Cherry Blossom smiled brightly. Due to the boss's low resistance to ice magic her damage was among the top right now. This was exactly what she wanted. To show the world that Nest of Flames was not only good at levelling. They could fight as well!
The conspicuous ice wall indeed drew much attention. Many players noticed the more than 500 points of damage. Other mages felt some jealousy wishing to temporarily switch their classes to ice mage. However, in the great scheme of things even Cherry Blossom's potent spell didn't make that big of an impact. Tuechou still had about 875.000HP. Could Cherry Blossom alone really threaten him? To the giant she was like all the other annoying mosquitoes, perhaps a bit bigger. But it was the combined and constant stream of attacks from more than a thousand mosquitoes which slowly but surely chipped away at the world boss's HP.
"Face the power of the sun!"
Again, the fiery symbol of the sun appeared on Tuechou's chest. Magic circles appeared and rained down meteors to eradicate the enemies. The meteors still couldn't shrink the swarm of buzzing insects, but more precious skills had to be used ion defence. Tuechou snorted and immediately unleashed a follow-up.
"This is the feeling of wielding the power of the sun. Oh, how I missed it! More! Give me more!"
The rock giant's mouth stretched into a smile which looked incredibly grotesque. But the players had no time to care about looks. Tuechou moved his palm to his chest and bright light erupted between his fingers. It quickly died down again and when the rock giant pulled his hand away, he held countless small sparks. He waved his hand and the sparks scattered through the ancient city.
Silent Acacia saw a spark coming right for him. A great danger radiated from the tiny ember. Silent Acacia didn't dare to underestimate it, swiftly escaping a great distance. The spark wasn't fast, and it didn't chase. Instead, it floated towards the ground. When it was about one metre above the ground it stopped and suddenly erupted with a fierce, bloody red flame shooting upwards like a fiery pillar. But the flame itself didn't pose much of a threat. Instead, it was the magma which now spread beneath it, covering the ground with a boiling hot pond.
[Bleary Mirage: Attack those flames! Quick!]
Everyone reacted on Bleary Mirage's warning. Earthquake was close to a flame. He turned around, swinging his great sword. The flame quivered but it wasn't destroyed. The burly orc frowned as the magma quickly spread towards his feet. He took a step back and activated a skill, creating a fissure which cracked the ground and erupted below the flame. With the second hit the flame was erased and the magma stopped spreading. However, the pond still remained, creating a perilous zone for the warriors fighting in the surroundings.
While Earthquake reacted swiftly, other melee players were rather unlucky. They only managed to land one attack before the magma pushed them back. With no means to attack at a distance they helplessly watched the magma pond spreading, encroaching on the space they had to dodge. Although the spread of the magma ponds slowed down the further their size increased, they never stopped completely.
Compared to the melee players, the ranged players naturally had an easier time. They diverted their attention to the flames, showering them in skills and attacks. It usually took two or three attacks for a flame to pop like a bubble. As there were less flames than players, there would often be three or four players attacking one flame and the threat was quickly cleansed.
"Guys, don't only focus on the flame closest to you! Look over here!"
Some annoyed melee players shouted loudly as they were forced to avoid the spreading magma. Their words had some effect as the ranged players who were already safe put their attention on the rest of the battlefield. The quickly came to aid their fellow guild members, turning into emergency fire fighters.
While the flames occupied the players, Tuechou naturally didn't stop attacking. His fists fell with the power of landslides, putting enormous pressure on the tanks. Not everyone could perfectly withstand the force. One tank was pushed backwards from the blow. Instantly some shouts came from all sides.
"Zeal! Careful! The magma is spreading!"
The tank named Zeal felt the heat cooking his back. He barely stopped himself from making one last step which would have landed him in the magma. He barely managed to escape with a body soaked in sweat.
"F*ck this environment!"
The young man couldn't help but curse as he took his position again, joining his fellow tanks against the rock giant.
During this time, it wasn't only the tanks on the defence who struggled, but the offense stalled as well. The ranged fighters turning into firefighters had no time to attack the boss. The damage dealt per second slowed to a crawl. The situation lasted for about ten seconds. Finally, all the flames were erased but the aftermath remained. Boiling ponds of magma were everywhere, waiting for the players to step in.
"Steady, guys! Steady! We did well! The magma didn't spread far! It's not difficult to avoid…"
Just as someone said this, they watched in horror as Tuechou repeated his earlier move. The power of the sun gathered. Magic circles formed. Meteors rained down.
"Careful!"
"Dodge that meteor!"
"Left! Left! There is magma to you right!"
"Don't push me, I have no room to dodge!"
This time the scene turned chaotic. While the guilds had ample room do dodge during the previous spells, they now had to look out for the magma. Stepping into a pool not only came with immediate damage but also applied 'burn' effects. Under the double threat there were finally some casualties. Especially the barely armoured mages suffered.
[Bleary Mirage: If you have to choose, step into the magma! Don't get hit by the meteor!]
Liam's warning only had mediocre effects. Some players didn't even have the mind to pay any attention to it. Others knew this in theory but simply being forced to make the decision already delayed them by one or two seconds and they were hit by a meteor. So far, the healers were leisurely cruising through the fight but suddenly they had to save lives everywhere, working overtime.
After a while the magic circles disappeared and the meteor spell ended. Liam did a quick estimate. They had suffered 45 casualties, somewhat more than expected. Meanwhile the boss still had 860.000HP remaining. If they continued at this pace, they might actually run into troubles. Was the chosen target too powerful?
Liam shook off these thoughts. He could only trust in the skill of the players while giving his best. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the giant world boss. Above its head there was a shadow floating, and three Dark Marks were already stacked. Liam rushed forward and struck with Reychnalyn's Dark Sword. He triggered two of the sword's effects. A black gleam ran along the blade, striking at the boss. Simultaneously two Dark Marks exploded, dealing additional dark damage. But both of these attacks only served as setup to trigger his armour's set effect.
[Wisdom of the early nephilim
...
Three-piece Set effect: Dealing dark damage afflicts you with a stack of devil's curse. Devil's Curse reduces all your defence by 3%. After gathering 3 stacks of Devil's Curse, you can share your stacks with enemies of your choosing. After gathering five stacks, everyone afflicted with Devil's Curse will be attacked by the curse and all stacks will be used up. (stack duration: 10 seconds) (cooldown: 200 seconds)
…]
With those two attacks Liam had gathered four stacks of Devil's Curse. Even he found it quite annoying since the stacks only lasted for 10 seconds. But now with his four stacks gathered, he didn't hesitate to share them with the world boss. A blurry grimace of a devil appeared above Tuechou's head. Even the rock giant felt a shiver run down his spine.
Devil's Curse immediately showed its effect. The boss's defence was reduced by 12%. Liam capitalized on the effect, instantly unleashing a [Cross Slash], following with a normal attack, and finalizing the combo with a [Double Slash].
[-1022!]
[-659!]
[-324!]
[-527!]
[-857!]
[-578!]
A firework celebrated the combo as the accumulated Holy Marks exploded above the boss's head. Liam was quite satisfied with his damage.
If only the effect weren't so difficult to trigger… It's time to upgrade my class…
Liam let out a sigh. He didn't have many means to deal dark damage. Even he found it laborious to stack those four Devil's Curse. Everything would be easier if he could upgrade his class. Although this was possible from level 50 onwards, the prerequisite was to finish the 'War on the Void' event. After the even the hunt for advanced classes would begin. Liam was quite looking forward to it.