Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[- Adam: kylrevnui wyvnzuiccuivmtiovm xv ziivme ivmuivnii swyvniiuictiovm lbxdli kicti.]

— “If the golem is moving, it means there’s a spirit hidden inside.”
The script, presumably Adam’s dialogue with Retaking, was filled with indecipherable characters. But the voice was clear. So this is what Retaking meant when he said he could still hear the lines properly. I had brushed it off earlier, but now I really got it.
[- Adam: ziildaut ivmuivnivn dicxuikii wzuivni. ivmuivnivn wylruii ziicci iivnyit.]

— “Never harm the spirit. The spirit is not our enemy.”
[- Adam: ……ivmuivnivn iicviilx vnyrzuivniim.]
— “……Though I don’t know what they think of us.”

After Adam’s final line, the screen returned to gameplay. It looked like that massive golem labeled was the first named boss. I was just wandering around the garden, trying to find a gimmick-related device for the mob corridor, and ended up summoning the first boss by accident.
I moved my character from in front of the archway to maintain enough distance so the golem wouldn’t aggro, and headed toward where Retaking was. Even though the cutscene had ended and he could move again, he remained idle. Probably chatting with his viewers about what Adam just said. I’d just have said, “Oh, cool,” to something like “Turns out the spirits that vanished are actually still alive!”—but Retaking, who savors each story chapter like a fine meal after hours of grinding, must’ve felt something deeper.
Worried that the long chat might get boring, I opened up his stream window on my second monitor. I’d had it muted until now but was about to turn the volume back up when he returned.

[Party] Retaking: Sorry, got excited and started talking about the lore drop...
[Party] Honeybread: lmfaooo figured as much it’s fine
[Party] Honeybread: if you don’t unpack the lore crumbs, who will?

[Party] Retaking: There are others, y’know
[Party] Retaking: Anyway, Honeybread, you were born to be a tank
[Party] Retaking: You were just standing there and all the mobs came running out to greet you.

[Party] Honeybread: lol
His tone was clearly teasing. I couldn’t even deny it—after all, I had just been walking around when the golem suddenly popped out. I just responded with a sheepish laugh in chat.
[Party] Retaking: Let’s save the mob mechanic for the next area and focus on the boss for now.

[Party] Retaking: No way it’s gonna take that long just because we’re tank-healer duo, right?
Oh no, why would you say that?
[Party] Honeybread: ah
[Party] Honeybread: ah

[Party] Honeybread: aaaa
[Party] Honeybread: ngghhh
[Party] Honeybread: put the flag back in rn pls

[Party] Honeybread: pls;;
[Party] Retaking: shit
Retaking must’ve realized too late. He let out a short groan, then went silent.

And then—
[Party] Retaking: Golem: Is it over?
He dropped a death flag on the boss.

[Party] Honeybread: lol
[Party] Honeybread: lol what???
[Party] Retaking: You always die right after saying that line

[Party] Honeybread: I mean LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
[Party] Honeybread: okay but yeah you’re right;
[Party] Retaking: Then it’s settled ^^

He didn’t retract the flag—I just wanted him to take it back, and he goes and hands it off like a cursed baton to the golem. I swear to god. He’s too cute sometimes. Who says stuff like that when I’m literally begging you to retract a flag?
[Party] Retaking: Stop laughing and use your damn buffs
I stifled my snickering and popped my doping item. Once the required dungeon dops were done, Retaking rewarded me with a buff—like a praise sticker for doing good.

[Combat] Retaking’s AIT-II-XV injection increases your base stats.
As he wasn’t a buff-heavy priest-type, that was the only buff I’d get. But hey, no complaints.
[Party] Retaking: If this drags out too long, we’ll burn out from those mobs earlier, so if I see our HP falling fast I’ll reset and swap stances.

[Party] Retaking: Assuming the devs aren’t sadists and actually tried to balance this.
Yeah, maybe. If our struggle earlier was just us screwing up ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the gimmick, then the boss should go down on time if we handle mechanics right. …Hopefully.
But if this boss is meant to embody the “Earth Golem” concept, then it’s a different story. ZeroSoft lives for concept-driven design.

[Party] Retaking: I’m good to go. You can start whenever, Bread.
Retaking signaled that he was ready. I didn’t have anything left to prep either, so I could’ve just jumped in.
But I hesitated.

No real reason, honestly. I just… kinda wanted to see Retaking do his shtick again, like before. Once this part passed, who knew when I’d see him say stupid shit in real-time again?
So I hesitated, debating whether to say something.
Eventually, I typed it out.

[Party] Honeybread: before we start
[Party] Honeybread: can u do it one more time pls
[Party] Retaking: ??

[Party] Honeybread: lmao... you know... that thing lol
[Party] Retaking: lol
[Party] Retaking: Why do you even like that so much?

[Party] Honeybread: Because you saying it is hilarious lmao
[Party] Retaking: heh
[Party] Retaking: If Bread says he likes it when I do it, how could I say no? ^^

[Party] Honeybread: I said it’s funny, not that I “like it”
[Party] Retaking: whatever
I waited eagerly for Retaking’s next message.

[Party] Retaking: Honeybread: “Huh… it’s cleaner inside than I expected?”
And there it was—a death flag, just for me.
[Party] Honeybread: oh no

[Party] Honeybread: LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
[Party] Honeybread: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
[Party] Retaking: What do you even see in that? You’re so weird

[Party] Honeybread: It’s ‘cause you doing it is so weird, it’s hilarious lol
[Party] Honeybread: lmao no but seriously
[Party] Honeybread: why would you drop that line on me lmaoooo

[Party] Honeybread: if I die, you can’t clear it either!
[Party] Retaking: I just…
[Party] Retaking: You making me say dumb lines like that is kinda naughty, y’know?

[Party] Retaking: Anyway, gave you your encore—ready to start?
[Party] Honeybread: LOLOLOLOLOL OK OK
[Party] Honeybread: Just don’t let me die trying to retract your damn flag^^7

Sure, he did drop a flag on me, but come on. What, I’m gonna actually die because of a dumb joke?
With a grin, I charged toward the Golem of Earth, feeling the invisible heat of Retaking’s playful glare behind me.
I hit it with an aggro skill first, drawing its attention, then dashed forward to meet it head-on. I used my evasive move to slip behind it, exposing its rear so Retaking could attack freely.

Not that it boosted his damage—he was a healer, after all—but since some tank-targeted AoEs could still splash nearby party members, healers usually stuck to the sides or back unless there was a specific gimmick.
During the first few seconds of the fight, there wasn’t much besides some auto-attacks. So both of us focused purely on DPS. We had to push hard here—every bit of damage now would help when things got rough later.
About ten seconds in, the golem began casting a skill. The name was . Didn’t seem like an attack. Probably a buff or barrier.

Sure enough, once it finished casting, two new buff icons appeared over the boss’s head.
I instinctively moved my mouse over them to check.