For a while there was no change to the fight. The party managed their resources well, staying relatively healthy. Only Watchful Eye had to go to the side, using meditation to refill his Qi. But Oran wouldn't go down without a fight. As his HP fell below 15.000, he shot another round of void bullets, forcing the party to go on the defence.
More and more area was covered in void energy. Multiple times Liam and his friends were forced to decide between receiving the bullet or escaping through the void. Of course, the decision was easy to make but the damage slowly began to mount.
To make Balm's job easier the friends used some health potions. It was a pity that all the revitalization potions were used in the war and production of those had only continued today. In the future those would be a great help to Dream Avenue as long as the production could keep up.
Gradually all of the friends were forced to endure some damage. It was then that Balm's newest skill came off cooldown. Without hesitation she instantly activated it again.
A small mark emitting a sacred aura appeared above the boss's head. From that moment on everyone attacking the boss would heal for a fixed 400HP plus an amount equalling to 20% of the damage dealt.
Able to deal damage and heal at the same time the players naturally didn't hold back. The situation quickly improved again. Additionally, Balm's passive continuously triggered, increasing her friends' stats with every third heal.
The party made great progress. For a while it looked like Oran was close to being doomed. But Liam and his friends didn't drop their vigilance. There was a certain rule they kept in mind. Void-corrupted enemies always entered berserk mode!
Of course, this counted for those monsters born in the void as well.
And indeed, when Oran's HP reached the 5.000 mark, he suddenly took a step back. Wrinkles formed on his face, seemingly portraying anger.
"Obstacles have appeared! Carry out destruction. Need reinforcement!"
As those words fell, the void portal in the distance suddenly surged. A huge amount of energy entered the world. Immediately the air took on a violet hue. Some cracks appeared in the sky as space itself was taking damage.
The void energy formed a broad stream before shooting towards Oran. All of it was absorbed by his core. Immediately a change could be seen in the void dweller. Its body grew even taller, and something grew out of its shoulders. It was curved like goat horns, growing towards its back and curving towards the front below its arms. The horns had an opening at the front which brimmed with void energy, ready to be fired at any moment.
"Don't stand around! Attack while he's still transforming!"
It was Silver Blade who reminded her friends. They immediately stopped staring curiously and swung their weapons.
But before the first attack could land, void energy streamed out of Oran's core, covering its entire body in a protective layer. Right then Cyclone's [Lightning Strike] was the first attack to land.
[-90!]
[-100!]
"Hey, what happened to my damage?!"
While Cyclone was complaining, the expected effect of Oran's skill arrived, retaliating against whoever was daring enough to attack a void dweller. However, from the earlier 50% the reflection had suddenly risen to 100%.
[-90!]
[-100!]
"Well, perhaps it's alright not doing too much damage…"
Everyone recognized the danger but there was nothing they could do. Oran didn't look like he would suddenly drop this defensive skill. However, ironically the threat was less than before thanks to Oran's increased defence.
Yet this wasn't the only aspect in which Oran improved. Staring at the players he suddenly flashed towards Radiant Shield, spinning his upper body. His long arms moved fiercely, the blades posing a huge threat to the tank. Radiant Shield almost instinctively erected a [Holy Barrier].
[-9664!]
"Damn! That damage!"
"And it's against Shield…"
"We need to be careful guys!"
Everyone felt chills running down their spines. Bloody Edge knew that if such a hit landed on him, he would probably lose his life on the spot. Thus, he remained careful, not attacking immediately, watching what else the boss could do.
It didn't take long for Oran to show more skills. He turned his body, choosing a random target, landing on Watchful Eye. The monk felt his heart skip a beat. Even before Oran attacked, he already moved to dodge.
Watchful Eye felt something pull on his clothes. A drop of sweat ran down his spine. He stood in the void cloud, knowing that he just barely escaped a powerful attack. Glancing at the void dweller, he saw that one of the two blasters growing from its shoulders was slowly recovering energy.
The players remained careful for a while until they were sure that the void dweller had revealed all his tricks. Only then did they continue their fierce assault. The reflected damage was quite annoying, but they could endure it. The more troublesome parts were the blasters and the spinning attack, which dealt terrifying damage.
Silver Blade, being out of stance, was targeted by the blasters twice. The first time she was hit, suffering a dreadful amount of more than 11.000 points of damage. As she was targeted for the second time the female tank didn't take any chances, instantly activating her newest skill and making use of the three seconds immunity.
However, although Oran's berserk mode was frightening, it only had 5000HP left. Under the party's attacks it couldn't hold on for too long. After only a couple more minutes the frightening void dweller finally lost its last few HP.
"Finally did it!"
"What a monster!"
The friends were relieved, gathering at one of the few spots unaffected by the void. Their eyes showed apprehension as they looked at the towering void dweller. Although his legs had given in and Oran was kneeling on the ground, it was still taller than the players.
Oran's void core revolved slower and slower until it eventually stopped. Suddenly the void energy making up its waist began to dissipate. There was nothing left holding its upper body and it crashed to the ground, causing the void energy to churn.
Cyclone took a few steps forward and gritted her teeth.
"It's worth it… for the loot!"
The blond mage held her breath and sprinted into the void. Immediately the damage began to stack as holding one's breath unsurprisingly proved to be useless against the void.
Cyclone endured, quickly reaching the void dweller's corpse. She reached out with her hand, looting the body. A process taking seconds seemed to her like an eternity.
Finally, a golden light appeared in Cyclone's hand. She didn't even look at the item, putting it in her inventory and running back to her friends. Halfway, a comfortable light fell on her and her HP began to recover thanks to Balm's [Regeneration].
A few seconds later Cyclone broke out of the cloud of void energy, panting lightly as she smiled at Balm:
"Thank you!"
"Haha, don't mention it. How could I not support your heroic act?"
"You know what? You're right. After all, I'm doing this for the benefit of us all!"
The friends chuckled and Fortune added:
"Don't worry, I recorded your sprint. Everyone will learn of your courage!"
"Eh… well, if you say so. But I am only humbly doing my part. The real heroic act will be to destroy that void portal! Let's go!"
Cyclone puffed out her chest. Taking out her wand she turned towards the portal, preparing to destroy it as it was stated in the quest. Yet her friends didn't move. Silver Blade rolled her eyes, saying:
"You can't switch the topic. Come on, take out the loot!"
"Hm? What loot?"
"Didn't you just boast about how you want to benefit us all?"
"Well… alright."
Knowing that her friends didn't have unlimited patience Cyclone stopped being cheeky. She directly revealed the highlight piece out of the items she looted.
[Strength of the pack
Category: Rare
Level requirement: 46
Attack damage: 36-38
Attack speed: 0,8
Dexterity: 16
Pet damage: 210
Critical hit chance: +10%
Effect 1: If you and your pet land a critical hit within 15 seconds, both of you get an increase in your attack speed by 30%.
Effect 2: After your pet deals a combined total of at least 5000 points of damage to an enemy, you can summon a second pet for 60 seconds. (Cooldown: 300 seconds)
Restrictions: Bound upon wearing
The famous prince and hunter Alphoris has grown up in a family of wolves after being abandoned as a child due to his uncle's greed for the throne. He forged an unbreakable bond with his new family. After growing up he took the path of a hunter, always fighting together with a pack of wolves.]
As soon as everyone had read through the information, a bright smile formed on Silent Acacia's face.
"Seems like it's time to swap out my old bow!"
"It's about time, babe. I was almost afraid you were falling behind."
"Well, I was prepared to grind but this naturally makes it easier. It's only a pity that it's not a unique weapon."