The party erupted in cheers having finally overcome the stubborn obstacle. But unfortunately, there was not much time to celebrate.
Liam reminded his friends that the game would go offline soon, prompting Cyclone to frantically scramble for the loot, which was hidden in a separate room.
A pair of golden shining pants of rare quality appeared in Cyclone's hands after rummaging through the chests. Since their effect was geared towards stealth they naturally went to Bloody Edge.
Afterwards everyone went offline. Liam returned to Merida's apartment. Since the doctor and his sister weren't back yet, he considered cooking something for them.
But remembering their faces after eating his food the last time he dropped the idea, opting to order food.
Soon the trio spent an enjoyable evening. Serena constantly questioned Liam about the dungeon and even Merida listened curiously. Since the game continued to spread even the doctor put down her scepticism.
Yet she couldn't help but vent from time to time. Some idiots just wouldn't learn. Feeling confident because of their newfound powers, they were prone to solving the slightest disagreements with their fists.
Fortunately, the army's crack down slowly got the situation under control. But the injured were sometimes escorted to her clinic before being brought before a judge.
Ironically the chaos caused by gangs was decreasing. As they used their accumulated wealth to invest in consoles, the gangs, especially their core members, were preoccupied all day, shifting their usual fights against rival gangs into the game.
However, until now the gangs found it difficult to make money with the game. After all, companies were reluctant to sponsor guilds founded by known gang members.
This led to the gangs having some of their more promising members poached, forcing them to be creative. Many of them turned towards the mercenary business, working for other guilds, clearing dungeons in their names.
Many of these mercenaries were now vying for the first dungeon clear on hard mode, competing with Dream Avenue.
All of this was information Liam had read in an article online after listening to Merida's rent. However, he didn't consider the gangs serious competitors.
In his opinion mercenaries could consider themselves accomplished if they managed to clear the dungeon without raising their levels to the limit.
Liam only looked at the stories of others out of curiosity. No matter how they boasted or how far they made it, the veteran knew that only focusing on one's own game mattered.
Therefore, he wasn't perturbed when Serena complained about Star Gazer's newest interview. The young Colville was once again in the limelight, many praising him for daring to split his attention between the dungeon and the guild war.
Serena was annoyed the whole evening, which was mirrored by Liam's friends after entering the game the next day.
Fortunately, the party knew their priorities. They soon adjusted their mindset, focusing on the dungeon as Onrabell opened the next gate.
A vast graveyard afflicted by an eery, cold wind of death, appeared before the party. With no sign of any change, they repeated the method used to solve the area on normal difficulty.
Fortunately, the only difference was the increased prowess of the wind. Its strength wasn't enough, however, to obstruct the party. Soon they destroyed the two crypts, drying up the source of the wind, before gathering at the graveyard's centre.
Liam and his friends watched as Onrabell rose high into the sky, the holy bracelet in her hand. Holding her ritual the bracelet exploded in a shower of golden rain, like a myriad of twinkling stars against the backdrop of the black river.
The invaders quickly moved to stop her. Billowing black magic came out of the sealed portal in the distance while green jelly oozed out between the chains.
Cyclone shivered upon the disgusting sight despite facing the boss for the second time.
Soon, a tall creature with a body of jelly and an arm infected by void energy formed. A ghost shot out of the portal, possessing the creature, replacing its head.
The boss spoke a few menacing words while approaching the party. When it got close enough the fight begun with Silver Blade sharing the boss's information with the party.
[Void-Corrupted Experiment Enem
Rank: Boss
Level: 25
HP: 10.600/10.600
Status: possessed]
Emitting strange flop sounds the boss began to attack, aiming for Radiant Shield who took the frontmost position. The tank proved his growth since the last time he faced the boss, blocking the wobbly moving arm with great familiarity.
[Stance -19]
The fight began with a fierce exchange of attacks, whereas the boss's characteristics didn't change much. It took more physical damage than magical and boasted surprisingly high resistances against elemental damage.
Dealing between fifty and one hundred and thirty points of damage with their normal attacks the party felt somewhat anxious. They didn't forget that his was a timed fight. The moment the black magic manages to wear down the golden rain in the sky, the party would be met with defeat.
Thus, everyone gave their best, upholding their attacks even while dodging skills.
But Enem was determined to make the party's lives miserable. He shook his body, sending blobs of green jelly towards the sky.
Cyclone stared angrily at the boss as the skill choose her as the first target just as it did during the last run. The mage focused on her cast while jumping to the side, keeping the mana in her body stable.
Silver Blade graciously complemented the mage on her growth, causing both friends to smile. But their expressions quickly turned to surprise as the blob of green jelly landed, exploding and splashing smaller blobs in all directions.
"Ewww! Stupid boss!"
[-1544!]
After the first blob, more landed in quick succession. No one dared to stay close to the impacts anymore dodging frantically as soon as the skill targeted them.
Enem seemed to enjoy himself as he upheld the skill for a long time. The party noticed the reduction in their damage, trying to attack while dodging, but the skill's threat forced them to keep moving.
Finally, the boss ran out of steam. Liam and his friends surged towards Enem pressured by the steadily reducing golden rain in the sky. A furious brawl followed. Enem's strong attacks soon broke Radiant Shield's stance.
Simultaneously the melee fighters accumulated green, sticky jelly on their weapons which served to reduce the damage they dealt, the effect way stronger than on normal difficulty.
They were forced to shake off the jelly from time to time, wasting precious seconds.
Yet the party continuously chipped away the boss's HP. As the fight continued Enem revealed additional fierce skills.
The strange jelly creature grew two new arms at times, whipping across the entire battlefield or he shot jelly from his body like bullets.
Even the frequency of the boss's skills had increased.
Throughout the fight Liam stuck close to the boss, only dodging if necessary. His swords moved continuously, one attack flowing into the next.
Brilliant golden light exploded above the boss's head, the holy magic violently shaking the ghost head, almost blowing its horns off.
[-249!]
Despite his effort the situation didn't look great. Liam glanced at the sky, a hint of anxiousness in his eyes. Just at that moment Onrabell emitted a stubborn, pink spark, attempting to hold off the dark magic.
Liam realized that the last three seconds of the fight had come. Checking the boss he couldn't help but sigh. With more than 1500HP left to go it was obvious that this try would end in failure.
Noticing this, the rest of the party also lowered their weapons with a look of defeat on their faces.
"Ah! Nooo!"
A saddening cry came from the sky, drawing everyone's attention. No one could remain unmoved as they watched the cute pink fairy being devoured by the black magic, unable to break out.
"Sorry Onrabell...", whispered Cyclone with quivering lips.
A moment later the entire party was sent back to the dungeon's entrance.
This loss was difficult to stomach for the party. On one hand there was Onrabell's miserable fate and on the other the party had to pass the entire dungeon once more.
Liam noticed the mood and suggested a five-minute break to which everyone readily agreed. Cyclone curiously browsed the global chat where several competing teams exchanged their opinions.
Eventually they concluded that it was smarter to make a 'tactical retreat' to 'level up and try again later'. Naturally they insisted that they were not giving up.
Reading these messages the party felt much better. They joked around for a bit before continuing the fight.
Rushing through the first few battles the party surprisingly stumbled over the ghost servant once more. Only during the second try did they get past this difficult boss, reaching Enem once more.
This time Liam was determined to win. He showed an incredible level of awareness, micromanaging his friends while dodging and attacking impeccably.
The others were amazed. They felt as if controlled by strings. Liam told them to move their left leg, and they did so, perfectly evading the enemy's attack.
With such immaculate leadership everyone took it for granted as the boss fell even before Onrabell needed to make a move.