Published: January 22, 2026
“It still doesn’t seem to be causing much damage.”
Will’s muttered voice echoed in my mind as I watched the white serpent, unmoved by the rain of attack magic from Ms. Rain and Lucre, seemingly unharmed.
“No, the damage must be accumulating little by little. It’s frustrating, but we have no choice but to slowly wear it down with magic. Ms. Selma, since the attacks with the magic sword weren’t very effective either, I’ll join Will in supporting the backline.”
Because of the white serpent’s physiology, physical attacks aren’t very effective.
We had hoped that the magic sword would work, but its previous strike showed it wasn’t very effective either.
So we decided to switch the battle to focus mainly on magic.
“Got it. Everyone, you heard Orun’s voice, right? From here on, it’s a battle of attrition. Don’t lose concentration, okay?”
“Understood!!!”
Our battle strategy was somewhat settled.
I touched the ground with my left hand, constructed a technique, and channeled mana into the earth.
Then I canceled the [Seal Release (Calmination)] and switched to [Seal Mitigation: Fifth Layer 《Restoration Quintuple》].
Just as Ms. Selma said, this would be a battle of endurance from here on.
I still had my job to do, so I couldn’t afford to get worn out early.
Since we decided to avoid close combat with the white serpent, Ms. Rain and Lucre intensified their attacks.
We placed the [Amplification Chain (Raise Repeat)] along their lines of fire.
At the same time, Will and I put on several accessories with magic stones and began cutting down the low shrubs.
The white serpent’s magic manipulates plants, controlling them freely.
Sometimes it summons new plants instantly, like the giant tree it grew earlier, but also the shrubs in the boss area act autonomously like creatures with will.
To prevent this, we removed the obstructive trees while we still had the chance.
The white serpent we fought during the 《Golden Dawn》 had been crawling relentlessly across the ground.
Its massive body was terrifying just moving around, but this white serpent barely moved from the center of the boss area, like a snake that ceases activity in winter.
Perhaps because of the cold environment, it hardly retaliated with magic either.
Despite taking some damage from magic, its lack of movement indicated that our strategy to lower the temperature inside the boss area was a complete success.
I can’t thank the magic development room of the 《silver rabbits of the night sky》 enough for creating this magical tool.
—But I don’t think this opponent will just let us win easily.
After some one-sided action, the white serpent suddenly emitted a threatening “Hiss,” and its scales took on a bluish tint.
This was something I had suspected—it seemed to have adapted to the cold environment.
Its scales turned dark blue, and what had been a still giant now charged at Ms. Rain with incredible speed for a creature of its size.
This was why, before entering the boss area, I told Will this enemy was different.
Unlike normal demonic beasts, the white serpent doesn’t usually target magic stones.
It’s not that magic stones were useless, but it often attacked the backline mages using magic rather than the defenders wearing magic stones.
Physical attacks don’t work, and it can’t be lured by magic stones either.
Therefore, the white serpent becomes a nightmare for defenders in battle.
Whether this is unique behavior of the white serpent or if future floor bosses won’t respond to traditional aggro management remains to be seen when we face the 94th floor boss.
Frontliners like Will and me, who have reached the depths, can easily handle the white serpent’s charges.
That’s why it charges the backline, who are poor at close combat.
Mages usually annihilate enemies before they get close and leave melee fighting to the frontliners, so the backline has little experience with close combat.
So the white serpent’s decision to attack the backline in close quarters is a smart one.