Chapter 73: Versus Gatekeeper (1)

Chapter 73: Versus Gatekeeper (1) Cerberus, a monster that’s famous in Greek mythology for being the gatekeeper of hell. As a legendary figure, it wasn’t hard to guess how powerful it could be if placed in a game as an "event" boss. Henrietta gulped hard, staring at the bloody red name floating above its head, with the eightfold HP bar just above it. [Fragment of Cerberus, Guardian of the Canines Lv. 999] "Yep, impossible to beat!" she cried, smiling in defeat. They were barely out of single-digit levels, and now, they had to fight against one who was about to break through four digits? If not suicide, she didn’t know what else it could be! "Wait, Ritta!" But Uriel pointed her finger toward their towering enemy. "Check its name again! It says fragment—this must mean it’s not the main body, but rather, a clone or something! It only has one head right now, after all!" "Huh?" She did check the name again and confirmed it was the very first word on it—"Fragment." "Right, this is a game..." she muttered, trying to convince herself. The game’s devs wouldn’t randomly place an unbeatable monster in a field for newbies. For sure, its strength was adjusted so that players at their level could barely fight against it and... with enough luck... win. Henrietta glanced back, checking Xu Tao’s expression. But the man was just standing still, hands hidden under his sleeves, with an amused smile on his face. His expression definitely said, "I’m sure you can handle this much." By then, Henrietta realized they couldn’t avoid this fight. She took a deep breath, focusing her mind, before glaring at their enemy ahead. "No holding back! Equip all rare equipment drops you got! Raise your stats focusing on STR or VIT! And spread out!" she gave her full command in one breath. Without delay, the rest of them followed. One by one, they equipped the drops that rarely popped from the monsters they beat—equipment items. Things like Wolfen Robe, Canine Sword, Wild Bracers, and Fox Belt. There were various designs too but... only two stood out the most. "What the heck?!" Henrietta growled as she equipped the items she got. It was a Rare-Rank Set Equipment called the Bewitching Fox Set. But after she switched her robe with it, she almost wanted to switch it back. Her clothes that almost showed nothing became the complete opposite, covering only the most important parts. Like a belly dancer, she exposed most of her skin. The brown leather fox hide covered her chest and waist, and a semi-transparent veil draped over the lower half of her face. Silver jingly bracelets adorned both wrists, and a gold anklet with chains dangled by her feet. Her attire was practically just underwear now, with some extra add-ons, making her reel in embarrassment. "U-Uhm..." But she still got it good compared to Uriel. Hers—the Hero-Rank Alpha’s Challenger Set—was... in one word, an attire that would get censored if published in an all-ages magazine. She was practically naked other than a fur-like, inch-thick strip wrapping around her chest, barely keeping things that should be hidden, hidden. And a silver-furred G-string hiding her lower half. Her hands also had glove accessories that looked like wolf claws, and boots of the same design, along with a wolf-ear headdress. Rather than armor, it was closer to a cosplay costume... the frisky type. Uriel hugged her body tight, trying to hide things from sight while squirming in embarrassment. "T-This is a game, but... it’s still embarrassing... Please don’t look...!" Of course, since everyone changed their equipment by accessing their Character Panel, it all happened in a flash. Thus, it took time for everyone else to realize the anomaly. "O..." A short groan leaked, before quickly turning into a powerful war cry. "OOOOOOH!!! LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO!!!" "PRAISE THE GAME DEVS!" "LONG LIVE THE WOLVES! LONG LIVE THE FOXES!" As if a dam broke, they howled like madmen, making even Xu Tao wince from all the noise. "Enough of that. Your enemy’s not gonna wait for you," he warned, pointing ahead of them with his chin. And true to his words, while everyone was distracted by the two women’s new outfits, the Cerberus had already made its way to them. Its giant claw raised in the air, about to come crashing down the next moment. "DODGE!" Henrietta, who noticed it right after Xu Tao pointed it out, quickly commanded. In an instant, everyone jumped, rolled, and dodged—each in their own way. The paw came down like a meteor crashing. The ground cracked, and a shockwave of dust burst outward. Five players were too slow—flattened before they could scream and smushed into paste. On top of their crushed heads, an extremely large damage bubble going "Critical! 2499!!!" appeared. "Damn!" Henrietta cursed upon seeing this. "Just its basic attack damage can kill me ten times over!" Even with the bonuses from her armor set, her HP barely topped 240 points. Uriel’s was a bit higher since her set was rarer, but still just topping 350 points. The rest? They averaged between 160 to 190 points of HP. There was no surviving a direct hit for anyone! "THIS DAMNED MUTT!" One of the guards, who was in a good spot, dashed forward and swung his sword, landing a solid hit on the monster’s leg. However, the damage display made him wince. [Critical! 1!] Even a critical hit barely scratched it! Though to their surprise, just 1 point of damage was enough to drop the 8th HP bar by a single pixel... about 0.1% overall. That meant even if all of them could only inflict 1 point of damage, they should be able to finish the battle after 8,000 hits! "This is doable!" Henrietta determined. Xu Tao, who was just watching from a short distance away, lightly thought. ’They fight like brainless thugs... But at least they’re using proper techniques now.’ Half-impressed, half-concerned. GRRR! But the guard who attacked seemed to have incurred the Cerberus’ wrath. The monster raised its paw as fast as a bullet and stomped right on the man’s head. Another damage balloon going "Critical! 2850!" rose as the man crumpled to the ground, dying. "Shit...!" At the rate they were dying, it didn’t look like they’d reach 8,000 hits. "Everyone! Land one or two attacks before you die, and as soon as you revive, rush back here!" she added. If they couldn’t win through a normal battle, then they’d go with zombie attack tactics! The Cerberus didn’t stop moving, though. It kept running, jumping around, and swiping with its claws. Casualties were rising as time went on, but the damage they inflicted barely reached a quarter of one of the eight HP bars. "You...!" Henrietta ducked, dodging another claw swipe. Her left leg folded close to her chest, while her right leg extended as far as possible—preparing for a quick dash. "Plum Blossom Sword, First Verse! Vanishing Haze...!" And while shouting the technique’s name, she jumped forward. Her sword swung straight, without deviation, piercing the monster’s belly in one go. [33!] A normal damage number appeared, but to her shock, it was way higher than the guards could inflict. With her damage, they could actually make proper progress! "Don’t forget about me...!" Of course, she wasn’t the only one. From the other side, Uriel ran like the wind. Various parts juggled with her every step, but she was too fast for anyone to properly observe anyway. "HAAP!" And as she reached close enough, she jumped up, rotating like some gymnast mid-air, before landing a powerful vertical slash. [Critical! 25!!!] Another big number appeared, though it was weaker than Henrietta’s. "Ugh! What a stupidly thick hide...!" She complained as she rebounded away from it. "It’s too hard!" Still, it was a big improvement. The 8th HP bar rapidly dropped, leaving barely a fifth of it. Receiving more than half one bar in a single breath, the Cerberus staggered for a moment—an opening! "ATTACK!" And with that shout, the true battle began.