Chapter 155: Chapter155-Where is the Weakness?
The Shadow Crocodile glared furiously at the two serpents before it.
Summoned creatures dared to challenge its authority!
In a rage, it swung its claws, and in an instant, one of the serpents was torn in half!
Even though it quickly regenerated with John's MP, it visibly weakened.
Under John's command, the two serpents worked together; one coiled around the Shadow Crocodile's abdomen while the other launched sneak attacks from the side.
One serpent tightened around the Shadow Crocodile's body, only to let out a painful howl the next second!
The Shadow Crocodile's back spikes pierced through the serpent's body.
Although the Thorned Rock Serpent didn't bleed, chunks of stone continuously fell from its form.
1369, 1457…
The damage the Thorned Rock Serpent inflicted on the Shadow Crocodile was negligible.
Yet John did not give up.
The level difference between him and the boss was substantial.
Fighting higher-level monsters naturally reduced his damage output.
Without the help of the serpents, he wouldn't stand a chance!
[You have been infected with Forest Miasma and will continuously lose HP. Lose 4 HP every 10 seconds. After 10 minutes, the buff will stack.]
The system's notification made John frown.
He checked his status bar; the HP loss buff continued to stack.
It had been less than three minutes since he was first affected, and the buff had already stacked to two layers, increasing from 3 HP every 10 seconds to 4 HP.
Stacking every three minutes?
No, something was wrong!
John keenly noticed the discrepancy.
The pale mist in the air seemed to be growing thicker.
This is bad!
His expression grew more serious.
He had assumed the Shadow Crocodile, being a feeblewater-based boss, would be naturally weak to fire.
But reality proved the opposite!
The miasma in the swamp accelerated due to the steam produced by the Fire Meteor, inadvertently causing more trouble for himself.
Fortunately, it was not too late to adjust his strategy.
Without hesitation, John quickly changed his attack method.
If fire didn't work, he would try something else.
"Light Sword Rain!"
Countless light swords rained down from the sky, piercing the Shadow Crocodile.
Damage numbers began to appear.
4679, 6359…
No, this damage still wasn't right.
Every boss had a weakness!
There couldn't be an unbeatable existence in the secret realm.
Finding the boss's weakness would potentially double his damage output, making it much easier to kill the boss.
If magical attacks weren't effective, he would try this!
John put away his staff and took out the Bloodthirsty Blade.
With a teleportation move, he positioned himself behind the Shadow Crocodile.
He raised the Bloodthirsty Blade high and plunged it down forcefully.
Roar!!!
18977!
It worked!
The boss had high immunity to magical damage but low immunity to physical damage! A simple slash had dealt significant damage!
A smile spread across John's face, but the sound of something cutting through the air rapidly approached him! Without hesitation, he rolled and dodged to the side.
The next second, the Shadow Crocodile's tail slammed down heavily where he had just been standing.
Boom!!
The massive tail hit the swamp, sending waves of mud flying.
Even though John dodged in time, he couldn't avoid getting splattered with mud.
[You have been infected with Forest Miasma, stacking with Mire Miasma. You will continuously lose HP, losing 6 HP every 10 seconds. The buff will stack after 10 minutes.]
John's expression turned grim.
It seemed the mud itself was toxic.
How insidious.
The Shadow Crocodile, a creature of the swamp, had a high resistance to magical damage, making close combat the only viable option for defeating it.
However, engaging in close combat inevitably led to contact with the mud, stacking the HP-draining buff.
Without a naturally high HP pool or a priest in the team for healing, soloing the boss would be impossible.
Clearly, the secret realm intended for the Shadow Crocodile to be a raid boss.
"It looks like he's figured something out," the vice principal said, stroking his chin, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Sophia Winchester raised an eyebrow.
This boy was quite clever, realizing the boss's high resistance to magical damage and the toxic nature of the swamp mud in such a short time.
What will he do next? Will he continue to solo or seek help? It was intriguing to watch.
The two serpents were repeatedly torn apart and restored.
John's MP visibly decreased but was quickly replenished.
Without the Spring of Soul and Mana Recovery, he would have been drained by now.
Was this boss truly impossible to solo?
A look of determination crossed John's face.
He flashed behind the Shadow Crocodile's neck again, gripping the boss's back tightly with his legs.
He plunged the Bloodthirsty Blade down forcefully!
23746!
A substantial damage number flashed up, but at the same time, the Shadow Crocodile went into a rage.
How dare this weak creature climb onto its back? It wanted nothing more than to tear John apart immediately!
The Shadow Crocodile's claws shredded the two serpents and tried to grab John, but he moved too swiftly.
The creature's limbs were too short and stout to reach its own back.
In the next moment, John felt the world spin around him as the Shadow Crocodile started rolling wildly in the swamp.
If he hadn't reacted quickly and jumped off, he would have been caught in the creature's thrashing and rolled into the mire.
[You have been infected with Forest Miasma, stacking with Mire Miasma. You will continuously lose HP, losing 7 HP every 10 seconds. The buff will stack after 10 minutes.]
The buffs continued to stack.
If this kept up, the rate of HP loss would soon outpace his ability to heal.
After repairing the serpents, John flashed out of the swamp, a move that puzzled everyone watching.
"What's this? Is he giving up?"
"I knew it. It's better for him to give up early."
"There's no way one person can solo a platinum-tier boss."
"Hilarious. Did he really think he could do whatever he wanted just because he's in first place?"
"If he leaves now, he can still keep his top position. If the boss kills him, he'll lose everything."
"Even if he's in first place now, what does it matter? If he dies, it's all over."
The spectators murmured and pointed, most of them not giving John any chance.
After all, this was a platinum-tier boss!
No matter how strong one person was, soloing a platinum-tier boss was impossible.
John quickly surveyed his surroundings.
He firmly believed that there was no boss that couldn't be conquered; he just hadn't discovered the right method yet.
Circling the swamp, he noticed two large boulders near the forest's edge.
Hmm?
His gaze fell on the two boulders again.
He had seen them when he first arrived but hadn't paid them much attention.
After all, rocks in such areas were quite common.
But now, seeing the boss, he realized these two boulders were not as simple as they seemed.
Perhaps he could use them to trap the boss!
A plan quickly formed in his mind.
Without hesitation, he recalled his two serpents.
The serpents swiftly released the Shadow Crocodile and turned to rush back to John.
Roar!
The Shadow Crocodile, its eyes blood-red with rage, glared at the serpents.
How dare they disturb its rest and then try to flee? Damn it!
It chased after the serpents, barreling towards John.
Mud flew in all directions, and the ground shook so violently that people miles away took notice.
Many turned their eyes towards the forest's edge, hesitant and curious.
What was happening at the forest's edge? Why was there such a commotion? Could something significant be occurring?
More and more people began to gather, all wanting a piece of the action.
"Whoa!"
"The mud is toxic!"
"Fall back!"
A cacophony of voices rose at the forest's edge.
The massive form of the Shadow Crocodile sent mud flying towards the forest's edge.
Some of those hidden in the shadows were inevitably splattered with the mud.
As soon as they received the HP-draining buff, panic set in.
They had only intended to grab a share of the spoils but were now caught off guard before even making a move!
Could it be that John had discovered their presence and deliberately led the boss here to use it to kill them?
What a cunning way to eliminate so many people without leaving any evidence!
It would simply look like bad luck on their part.
John was truly despicable!
Terrified, they hurriedly retreated.
While the experience and loot from the boss were tempting, survival was paramount!
The old adage held true: a dead man has nothing.
They didn't want to perish here!
John quickly moved away from the boulders and roamed the forest's edge, utilizing his agility to its fullest.
He moved so fast he almost left afterimages.
Each time, he dodged just on the brink of the boss's claws, making the onlookers' hearts leap into their throats!
Was he incredibly skilled and daring, or simply courting death?!