The group came out of the water with soaked clothes.
"Hey C, can you help us out here?"
Fortune only decided to try her luck, but the AI actually acted. A storm of warm air erupted in the room, drying the group within seconds, even more potent than any blow-dryer.
Just then Quickstep suddenly noticed that Lenn looked remarkably different. She eyed him, asking jokingly:
"Hey Lenn, what happened? Did you decide to switch classes all of a sudden? Tired of tanking all day?"
"Sure. I'm playing as a ranger now. I hope you can find someone else to take all the blows for you."
"Well, if you want to switch to a ranged class, it's only fair for a ranged player to switch to a tank. Right, Braag?"
"Hey, don't drag me into this. I'm not playing a tank just because that guy was afraid to drown in his heavy armor."
The others laughed, finding out the real reason while Lenn switched armours. Liam coughed somewhat awkwardly:
"Perhaps I forgot to mention that there is no need to worry about that. The game is considerate enough to ignore that. Or else it would be impossible to fight underwater."
"There are underwater fights?!", asked Fortune, quite shocked by the idea.
"Of course. But they are difficult and annoying. Personally, I would avoid them as much as possible."
Fortune nodded. After their short adventure just now, she knew how difficult it was to move underwater. Imagining herself fighting a boss under such conditions sent a shiver down her spine.
"However, it's not all bad."
Everyone curiously glanced at Liam as he continued:
"There are mounts, pets, and items which allow for better movement underwater. If you get your hands on one of them, you can explore places which most players can't reach. All the treasure will naturally be yours."
Quickstep's eyes lit up. She showed a sly grin as she said:
"Perhaps we should get one of those for Cyclone. Then we can send her treasure seeking in the ocean, monopolizing all the chests."
"The idea is not bad but it's not necessary. There are more than enough chests on land."
While they talked the group approached the door leading outside. Liam briefly warned them that a fight would start as soon as they opened the door.
Everyone looked towards Lenn, expecting him to take the lead. But the dwarf was quiet, still clad in his light armor. Embarrassed he asked everyone to turn around. Melodious Edelweiss immediately averted her head, even holding her hands before her eyes. But the others weren't so cooperative.
Deliberately staring at the dwarf with playful expressions they kept joking around for a bit before Lenn finally managed to convince everyone to turn away. He hastily changed armours before anyone could even think about turning back around.
A moment later heavy metallic steps echoed through the chamber. Lenn wore a relieved smile having never felt this comfortable in his armor before. He took the lead and pushed open the door.
"Huh?"
"Who goes there?!"
Instantly two surprised exclamations sounded out. Two cultists guarded the door. They were understandably perplexed as someone suddenly appeared from inside the room.
There was not much to talk about between the two groups. The cultists attacked immediately. They were a duo of warriors, their identical faces betraying the fact that they were twins. Both were level 43 elite enemies.
Lenn appeared right in the middle of them. At first, he was worried as the enemies both fought with swords, but they immediately used skills to coat their swords in magic, changing their damage type.
Seeing this Lenn felt way less pressured and confidently took on the two cultists. Of course, the others swiftly arrived for support. Thanks to Melodious Edelweiss's heals the tank never dropped dangerously low.
Overall, the group didn't face much difficulty during the fight. The cultists had a single powerful skill, creating a magical storm around them but Liam countered it with a simple trick. He closed the door until the skill was over.
Unfortunately, the cultists weren't entirely without intelligence. The subsequent times they used their skill they made sure to position one of them within the room and the other outside. Although the players now couldn't entirely escape the skill, the situation was still better than facing both cultists head-on.
Sticking to their strategy it didn't take long until both cultists fell to the ground. After the fight ended Harry let out a sigh:
"I knew I was right to count on you. In my current state I don't think I would have been able to defeat those two."
"Don't worry. With us around you will be safe."
"Yes. Thank you. We aren't far from our target. I can feel the calling growing stronger and stronger."
"Great!"
Listening to Harry the group continued the quest with much motivation. However, from his point on it was rather dull. They were forced to follow a corridor with some turns but no crossings. Most of the time they were using stairs to go upwards until their calves hurt. And from time-to-time small groups of cultists blocked their path.
This went on until they made it towards a larger hall not far from the mountain top. The group entered from a small side entrance. To their left was a wide tunnel, which would lead towards the cultists' temple and to the right was an enormous door depicting a giant shackled in chains.
The air in the hall was surprisingly refreshing. This was not only because there were a few vents connecting to the outside but also because there were a few pools in the hall, their water brimming with vitality.
After studying their surroundings for a moment, the players' eyes swiftly settled on a figure kneeling before the large gate. He wore the black cloak typical of a cultist and had his back to the group. Perceiving steps behind him the figure used his grey staff as a crutch to slowly stand up and turned around.
The face of an old man looked at the group. He had deep wrinkles and swayed while standing but his eyes still held some strength honed over many years.
"Intruders... I have long advised them to close the tunnels, but they just wouldn't listen. Now I need to move my old bones again."
"Well, no one is forcing you, old man. Just let us enter that door and everyone's happy."
The old man showed a crooked smile upon Fortune's attempt to convince him. A fervent anger slowly rose in his eyes.
"Heretics. Youn want to gaze upon the true face of our god?! Only over my dead body!"
"Well, you leave us no choice then."
Since the old man didn't grant the players passage, there was nothing more to say. The fight began. Lenn dashed towards the enemy while checking the old man's information.
[Jeddid Quadeo, Former leader of the cult of the jailed god
Rank: Boss
Level: 52
HP: 62.000/62.000
Status: Weakened]
Instantly Lenn let out a shocked cry:
"Level 52?! How are we supposed to win this?"
"Look at his status!"
"Weakened? Does it stay like this?"
"Yeah."
Liam's voice didn't sound entirely convincing. But there was no escaping the fight. Lenn could only grit his teeth and be the solid boulder his team needed. Steam erupted from his armor as he activated [Shield Dash] and rushed towards the old man.
Liam and Quickstep stuck close to the dwarf while the others took secure positions at the back. Suddenly the first clash ensued. Lenn rammed his shield into Jeddid's armor. The old man groaned, tumbling backwards. To everyone's surprise he didn't even avoid the stun.
There was no need to remind anyone. The players all saw the opportunity to unleash their attacks. Fortune and Braag fired at the same time, being the first to damage the boss.
[-25!]
[-253!]
Braag was frustrated seeing his low damage. He realized that he wouldn't be much of a help just like during the last boss fight.
Watching Liam and Quickstep start their attacks the dwarf could only smile wryly making up his mind to rush towards becoming a tier 2 character.
Quickstep swung her swords probingly at the immobilized old man while dancing around him to gather her storm.
[-419!]
[-209!]
Meanwhile Liam went ahead and unleashed his entire combo. Attacks and skills blended together as Holy Marks were built and triggered. The former cultist leader swiftly lost about 2700HP even before the blinding explosion erupted.
[-323!]
Quickstep witnessed Liam's assault, but she was quite surprised to see the damage after the explosion of five Holy Marks.
"That's quite low..."
"Yeah. His resistance against holy damage is rather strong."
Hearing this, Quickstep had a bad premonition. What if the boss had strong resistance against elemental damage as well? Apprehensive, Quickstep decided to find out. Her swords were engulfed by raging wind as she activated [Double Storm Slash]. Flashing diagonally the two sharp blades cut at the old man's back.
[-356!]
[-665!]