*Tatatatat!*
*Kraargh!*
*Srrrk, tatat!*
I darted between the Ice Troll and Ice Ogre as they let out terrifying growls.
There was no need to defeat every monster in the mob section.
The path leading to the first boss room had two routes.
Each route was divided into three sections. The problem was that every section was blocked by a door. To open the door leading to the next section, you had to activate a lever located in the opposite route. In other words, the lever on the left opened the door on the right, and vice versa.
In a four-person party, splitting up to handle this would be the way to go. But being alone, I was at a disadvantage.
However, the key point was that I didn’t need to fight all the monsters. All I had to do was activate the levers to unlock the doors.
“So then...”
I just needed to trigger the levers quickly and retreat.
*Swish!*
*Kaah--!*
I swiftly dealt with the two Ice Trolls standing by the lever with a single slash, knocked the lever down with my sword, and retreated back toward the entrance.
The second section’s door should be open now. I’ll head there, activate the lever, and come back here. Two more times, and I’ll be done.
---
*Tatat.*
Now standing before the first boss, I stared directly at the *Spearman of Thunder*.
Across the chasm stood the *Shieldman of Earth*.
It was a dual boss setup, similar to what I had encountered in the Ancient Temple.
In the first elite dungeon of the *Frozen Palace*, I would have to face two bosses at the same time.
At first glance, the two arenas on either side of the large chasm seemed like independent combat zones.
Even if I defeated the Spearman in front of me, it seemed like there would be no way to attack the Shieldman on the other side.
“This game company is pretty good at making patterns.”
I trusted my previous experiences.
If there was only one person here to attack, the Shieldman would definitely come over to this side.
The *Plan B* party led by Jo Hyunsoo had provided me with a lot of useful information.
They had shown me how to deal with the phenomenon of paralysis at the fourth stack of *Current Overload* and *Rock Overload*.
*Shing.*
I drew *Astaroth*.
The simulation was already complete.
All that was left was to verify it.
*Fwoosh!*
I charged at the *Spearman of Thunder* at high speed.
[First Boss]
[Level 48: Spearman of Thunder]
[HP: 15,000,000 / 15,000,000 (100%)]
[First Boss]
[Level 48: Shieldman of Earth]
[HP: 15,000,000 / 15,000,000 (100%)]
---
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Stone spikes erupted from the ground beneath me.
As expected, there was a long-range pattern where the Shieldman on the opposite side would attack if there was no one in their arena.
*Tatat!*
I nimbly dodged to the side, avoiding the range of the stone spikes from the *Shieldman of Earth*. I twisted my body to dodge the *Spearman of Thunder's* thrusting attacks as well.
*Clang!*
After four rounds of the stone attack, I blocked the Spearman’s strikes and glanced toward the Shieldman across the chasm.
*Thud! Whoosh!*
The Shieldman dramatically fell and then leaped into the air with a powerful jump.
Its landing point? The arena where I was fighting the *Spearman of Thunder*.
I immediately countered the Spearman.
*Bang!*
The *Shieldman of Earth* slammed down where I had been, and then began swinging its shield at me.
Both bosses were now within range. From this point on, I would be fighting both of them simultaneously.
I dodged the spear, catching the Shieldman as it raised its shield and getting behind it. Three consecutive *Starlight Slashes*. Then, when the Spearman lunged forward, I made my move, causing the Shieldman to rotate its body. At that moment—*Flash!*
I quickly assessed the distance while shifting to the rear—seven meters between me and the bosses, enough to avoid their long-range attacks and bait them into walking toward me. This was a type of "dribble" positioning. But I didn’t plan on just standing there and waiting for them to come to me.
*Crouch.* I lowered my body and gripped my sword in reverse.
[*Starlight Blade*]
[*Cooldown: 1 minute*]
[*Unleash 5 starlight-infused sword strikes within a 15m x 3m area in front of you (4 strikes at 500% power, 1 strike at 2000% power)*]
*Fwoosh!*
The sword in my hand unleashed beams of starlight. The massive bosses, still approaching me, were fully exposed to the attack.
*Boom!*
With the final powerful strike, the impact caused me to slide back a little.
*Thwack!*
The bosses’ bodies shook violently. While they were momentarily stunned, I dashed forward and targeted the Shieldman again, delivering another slash.
*Vwoom.*
One minute into the battle. Both bosses crouched simultaneously, activating their time-based special patterns.
The entire arena was covered in buffs. These buffs couldn’t be resisted with invincibility skills, nor could they be dodged. I simply kept attacking.
*Crackle! Zap!*
Two types of buffs were applied to my body at once.
[*Current Overload, Level 1 (1:30)*]
[*Rock Overload, Level 1 (1:30)*]
One buff increased my attack power, while the other boosted my defense.
But when these sweet buffs reached the fourth stack, they turned into deadly poison.
So, the solution was simple:
Take the sweet buffs and spit out the poison.
---
[*Current Overload, Level 2 (35 seconds)*]
[*Rock Overload, Level 2 (35 seconds)*]
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*Slash!*
As I dealt even damage to both bosses, I kept an eye on the buff timers.
Fifty-five seconds into the second buff, with five seconds left until the third buff.
This was the critical point.
For now, I was fighting both bosses in the left arena.
But the right arena across the chasm was also usable.
While I couldn’t physically cross over, I could make the bosses do it.
During Jo Hyunsoo’s run, we learned that the bosses were susceptible to stuns when using the *Warrior's Chain* combo.
The initial movement the Shieldman used when jumping over to me—lying down and then leaping—was key.
By applying a *Down* status effect, I could trigger the jump pattern and force the boss to switch arenas.
The buff application couldn’t be interrupted, but the pattern before the buff could be.
*Whoosh!*
Right before the third buff, the Shieldman raised its shield high.
I crouched low, sweeping the Shieldman’s legs with my blade and sending it tumbling. Using my sword, I quickly slashed its legs.
*Thud, Thud! Boom!*
Smiling, I looked down at the fallen Shieldman.
"Shieldman, you need to work on your lower body. You toppled over too easily."
*Slash! Boom!*
Of course, I didn’t have much time to gloat. As the Shieldman sprang back up, I countered the Spearman’s lunge.
The Shieldman, launching itself into the air, easily crossed the massive chasm. It landed on the opposite side, crouching again.
At the same time, the *Spearman of Thunder* also crouched in front of me.
It was time for the third buff.
On this side, only the *Current Overload* buff would apply.
*Crackle! Zap!*
[*Current Overload, Level 3 (1:30)*]
[*Rock Overload has expired*]
“This is it.”
I smiled, pleased that everything was going according to plan.
The Shieldman would use four long-range attacks before jumping back over.
By the time the fourth *Rock Overload* buff arrived, the previous *Rock Overload* would have expired.
The *Rock Overload* problem was solved.
So how would I deal with the fourth-stage paralysis effect from *Current Overload*?
The battle continued.
Once again, the Shieldman unleashed its four ranged attacks, then jumped back to my side. *Boom!*
As the fourth buff neared, I checked my buffs.
[*Current Overload, Level 3 (35 seconds)*]
The *Rock Overload* had expired.
I crouched down, focusing on the Spearman.
This time, it’s your turn to go.
*Thud! Thud! Boom!*
After knocking the Spearman down, I forced it to jump to the other side, where it triggered the buff. The Shieldman on my side did the same.
[*Current Overload, Level 3 (30 seconds)*]
[*Rock Overload, Level 1 (1:30)*]
With this rotation, I could now prevent the buffs from reaching four stacks.
The rest was just repetition.
The starlight emitted from *Astaroth* slashed through both the Spearman and the Shieldman.
---
The Guild Master of *GG Guild*, *Woogyeol*, couldn’t believe his eyes.
His entire stream was filled with silver starlight and flashing swords as the two massive bosses, marred with deep wounds, danced around the battlefield.
The chat was nearly silent
, as if everyone was holding their breath. Only the occasional analytical comment popped up.
[Is this really *Astria Online*?]
[I think so.]
[So *"recommended for 4 players"* just means "recommended"? LOL]
[Four players is just a suggestion? Can it really be soloed?]
[It’s too fast. I can’t see anything.]
[We’ll need to slow the footage down to 0.25x speed.]
[It’s not just stats. She’s dodging everything with skill.]
[I play a swordsman and I have no idea what skills she’s using.]
[Doesn’t she freeze at 4 buffs? Why isn’t she?]
[She’s downing the bosses and sending them to the other side!]
[This doesn’t resemble any party play I’ve seen...]
[But wait, solo first clears were possible?]
[Forget that. What’s that sword beam skill? Swordsman with ranged attacks? Is that a bug?]
[Must be a new skill from the *Ice Tower* expansion.]
[I thought no one could beat this dungeon solo, but if she did...]
Woogyeol and his *GG Guild* didn’t even bother re-entering the boss fight after their second wipe.
[*Chris* (Onmyoji)]
- Woogyeol-nim, you’re streaming, right? My little *Rain* is doing a live broadcast of her solo elite dungeon run. Would you like to feature it as content for your channel today?
The Guild Master of *Hongbaek*, *Chris*, had sent him a message, changing the course of Woogyeol’s stream.
But...
“Is this... even possible?”
“We’re witnessing something amazing here.”
The swordsman from *GG Guild* could only murmur in astonishment, and Woogyeol had no choice but to agree.
While *GG Guild* excelled in PvP, they lacked in PvE specialists. It was more profitable to learn strategies than to keep trying over and over.
Woogyeol figured airing *Rain*’s run would serve as a perfect combination of guild promotion and strategy learning.
However...
[Woogyeol-nim... If you can contact *Whitedog*, please ask her to open the chat...]
[Can’t we send a super chat? Is this account just for live-streaming?]
[It seems like a purely broadcasting-only account... *Whitedog*, please stream!]
[*Rain*, interact with us!]
*Zap!*
*Boom!*
The silver flash of *Rain*’s sword cut through the massive bosses. Her *Starlight Blade* ravaged their bodies.
And finally, both bosses were cleaved in half, collapsing.
Woogyeol let out a groan.
“C-Cleared!”
“She solo cleared it...!”
The chat erupted into chaos.
[WTF she actually did it!]
[First try? Solo?]
[No way! Other parties are dying left and right!]
[*Astria Online*’s logic has been shattered today.]
[*Whitedog*! *Whitedog*!]
[*Rain*! *Rain*!]
[I’m quitting swordsman... there’s nothing I can learn from this.]
[It’s not the class. It’s just that player.]
[Is she the daughter of the game devs? How does her character move like that?]
[‘Just try to copy her,’ LOL.]
[Elite dungeons... can be soloed?]
[Well, after farming top-tier gear, you can solo lower-level dungeons...]
[But that’s only possible for the top 0.001% of players.]
[Is she progressing faster than *Chris’s* party?]
[Is *Whitedog* the only member of the *Noname* Party?]
[It’s only the first boss, but yeah, she’s soloing.]
[So she’s been solo clearing everything up until now?]
[That’s the only explanation.]
[I heard rumors she solo-bussed through the temple...]
[Everyone thought it was just her legendary weapon.]
[*Hana Games* should release legendary weapons! Even if only temporary!]
[Temporary! Temporary!]
[You should be grateful they disappear!]
[Do you think having a legendary weapon will make you capable of this?]
[This isn’t about damage...]
“Guild Master, are we going to analyze this run?”
A *GG Guild* swordsman chimed in, breaking Woogyeol’s dazed thoughts.
“How can we analyze this?”
Woogyeol let out a troubled laugh toward the chat.
Fortunately, the swordsman took the lead.
“The only thing we can really take away is that we can use down status effects to make the bosses jump to the opposite side.”
“Hmm, yes. If two players in the party apply *Down* at the right moment, the bosses will switch places. But we have to be precise with the timing. Maybe around 52 to 56 seconds after the buff phase?”
“Yes, the buff application can’t be interrupted. So, we’ll need to stun the boss in that small window and track the buff timer carefully.”
“If we transfer the boss at three stacks, the fourth stack, which causes paralysis...”
“It will apply to the players on the other side, allowing the party to continue the fight.”
“In party play, that seems fine. But what about what we just witnessed?”
Woogyeol wiped sweat from his brow.
Even setting aside the physical skills, her sense of timing was otherworldly.
She timed it so that the Shieldman, at three stacks of the buff, was sent to the other side. By making the bosses switch arenas, she could avoid the fourth stack and prevent paralysis.
It was as if she had a timer in her head. While dealing with both bosses’ patterns, she was also tracking the buff timers down to the second. Even if you used visualization tools to help, it was impossible for a normal player to juggle all that at once.
Was her brain operating on a completely different level?
Woogyeol shook his head.
“There’s no way I can analyze *Rain*’s gameplay.”
“Hmm, I thought I was a decent swordsman, but now I feel just like everyone else watching. I can only hope this doesn’t make the swordsman class look bad.”
A sense of awe. The collapse of everything they thought they knew.
The stream now showed *Rain* walking toward the second boss zone.
They had only watched the first boss, but one thing was now clear:
*Rain* lived in a different world from the average player.