Liam grinned as he turned his head towards the second assailant. It was a white alligator with a large body protected by sturdy scales.
Threatening form three different angles, Liam’s opponents were assured of their victory. There was no way to escape for the cloaked figure.
At this moment Liam couldn’t help but let out a low laughter. Mana circulated through his body as he vanished from the spot.
The first attacker’s body froze, a disbelieving shout coming from her mouth:
“Flash step?!”
Liam appeared close to the edge of the clearing. He stepped past a tree, coming face to face with the archer.
“Don’t you think Zorn is too low a level to send her into PvP?”
Hearing the familiar joking voice, the archer was stunned. He eyed the cloaked figure in surprise:
“Mirage? What are you doing here?”
“It’s really you?!”
Two voices could be heard as the sword wielder walked up to the archer.
“Of course it’s me.”, chuckled Liam. “Quickstep, Silent Acacia, did you come here to hunt infernal players?”
“Yes. We wanted to train our skills against intelligent enemies.”
“Not bad. I’m surprised you got so deep into infernal territory.”
Listening to Liam, Silent Acacia coughed awkwardly.
“Well, this might’ve not been completely voluntarily. We traveled in a larger group and got ambushed, forcing us to escape in all directions.
Even I’m surprised that we made it this far after coming here.”
Liam raised his brows looking at Silent Acacia’s embarrassed expression. But he refrained from teasing his two friends, directing them towards a hidden path of the mountain similar to the one he took earlier.
“If we only had this sooner…”, whispered Quickstep with a wry smile.
“Well, you didn’t explain that you wanted to some here. Else I could’ve helped.”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I’m not blaming you!”, stated Quickstep hastily.
“No, don’t worry. I get it.”
Quickstep inwardly sighed in relief. She quickly diverted the topic:
“By the way, what are you doing here, Mirage?”
“I’m preparing for the dungeon.”
“Here? Is there something we can help with?”
“Well, I’m about to fight a boss. I planned to do it myself, but if you want to…”
Silent Acacia and Quickstep looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders.
“Of course, sounds fun.”
“Then… let’s start, I guess? Or do you need to prepare something?”
“No, after you.”
Silent Acacia waved at Liam, signaling him to go ahead. The veteran didn’t hesitate long. He invited the others into a party, stepped into the clearing, and touched the thick mother tree again.
Closing his eyes, Liam murmured the words taught by the skeleton earlier. Suddenly a silver-grey vortex of swirling mana appeared on the tree’s surface.
With one last glance at his friends, Liam confidently stepped in.
A moment later the trio found themselves on a large, green plain. Silver mana formed a boundary, sealing off the space in a large circle around them.
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Not far away stood a lonely hut made from crooked wood. Some smoke came out from the chimney.
Carefully placed flowers surrounded the hut, spreading a sweet smell through the air, which was accompanied by soothing music.
Liam immediately whispered to his friends:
“In the upcoming fight, always watch your steps. NEVER step onto those flowers. Before this happens you rather take some damage.
On top of that there will be poison on the floor. It would be best to avoid it. But if it’s not possible, take some of these.”
While speaking Liam took out four antidotes, handing them to Quickstep and Silent Acacia.
“Understood.”
Just as the two nodded, the music in the air stopped. For a second the entire space fell silent. Suddenly a creaking sound could be heard as the wooden hut’s door slowly opened.
A long bare leg came into few, tapping carefully out of the hut. Next followed a red skirt and a white blouse hiding a nearly perfect figure, revealing just enough to stimulate the fantasy of men and woman alike.
At the end a face came out of the hut with a sharp nose and small, red mouth. A piece of white cloth was draped over her eyes, giving the beautiful figure a pitiful touch.
A melodious voice sounded out, tugging at everyone’s heartstrings:
“Who came to visit me in my humble abode?”
Silent Acacia had to gulp heavily.
“Ah!”
An elbow found its way into his rips. He looked indignantly at Quickstep, but his girlfriend shot a provocative gaze back as if asking him to stare at the NPC again.
“Sorry, sorry…”
Liam chuckled at the couple’s antics before turning back towards the witch. He was long used to the beautiful NPCs in the game, his heart barely moved.
“Witch, we are adventurers here under the behest of Pontrakas. Would it be possible to hand over the Staff of Melvun, please?”
Suddenly the temperature in the space dropped simultaneously with the NPC’s face. Her curly red hair swayed despite the absence of wind. Even her voice turned colder:
“I was glad to have visitors, but you came to steal from me?! How dare you?! You will pay for your insolence!”
“Get ready, guys!”
Liam had just enough time to warn his friends when the fight already started. The witch retrieved a wand out of nowhere, swinging it immediately.
Dark green clouds quickly gathered in the sky. A disgusting smell permeated the air. Red circles appeared on the floor.
Quickstep hastily used [Inspect] to understand what they were dealing with before the skill arrived.
[Toxanerla, the poisonous with of the third circle
Rank: Boss
Level: 23
HP: 5600/5600
Skill 1: Toxanerla summons toxic clouds. They rain poisonous water balls, which deal poison damage and have a chance to form poisonous puddles on the floor.]
Instantly after reading through the information, Quickstep was forced to experience it firsthand. A blob of viscous green water fell from the sky aiming for her.
The pro player didn’t panic, dodging calmly to the side.
With a splash the blob crashed into the ground, slowly dissolving into the air.
Silent Acacia and Liam weren’t speared either. They dodged left and right, avoiding the marks on the floor. As the seconds ticked it became more difficult as several puddles remained behind.
However, the experienced players dealt with it calmly. Although it seemed like they dodged randomly, it became obvious after a few seconds that they circled around the witch.
Soon, the first skill ended and the clouds in the air receded.
“Hmpf, our turn!”, exclaimed Silent Acacia.
The beast hunter immediately used his ult. A red, ominous mark appeared above Toxanerla’s head, boosting attacks against the witch.
An arrow arrived at almost the same time.
[-481!!!]
Silent Acacia didn’t show much joy as he landed a critical hit with his first attack. He knew it was the result of his ult. But a smile flashed on his lips when his girlfriend praised him while advancing towards the witch.
“Good job, babe!”
Quickstep felt encouraged taking the crit as a good omen. Her swords stirred the wind as they were about to stab at the witch. But she almost stumbled over her own feet when she saw the gorgeous NPC leading one of her fair hands below her skirt and taking out a golden necklace.
Luckily Quickstep wasn’t this easily distracted. She didn’t think much about the object in the witch’s hand, finishing her assault.
[-110!]
[-55!]
Quickstep almost couldn’t believe her eyes.
“What’s going on with my damage?”
Liam however wasn’t surprised. Toxanerla was known for her tendency to collect all kinds of artifacts, offensive and defensive.
When attacked she would take out a defensive item shielding against the damage she received. He hastily explained to his friends:
“Focus that necklace! As long as she wears it, physical damage will be diminished!”
“Damn, what a cheat!”
Quickstep complained in annoyance. She would like to follow up immediately, but she didn’t have enough of her unique resource storm built up for a skill yet.
Luckily, Liam arrived at the same time as her. His swords aimed for the necklace, determined to destroy it before the witch could wear it around her neck, where it would be more difficult to hit.
A bright sound like glass breaking could be heard while golden pieces scattered in all directions. The necklace barely endured one hit but got destroyed by the second.
“No! My precious artifact! How dare you!”
Toxanerla wailed tragically, but Liam didn’t show any pity. His swords crossed, sending a [Cross Slash] at the enemy.
[-170!]
“You all will pay!”
The witch shouted angrily. Despite the cloth covering her eyes, Silent Acacia felt the lady’s gaze on him. Instantly a bolt of green mana shot towards his chest.
“Oh no, Acacia has the boss’s aggro!”, exclaimed Quickstep.
“Don’t worry, I’m alright!”
Silent Acacia turned his body smoothly, letting the attack flash past his face.
[Stance -27]
However, it was obvious from the huge cost that he wouldn’t be able to dodge for a long time. If worst comes to worst, he could only use a skill to drop the aggro.