Chapter 113: Muting Myself
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
Keeping ScarletFruit inside the cave to guard the detoxifying teammates, Su Mo led two assassins back to the fisherman’s courtyard where they conducted a meticulous search. They carpet-searched the area, paying special attention to places previously considered unimportant, and discovered many overlooked clues.
For instance, they found a sea monster sketch in the fisherman’s room, which Su Mo had initially thought was just a common family portrait found in every fisherman’s home in the village… Another discovery was a black-colored special potion placed on a shelf in the woodshed, and instead of freshwater, the barrel contained seawater…
During the daytime, the small fishing village was devoid of strange monsters, and the big boss resembling an octopus was lying motionless on the mountain. However, these conspicuous clues, coupled with the task information provided again by the Honey-roasted Goose, made it easy to reconstruct the approximate plot.
The villagers of the small fishing village believed in sea monsters. They used the pretext of opportunities in the fishing village to lure outsiders, whether ordinary people or practitioners, to this place. They deceived them into drinking a concoction mixed with black water under the guise of a refreshing tea. Finally, they threw these deceived individuals into the location of the bone cave for the giant octopus to devour.
A small amount of seawater could not completely detoxify these victims. To prevent the captives from escaping, the fishermen even used the victims’ fear and numbness, engraving confusing statements such as “no medicine available” due to various factors inside the cave. They sealed the original hole used to fetch seawater. Even if someone accidentally regained a bit of strength by touching seawater, they would ultimately perish due to exhaustion or be killed by the octopus.
ScarletFruit asked, “Fake opportunities, real deception. What’s the endgame of this quest?”
“Probably killing the boss and exposing the fishermen’s deception,” Apple guessed the way to clear the quest. “Once we recover, let’s go out and kill the giant octopus outside.”
“It’s not that simple. That octopus has special mechanics. Its defense is extremely high during daytime rest periods,” Su Mo said as he returned to the bone cave with two assassins. “It’s 5:30 now. I’m logging off for dinner.”
While the rest of the team was discussing how to deal with the big boss, Momo suddenly went offline from his position, disappearing abruptly.
Seeing the commander go offline, ScarletFruit immediately expressed concern, “I’m starting to worry. My brother usually takes at least an hour for dinner and rest. Will he be able to come back in time?”
Just a while ago, he had deliberately logged off to have his younger brother collect all his stalls in Sunset City, fearing that the Global Boss would wreck them and steal materials. Initially unaware of the seriousness outside, he became somewhat fearful when his younger brother relayed the situation.
If they couldn’t defeat this boss, wouldn’t the safe zone cease to be safe anymore?
For these merchants, it would be a devastating blow. Their livelihoods depended on being able to set up stalls in safe zones!
Apple said, “I just asked people from the guild. They said they don’t know how to lure the boss away, so in the end, everyone will take turns to lift it back while it’s not attacking.”
“How do we lift it???” ClearWind was shocked.
“Just lift it forcefully. Plus, its tentacles are poisonous. They struggled a lot while lifting it, and the poison is similar to the iced tea we drank. Eventually, they went to the seaside to get some seawater, and that’s how they managed to lift the boss back,” explained apple.
The others were speechless.
Suddenly, they felt that staying in this quest scenario wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Apple continued to update them on what was happening outside. As he spoke, Momo’s ID lit up on the team list.
ScarletFruit looked over in disbelief, “Bro, you only took ten minutes for dinner today!!”
Yu Zhen entered the quest scene and could make some sense of the situation around him. “Have you guys cleared the poison off?”
Apple bounced around excitedly, “Cleared it long ago… Wait, but didn’t the boss go down when the boss went offline?”
Did he know earlier!?
The others looked at momo in surprise, feeling that something was not quite right.
“He’s logged off, I’ll help.” Yu Zhen didn’t elaborate further. “ZenSlasher, take me to where the boss is. We still have some time; let’s go see the boss.”
Familiarity tinged with unfamiliarity, and unfamiliarity carrying a tone of familiarity.
ScarletFruit immediately realized, “Brother Wanderer!”
ClearWind sat up in surprise, “Almost forgot, is Brother Wanderer dual-boxing?”
They all knew about UnchainedWanderer having access to Momo’s account. Usually, Momo couldn’t log in due to lack of time, but now with this sudden turn of events, they were still hoping Momo could return before nightfall, yet here UnchainedWanderer had already logged in.
This wasn’t about daily routines but completing the quest… Could these experts handle dual logging so proficiently?
Wait, could their relationship really be so close that they casually switch accounts even for high-level quests like this?
“I don’t have much time. I’ll log off in half an hour,” Yu Zhen continued. “Lead the way.”
***
Su Mo logged off right on time, and Lele hadn’t yet prepared dinner.
Wearing an apron and holding a cleaning machine, Lele was cleaning when it saw Su Mo removing his VR headset. She asked, “Su Mo, what are you having for dinner tonight?”
After taking off the headset, Su Mo paused for a while until the disorientation from transitioning back to reality subsided. “A nutrition supplement, beef flavor.”
“!” Lele looked at Su Mo in surprise. He had always refused to drink nutrition supplements before, so it was the first time she had seen him voluntarily ask for one.
Su Mo slipped on his slippers and went to fetch a tablet from nearby. Using an electronic pen, he quickly sketched a simple map of the scene’s terrain on the tablet. Halfway through drawing, he suddenly remembered something else and walked over to fetch a medical kit. Seeing him with all these items, Lele couldn’t help but feel nervous. “Su Mo, are you feeling unwell?”
“I’m not feeling unwell.”
Since Dr. Wu stopped objecting to his gaming and even believed that playing holographic games could, to some extent, alleviate the potential stress caused by his condition, aiding in emotional regulation and physical improvement, Lele gradually relaxed its attitude toward his gaming.
Now classified as an F-class constitution, despite having better physical fitness than others with F-class constitutions, Su Mo was still officially rated as an F-class citizen by the System. Improvement didn’t mean he could let his guard down… Daily routine medical checks were still necessary. Su Mo felt relieved seeing the stable medical rating on the medical kit and forwarded the data to Dr. Wu. He explained to Lele, “I might exceed the game time tonight. I’ll send the data now and do another check before bed.”
Lele walked over to check the data and confirmed everything was fine. It said, “Dr. Wu mentioned scheduling a check-up next week. We’ve booked it for Wednesday.”
Su Mo unplugged the cable. “Then we’ll schedule the hovercar in advance.”
He then asked, “Can I play until midnight tonight?”
Lele frowned, pondered for a moment, and replied, “Not too late. Midnight it is!”
After finishing the nutrient supplement, Su Mo prepared to take his medication. Once done, instead of immediately logging into the game, he rested for a while, planning to go online when the time was right. During this break, he received a message from Yu Zhen, asking if he minded joining them later that night to play games together.
Play games together?
Su Mo was momentarily stunned when he saw the message. Almost instinctively, he sent an “OK” emoji before fully realizing what Yu Zhen meant.
The holographic game is unique for its virtual social interaction, but in reality, many friends also gather together in quiet and comfortable places to log in and play games. Su Mo often saw classmates forming groups to play Celestial Horizon on social media, but this kind of experience was a first for him in his limited holographic gaming career.
“Lele, brother Zhen just said he’ll come over and play games,” Su Mo informed Lele.
Lele emerged from the kitchen, “Hmm?”
Su Mo continued, “I agreed to it.”
Lele exclaimed, “!”
Su Mo got up to adjust the width of the sofa and neatly folded the blanket he used while gaming, placing it aside. “Prepare some tea for brother Zhen, use the tea leaves from the innermost cabinet.”
Lele went off to attend to the task busily.
Not long after, the doorbell rang outside the house. Su Mo glanced at the smart screen and saw Yu Zhen standing at the door.
Lele walked over to open the door, “Su Mo, Mr. Yu Zhen is here.”
Su Mo turned his head to look. Yu Zhen came in holding two things: a familiar medicinal food thermos and a headset-style loader.
Yu Zhen adeptly briefed Lele on what to do and then turned to Su Mo, “Will my presence disturb you?”
Su Mo’s eyes paused for a moment, involuntarily focusing on Yu Zhen.
When men are at home, they usually wear comfortable casual clothes, shedding their formal suits and shoes. Yu Zhen seemed to have lost some of his sharpness. Su Mo withdrew his gaze, “…Why did you suddenly come here?”
“I’m concerned there might be sudden issues, and I can’t guarantee that we won’t lose all connectivity,” Yu Zhen explained. “If an emergency arises, offline communication might be a good option. Will I be disturbing you?”
“No,” Su Mo glanced around at the indoor temperature. “Brother, is this temperature comfortable for you?”
For him, the indoor temperature was just right, but for someone with a normal constitution, it might feel a bit warm.
Yu Zhen responded, “It’s fine, just right.”
Lele brought the tea over, and Yu Zhen nodded in appreciation. Then he asked Su Mo, “Is the loader here? I’ll input the authorization for you.”
“What authorization?” Su Mo hesitated.
“The login authorization for ReturnToSimplicity,” Yu Zhen took the loader handed over by Su Mo and input the login authorization belonging to ReturnToSimplicity’s account. “Your loader doesn’t have the function for dual-boxing, but switching between multiple accounts is possible. If you want to switch over to my side later, you can log in with the marksman account after temporarily logging out, which will help you understand the situation of our Global Boss.”
After finishing the input, Yu Zhen handed it back to Su Mo. “It’s about time. It’s turning into nighttime on your end, right?”
When Su Mo took the loader, his fingers brushed against Yu Zhen’s hand. Due to his constitution, Su Mo’s hands were always cold, and the touch of Yu Zhen’s warm fingers felt extremely hot to him. He had to take a sip of warm water.
…People with good constitutions are really different, he thought.
Lele, noticing this, hurried over to prepare to take Su Mo’s temperature. “Su Mo, your face looks a bit flushed. Are you running a fever?”
“No fever, probably just the temperature being too high,” Su Mo secretly lowered the indoor temperature by a few degrees. After putting on the loader, he said, “I’ll go in first.”
Lele watched the medical machine in contemplation. “Temperature is normal.”
Yu Zhen watched as the one next to him closed their eyes and entered the game’s Global. Hearing the puzzled voice of the nearby robot, he said, “Lele, set the room temperature back to 25 degrees. Let’s not let him catch a chill.”
“Alright!” Lele wondered, “That’s strange. The temperature report from five minutes ago was also 25 degrees…”
Yu Zhen leaned slightly and unfolded the nearby stacked blanket, covering Su Mo with it before logging into the game himself.
***
When Su Mo logged into the game, he found himself still inside the Bone Cave, with only 2 minutes left until nighttime. As soon as he logged in, he noticed that the in-game drawing function was enabled, with two messages written on it. These messages were left by Yu Zhen after logging into his account, detailing skill information and the location of the output.
The Global Boss Deep Sea Overlord had two mechanisms based on the current health level:
- Ink Paralysis
- Tentacle Whip
Similarly, in their Global, the large boss had tentacles and ink that likely shared the same mechanisms. The black potion in the fisherman’s house was none other than the ink produced by the octopus. Ink also had a paralyzing effect, so they needed to be extremely careful during their attack. Additionally, they needed to figure out two things: how to lure the octopus and how to reduce its defenses.
The skill information Su Mo knew beforehand, and the output location Yu Zhen had newly discovered, was outside the Bone Cave where there was an obviously spacious area. After communicating with other teammates, they found that this place was likely a blind spot for small monsters and probably wouldn’t attract the fish monster during the night.
After reading the message, Su Mo suddenly noticed the strange looks from his surrounding teammates. “What’s wrong? Are you all ready? Nighttime is approaching, let’s go. Two assassins lead the way, everyone else follows. We’re heading outside.”
Upon hearing this familiar tone, everyone immediately understood it was Momo, not UnchainedWanderer.
ScarletFruit couldn’t help but say, “Bro, next time you switch accounts with Brother Wanderer, can you let us know? It’s confusing when we can’t tell who is who, or maybe change your voice too.”
ClearWind agreed, “It’s too easy for us to misunderstand like this.”
When you dual log, the voice remains the same. They’re so close, even his friends and in-game wife aren’t this close.
Su Mo looked at them, “Misunderstand what?”
Apple replied, “Nothing, Boss, please continue.”
[Remaining nighttime duration 01:59:56] [[East Sea Fishing Village] Strange sounds seem to be coming from there. A monster is following us.]
The tentacles, dormant for a long time, suddenly moved. Their fierce assault directly struck at the cave entrance. The two assassins immediately sprang into action upon hearing the sound. As soon as they emerged from the cave mouth, the tentacles closely followed them, launching a ferocious attack intending to knock them all down.
Fortunately, they were prepared in advance. As the assassins moved, the rest followed, using the pre-prepared paths and ropes, making it much easier to climb out of the Bone Cave.
“ScarletFruit, focus on healing in the middle. Little Bear, prioritize protecting the cleric,” Su Mo instructed, positioning himself at the rear and quickly analyzing the current situation in his mind.
Their team consisted of seven people: one tank, one healer, and five DPS.
Most of their DPS were squishy, especially the assassins and magical swordsmen, followed by the physical swordsmen.
“After reaching the high platform, turn left and change formation. Little Bear, lead the way ahead. Assassin, protect the healer in the middle. Magical swordsman and summoner, hold the rear,” Su Mo instructed as he climbed onto the high platform. Due to the terrain obstacles, the tentacles became more frenzied, temporarily ceasing their attacks, but the ground still trembled incessantly.
In previous circumstances, they would have had plenty of time to hesitate, think, and find the optimal solution. They could have even completely hidden inside the cave passages; despite the boss’s powerful tentacles, their reach was limited. Once inside the passages, it would have been difficult for them to be attacked, and the sea monsters outside couldn’t enter either. In a sense, the cave passages of the Bone Cave were an excellent shelter.
However, they couldn’t hide. The longer they delayed here, the more ferocious the Global Boss’s rampage outside would become. Eventually, it wouldn’t just affect the East Sea outpost; even safe zones would suffer significant losses, equivalent to harming the players’ interests.
The passage wasn’t long, and the group quickly reached the cave mouth, which was also blocked off.
The boss’s tentacles swept in through the entrance, completely blocking their way out. Fortunately, they had prepared a plan during the day and found another exit hidden by weeds next to the entrance as a backup route.
“Stick to the wall and turn right when you go out, about 20 meters to the place,” Little Bear said.
“Let’s not hesitate, let’s go now. ChatMasterWu, pull the small mobs away after going out,” Su Mo ordered.
The other side’s exit wasn’t blocked, but they encountered a frontal attack as soon as they went out. Little Bear immediately raised his shield to block the boss’s assault, buying time for his teammates to exit. Everyone who came out was caught in the storm, and they could see clearly the situation they were facing now.
During the day, the boss was just lying on the mountain. It was only when the boss initiated an event that they realized how massive it truly was. It still lay on the mountain, several tentacles almost piercing through the mountain, dominating the entire hilltop. It was impossible to speculate how vast its attack range would be when fully extended.
For melee professions, this kind of boss was simply a nightmare.
Ranged professions could ensure safe positioning through distance, but for melee fighters, trying to attack under such conditions meant enduring the boss’s damage. Balancing offense and positioning was extremely difficult.
Su Mo had considered this issue during the day. They hadn’t anticipated this type of boss. When initially choosing their team composition, they ended up with the worst possible setup. In such a team configuration, their originally planned optimal team was significantly weakened. They had 5 DPS, 3 melee, and 2 ranged. The cleric was capable of group healing but relatively weak in emergency situations.
When they arrived at the spacious area Yu Zhen found, indeed there were no fish monsters, but it couldn’t be considered completely safe either.
As the main tank, Little Bear immediately grabbed aggro. Inside, he couldn’t taunt strongly, but outside, the boss’s target was crystal clear. After stabilizing aggro, he activated damage reduction. However, the boss’s attacks didn’t stop. In fact, in its effort to attack, it even moved down from the mountain, stopping halfway on the slope.
For melee fighters, this was both good and bad news. Good because it was easier to engage in combat, bad because the boss could attack them more easily too.
ClearWind said, “This is the most speechless boss I’ve ever seen.”
“Fruit, lean against the mountain wall. It’s an attack blind spot.”
ScarletFruit immediately ran over and summoned the pet, locking onto the main tank and adding healing.
The cleric focused on healing teammates, standing under the mountain wall for relative safety. However, the other DPS couldn’t stay there. They needed to face the boss to attack, but the obstacles under the mountain hindered them. While it was possible to hide there, doing so meant losing opportunities to attack.
Just then, a gigantic bear landed in front of everyone. It stood in front of the main tank and slammed into the boss.
ChatMasterWu was surprised, “Bear newbie!”
Blocking most of the tentacle attacks for the team, the command voice appeared in the Vicinity voice channel, “Fruit, heal the main tank and the bear. Others, stay behind the bear for DPS.”
At this moment, the boss unleashed another skill, spraying ink directly. Ink mixed with rainwater fell down. Su Mo urgently shouted, “Avoid the ink! If hit, use seawater to neutralize it!”
[Ink of the Deep Sea: The ink of the Lord of the Deep Sea is highly toxic upon contact with exposed skin. Players splashed with ink will experience numbness and incapacity to use skills or move for 30 minutes (externally deactivated in 3 seconds, but do not ingest directly as it is highly poisonous).]
The bear was directly hit by the ink attack. Su Mo, as the summoner, immediately read the skill description. This was not described in the Global Boss outside; external deactivation in 3 seconds… This meant that avoiding skin contact with the ink for 3 seconds could resolve it. He shouted, “All ink splashes, hide under the bear, hold on for 3 seconds.”
After being corroded by the ink, the bear couldn’t move. It crashed into the mountain, creating a sheltered space between itself and the mountain for teammates. In this place, not to mention 3 seconds, they could hold out for 5 seconds.
ChatMasterWu saw the summoner use a bear to create environmental advantages for the first time. He had only heard of it before and now he witnessed it firsthand, realizing what true shock meant. He focused on outputting damage and asked, “We have the bear here, but what about others outside?”
“The skill description mentions contact with skin, deactivated in 3 seconds,” Su Mo’s voice was quick, “Everyone knows to use an umbrella on a rainy day outside. It’s convenient to buy things there. If you can’t hide, won’t you buy an umbrella? Besides, this is an ink attack. When there’s no time, defensive skills like the Array Master’s shield can also be used to block external substances. Even if poisoned, it’s fine. If in a seawater environment, detoxification doesn’t even require cooldown.”
Originally unaware of the skill situation, now that they knew about the skills, there were plenty of solutions. Su Mo’s gaze lingered on the boss. The ink and whip attacks could be managed, but where did the boss’s super defense come from… There was no description on this, nor exactly what attracted it.
After struggling for about ten minutes, the team had only managed to decrease the boss’s health by 3%. This progress was much better compared to the Global Boss outside, but they had never fought such a tough boss before. At this rate, if it weren’t for the mana-replenishing professions they brought, they might have run out of mana. The boss remained vigorous.
ChatMasterWu said, “I’m starting to get tired. We’ve been at this for a long time and it’s not even losing health.”
“You’re tired already? I’m the one healing the entire team and I haven’t said I’m tired,” ScarletFruit said, panting. “This thing is too strong. It’s like taking an elevator when it hits the small bear and big bear. If I lose focus on its health, someone’s going to die.”
ClearWind blinked, “Big bear? Small bear?”
ScarletFruit said, “Isn’t it?”
“Ahem,” said Small Bear Biscuit.
At this moment, the boss unleashed a new skill, gathering its tentacles together and slamming down with the force to cleave mountains and rivers, directly smashing both the big bear and small bear into oblivion. ScarletFruit was instantly dumbfounded and hurriedly rescued Small Bear Biscuit, “Help! I can’t handle healing alone.”
Su Mo shouted, “ChatMasterWu, the aggro is on you. Keep running, don’t stop!”
Aggro shifted to ChatMasterWu, with most of the tentacles and single-target attacks chasing after him. He sprinted away, with thunderous attacks trailing closely behind him, each one fiercer than the last.
“Apple, keep up the DPS. ClearWind and ZenSlasher, use long-range skills for now, don’t get too close,” Su Mo immediately reorganized the team’s strategy.
ChatMasterWu’s voice grew fainter, “What should I do?”
Su Mo replied, “Lead them in circles, don’t run out of range of your teammates’ attacks.”
ChatMasterWu: “???”
“Fruit, keep an eye on his health, don’t let him die. Big Bear Shield, pay attention to my commands,” Su Mo explained the skill to them— The new skill could instantly kill the main tank, but in the recent unexpected incident, it might be possible to avoid it using defensive skills. The Warrior’s Giant Mountain Shield could completely reduce damage; even with the most powerful attack, they would still have at least 1% health left. As long as they didn’t die, ScarletFruit would have a chance to heal them back up. But if they died, they would have to wait for the cleric’s resurrection cooldown, leaving only ChatMasterWu to kite the boss and buy time.
Su Mo: “Understand? The skill has a telegraphed animation, Warrior, use your shield, healers get ready to heal.”
He looked at Small Bear, “Don’t feel too much pressure. If there’s a mistake, ChatMasterWu will handle kiting the boss.”
ChatMasterWu shouted from afar, “What are you guys saying? Can you speak louder!?”
The others were speechless.
The Vicinity channel was a drawback in this regard; if you were too far away, you might not hear the voices. ChatMasterWu didn’t hear his teammates’ voices and continued diligently kiting the boss. ScarletFruit summoned a tree to assist teammates in regaining mana. Just then, several tentacles that had originally followed him suddenly turned and charged towards the group, violently knocking Small Bear Biscuit, who was recovering mana, into the air.
Su Mo paused slightly and immediately ordered, “Everyone, spread out!”
After knocking Small Bear Biscuit away, the tentacles didn’t stop immediately but continued to attack Small Bear Biscuit. They also took the opportunity to knock out the summoned tree that ScarletFruit had used to restore mana.
“Is this boss going mad? Wasn’t its aggro on ChatMasterWu?” ScarletFruit hurriedly healed Small Bear Biscuit, barely keeping them alive under the boss’s fierce attacks.
On the aggro list, ChatMasterWu had the highest aggro, followed by ZenSlasher, ClearWind, and other DPS. Small Bear Biscuit had just been resurrected and had the lowest aggro. The boss could attack anyone, but attacking Small Bear Biscuit made the least sense.
ClearWind exclaimed, “Is this a new skill? But wait, just now, Fruit had the lowest aggro, and I didn’t see it attack him.”
The boss’s attack continued for a while, then stopped briefly before resuming its assault on ChatMasterWu.
The group had a moment to rest, and Small Bear Biscuit returned to a safe place to continue recovering. Just as they settled down, the boss’s attacks came in succession again.
ClearWind was visibly frustrated, “Is this boss doing it on purpose? Is it deliberately targeting us when we’re resting??”
“That’s weird. Is it not letting us rest?” Apple was also perplexed.
Su Mo frowned slightly, scanning the surroundings. “Forget about it for now. Let’s continue resting.”
For the third time, just as they sat down again, the boss’s tentacles immediately launched another attack, as if, as Apple had said, it detected players resting and redirected to attack.
Su Mo observed for the third time and thoroughly understood the boss’s attack pattern. “Fruit, place the summoned tree outside.”
ScarletFruit replied, “Huh? Placing it outside means I can’t replenish mana.”
He obediently placed the summoned tree outside. Not long after, the tentacles came again and directly killed the summoned tree outside the crowd.
“Seriously?” ScarletFruit cursed angrily, “You won’t even spare a summoned tree?? I’ve been dungeon crawling for so long, and you’re the most outrageous boss I’ve ever seen!”
After venting, he noticed the solemn faces of the team. He turned his head and saw that everyone looked very serious. He paused, “What’s wrong? Why do you all look so grim?”
ZenSlasher stood up and spoke coldly, “It’s not attacking us anymore.”
Indeed, after attacking the summoned tree, the boss continued to pursue ChatMasterWu, who had the highest aggro, without attacking them again. Clearly, when they were resting earlier, the boss repeatedly interrupted them… What was going on?
“It’s about priority.” Su Mo’s voice was calm. “Its actions follow a priority order. Have any of you wondered how it discovered us when we were resting in the cave initially? At that time, ChatMasterWu was already out of combat.”
ClearWind didn’t understand, “What’s going on?”
“It’s about mana. It’s targeting us based on mana,” Su Mo explained. “It seems to favor something we naturally carry: mana.”
Thinking back to the beginning, when ChatMasterWu pulled the mobs and they rested in the cave.
ScarletFruit was the healer, accustomed to restoring teammates’ health and mana, so naturally, after entering the cave, he also summoned creatures.
ScarletFruit said, “But that doesn’t make sense. Why would it attack us and then go after the stronghold?! Mana doesn’t explain everything, right?”
Apple explained, “If you haven’t been in guild wars, you wouldn’t know. The resources produced at strongholds include a material called ‘Moisture,’ which restores player mana. Typically, during guild wars while inside a stronghold, guild masters or other managers use Moisture to restore our mana, giving us unlimited mana sustain.”
Moisture, as a resource, seemed insignificant compared to other supplies, and mentioning Moisture surprised everyone. No one expected the boss to like this.
ScarletFruit still didn’t quite understand, “But…”
“Its preferences have a priority order. Its hatred toward players and its fondness for mana have different levels,” Su Mo continued, “Not just for the Global Boss, in our scenario, without aggro, it attacks us because of our mana. It can sense fluctuations in our mana, and initially, it was your summoned tree that made it detect us.”
While in the bone cave, even though they weren’t in the boss’s line of sight, they repeatedly used skills, causing fluctuations in their mana levels. That’s why the boss found their location, extending its tentacles into the cave from above and launching repeated attacks on them.
Technically, under less pronounced mana fluctuations, its attack priority should be: high mana fluctuation > high aggro > low mana fluctuation. ChatMasterWu was merely running without increasing aggro, which decreases over time. When mana fluctuation surpasses aggro level, it temporarily shifts targets, such as targeting the bear biscuit sitting down to regenerate mana or the cleric’s summoned tree emitting mana recovery effects.
During the recent attack, they were all gathered together, with the cleric’s summoned tree among the group. It was difficult to determine whether the boss attacked them due to aggro or mana fluctuation. Therefore, understanding this mechanism was challenging, especially considering the outside situation where many players gathered and dispersed. Even if the boss attacked the group, players would only perceive it as random aggression.
In the Global Boss scenario outside, due to the large number of real-world players and their scattered distribution, determining its attack targets became extremely difficult. The East Sea stronghold contained a large amount of produced “Moisture”, so it prioritized attacking the stronghold first. Next, it targeted players with significant mana fluctuations gathered together. Only after dealing with these targets would it turn its attention to CloudTraveller, the main tank with the highest aggro.
Several people listened in shock. Fortunately, they were few in number here. If they were outside, others wouldn’t be able to discern this priority sequence so easily. Unlike an explicit aggro list, with many players and mana fluctuations, the boss would charge into the crowd and cause countless casualties.
ScarletFruit asked, “So, what’s our plan?”
“We keep fighting. With fewer people, the most this mechanism can do is spread its attacks across targets. We’ll still take hits. Move! We don’t have much time. Let’s continue to understand this mechanism,” Su Mo replied.
Su Mo summoned the bear to grab aggro, “Bear, go up and grab aggro. Keep dealing damage. ScarletFruit, control the summoned tree. Take care of the group while staying away from them. We’ll scatter its attacks.”
With the command given, the others immediately rushed out. ChatMasterWu didn’t quite catch their plan, but he followed the group and continued to fight. The aggro was successfully regained by the bear cookie.
The summoned tree indeed dispersed the attacks. Originally, all the tentacles targeted the crowd, but now some tentacles were diverted to attack the tree. This momentarily eased the pressure on ScarletFruit’s healing, but it also consumed the tree’s durability. They had to resummon it before its cooldown finished.
After two hours of darkness, they were extremely exhausted. As the boss’s health continued to decline, a total of 5 mechanic skills appeared. The first two were the tentacle whip and ink attack that everyone knew about, while the remaining three were particularly challenging:
- Force Split: Concentrated attacks targeting the main tank with highest aggro. Warriors without the Giant Mountain Shield would surely die.
- Explosive Red Circle: Targets a player in the crowd to place a bomb under their feet, creating a red circle. Everyone within the red circle would be hit, leaving them with the “Deep Sea Ink” status.
- Summon Minions: Summons small monsters resembling sea creatures to directly attack the crowd. These minions couldn’t be killed and existed for 30 seconds.
When the Explosive Red Circle appeared, it nearly wiped out the entire team. If they hadn’t had spare seawater prepared, they would have been wiped out. Dealing with the summoned minions was manageable, but enduring them for 30 seconds nearly drained ScarletFruit completely.
At this point, they had managed to bring the boss’s health down to 82%.
ScarletFruit said, “After we finish this, I’ll boast about it. I’ve healed 7-person raids as a cleric before!”
Su Mo praised, “You’ve been quite lucky tonight, your healing output has been explosive.”
ScarletFruit was pleasantly surprised, “Yeah, ever since I experienced the joy of being a lucky player last time and upgraded a few pieces of equipment, my luck stat has improved a lot. I also stacked some more healing power. I haven’t had a single-digit healing output situation in dungeons recently. Trust me, I’m much better now. In a way, I’m also a top-tier healer.”
“That’s right,” Apple chimed in, “When I open boxes, I always say ‘EU extreme must be non-EU’, stacking luck values high does have its uses.”
The team fell silent for a moment, then ClearWind interjected, “Can you please shut up?”
ScarletFruit replied, “Leader, I’m applying to mute Apple.”
Team leader Momo responded, “I don’t have permissions in the Vicinity channel, suggest blocking.”
Apple responded with confusion.
Continuing with the instructions, the commander said, “Those targeted by the red circles should move away from the crowd to avoid hitting teammates. Secondly, when the minions appear, everyone else should stop attacking. ChatMasterWu will handle the minions and lead them away from the group.”
ChatMasterWu sighed, “How come I always end up pulling mobs in dungeons?”
ZenSlasher replied, “It’s fine, you’re contributing to the team. I have low health, no chance for me.”
ChatMasterWu nodded, “You make a good point.”
At that moment, the boss unleashed two skills simultaneously. ScarletFruit was targeted by the red circles, and minions charged into the group. Su Mo urgently shouted, “ScarletFruit, get out of the group! ChatMasterWu, pull the mobs!”
Everyone instinctively ceased their attacks. ChatMasterWu rushed forward, engaging the mobs and skillfully leading them away from the group. Just as he did so, the boss’s whip attack came down. With impeccable positioning, ChatMasterWu successfully avoided the whip while showcasing, “ZenSlasher, did you see that? This is how you handle mobs. I’ll teach you next time.”
However, at that moment, a loud crash was heard, and the boss’s whip attack did not cease.
Still in a defensive state, everyone suddenly heard a cry from nearby. A message popped up in the combat log:
“[Your teammate ScarletFruit14 has died.]”
Their sole healer, ScarletFruit, hadn’t managed to cure themselves after being hit by the explosion from the red circle and was struck down by the boss’s whip attack in one fell swoop.
Everyone was speechless.
Apple suddenly said, “Don’t blame anyone, I’m muting myself.”
