With a wave of Cyclone's wand, a bolt of lightning struck from the ceiling dancing around the golem's metallic body.
[-324!]
[-166!]
"Oh come on! That's like... ehm... a high resistance."
Cyclone wasn't even sure herself. She looked around but eventually decided against asking someone now. Out of the party Silent Acacia, Quickstep, Silver Blade, and Liam had deeper knowledge about how exactly damage was calculated.
However, out of them only Liam would know the percentage of lightning damage caused by her skill. But the expert had to focus right now as he had reached the boss.
Golden light was faintly shimmering on Liam's skin as he activated his ultimate. His swords flashed quickly causing crisp, metallic sounds as they collided with the boss's legs, barely leaving a scratch.
[-311!]
[-155!]
Yet before Liam could show off his full combo, the boss already retaliated with its first skill. Its legs remained unmoving as its upper body turned 360 degrees, brutally swinging its hammer in all directions.
"Not again!"
A voice came out of nowhere as Bloody Edge suffered from flashbacks about the skill. In normal mode the guardian would use it every few seconds, which made the fight quite frustrating for the melee fighters. And in hard mode he surely won't be any more lenient.
Bloody Edge delayed for a moment until the boss had finished his rotation before stepping forward for his own attack. But to his shock the golem's movements didn't stop. Deviating from normal mode he made a second rotation!
When Bloody Edge realized this, it was already too late. A heavy hammer slammed into his shoulder.
[-1946!]
"AH!"
The thief let out a pained cry as he was shoved to the side, rolling on the floor. His shoulder hurt as if broken and his stealth was cancelled.
"Edge, are you ok?"
"Damn, everything alright?"
"My friend, how are you fearing?"
Bloody Edge dragged his body up, showing a thumbs up to his friends, yet curses left his mouth:
"F*ck! This has to be the worst start to a boss fight ever!"
Seeing that he was fine Cyclone couldn't help but tease him while chuckling:
"Worst sneak attack I have ever seen."
"Could be straight out of a comedy movie.", agreed Balm.
"His body did resemble a rag-doll.", said even Radiant Shield.
Bloody Edge's eye twitched but he had no way to defend himself. He was indeed quite reckless. Looking at the other melee fighters, they all remained careful and only continued attacking after the boss stopped completely.
Liam, Quickstep, and Watchful Eye delivered powerful blows with their swords and staff. Yet the boss's sturdy metal exterior showed no signs of damage. At least his HP moved slowly.
The fight continued for only a few seconds until the metal golem dug his feet into the floor. Everyone understood that it was about to repeat its skill. The melee classes swiftly drew back, avoiding the boss.
Meanwhile the ranged fighters continued attacking freely. Silent Acacia had long applied his [Mark of Death], firing arrows in the hope of triggering a critical hit.
[-395!]
Unfortunately, he didn't have much luck so far. But suddenly a ball of water flashed past him.
[-594!!!]
"Let's go, Zorn!"
The hunter praised his pet happily, who raised her head proudly. During her last attack she not only landed a critical hit but even profited from the effect of Acacia's rare bow 'Meloh's shared fate', raising her damage by fifty percent.
Looking at this amount of damage Silent Acacia clearly understood why Liam advised him to invest more in his pets. After this dungeon run, he should indeed spend some time on this.
Other than the hunter-pet pair the party's mages attacked as well. Their casts were finished. Sharp bolts of pure magic and a rope formed from lightning attacked the boss.
[-515!]
[-294!]
Finally, the boss completed his two rotations. All the melee fighter stepped forward, ready to take down the guardian. But suddenly they noticed something strange. Liam hastily shouted a warning:
"No, he's still turning!"
Their hearts skipping a beat the players instantly tried to dodge. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to move in time. Quickstep winced as the hammer brushed her arm while Radiant Shield, too slow due to his low agility and heavy armor, suffered from a direct hit.
[-1838!]
[-1076!]
Only Bloody Edge had not moved immediately, avoiding the situation, now taking revenge for the earlier jokes:
"Don't close your eyes during a battle, guys!"
Quickstep rolled her eyes, muttering:
"Once bitten twice shy, hm."
After this the melee players didn't dare to get close instantly. Only after confirming that the boss really ended his skill after the third rotation did they commence their attacks.
"Ok, we need to assume that the number of rotations is random. Stay vigilant, guys.", reminded Liam.
Everyone nodded, keeping the information in mind. Only the boss appeared indifferent as ever, silently doing his duty as the guard of this cave.
His hammer moved monotonously, always pressuring Radiant Shield. He knew neither exhaustion nor pain.
The players were quite impressed with this demonstration of dwarven craftsmanship. Only Liam knew that the golem was far from showing its peak potential. The keywords here were the 'patched-up' in the boss's name.
Yet the boss already put a lot of pressure on the players. Suddenly its 'eyes' began to glow red. The boss once again dug its feet into the ground, taking on a stable stance. Steam escaped from its body as a plate on its chest opened revealing the muzzle of a cannon, its interior black as ink.
The party didn't need to talk much, they already knew what to expect. They formed a large circle around the boss, leaving big gaps between them. Only Silent Acacia and Quickstep stood closer together.
Strange clicking noises came from the golem's body as it turned around focusing on the spot where most players stood, which was in Silent Acacia and Quickstep's direction.
But the two pro players frowned slightly. The boss's aim appeared a bit off. They quickly understood why as a black cone shape was projected on the floor for less than a second.
"The skill's area is larger than in normal mode! Damn, now it's targeting... Fortune as well!"
Quickstep spoke in alarm, glancing over her shoulder to find out who else was in the boss's range.
Unfortunately, there was nothing she could to. The boss's aim was already locked. Just as prepared beforehand Quickstep and Silent Acacia escaped from the skill's range.
If everything would have gone smoothly, the boss would face an empty area. But now Fortune was caught within it.
The gorgeous mage looked dumbfounded. She hadn't yet unleashed all her [Arcane Bolts]. Upholding the skill slowed down her movement. But even if she were to cancel it now, it would already be too late. She could only brace herself.
Everything happened in a flash. Fortune scrunched her face as she noticed a black light erupting from the muzzle. Instantly a wave of metallic bullets surrounded by dark magic followed.
And it didn't end with one wave. Two more surged out, spreading in a cone shape like the bullets of a shotgun. Fortune drew a sharp breath as bullets crashed into her, not sparing any part of her body.
[-198!]x27
[+13.643!]
[-219!]x27
The mix of physical and dark damage was overwhelming. A single bullet wasn't too powerful but since Fortune was greedy for finishing [Arcane Bolt], she tried to endure the boss's entire skill which turned out to be a grave mistake.
Noticing the terrifying reduction of Fortune's HP, Balm attempted to save her with a [Heal]. But even though the skill was incredibly potent, Fortune only had a limit of 5047HP. Everything beyond that was wasted. Now the important skill was on a long cooldown. Balm could only hope to reduce the cooldown with the effect of her new robe.
Recognizing the development of the situation, Radiant Shield felt forced to use his skill [Holy Barrier] as well. Only the combination of both finally ensured Fortune's survival.
The mage showed a bitter expression, apologizing to the party.
"It's ok. Don't let it drag you down. Focus on the fight!", advised Silver Blade. Fortune was glad that nobody blamed her. She heeded Silver Blade's advice, making sure to land her last few arcane bolts.
A brief lull fell on the combatants as they took in the aftermath of the attack. The terrifying bullets formed a small pile below the wall. Some of them stuck deeply in the soil, overturning the fields which the golem was supposed to protect.
Yet the boss showed no remorse. Eliminating the intruders seemed to be its highest priority. He turned towards Bleary Mirage and Bloody Edge, who had taken position close to him, acting as bait.
In the back stood Cyclone and Balm, carefully distancing themselves further to avoid being in the skill's range. A moment later the boss's 'eyes' flashed. A black light played around the muzzle.
Liam and Bloody Edge's eyes revealed shock. This time there was no indicator of the skill's range! The boss fired instantly!
Liam lunged to the side, managing to escape the wave of bullets. But Bloody Edge was a step too slow, suffering a few hits.
[-218!]x5
[-194!]x5