Liam followed his target with a sharp gaze. Scrutinizing the man's luxurious clothes and fine blond hair he easily recognized him. It was Viscount Swordfur, a minor noble belonging to the Southern Light Kingdom.
Finally, the pieces of the puzzle came together. Liam remembered the noble as a side character in the kingdom's story. In his past life he was causing chaos as well, but he was stopped even earlier due to the altered quest line.
Liam remained curious about how the story would play out this time as he activated the scroll. A faint white mist separated, sneaking through the crowd and sticking to the viscount's hem.
The quest got updated, signalling that Liam's job was done. He looked around, expecting some kind of change but nothing happened. Shrugging his shoulders the young man left, taking a horse drawn cart out of the city.
This time Liam was alone with only the driver accompanying him on the bumpy journey. Dust trailed the cart as it rolled along a broad street lined with green tress causing a play of light and shadow.
Liam was chatting with his guild members, curious about the changes in the various dungeons, when he suddenly shuddered.
Raising his head Liam noticed that his driver had suddenly fallen unconscious. Even the horses were lying on the ground. Scanning his surroundings he noticed a vague reddish barrier separating the area from the outside world.
A faint grin flashed on Liam's face before it returned to calmness. He got off the cart, waiting for the enemy to reveal themselves.
"Adventurer, how dare you meddle in our affairs?!"
A distorted voice rang through the air. Its owner clearly tried to hide their identity. They slowly stepped forth from behind a tree wearing a wide black robe and an emotionless white face mask. Their hair was hidden under a black hood and even their staff was wrapped in black cloth.
Not even Liam could immediately discern the opponent's identity, trying to probe with words:
"How would I know whose affairs not to meddle in if you don't tell me who you are?"
"Just leave the Southern Light Kingdom!"
"Haha, make me."
A short pause followed Liam's provocation before the mysterious mage continued with a grave tone:
"I will!"
A ripple spread through the barrier as the fight began, allowing Liam to check his opponent.
[Black-robed Mage
Rank: Boss
Level: 24
HP: 9500/9500]
Liam had a few guesses about the opponent's identity. After all, the kingdom didn't have an infinite number of mages. Yet the game clearly wanted to keep the man's identity a secret.
But in the end Liam didn't care too much. The mage was a boss and had to be defeated. Nothing else mattered right now.
Flourishing his swords Liam's gaze hardened as he rushed towards the boss. A sphere of colourless magic immediately greeted him.
Liam didn't slow down. The attack grew bigger in his view coming closer and closer. Just as he was about to collide headfirst with the magic, Liam turned his upper body, causing the sphere to miss his chest by a hair's breadth.
[Stance -16]
The game rewarded his smooth movement with a low reduction of stance. Yet Liam knew that every point was precious. Activating his ultimate [Holy Tempest] he aimed to recover quickly.
After a moment Liam reached the boss, his swords smoothly cutting into the black robe, instantly stacking holy marks.
[-732!]
[-366!]
Both combatants appeared to be shocked by the exaggerated damage. However, Liam quickly figured it out. Having reached level 28 after the dungeon the level 24 boss wasn't his opponent anymore. Especially since the mage wasn't blessed with a high defence.
The boss on the other hand couldn't accept it. He frowned behind his mask, gathering mana on his staff. A red aura formed around the weapon.
Liam recognized the sign of a skill being cast, pondering briefly, coming to a risky decision. He wanted to test if he was strong enough to tank the boss's skills.
A white sheen played around Liam's swords. He crossed them before his chest, retaliating with a skill of his own.
"Die!"
The mage's distorted voice echoed in the surroundings as he slammed his staff into the floor. Simultaneously Liam lunged forward, his crossed swords aiming for the enemy's chest.
A ring of flames spread with the mage at the centre. From its hellish heat one might think it would be able to incinerate mountains and seas but the red barrier shielding the battlefield had the miraculous effect of protecting the environment.
Only Liam was affected. He felt the flames latch onto his body heating up the metal of his armor. Yet he didn't give in, continuing his attack against the boss.
[-1171!]
[-1049!]
[-307!]
[-307!]
Damage numbers popped up on both side, the highest surprisingly belonging to Liam. If it wasn't for the boss's additional fire damage, the mage would lose in comparison.
Liam, however, realized that he was somewhat hasty. After this single exchange only 2803 out of his 4466HP remained. Yet the boss was bound to suffer as well.
Having already stacked three holy marks, Liam smoothly followed up with a [Double Slash] before the boss even finished his skill. Holy light exploded, illuminating the boss's black robes, almost blowing the hood off his head.
[-585!]
[-981!]
[-345!]
The damage caused by the holy marks was almost disappointing, but Liam wasn't surprised. NPCs coming from the Southern Light Kingdom were often close to the gods, at least carrying some blessed artifacts. As someone fighting against infernals this was only natural. Thus, they were usually resistant against holy and dark magic.
But while Liam considered his damage rather low, the same couldn't be said for the black-robed mage. Full of shock he lightly tapped the floor, floating towards the battlefield's edge, distancing himself from Liam.
Swinging his wand, the mage sent another magical sphere to preoccupy Liam while voraciously gathering mana. The suction force even caused a wind to erupt beyond the barrier, startling animals in the surroundings.
Liam felt an oppressive force radiating from the mage's staff. He quickly downed a health potion preparing himself for the boss's skill.
[+400!]
[+446!]
Liam's HP regenerated slowly but with a cap of 1000 points basic health potions gradually became inadequate. Unfortunately, those of higher quality hadn't appeared yet.
Regenerating some HP was only a measure of precaution though. Liam was confident that he could dodge whatever the boss threw at him.
"This will be your last chance, adventurer! If you leave now, we can still stop!"
A light smile crept on Liam's lips. After facing infernals, demons, and void-corrupted creatures, it was a nice change of pace to encounter such a courteous boss. Obviously, the mage didn't want to kill indiscriminately.
It was his own misfortune that he became part of a quest. How could a player stop just because the boss told him to? Where would they get their reward then?
Being ignored by Liam, the boss snorted angrily.
"So be it!"
Hardening his heart the man swung his staff. Immediately a violent stream of air blew towards Liam. It carried concentrated magic, threatening to submerge all enemies.
Liam didn't continue to take the boss's skills head on. Having long seen the attack coming he dodged with ease, feeling only a faint breeze playing with his hair.
The wind continued for a couple of seconds before the boss waved his staff again. Suddenly the earth shook. Liam felt the ground beneath his feet turning muddy. He hastily left the area, glancing at the dirt staining his beautiful armor in annoyance.
Suddenly a fountain of water erupted behind Liam, fiercely shooting towards the sky. The cart was within the affected area, but it remained undamaged thanks to the barrier's effect.
Liam looked towards the boss, feeling some drops of water dripping on his head, quite enjoyable.
"Slippery rat!"
Angrily cursing the boss changed his spell again. Small pebbles floated from the floor in multiple spots. Mana immediately surged towards them, fuelling the mage's earth magic, turning into small rocks in midair. The rocks arranged around the pebbles, fusing into large boulders.
On a signal from the boss those boulders suddenly shot through the battlefield one by one, reaching incredible speeds.
Liam raised his vigilance, observing every boulder's trajectory. Every time one of them threatened to slam into him he would swiftly dodge to the side, causing the boss no small amount of frustration.
Liam could almost empathize with the mage. It wasn't that the man's skills were weak, but they were made to decimate a large party. A single player with some skill had an easy time dodging these AOE spells.
Yet the boss couldn't just give up. He changed the skill for a fourth time. The boulders crashed to the ground, breaking into dust while a large ball of fire gathered at the top of the barrier.
Its strong light made it resemble a miniature sun, causing the air to heat up. Liam felt a faint pain with every breath as sweat began to gather below his armor.
How unpleasant...