Chapter 61

The HP of monsters is determined by numerical values.

This is something that doesn’t need much explanation.

In old RPGs, even if you didn’t know the enemy’s HP, you could defeat them by stacking dozens or hundreds of damage.

In games that display HP as a gauge, this doesn’t change.

On the surface, the gauge decreases, but in reality, the numbers are being calculated.

There are many reasons to adopt this type of visual representation, but for bosses with multi-stage gauges like in WLO, there’s a clear advantage.

This advantage is that you can manage the boss’s action patterns for each gauge.

More precisely, it allows you to show the player when the action patterns change in an understandable way.

If you were to do this with a single gauge, it would be common to change the color of the gauge based on the HP percentage.

You can also assign different HP values to each gauge, making the damage stages more visual while still leaving room for speculation, which is a reasonable method.

A common feature in bosses with gauge-type games is a state called "madness" or "berserk."

There are many ways to describe it, but the standard is for the boss to use their trump card from the last gauge.

This is a kind of template, and another pattern is a boss with only one gauge, but with different actions for each color, like a red wolf.

What am I trying to say?

It’s that since the Armored Mountain Gorilla has two gauges, it likely has a trump card.

☆

This happened the moment I finished depleting one of the Mountain Gorilla’s HP gauges.

The Mountain Gorilla abandoned our close combat, stepped back, and began to glow with a roar.

"Whoa, it’s blinding!?"

"Kyaa!?"

With a blinding flash, a gorilla clad in golden armor stood where the light had subsided.

"Hmm..."

A gorilla in golden armor. Hmm... hmm.

Is this okay?

‘Hmm...’

‘Lol’

‘I’m laughing’

‘Fashion sense!?’

‘I was waiting for this reaction’

When I glanced at the comments, which I usually don’t during battles, many listeners had the same reaction as me.

No, the armor itself is quite cool.

It’s just that it’s a big gorilla wearing it, so it’s kind of... well, you know.

Maybe there’s a gorilla fan in the development team.

"Overall, it’s kind of comical... Toka-chan, be careful!"

"Eh... Kyaaa!"

Distracted by the impact and the comments, my reaction was delayed.

The Mountain Gorilla grabbed debris from the battlefield with its tail and threw it with all its might.

I think I could have shot it down if I had reacted, but it was too sudden.

Toka-chan, who had let her guard down, was hit directly and flew back with a scream.

"I won’t let you!"

I dodged the debris that was heading for me and deflected the ones that were heading for Toka-chan.

Toka-chan hadn’t buffed herself during the battle. The reason she didn’t gather enough hate despite spamming buffs was probably because of this.

Toka-chan is already specialized in buffing and prioritizes agility, so her durability stats are relatively low.

As a result, she took more than half of her HP in damage.

In a full party or a raid battle, supporting the frontliners wouldn’t be unusual, but with only two allies, neglecting buffs for herself was a mistake.

...No, that’s not right. Toka-chan trusted me and decided she didn’t need them.

If anything, the responsibility lies with me for lacking focus.

It was my job to step forward and protect her.

That’s right. I have to protect her.

The moment I thought that, I felt a strong sense of discomfort.

☆

I tilted my head and nodded meaninglessly. It shouldn’t be strange for me, the frontline fighter, to protect Toka-chan.

Protect...?

The discomfort grew stronger. I heard a ringing in my ears and felt dizzy. Still, my body continued to knock down the debris on its own.

It felt like my body and mind were separating.

I felt very sleepy.

My mind was calm, but I also felt like it was about to erupt.

Still, there was something I had to protect behind me.

"So, I have to destroy it."

The words slipped out naturally.

I even covered my mouth with my hand, as if they had come out without my will, unstoppable.

The discomfort melted away in an instant.

I felt a surge of energy throughout my body.

My head felt like it was boiling for a moment, then rapidly cooled.

While dodging the incoming debris with minimal movement, the disconnect between my mind and body remained.

"Miss! Are you okay!?"

Toka-chan’s call snapped me out of it.

The disconnected sensation was suddenly pulled back.

"Um... right, I have to defeat it."

Seeing the Mountain Gorilla rallying in front of me, I shook off the daze.

Whatever just happened, I need to focus on defeating this boss.

It’s not hard to shoot down debris flying straight at me, and I feel really good.

I don’t think I can fly, but I have a sense that I can control my avatar’s movements precisely to the tips of my fingers.

The debris stopped, either because they ran out or due to stamina issues.

I deflected the Mountain Gorilla’s punches with my golden staff.

Its power and speed should have increased, but strangely, it looked very sluggish.

I would lose in a direct confrontation, but I can easily dodge and counter from the side.

Actually, I don’t even need to dodge. If I dodge each punch and counter, I’ll have more opportunities to attack than if I dodged and then attacked.

The extra time helps me gauge the next attack and allows for more precise counters.

Even if the Mountain Gorilla is tough, its HP will decrease with each counter.

Aim for the vital points if possible. I don’t know where the Mountain Gorilla’s vital points are, so I’ll aim for the head as usual.

I aimed for the jaw, and around the 15th punch, the Mountain Gorilla wobbled.

Maybe its brain was shaken or its stun value was maxed out. I released my golden staff as if throwing it upwards and clapped twice.

The first and second forms of "Oni no Mai," followed by "Rasetsu no Mai" and "Shinba no Mai." I grabbed the staff mid-air and, using the momentum of the fall, slammed the Art "Destroy" into the gorilla’s skull.

Thanks to the buffs from Toka-chan, the Mountain Gorilla’s HP was significantly reduced.

When I tried to follow up on the retreating, screaming Mountain Gorilla, a small lightning bolt struck with a crackling sound.

"Whoa!"

I deflected it with my staff. Noticing the source of the lightning, I saw the Mountain Gorilla’s fur turning golden as it scattered lightning around.

"I’ve seen this before..."

"Miss, be careful!"

"Leave it to me!"

I won’t make the same mistake twice in such a short time. Responding to Toka-chan’s call, I focused on the Mountain Gorilla’s true trump card transformation.

When the lightning subsided, the transformation was complete.

The golden gorilla with its fur standing on end looked quite majestic. The black and gold combination wasn’t great, but this one looked pretty cool.

From what I observed, the lightning seemed to be actively released, not just a side effect of the transformation.

The Mountain Gorilla wasn’t actually enveloped in lightning, but it had a mysterious aura, which was similar to the red wolf Aria.

Now, how will it attack?

The moment I thought that, the gorilla reared back, and I had a bad feeling.

"Shield! Magic Barrier!"

Toka-chan seemed to realize it too and cast defensive spells on herself.

She probably didn’t know if it would be a physical or magical attack, so she cast both, which is typical of her.

The defensive spells didn’t come to me, showing her strong trust that I could dodge.

If it’s a physical attack, I might be okay, but if it’s magic, even a graze could be fatal...

With a roar, a massive, two-meter-wide laser was fired.

"Wait a minute!"

It’s not supposed to release lightning!

Suppressing the urge to comment, I dodged the lethal beam by jumping to the side.

It was a ridiculous attack, but I had anticipated it from any direction.

I successfully dodged, but the trajectory might hit Toka-chan.

Turning around quickly, I saw the shattered fragments of the Magic Barrier flying.

"Toka-chan..."

"I’m okay..."

Hearing her response, I turned to see Toka-chan, who was scorched and lying at the edge of the bridge.

She had managed to avoid a direct hit but was blown back by a graze.

And that attack was magical. The Magic Barrier was the only one destroyed, so it’s clear. It was a nasty surprise from a boss that seemed purely physical.

At least she’s alive. Now I can focus on defeating it.

After using such a powerful move, the Mountain Gorilla seemed fatigued and moved more slowly.

Praising the unexpected and powerful trump card in my mind, I slipped into the Mountain Gorilla’s range and steadily depleted the weakened boss’s HP.

The final blow was swift.