The friends narrowed their eyes as the surging black light approached at a fast pace. However, this time the skill still granted everyone some time to react.
Liam instantly activated [Dash], rushing to the side of the battlefield before the spreading attack could occupy the entire width of the battlefield. Balm channelled her flash step early. When the terrifying blackness was right in front of her, her flash step was ready just in time. She disappeared in a flurry of sparks, skipping right past the attack. Meanwhile both Silver Blade and Radiant Shield did what tanks did best, hiding behind their shields, professionally blocking the impact.
"I am not! Done! Yet!"
Eva gritted her teeth. She abruptly repeated her actions. Turning into a raging spear she shot across the battlefield. Her target was Balm. The healer was shocked. There was no way she could use another flash step. Before she could think of another option, the boss was already upon her.
"Ah!"
A pained cry could be heard. Balm was pushed aside, her body trembling. Dull pain assaulted her chest. Simultaneously a strange mark in the form of a black spear appeared above her head. Balm checked her status and realised that should she get hit again, the mark would trigger, doubling the received damage.
[-7986!]
[-2401!]
Balm took a deep breath. This single skill had already reduced her HP by 10.000 points. Doubling damage? She couldn't allow it! However, Eva was obviously determined to do so. She stopped her brutal assault right behind Balm's back and turned on the spot, unleashing a wave of black light. Balm had almost no time to dodge.
However, this was not necessary. Balm acted smartly. With a thought her skill [Light of Preservation] was activated. A gorgeous star like a blooming flower appeared above her head, shining down specks of light which swiftly attached to Balm's body.
A moment later a wave of dark, twisted light washed over Balm. Terrifying damage numbers plopped up. The spear-like mark triggered. Trembling excitedly, it pierced into Balm's head, directly elevating the damage to frightening heights.
[-9934!]
[-9934!]
"Hahaha!"
Eva laughed evilly. However, as the black light continued and her eyes fell on the healer's body, the boss was taken aback. Balm didn't show distress. There was only a confident smile on her face.
And why wouldn't it be? [Light of Preservation] fixed her HP at the current amount, no matter how much damage Balm received. Thus, even the spear-like mark triggered in vain. Balm was still standing there proudly with almost 60.000HP left.
And yet this was not all the skill was able to do. Caused by the absorbed damage, rays of light suddenly erupted from Balm, targeting her teammates. Everyone received healing according to 20% of the damage. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield were still at full HP, but Liam was quite grateful for the more than 3800 HP.
Meanwhile Eva's skill continued to travel across the battlefield. The friends already knew what to do. They escaped or blocked, remaining unscathed. Eva's expression turned ugly as her opponents made it out with more HP than before. Wasn't this ridiculous?
Determined to sow horror among the players Eva continued repeating her actions another two times, targeting Silver Blade and Bleary Mirage. However, at this point everyone was already used to the sequence. The friends skilfully avoided the damage, and Eva finally gave up. At least she was able to force the players to pay some stance. A small consolation.
"Made it through…"
"Yeah, wasn't that easy."
"I agree. The boss moves at high speed. A single moment of lacking concentration can lead to grave consequences."
As even the friends were quite daunted, one could imagine the reaction of the spectators. Many who doubted them at the start were now sighing. They knew that they would have never been able to dodge the boss. In order to survive they would have relied on their healer. Thinking back to the healers in their teams, always busy, sweating, constantly under pressure, and then comparing it with Balm's leisurely behaviour, it was really like the difference between night and day.
Then again, how strong must a boss be to force players like Hotpot into a corner? Some players suddenly had a feeling as if they weren't even playing the same game. The gap was so big. Now it was up to these players to draw motivation from this fact, chasing after the top players for the tiny chance of one day entering their ranks.
Liam and his friends didn't have any time to pay attention to others. Their entire focus was on Eva. They couldn't help but get a strange feeling.
"As if… the boss has become stronger?"
Silver Blade murmured to herself as she checked the boss's status. Instantly her eyes opened wide.
"Really?! Her level has risen to 67??"
"What?"
"Could it be possible?"
Balm and Radiant Shield were similar in disbelief. How could a boss's level increase during the battle? How high could it go? Would it directly reach level 80 at some point? If so, what was the point of fighting against her?
The friends couldn't help but glance at Liam. Seeing his composed expression, they knew that the expert had already expected this to happen. Indeed, although the quest had changed compared to Liam's past life, he knew about Eva despite never fighting her personally. However, he knew about this gimmick of the boss rising in levels. Now it only remained to be seen where Eva's limit was.
The Slayer of Mount Zvren… with such a name, how could it be a simple character? Eva didn't care about the turmoil she caused. Seeing the adventurers standing in a daze she made use of the opportunity. In a blink she appeared in front of Radiant Shield, swinging her glaive. However, the tank snapped out of it in time. Hiding behind his shield he mitigated the blow. The battle was back to a simple exchange.
Liam also closed the distance, his swords poised to strike. In about twenty seconds his first skills would be back off cooldown. But until then he could only make do with his normal attacks. Two swords flashed, one shimmering in a golden light, the other carrying faint darkness. They slashed against the Eva's back, barely able to make a dent in the slayer's heavy armour.
[-1224!]
[-612!]
Liam did a brief estimate of his damage. According to his calculation, the boss's level increased, but her primary and secondary attributes remained the same. Still, an increase in level always brought an all-around improvement. If it continued like this the boss would surely reach a state where she became impossible to content with.
Perhaps they shouldn't continue fighting here? Such a thought couldn't help but pop up. However, the quest demanded them to fight the boss so for now they would do so.
For a while there was no surprise. Liam was the only one able to deal damage, bit by bit reducing Eva's HP. Soon the next milestone was reached. The boss's HP reduced to 60.000 points. A ferocity was birthed in her eyes as the black patterns surrounded them grew bigger and deeper. A hint of a strange aura seemed to emanate from the boss for a moment, before being forcefully suppressed.
The friends naturally noticed the change. They thought about something, checking the boss's status. And indeed, her level had risen to 68, now equalling the players.
"Ha!"
Suddenly Eva let out a thundering shout. The air stirred around her as gales permeated with threads of a dark colour surrounded her. A storm seemed to brew, whipping the rain. Eva waved her glaive, and the wind supported her, increasing its speed by a level. Radiant Shield was caught off guard for a moment and failed to block.
[-6030!]
Everyone was taken aback by the damage, but they swiftly realized how this came about. Engulfed by wind, the boss's attacks suddenly dealt magical damage. Silver Blade perked up. She was happy to make a move. In a blink she appeared next to the boss, slamming her body into the armoured figure. Right the next moment [Luring Barrier] activated. As the golden barrier shone in front of the tank, Eva reluctantly let go of Radiant Shield and turned towards Silver Blade.
"Daring, daring, adventurer! Aren't you afraid of… losing your precious little lives here?"
Silver Blade scrunched her face as Eva started talking. Yet before the boss even finished, she already pulled another move. Silver Blade's instincts were screaming. Eva moved even faster than ever before. Her glaive scratched along the ground before suddenly erupting like a fountain of water. It was right below Silver Blade. A whirlwind was unleashed, striking at the tank with the glaive at its centre. Silver Blade hastily moved her shield in the way. She was able to block the damage but not the impact.
It was as if a grabbed by a giant hand. As the impact struck Silver Blade, she was suddenly launched straight into the air like a rocket. Her body stiffened for a moment, but the experienced warrior swiftly found her bearings.