So far, everything was basically still within expectations—except for the unexpected fact that Kibaou and his team had arrived around 8 a.m.
Still, moving faster was certainly a good thing.
After all, Akimi and his group didn't have much time left.
But what caught them the most off guard was that Nirrnir had woken up earlier than expected.
Kio had originally thought that the effects of the Poison would last around two days.
Nirrnir waking up early resulted in her already depleted HP beginning to drop even faster.
At this rate, if they didn't defeat the boss Aghyeller and obtain the Dragon's Blood by 1:30 p.m., Nirrnir would have no choice but to say goodbye to this world.
"According to the information we have, the boss has the following skills: Intimidating Gaze, Dragon's Breath, and Shocking Roar," said Akimi, based on the intel provided by Argo.
"All three of these cause hindering effects—Stun, Burn, and Weapon Disarm, respectively. However, the stun from Intimidating Gaze only affects players below level 20. The burn from Dragon's Breath is guaranteed to occur. As for the disarm from Shocking Roar, it has a small chance of affecting everyone."
"That's quite a headache," Kibaou said, frowning.
"And since this is a dragon-type monster, its physical resistance is probably ridiculously high because of its dragon scales, right?"
"Exactly," Kirito nodded.
"During the beta, everyone died at least ten times trying to defeat it. Its physical resistance is at least double that of the floor 5 boss."
At that moment, Argo suddenly spoke up: "As for the burning effect, I've got a solution."
As she spoke, she pulled out over a dozen crystal-clear flowers that looked like they were made of ice.
Their official item name was Snowtree Bud.
With a pained expression, Argo said, "These things dissolve in water, and drinking them grants two hours of flame resistance. It should be enough to counter the dragon's breath."
"That should make things a lot easier," said the usually stern Lind, his tightly furrowed brow relaxing slightly.
After briefly discussing their battle tactics, the main party didn't linger much longer.
They pushed forward through the final area and reached the doors of the boss room.
"Alright, let's take down that dragon in one go today and advance to the eighth floor!"
As the overall commander for this operation, Kibaou declared proudly.
"Oh—!"
"That's right!"
"..."
The enthusiastic responses came from ALS members.
The DKB members stayed silent, while Akimi's group just responded half-heartedly from the sidelines.
As the boss room doors were pushed open, one by one, the surrounding oil lamps lit up, revealing a dazzling, gold-decorated chamber to everyone's eyes.
At the center of the room stood a small mountain formed from gold coins, silver coins, jewels, and ornaments.
Atop this mound rested a massive red dragon, eyes closed in slumber.
Its enormous wings nearly enveloped the entire treasure hoard.
Not long after the raid team entered the room, the dragon slowly opened its eyes, revealing massive blood-red vertical pupils.
It gently shook its head, stood up, and let out a thunderous roar that shook the chamber.
A red marker appeared above its head, and six long HP bars emerged beside its name: "Aghyeller the Igneous Wyrm."
It then unfurled its wings, and a red glow lit up in its enormous eyes.
It looked down on the raid team with the gaze of a being watching ants.
"It's Intimidating Gaze! Anyone under level 20, keep your heads down!"
Kirito shouted out the warning as soon as he noticed Aghyeller's movement.
The raid team, made up of elite players, reacted swiftly and ducked their heads to avoid the Intimidating Gaze.
Still, a few stubborn ones didn't follow the warning and, without exception, were stunned on the spot.
Seeing that its gaze hadn't achieved the desired effect, Aghyeller immediately raised its long neck and folded its wings.
Sparks began flickering around its mouth, and its throat started glowing orange.
"It's the breath attack! Tanks, protect the stunned idiots!"
Kibaou shouted at the nearby tank units, pointing his sword toward the players who had ignored the warning.
Just as the tanks raised their shields, Aghyeller lowered its head and aimed its massive open mouth at the raid group.
With a loud BOOM BOOM, orange-red flames burst forth and crashed against the tanks' shields.
Though flames should have no weight, the tanks felt immense pressure bearing down on them.
Those without shield protection, like Akimi and his group, drew their weapons and used area sword skills to slash through the fire in front of them.
"Team A and C, target the left arm!
Team D and F, attack the right arm!
Team B and E, fall back and recover HP!
Team G and H, flank and harass!"
Under Kibaou's command, dozens of players charged at Aghyeller with a shout.
Aghyeller was now in the recovery phase following its breath attack and couldn't take any actions.
The players struck at its thick forelimbs, forcing its head—raised more than four meters high—to lower.
"Savage Pivot!"
"Water Breathing Second Form: Water Wheel!"
"Triple Fang!"
"Quadruple Agony!"
"Wild Dance!"
Kirito's triple heavy strike, Akimi's Water Breathing technique, along with attacks from Argo, Asuna, and Yu Wenjun, all landed on Aghyeller's completely exposed left flank.
Combined with the rest of the players' attacks, Aghyeller's first HP bar was brought down to its final sliver.
"The BOSS is about to strike with its claws! Dodge!"
Kibaou's timely warning helped everyone avoid a direct hit from Aghyeller.
Though they still suffered some shock damage, it wasn't too severe.
"Alright! Keep up this momentum…" Kibaou pumped his fist to rally the team.
"The BOSS is attacking again—dodge!"
Just moments after his words, Aghyeller suddenly twisted its body.
Its tail—thick like a log, covered in scales and barbs—swung violently toward the players.
Kirito's group quickly retreated, while Akimi leapt high into the air and activated a breathing technique mid-air:
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
With a heavy slash, his Nichirin Blade cut deep into the thick tail.
At the same time, Kirito and the others closed in again to continue their assault on Aghyeller.
Though the tail sweep had caused three players to lose more than half their HP, there were no casualties.
With Akimi and the four large warriors led by Agil launching fierce attacks, Aghyeller's second HP bar dropped by a fifth.
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