Nova's staff glowed in his hand as the creature roared and they all braced themselves for its next attack. It leapt forth and the remaining adventurers that were with them attacked it; however, their weapons did not even pierce its body and Nova noticed that immediately and his eyes narrowed.
'I need an evaluation on this creature; it is not only as old as age but also strong and unpredictable. I need to figure out its abilities,' Nova thought as he kept his gaze fixed on it, like a predator stalking its prey.
The creature slashed through the armor of one of the adventurers, sending him crashing across the ground; despite his armor being imbued with magic, it was not strong enough to withstand its attack.
"This creature has some amount of resistance to physical attacks," Dravon said and the others exchanged glances; their chances kept getting slimmer the longer they watched.
However, they could not just bolt in to fight it without a plan; it was not smart but stupid and with a being of its size and talents, it would only send someone to their deaths.
"It having some resistance to physical attacks means that it must have a weakness on some part of its body," Nova replied and Dravon nodded in agreement with him.
"But to find it, that would be another story entirely, it is fast, swift and precise," Zara chimed in for the first them and they looked at her, but she looked away with a casual shrug.
"A distraction, do not aim for any precise spot at first, fight it and while doing so, pay close attention to its reactions; that is how you will be able to figure out what to do next and where its weak spot may be; it will make it a tad bit easier," Dravon explained as they listened.
"I will distract it with these no-good adventurers; you guy figures the rest out. I am tired, I am hungry, it is late, I want to sleep, so let's get this crap over with," The guy in the hood said as he stepped forth and the walls of flames around them got a bit stronger than before.
Nova glanced at him with his brows furrowed, wondering how he could be so calm and down-to-earth with such mundane things when they could be in a life-or-death situation.
As much as Nova wanted to grab him and question him, he knew he did not have time to dwell on the hooded man's attitude. The creature roared again, its massive form tensing before it lunged.
Dark blue flames were released from its tails and claws, which upon hitting the ground stretched, shattering anything it came into contact with.
One of the adventurers that got hit screamed as the heat from the flame burned through his armor and Nova's eyes widened, but before he could move to help, one of the healers from their party, came to his aid.
"Dravon is right; we need to end this as fast as possible." The hooded man said as he moved first, faster than Nova expected. Flames erupted around his hands, twisting and forming into chains of fireballs that lashed out at the beast. It roared in irritation, its claws swiping at the fiery binds, but they barely slowed it down or inflicted any damage to its body.
"Move!" Nova barked, gripping his staff tighter as he dashed to the side and the guy glanced at him.
Zara and Dravon followed suit, their weapons at the ready. The adventurers—though clearly outmatched—did not give up; they were quick to react, splitting into smaller groups to attack from different angles, helping them out in creating a distraction.
The creature swung wildly, its tail smashing into the ground with enough force to send rubble flying into the air and crashing into many other places beside them, due to which they did their best to both dodge and fight it.
Nova ducked before one could hit him, raising his free hand as he channeled dark energy into it. Tendrils of shadow erupted from the ground, glowing eerily purple, wrapping around the beast's legs in an attempt to slow it down, causing parts of the ground to crack due to the pressure.
"It's strong, but not invincible. We need to keep pressing it, keep looking for a weak spot, and attack it without care," Nova said and they nodded and did exactly that, not giving it time to react, confusing it so that it would get confused and not know where to attack.
"Zara, focus on its movements! Dravon, try testing different kinds of magic on it, I am sure you have more access to those than us!" Nova commanded.
Dravon raised a brow as he looked at him, when he heard his commanding tone, but he did not dwell on it and nodded.
He raised his sword, a faint blue and silver light glowing along the blade's edges. He slashed, sending an arc of ice toward the beast's exposed flank. The ice struck as it glowed bright blue, and for a brief moment, the creature recoiled—its movements sluggish where the frost clung to its hide and it let out a pained whine.
Upon noticing that, Bova's eyes narrowed. "So, it reacts slightly differently to elemental magic."
"It seems a tad bit weak to certain elemental types, but not by much, that would not do," Dravon muttered.
"I know it will not, but I will take it; anything at this point is better than nothing. You guys keep attacking; those who have elemental magic available to you, put it to use," Nova said and they nodded, while Zara paid close attention to the creature, her gaze fixed on its every reaction and which part of its body would shift.
As they kept on going, the hooded man let out a deep sigh, dodging yet another strike from the creature with ease. "I swear, if this thing keeps me up until late morning, I'm going to be pissed."
Nova ignored him for the time being, focusing on the beast. If it was resistant to physical attacks but had at least some reaction to elemental magic, there had to be a core weakness somewhere—he just had to find it before they all ran out of stamina.