Christopher Lawrence raised his shield to block squirming purple tentacle assaulting him at speed unnoticeable by an ordinary person. The impact almost made him lose his balance, but Sustained Abilities that enhanced his Level 67 Epic Class body stabilized it.
After the world suddenly changed, he thought that he became one of the protagonists of the new era. Before, he never was fully satisfied with his life even after he became a professional gamer. Sure, he got some money by doing something he loved, but it never made him sufficiently famous or popular with girls. In the real world, he was nothing special. But when he inherited the superhuman powers of his character from Aerhtia World Online, he experienced what it means to be at the top of humanity. Little did he knew that with the great power comes even greater responsibility.
"Just a little bit more!" Christopher roared. "We almost killed this fucker!"
He was an experienced Ranker in the top 100, one of the best players when the game was still just a game. His team of five wasn't weak either - each of them was a Ranker in the top 1000. Of course, after The Change, rankings can't be considered the same. It is still an indisputable fact that not many people can compare to them. If they fail this Boss Raid, then it is unlikely that there would be anyone stronger in this or nearby cities. He still has one Revival Point left, but not all of his party members are so lucky, let alone ordinary people. Their failure would be equal to the loss of countless innocent lives.
He didn't let his idle thoughts disrupt him. His sight was glued to this monstrosity of a Boss. It looked like a giant ten-meter-tall grey brain with thick purple tentacles growing from it as hairs. Even if Level 65 of this Ultraboss was lower than his own, it didn't change the difference in their stats. To defeat an Ultraboss, you'd need one hundred ordinary Players at the same Level or at least ten Players with Epic Class and decent equip. Of course, under a condition that you aren't afraid of them sacrificing some of their lives for victory.
The fact that his team can confront it at all shows how incredible his small Party is.
As a Tank, Christopher Lawrence was a true MVP. Under the support of the rest of his team, he endured the damage that could easily destroy reinforced modern warship. At the same time, it allowed their own damage dealers to destroy the Ultraboss from afar.
His Epic Class gave him stats and physical capabilities uncomparably higher than those of other Players, his Epic full plate armor and sword busted him even further and his Legendary shield made him one of the hardest people to kill on Earth. Even a nuclear weapon couldn't hurt him...in theory. But all of this didn't stop this Ultraboss from reducing his HP to less than 20% more than once. What if monsters of this level start to spawn all around Earth? Humanity would be doomed in no time.
"Absolute Defense of Unbreakable Shield!" he roared again, activating his most powerful skill.
The Legendary shield in his hands started to grow in size, completely blocking the monster from the rest of his team. It perfectly blocked tentacle slashes and almost invisible energy attacks from the Ultraboss but didn't stop his teammates' assault. It was the second time he used this skill, and each time he did, it decreased the durability of the shield. After seventh use, it will be irreparably broken.
Christopher endured his exhaustion while watching the monster's HP get reduced to zero by the barrage of attacks from his teammates. Each of them used limited items or skills with significant side effects as well. It was the hardest fight they ever had. Fortunately, after this three-hour-long struggle, they only lost one person, and he did have a Revival Point.
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"We did it!" someone shouted in glee. "We fucking did it! Hahaha!"
Christopher didn't have any power left to feel happy. His heavy armor almost made him unable to stand on his own. He just looked at the bizarre-looking corpse absentmindedly while ignoring a bunch of System messages that appeared.
Your Party defeated Corrupted Titan Brain! Congratulations!
Apparently, he leveled-up and gained a Title, but it wasn't important at the moment. He was alive. He still was alive. They did it. They saved the city. And themselves...
...or so they thought.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
A familiar sight interrupted their merry mood. A large illusory Portal appeared above the "brain's corpse".
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
The loud sound of heartbeat reverberated through surroundings, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.
Even before the enemy appeared, Christopher Lawrence already knew that he is going to do. His Party exhausted, most of their skills are on a long cooldown, one of their members is killed and will be respawned far away from here. They don't have a chance to defeat something at the same level as that Ultraboss, let alone something stronger.
"I have one Revival Point left," he said grimly, "so it doesn't matter even if I die here. I will try to win as much time for you guys as possible. So, run away from here! Right now!"
The three remaining Party members - one support, one mage, and one archer, exchanged glances.
"I will stay with you, Leader!" a petite girl in her mid-twenties exclaimed. "I still have one Revival Point left as well. Together, we will keep the monster long enough for Billy and Jake to escape safely."
Christopher shook his head in rejection.
"Absolutely not!" he raised his voice, almost frightening the girl. "You are our healer and support, Beth. You should always have spare RPs in case any incident happens. Leave. There is no room for discussion. It is my order as a Party Leader!"
He sternly looked at her tearful face. She wanted to complain but held herself back. Christopher started to command the other two.
"Billy, take the loot. Hurry! Jake. Use the Floating Breeze Spell. Fast!"
The ranger, Billy, quickly approached the brain's corpse and looted it. The mage, Jake, cast a spell that made three of them float a few meters above the ground, and then they glide away in a rush, still looking at their Leader with worry. When they were hundreds of meters away, Beth shouted.
"I will wait for your return, Leader! Please come back safely!"
Thump-thump, thump-thump. Thump-thump, thump-thump.
Unfortunately, Christopher didn't hear her desperate plea. All his attention was focused on the Portal, and the only thing he could hear was this eerie thundering heartbeat.
Logically, there was a hope that the new monster wouldn't be an Ultraboss. Or even if it were one, it would be weaker than the boss they slew just now. But his intuition as an experienced fighter and long-time gamer urged him to run away from here as fast as possible. The only thing it could mean - this thing, whatever it was, is unbeatable at their Party's current level. And, indeed, his intuition was proven right when the monstrosity entered through the Portal.
A ten-meter big crimson heart with disgusting purple tentacles growing from it slowly moved its massive body towards the lone Player. Even though it didn't seem to be fast, but Christopher knew that he would die the second he attempted to run.
Corrupted Titan Heart
Ultraboss
Level 70
Its status screen told Christopher everything he needed to know. And this was the fact that even at their peak, his team would be easily crushed by this monstrosity.
The five-Level difference between the bosses didn't seem like a lot, and, in fact, things wouldn't be so grim if it was the difference between 64th and 69th Levels. But, Level 70 was different. It was the peak of Master Class for humans, leading to a qualitative change. The same could be said about monsters. And the most terrible thing was...
WARNING! You are under the influence of the Death Zone Aura. The following restrictions are placed on you:
You can't resurrect upon death.
You can't teleport outside the Zone.
You can't contact anyone outside the Zone.
You will be Marked upon escaping the Zone, allowing the Aura's owner to determine your exact position.