The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 12

Chapter 12
The Wicked Sorceress Veronica

After Eivass recalled the identity of the Wicked Bartender, he remembered all the details of this dungeon:

The first elite enemy, the “Wicked Bartender,” was a level 15 Fiend. Its main mechanic was to unleash a powerful attack after building up momentum, which could be dodged but not parried, and would knock players back. This attack did not fully adhere to aggro mechanics. The mechanism typically occurred every fifteen seconds. If knocked back, players were likely to collide with tables, chairs, walls, or other players, causing secondary damage and stun.

Furthermore, if a player was close enough to him—within one meter—they would immediately take damage regardless of aggro. Therefore, if the front-liners were knocked back, the back-liners would easily be exposed.

The first time his health dropped below 30%, he would enter a demonized state. His attack speed, movement speed, and the frequency of his first ability would double.

There were no other mechanics besides these. The mechanics could be ignored with skills that prevented knockback or by dodging. Melee DPS players could also approach him from behind when he was about to use a mechanic, take the hit, and then have the tank re-establish aggro. This would turn him into a pure stationary boss.

The second boss of this dungeon was a Demonic Hound created by a high-level Demon Scholar, named “Wicked Hound” Shell. Its characteristics included high-frequency attacks, along with burn, armor break, and poison effects. Additionally, every 10% of its health that decreased, it would reset aggro. With a little attention, it was not difficult at all.

Of course, in reality, BOSSes would not appear one by one like the葫芦娃 saving their grandfather. If the Bartender and the Wicked Hound appeared simultaneously, the battle would become much more difficult.

…But now, the Wicked Hound had disappeared.

The moment Eivass saw the bald woman’s face, he immediately realized.

The one who created this “Wicked Hound” must have been the bald man he killed that night!

—Because this woman was the “Apprentice” Eivass had met that very same night!

Numerous fragments immediately reassembled in his mind, forming a new event clue:

According to the original history, players were supposed to suddenly appear, startling the two, and rescuing Eivass who was already on the ritual altar, thus preventing the descent of the Shadow Demon. Afterward, the man would leave and create the “Wicked Hound” to guard this secret stronghold.

The “Pelican Bar” was likely connected to the “Noble Red” society.

Or rather, this was a forward operating base for their organization in Avalon.

Why it was called a forward operating base…

Even Eivass, who couldn’t clearly recall the storyline, knew that the mysterious society “Noble Red” was actually a front used by spies from the Star Antinomy Kingdom!

The high-ranking members of this society were secret agents from the Star Antinomy Kingdom—they supported the suppressed Demon Scholars within the Avalon Kingdom by distributing Demonology books and forbidden ritual materials.

Of course, the two people who came to find Eivass were probably not qualified to know such secret matters.

He also immediately remembered why this event could involve a minister of Avalon.

Now, because he had killed that man back then, the Wicked Hound was no longer present at the bar.

—Although it was of little significance, history had indeed been changed by him in a very small way!

The apprentice who fled that day was the Wicked Sorceress Veronica. A level 19 Demon Scholar, just one step away from reaching the Third Tier.

Players affectionately called her Big Purple or the Bald Woman.

Because she was the BOSS with the lowest level that could drop the Red Robe, Big Purple was farmed quite frequently. Although the Red Robe was not aesthetically pleasing and had no stats, it could trigger the event line for the “Noble Red” society.

That event line allowed players to obtain four books and a decent Staff. The four books provided a good amount of skill experience, so players whose profession was Demon Scholar had to complete it eventually.

Compared to the first two BOSSes Eivass had forgotten, Veronica’s mechanics were much more difficult to deal with.

—Just like now, she appeared conjuring energy spheres.

Fifteen seconds after the fight began, she would directly target the player with the highest aggro and cast a high-speed, slightly homing “Cursed Infant.” If this skill was not dodged, it resulted in instant death.

This massive damage was impossible to withstand at this level, where there were no damage reduction or invincibility skills. It would likely require a level thirty-something tank, after their limits were lifted, to tank this hit without dying. Therefore, dodging was the only option.

Players killed by her during the fight would be immediately sacrificed to summon minor demons. The minor demons were not difficult to deal with; it just took about three rounds of focused fire. But with their corpses sacrificed, it meant they could not be revived in combat to replenish the party.

This was a four-player dungeon, and if the initial mechanic was not dodged, the party would immediately lose a quarter of its combatants—and likely a tank.

The subsequent fight was not difficult, just a continuous periodic release of increasingly damaging area-of-effect damage. The higher the stacks, the slower the movement and attack speed until a player died, at which point the stacks for the other players would reset to zero.

If no one died during the first round of mechanics, the party could generally win by focusing fire and healing to regain health; otherwise, the healer would have to sacrifice themselves when they couldn’t heal everyone, resetting the stacks for their teammates. If they failed again now, they wouldn’t be able to pass.

Unlike the first two BOSSes, these two could be beaten even without checking walkthrouGs and just improvising. If Veronica was engaged without consulting a guide, there was a high probability of a wipe on the first attempt.

It could be said that this BOSS knew how to play the game.

Before appearing, she had secretly been charging up a powerful ultimate ability through a ritual, aiming to reduce the party by one person at the start. Unlike BOSSes in other games who would only use their ultimate when close to death—this output pattern was very similar to players, who went all out with an initial burst of damage.

As Eivass, a healer, he naturally had to check the guides.

If the initial tank or DPS failed to handle the mechanics, he would have to sacrifice himself. After fighting her for a long time, he became exceptionally familiar with it.

—But after all, she was a BOSS from the very first dungeon, and players would naturally become lazier the more they fought her.

So, players had developed ways to “skip” Veronica’s mechanics.

And frankly, it was very simple.

Eivass’s preparations were precisely for this moment—

His left hand, hidden beneath his cloak, opened slightly, and shadow energy silently gathered between his fingers. The “Enchantment Card: Blade of Shadow” he had created last night appeared in the distorted void. He held it between his index and middle fingers.

To distract Veronica, Eivass spoke with utmost calmness: “The flaws you left behind are far too many—or rather, countless.

“The time it took me to discover the truth was even slightly delayed. I believe that if it were the famous Mr. Sherlock, he would have figured it out the moment he saw it.”

As he spoke, the pistol in his right hand moved slightly towards the “Moon” Tarot Card in his left hand.

The instant the gun touched the Tarot Card, which had been rewritten as “Enchantment Card: Blade of Shadow.”

Eivass moved his mind, and the enchantment card held in his left hand suddenly turned into a mass of shadow, seeping into the Lady’s Grip pistol he held in his right hand.

Then, he boldly raised his pistol and aimed at the Wicked Sorceress Veronica.

The robed woman recognized Eivass’s identity at this moment.

She had originally intended to ask Eivass himself how he survived that night—the moment she saw the Shadow Demon lose control and kill her mentor, she had unhesitatingly turned and fled. She didn’t know that Eivass had controlled the Shadow Demon and only assumed her mentor’s contract had failed.

But upon seeing Eivass’s ridiculous action, her confusion and wariness were replaced by contempt.

She couldn’t help but scoff, too lazy to even dodge: “You don’t think something like that can affect me, do you?

“Elven-made, Lady’s Grip, a five-shot capacity—am I correct? You think it will be of any use against me?

“I can’t even be bothered to dodge. How about I just stand here and take your shot?”