A slight panic could be felt in the air. The friends had no choice. The dragon was already preparing to bombard the edges of the mountaintop. Judging by Liam's solemn tone, this was a skill they wanted to avoid at all costs. Thus, everyone rushed towards the centre even if it meant passing through fire and flames.
"So hot, so hot!"
"Almost 7000 points of damage…", murmured Watchful Eye. For others it was similar. The party suffered quite a lot in so little time. Even the mages weren't spared. Knowing that Balm would have to heal anyways, they saved their stance and braved the flames.
"That boss is quite vicious. Forcing us to choose."
"Yeah. We need to try to stick close to the centre."
"Easier said than done…"
The friends had time to exchange some words while the boss rained hell from above. Flames surrounded them from all sides, creating an apocalyptic scene. And in the middle of the group stood Balm, holding her wand high, waves of healing light spreading from her. Her luck was quite exceptional. Three waves of light radiated outward, each healing for almost 8000 HP. The entire party was back to full HP, even receiving various buffs from Balm's passive.
"An agility increase of ten percent. I fear that will remain unused.", said Bloody Edge, a wry smile on his lips. He probably wouldn't be able to damage the dragon within the next ten seconds.
However, while Bloody Edge already expected it, when he realized how long the dragon stayed in the air, his forehead had already formed deep, black lines. More than five minutes! The dragon didn't return to the ground, raining flames from the sky, forcing the players to scramble around. It was impossible to avoid taking damage during the fierce bombardment. Balm had to heal multiple times, depleting her mana by about a third, prompting her to become more careful.
"It's coming down!"
"Finally! Get to the edges! Go!"
Everyone was glad watching the dragon's moves. They realised that it was about to stage another dive attack. Gathered at the centre the friends hastily escaped to the edges. They made it just in time as the massive vibrations shook the mountain. Deep cracks tore through the rocks. The rumbling of a landslide could be heard faintly.
But no one cared about the mountain right now. The group turned around and rushed towards the dragon even before the dust settled. The earlier events were repeated, and Liam arrived on top of the dragon, fiercely stabbing down the dragon's own scales.
[-20.000!]
The damage immediately doubled! Delight spread among the friends. This was their reward after arduously dodging the fire for five minutes. The dragon's HP directly dropped to 122.000 points.
"Guys! Use this chance well!"
The friends immediately surged from all sides. Their skills were all off cooldown. A brutal assault befell the dragon.
Liam, standing on top of the boss's back swung his swords fluidly, one attack perfectly fusing into the next. His swords shone in white and black light as he crossed them before his chest and fiercely slashed down. The physical damage was alright but both the holy and dark damage met great resistance.
Such was the power of dragons. Even the magic originating from gods and devils couldn't damage them gravely.
Additionally, no Holy or Dark Marks were applied. The dragon's resistance to status effects still existed. Liam frowned lightly but it didn't stop him from attacking with all his strength.
For the next few seconds, it was the turn of the friends to one-sidedly pummel the boss. The damage came as a sudden burst as if a dam had been broken. Everyone gave it their all, knowing that as soon as the dragon returned to the sky they would face the same frustrating helplessness again.
"Faster, faster, faster! Push it below a hundred thousand!"
"My friends, don't allow this fierce beast to escape again!"
"My blade shall slay a dragon today!"
"I'll use my ultimate skill!"
The friends were almost in a frenzy as they unleashed their skills. Lightning rained from above and blades slashed at the scales. Finally, the dragon even received visible wounds as scales broke off and red blood brimming with vitality flowed slowly.
"You really think you can succeed?! You are not worthy of becoming a Dragonslayer!"
Growling, the dragon stood up, recovering from the momentary weakness. His blazing eyes bore down on the players. But their gaze didn't appear that confident anymore.
With the friends giving it their all and Silent Acacia even summoning all of his pets, the dragon's HP had dipped below 100.000 points. A hint of danger was born in the dragon's mind. Its attacks seemingly became even fiercer, the interval between them shortening slightly. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield blocked valiantly, sharing the cost between them. Yet their stance was reaching dangerous levels.
Suddenly the dragon erupted with a deafening roar, which pushed everyone back. The friends were perplexed by the change. But they noticed that the boss's HP had dropped below half.
"Careful! It might be preparing a special attack!"
"Stay guarded!"
"Stick to the tanks!"
Liam watched the reactions of his friends and was quite happy. He slowly sneaked away. At this moment the dragon flapped its wings and took to the air. The friends were afraid it would spire fire again, but the blood-red beast didn't stop, rising higher and higher.
"What is it doing?"
"Must be a dive attack!"
"Get away! Get away!"
The party recognized the familiar move. Surely, a vicious dive attack would follow next. Everyone swiftly escaped towards the edges of the mountaintop.
"No, that's not right!"
"Why is it flying so high? I can barely see it anymore."
"The beast has to be planning something nefarious."
Contemplative eyes followed the dragon as it rose higher and higher. Liam observed his friends, curious if they would notice something. Valuable time passed. Just as he was about to alert his friends, Balm finally made a vital observation:
"Guys! Our flying mounts! We can summon them!"
"This can't be a coincidence! Quick!"
Everyone sprang into action. Ten flying mounts appeared on the mountaintop. An oppressive might gathered above. Glancing upwards the friends realized that the dragon was already approaching with unprecedented ferocity.
"What are you waiting for?!", yelled Liam. He mounted his elegant white fox and hastily rushed away from the mountaintop.
"Go! Go! Go!"
The others finally stopped dawdling. Ten mounts rose from the ground. Using [Dash] they hastily escaped into the distance.
Finally, a deafening boom thundered through the entire trial space. The sound of breaking rocks accompanied it. Shockwaves spread in all directions. The friends shook in the air like airplanes encountering turbulent streams, their heads becoming somewhat dizzy.
After a moment everyone looked back, curious about the scene behind them. What they saw left them in awe. Where once a mountaintop reached out of the fog, there was now only a cloud of dust left. The entire massive formation has been destroyed. The rocks disappeared somewhere in the rubble below.
"So strong…"
Cyclone gulped. Although knowing this was only a scene conjured by the trial, far from the real power of dragons, she couldn't help but feel respect after experiencing it from up close. Especially knowing that a real dragon was certainly stronger by multiple times.
Were all dragons level 100? Cyclone was somewhat doubtful. However, her thoughts were interrupted as there was movement amidst the dust cloud. Two bright red dots appeared. They gradually grew bigger. An orange sheen followed reminiscent of the rising sun. An invisible pressure prompted everyone to hold their breath.
Suddenly the dust cloud stirred and rolled. A massive body broke out. It was the red dragon, its eyes blazing with flames, and even its body covered in orange fire, especially the tip of its long tail which was melting everything getting too close.
Just as it came out of the dust, the dragon's body abruptly turned into a blur of red and orange.
"So fast!"
"Careful!"
"Silver!"
Even Silver Blade and Radiant Shield were caught off guard. The dragon arrived in front of the party, swinging its body around, striking with its muscular tail. Silver Blade was hit squarely, her entire body lunged into the distance.
[-10.809!]
[-2270!]
"How could it be so strong?!"
"So much damage!"
"It was physical and fire damage! We need to be careful!"
The friends were shocked that their powerful tank would receive so much damage.
"Stabilize the situation first! Don't forget that we can attack the dragon now!"
Liam shouted a timely remined. Everyone's eyes lit up. The dragon was right there in front of them! They could strike to their heart's content!
At this moment Radiant Shield took the lead. Slamming his body into the dragon and using two skills he firmly secured the beast's aggro. Finally, everyone was free to attack. The party surrounded the dragon on their nimble flying mounts, moving in circles, attacking from all sides. And as they noticed their damage at least one of their worries could be soothed. The dragon's stats didn't seem to have improved.