New Game Plus: I crave challenges

"Old man, we meet again!", greeted Cyclone happily.

"Oh, adventurer, you came at the right time."

"You look worried, can we help you?", asked Silver Blade politely.

"Yes, yes. You see, this old man was traveling peacefully, feasting upon the beautiful scenery.

But behind these few trees here lays an enormous lake. I didn't think much, allowing my mind to be cleansed by the serene atmosphere.

Who would have expected a monster to suddenly appear from the lake? I was almost forced to lay down my life right there."

Cyclone squinted her eyes skeptically.

"How did you make it past those toads?"

"What toads?"

Cyclone rolled her eyes. How could she not understand that it was useless to probe the NPC?

"Well, adventurers, what do you say? Can you open the way for this old man? Ter down the obstacles barring my travels."

[Do you wish to accept the quest 'Monster in the lake'?]

Naturally Silver Blade hastily accepted. This was simply a great bargain. They received another unique quest, it's target coinciding with their original goal.

The woman leaned towards Liam, whispering curiously:

"Did you plan this?"

"No. Even I don't know where the old man appears next."

Liam looked at Silver Blade's eyes, noticing her unconvinced gaze. But his words were the truth. There was nothing more he could say.

He shrugged his shoulders before waving at the party to follow him. After another short minute they reached an extensive piece of land adherent to the biggest lake within the gorge.

Before the group could prepare much, the lake already began to stir. Waves built up, radiating a strong danger, the small lake akin to a raging sea.

"Quick! Take out Ruxor's fishing tools before it can attack!"

Liam felt the mounting pressure as he directed the party. Everyone complied urgently, bringing out the strange lamps.

On Liam's order they swung their arms, throwing the strange fishing tools into the water.

"Ouuuhhh!"

An odd, painfilled roar shook the surroundings as electricity suddenly permeated the lake.

Silver Blade averted her eyes guiltily when hundreds of fish surfaced on the lake, their flesh grilled by the strong current.

Suddenly water splashed in all direction. A big monster jumped out of the lake, landing awkwardly on the land.

It roared angrily, shaking its long snake-like body. Two large fins stretched threateningly below its head. It stared at the party with vicious, raging, slit-like eyes. Liquid dripped from its sharp teeth as it opened its maw widely.

Everyone could feel a primal pressure emanating from the snake monster.

[Deep Blue Winding Snake

Rank: Boss

Level: 15

HP: 4400/4400]

Silver Blade gritted her teeth as she got into position.

"Let's go! Kill the monster!"

"Yes!"

The others echoed her as the first attacks reached the snake's head.

[-132!]

"Hehe, this will be easy!", proclaimed Cyclone happily as she saw her damage.

The others felt confident as well. The snake appeared rather weak at the first clash.

"It's because we got her out of the water. But don't underestimate her!"

Liam warned with a stern face as he swung his swords. The snakeskin felt rubbery under his swords but even without dealing any injury he still caused some damage.

Suddenly however his chest tightened. He kept his eyes on the snake, noticing its muscles contracting quickly.

"Close ranged fighters, back up!"

Liam warned his friends urgently while moving towards the back himself.

The others reacted somewhat slower. Especially Bloody Edge who had circled the snake to find a weak point.

The thief had just turned around when he felt a gust of wind on his back. Suddenly something heavy crashed into him, pressing all the air out of his lungs.

Bloody Edge was thrown through the air by the snake's tail. When he landed in the dirt, he only had a tenth of his HP left.

"Why is everyone throwing me around today?"

The thief complained with difficulties. Fortunately, a warm energy fell on him immediately as Balm graced him with a heal.

Dragging his body up, Bloody Edge found that he wasn't the only one hurt by the skill. Even Quickstep and Watchful Eye had been scraped, losing a few dozen HP.

Everyone instantly got the payback for underestimating a boss monster.

Radiant Shield took a deep breath looking at the uprooted foliage after the snake swung her tail once. He felt the pressure as he stepped forward to draw aggro.

The snake shook her head growling angrily. It snapped after Radiant Shield, its maw almost as big as the man's upper body.

[Stance -18]

[-80!]

Radiant Shield was surprised as a swell of water came together with the attack. It was unlockable, dealing water attributed damage directly.

"This beast got some tricks up its sleeves."

Silent Acacia commented gravely as he used his ultimate [Mark of Death] and fired an arrow right after.

[-168!!!]

Even the hunter was surprised as his arrow was a critical hit, dealing a lot of damage.

"Keep it up!"

More attacks landed on the snake in quick succession. With their new classes the party members shaved away its HP in next to no time.

The snake focused on Radiant Shield. But when it felt its own strength weaken, concern flashed in its slit-like eyes.

Suddenly the monster hissed angrily while drawing back. The party members quickly retreated, expecting another tail lash.

Only Liam noticed something off, recalling another of the boss's skills.

"No! Come here! Attack quickly!"

While Liam urgently called his friends back, the snake had reached the lake. A mysterious shimmer traveled over its skin as it held its tail into the water.

[+40!]

[+40!]

[+40!]

Numbers began to tick above the snake's head. In a short two seconds it had already recovered 200HP.

At the same time the electricity shot into its body, paralyzing the monster. Spark even played on the surface of its skin, causing the party to behave carefully, afraid of getting too close.

But Liam ignored everything as he slashed with his swords, setting an example.

"We need to attack it to shorten the time it uses to recover!"

Everyone realized the urgency of the situation through Liam's explanation. Instantly multiple attacks slammed into the snake's head.

The monster's HP fluctuated wildly but still moved upwards as everyone waited for their cooldowns.

Only after the next round did the boss suddenly thrash wildly.

The snake trembled as if the electric shock only reached it now, prompting the players to retreat.

A few moments later the snake's movements stopped as the fight resumed normally.

Radiant Shield looked at his used-up stance with worry but still blocked the way bravely.

A foul-smelling maw bit at his body.

[-445!]

[-80!]

"How many hits can you take?"

"Only three more!"

"I will take over if necessary!"

"Yes!"

The two tanks conversed with grim expressions knowing that Balm's heal was still on cooldown for a while.

"Don't hold back!"

Liam animated his friends as he stacked the fifth holy mark on the boss monster. Severe damage shook the snake.

A strange roar escaped the monster's maw as it raised its head, stretching its fins wide.

"Careful!"

Everyone realized that this was not a normal attack, going on the defense.

With a heavy tremor the snake brought its head down, slamming it onto the floor. A shockwave spread over the entire piece of land.

"Woah!"

No one was able to escape, taking a fixed 200 points of damage. At the same time this was a test of balance. Multiple party members were swiped off their feet, landing on their butts.

Only Liam, Silver Blade, Cyclone, and Silent Acacia managed to remain standing while all the others were forced into a stunned state.

"Help!"

Quickstep yelped anxiously as the snake randomly turned its head towards her.

"Silver Blade! Quick!"

"I know!"

The tank moved hastily, jumping before Quickstep who laid unmoving on the ground.

[Stance -23]

[-80!]

Silver Blade felt her stomach sink knowing that she wouldn't be able to defend for long.

Meanwhile Liam closed the distance towards the boss. He activated his ultimate skill [Holy Tempest] right before stabbing with his swords.

[-118!]

[-47!]

The moment the damage registered Liam instantly crossed his swords, performing a [Cross Slash].

[-162!]

[-8!]

His movements flowed beautifully as he activated [Holy Wave] with a thought while raising his swords for a [Double Slash].

Liam's weapons cut through the air. Five holy marks were applied within less than three seconds and directly triggered.

[-453!]

The others watched in amazement as Liam dealt nearly one thousand points of damage in a smooth rotation.

"ZSSS"

A high-pitched hiss stabbed in everyone's ears as the snake turned its rage-filled eyes towards Liam.

Its terryfiying maw snapped after the veteran.

Liam, however, remained unperturbed after building up a lot of stance through his ultimate skill. With the calmness of an undefeatable champion, he moved his feet skillfully, escaping the attack by a hair's breath.

[Stance -28]

During the exchange Cyclone and Silent Acacia didn't stand still, dishing out attacks as well.

Finally, even the other party members managed to stand up just in time as the snake swung its tail again. Luckily no one was close to the boss, causing the tail to miss widely.