Leaping to the side just before that same blast of mana wiped me from the face of the server, I aimed for the nearest most solid looking branch, barely catching and hanging onto it as the Bushling once again hobbled its way towards facing me.

Not quite sure about how fast the boss is, but…

Its scowl deepened at the edges as the air around it shimmered blue once more.

With the massive amount of aoe that this enemy has, as well as its clear striking power and distance, I don’t think I’d get far if I just turned tail and ran. At best it’d be a fighting retreat, and at that point I might as well just hedge my bets and-

The destructive beam soared through the air yet again a few seconds after I’d made the transition from branch to branch, erasing the hold that I’d been clinging onto just a moment earlier from existence.

-Try to win this, yeah!? I was willing to take it easy today, but if the game’s not gonna let me chill out… Well, screw you too game! Give me a faulty class, give me a boss and make me fight it at level two, screw it!

Hopping twice on each foot, I bounce over the oncoming waves of green energy as I unsheathed my sword, plain and boring, but more than enough to get the job done.

“Let’s go, you overgrown cabbage!”

For now, the Bushling only seems to be throwing out two attacks. Its charged beam, which is relatively easy to avoid as it seems it only shoots at where you are instead of where you’re going, and then its no cooldown wave attack. The latter of those two is way more dangerous overall in my opinion. I still haven’t taken a hit, but I only have a single healing potion to waste right now, so I’m not going to take any freebies to figure out how dangerous a particular attack is. But, if it has other attacks besides that beam, then the area denial this boss has could be really dangerous.

For now, I just circle around the boss. Sprinting around it and jumping once every few seconds. Watching, waiting, for anything new to happen. At my low level, I wouldn’t even be surprised if I got one shotted by an unexpected attack, so if I’m going to win this… then patience is key! Both to figure out patterns, and survive until reinforcements arrive. This is a public space after all!

There’s a set cooldown to its beam attack, a downtime of seven seconds per use it would seem. But does it have any limited mana? Probably not, or at least it has such a huge amount that it doesn’t matter. A shrubling’s main draw was that they had a lot of mana and the ability to share it, so I assume the same holds true for the boss, except now it has skills to spend its never ending mana on.

Either way, knowing the downtime on its currently most deadly form of attack known to me is good, but it could always be faking its timings, and instead it has no cooldown… But I don’t think that’s the kind of thing that would be programmed into a starter boss. There needs to be a way for new players to realistically defeat it if this was a possible enemy on day one of the game, right?

Either way, my stamina is ticking down over time. 85, 84… If all I do is just continue observing, then I might as well go with a fighting retreat, and that’s not what I’m doing. If the game’s gonna make me fight, I’m damn well gonna claim my rewards! Whether that be a kill or a tame! …If the game even lets me tame bosses.

A full minute has passed now, and the boss's attack pattern has remained stagnant from a distance. I’ve made two full rotations around it, watching as its ginormo beam wipes tree after tree from the map, and no matter where I was relative to the boss, it didn’t react in the slightest. It just continued to scowl and fire off mega doom death lazers every seven seconds, on the dot.

Welp, no time like the present!

Three…

Two…

One!

Kicking off the ground to flip my momentum instead of continuing to sprint forwards, I evade the death ray once again as it sears the air that I’d previously been occupying and whip around to sprint towards the boss at full speed, brandishing my sword as the wind pressed against me. Counting the seconds in between its attacks, I leapt into the air once again, soaring clear over the bosses aoe and staring at it face to face!

I really didn’t want to get my blade stuck, and I wasn’t quite familiar with this game's physics yet, so I couldn’t risk going for a stab or too deep of a slash with the risk of an instant retaliation attack or skill. The boss could also have a counter, or a phase switch if somebody dealt damage… Just in general, the first move on my part was risky with my limited health pool. So, instead of taking the prime opportunity currently available to me, I glided past the Bushling, and using my momentum, I carved a glancing blow into its side.

8!

Immediately after the fact, I tossed my blade straight up and hit the ground in a roll, springing to my feet a moment later and catching the sword before it could hit the ground. After doing such a… extra maneuver, I pivoted around on my heel, spinning 180 degrees to stare the boss down.

It… definitely didn’t look happy, the contours of its face had darkened, if I wasn’t wrong? I don’t know how you make a more pronounced scowl from what was already there, but somehow whoever modeled this did it. Well, if that was a phase change or something, it definitely didn’t stop the aoe attacks. Obviously, given I still had to jump the incoming wave. Still on schedule as well, 2.5 seconds between each wave. Now, if nothing changed from it being hit, then the beam should be in… three…

Two, hop the wave inbetween, one, yada yada you know the drill. Just as I thought, no such thing as dramatic as a phase change seemed to have occurred from a proper hit being landed. As threatening as its attacks were, this boss seriously lacked variety. It was simple, very simple. As it should be as a starter boss. So… it was about time I dropped the pretenses and embraced the hack n slash philosophy.

Go ahead… and HIT IT TILL IT DIES!

The next wave didn’t even bear mentioning, it’s a simple matter to dodge. As potent as it might be for dealing with crowds, against a smaller number of skilled opponents it’s basically worthless. Well, honestly no it’s not, forcing movement and area denial is still super busted, but it’s useless in this embarrassment of a boss’s proverbial hands.

Still five seconds until the beam, so I’ve got time to leave a mark. The boss didn’t even bother retaliating when it took a hit beforehand, so I should be good to go in for a more potent attack, and that’s just what I’m gonna do! And, you know, pray that any counters it may have aren’t just activated by sufficient damage instead of any damage.

Once more soaring forwards, I ready myself to drive my sword into the Bushling like a nail. For all its power, it’s a big, lumbering, slow, trifling mob of a boss. In a way, you could probably say my stats are a hard counter for it. And I’m here to reinforce that idea.

Landing on top of its… mass? The entire body is kind of its head, so… its mass. I grin wickedly the moment I touch down, because your aoe can’t touch me up here broccodee! The only form of attack you’ve shown is an ability with a solid cooldown and an aoe spread that covers the ground! So, I raised my sword up, and plunged it into the Bushling!

41!

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“SCRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAA!”

Immediately it started rumbling, but I’ve still got three seconds until its beam is off cooldown, so, as good a time as any to test out the physics!

Yanking the sword out of the Bushling’s body-3!-I raise it with minimal difficulty! So to me, it would seem losing your weapon clearly isn’t much of a concern within the game's engine. And as far as I’m concerned, I’ve still got plenty of time to do some damage here!

36!

6!

34!

4!

Two more plunging stabs are just about all I have time for, leaving myself only a second before the Bushling burninates everything. Ripping my sword out once again, I kick off from the Bushling’s head with as much force as I can muster, lopping off another 3! health with the movement.

Despite its predictable pattern, the speed of the beam is actually mildly intimidating, so I need to have at least some distance to reliably dodge. But, I’m confident that at this distance, it’ll be fine-

“SCRIIIIIIIII!”

Uh… that’s a new one-

As soon as my feet hit the ground, I reflexively react as my hair stands on end, pushing myself as hard as I can possibly manage in a single movement, sending dirt flying as I put my everything into one dash.

Beams, fly, everywhere.

They’re smaller and slower than the one concentrated attack, but against me that’s definitely the more effective attack. The one concentrated death beam had split into six different, weaker beams, in a scatter shot pattern. I probably would’ve gotten minced if I hadn’t moved at all, completely engulfed and obliterated by the attack, but as it stands I only lost…!

HP 14/120

“...!”

Well, shit.

My entire body feels numb, even having only been grazed by the edge of one of the beams on a measly 3.5% pain sensitivity, everything is shaking… I can’t… move!

Launching yet another wave, the Bushling watches on from a distance, still wearing that same scowl the whole time. And I’m just… standing here-MOVE!

“Ghk!”

Gritting my teeth, I try my best to just grin and bear the ache in my body, but… I still can’t… did-did the beam have a paralyzing effect?!

Of course I’m not THAT much of a wimp, my entire nervous system didn’t shut down because I got hit a little bit hard, I literally CAN’T move! That’s… really not good! Maybe I should’ve tested how much damage that wave deals earlier, cause at least then I’d know if I’m screwed or not!

There’s zero way for me to dodge that as it is, I can feel my body shaking free bit by bit, but I’m definitely not gonna be able to move before it hits, so… can I drink my potion right now?!

Damnit, no good, can’t move my hands enough to even take something out of my inventory!

Okay, rnjesus please! Let the damage be low, let me live on one health!

Jasper is rebelling! Forcefully being desummoned!

…Wait, what?

Jasper is rebelling! Forcefully being summoned!

Hold on-hold on! Jasper for the clutch!? I’d put my hands on my head and go ‘yooooooooo!’ if I wasn’t literally paralyzed!

Appearing on the field with a growl bordering on a roar, Jasper’s head instantly snapped in my direction, bolting for me faster than I’ve seen her move thus far, by a WIDE margin, outpacing the incoming attack by a similar breadth.

Now that I think about it, I heard them a moment earlier didn’t I? Just a little huff of shock, but after I got hit they knew from the get gooo-WOAH!

Snaking under my still shivering legs, Jasper darted forward and leapt into the air, carrying me along with them and over the wave. Soaring clear over the attack and landing gracefully on the ground.

For my part, I’m only left shocked (and also a little sore, they basically headbutted me in the buttocks, youch.)… My god… they’re… USEFUL!? You know what? I forgive your bumming around totally and completely in this moment, you are absolved of sin.

A few moments later, the paralyzation ebbs away enough for my hand to dart forward into the open air, pulling the healing potion I’d gotten as a quest reward out of my inventory and bringing it to my lips.

…You didn’t actually need to drink the entire thing curiously enough, which was fine with me since it was tasteless and just kind of gross… but “downing” it restored…!

HP 89/120

Alright, not bad!

“Thank you!” I pat Jasper on the side as I hop off of their back, though I have to admit, I’m curious as to why they’re here…

“Why did you come to help me?”

The next wave rumbles outwards as I question them, it’s a nonchalant dodge for the both of us.

“Mmm...”

A lynx of few words, but I think I got the gist of it. That was a very soulful grunt, mind you.

…Sarcasm? What? No brain, that’s a hundred percent serious. She didn’t want to lose somebody else in the same way that she’d lost whoever her initial partner was. Or whatever that grave was to Jasper. Dead, far far away from her, where she couldn’t possibly help. So… here she was, worried for me.

“Alright, I appreciate the assist. But we need to move! Will you work with me for at least this fight?”

“Mmm.”

That’s an affirmative! It is SO go time!