Crystallized Old Man Loves Marathon

"The leader of this level, the Crystallized Old Man, is particularly good at running away, and the area is also very large, so it is normally very difficult to catch him."

"Even if you manage to catch up, before you can even land a couple of hits, the opponent will escape again, and you'll have to keep repeating this chase process."

"Once the damage to the boss accumulates to a certain level, it will manipulate the monsters on the ceiling to launch a magical bombardment of the ground. So far, no one has been able to survive it."

Lu Lu Wo shook her head and said, "Even I couldn't make it through, let alone anyone else."

You're quite confident, aren't you? Tu Erqi acknowledged the other person's strong strategic abilities, but...

"What happened when you told me the left side was much easier?" Her face darkened. "The combat intensity here is way too high!"

When she was being chased by numerous monsters, when she was carefully dodging monsters, and when she fell into the trap of the Mist Hidden Noble, whenever she encountered danger, she was thinking of Lu Lu Wo.

I want to kill this guy who gave her false information!

"But you know magic, right? Use invisibility spells, and you'll be able to get here, won't you?" Lu Lu Wo said while warming up. "All things considered, this place is definitely less difficult for you. I always analyze the situation before giving you any information."

Tu Erqi opened her mouth, but in the end she couldn't refute it. Invisibility was practically a wheelchair here, but a wheelchair with a very high barrier to entry.

She could foresee how profitable selling Invisibility Scroll would be once the popularity of the Lake Liurnia region spread.

"By the way, you just said that Si Telan came in too, and she came in from the right side?" Lu Lu Wo suddenly asked.

"Yes." Tu Erqi looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Let's rest here for a while and wait for them."

Lu Lu Wo told everyone to rest on the spot, and then explained, "Both sides lead to the leader's area. Normally, you'll end up in the leader's area no matter which side you go to. But today I discovered a shortcut that not only leads directly to the entrance of the area but also connects the left and right sides."

"What's the difference?" Seth asked. "Can we explore other paths in reverse?"

"No, it's about positioning." Lu Lu Wo smiled mysteriously. "Our positioning is quite important when triggering a boss fight."

"Entering through the main gate gives you a head start."

While waiting, the group chatted idly, exchanging information they knew.

The outcome was without a doubt: Lu Lu Wo knew everything that Tu Erqi and her group knew, and in much greater detail.

"Consider it a way of giving back to our loyal customers; I'll share some information with you for free." She sipped her hot water. "The scenes on both sides are pretty much the same; the only differences are the monsters and the traps. You've already seen the portrait of the Moon Princess, haven't you?"

Everyone nodded, and she continued:

"The portrait hanging in the same spot on the right is of the Full Moon Queen, preliminarily speculated to be the mother of the Moon Princess. How about that, isn't that exciting news?"

"."

Everyone was speechless for a moment, mainly because they had no idea just how "important" these two suspected big shots really were, so there was no reason for them to be excited.

Lu Lu Wo pouted, slightly annoyed.

She waited and waited, but the elves still didn't come. Finally, she couldn't sit still any longer, stood up, patted her bottom, and said, "Let's go, let's go. If we don't start fighting soon, we'll miss dinner."

She used a uniquely shaped key to open the heavy Stone Gate, passed through a narrow and long tunnel, and suddenly a bright and open space appeared before her.

Opposite is an identical tunnel, connecting to the branch on the right, and next to it is a large gate engraved with an incomprehensible emblem. Pushing open the gate leads to the battlefield of the [Crystallized Old Man] boss.

Just as Lu Lu Wo placed her hand on the door, she finally began to explain:

"If you go in from here, you'll appear behind the boss. If you run fast enough, you can take the opportunity to slash him a few times. If you go in from the left or right, the enemy will attack you first, and the distance is extremely far."

So that's what seizing the initiative means.

Including Tu Erqi and her group, there are twenty-five adventurers here, and none of them are weaklings. How can such a force not be able to defeat the Crystallized Old Man?

The door was slowly pushed open, and just wide enough for one person to enter, Lu Lu Wo rushed in like a blur.

The others followed closely behind, filing in one after another. They seemed to know the process by heart, and some even looked numb.

"Ah?"

Tu Erqi also hurried inside, eager to see what kind of demeanor the legendary Crystallized Old Man, capable of holding back so many adventurers. However, just as she stepped through the door, she suddenly heard Lu Lu Wo's surprised cry.

Did something unexpected happen?

After she saw the situation inside, she finally understood why the other person had made that noise.

Normally, after entering through the gate, you'll see the Crystallized Old Man standing within 20 meters of you with his back to the adventurer. At this point, anyone with quick legs can rush up and deliver a powerful blow.

But whether it's due to some kind of mechanism protection, he seems to have some kind of invincibility cheat, like a certain producer of Aincrad, making it impossible for him to be instantly killed. If the damage he takes is too high, then he will end up like this.

The Crystallized Old Man, suspended high in the sky, was churning a magic ball formed from Crystallization Magic in his hands. Meanwhile, countless Laser Bug hanging from the ceiling were charging up their lasers, seemingly ready to bombard the ground at any moment!

Encountering Phase Two right after entering the arena?

She quickly looked at Lu Lu Wo, but the latter pointed to the other side of the vast field.

There, a group of elves stood out; they were Si Telan and her companions.

How did these guys end up fighting with the leader?!

"That shouldn't be the case. I clearly left familiars on the right side; they should have reported to me as soon as they discovered them." Lu Lu Wo was completely baffled, but the situation didn't allow her much time to think, so she quickly shouted:

"Find a spot on the field that isn't covered by a shadow, and stand there!"

The area not covered by shadow?

Both Si Telan and Tu Erqi immediately looked around. The entire area was shrouded in the shadows cast by the Laser Bug on the ceiling, but there were still relatively bright gaps beneath the layers of shadow, enough for one or two people to stand in.

And there are quite a few such gaps, but they are not easy to notice without someone pointing them out.

"We can take shelter there from the first wave of attacks!"

The group hurriedly searched for an opening, but they were too late. Before they could even get in, the Crystallized Old Man was already gathering his power!

Just as Tu Erqi pulled Seth into a gap, laser beams rained down from the sky like a storm!

"Bang bang bang!"

It was only then that she understood why standing in the gap could help her avoid the laser.

The Laser Bug are all hanging from the ceiling, and they will inevitably collide and squeeze with each other, creating gaps that the laser cannot hit!

The explosion produced by the laser is very small, so there is no need to worry about being affected by the blast wave if you are standing in the gap.

Amidst the relentless bombardment, those who couldn't escape were immediately sent back to the doorway to join Luo Jieer, while Lu Lu Wo shouted loudly using amplification magic:

"Prepare the Bubble Shield!"

Tu Erqi was taken aback, feeling that the name of the magic spell seemed familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

The surviving adventurers, including mages, chanted spells amidst the blinding laser beams. Soon, a giant, elastic bubble appeared on each of them, resembling Magic Shield and exuding a seafood aroma.

I remember now, this is Merfolk Race magic! I haven't seen something this rare in a long time!

She remembered that the [Bubble Shield] spell was also a defensive spell, but its effect was a bit strange. It didn't have a high defense against attacks—in Gong Qiying's words, it had a very low damage reduction rate—but it had a wonderful effect: automatic repair.

Before the total magic power is exhausted or an excessively strong attack is encountered, this slippery soap bubble-like shield can automatically repair damage smaller than one-tenth of its own area, repairing at least twice. It also has a slight deflection effect on ranged attacks, which can be said to sacrifice damage reduction rate in exchange for a long duration.

In most cases, nobody uses it in actual combat, however.

It's useful for dealing with the random lasers that follow a volley from Laser Bug!

Lu Lu Wo discovered a pattern: most lasers would prioritize targeting the adventurer's head, aiming for headshots with every shot, while the head was naturally a smaller target compared to the body.

Although the Laser Bug are very accurate, adventurers can jump around, and the slight deflection effect from the Bubble Shield is enough to protect them!

As for those lasers that aren't aimed at the head, you can only rely on the Bubble Shield's average damage reduction and your physical strength to withstand them.

Being able to withstand a fatal wound is already a remarkable achievement; we cannot ask for more.

Incidentally, she also discovered the [Bubble Shield] Merfolk Race magic by chance in the lake area. She never expected it could be used to fight against the Crystallized Old Man, which was a pleasant surprise.

This aligns with her previous observation that "using dungeon resources to deal with dungeons" is a valid strategy.

The Crystallized Old Man conjured a magic ball that would scatter crystals in the sky, which then fell to the ground. The adventurers, who had been eyeing it eagerly, quickly rushed towards it.

But before the adventurers at the front could reach him, he shrank and vanished instantly, moving in the blink of an eye to the edge where there were the fewest adventurers.

People had no choice but to give chase again, but the lasers, which were highly accurate, intercepted all the ranged attacks, including magic and arrows, aimed at the Crystallized Old Man, and slowing magic was ineffective against him.

This should be considered the second stage of the Crystallized Old Man, but apart from the random lasers and crystals, the other moves are not much different from the first stage. As long as you follow the steps...

Just as Tu Erqi was thinking this, she suddenly saw the Bubble Shield on people's bodies burst one by one, and they were once again hit by lasers and ran away with their heads in their hands.

This duration is way too short!

No, it's because the laser's attack frequency is too high, causing the shield to be rapidly consumed.

The mages need to replenish everyone's shields. It's fine once or twice, but if it happens too often, problems will inevitably arise.

The lasers will shoot faster and faster, and mages will have to maintain their spellcasting while moving at high intensity. This requires a certain level of skill, and the amount of magic power they have is also a problem. These lasers will even prioritize attacking people who have taken potions!

Soon, Tu Erqi understood what Lu Lu Wo meant by the "number of people" issue.

They need more people to challenge the Crystallized Old Man in order to keep the magic cycle going!

The key to this strategy is to repeat the process!

As long as the release speed of the Bubble Shield can keep up with the bursting speed, then taking down the Crystallized Old Man is only a matter of time.

At the same time, Lu Lu Wo appeared beside her and said:

"See? We can't win this time. Let's go out and recruit some allies!"