Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 56 – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

—–CROW—– 

A single flash of light grazed past me and pierced the ceiling.

Crackling flames clung to the edge of my shield where the attack had grazed. When I brushed them off, the spot was scorched black.

I had expected a threatening unique pattern, considering the grand title of “Hidden Boss.”

But even so, I didn’t expect it to suddenly bend its neck and shoot a beam.

Seriously, is it even trying to be fair?

What’s the connection between spiders and lasers anyway?

If it’s going to shoot something, shouldn’t it be special spiderwebs or poison or something?

And it already has a pattern where it shoots crystal fragments from its mouth, so why is it shooting a laser from the same mouth?

I don’t know exactly how powerful it is, but I wouldn’t have survived a direct hit. I almost died ridiculously.

“Hey, human, are you okay?”

Lizmel, who had shielded herself with shadows to defend against the beam, asked me.

I was able to avoid the spider’s laser because Lizmel had reacted instantly and pushed me away.

No, to be precise, it was a little different. Lizmel didn’t react after seeing the attack.

It was definitely a prediction.

Lizmel predicted that a beam would be fired from the spider’s mouth, quickly pushed me away, and then cloaked herself in shadows.

Thanks to the enhancement from my [Intuition] skill, I can also predict and dodge the precursors to attacks to some extent.

But Lizmel predicted the attack much faster than I could, even with my Intuition skill.

And that’s not all.

Lizmel even predicted the form of the attack.  She must have known that a beam attack, not a fragment attack, was coming.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made the decision to defend by cloaking herself in shadows.

How could she have known that? Did she know the spider’s attack patterns beforehand?

“You…”

Just as I was about to ask her about it, the ground shook. To be precise, the spider’s back, where we were standing, shook.

– *Boom!*

Sharp thorns sprouted from the crystal spider’s back. Lizmel and I jumped off to avoid them.

It seems like it can transform its body to some extent, like when its neck twisted earlier.

In that case, the surefire strategy of mounting the spider’s back won’t work.

“Be careful, it’s coming again!”

The spider’s giant leg swung towards us after we landed on the ground.

– *Bang!*

The basic leg attack is still not much different from a Dusk Spider’s. The speed is also mediocre, so it was easy to dodge.

There’s some leeway while the leg attacks continue. Let’s analyze its patterns during this time.

A total of four patterns have been confirmed so far.

Beam firing, fragment firing, thorn generation, and leg attack.

The leg attack is slow and easy to dodge, but considering its weight, it’s best not to try blocking it.

The fragment firing is relatively fast, but its power isn’t high.  It doesn’t seem to have any other additional effects upon impact.

The beam is fast and incredibly powerful.  Judging by the scorch mark on my shield, it’s probably impossible to block.

I don’t know much about the thorn generation yet.  But the precursor to the attack is clear, so it’s easy to dodge.

“This is doable.”

Considering its appearance, there might be additional patterns like web shooting or poison attacks, but that shouldn’t be a problem.

“Doable? What are you talking about! We have to run away!”

Lizmel yelled after hearing me mutter to myself.  She then started saying strange things about not valuing my life.

Run away from something like this? That’s ridiculous.

There’s a huge opportunity for growth right in front of me, how can I just run away?

What were the results of running away with my back turned because I valued my life? What were the results of hiding and escaping because I was afraid of reality?

“I can win this. I have a plan.”

I look straight at the opponent, analyze it objectively, and ask myself.

Is this an opponent so overwhelming that retreat is the only option?

No, not at all.

Once I reached a conclusion, my blood boiled naturally. My heart pounded with anticipation for the thrill of growth.

– *Thump, thump, thump!*

The spider was still focused on close combat, swinging its legs.  I felt no sense of danger.

I tightened my grip on my sword and shield.

And I charged again towards the spider rushing at me.

**

As the spider and I charged towards each other, the distance closed rapidly.

Its gleaming legs swung down to crush me, but I dodged cleanly again.

I weaved through the attacks and tried to get under the spider’s belly.

– *Screech.*

The spider’s mouth opened, and it started shooting out multiple crystal fragments.

Earlier, I was in the air, so I couldn’t dodge freely, but now the situation is different.

I dodged the attacks using my Intuition skill and Agility stat to their fullest, blocking only the unavoidable fragments with my shield.

I managed to get under the spider’s belly without getting hit once.  Then, the spider’s body immediately started to transform.

Crystal thorns, similar to the ones that sprouted when I was on its back, aimed for me.

– *Bang! Bang!*

I rolled to avoid the thorns that stretched out as if to pierce my skull.

The thorns generate quickly, but the precursor is still clearly visible. I pulled my arm back and used a skill.

– *Clang!*

Brandish activated, and my body moved on its own. The blade, as I expected, cut the thorns that were starting to sprout.

The sharp tips of the thorns shattered and fell off. I can’t inflict significant damage in one hit, but the attack itself is effective.

– *Click!*

The next moment, the spider’s head snapped down, looking at the underside of its belly where I was.  The beam attack is coming.

The precursor is hard to detect, but if I know the range and direction, I can dodge it somehow.

– *Kaboom!*

A beam swept across the underside of the spider’s belly.  Of course, I quickly rolled to the side and dodged.

And as I created distance again, the spider responded with a leg attack.

Even with its “Hidden” title, it’s still just a 7th-floor boss.  Its attack patterns are simple.

An ordinary challenger wouldn’t be able to withstand its attack power and defense, but like this, it’s just repetitive work.

What the hell, it was a pushover.

**

The method for soloing large bosses is very simple.

Dodge everything and land all your hits. Stats like attack power and defense only need to be enough to establish a minimum level of offense and defense.

The Crystal Spider was larger than any boss I’ve faced so far, and it had correspondingly powerful attacks.

But in exchange, its intelligence was very low.

No, it’s not that it’s low.

It just had the intelligence it was born with. A spider-level intelligence, perfectly suited for its spider head.

High specs mean nothing if the attack patterns are simple, just like how the Ranker Spear Technician Choi Gilhyun was no match for me.

– *Boom!*

The Crystal Spider, having most of its legs destroyed by my continuous attacks, collapsed pathetically.

I could damage the spider’s body with my basic attacks, and skills were even more effective.

Naturally, destroying its more fragile legs was even easier.  With this, the spider became a stationary punching bag.

“So damn sturdy for nothing, you piece of shit.”

– *Clang! Clang!*

I kept hitting the spider’s head with the [Death Knight’s Greatsword], keeping in mind the possibility of a second phase.

– *Bang! Boom!*

Of course, even immobilized, the spider kept shooting beams by bending its head in grotesque directions.

But it wasn’t a new pattern, and I had already completely memorized the timing of the beam attack.  There was no way I could get hit.

In the end, after its legs were shattered and it collapsed, the spider died after enduring my one-sided attacks for about ten minutes.

[Clear Reward: You have acquired ‘Experience’ and ‘Gold’.]

[First Clear Reward: You have acquired ‘Light Mithril Ingot x5’.]

[Highest Contribution Reward: You have acquired ‘Hexagonal Crystal Necklace’.]

[Last Hit Reward: You have acquired ‘Active Skill – Light Focusing’.]

The rewards are quite substantial, perhaps because it’s a Hidden Boss. I opened my skill window and inventory to check the exact options of the rewards.

The necklace has the effect of slightly increasing maximum MP, and [Light Focusing] is a skill that gathers surrounding light to create a small light source.

I thought I’d be able to shoot beams like that spider, but I just got a flashlight.

A bit disappointing.

“See, I told you I’d win.”

I closed the interface and spoke to Lizmel, who had been watching the fight from a short distance away.

Lizmel didn’t interfere in the fight between the spider and me, nor did she run away. She just kept watching with a bored expression.

“Y-you won, so what? You almost died several times!  I was so scared!”

“Almost died? I didn’t even get hit once.”

“Of course you didn’t, you would have died if you got hit!  You were almost hit constantly!  Why are you smiling?!”

I brushed the dust off my armor. The wounds I received from the fragments were already completely healed by [Combat Healing].

In other words, I won without a scratch.  She should have realized by now that there’s no need to worry.

“You’re not normal. You know that, right?”

But I felt an unusually strong concern in Lizmel’s eyes.

What did I even do?

—–CROW—–