Chapter 51
The Heavenly Demon glanced at the respawned *Elder Trent* and commented.
- "Hey, that’s an elite monster."
"Elite? There's such a rank?"
- "Elite isn’t really a rank… think of it as a ‘powered-up’ version. Remember that *Rare+* material item you got yesterday?"
"Yeah, there was one labeled *Rare+*."
- "Exactly, it's the same concept. It's the same monster but with extra buffs. See that faint golden glow around it? That’s the sign it’s an elite."
Carpe nodded as the Heavenly Demon explained and activated his *Dragon’s Eye* skill.
Ding.
[Boss: Elder Trent]
[HP: 100%, MP: 100%]
[Skills]
- 7-star *Earth Force* (Boss-exclusive skill)
- 6-star *Healing Field* (Boss-exclusive skill)
- 5-star *Harden* (Boss-exclusive skill)
- 4-star *Vine Whip*
[Equipped Items]
- None
"Hmm. Looks like a tank-type monster."
Just looking at the skill names gave off the feeling that this was a heavily defensive enemy. Carpe's guess was correct, and the Heavenly Demon nodded.
- "Trents generally focus on defense… well, they were all one-shots for you, but this big guy is a defense-specialized boss too."
Not only did it have high base defense, but it also had skills to further boost its defense and self-heal. While it didn’t have any instant-kill attacks or overly complicated patterns, it was infamous for forcing players into long, drawn-out fights.
- "Its attack power is decent, but its attack and movement speed are slow. As long as you stay focused, you shouldn’t get hit."
However, humans naturally have limits to their concentration. With a boss like this, players would gradually tire out or make a mistake, leading to one of Trent’s attacks landing and turning the tide.
That’s why *Elder Trent* was known as a "wait-it-out" boss—the king of endurance battles.
"Got it."
Of course, all of this was based on the assumption that the fight would be drawn out. For Carpe, however, that wasn’t going to happen.
"*Striking.* *Haste.*"
[Your physical attack power has increased.]
[Your attack speed and movement speed have increased.]
With more power than he knew what to do with, Carpe had no intention of letting the fight drag on.
Grooooaaarrr!
As Carpe rushed forward at full speed, *Elder Trent* roared in fury and swung its massive arms.
"Too slow!"
Just as the Heavenly Demon had said, its attack speed was sluggish, and Carpe easily ducked under the attack, closing in on its chest.
“Haaap!”
With a powerful leap, Carpe’s fist connected with the Trent’s chest with a solid *thud*. The massive creature staggered back, clearly shocked by the force of the punch.
Groooaaar?
The Elder Trent seemed baffled, as if it couldn’t comprehend why it was reeling from a single punch.
“Now that’s some satisfying feedback.”
This was it—the thrill he had been missing while one-shotting regular mobs. A boss like this offered some real resistance.
[Boss: Elder Trent]
[HP: 95%, MP: 100%]
Checking the boss’s HP, Carpe noted that he had shaved off 5% with just one punch.
“Okay, 20 hits should do it.”
- "A defensive field boss, and an elite version at that, losing 5% HP to a single hit… yeah, no one’s gonna believe this if you tell them."
“Here I go again!”
Groooaaarrr!!!
As Carpe charged in again, the furious Trent pulled back, plunging both its hands into the ground.
Crack!
Suddenly, five sharp roots burst from the earth behind Carpe, aimed straight at his back.
"Predictable! *Wind Cutter!*"
Carpe summoned a blade of wind, slicing through the incoming roots with ease.
Whack! Wham!
Without wasting any time, Carpe landed two more solid punches on the Trent’s legs.
[*Fist Demon* has triggered its imbued magic.]
Finally, the secondary option of *Fist Demon* activated. A magic circle appeared next to Carpe, launching a flaming arrow directly at the Trent.
Boom!
Groooaaarrr!!
[This magic ignores 50% of the target’s defense and elemental resistances.]
[MP is not consumed, and no cooldown is applied.]
After that combo, the Trent had lost a total of 25% of its HP within the first minute of the battle.
Groooaaarrr!
Panicking, the Trent let out a strange cry as a large magic circle spread beneath it. Soft light emanated from the circle as its HP began to recover.
6-star *Healing Field* was in effect.
[HP: 75%... 76%... 77%]
"Is that all you've got?"
Even though the healing field was restoring its HP, it was no match for Carpe’s relentless damage output.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
Dodging the Trent’s slow attacks, Carpe continued to pummel the massive creature, driving its HP down to 50%.
Meanwhile, a group of four male players arrived nearby, drawn by the tremors in the ground.
"Ah, we’re late. Looks like someone else is already fighting the boss."
"The ground was shaking like crazy… I guess we’ll have to wait our turn. How’s it looking?"
"Let’s see… huh? He’s alone?"
The group watched in awe as Carpe fought the Trent by himself.
“Wow, solo raid? I guess we’ll get a turn soon.”
“Reckless… but damn, that’s impressive.”
“He’s using gauntlets? A fist-fighter? Oh! Did you hear that punch? That sound is insane.”
“…But how is a boss staggering from regular attacks?”
The group decided to sit and watch, making no move to interfere.
- "That’s normal. It’s common courtesy to wait when another party is in the middle of a raid. If they fail, you get your turn. If they succeed, you congratulate them."
"Looks like the world isn’t all bad."
Of course, Carpe could have taken them all out if they tried to interfere, but it was nice to know he wouldn’t have to.
"Alright, time to finish this."
Wham! Wham! Wham!
Carpe picked up the pace, landing rapid punches that sent the Trent’s HP plummeting.
When the HP reached exactly 40%, however…
Grooooaaarrr!!
Suddenly, *Elder Trent’s* bark darkened to a deep black, and it began to hunch over. A healing circle reappeared beneath it, and all of its roots sank into the ground.
Around the Trent, the grass and flowers started to wither.
“Oh no, is that the second phase pattern?”
“Wait, he’s already knocked off 60% of its HP? Solo? What a beast.”
“Is he a pro gamer or something?”
“But the second phase needs a stun… it’s tough without one.”
The second phase of *Elder Trent* was simple.
It would use the *Harden* skill to boost its defense by 50%, deploy its healing field, and then use its roots to drain the earth’s life force with the *Earth Force* skill.
- "The *Earth Force* skill does exactly what it sounds like—it drains the earth’s energy through its roots."
For the next two minutes, *Elder Trent* would absorb the life force of the land, doubling its healing rate and increasing its status resistance by 30%.
- "During those two minutes, it’s totally immobile. But once the *Earth Force* ends…"
After two minutes of absorption, *Elder Trent* would enter its third phase, where it went berserk. Its attack speed and power would double, and new attack patterns would be added.
Most parties wouldn’t last five minutes in phase three, which is why the standard strategy focused on preventing it from ever reaching that point.
The solution? Interrupting *Earth Force* with a stun or paralysis skill.
"Status effects, huh."
Unfortunately, Carpe didn’t have any stun or paralysis skills. *Wind Cutter* had a bleed effect, but that didn’t work on something like a Trent, which didn’t have blood.
"Uh… why did he stop?"
“Does he not know the pattern? Maybe he doesn’t have a stun skill?”
“Hey, if you leave it like that, things are gonna get rough! Need a hand with a stun?”
Even though Carpe remained calm, the onlookers started to get anxious. He smiled slightly and shook his head to decline the offer.
[HP: 50%... 53%... 56%]
The Trent’s HP was steadily recovering, but Carpe remained unfazed.
“You’d have been better off just continuing to fight.”
*Harden* increased its defense by 50%?
Doubling its healing?
Increased status resistance?
It was an annoying pattern, to be sure, and without a stun skill, most players would have to endure the brutal third phase.
But none of that mattered to Carpe.
"Two minutes? That’s more than enough time."
For Carpe, the *Elder Trent* was just a slightly tougher punching bag.
"Invest 10 points into Strength, 10 points into Magic."
[Strength increased by 10.]
[Magic increased by 10.]
“Phew…”
Taking a deep breath, Carpe unleashed a flurry of punches.
Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!
[HP: 60%… 55%… 56%… 52%]
The barrage of blows caused the Trent’s HP to bounce up and down as if it were on a rollercoaster.
[*Fist Demon* has triggered its imbued magic.]
[*Magic Activated.]
[*Magic Activated.]
[*Magic Activated…]
As the number of strikes increased, the effects of *Fist Demon* activated in rapid succession. Three magic circles appeared in the air, launching elemental arrows at the Trent.
Wham! Boom!
[HP: 38%… 34%… 35%… 28%]
Physical attacks and magic alike rained down on the *Elder Trent*, driving its HP down toward zero.
“What… what’s happening?”
“Wow… so he’s a fist-fighter? But why is he casting so many spells? And why are they all off cooldown?”
“It’s not just off cooldown—it looks like there isn’t a cooldown at all. How’s he casting three in a row…?”
“What kind of damage is that?”
The onlookers were utterly bewildered by what they were witnessing, but one thing was clear.
“When this is over, I’m asking for his autograph.”
“Think he’ll add me as a friend?”
Whoever this fist-fighter was, he was clearly destined for greatness.
[HP: 14%… 7%… 3%… 1%]
Ding.
[You have defeated the field boss, *Elder Trent*.]
[Level Up! Bonus points awarded.]
[You have obtained *Seawater-Soaked Old Bark*!]
Thud.
There was no third phase.
The *Elder Trent* fell exactly 47 seconds into its *Earth Force* phase.
Enjoying the story? Don't forget to rate 5 stars and review in NovelUpdte!