𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝟕
“To think you’d corner me to this extent.”
“Hmm?”
Just then, Heights’ voice could be heard from afar. He was summoning Eater Plants to deal with the phantoms, but even those were quickly disappearing against the dozens of phantoms.
There’s no way Heights, with no offensive abilities, could do anything from there………
[Heights, Cultivating Death, recovers health.]
“……!?”
Before I could even be surprised by the health recovery message, Heights pulled out a potion and started drinking it without hesitation.
What kind of raid boss drinks potions?!
I was dumbfounded watching Heights chugging down potions like it was nothing, potions that even I wouldn’t use. But regardless, with his health restored by the potion, Heights started moving again.
‘So the health I painstakingly whittled down gets refilled like that.’
No matter how I thought about it, the amount recovered by that potion couldn’t have been a mere 100 or 200. It must have been at least tens of thousands, right? Thinking about how he recovered to the point where all the health I’d chipped away felt meaningless made me lose motivation, but I shook my head.
‘Common sense dictates that such a recovery skill can’t be used frequently.’
Moreover, I had also figured out a strategy that actively utilizes phantoms. Giving up now would be ridiculous, so I decided to calmly observe the situation.
‘Sigh, I need a ranged skill at times like this.’
If I had a ranged skill, my current strategy might have been different. Perhaps I wouldn’t even need to use the phantoms? Thinking like that, I felt relieved that I didn’t have a ranged skill.
“Ugh, I can’t watch this anymore!”
[Heights, Cultivating Death, summons the Black World Tree.]
This time, the skill was unique in that he didn’t throw anything like a potion. Just watching him summon the Black World Tree seemingly with his own power, I saw a gigantic tree sprout behind Heights, dwarfing even the Eater Plants.
“The Black World Tree………”
Just based on height alone, it seemed even bigger than Deronak. Anyway, after summoning that impressive tree, as black as pitch, Heights laughed loudly as if it was all over and attempted a full-fledged counterattack.
[Heights, Cultivating Death, uses Leaf Blade.]
‘Leaves?’
Thinking that it seemed like an unusual skill, I silently watched. The branches of the Black World Tree trembled, and then hundreds……… no, thousands of leaves fell. And those leaves, instead of falling to the ground, stopped mid-air, and then shot out in all directions like arrows.
‘That’s insane!’
“Elsyke’s Phantom Shift!”
The range was considerable. They were even flying towards me, who was quite a distance away. Realizing that it was an area-of-effect skill that attacked the entire space, I quickly moved behind Ust to avoid the incoming leaves.
Bang!- Kaboom!-
‘Ust should be able to withstand it, right?’
Ust had endured Arnela’s attacks for a whole minute. So, I thought he could easily handle this kind of attack. I briefly glanced around Heights, and as expected, all the phantoms had disappeared.
‘To think he had such an attack hidden.’
It was an attack with considerable damage and an overwhelming number of hits. Fortunately, Ust was safe and was attacking Heights as if nothing had happened.
‘Oh, come to think of it, Ust hasn’t taken any significant attacks so far.’
Then maybe he could have endured that attack a few more times.
Kwaaang!!- Kaboom!-
‘From now on, I need to keep a close eye on the message window while moving.’
Thinking that I would hide behind Ust again if he used the Leaf Blade attack, I used Phantom Shift towards Heights and simultaneously cast Thunder Strike.
Kwaaang!!-
[Skill Damage……]
“Elsyke’s Phantom Shift!”
The strategy was the same as before. Only the target had changed to Heights. I recovered stamina with Thunder Strike and used Phantom Shift several times to attack Heights again.
So that the phantoms could immediately attack anything he summoned.
[Heights, Cultivating Death, uses Blessing of the Black World Tree.]
“Damn it.”
Along with the message that popped up, an unknown powder fell from the tree. Seeing this, I left the remaining attacks to the phantoms and immediately moved behind Ust. But strangely, nothing happened.
“Kugh………”
On the contrary, Heights, under the persistent attacks of the phantoms and Ust, collapsed with a pained expression. And that sight was enough to make me hopeful.
Could it be………
[Raid Boss Monster, Heights, Cultivating Death, has been defeated.]
‘Finally!’
[Rewards will vary depending on contribution. However, deceased players are excluded from the current contribution.]
[Rudin’s contribution is as follows:]
[Damage 816,527. Healing 0. Support 0. Total 816,527. Result…… 1st place.]
[Acquired 15,000,000 Experience Points!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level……]
[Ding!~ Acquired 300 Gold.]
[Ding!~ Acquired ‘Robe Tainted with the Scent of Death’.]
[Ding!~ Acquired ‘Hood Tainted with the Scent of Death’.]
[Ding!~ ‘Tainted with the Scent of Death……]
[Ding!~ Acquired ‘100 Pockets’.]
[Ding!~ Acquired ‘Unending Healing Potion’.]
[Congratulations! You have achieved 1st place in contribution in the raid, so you can increase the level of your desired skill by one stage.]
[Please select one skill to level up.]
“The experience is……… as expected, more than Deronak’s.”
Having defeated him alone from the start, I felt a sense of satisfaction seeing that the experience and gold were greater than from Deronak. It was worth the effort of sneaking in here alone. Also, it was my personal opinion, but Deronak’s level seemed higher than Heights’.
“Level 87, huh.”
Confirming that I had leveled up exactly 4 levels, I nodded. However, it was still far from level 90, so I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
At this rate, when will I reach level 90?
It seemed like I would have to go to the Tower of Darkness for the remaining time. Back then, I took Yua and Sina with me, and I still leveled up considerably. So, if I went alone, I might be able to level up even faster.
Anyway, after checking my level, I decided on the skill to level up.
“Karzel’s Card Summoning.”
[Ding!~ Level of S-rank skill ‘Karzel’s Card Summoning’ has increased.]
[Stats Magic Power 10, Summoning 10 increased.]
And the messages didn’t end there.
[Congratulations! You have accomplished an unbelievable feat by single-handedly defeating a boss far exceeding your level, a raid boss monster, no less. This feat, surpassing human limitations, is undeniably a great achievement that no one else has accomplished.]
[Training points for skills used during combat will be applied once again!]
[Ding!~ Level of S-rank skill ‘Elsyke’s Phantom Shift’ has increased.]
[Stats Strength 5, Agility 5, Magic Power 8 increased.]
[Ding!~ Level of S-rank skill ‘Volcus’ Thunder Strike’ has increased.]
[Stats Strength 7, Agility 5, Stamina 7 increased.]
[Acquired ‘Random Skillbook’ for the great achievement.]
“No message related to a title, huh.”
This wouldn’t require defeating him three times alone, would it? Having acquired the Unsung Hero title by defeating a normal boss three times, I wondered if I needed to defeat a raid boss three times as well, but I soon shook my head.
‘Three times, and it’s not just any boss, but a raid boss.’
For others, defeating him once would be a miracle, so defeating him three times was absurd. If the developers had any sense, they wouldn’t have created a title acquisition method like that. Though I couldn’t be entirely sure.
“Anyway, the joyous item checking time has returned.”
Putting aside thoughts about the title, I decided to check the items Heights had dropped with an expectant smile.
[Robe Tainted with the Scent of Death] (Rare)
Description: The robe worn by Heights, Cultivating Death. Made of special materials, this robe boasts excellent defense, being difficult to cut even with a sword. Moreover, due to some kind of process, it is imbued with the scent of death, making it a dangerous robe that even those with weak vitality cannot approach.
Defense: 130 Magic Defense: 300
Durability: 130/130
*Increases the health of Summoning (Death) type by 10%.
*Deals 30 fixed damage per second to all living creatures within a 5M radius.
*Set Effect (1/4)
━2 Piece Set Effect: Death +200.
━3 Piece Set Effect: Summoning (Death) type skill level +2 applied.
━4 Piece Set Effect: Summoning (Death) stat increased by 30%.
“Death? Death, as in Necromancer-exclusive equipment?”
No, I defeated Heights, why is Necromancer equipment dropping?
Summoning in Twilight is divided into several types. One of them is Death Summoning, which can be simply understood as summoning skeletons. Other types of summoning include Animal, Spirit, Familiar, and Monster Summoning, but I wasn’t particularly interested in them, so I didn’t know the details.
“But will this sell?”
I didn’t know much about Death Summoning, but one thing I knew was that it required corpses for summoning. I also heard that you could summon using the corpses of deceased players, but players summoned that way couldn’t be resurrected with magic.
It was a summoning skill that could easily earn you all sorts of curses from your party if used incorrectly.
Putting the robe related to such a summoning skill back into my item window, I glanced at the other items before pulling out the belt Heights was wearing.
[100 Pockets] (Unique)
Description: A belt with a total of 100 large and small pockets. Each pocket is enchanted with a spatial expansion spell, allowing it to hold one of any item. In other words, it can be called a rare treasure created by using the spatial expansion spell a whopping 100 times. Moreover, since it has been used continuously for a long time without being neglected, there is a possibility of finding items left by the previous owner if you search through the pockets.
Durability: 200/200
*Item Storage +100.
*Acquires an unknown potion every 12 hours.
*Acquires an unknown material every 12 hours.
‘What? What are these vague stats?’
The stat increase was certainly worthy of being called Unique. However, since it only increased the basic stats, it was awkward to use directly. And even looking at the options below, there was nothing related to combat.
“I like the Item Storage part, though………”
Seeing the description of the Item Storage, which increased by a whopping 100 slots, I equipped the belt and reached into a pocket. Even though I hadn’t put anything in, I felt something, so I pulled it out.
[Ding!~ Acquired ‘Lower Grade Magic Potion’.]
[Ding!~ Acquired ‘Orc Leather’.]
“……”
A potion that restored 200 Magic Power and Orc Leather. Seeing that, I silently took off the belt and put it back into my item window. I had a rough idea of what it was.
‘Let’s look at the other items.’
The item next to the belt was some kind of potion.
[Unending Healing Potion] (Unique)
Description: A mysterious potion whose creation method is unknown. As its name suggests, it possesses a miraculous effect that allows it to be drunk endlessly without running out. Moreover, despite having such an effect, it boasts superior performance compared to other healing potions.
━Recovers 20% Health.
━Recovers 20% Magic Power.
━Reusable every 30 minutes.
“30 minutes………”
In terms of pure recovery, it was inferior to the Rare potion Sina made. However, I liked the fact that it could be used every 30 minutes. Since I rarely needed to use potions anyway, carrying this potion would increase my chances of survival. I looked at the next item, but there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy.
If I had to list them, though………
[Eater Plant Recipe] (Rare)
[Branch of the Black World Tree] (Rare)
[Death Magic Stone] (Rare)
That was about it.
The Eater Plant Recipe was, as its name suggested, a recipe for crafting Eater Plants. The description stated that the level of the Eater Plant was determined by the Alchemy rank and level. It was a one-time use, which was a bit disappointing, but it could be helpful in crucial battles.
The Branch of the Black World Tree and Death Magic Stone were material items. The Branch of the Black World Tree required the Woodworking skill, and the Death Magic Stone seemed to be a material for staves.
Both were useless items to me, though.
‘Even if I get the materials, I have no use for them.’
I couldn’t use the Branch of the Black World Tree because it required the Woodworking skill, and while I could make a staff with the Death Magic Stone, I had no need for a staff. Moreover, I already had the Rare staff, Unquenchable Flame Staff, so I wasn’t interested.
‘But I thought there would be an item for frost prevention, but there isn’t.’
Seeing how Heights didn’t even have a hint of frost on him despite Ust’s numerous attacks, I thought there must be something related to his equipment, but no such item dropped.
If it wasn’t equipment, then was it an ability?
It was difficult to judge since there weren’t any skill books dropped, but there was no point dwelling on an item that didn’t even appear.
“Anyway, since I’ve finished checking, let’s go back.”
Having achieved all my objectives here, I recalled Ust and pulled out a Return Scroll from my item window to head back home.
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