The strategy was simple. Paralyzed Gorm in place using the status effect duds and maintain distance from it at all cost.

Remain a good distance away from each other to avoid its AoE attacks while making sure to use [Stealth] for Thieves and Sniper while [Blink] or [Teleportation] for DPS and Magic dealers to avoid Gorm in case it went after you.

Do not fight it head-on!

Despite that, Tor and the others were hesitant about Ren’s plan except for Leonel, who trusted Ren a hundred percent.

How could they defeat Gorm by just standing and doing nothing? They were not here to play chase.

And that was where a loophole was exploited. ‘Defeat’ could be anything, and no rules meant that ‘Defeat’ was associated with killing. It could be many things, like defeating it by landing a blow or decreasing its HP to a certain amount.

In this case, ‘Defeating it’ may even mean like surviving against it for five minutes.

Another part that made Ren believe his theory was the ‘No Revive’ and timer thing. There was no way that the developers would eliminate all the guilds in the first round by sending an unkillable monster. They knew that majority of their ATPs only reached their forties or fifties. No matter what angle you look at it, Gorm could never be killed even for a ‘reincarnator’ like Ren.

Except maybe if he used Pii. But he wouldn’t. Not with his current persona.

So there could only be one reason behind the game.

Gorm’s purpose was to reduce their numbers in that five minutes, and all they had to do was to avoid it until the time was up.

It was like playing tag.

While the majority of the guilds brought [Potions] or [Monocles] as their special item, Ren was glad that he convinced his group to buy the [Duds] at Hubert’s shop.

Another advantage they had was Ren knew Hubert early in the game while the majority didn’t even know the gnome. He was the only one who sold those things so the others didn’t acquire those duds yet. They didn’t even have a map of Maze Forest, so there was so little chance they would meet Hubert.

Now, if all went according to plan, they could advance to the next stage by just standing and waiting for the five-minute mark. And hopefully with all their members intact.

The fog only lasted about thirty seconds, and they have four of those [Smoke Duds] since it was the most inexpensive amongst the [Duds] after the update. While the rest either have a [Paralyzing Dud], [Poison Dud], and [Sleeping Dud], and those didn’t work on Gorm.

The four [Smoke] Duds were enough to hold Gorm for two minutes, and after that . . . the three minutes was all they had to worry about.

Ren made sure that the aggro remained on him since, amongst everyone, he had the highest DEF. But even so, one strike from Gorm was enough to send him back into Arcadia as a wisp. Even his [Shamanic Ward] wasn’t enough to defend against Gorm’s attacks. So the only option he had was [Teleport] to avoid Gorm’s skills though he could only use it a single time in a day.

And the strategy was that Leonel would steal the aggro and use [Blink] after Ren used [Teleport]. After Leonel was Tor and then Roxy, next was Nikolai, and the last was their swordsman.

Hopefully, they could last within that five-minute mark.

If only they had a [Blue Mage], things might have been easy for them. Evie could probably cast [Butterfly of Deceit] two times now. That [Skill] was helpful under these circumstances.

Thinking about the woman, Ren couldn’t help but wonder how she was doing. He hoped she survived the first game, at least.

“Hoi, Ren! Stop daydreaming!”

At Leonel’s voice, Ren woke from his trance just in time that the fog disappeared, and Gorm went for his throat at the first chance it got.

Gorm packed a punch when it came to its attacks, but Ren outmatched it in terms of AGL, so he managed to avoid some of its slashes.

“Ren! Stop taking chances!” Leonel shouted and was about to take the aggro from Ren when the latter yelled back.

“Hold your position and wait for my signal.”

With a thud of his toes against the ground, Ren avoided another strike from Gorm, and the blade struck the earth, creating a large fissure from the force.

Gorm might look heavy, and the broad sword it carried, but its strikes were fast enough that the air rippled with its every swing.

As long as Gorm was making normal attacks, Ren could avoid it. His plan was to take on the monster as long as he could.

But only ten seconds passed, and Gorm’s sword glowed in a dark light. With a metallic sound grunted from its mouth like metals clashing against metals, a series of sword strikes blurred in front of Ren’s eyes.

The strike wave was enough to rattle Ren’s skull and made his skin feel like it would come off from his muscles even if he had his armors.

As he thought, the moment that Gorm used its skills, Ren couldn’t avoid it as he did with its regular attacks.

“Ren!”

“Now!” Ren shouted and immediately [Teleport] to a safe distance, leaving only his after image to receive Gorm’s attacks.

His afterimage was torn into pieces, sliced in different angles, and the devastation the force brought upon the earth was massive that Ren could only gulp in indignation.

The Developers must be enjoying watching this. Ren thought.

At the same time, Leonel activated his Skill [Aggro on Me] and took in the next phase of the plan.

Gorm released a low grunt. As an experiment, it couldn’t speak, and all it could do was follow Leonel with its round red glowing eyes.

Its armor creaked as it moved and when it was about to dash forward to the Dwarf Defender, another [Smoke Dud] engulfed the whole dome in perpetual shades of grey, giving the group another thirty-second respite.

Leonel’s AGL was much lower than Gorm’s, so he couldn’t face it head-on, unlike what Ren did. And a Dwarf Defender’s movement speed wasn’t a priority the least.

When the fog cleared, Gorm closed in at Leonel in one fluid motion. A fierce blow with the sharp end side of its weapon smashed directly in front of Leonel.

“Leo! Evade it!”

Ren didn’t have to remind him. Leonel activated its Skill [Dash and Slash], just in time that the force of impact from Gorm’s broadsword rattled the ground.

Leonel’s timing and the speed of his Skill caught Gorm entirely by surprise. It released another foggy breath and a loud grunt before its sword glowed in a hazy black light.

Before it could unleash its Skill, another blast of [Smoke Duds] blinded Gorm in hues of greyish fog.

The clock continued its course, and Ren’s group felt every agonizing second of it. Their timing had to be perfect, or else one of them could quickly lose their life.

Their strategy seemed simple at the first three minutes but what came after the last [Smoke Dud] was the actual test of Skill.

Three minutes. That was the time that Ren and the others dragged the fight with Gorm using all their [Smoke Duds].

Everything was going according to plan.

But now that their saving grace was depleted . . . it was time to play chase.

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