.
Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to focus on his own stream with all this hype, Jo Hyunsoo gave in to his curiosity as a fellow player.
“Alright, that’s it for today’s broadcast! Let’s watch this!”
And so, *Plan B’s* party stopped their run and became viewers, all eyes on *Rain*’s solo attempt.