Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

”Let’s go explore another map.” Faraway’s expression remained calm, his words concise.

”But... if we try a few more times, it’s not like we don’t have a chance...” Skyrim still wanted to give it another go.

But Faraway shook his head decisively.

”What just happened was already a lucky outcome.”

”If we keep trying, it’s not impossible to beat it, but it will waste a lot of time.”

”It’s not worth it.”

Faraway shook his head. After speaking, he touched the Spirit Candle Fire. Before leaving, he still gave Skyrim a slight nod.

Seeing this, Skyrim could only let out a soft sigh.

’Looks like the plan to show off by getting the first kill on this boss has failed...’

...

The world channel was in an uproar.

”Son of a bitch!”

”Dev! Get your ass out here and take this abuse!”

”What kind of fucking bullshit boss is this? Spawning mobs is one thing, but it also has high Blood Volume, high Resilience, and high stats, plus it pulls fucking sneaky-ass sneak attacks! How the hell are we supposed to play this?”

”Why don’t you log on and try fighting it yourself! See if you can beat it!”

”You guys don’t get it. When the dev was a kid, he slept alone. After hearing a ghost story, he’d be trembling in bed, and then he’d hear a terrifying voice whisper in his ear—’Calamity has arrived...’”

”My invincible Explosive Bull is like a fucking pop-it firecracker in front of this boss.”

”I’m begging you, can you please stop designing such hellish shit? I’m seriously about to puke...”

”Can anyone actually beat this thing?”

”...”

Aside from the players who were stuck simply because they weren’t strong enough, many of the tilted Prison Players also started cursing up a storm, extending their ”kindest regards” to the families of the Spirit Candle developers.

This just went to show how torturous the hidden boss, Tasolomo, truly was.

Of course, besides the tilted players, there were still some who were more rational.

Storyteller: ”Ahem, brothers, let me be fair here. Strictly speaking, this thing should be considered a hidden boss. After all, we wouldn’t necessarily encounter it during a normal run, so it’s understandable that its difficulty is a bit high...”

”But, in my personal opinion, since this boss has appeared and there’s no scripted event or anything, it means we still have a hope of killing it. So, everyone, don’t be discouraged...”

Storyteller’s words drew agreement from many players.

Indeed, following the normal progression, they most likely would have been done after defeating the Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue.

Only the more perceptive players would have been able to notice the anomaly with that boss and thus get more information.

The only reason Tasolomo’s existence was now common knowledge was because players could communicate conveniently with each other.

Therefore, the boss Tasolomo should be considered a hidden boss.

Thinking of this, some players couldn’t help but calm down a little, starting to wonder... ’Am I really just that bad?’

Of course, some of the tilted, hot-tempered bros who saw Storyteller’s words just cursed him out too... It was just convenient.

But the next message that appeared made the players’ vision go black with despair.

Even Storyteller could only shake his head when he saw it.

”Faraway Lord just said that this boss... also has a second phase.”

A second phase!

The news was like a stone cast into a calm lake, causing a thousand ripples. As soon as it was posted, the players’ barely subsided anger flared up again.

”You bastard dev!”

”High Blood Volume, high Resilience, map-wide Skills, mob-spawning Attacks... and it has a fucking second phase! You really deserve to die!”

”Storyteller, get your ass out here and get rekt! Still wanna make excuses for them?”

”Case closed! This fucking dev is from the Legends of the Three Kingdoms team! He’s the reincarnation of Sun Xiaochuan!”

”You’ve lost all conscience and done every evil deed imaginable!”

”Dev: ’Hehe, go on, grind away. After you’ve fought tooth and nail to the very last moment and finally worn it down, guess what! Hehe! Second phase!’”

”It’s okay, dev. Don’t listen to them. They don’t understand games. I think your design is great, the boss mechanics are flawless... By the way, I’m also a designer. Can we chat privately and exchange some ideas?”

”That bastard! Good thing I haven’t beaten it yet, or I’d have died of anger!”

”I’m not fighting it anymore! I’m leaving this boss here as a daily reminder to ’greet’ the dev.”

”I’m out, I’m out...”

”Sigh, forget it. I’ll just go check out Gael’s Depression...”

”...”

The players’ anger came and went quickly.

Cursing was one thing, but they still had to play the game.

Were they supposed to go back to playing those games with clipping issues and rock-hard boobs?

The official Spirit Candle team kept playing dead, so there was nothing the players could do.

Some players had tried to dig up information on the game company before, but they found that the official Spirit Candle team had done a great job with confidentiality, and they were even officially registered.

This also eliminated any possibility of players getting an ”offline solo kill”...

”...”

’These guys, really...’

Faced with the enraged players, Luo Ge couldn’t help but wipe away some sweat.

Thankfully, he wasn’t the dev who designed the boss. Otherwise, the players could have drowned him in their spit.

But to be honest, Tasolomo was indeed far too difficult for the players at their current stage. Killing it was harder than ascending to the heavens.

After Luo Ge had previously found the Host, he had naturally investigated Tasolomo’s origins.

The creature originated from the ”Hosting,” a manifestation of a mere wisp of an aura that arrived with a meteorite.

Just like those Hosted Primordial Bodies, Tasolomo did not initially exhibit ”flesh and blood” characteristics.

The reason it became this way was because Turmo, the chieftain of the Wind Erosion Tribe, and the Host continuously sacrificed their tribe members in pursuit of the so-called ”Eternal Life Block.”

That was why Li Miao and the others were able to see the Hosted Primordial Bodies exhibiting the trait of being able to ”host both ore and flesh-and-blood corpses.”

Because of this, Tasolomo evolved flesh-like roots. This was not of its own will; it was a forced ascension.

With the arrival of the ”Calamity,” its ascension was interrupted, which is why it ended up in its current state.

The players wanted to kill it, and in order to protect itself, it could only further manifest its flesh-and-blood characteristics, leading to the so-called ”second phase”...

And the reason the Host and Turmo knew the ”Calamity” was coming was that they learned of it through their contact with Tasolomo, driven by their own greed.

Before the Calamity’s arrival, what Tasolomo muttered was not the current ”Calamity has arrived...”

’I might as well make a data card. It’ll keep these hotheads from constantly cursing on the world channel...’ Luo Ge thought to himself.

Of course, he had already killed this boss himself, but the drops were naturally useless to him.

...

Before long, the official Spirit Candle account published a new data card for Tasolomo.

[Aura Manifestation: Tasolomo]

[Danger Level: High]

[Explanation: A thing from beyond the heavens, one of the manifestations of a heretical power, it carries a message of calamity. However, what shaped it into its current form was the greed of the Wind Erosion Tribe itself. Perhaps, when the Candle Spirit’s Firelight grows stronger, its hidden secrets can be unveiled...]

After briefly explaining Tasolomo’s origins, Luo Ge also subtly advised the players to set it aside for now and not to stubbornly bash their heads against it.

After all, he wasn’t really a game developer; changing its stats was impossible.

Published along with it were cards for [Rotting Prisoners] and [Blood Robe Priest], representing ”Corruption” and ”Madness” respectively. This was to give players some guidance so they could explore in those directions.

The players weren’t stupid. After seeing this new data card on the forums, they understood the official Spirit Candle team’s message.

However, that still didn’t stop them from complaining.

”Why didn’t you post this earlier? Dumbass dev.”

”You really think we’re idiots? Who’s gonna keep grinding against a boss they can’t beat? (picks nose)”

”Still, I really want to know what kind of good stuff this boss drops.”

”Forget it. Even Faraway Lord wiped. What’s the point in us trying? Let’s wait until we’re stronger.”

”Trash game, you’re getting flamed, huh? I knew it, hahahaha...”

”To the guy above me, your trolling makes it sound like you didn’t get a key. Go back and practice before you try again.”

”Tch, I don’t believe it. If the boss has a Blood Bar, it can be killed! Watch me!”

”This boss of yours isn’t well-designed, it has flaws. How about this: give me a key, I’ll go in, observe it, and help you improve it.”

”The beads from your abacus just bounced off my face.”

”...”

For a time, the forums were abuzz with discussion. Some of the tilted players also gradually cooled down and rationally chose to change direction and explore other maps.

Of course, there were also some stubborn mules who refused to give up and continued to throw themselves at the boss.

But no matter what, the player base as a whole was stuck here. Even after using every trick in the book, they couldn’t kill it.

This was the first time the entire player base had been collectively stuck.