Child of Destiny

With the arrival of several top god-level experts, the situation on the battlefield had finally begun to shift, giving the assembled players a chance to gain a foothold in the raid.

However, this hardly meant they had gained control of the battle.

After sensing the threat posed by these powerful opponents, the Heavenly Dominator finally abandoned its seemingly simple attack patterns.

ROAR!

Enraged, the colossal gorilla began swinging its massive arms wildly, unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes that sent terrifying shockwaves in every direction.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Under the ferocity of its attacks, the surrounding players were forced to retreat, desperately trying to avoid being caught in the devastating barrage.

Even the top god-level experts didn’t dare confront the monster head-on while it was in this state.

Naturally, not everyone managed to escape in time.

Those who were too slow or simply unlucky were crushed beneath the Heavenly Dominator’s rampage, their bodies disappearing as the System registered their deaths.

The situation became even more chaotic as the monster’s heavy movements kicked up enormous clouds of sand, further obstructing everyone’s vision.

However, before the swirling dust could completely hinder the raid’s coordination, the Jadeite Mage Corps immediately sprang into action.

”Clear the dust!” shouted the leading mage at the forefront of their formation.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The wind mages simultaneously cast wind spells, generating powerful gusts that swept across the battlefield and dispersed the thick clouds of dust.

Within moments, the surrounding area became visible again, allowing the players to assess the situation and resume their attacks.

However, what they saw next made their expressions change.

The Heavenly Dominator had raised both of its colossal arms high above its head.

Shiver!

A sudden sense of impending danger swept through the battlefield, causing everyone to tense up, particularly those standing closest to the monster.

The leader of the Jadeite Mage Corps immediately reacted. ”Earth Pillars!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The earth mages promptly followed his command, causing towering pillars of earth to erupt beneath their formation.

The pillars rapidly rose, carrying the entire mage corps high into the air and lifting them away from the danger zone.

At another section of the battlefield—

”Raise your shields!” shouted the leader of a group composed primarily of Knights and Warriors.

Under his command, the Knights immediately stepped forward and raised their shields in unison.

Bang!

They then slammed their shields into the ground, channeling their mana into the earth as their defensive energies resonated with one another.

WHOOSH!

A towering wall of energy suddenly rose before them, forming a massive barrier that protected everyone positioned behind their defensive line.

Meanwhile, the other leading groups and independent experts also reacted, employing their respective abilities to escape the area or prepare defensive measures against the impending attack.

ROAR!

At that moment, the Heavenly Dominator brought both of its enormous arms crashing down upon the ground.

BOOOOOOM!

A terrifying shockwave immediately erupted, sweeping across the battlefield and tearing through everything in its path.

The force was so overwhelming that it dragged vast quantities of sand into the air, transforming the surrounding desert into a devastating sandstorm that swallowed everything in its wake.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

At the same time, an enormous mushroom cloud of sand and debris surged into the sky, towering over the battlefield as the Heavenly Dominator’s destructive attack engulfed the surrounding area.

...

The sandstorm raged for several more moments before finally beginning to settle.

As the thick clouds of dust gradually receded, the players watching from a safe distance were finally able to see the aftermath of the Heavenly Dominator’s devastating attack.

A massive crater had been carved into the desert floor, with the colossal gorilla standing at its center.

Sand continued cascading down the crater’s steep walls, gradually collecting around the monster’s enormous feet.

Several unfortunate players remained buried beneath the collapsed earth along the crater’s edges, while the surviving experts struggled to recover from the previous shockwave.

The Jadeite Mage Corps had already begun chanting their spells, preparing another coordinated barrage.

Meanwhile, Crimson Queen Riley, Mad Lion Kross, Crazy Dragon Criss, and the other monstrous experts of comparable strength were already preparing to engage the Heavenly Dominator again.

Bang! Bang!

Kross and Criss were among the first to move.

Along with several other formidable melee fighters, the two brothers charged toward the colossal gorilla, intending to swarm it from multiple directions.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Each of them activated their respective Skills as they closed the distance, unleashing powerful attacks against the Heavenly Dominator’s enormous legs.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

While the melee fighters focused on its legs and lower body, Spells and ranged Skills from the mages and other range-class combatants rained down upon its back and upper body.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Heavenly Dominator’s titanic size and overwhelming physical strength made it a terrifying opponent. However, those same characteristics also presented the assembled experts with an advantage: they had an enormous target to attack.

Their strikes landed one after another, gradually accumulating damage across the monster’s rocky hide.

In response, the Heavenly Dominator swung its massive arms and stomped its enormous feet, desperately attempting to repel the attackers swarming around it.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The resulting clashes shook the entire crater as the raid continued its relentless assault.

However, the Heavenly Dominator was no longer relying on physical strength alone.

Having experienced the threat posed by the assembled experts, the colossal gorilla finally began unleashing its elemental abilities.

ROAR!

It raised its head and clenched both fists, releasing a deafening roar that reverberated throughout the desert.

WHOOSH!

An overwhelming pressure suddenly swept across the entire crater, bearing down upon everyone caught within its range.

The melee fighters felt their movements grow sluggish, while some of the weaker players struggled to remain standing beneath the oppressive force.

But that was only the beginning.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Enormous earth spikes suddenly erupted from the ground, thrusting upward at terrifying speeds and impaling anyone who failed to escape their reach.

Some players were pierced outright, while others were struck by the rising pillars and hurled into the air.

The ground beneath several unfortunate fighters crumbled as the massive earth formations continued surging upward, crushing those who were unable to escape in time.

The sudden eruption of elemental power caught many players off guard, disrupting their coordinated assault and forcing the surrounding experts to scatter.

Only then did everyone fully realize what had changed.

The Heavenly Dominator had finally begun taking the raid seriously.

...

From a distance, the terrifying figures who stood at the pinnacle of the Green Marbly Kingdom’s player base watched as chaos once again engulfed the battlefield.

However, their attention had shifted from the Heavenly Dominator’s newly revealed abilities to a far more troubling aspect of the battle.

”Damn!” Khavin couldn’t help but curse after witnessing the monster’s latest display of power. ”So this is the true strength of a Semi-World Boss?”

Shin shook his head. ”Far from it.”

He paused to observe the chaotic battlefield before continuing. ”That Monster Boss has barely begun showing what it’s truly capable of.”

He then gestured toward the colossal gorilla, drawing Khavin’s attention to something the players actively fighting it seemed to have overlooked.

”Have you noticed how little its Health Bar has decreased despite taking so many attacks from those so-called top experts?” Shin asked, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.

Only then did Khavin realize something was wrong.

Despite the countless attacks striking its colossal body, the Heavenly Dominator’s Health Bar had barely fallen below the ninety-percent mark.

Whenever its HP dropped beneath that threshold, it would suddenly recover a substantial portion, bouncing back to somewhere between ninety-five and ninety-seven percent.

”Eh!? Are their attacks really that weak?” Khavin asked in disbelief.

Shin shook his head again. ”It’s not a matter of their attacks being weak.”

He gestured toward the chaotic battlefield, particularly the players who kept falling beneath the Heavenly Dominator’s relentless assault. ”Look at what’s happening down there. Every time the monster kills someone, its Health Bar seems to recover a substantial amount of HP.”

Shin narrowed his eyes as he continued observing the battlefield. ”It appears to possess a special ability that allows it to restore its health whenever it kills a player within its vicinity.”

Hearing this, Khavin’s eyes widened as he immediately understood the implications.

”Lifesteal!?” he exclaimed. ”This Boss Monster is completely broken!”

Terrifying attacks, absurdly high defenses, devastating area-of-effect abilities, and a possible lifesteal mechanic on top of its natural regeneration.

The Heavenly Dominator seemed to possess every advantage imaginable, leaving the assembled experts with very few opportunities to exploit.

What made the situation even worse was that its Health Bar had barely dropped below ninety percent despite the constant bombardment.

That meant the boss had yet to reveal its other abilities, much less enter any of its potential later phases.

”Is this Boss Monster even beatable?” Khavin asked unconsciously.

Shin merely smirked beneath his mask. ”It’s not impossible to kill. It’s just a little tricky to deal with.”

He continued observing the scattered players, many of whom stubbornly returned to the battlefield even after being killed by the Heavenly Dominator.

The situation had become even more troublesome because Priests and Shamans were constantly reviving fallen players, allowing them to rush back into battle and risk dying all over again.

Under ordinary circumstances, such persistence might have been admirable.

Against a boss that appeared to recover its HP whenever it killed someone, however, their repeated deaths could end up prolonging the raid indefinitely.

Shin’s gaze gradually sharpened. ”You just have to get rid of the dead weight that’s making the raid more difficult than it needs to be.”

...