System Notification: [You have entered Barren Land.]
Li Yi weaved his way in a Level 30 monster-farming area by himself. The roar of giant barren monsters rang in his ears as he inched deeper and deeper ahead.
If he had not learned Pseudocide, he would definitely not enter such a dangerous place. The ATK of Level 30 giant barren monsters was terrifying enough, not to mention for a solo little old Archer. Even equipped with Level 30 equipment, his resistance would not last long once surrounded.
To Li Yi, learning Pseudocide provided endless possibilities.
"Tweet—"
A few giant black barren monsters in spirit appearance noticed Li Yi and glided over to attack.
Li Yi cast Mislead on Mutated Small Wild Boar and had it face the enemies. He then shot a few arrows before Pseudociding on the ground.
Breaking away from the battle...
The giant black barren monsters ignored Mutated Small Wild Boar's gnawing and swiftly retreated to their original spot.
Li Yi managed to survive successfully under the encirclement of monsters this way.
Groups of giant barren monsters swept the ground back and forth. If merely positioning 1 was relied upon, then they could not be evaded. This could only be achieved by depending on breaking-away-from-battle skills.
Although Thieves' Stealth, Vagabonds' Concealment, Dark Priests' Dark Flee could evade the monsters' sight, once a monster was near, these skills would be ineffective. Thieves could still use Shadow Cape to escape but the remaining two classes would not stand a chance. Death awaited them if they could not defeat the monster.
Li Yi had walked through this Barren way as a Thief in his past life. Although Shadow Cape was useful, it has its flaw. Once the monster was too close then there was nothing he could do. Unlike an Archer, who could use Mislead and decoy with their pet.
This life, he chose to play an Archer after careful consideration. Compared to a Thief, Archers had more well-rounded skill as well as being the most suitable for soloing. Of course, their DPS was not that much different from a Thief's in a party. Most importantly, there was a high safety factor, unlike a Thief who, if the main tank was unable to pull away Aggro, would become an OT 2 before losing his life. Normally, in Large-sized Instance Dungeon, an OT can cause total annihilation of a party)
While on the way, Li Yi carefully picked Ebony Cane herbs.
Ebony Cane was one of the ingredients needed to create Fury Potion. It was also essential for any kind of Resistance Potion. It was a crucial piece of ingredient for an Apothecarist to advance in mastery.
Li Yi was already a Beginner-Level Apothecarist and could make a few types of potions but he was lacking in Ebony Canes. It affected the slow-paced increase of his skill mastery. It then struck him to collect herbs in Barren Land.
As he moved deeper in, the spawning of Ebony Cane became more frequent. There were also many players that shared the same thought as Li Yi. It was a shame that their game-control was not on the level. They would usually be drowned by the incoming barren monsters upon entering Barren Land.
Accurate running and superb game-controlling were the reasons Li Yi could safety weave through Barren Land.
"Tweet— Tweet—"
The screeches of giant barren monsters grew shrilly. Li Yi knew that he was almost at a boss' territory.
The Barren Lord was an Earth Giant. Its ATK was strong but its SPD was slow. It also had a HP of 6900000. If it were not for the vast population of giant barren monsters around, Li Yi would have had the confidence to toy with it.
"Tweet— Tweet— Tweet—"
The chirping ahead suddenly became more rapid, leaving Li Yi puzzled for a moment.
"Go... Ah, hold... on..."
"Don't retreat!
"Kill!
"It's almost dead.
"Heal..."
Faint shouts echoed in his ear. Li Yi was immediately startled.
"Don't tell me someone is raiding the Barren Lord?"
Li Yi stopped collecting herbs and ran towards the Barren Lord's territory.
"Bang!"
Towering at a height of thirty meters, Earth Giant Barren Lord raised both of its arms high in rage, smacking the ten over players in front of him like ants.
There were over 400 in the scene with more than 200 corpses shattered on the ground. Each of the Barren Lord's attacks brought down over ten players.
Although Barren Lord's SPD was slow, it was most proficient with ranged attacks such as Earth Shake and Rock Explosion that were effective up to 1000 yards in distance. How could anyone survive being targeted by this monster at this level?
Piles of players were down before the powerful Barren Lord, even main tanks who were known for high HP and DEF went down in two hits.
"Don't stop!
"Those dead, be swift with corpse running.
"It's almost dead."
The person commanding these people was a female Dwarf player of Summoning class. She stood far behind while commanding from the rear.
The female Dwarf player had a baby's voice. She was straightforward in giving directions. These players were compliant in the orders and followed through with absolute obedience.
They were quite well-coordinated in the party. It was a shame that their strategy was rubbish. It was a play that completely forced players out over and over again.
Li Yi could identify its flaw at a glance.
Over 400 players went through a cycle of death and resurrection. Although it was not known how long they had been playing for, Barren Lord was left with half HP. At this rate, they stood no chance at victory.
Pantheon's outdoor bosses were notoriously powerful. A boss at the level of Barren Lord possessed many incredible skills such as super HP resumption skill, large range attacks, etc.
"Heartless Fish, I want to capture you and absorb your life essence, hahahaha..."
Barren Lord howled as it extended its arms to capture a player, stuffing him into its mouth to swallow.
"Puff—"
The moment Barren Lord spewed out Heartless Fish's dried corpse, its HP rose by a third.
This was its superb HP resumption skill, Life Engulfment.
"Quickly run if you've been named by the boss.
"Why are you just standing there, goodness..."
The female Dwarf commander could not continue on with her speech. It was easy for her to comment but when it came to running away, it was not as it seemed. Once the boss called out to a player, they would be unable to move their bodies.
It was no wonder then that they ended up like this. They could not even figure out a way to counter-react Life Engulfment.
Li Yi watched on, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Feel the wrath of Barren Lord!"
Barren Lord stood at its spot, accumulating energy ominously.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Barren Lord stomped the ground with its two feet. Players within the hundred yard range felt tremors and their HP continuously dropped until the quake stopped. Another hundred players died.
"WTF, just how many skills does this boss have?
"Why is this so hard?"
"One more death and I'll return to the temple..."
"Me too, I can't take it anymore. This is too much."
They could still carry on with passion if the boss' HP lessened but as the boss' HP and skills grew, everyone lost their motivation.
They lost faith.
Everyone, just die. We'll wipe this attempt. Those who can break away from the battle, do so. We'll reassemble and start over," declared the female Dwarf commander dejectedly.
"Wait! Don't give up yet." The female Dwarf commander was dumbfounded briefly. She glanced about and thought a little before yelling out. "Everyone, carry on. Those who are dead, quickly run to your corpses. Respawn at the temple and run back here. Let's continue at full force!"
"Wh-What the h*ll? You-You sh-should have said-said so earlier-lier if you di-didn't want us-us to die," A stuttering Orc Thief who had successfully made a suicide attack by running to the boss grumbled in dissatisfaction.
Positioning refers to getting away from enemy's attacking range Once the damage or HP exceeds the monster's current Aggro level, the monster will forego the current target and hit on the highest Aggro player. This phenomenon is called OT (over-tank or over-threat)