Its bulging muscles were as hard as stone, leaving no doubt as to the brute strength contained within that massive frame. Even Agil, who stood over two meters tall, barely reached its shoulders. With a cold, condescending gaze, the minotaur-like monster let out a deep, rumbling roar.
It swung the massive hammer, as tall as itself, high above its head. The combined height of the weapon and the creature, creating an imposing presence of nearly four meters, would make a novice's knees go weak.
Crackle, as if the air itself had been electrified, golden arcs of lightning flickered and danced across the barbaric hammerhead. After hovering for just a second or two, as if it had finished charging, the hammer, trailing sparks, slammed violently into the ground.
Dodge!!
No explicit warning was needed. Both teams of players, fully focused on the mob, dodged out of the way.
The massive hammer thudded heavily onto the ground. Aside from the solid shockwave, the electric arcs leapt from the hammer, spreading out in all directions like slithering snakes or darting fish, the lightning radiating outward in a spiderweb-like pattern.
Within a radius of two or three meters, the very tip of Satoru's boot was grazed.
An extremely faint, prickling sensation of numbness traveled from the sole of his foot through his boot and up to his heart.
Satoru glanced at his status bar in the upper right. The dizziness indicator had not been triggered.
Having successfully avoided the attack, the group immediately shifted from defense to offense. Various weapons flared with light effects, and a barrage of different Sword Skills poured down upon the Minotaur monster.
The first of its seemingly long three health bars was cleanly depleted.
By having the two teams rotate and coordinate their attacks against this Guardian-class mob, and after grasping its movement patterns, the difficulty had dropped significantly.
The only thing left to truly fear was its threatening Sword Skills, or rather, hammer techniques.
The attacks wrapped in golden arcs carried paralysis and stun debuffs. If struck even once, the ensuing trouble would quickly snowball. Although he briefly considered testing this negative status effect, the first he had encountered in the game, that thought was better left as a passing curiosity.
Kayaba Akihiko was not only a genius in physics, a field beyond his understanding, but also a prodigy in game design.
Balancing a game's difficulty required careful consideration. In this death game, SAO, players faced almost no threat from negative status effects on the First Floor. Perhaps that was a sliver of "mercy" within his otherwise cold rationality, allowing players to adapt during the most painful first month.
Only after that did the game's true ferocity begin to reveal itself, layer by layer.
Agil and his two companions tirelessly tanked the Minotaur's attacks, buying them several prime openings to strike. Needless to say, the equipment of the Legend Braves Guild members was top-tier. As for the three of them, including Asuna, their main weapons had been enhanced as far as possible.
The cumulative damage from repeated attacks was substantial, and the Minotaur's roars gradually shifted from wild aggression to strained resistance.
"It should be stable now."
Satoru swept his gaze over his companions once more. As long as they avoided the debuff-inflicting attacks, there would be no unexpected danger.
It had been six or seven minutes since they engaged this creature. By rough estimation, another ten minutes would be enough to finish it off completely, turning it into nothing more than a stepping stone for leveling up.
So… how was the main fight progressing?
Satoru turned his gaze to the right, toward the center of the vast, unobstructed floor hall.
There stood the most eye-catching presence of all, a towering, imposing figure. Beneath a layer of dark red short fur, its muscles bulged solidly even at rest, the gaps between its defined muscle blocks resembling narrow streams winding through rocky terrain.
It stood completely naked, save for a striking, ornate golden cloth wrapped around its waist. The warhammer it wielded crackled with golden sparks, not merely golden, but dazzlingly bright.
Baran, the boss, was twice the size of Nato, towering over five meters tall. Landing a Sword Skill on its chest was already considered a good hit. Most strikes could only reach its powerful lower limbs and waist.
"ROOOAAARRR!!"
The sheer wildness in its roar was palpable.
"Evade quickly!!"
Diavel's shout was nearly drowned out.
The golden giant hammer smashed into the ground, sending waves of golden energy exploding outward across the floor at incredible speed. The range of the vortex far exceeded that of Nato. While Baran's massive size made its attacks easy to see, its unreasonable range was the real threat. Even a slight delay would result in being caught.
Two players from Team B were entangled in arcs of golden electricity.
Their attempts to retreat turned futile. It felt as though their feet had been glued to the ground, their bodies locking up completely as they fell into a state of stun.
"Don't panic!"
Diavel's command rang out again, but the two affected players were already overwhelmed with anxiety.
As they silently counted down the duration of the stun, Baran, having successfully landed a hit, let out a mocking roar and began preparing its next attack.
The massive hammer lifted high once more, mirroring the previous motion, before crashing down again as another burst of lightning erupted.
The two players were knocked to the ground. After being struck a second time, they were now fully paralyzed.
This meant they would be trapped under this debuff for the next three hundred seconds.
Their hands trembled as they tried to move. Even retrieving a potion would take an agonizing amount of time, let alone with the boss looming right at their heels.
"Press forward! Rotate!"
Diavel rushed ahead, placing himself in front of the paralyzed players.
The players behind him followed closely. The immobilized players, temporarily out of immediate danger, exchanged uneasy glances, then gritted their teeth and struggled to crawl backward inch by inch.
Satoru looked in their direction. At least seven or eight players were already gathered against the wall, their bodies wrapped in pale green paralysis effects, all staring anxiously at the countdown timers of their debuffs.
"We can't say it's a major problem… but the situation isn't looking good," Kirito muttered, frowning as he observed the battlefield.
"Baran still has a lot of HP left. Before we reach the kill threshold, if the number of players rotating drops to the point where we can't maintain smooth coordination, we're in serious trouble," Satoru said. "If we can't even hold the line, retreating will be nothing but wishful thinking. The boss will just break through from behind and pick us off one by one."
If things devolved into complete chaos, the casualties would be severe.
"In that case, we should send some of our people over there too," Agil said in a low voice.
As the battle commander, Diavel was fully aware of this level of risk. Standing at the center of the fight, there was no way he hadn't accounted for it. At the very least, under his command, the frontline wouldn't collapse so easily.
"Let's finish this big guy quickly, then head over together to deal with the other one," Asuna said simply.
Satoru glanced at Orlando and the others fighting alongside them against the guard. Beyond their current engagement, it was obvious they had also noticed the worsening situation on the other side. They looked restless, as if barely holding themselves back.
Nato raised its head and let out a long, savage roar. As if making a last stand, it stomped heavily on the ground. The pale red of its muscles deepened into a bruised, purplish-red, and its eyes began to glow faintly.
"Phase Three! mode Berserk, its attack speed is 1.5 times higher than before! Be careful!"
Kirito immediately shouted the warning.
Nato turned abruptly, then, as if charging to its death, threw aside its massive hammer. Lowering its body, it began a full-force charge. At this moment, it seemed to revert into a normal bull, using the two horns on its forehead to gore forward. Judging from the momentum, anyone hit would likely be pierced clean through and carried several meters away on its horns.
But such a straightforward charge was the easiest to dodge.
Everyone sidestepped in unison.
A perfect opportunity to attack.
With low shouts, they unleashed their full firepower.
Nato's HP finally dropped into the red zone.
"Kill threshold."
Satoru spoke in a low voice.
Having already gauged the damage output of both teams, he was the first to unleash a flurry of skills. The others hesitated for only a brief moment before following without restraint.
Wound after wound appeared across Nato's body. It roared and struggled, but it could not escape its inevitable fate.
Satoru's combo suddenly paused, as if he had momentarily frozen.
In that instant, Kirito flashed forward beside him, his one-handed sword striking first and reducing Nato's HP to its final sliver.
Heh. Just as expected.
Satoru sneered inwardly, then swung his curved blade again. With a heavy impact, Nato let out a final cry before shattering into fragments.
"Alright, this side's done!" Agil and the others let out relieved sighs.
Kirito, however, stared at the empty space left behind, his expression slightly stiff.
"Ah… well, at least we took down Colonel Nato."
What a regretful tone, young man.
From the center, a commanding voice rang out. Even Diavel's shout carried over to them.
"Hold your positions and maintain the rotation! It's almost over!!"
Baran's HP had dropped into the yellow zone.
"As long as nothing goes wrong… Unlike the Kobold Lord, this General doesn't seem to have any special modifications," Kirito said, scratching his head.
"So the guard is a Colonel and the boss is a General… at least they paid attention to rank hierarchy in the naming," Asuna said as she walked over, waiting for her skill cooldown alongside him.
"Still, it feels a bit arbitrary…"
"In more carefully designed MMORPGs, dungeon traps and boss names are planned in advance, sometimes even containing hidden details or Easter eggs," Satoru said with a sigh. "But honestly, digging into those little tricks left by obsessive developers is a real hassle."
"This game is already troublesome enough."
"The title 'General' does fit a floor boss, just like the Kobold Lord on the First Floor."
Suddenly, Satoru, who had been speaking casually, froze.
A few seconds later, his eyes widened slightly.
"What's wrong?"
"Kobold Lord…" he muttered. "The First Floor was 'Lord,' a king…"
"The Second Floor is only…"
BOOM—!!!
A thunderous explosion shook the entire area.
The massive bull-headed relief at the center of the floor began to rise, and the entire chamber trembled violently.
In that instant, everything stopped, both the players and Baran.
A pitch-black figure began to materialize from the relief, as if being assembled piece by piece from somewhere beyond.
Massive, curved hooves slowly planted themselves onto the surface. Twisted, drooping whiskers hung down to its abdomen. Its demonic bull face, identical to the carvings on the doors and floor, bore six thorn-like horns surrounding a white-gold crystal embedded in its forehead, a symbol of supreme authority.
The towering, ink-black figure took a step forward.
At its feet, brilliant white lightning erupted, illuminating the entire chamber like daylight.
Six segments of HP appeared.
And beneath them, its name was silently revealed.
Asterius, The Taurus King.