"Hehe, then I'll be going ahead, guys!", chuckled Cyclone.
"Sure…", murmured Silent Acacia with a resigned smile.
"Wait!"
"What is it, expert? Don't stop me from showing off… I mean helping the group!"
Liam shook his head, saying:
"Didn't we say not to underestimate our enemies? You should prepare first."
"Prepare?"
Cyclone pondered for a moment before realizing what Liam was talking about. Her eyes lit up as she retrieved what appeared to be a colourful salad from her inventory. This was a dish prepared by Serena offering a three percent increase in INT. Cyclone wolved it all down, drinking a cup of juice right after which further boosted her mana.
While Cyclone was eating, Liam turned towards his friends. Upon his reminder Balm began to cast skills until her passive triggered and a small star floated above Cyclone, waiting to play its role. Radiant Shield moved as well, bestowing a [Sacred Barrier] upon the mage.
Her status brimming with buffs, Cyclone stuck her out her chest confidently. Whatever beast was waiting for her stood no chance!
"Come at me!"
Cyclone touched the metal bars blocking the dark cell. A notification appeared in front of her, and she accepted. Suddenly the darkness stretched like a hand and engulfed Cyclone. Startled, she felt a pulling force. Her vision returned and she found herself in an enormous cave, easily big enough to fit a small village. She stood in the middle of a clearing, a towering forest growing around her.
Silence. Cyclone held her breath, scanning the surroundings with squinted eyes, her wand tightly in her grip. Her ears twitched. Something was moving through the forest. It was a skilled hunter, the sound almost negligible. But in the silent cave it was all too conspicuous.
"There!"
Cyclone abruptly shot around. She saw a red spear coming right at her. Without hesitation she did a flash step, escaping from the threat. At the same time, she threw an attack at the source of the arrow.
[Stance -19]
[-739!]
Ssssss!
An angry hiss pierced the air as the red spear was retracted, and Cyclone finally got a good look at her enemy. It was an extremely long, green snake. Her scaled skin appeared unusually rough with black spikes growing along its back. There was an evil fire in its eyes.
The snake hung from a tree. Although its head was only about double the size of a regular snake's head, its body was so long it curled around the tree and disappeared in the forest behind, with its tail completely out of sight.
The monster was a level 68 Black-Spiked Demonic Serpent, a lord-tier enemy with 72.000HP. This might seem somewhat low, but this was only because the monster's strength scaled with the number of enemies.
Cyclone wasn't intimidated. With a grin on her face, she instantly fired a [Lighting Barrage]. Five crackling bolts of lightning descended from the sky, hitting the snake squarely in the head. One big advantage of lightning was its speed. Even high-levelled bosses found it difficult to dodge once the skill was aimed well enough.
[-359!]x5
[-403!]x5
The snake shook its head to get rid of the uncomfortable numbness. It hated the feeling of lightning, however it luckily escaped the fate of suffering from paralysation. As Cyclone frowned lightly, the star above her head rained down its blessing. Cyclone's cooldown reset instantly.
"Hehe, thanks Balm!"
It didn't matter that the healer couldn't hear her. Cyclone waved her wand again and another five bolts of lightning rained from the sky. Angry hisses followed as the snake endured the attack. Cyclone's robe shone, spreading a dazzling purple light. Another two bolts of lightning darted through the air, squarely hitting the snake in the head.
[-376!]x5
[-448!]x5
[-119!]x2
Cyclone felt like she was slowly warming up as the various effects of her equipment came into play. Yet she still did not manage to paralyze the boss. There was no helping it. She could only throw in a normal attack before swiftly switching to the next skill.
[-739!]
The demonic serpent and Cyclone stared at each other, two pairs of eyes trying to intimidate their enemy. While Cyclone was waving her wand, preparing another skill, the snake moved first. Its long tongue darted out again, shooting straight at Cyclone. This time the mage did not move, focusing on her casting. An electrical sound rang through the forest as the red spear collided with Radiant Shield's [Sacred Barrier]. A powerful force assaulted Cyclone. She was pushed back a few steps but avoided getting interrupted.
[-7688!]
Cyclone's chest tightened as she noticed the number popping up. According to a rough estimation she couldn't even endure four hits from the snake.
And shockingly, a thorough calculation came to the same result…
Cyclone was glad for the barrier protecting her, buying some time. But it wouldn't hold forever. After the barrier was used up, she had to sacrifice her stance, and lastly her HP.
"I need to paralyze you… it would best if you never move again!"
It was uncertain if the snake understood Cyclone's words, but its eyes seemed to hold a mocking gaze. It provocatively swayed its head. Cyclone snorted and pointed her wand at the long serpent. Lightning erupted from the tip, turning the air static, surrounding the snake's head in a crackling cage. The monster, already living in a cell, was thoroughly enraged. It slammed its head to the side, trying to break the lightning cage. Instantly sparks spread along its body and its muscles convulsed.
"Got you!"
[-702!]
[-866!]
Finally, the monster got paralyzed! Cyclone instantly continued her attacks. A normal attack was followed by another skill. The lightning suddenly gathered from the air, engulfing her wand as its effect triggered and the skill was finished instantly. Cyclone felt that she was on a roll. The air filled with sparks of lightning as Cyclone's [Static Domain of Thunder] spread, engulfing the sneak's head. Instantly bolts of lightning struck from all directions. Although they only dealt a single point of damage, their job was to keep the snake locked down.
Moreover, after Cyclone acquired her advanced class this skill improved just like the others. As long as the domain was active even Cyclone's normal attacks dealt some lightning damage. She waved her wand, conjuring a small sphere of mana which had purple lightning dancing within it.
[-702!]
[-702!]
[-418!]
The snake continued to sway numbly. Cyclone made good use of the opportunity by fiercely raining down attacks. She didn't cast any skill, throwing one magical attack after another, reaching the limit of her attack speed. The snake's HP fell below 55.000 points before it finally regained its bearings.
"Why sssneak into thisss prissson?"
A voice brimming with anger came from the demonic serpent. However, it didn't really expect to get an answer. It pushed its body up, the muscles visibly working below its skin as its head raised above the trees. All long its back the black spikes began to vibrate filling the air with a strange noise. Cyclone scrunched her face, almost feeling a headache, taking a step back.
At that moment the black spikes suddenly began to separate from the snake's back, wildly shooting in all directions. They didn't take a straight path, hitting everything around the snake, piercing leaves and breaking branches. Of course, the place where Cyclone stood wasn't spared. The lightning mage immediately felt the danger. She placed all her concentration on the spikes.
Now!
Cyclone jumped to the side, dodging just in time. One of the spikes hissed past her head and got buried deep into the ground behind her. After the first projectile, more followed swiftly. Cyclone jumped left and right to escape the damage. However, she was not satisfied with that. Remembering past lessons, she knew that she had to deal damage. She had to end the fight quickly.
Another spike barely missed Cyclone's leg. But she didn't show any fear. Her face was a picture of pure concentration. Suddenly the surroundings seemingly slowed down. The attacks became much more clear to her. Cyclone tilted her head, narrowly dodging, and instantly waved her wand to retaliate.
The snake appeared surprised that someone could still attack her while facing such a relentless assault. But it was stuck in place during its skill and had no choice but to endure the damage.
[-702!]
[-418!]
Cyclone didn't feel her special state. Her mind was highly focused on the battle, without distracting thoughts. She dodged and attacked, showing the performance of a lifetime. It was a pity no one was there to see it. At least Cyclone was recording everything on Fortune's request so others could watch it later.
Wait, where did that thought come from? Cyclone suddenly felt like waking up form a strange sleep. She analysed the situation and noticed that the boss had ended its skill. Cyclone's mind calmed down and there was a hint of fatigue in her eyes. Even her static domain fizzled out. But the boss had taken a lot of damage. The battle was on the right track!