"The same old trick?"
Cyclone asked carefully as she surveyed her surroundings. A moment later there was a sign of movement on one of trees before her. Without hesitation Cyclone jumped to the side. A tiny void shadow flashed through the air at incredible speed, distorting the air around it.
"Its speed has increased, careful guys!"
The others nodded, keeping up their vigilance. Soon, more void shadows appeared like silent predators hunting down the players. Radiant Shield was greatly annoyed as his body was sluggish, and his stance was low. He couldn't avoid the hit, receiving more than three thousand points of damage and two stacks of void corruption.
No one was surprised that the boss had gotten stronger. This was only expected from berserk mode. But quickly they notice another change as Watchful Eye spoke solemnly:
"The trees aren't disappearing."
With the taciturn man pointing it out, the other friends also recognized the situation. They were discussing briefly, trying to figure out how to get rid of the skill, when Liam demonstrated it directly.
The veteran stood silently within the forest, keeping his senses focused on the surroundings. Suddenly he seemed to feel a movement behind his body. Showing an insane reaction speed the young man used his left foot as a pivot to turn his body instantly.
A flash of violet was racing right towards his chest. Before his eyes could even register it, his swords moved instinctively, delivering a sharp cut. The sword and void shadow collided, and the latter was cut apart, dissipating into thin air. Simultaneously two trees also vanished as if they had never been there.
Silver Blade was not far from Liam, able to watch the whole process. She quickly came to a realization:
"So that's the trick? We need to counterattack?"
"Yes. Keep your eyes open guys. But don't get cocky, dodge if you have to."
Liam's friends nodded upon receiving his advice and continued to focus on the surrounding trees. Quickly more attacks arrived. The friends fought steadily, dodging some and counterattacking others. Slowly the trees reduced but the players were not without mistakes either. After a while Radiant Shield had accumulated eight stacks of void corruption, getting uncomfortably close to danger.
Silver Blade thought for a moment. If Radiant Shield were to get corrupted and started attacking others, the damage wouldn't be a problem, but the distraction would mean big trouble. Thus, Silver Blade activated her ultimate skill [Might of the Vanguard].
The image of a brilliant, reliable shield appeared behind her back like a divine totem, spreading its protection to the party members. It was mainly meant for Radiant Shield as he wouldn't receive stacks of void corruption if he didn't take any damage from the boss.
Thanks to Silver Blade's move not only Radiant Shield but also everyone else felt much safer. They had the courage to take more risks. This led to some beautiful counterattacks but also to some amusing fails.
However, all in all there was not much danger for the remainder of the skill. The players fought valiantly and gradually caused the trees to reduce until there was none left. The void shadow was forced to reappear, standing at the centre of the battlefield, fierce and imposing.
Yet its posture couldn't intimidate the players. Bloody Edge informed his friends, waiting for the perfect timing to unleash his ultimate skill, which he had smartly saved for this moment.
While the boss was ready to unleash all his strength in berserk mode, going for a final struggle, a blinding light suddenly grew behind his back. It quickly engulfed the void shadow, causing the surface of its body to sizzle ominously as its defensive attributes were reduced drastically.
"GO!"
The players didn't miss the chance, using everything they had. Lightning struck from the sky and swords cut into the void shadow's flank. Mana exploded above its head and a burning staff slammed into its abdomen. Under the violent barrage of attacks the boss stood no chance. The void shadow's HP dropped to zero before it could even taste the power of the berserk mode.
"Roooo…"
The void shadow's already quiet voice had now become a rattling. The void energy making up its body began to lose its cohesion, turning into strands of gas which rapidly dissipated. The process happened faster with each second. Soon, only the void shadow's head remained. It stared resentful at the players before disappearing forever.
"Huh, finally… that thing was not weak."
"Yes. I was constantly afraid of the void corruption. I hate the feeling of losing control over my body…"
Cyclone shuddered thinking back to the second dungeon where she had gotten possessed by a boss, forced to watch from above as her body attacked her friends. Since then, she hated the feeling more than anyone else.
Although her friends weren't necessarily familiar with the sensation, they agreed with her, not keen on experiencing it themselves.
For a few seconds the friends relaxed and talked when Cyclone suddenly thought of something. She snapped her head around looking at the spot where the boss died:
"Why… is there no body? My loot!"
Anxious, the blond mage rushed towards the spot, searching it intently. It didn't take her long until she spotted a conspicuous strand of violet fur on the blackened ground. Cyclone sighed in relief and touched the fur, eager for the loot. A golden light shone, and an item appeared in her hand. Seeing that it wasn't a wand, Cyclone's expression immediately went from anticipation to disappointment.
Seeing her like this, Silver Blade chuckled while patting her friend's shoulder. She glanced at Cyclone's hands and now it was her turn to feel anticipation as what sat there was a deceptively simple-looking white tower shield.
"Cy… why don't you show me that item in your hands. Please?"
"Whatever."
Cyclone sighed and revealed the item's information to Silver Blade. Immediately a change could be seen in the tank's expression. She repeated Cyclone's earlier actions, falling from a peak to the cold bottom.
Watching all of this happening, Radiant Shield put two and two together and a broad grin formed on his face. He approached the two women confidently.
"Could I…"
"Take it!"
Radiant Shield froze as Cyclone and Silver Blade looked at him with resentful eyes. However, as Cyclone handed over the shield, the tank didn't care anymore, and his entire demeanour exuded great joy.
"Is this secrecy warranted? We all want to satisfy our curiosity!"
Bloody Edge stood next to Radiant Shield, grumbling away. The tank turned towards him, almost looking like a drunk fool.
"Did you say something?"
"I said, show us that damn shield!"
"Oh, ok ok. No need to get all worked up over it"
[Egoriz' shield of a raider
Category: Rare, Set
Level requirement: 49
Physical Defence: 21
Magical Defence: 4
Attack Speed: 0,3
Strength: +9
Constitution: +7
Effect 1: Every other time you or your allies attack an enemy, increase your physical resistance by 1 up to a limit of 10. The effect will wear off after 200 seconds. (cooldown: 30 seconds)
Skill: Help in need
Two-piece Set effect: Whenever you meet an enemy's attack with Egoriz' Hammer instead of Egoriz' Shield, you have a to certain chance to stun them depending on your STR attribute. (cooldown 100 seconds)
Restriction: Bound upon wearing
The orcish raider Egoriz gathered materials throughout Crunaboul before finally asking the famous dwarven blacksmith Hodougar to forge the hammer and shield of his dreams. Despite having participated in raids against dwarven settlements before, Egoriz was able to move Hodougar, who accepted and created items of excellent quality. However, other dwarves didn't agree with the orc wielding such items forged by one of their blacksmiths and eventually hunted Egoriz down many years later]
[Help in need (rank 1)
Cost: 130 Mana
Effect: Can only be activated when an ally is about to receive a deadly blow. Temporarily lend your power to said ally, adding 80% of your physical defence and magical defence to the ally's attributes.
Cooldown: 40 seconds]
Everyone read through the information, greatly curious. However, they couldn't help but feel a hint of disappointment. With how excited Radiant Shield appeared his friends almost thought the equipment was of unique category.
It seemed that equipment of that level remained rare and even with Cyclone's luck she couldn't easily get it. However, this was actually the friends being somewhat too demanding.
Rare set equipment was already among the strongest pieces currently available. Many players would still be excited getting their hands on suitable uncommon equipment. If they knew that Hotpot didn't even get excited over rare equipment, a few forums might get flooded with unsavoury messages.
Only Dream Avenue's players could guess how Hotpot thought about uncommon equipment as they watched a new batch appear in the guild treasury. Of course, those were the other items dropped by the boss, which the number one team didn't even spare a glance.
Having sorted through the loot and only kept some consumables, except for Radiant Shield's new shield of course, Liam and his friends turned towards the green robed mages in the distance, ready to reap even more rewards.