"Is that so? How about this one then?" I replied. I released another spell as I jumped, taking advantage of The Angler's fall. This arrow multiplied into tens, no, hundreds of small ones that zoomed towards one point.

"Watch where you're aiming at, Blue."

I landed firmly on both feet and chuckled, "You just happened to be standing there, didn't you?"

The range of the newly released [Arrow Rain] was not that wide so they wouldn't have trouble dodging it. But if they thought my move was over, they were mistaken. Instead of a normal magic arrow, since the size was too long and wide, the [Magic Lance] manifested in my bow right now.

In a world where the power of a mage lies in their immense Magic DPS, there are steep trade-offs. These include troublesome cast times and vulnerability to close-range attacks. However, imagine if there were a player who could redefine the archetype of a mage? Could that be me?

With a resounding declaration, I unleashed my spell, "[Magic Lance!]."

While most mages would still be casting their first spell, I had already unleashed three and had no intention of stopping until I exhausted all that I had. Slow and Poison struck The Angler, rendering it unable to evade the Magic Lance effectively. My spell hit it hard, sending it flying with a resounding impact.

"[Magic Arrow!]," I released the next spell, swiftly followed by charging towards the enemy.

My three comrades followed closely, providing me with openings to deal more magic damage while they themselves would enter through other gaps and deal physical damage. While I could only guess, I was pretty sure that was their plan.

The Magic Arrow hit its mark but our assault wasn't over yet. Appa suddenly disappeared from my sight and reappeared right in front of The Angler. "[Flash Stab!]," he uttered. His strike was super-fast, as sharp as if he were cleaving The Angler in two.

"[Dragon Tail!]," he continued. It was a spinning motion of his halberd, not only quick but reminiscent of a dragon's tail lashing its prey.

Once again, The Angler was sent flying, but this time, it was even more unfortunate. "[Cannon Spear!]," Appa declared. It was as if he had thrown his halberd straight at The Angler, unleashing a green energy that struck the boss, leaving it completely helpless.

Already awaiting on the other side was Ritta, who then leaped forward in action, "[Floating Kick!]." The distance between her and the target was still quite far, in my opinion. However, her jump was so high that it closed the gap instantly.

Her powerful kick sent The Angler crashing to the ground. Ritta twisted her body in mid-air, with one leg bent in a striking position. She declared, "[Geyser Kick!]." The energy from her kick caused the floor where The Angler lay to crack, but Ritta, who hadn't finished her combo yet, moved into the next stance.

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Both of her fists clenched above her head, as if she was about to deliver a decapitating blow. "[Annihilator!]." As those words left her lips, a clash of energy enveloped our line of sight, accompanied by the sound of crumbling floors and chaotic dust.

And did you think I would stay silent like before? With a distinct sound and blazing flames, five Firebolts shot forth diving towards my target.

Ritta was seen leaping backward escaping from the dust cloud. In the next moment, fiery explosions added an even more thrilling atmosphere to the scene.

"You're just getting crazy and crazier."

"Haha, damn! I love this, somehow I wonder how Alian Online would react on this."

"They're praising you, Senior."

I love it too. Who would have thought that my simple actions to join this party would result in such an interesting story? A move that I thought was just for the sake of my own self-improvement ended up paving the way for our victory.

However, none of us let our guard down. We understand that The Angler's HP has entered critical stages, but the fight is not over yet. We were lucky that the final boss didn't have the chance to unleash its true algorithm freely.

"This is our gamble, win or lose!" Appa encouraged.

With little time left and The Angler's thin HP, could we do it? The answer will be given by one skill that will end all of this soon—"[Spellcaster's Depth!], [Reach Potential!], [Unreach Magic!], [Magic Acceleration!], [Mana Recharge!], [Maximizer!] and [Unreach Magic: Filame of...]," I recited.

"Oi, oi, isn’t that skill?"

In a striking pose, a dark aura seemed to swallow me, which then manifested as a black flame arrow on my bow. It wasn't my body temperature suddenly rising, but the air throughout the room felt so hot.

"Between victory and defeat," shouted Nomad, who had run ahead of us.

Appa chased after, but Ritta casually approached me instead.

"That's unusual," I said.

"I have a hunch," she answered nonchalantly.

What kind of hunch is that? I have no idea at all.

A high-pitched roar dispersed the dust and revealed The Angler in a mode that was truly threatening. His entire body seemed to darken with his skin flaking off like an eggshell.

"It's his final phase, just freakin' careful guys," Appa announced. As he said it, The Angler appeared before him in an instant, "Shi—!"

Appa was thrown to the ground very hard by an ultimate kick. The damage inflicted was beyond belief, leaving only a third of Appa's HP.

The Angler's flaking skin sprayed as Nomad's shield struck hard. Despite Nomad's maximum efforts, the enemy remained motionless and only showed his impenetrable defense.

The movement was very hard to follow, and all we could see was the figure of Nomad being thrown far away after Angler twisted one of his legs as if he was giving a kick.

So he turned into a close-range fighter in this final phase, which was quite troublesome. I muttered worriedly. Now I begin to understand why Ritta was protecting me while I was casting. We all understand that if this skill fails or misses, this challenge will fail instantly.

Truly a gamble between victory and defeat!

If there's something not so different about our enemy, it's his pair of eyes that are still beautifully captivating yet truly intimidating at the same time. Now those eyes are staring at me and Ritta - if I have to be honest, it's clear that I'm the target now.

Ritta stood in front of me, her stance firm and strong.

Our hearts almost stopped beating as The Angler raised his hand and opened his palm towards us. Thin strings detached from his fingertips, like loose strings on a kite left to unravel.

We didn't have time to respond, not only were they so thin that they were hard to see, but also we lost sight of which direction the enemy was aiming at. Until all those strings bounced off a yellow-colored dome that protected us.

"T-thanks, Subtle," relieved Ritta.