-283- Shooting star

"Grrrrraaaaahhhh!"

The roar of the Kobold Lord echoed throughout the vast room, creating a terrifying echo that chilled the air.

"Shazzz!"

As if in response to the Lord's roar, the three heavily armed Kobold guards raised their halberd and let out sharp cries, readying themselves.

"Oooohhhhh!"

The players charged in groups towards the monsters.

Leading the charge was Kirito.

"Come at me!"

Kirito drew the "Anneal Blade +6" from his back and stared at Illfang with fiery determination in his eyes.

"Roar!"

As if provoked, Illfang let out a low growl. He raised the bone axe in his right hand high and, with a heavy thud, lunged towards Kirito like a projectile.

The menacing bone axe met the gleaming one-handed sword in a clash after a single second.

Illfang swung down his bone axe with force.

Kirito thrust his one-handed sword straight ahead.

Both weapons gleamed with the effects of sword skills.

Then...

"Clang!"

In a resounding collision, the one-handed sword and the bone axe struck each other forcefully, creating dazzling light effects and a powerful impact.

The clearing battle against the Floor Guardian Boss of Aincrad's 1st Floor had begun with this powerful clash, marking the beginning of an intense battle.

At the same time, several players wielding weapons and shields charged forward one after another from behind Kirito, surrounding Illfang and roaring in unison.

This was a coalition formed by closed beta testers.

Kirito led the offensive group, responsible for dealing damage, while Agil led the defensive group, responsible for tanking.

These two groups charged forward, surrounding and launching attacks against the Floor Guardian Boss.

However, Illfang seemed to be focused solely on Kirito. Ignoring the players surrounding him, he raised his axe high toward Kirito, who was still in a sword skill's motion lock.

This was the result of the boss's aggro mechanics, targeting the player who got closest to it or dealt the most damage.

In the face of this scene...

"Over here!"

Agil shouted loudly and raised a massive shield in his hand.

This shield was the current pinnacle of defense in SAO—a "Tower Shield."

Not only was the shield incredibly sturdy, but it also had a broad surface area for defense. It was on par with Mash's shield. However, it was relatively heavy, making it impossible for players with low strength to equip it.

As instructed by Rozen earlier, Agil abandoned his double-handed battle axe and equipped the Tower Shield, a high-defense shield that radiated sword-skill-like light.

"Roar!"

Illfang's movements suddenly halted, and with a look of anger, its crimson eyes turned toward Agil.

This was the effect of the tank's skill "Howl," a technique used to attract a monster's aggro and draw its attacks towards oneself.

Illfang's aggression was smoothly diverted, and it now targeted Agil. With the shield raised high, Agil faced Illfang's axe attack head-on.

"Clang!"

The sound of impact rang out as the axe struck the shield, creating intense sparks and a powerful force.

"Ugh..."

Agil let out a grunt.

Despite the successful block, the giant's HP gauge had decreased slightly.

This gave a glimpse of how formidable the Floor Guardian Boss's strength was.

However...

"We can do this!"

Rozen, positioned at the rear, suddenly smiled and then spoke loudly.

"Tank players, take turns using 'Howl' to attract its attention. Focus on the axe, block with the shield, not your armor. DPS team, aim for the gap after the boss's sword skill and deal concentrated damage. Don't use sword skills until the boss's skill ends, as it will generate excessive hate. Use normal attacks instead!"

Upon hearing Rozen's instructions, players from the second and third teams were invigorated and responded loudly before immediately putting the plan into action.

Instantly, Illfang was targeted by tank players wielding tower shields who took turns using the "Howl" skill, drawing it's attention. He focused on striking the shields with his bone axe, leaving his back exposed to the attacking members of the team, who launched a series of attacks.

Under these circumstances, Illfang's HP gauge trembled slightly, showing signs of fluctuation as it gradually decreased.

"Is the rate of decrease too slow?" Argo, who was by Rozen's side, looked at the scene, slightly surprised.

"It's already not bad," Rozen shook his head and replied.

It was important to note that only a six-member squad was responsible for damage output at the moment, and they were deliberately controlling their damage to avoid excessive aggro shifts. If players proficient in attack, such as those using two-handed axes or polearms, were to attack, their damage output would certainly be high. However, this would also make controlling both damage and aggro difficult, making the situation dangerous.

Understanding this, Kirito meticulously maneuvered around the boss, avoiding the use of sword skills and refraining from attacking the boss's weak points. He was concerned that doing so might trigger a critical hit and cause the boss's aggro to shift.

After all, Kirito's weapon was a high-performance +6 weapon. Not controlling the damage output was not an option.

But as long as they maintained control, the HP of the Floor Guardian Boss would decrease relatively slowly but steadily. At least, until the boss's fourth HP bar entered the red zone, there should be no need to worry about unexpected incidents during the transition to the attack pattern.

And even in case of an emergency, the players equipped with long weapons were standing by, ready to use delay skills to control the boss.

That's why Rozen was paying more attention to the situation with the three Kobold Sentinels.

Rozen's gaze shifted there.

The next second, he saw it.

He saw a Shooting star in the battlefield.

"Swish—!"

Amidst a clear sword hum, a flashing rapier cut through the air, transforming into a streak of light and shooting towards the chest of a Kobold Sentinel.

"Thud!"

The tip of the rapier landed on the armored chest of the Kobold Sentinel, creating not the sound of steel friction but a heavy impact.

"Gah...!?"

The Kobold Sentinel was sent flying by this meteoric strike, emitting a scream akin to a wail.

"Haaa!"

The rapier user, Asuna, flipped her cape's hem, sprinted forward at an astonishing speed, caught up with the airborne Kobold, and then repositioned her rapier at her waist. The pink sword skill effect appeared on her blade, turning it into a streak of light that aimed straight for the Kobold Sentinel's throat.

"Splurt!"

The sound of flesh being torn became distinctly clear.

The sword skill "Linear" struck the Kobold Sentinel's throat with precision, even piercing through it.

This undoubtedly triggered a critical hit, coupled with a +3 accuracy bonus, and successfully depleted the Kobold guard's HP bar.

"Bang!"

Amidst the sound of shattering, the first Kobold Sentinel was defeated within the first minute of the battle, turning into polygonal fragments and vanishing on the spot.

The rapier user posed beneath the sparkling fragments, maintaining her thrusting stance, a sight of exquisite beauty that left many male players mesmerized.

Rozen was also watching this scene, a slight smile on his face.