"So that's how it's designed…"
Lillian stared at the door that had appeared on the wall in front of him, genuinely surprised.
He pushed it open. Beyond it was a staircase leading upward, and from below he could clearly see the massive gate at the very top.
The second-floor boss room was actually hidden inside a small side chamber—only appearing after all the monsters inside were cleared. No wonder it had been so hard to find. He'd spent almost the entire night before finally discovering it.
Climbing the stairs, Lillian stopped in front of the enormous door and placed both hands against it, pushing with force.
At this point, there was no one left who could fight the boss alongside him. That meant he could only do it alone. Still, after fighting the first-floor boss, he'd gained a deeper understanding of the game's boss mechanics.
Clack… clack… clack…
The gate slowly opened under the pressure, and the scene inside came clearly into view.
Compared to the first floor, the second-floor boss chamber was much larger, square in shape. On both sides of the room stood four enormous stone pillars each, carved with lifelike reliefs of crowned minotaurs.
Lillian stepped into the room and looked up at the pillars.
According to the guidebook—
Whoosh—!
Two figures suddenly appeared atop two of the pillars and leapt down simultaneously, locking onto Lillian's position!
Boom!!
Lillian retreated instantly, drawing his greatsword in one smooth motion as he coldly watched the two minotaurs land where he had been standing.
They let out shrill roars, and names with HP bars appeared above their heads:
Nato the Colonel Taurus
Baran the General Taurus
Taurus Colonel Nato and Taurus General Baran—two sub-bosses wielding golden war hammers, each with six HP bars. Exactly as recorded in the guidebook.
Lillian's gaze settled on Baran.
The true boss of this floor—Tauren King Asterius—would only appear after Baran was reduced to his final HP bar and dropped into the yellow zone.
"Roooaar—!"
Both minotaurs charged toward Lillian with raised hammers. Lillian began running as well, maintaining a steady distance while calmly considering how to deal with them safely.
The danger of soloing lay in facing multiple enemies—one mistake, and you could be wiped out in a single combo.
So he needed to create a one-on-one environment.
That was easy for him.
He abruptly stopped retreating, judged their positions, and his greatsword flared with light. In the next instant, he lunged forward with the blade leading.
It was a basic thrusting sword skill from the one-handed sword—fast, minimal recovery, commonly used as an opening move or for hit-and-run tactics against bosses.
Psh!
The blade pierced Baran's body. Baran immediately raised his hammer, while Nato swung in from the other side.
At that moment, Lillian activated Martial Art: Crescent Arc.
His body traced a graceful curve through the air, cleanly dodging the attacks and landing behind Baran.
Instead of continuing his sword assault, Lillian shifted his focus to his legs and delivered a powerful kick straight into Baran's back!
The explosive force sent the massive minotaur flying!
This was Lillian's strategy—actively shaping the battlefield into a one-on-one fight.
The two guards, Baran and Nato, had to be dealt with one at a time. Naturally, Nato was the higher priority.
If Baran were pushed to his last HP first, the main boss would spawn immediately, turning the fight into a one-versus-three situation—far more dangerous.
So the plan was simple: eliminate Nato first, then deal with Baran. As long as Baran's final HP was burned down quickly, there was a high chance that when the Taurus King appeared, he'd be alone.
That would significantly increase Lillian's margin for error when soloing the final boss.
After sending Baran flying, Lillian unleashed relentless strikes with his greatsword. He stopped using sword skills entirely, relying only on normal attacks.
Through days of combat, he had learned how to maximize his strengths: speed and rapid basic attacks to deliver the highest possible damage in the shortest time.
He began circling Nato at high speed, striking continuously as he moved. Nato couldn't keep up at all—swinging his hammer wildly, unable to land a single hit.
Under Lillian's high-frequency, high-damage attacks, Nato's HP bar quickly dropped by an entire segment.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
At that moment, Baran charged back in, holding his war hammer horizontally. Lillian caught sight of the glow on the weapon—it was a sword skill.
Before Baran could reach him, Lillian kicked Nato away again and immediately sprinted after him!
There was no way he could tank a sword skill head-on.
According to the guidebook, this skill was called Paralyzing Impact. As the name implied, being hit would induce paralysis. Without teammates, if Lillian were paralyzed even once, it would almost certainly mean death.
So one ran while the other chased.
Lillian fully executed his speed kiting strategy, focusing on one enemy while abandoning the other. Five minutes later, Taurus Colonel Nato finally fell under this methodical, "righteous" beatdown.
"Excellent."
Lillian was very satisfied. This strategy consumed stamina, but for him, that was a non-issue. Most importantly—it was safe.
"Next is you," Lillian said, looking at Baran still charging toward him from afar.
"You've waited long enough."
---
Back in the strategy meeting room, the tense atmosphere gradually eased under the mediation of several guild leaders.
"Come on, don't argue with a kid…"
"Cough, cough—let's get back on topic."
"If the boss skills listed are accurate, then our team composition will need more tanks. Otherwise, there's no way to withstand the combined attacks of the two sub-bosses."
The discussion resumed. No one paid Argo any further attention.
Her expression was cold as frost. Without saying a word, she turned and left the meeting room. Asuna and Kirito followed her out.
"Don't bother with those people," Kirito said quietly.
"…"
"Are you okay?" Asuna asked with concern.
Argo shook her head. Her expression was grim—but not because of what had happened in the meeting room.
She opened her message list and selected Lillian, only to find that she couldn't send a message.
That meant he was in a restricted area.
A special zone—like a boss room.
That idiot… he really went to solo the boss?!
Kirito and Asuna exchanged a glance when they saw the strange look on Argo's face, unsure what she was thinking.
"Argo," Asuna said gently, "why don't we just ignore the meeting and go get something to eat? I know a—"
Before she could finish, a player came sprinting toward them from the distance. By the time he reached them, he was drenched in sweat, bent over and gasping for air.
"What's wrong?" Kirito asked in surprise.
The man propped his hands on his knees, looked up at him with shock still lingering in his eyes, and said breathlessly, "The teleport gate in town… the gate… it's appeared. There's an option to go to the third floor!"