"Guys, almost all my skills are on cooldown!"
"Ok, stop attacking for a moment everyone…"
After about a minute Balm threatened to run out of heals. As she informed her friends, they had no choice but to slow down for now. This led to a situation where Oran could freely attack Radiant Shield without facing any retaliation.
The tank was quite annoyed, but he endured. As Balm had been holding back her [Heal], Radiant Shield knew that he wouldn't be in danger any time soon.
Oran moved nimbly. He struck with one of his four legs, its sharp tip aiming at Radiant Shield like a legendary spear. The tank had no stance left and could only endure passively.
[-3221!]
[-944!]
At this point Cyclone just triggered the power of her set equipment. Its third effect reduced an opponent's void damage by 10% after Cyclone dealt lightning damage thrice within ten seconds. Although it only saved about 100HP for Radiant Shield you never knew if those 100HP might be deciding between life and death one day.
Honestly, the tank himself didn't feel much of it. He defended against two more hits before Balm finally used her [Heal] on him, refilling all his HP. Next, Silver Blade used her [Luring Barrier] and took over the aggro as long as she had stance left.
[-4747!]
[-1094!]
Silver Blade's barrier shook terribly as the spear-like leg pierced into it. However, the seemingly thin layer of light still held on. With the skill on rank two it was able to endure as much damage as two-and-a-half times Silver Blade's magical defence. Thus, it wouldn't shatter before Oran dealt it more than 15.500 points of damage.
Yet with the void dweller's prowess he didn't take a long time to do so. Spinning his upper body once and following up with another normal attack Silver Blade was pushed back as her barrier exploded in a bunch of fireworks.
However, it was at that moment that Oran's defensive skill finally ended.
"Finally!"
"Yes, no need to hold back anymore!"
"Pummel him to death!"
The friends were quite annoyed with the boss, eager to vent. Immediately attacks rained down on the boss. Radiant Shield saw a chance to activate his newest skill. Although it was meant for PvP, [Equivalent Transfer] also showed its power in a boss fight.
The skill allowed Radiant Shield to steal 10% of the target's physical and magical resistance in exchange for 10% of his own physical and magical damage, with a duration of 60 seconds. With the boss's physical resistance being at 8742 points and Radiant Shield's physical damage being 1789 points it was quite obvious who got the better end of this deal.
The tank informed his friends, and they immediately made use of the opportunity. Watchful Eye had just evaded Oran's spinning attack, ready to advance fiercely. After being forced to behave passively for a while his Qi had recovered completely, very much due to the help of his powerful equipment. Thus, it was a great chance to unleash his ultimate skill [Five Element Array] at its full power.
But before doing so Watchful Eye also showed off his newest skill called [Power of the elements]. The monk suddenly slapped out with a palm in the direction of Oran. A small seal shining in five different colours shot through the air, accurately striking the towering void dweller's chest. Oran froze for a millisecond but continued as he didn't feel any change in himself.
Immediately following that, Watchful Eye unleashed his ultimate skill. A complicated formation made from shining golden lines appeared with Oran as the centre. Watchful Eye's figure blurred and suddenly appeared around the boss. There were five clones, each looking identical except for the different staffs in their hands.
One staff burned in bright golden flames. One had sturdy, dark roots growing around it. One was covered in sharp metallic spikes. One was engulfed in surging water. And one was buried in rocks.
"HA!"
With a valiant shout the Watchful Eye with a burning staff made the first strike, swiftly followed by the clone carrying thick roots.
[-254!]
[-254!]
At this moment the five-coloured seal on the void dweller's chest suddenly shone brightly. The condition for its activation were met as the boss was hit with two different elements in quick succession. The seal exploded, unleashing a mythical power which reduced the boss's elemental resistance by a full 15%.
Watchful Eye kept his taciturn expression, but a flash went through his eyes as the other three clones attacked with all their might.
[-382!]
[-382!]
[-382!]
"Well done!"
"Nice one, Eye!"
"That combo is great!"
"Radiant Shield's skill is strong as well, quickly make use of it, guys!"
The friends were amazed as Watchful Eye dealt so much damage by himself. While the man himself took the compliments with a slight nod, Silver Blade grinned brightly, happy to see her big-brother-like bodyguard receive the recognition he deserved.
After Watchful Eye's skill ended, the clones disappeared. Immediately the players doused Oran in skills. The melee fighters surrounded him, hacking with swords and daggers. As long as Radiant Shield's skill remained, everyone wanted to deal as much damage as possible.
Under the attacks from all sides the void dweller suffered heavily. His HP finally fell below half. Suddenly the core at his waist began to revolve again, preparing another barrage of bullets.
"Unexpected… resistance!"
The friends wore solemn expressions as they recognized the skill. Everyone got ready to dodge should they be targeted. A second later Oran began to unleash void bullets in all directions.
With Balm's skills still being on cooldown the players didn't take any risks. They would rather stop attacking for a bit if it meant dodging the skill safely.
Only Quickstep didn't care that much. She kept up her attacks, gathering the 'Windborn' stacks granted by her set equipment.
With each stack her movement speed increased, as did her damage. She ran around the void dweller in a circle. As the boss couldn't use his spinning attack in conjuncture with his void bullet skill, Quickstep was actually relatively safe thanks to her speed.
Additionally, her storm built up faster due to the high movement speed, which made it easier to cast skills, which in turn gave her new Windborn stacks. The combination would have unlimited potential if Windborn wasn't capped at a maximum of ten stacks.
But even so Quickstep dished out increasingly more damage as the fight went on, causing her friends to stare in amazement. However, they couldn't pay her too much attention as the boss sent dangerous projectiles through the battlefield, almost like a one-man machine gun.
Bullets aimed for the friends, who scrambled to escape, running away from the explosion. However, as Oran continued more and more of the battlefield was covered in void energy, giving the players less space to escape. Thus, it was not surprising that they soon began to take damage.
Silent Acacia felt his heart skip a beat as a bullet aimed right for his chest. Void energy was to his left and right, flowing ominously, daring him to enter. But the decision was easy to make. The lingering void energy wasn't as powerful as a direct hit from a bullet. Thus, Silent Acacia escaped through the void, directing Zorn to do the same. Quickly his status was affected, and he received 400 points of damage per second.
A moment later the hunter and his pet got out. The damage per second lasted for a while until it gradually ran out of power. Silent Acacia was annoyed at himself, being the player with the highest HP loss after Radiant Shield.
"When does it stop?"
Just then Cyclone complained. Because of the skill she didn't dare to start a cast, only throwing out a normal attack occasionally. Now she was almost surrounded by void energy, dreading the next bullet which would aim for her. Luckily, it never came as Oran calmed down at that moment.
"Let's go!"
Immediately Liam urged his friends to attack. They didn't need a reminder, instantly using everything they had left. Silent Acacia landed two critical hits in quick succession, regaining some confidence. Only Cyclone and Balm had to start casting again.
The fight continued regularly but for the party it didn't become easier. With half of the ground covered in void energy, they had to constantly be careful of where they walked. It wasn't that bad for the ranged players but the melee combatants who needed to be wary of the spin attack were under quite the pressure.
But at this point the entire party had a lot of experience. Their skills had caught up to the top players, with some even going beyond that. They were able to handle the pressure, avoiding the tainted areas.
The fight went on and Oran's HP decreased continuously. Meanwhile Radiant Shield and Silver Blade shared the pressure as long as the female tank still had stance left. Thanks to that Balm could recover her skills and keep Radiant Shield healthy. Everything was on the right track.