"We can attack them!"
Cyclone informed her friends with a joyful shout. Instantly everyone perked up. This was actually a great opportunity. After all, except for a single clone, the others all stood motionless. If they didn't fight now, was there any better time?
A figure dashed past everyone. Liam had only been waiting for his friends to discover this opportunity. Right the next moment he appeared next to one of the clones, flourishing his swords, striking freely. There was no need to aim for precision. Only speed mattered. Faster and faster, the damage began to stack up.
Suddenly his ears twitch. The sound of projectiles whistling through the air subsided. Liam narrowed his eyes. A second later he noticed movements from the clone in front of him.
"This game is not over yet…"
The clone turned towards Liam, ready to unleash his skill. A pile of poker chips appeared on the floor, and the umbrella was ready to strike. But Liam's movements barely stopped. His sword struck diagonally. In mid-swing Liam's body suddenly turned into a shower of sparks, instantly reappearing behind the boss's back, his sword completing its strike.
[-98!]
However, some of Liam's skills were still on cooldown. He wasn't the biggest threat at the moment. This title was actually about to fall to Quickstep. The female warrior had finally maxed out her Storm. Her eyes blazed with piercing, silver glow like an unmatched sword saint. She ran circles around one of the clones, using all her skills to their utmost.
Quickstep's favourite [Aspect of Storm] was revealing all its power. After entering [Hurricane Mode] it was stronger than ever. Quickstep was enveloped in raging winds and swirling water. A second sword appeared in her left hand, created from wind and water, like a storm condensed into a blade, able to deal fearsome elemental damage.
Quickstep was freed from the shackles of attack speed due to [Aspect of Storm], while [Hurricane Mode] greatly boosted her movement speed. Her armour shone brightly, increasing her movement speed even further each time she dealt wind damage, like adding wings to a tiger. Her precious unique-quality sword triggered as her movement speed breached through a certain limit, granting the warrior one point of stance each time she dealt damage to an enemy.
With all kinds of beneficial effects aiding her, Quickstep's body blurred, her speed increasing so much that it became difficult to keep track off. Circling the devil she was like a real hurricane, only that the eye had become the most dangerous place. Swords kept flashing, dealing a difficult-to-deal-with mix of physical, wind, and water damage.
Quickstep didn't hold back, bringing out all her skills. Hurricanes howled around the boss as the area filled with blades of wind and water, which struck every time the boss received damage, reaching a terrifying frequency of at least three times per second.
Laughter could be heard. Quickstep was feeling great, free like the wind, as if no enemy could stop her in this state. Liam glanced over and had to admit that even he would find it challenging. In a fight against Quickstep, he would attempt to end it before she could enter [Hurricane Mode]. Furthermore, there was one skill which had to be dodged no matter what.
As her Storm slowly declined, with only one fourth of it left, Quickstep finally activated [Rapid Slash]. Her swords erupted with piercing silver light, pricking the eyes of all onlookers. [Aspect of Storm] had already ran out, slowing the warrior down. But now it was as if an invisible force guided her, her sword moving at an incredible speed, even beyond her former record. To onlookers the next ten strikes basically fused into one, turning into a ferocious storm blade.
[Rapid Slash] could strike up to ten times, but if one attack missed, the skill would be cancelled. Fortunately, the devil's clone obediently remained in place, not showing any attempt at dodging. Thus, Quickstep had it incomparably easy. But the most important part of the skill was its ability to recover two points of storm for every hit, effectively prolonging Quickstep's [Hurricane Mode].
[-269!]x10
[-58!]x10
[-78!]x10
[-109!]x10
[-78!]x8
[-109!]x6
The friends noticed the boss suddenly losing big chunks of his HP bar. They couldn't help but draw sharp breaths glancing at Quickstep. But the valiant warrior was not done yet. With a grin on her face, she pulled out her last trump car [Ferocious Hurricane]. A skill with the simple effect of reducing the cooldown of a single skill to zero. Quickstep immediately choose [Rapid Slash], repeating the skill on the spot, damaging the boss for another few thousand points.
Half a minute passed and the storm gradually subsided. The eight clones of the devil disappeared, leaving only the players. Cyclone and Balm approached Quickstep, their eyes shining.
"You were so awesome, Quickstep!"
"If you can do that against GalanTen later, we will have nothing to fear!"
Quickstep smiled mildly. A heavy dizziness assaulted her, and she felt a headache incoming. This time she had performed beyond her limits, but her brain felt somewhat unable to keep up. If it weren't for the console serving as protection she might have actually hurt herself. It remained to be seen if she could grow from the experience or if she had to hold back in the future.
However, in reality there was no need to be afraid. As one's level increased, the feedback from the console only became stronger, elevating the whole being. One's limit would constantly increase. Only if Quickstep received new equipment to boost her strength might a similar situation appear again.
A brief lull ensued as the devil didn't show himself. The friends took deep breaths, calming their tense hearts. It wasn't easy escaping from the boss's skill just now. The poker chips were fast and ruthless, covering a large area. Even though the party was prepared they suffered a few hits, enduring a cumulative damage in the tens of thousands.
However, they didn't suffer for nothing. Their attacks against the boss were fruitful, reducing the boss's HP by more than 20.000 points, largely due to Quickstep's rampage.
Balm glanced at the party's HP bars and immediately decided on one of her skills. She waved her wand, and a benevolent light surrounded her as if she had become a holy saintess.
A wave of light spread in all directions, blessing her friends. For every ally benefitting from the heal, there was a chance of ten percent to cast another wave. Silver Blade, Radiant Shield, and Bleary Mirage were unharmed, thus the chance was 60%. It was with some luck that Balm spread another wave of comfortable healing energy. After that, the chance reduced to 5%. Balm's luck was used up and the skill ended.
[+8232!]x2
Quickstep took a deep breath, even closing her eyes for a moment. The comfortable feeling embraced her body. Her HP were fully recovered. Even her mental exhaustion was soothed somewhat. She felt ready to continue the fight.
As if listening to Quickstep's thoughts, the boss suddenly reappeared. Silently, his body materialized behind Silver Blade, and he waved his umbrella, unleashing a black storm.
"Careful!"
The warning came too late. Silver Blade was unable to turn around in time, and even Bloody Edge who stood not far away from the boss was mercilessly struck by the boss.
"Such a cunning sneak attack!"
"As expected from a devil!"
Silver Blade and Bloody Edge, having just recovered a great deal, instantly lost thousands of HP again. Bloody Edge was even dangerously low. He instantly kept his distance from Silver Blade, leaving the tank to face the boss alone. However, Silver Blade wouldn't want it any other way. She turned around on the spot, placing her shield in the way, staring at the devil's eyes tinged with sadness.
"Come on!"
"Haha, yes, show that little devil!"
"So cool!"
Just as Silver Blade had a heroic moment, the somewhat comical shouts of Cyclone and Balm destroyed the atmosphere again. The tank rolled her eyes. The others laughed as they rushed towards the boss, attacking from all sides.
A sphere of water shot through the air coming from a monstrous white alligator. A bunch of arrows followed right behind. Fortune and Cyclone casted their skills. Liam and Watchful Eye struck fiercely. Only Quickstep lagged behind having spent all her means, now only able to use normal attacks.
For a while the players dominated the battle. Their skills slowly recovered. The boss's HP decreased bit by bit, from one hundred and thirty thousand to twenty thousand, fifteen thousand…
The Unlucky Jester narrowed his eyes. He was still pressed for time. And those pesky adventurers… had to be eliminated!
With a wave of his umbrella Misortnimn suddenly pushed all the players away. He tipped the ground lightly and shot into the air. His arms were raised, and a few dice appeared out of nowhere. The friends instantly understood what was going on. Without hesitation Cyclone blurted out the first few numbers coming to her mind.