The jelly creature Enem suddenly looked enraged. It turned its head towards Liam as if taking his words as an insult. A roar came from its ferocious ghost face.
Subsequently the boss began to shake and twist its body. Blobs of green jelly separate from it, drawing arcs in the air.
Multiple green circles appeared on the floor. The party members all understood that attacks would soon rain down on them.
Cyclone looked at the floor below her feet, cursing inwardly. But remembering Liam’s warning from earlier she didn’t dare to interrupt her cast.
The blond mage tried to move slowly. However, a headache immediately assaulted her brain, making her flinch. Her mana threatened to go out of control.
Cyclone’s body froze as she concentrated on her spell. With this short delay there was no time left to dodge the skill. A green blob slammed into her from above, covering her body in squishy jelly.
[-1619!]
“Eww…”
Disgusted by the feeling Cyclone shook her body, which caused her cast to fail. She felt an uncomfortable sensation in her body as the mana dissipated.
“Great! Now I’m covered in disgusting slime, lost more than half of my HP and failed my skill. What a disastrous start.”
“More fighting, less complaining!”
“Yeah, sorry Silver.”
Cyclone swung her wand with a sigh, throwing out another attack before starting another cast.
But the mage wasn’t the only one with difficulties. Quickstep danced around the boss, swinging her swords. The moment she hit the boss, a green blob was already above her head, causing her to dodge hastily.
[-74!]
[-37!]
Rolling on the hard floor she looked at the place where she just stood, which was now covered in the green substance. But just as she wanted to stand up, a green circle appeared below her.
This time the warrior was too slow to react. A blob hit her squarely on the head.
“Damn! It’s in my eyes!”
[-1472!]
Quickstep glanced at her HP while angrily rubbing her eyes. When her vision wasn’t tainted green anymore, she immediately noticed another circle below her feet.
“Come on, is this thing targeting me?”
With a quick jump Quickstep got out of the impact area. However, this move brought her even further away from the boss.
She felt somewhat anxious watching the golden light being corroded above their heads.
However, when Quickstep directed her eyes back on the boss, she looked perplexed.
“This is really discrimination or what?”
The warrior observed Watchful Eye standing next to the boss carefreely, attacking without being targeted. It was as if the skill was avoiding him, leaving an empty area.
Watchful Eye swung his staff freely, accompanied by flames, dealing damage with high efficiency.
[-54!]
[-166!]
The boss’s skill continued for a few more seconds. Shortly before it subsided Fortune was forced to take a hit as well, but she managed to finish her cast, nevertheless. Arcane bolts left her staff, aiming for Enem.
The ghost face laughed eerily, seemingly quite satisfied with its skill, when a blue bolt made of condensed magic crashed into its head.
Smoke spread, the head was blasted apart. A moment later it regathered, staring angrily at Fortune. But the latter didn’t care for its feelings, unleashing her remaining bolts, hitting the monster four times.
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[-125!]x4
Enem flayed its arms angrily, slamming them into Radiant Shield. Soon the tank’s stance was running dangerously low.
Bloody Edge took the chance to flash behind the enemy and throw out more attacks.
[-47!]
[-23!]
The thief looked confused, his eyes wandering between the green monster and his daggers.
“Hey, why is my damage decreasing?”
“Mine as well!”, echoed Watchful Eye.
Liam had just triggered an explosion with his holy marks, explaining to his two friends:
“Take a look at your weapons.”
“What is it? There is some jelly sticking to my daggers.”
“Exactly. The more you attack, the more jelly you accumulate and the less damage you will do!”
“What? How are we supposed to win in time then?”
“You need to shake off the jelly from time to time. But doing so counts as an attack.”
Cyclone overheard the conversation, glancing at her own wand.
“Haha, who asked you pick a melee class? As always mages are superior.”
Cyclone laughed mischievously, sticking out her chest proudly.
“Try to finish a cast first!”
“You!”
Her eyes wide open, Cyclone stared angrily at Bloody Edge. The thief’s words poured salt into her wounds. With a pout she turned her head away.
“Careful!”
Suddenly an anxious shout could be heard coming from Radiant Shield. The tank was just about to defend another hit when the boss suddenly pulled off a trick.
Enem’s arms threatened to move, but it was a faint. The real attack came with the additional arm which suddenly came out of its chest. Like a rubber band it flicked through the battlefield, avoiding Radiant Shield and aiming for the backline.
Cyclone felt a coldness run through her body, telling her that death was close. Her mind blanked for a moment. But at the last second a warm sensation ran through her body.
[+3719!]
With a jolt Cyclone realized that Balm had healed her. But the skill still could not be evaded. The young woman gritted her teeth, focusing on her skill, unwilling to let the cast be interrupted a second time.
[-1774!]
Cyclone trembled when she felt the heavy arm hit her waist. Her body bent dangerously. But with all her will the mage managed to hold on.
With a swift move the boss went for its next target, aiming for the annoying healer who just saved its enemy.
Balm watched the green rubber band coming for her and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, focusing her mind.
When the boss’s attack arrived only a few sparks of light remained. Balm already appeared behind the enemy.
[Stance -26]
Although Balm was the boss’s target, she wasn’t the only one in danger of being hit by the skill. Watchful Eye and Bleary Mirage were on the path between the healer and the boss, forced to dodge quickly.
But the attack’s strange movement made it difficult to predict. A wave ran through the rubber band when it snapped to the side, catching Watchful Eye unprepared. A heavy slap landed on his shoulder.
[-1607!]
The taciturn man scolded himself but didn’t show it outwardly. Instead, he kept a focused mind, jumping behind the boss where its skill seemingly had difficulties reaching.
Liam had just evaded the boss by rolling underneath the arm. When he looked back, he noticed that its movements gradually slowed down.
“The skill is about to end! Focus on attacking!”
Everyone heard the hint of urgency in Liam’s voice. They understood that time was still ticking continuously. Not daring to delay everyone attacked quickly.
Lightning bound the boss, and a spear of concentrated magic crashed into its head. A tornado cut into its skin. Holy light exploded above its head. An alligator bit its leg.
The party went all out to reduce the boss’s HP, but the bar moved excruciatingly slowly.
Still, the jelly creature didn’t take things lying down as it neared half-life. Its void-corrupted, purple arm suddenly began boiling. Bits of purple jelly, like bubbles mixed into the green jelly.
Surprisingly though the ghost face was not affected, keeping its sanity intact.
It controlled the possessed body to swell like a balloon. The corrupted parts moved ominously towards the surface. Suddenly the body contracted, shooting bits of purple jelly in all directions like a spray of bullets.
Silver Blade barely managed to remind her friends:
“Gather behind me and Radiant Shield! Quick!”
Just then, the first bullets already arrived. With low thuds they crashed into Silver Blade’s shield, forcing the tank to tense her muscles.
The others were overwhelmed by the attack. Listening to Silver Blade, they quickly tried to get to their tanks, receiving continuous damage on the way.
[-123!]
[-89!]
[-95!]
Only Liam stayed close to the boss, swinging his swords tirelessly. Watching everyone’s reaction, he hastily reminded them:
“Don’t panic now! We need to attack! Let Balm heal you if necessary!”
Silver Blade looked towards the sky, estimating the time they had left. She realized that they had to hurry up.
“Sorry, that’s my bad! Attack, guys!”
Silver Blade felt like she had to make good on her mistake. Thus, she activated her [Aura of Ranged Protection] with a thought. A gentle force spread with her at the center, offering protection to her allies.
The void bullets were weakened by a small amount. Meanwhile, Balm, taking cover behind Radiant Shield, anxiously watched her friends’ HP decreasing continuously.
“Please guys, stand closer together! I will use an area healing spell!”
The others naturally complied. Silent Acacia scanned the battlefield and noticed that he and Fortune stood in opposite directions.
Since the mage was already casting a new spell, Silent Acacia had no choice but to come to her side.
[-131!]
[-131!]
The hunter groaned when bullets slammed into his chest. Suddenly he noticed something displayed within his view. Zorn’s HP were dropping dangerously low.
Silent Acacia stood still for a second, retrieving his pet with a wave of his hand. But the short pause allowed another two bullets to land on his chest.
[-131!]
[-131!]