Moving by instinct, Xinya ducked out of the way and avoided the poisonous claw by mere centimeters. It was pure luck. It felt like his mind was going 200 miles per hour. He had to think up something. If only to stave the monster off for a few more seconds. At that moment, Melting Snow and Wandering Sound jumped out of their hiding places, running over to him. They had higher HP and Xinya was sure they would be able to take care of themselves, but he didn"t want them to get hurt either.
How he wished that he was able to make the resurrection potion or some other kind of buff potion to help everyone out. He felt a fire burning in his heart, once he got to Arkala he would make it his priority to create more useful potions.
""Don"t get too close it"s claws are poisonous!" Xinya warned them through party chat. He needed to make sure the monster aggro stayed on him.
He was not impulsive by any means, whether it be the real world or world of Haven. But at this moment, his pride and heart were stronger than his mind.
""Since there is no time to create an elaborate plan, we can only go with the flow," Xinya told them as he took out two potions. "I will momentarily distract it with my Mini Fireb.a.l.l.s potion, while you all ready your attacks. Since it came to this we aren"t going to give up.""
Noticing the newcomers, the monster went to attack them, taking them as threats wanting to steal away it"s prey. It would not allow that to happen.
The monster was unexpectedly agile despite its stubby legs and log-like body. It charged towards Melting Snow. Melting Snow was already ready for action, so when the monster ran towards him, he slashed his swords down, trying to injure the monster. However, the creature evaded the reckless attack with ease, making Melting Snow gnash his teeth.
Seeing that the monster began attacking Melting Snow, Xinya hurriedly started flinging the Mini Fireball potions one after another at the monster, they didn"t do much damage to the monster"s 500k hp, but it did attract the monster"s attention back to him.
When the monster turned back to him, Xinya could feel his heartbeat go through the roof. The adrenaline rush was. .h.i.tting him hard, but it also brought clarity that he didn"t have before.
At that moment, someone whizzed past him, taking a look he could see that it was only Roaming Wind. While running, she aimed her guns at the monster, trying to get in a good shot. She had wanted to stay hidden and just snipe the creature but with how it was moving she wasn"t able to aim.
A loud bang sounded and a pair of red bullets sped towards the monster"s almost non-existent, meaty neck. The monster turned around, letting the bullets graze its scales. A sign that she shaved off some HP appeared, but the number was disappointing.
While Wei was shooting at it, Xinya and Wandering Sound started attacking it together. Melting Snow wanted to help, but he knew if he joined in he would get poisoned by the monster"s claws.
The three of them worked together, keeping the monster blinded as they slowly lowered its HP. Xinya thought he was worried for nothing, the monster Hp was already down to 400k and if they keep at it this way, it will be dead soon enough.
However, it seemed he thought too soon because as soon as they got the monster"s Hp down another 50k a gust of greenish gas burst out of the monster"s throat and a notification popped up.
[You"ve been poisoned!]
[You will lose 50 Hp every ten seconds for a minute!]
"Everyone move away!" Xinya yelled. He knew that if they stayed in the range of the gas the time they will be poisoned will just keep going higher.
Everyone began rus.h.i.+ng away from the monster and it"s gas, chugging down HP potions as they went. The gas spread quite a distance, way out of his throwing distance, and Wandering Sound attacks could reach.
The only one who could keep attacking the monster was Wei, but her bullets didn"t do much damage. Melting Snow who was just watching couldn"t take it anymore decided to run in, not caring about the gas.
He jumped high, just above the monster"s head, and buried his left blade into the creature"s shoulder, while the right blade made a cut from forehead downwards. The monster screeched enraged. One of its eyes was destroyed.
Melting Snow"s continuous attacks on the monster combined with Wei"s, brought the monster"s Hp down to a little under 300k. Although Melting Snow"s efforts were great, the monster"s poison was bringing down his HP quickly.
"Melting Snow hurry and drink an HP potion!" Xinya yelled impatiently, he couldn"t wait for the gas to dissipate so he could hurry and join back into the fray.
Somersaulting off of the monster, Melting Snow moved away from the creature. His Hp was low and he was in a poisoned state, so all he could do was gulp down some health potions while Roaming Wind distracted the monster with her attacks.
Once the gas had dispersed, Xinya and Wandering Sound jumped back into the fight. However this time the monster wasn"t going to allow itself to be ganged up upon. With a murderous howl, the monster went into berserk mode. Xinya couldn"t breathe for a moment as he watched the monster start to change colors.
The scales turned moss green, the claws were dripping a liquid that was more corrosive than before; the rust-red droplets fell onto the ground and blackened the ground and ate away the vegetation.
Right off, Xinya knew that if that poison as it was now touched them it would be instant death. His mind was swirling, but before he could even say or do anything, he heard a melody ringing behind him.
A beautiful arrangement resembling the songs of sirens echoed through the glade. Xinya would later swear that he heard the sound of waves while listening to Wandering Sound"s Beguiling Song.
When Wandering Sound saw the creature going into a berserk state, he was certain that they would all die. He didn"t want that to happen, no he wouldn"t let that happen.
Emotions play a huge part in music, the stronger the emotion is the more it comes across in a musician"s playing. That"s a fact. Because of such a simple principle, the Beguiling Song attack worked. The monster entered a trance and stood simply in a place.
Roaming Wind didn"t hesitate, desperate to hit. Before anyone had to tell her, she used Soul Shot. The bullet hit the monster right into the chest, inflicting maximum damage. It was also pushed 5 feet away from its original position.
Breaking out of the trance, the monster came back to his mind and roared, breathing black fire. It didn"t move much, but the damage to the surrounding vegetation was horrible. Dead flowers, scorched soil, fallen trees, and burning bushes.
""Everyone, attack we need to kill him quickly!"" shouted Xinya, who was about to throw some potions at it.
Melting Snow tried to sneak up behind it and attack it, but his sword was deflected, and instead of the creature he received some damage. Puffing in displeasure, he retreated a couple of steps to see the best angle to attack it was. Then he remembered his skill Sword of Vengeance. His ultimate attack! How could he forget, gaaah!
Yet another melody merged with the ominous wailing of the Atranoch. A lullaby-like song flew in the air, making him slower with each intended step. Wandering Sound exerted his mana into the Snail Song, while Xinya took out the Dreaming Dust and flung it towards the monster. Yet, nothing happened. A brief silence cut through the calming song. The monster growled once again, startling all of them from stupefaction.
""s.h.i.+t, the Dreaming Dust is ineffective!"" Roaming Wind shouted to overpower the growling of the animal in front of them. She was hoping that the dreaming dust potion would work since it would amplify their damage power.
Wandering Sound resumed playing, but the effect was weakened. He could see that the monster was fighting against it, and soon would break free of it. At that moment, a light flew by them all. The clanging sound of blades. .h.i.tting the monster didn"t stop.
Melting Snow used Sonic Run. He seemed to fly, not stopping for a millisecond, brandis.h.i.+ng his swords against the tough skin of the Atranoch, testing them both. Sparks flew in all directions from the friction, making it seem dangerous, but also entrancing at the same time.
Full of energy and excitement, this deadly dance continued until they could see Melting Snow"s silhouette slowly retreating, a sign that the skill is wearing out. Wandering Sound put his flute to his lips and blew a tune that became sharper with each sound.
Notes became ent.i.ties of their own, piercing the monster, widening the wounds the blades made. A shrill sound that hurt the ears rang out as the final note landed unsuccessfully.
The monster was free, thus it turned around and chased towards Wandering Sound. Wandering Sound had no choice but to use his last reserve of MP to let out a melody dripping with cries and curses, letting it form into a s.h.i.+eld in front of him. He stood in front of Roaming Wind to protect her.
His Liturgy of the d.a.m.ned did well in enduring three successive attacks from the Atranoch. During that time, Roaming Wind c.o.c.ked her guns and shot fiery ammunition once again, hitting him in the stomach, deepening one of the wounds the notes made.
Thousand blazing swords appeared above the monster"s head. Melting Snow resembled a warrior when standing in front of the monster, commanding his weapon: "Swords of death, take your vengeance!""
Blades mercilessly stabbed the monster before breaking into particles of light. As soon as his attack hit, it destroyed the last of the monster"s health. With one last roar, the monster fell to the ground dying.