WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 6: Boss Battle

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With a creak, the heavy iron doors opened, revealing the boss room beyond.

At a glance, it didn't look much different from the Labyrinth Area I'd passed through so far. There was just one difference.

It was huge.

I'd had no idea it was this big from the strategy posts on the Open Community. It looked bigger than the parade ground at the unit where I'd served.

-Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The moment I stepped inside, torches flared to life along both walls of the darkened boss room, and a system message appeared.

[Even among the goblin race, inferior in every way but their viciousness, a ruler possessed of regal bearing is bound to emerge.]

The message soon vanished. With the room now lit, something rose from the throne at its center.

“GRAAAAAAAH!!”

Over two meters tall, built like a mountain of bulging muscle, with massive tusks jutting from its mouth.

That description made it sound like an orc had appeared, but that hulking monster was still technically a Goblin.

[BOSS- Goblin Lord Graksar]

The console and nameplate above the boss monster's head said so too.

Still, it was at least three times bigger than any Goblin I'd killed so far. Standing side by side, the difference would probably be like a neighborhood elementary schooler next to Choi Hong-man.

It wore bone shoulder guards and a black cape, and it held a Bone Greatsword shaped like a Chinese cleaver.

According to the strategy guide I'd skimmed before entering the boss room, it would fight with that Bone Greatsword at first, then later switch to a bone axe.

It looked fucking terrifying, but with my high defense, I could probably block it.

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Goblin Lord slammed its Bone Greatsword into the floor. Armored Goblins burst from the narrow passages on either side of the boss room.

They were the Goblin Royal Guard, elite monsters summoned by the Lord.

I'd heard their patterns were similar to the Goblin Centurion's, but their base stats and equipment were better. There were always three of them.

Their weapons were supposedly completely random. This time, it was two spearmen and one Crossbowman.

According to the guide, the proper approach was to take down the annoying Royal Guard first, then focus fire on the boss.

“Let's go!”

I shouted and charged the closest one, the Crossbowman.

Thanks to my Agility stat of 22, I ran so fast Usain Bolt could fuck off.

The distance vanished in an instant, and I swung my sword before the Crossbowman could fire its first bolt.

-Clang!

Ugh. I hit its armor head-on, and my hand went numb. I'd thought my attack power would be enough to break right through it.

Even with high stats, trying to destroy armor with a slashing weapon was probably asking too much.

I quickly swung my other arm with all my strength. The shield strapped to it, the [World Rabbit Encyclopedia], smashed into the Goblin's head.

The Goblin collapsed to the ground. I aimed for a gap in its armor and thrust my sword down hard.

-Stab!

Something felt off. Normally, a red critical effect should've appeared, but it felt like my sword hadn't gone all the way in.

For an elite mob, its defense was pretty high. I'd heard it had better stats than a Goblin Centurion, and apparently that was true.

I raised my sword and drove it into the same spot again.

-Stab!

A large red effect burst out. This time, the critical hit landed properly.

Then the Goblin lying on the ground grabbed my ankle tightly.

It was still alive after taking a critical?

I raised my sword again, ready to finish it off, but two more Goblins rushed me with clanking footsteps.

I'd been forced to solo all this time, so I was used to situations like this. I swung my sword at the Goblin charging at me from the front with a spear.

-Clang!

The difference in our Strength stats was overwhelming, and the spear-wielding Goblin toppled straight to the side.

Another Goblin came next, charging with its spear extended. This time, I casually raised my shield to block it.

But it felt different from blocking an ordinary Goblin's attack.

“Huh?”

It felt like getting hit by an object about the size of a basketball, and my body was pushed backward.

I tried to regain my balance, but the other Goblin still gripping my ankle made me lose it completely.

I fell flat on the stone floor. My high defense meant it didn't hurt, but I couldn't stop a Goblin from climbing on top of me in an instant.

-Thud! Thud!

The Goblin mounted on me choked up on its spear and tried to stab me in the face.

I could block it easily by raising my shield, but the impacts kept jolting my arm. Now I understood why I'd fallen earlier.

This bastard was stronger than I'd expected.

Still just a Goblin, though.

“Get off!”

From the ground, I swung my shield and knocked the Goblin off me. Then I got up and kicked it away.

Before I knew it, all three Goblins had surrounded me. The Crossbowman from earlier was still alive, bleeding heavily.

How much health did that bastard have?

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

Then I heard unusually heavy, powerful footsteps.

Beyond the three Goblins, the huge Goblin Lord was charging at me with its greatsword raised.

But why was it so fucking fast?

The moment I thought that,

-Crunch!

“Urk.”

The massive greatsword slammed into my upper body.

* * *

I was staring at the ceiling. Neither of my feet touched the ground.

I was flying, if only for a moment. Before long, the hard ground welcomed me.

-Boom!

A sharp ringing filled my ears. What the hell happened? Had that hit sent me flying?

A boss really was a boss. Its strength was no joke. It felt like I'd flown several meters.

There was no party with me, so the boss's aggro had stayed on me. Why hadn't I thought of that?

Whatever. Get up. If I stayed down here, I'd get surrounded again.

“Urk, huff...!”

Huh? What? I couldn't breathe. What was wrong with me?

The ceiling wavered like a heat haze. My head spun. What the fuck was happening?

I was too out of it to understand anything. Then a large shadow entered my view and snapped me awake.

A crackling spark seemed to explode inside my head, and I instantly recognized what cast the shadow.

It was the Goblin Lord, holding its greatsword as it leaped high into the air.

Wait, it jumped?

-Crunch!

“Guh!”

The horrific impact jolted me fully awake. A grinding crunch followed, and my chest felt tight.

It was the sound of the breastplate section of my armor caving in.

I'd taken two direct hits from that massive Bone Greatsword.

Something jabbed deep inside my body. Had my ribs or something broken? It hurt just to breathe. Fuck, it hurt.

“AAAAARGH!!”

My chest, shoulder, all the way from my shoulder to my elbow, something felt wrong. Everything tingled.

And what was this? Blood?

I turned my head and saw blood flowing from somewhere. It wasn't the Goblin's.

That meant it was mine.

Without even knowing how I was moving, I pushed myself halfway up. Only then did I properly see the situation.

“Grrrk!”

The Goblin Lord grinned, baring its hideous tusks. Two Goblins followed behind it.

My [+5 Steel Plate Top] had been utterly mangled by the greatsword, and hot blood flowed through the gaps.

“Ugh, urgh...”

HP : 145/340

I opened my Status Window through the stabbing pain in my chest. More than half my HP was gone.

The Goblin Lord's attack power was far higher than my defense. Once I realized that, my mind started working frighteningly fast.

This wouldn't work. I'd underestimated the boss too much.

I had to run.

“Ghk, huff.”

Clutching the shattered breastplate, I staggered backward. The Goblin Lord, which had been grinning hideously, started running again.

Boom, boom, boom. Heavy footsteps that brought back the awful pain from just moments ago.

“AAAAH!”

I screamed, turned around, and ran.

The boss room entrance, which was now the exit. Fuck, why was it so far away?

I ran blindly through the stupidly huge boss room, cursing it in my head. My Agility was high. So I could make it.

-Trip!

Fuck, my feet tangled up. I fell. It didn't hurt, but no. No, I'd die. Fuck, fuck!

Following my survival instincts, I hurriedly got up. Then, following those same instincts, I turned around without thinking.

The Goblin Lord had pulled its greatsword back and taken a strange stance.

I recognized that posture.

I'd seen it in an Open Community strategy post. What was it again? Ah, that.

The horizontal slash pattern.

-Whoosh!

The Bone Greatsword swung broadly to the side, and I hurriedly raised my shield and arm.

Wrong choice.

I hadn't remembered soon enough that the Goblin Lord's horizontal slash was a pattern I absolutely couldn't let hit me.

-Bang!

When was it again? Around middle school... Yeah, when I was in my second year of middle school, I'd gotten hit by a car on my way to a PC cafe.

It had been so long that I'd forgotten, but this felt exactly like that.

Bones breaking. Things shattering.

“Ugh, ghk!”

The horizontal slash struck my shield and sent me flying. I bounced twice across the ground like a skipping stone. Pieces of my armor broke off and scattered away.

It hurt. It hurt like hell.

I'd heard that when people were seriously injured, adrenaline or whatever made them not feel pain. This hurt like fucking hell.

Where had I heard that? Shorts? Fucking shitty Shorts. It was all bullshit.

“Urk, huff... huff...”

I clutched my spinning head and got up again. It was strange that I could still move after getting hurt this badly.

Ah, I'd heard you wouldn't suffer fatal injuries until your HP was completely depleted. Was that why I could move?

No, then this wasn't a fatal injury? Bullshit. It was fucking fatal.

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

As I headed for the exit, I heard footsteps again. I didn't think about it and rolled across the floor.

“Shit!”

The Goblin Lord's greatsword smashed into the spot where I'd been standing a second earlier.

My legs went weak. If that had hit me directly, then...

No, this wasn't the time for that. Run!

I sprinted for the exit. I ran with every bit of strength I had. Soon, I was right in front of it.

-Stab!

“Argh!”

Something pierced the ankle exposed by my broken armor.

A bolt. It was a bolt.

Five Goblin Royal Guards had positioned themselves in the distance.

Five? Why five? And I'd definitely taken out the Crossbowman... No, another wave had been summoned.

The cooldown for the Royal Guard summoning pattern must've reset. One of them was a Crossbowman.

“Augh... ngh!”

With the bolt still stuck in me, I shoved open the door to the boss room, the entrance I'd come through, with all my strength.

The moment I collapsed outside the boss room, the Goblin Lord and Royal Guard pursuing me turned around and went back.

HP : 22/340

Only the minimum amount of HP remained.

I was on the verge of death.

“Urk, ugh...”

Clear tears flowed down my cheeks as I lay sprawled on the ground like a worm.

Footnotes:

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