Chapter 77: The Hardest Boss to Kill?

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Hardest Boss to Kill?

"CRACK—"

Yu Zhun, who had been on a killing spree amidst the enemy horde, was suddenly encased in a layer of solid ice. His entire body stiffened, leaving him frozen in place. More than a dozen Hunting Blades slashed toward him from every direction. Under such an onslaught, an ordinary player would die instantly from just two strikes.

Although Yu Zhun had accumulated a massive shield value during his previous slaughter, he wouldn’t last more than a few seconds against the absurd Mechanisms of the Snow Ridge Hunters. Just as the Hunting Blades were about to carve into his body, a burst of white Light shot up into the sky, instantly enveloping him.

"Priest Skills, [Purification]!"

The solid ice melted in a flash. With the frozen status lifted, the lethal strikes of the Hunting Blades that hit Yu Zhun’s shield instantly turned into mere scratches. Giving a thumbs-up to Salas for his timely assistance, Yu Zhun lunged at the remaining Snow Ridge Wizards in the area.

[Life Value -60,000]

The moment the last Snow Ridge Wizard fell, a blazing fire that not even the extreme cold could conceal swept across the battlefield. That was Ji Xiaoyu striking with her full strength after holding back for a long time.

Mage skill [Blast Flame (Lv3)]: Blast radius of 30 meters, dealing Magic damage equal to 100% of Magic Attack to all targets within range!

When the flames dispersed, only Yu Zhun was left standing alone.

[Congratulations to the player for meeting the conditions and obtaining Dungeon Achievement 2: Ice Calamity]

"Only the final stage left."

Yu Zhun looked up at the magnificent palace situated at the peak of the mountain. Salas and Ji Xiaoyu hurried forward. As they followed behind Yu Zhun to continue their ascent, they took out bottles of potions to recover their depleted resources. By the time they reached the palace doors, they had already returned to peak condition.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Zhun placed his hands on the doors and pushed them open with force. The dimly lit but opulent hall was completely empty, its floor covered in ice crystals that seemed to have been there for an eternity. Right in the center of the hall stood a mirror adorned with gemstones.

The mirror reflected everything in the hall. The only difference was... a white-haired woman was standing inside the mirror.

Her hands hung naturally at her sides, and her white hair cascaded over her shoulders. A gorgeous ice-crystal gown perfectly accentuated her flawless figure, while her facial features were so exquisite they looked like the Creator’s most outstanding masterpiece.

Her eyes were closed as Yu Zhun strode right up to the mirror. Those beautiful eyes suddenly snapped open. Her hollow, lifeless gaze stared at him like a bottomless abyss, and a terrifying aura instantly enveloped the hall.

[Cold Ice Mirror Demon (Lv25)]

[Attributes:

Life Value: 120,000

Mana: 10,000

Physical Attack: 2,000

Magic Attack: 2,000

Physical Defense: 1,000

Magic Defense: 1,000]

[Skill 1 (Cold Mirror): Summons a persistently existing Ice Mirror. Before the main body dies, the Ice Mirror cannot be destroyed by external forces. Cooling: 10s]

[Skill 2 (Hidden Mirror): Hides in the nearest Ice Mirror, entering an untargetable state. Lasts for 10s. Cooling: 30s. Can use the skill [Cold Mirror] while in this state. The corresponding Ice Mirror shatters upon leaving.]

[Skill 3 (Frost Gauze): For every 1s the Cold Ice Mirror Demon stays outside the mirror, she increases her Physical Defense and Magic Defense by 5%. For every 1s she stays inside the mirror, she recovers 5% of her Life Value and increases her Physical Attack and Magic Attack by 3%.]

[Mechanism 1 (Mirror Shadow): When the main body is outside the mirror, every Ice Mirror reflects the main body to create a Mirror Shadow. The Mirror Shadows attack alongside the main body, dealing 50% of the main body’s damage.]

[Mechanism 2 (Main Mirror): The Main Mirror cannot be destroyed. The Cold Ice Mirror Demon initially hides within the Main Mirror, and the duration of [Hidden Mirror] is increased to 30s. The Main Mirror does not shatter when she leaves, but she cannot hide in it afterward. The Mirror Shadow produced by the Main Mirror attacks alongside the main body, dealing 100% of the main body’s damage.]

[Mechanism 3 (Greed for Life): When the Cold Ice Mirror Demon’s Life Value falls below 80% of her maximum Life Value and the Cooling is complete, she immediately uses [Hidden Mirror]. If she takes damage exceeding 10% of her maximum Life Value within 1s, the Cooling for [Hidden Mirror] is refreshed and she immediately uses it.]

Three skills, three Mechanisms.

This was the Boss of the Dungeon [Cold Ice Silence Realm], hailed as the most complex and difficult-to-kill Boss among all Lv20 Dungeons—the Cold Ice Mirror Demon.

The moment the interface popped up, an Ice Mirror had already rapidly risen from the ground, appearing right next to Yu Zhun.

Initially residing within the Main Mirror, she could hide there for thirty seconds. During these untargetable thirty seconds, players could only wait. Once the thirty seconds passed, the Cold Ice Mirror Demon that emerged would possess four Ice Mirrors, along with a 90% increase in both Physical Attack and Magic Attack.

And this was merely the Cold Ice Mirror Demon’s weakest phase.

As time went on, the Cold Ice Mirror Demon would summon a brand new Ice Mirror every ten seconds. Not only would her damage steadily climb along with the number of Mirror Shadows, but her Physical Defense and Magic Defense would constantly increase as well.

When facing a Boss like this, one could only aim for a speedrun. However, the [Greed for Life] Mechanism made killing her within ten seconds nothing but a pipe dream.

Currently, raiding parties tackling the [Cold Ice Silence Realm] usually employed a method known as the 50-Second Speedrun when facing the Cold Ice Mirror Demon. Just as the name implied, starting from the thirtieth second when the Cold Ice Mirror Demon stepped out, players had to control their damage output to make her lose health continuously, executing the kill before the fiftieth second.

The attacks of every member of the raiding party, the sequence of drawing aggro and tanking damage, and the timing of each DPS’s strikes all required strict calculation. They had to maximize their damage without triggering Mechanism 3. Different raiding parties would even record their runs, comparing their kill times and taking pride in being faster.

The current highest record was a kill completed in 40.3 seconds.

The ones who achieved this record were the only Four Stars guild in Divine Strategy City, [Holy Law Celestial Horse]. The leader of the raiding party at that time was now the guild master of [Holy Law Celestial Horse], a renowned Lv54 powerhouse. He was also the one who, decades ago, declared that the achievement for the third stage, [Cold Mirror Palace], was absolutely impossible to attain.

Because the method to obtain the [Cold Mirror Palace] achievement was: Kill the Cold Ice Mirror Demon 130 seconds after the battle begins!

If players utilized the [Greed for Life] Mechanism to continuously force the Cold Ice Mirror Demon into the Ice Mirrors to reduce their numbers and prevent her Physical Defense and Magic Defense from rising, then her Physical Attack and Magic Attack would spike to horrifying levels. Conversely, if players kept the Cold Ice Mirror Demon outside the mirrors at all times, her Physical Defense and Magic Defense would reach suffocating heights. Furthermore, the increasing number of Ice Mirrors would similarly boost her damage.

Regardless of how one handled it, the Cold Ice Mirror Demon at the 130-second mark was an entity with overwhelmingly broken stats.

"Guild Master, do you really not need our help?"

Standing outside the hall, Ji Xiaoyu and Salas wore worried expressions. Although they knew that Yu Zhun possessed extreme tankiness despite being an Assassin, this was a Boss. Could Yu Zhun truly face her alone?

"Don’t worry," Yu Zhun waved his hand calmly.

The hardest-to-kill Boss in a Lv20 Dungeon? Was it really that hard?

Yu Zhun checked his own Physical Defense and Magic Defense, which were both sitting at a towering 3,943, and pointed at the Cold Ice Mirror Demon inside the mirror.

"My name is Yu Zhun, the man who will send you to Hell.

"But before that...

"I’ll sit right here and let you attack me for 130 seconds first."