What is the greatest joy of raiding a dungeon?
Some believe it's chatting and joking with like-minded friends; others feel it's collecting all kinds of powerful gear; still others think it's the sense of achievement from being the first to clear a new dungeon, topping the damage meters, or leading the healing charts. Ask ten people, and you might get ten different answers.
But there is one thing that every player who has ever participated in a raid will agree on: the moment a BOSS falls and someone loots the body is always the most thrilling and heart-pounding part of the experience.
This is especially true for the first person to crouch down. If they pull out good loot, they receive unanimous praise; but if the loot is "black"—meaning terrible—they are immediately met with a barrage of insults. If they aren't careful, the healing "lords and ladies" might just stop healing them entirely, turning them into the permanent "Floor King" for that lockout.
While his two teammates were busy drinking water and resting, Allen approached Lucifron's corpse alone. He rubbed his hands together and muttered in a voice only he could hear, "Gods, bless me! This is my first time looting in a raid. Please, don't let it be black!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he crouched down to check the drops.
Clink!
Accompanied by the sound of gold coins dropping into his wallet, two purple items and a skill book for Tranquilizing Shot appeared before his eyes.
Wand: Crimson Shocker! Felheart Gloves!
!!!!!!!!!!
Holy crap! No way!
Seeing these two pieces of trash, Allen's burning heart instantly turned ice-cold. This was the absolute worst drop combination for the first BOSS—bar none!
Black! It was so damn black!
Rounding it up, this basically meant the entire BOSS fight was for nothing! Perhaps the only consolation was that book for Tranquilizing Shot... after all, no matter how bad the loot was, the skill book was a guaranteed drop.
With a feeling of immense indignation, he tossed those two useless scraps into his backpack and learned the skill. He then turned and shouted at his two teammates: "Hey! How long are you two going to rest? Get up! Back to work!"
"Huh? We haven't even rested for ten minutes! What's wrong with him?" Baise asked the martial artist next to her, looking completely bewildered.
"He probably pulled a black drop," Bodoro replied with a wry smile.
He had been running dungeons with Allen for a long time and had picked up quite a bit of gaming terminology. He understood that only when the drops were exceptionally poor would his savior and Nen teacher show such a childish side.
"Black drop?"
This was clearly the first time Baise had heard this strange term. She blinked her eyes inquisitively.
Bodoro nodded slightly and explained, "Yes. It means the gear dropped by the BOSS is unsatisfactory. None of us can use it."
"Oh! I think I understand. It's like playing a game where you go through immense hardship to defeat a BOSS, only to find it didn't drop what you wanted. A bit of a temper is understandable. But haven't you noticed? All these dungeons we experience are essentially a real-life version of a game, aren't they? Killing enemies or monsters through various methods, then reaping all sorts of interesting equipment and items."
Baise, being a woman who kept up with modern trends, immediately saw the gaming mechanics hidden behind the dungeons and loot systems. Moreover, as a Pro Hunter, she had heard rumors about that legendary Hunter-exclusive game, Greed Island, and its incredibly realistic world.
Unfortunately, Bodoro was an old-fashioned martial artist. He had never played a video game in his life; he had only learned to use a cell phone at Allen's insistence. He was completely out of his depth regarding such topics.
"Is that so? Perhaps he based his Nen ability on some games to create a fantasy world like this."
"Makes sense. Normally, a boy his age should be exactly at the stage where he's interested in video games. But to be able to create so many micro-worlds with such completely different styles... he really is an absolute monster. Especially those magical items that can increase base attributes and Aura capacity, it's simply unbelievable," Baise said with a complex expression.
"Hahaha! If he's a monster, doesn't that make us the monster's companions?"
With that, Bodoro slammed his two shields together, took a deep breath, and charged forward.
Since the remaining packs of Core Hounds were purely physical attackers, he simply rounded them all up together. Allen showed no mercy, immediately unleashing a barrage of wide-area AOE skills. They made short work of the trash mobs, clearing the path to the second BOSS, Magmadar.
Looking at the gargantuan core hound at the end of the passage, Bodoro's face was filled with excitement. "How do we handle this guy?"
"Simple. Kite-tactic. In a moment, you go up first to build threat. I'll follow closely and pull the aggro as fast as possible. Then, I'll use Aura Burst to maintain distance while dealing continuous massive damage. When I'm about to reach the end of the path, I'll use Feign Death, and it will turn back to find you. We repeat this until it finally goes down."
Allen calmly laid out the strategy he had prepared.
As the second BOSS, Magmadar had over 800,000 health and a series of troublesome abilities like Fear, Magma Spit, and Frenzy. Specifically for Frenzy, a single Hunter's Tranquilizing Shot wouldn't be enough to keep it on rotation. Going toe-to-toe was out of the question; they had to play it smart.
"So, I just need to stand my ground, right?" Bodoro asked, eager to begin.
"Right. Also, Baise, you and Lupos hide in the furthest corner of the cave. We don't need you involved this time; don't even get close."
Allen quickly stepped into the role of commander, assigning positions and tasks to everyone. Once everyone was in place, he gave the martial artist the signal to attack.
The next second...
Bodoro charged with a roar and slammed his shield into the beast without a second thought.
Thud!
The sharp, triangular spikes on the edge of the Skullflame Shield carved a long gash into the BOSS, causing massive amounts of lava-like blood to gush out.
"ROAARRRRR!!!!!!!!!"
Magmadar was instantly enraged, opening its massive maw to snap at Bodoro.
[Hunter's Mark]
[Nen Enhancement: Aura Burst, High-Speed Rotation, Rend, Liquefied Air, Big Bang Arrow]
[Aimed Shot]
[Multi-Shot]
[Distracting Shot]
To generate a massive amount of threat in one go, Allen held nothing back. As several supersonic arrows shrieked through the air, they tore terrifying wounds into the BOSS's hindquarters.
In agonizing pain, Magmadar immediately pulled a 180-degree turn and lunged toward him.
"Perfect. Now keep the distance and avoid getting Feared."
Allen muttered to himself while using Aura Burst to maintain the gap, never forgetting to fire off lethal Thorium arrows over his shoulder. When he reached the end of the passage, he didn't hesitate for a second, activating Feign Death and collapsing to the ground.
The foolish giant hound turned right back around to find Bodoro.
After repeating this several times, Magmadar was kited to death right in the middle of the passage.
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