The draconian's towering presence cast an oppressive shadow over the players as he began to speak:
"Great. More sacrifices! My might is growing by the day."
His voice sounded distorted like a growling beast sending chills down everyone's spines.
"Hmpf. Though words for someone we defeated already!", shouted Cyclone, bolstering everyone's courage.
"Haha, right. Our bosses could defeat you alone! Now with all of us here, you stand no chance."
"This guy knows how to boast, what a braggart."
Some of the more outspoken guild members began to mock the boss. But Mehphre showed little reaction. After a few seconds he scoffed:
"Hmpf. Why would a warrior humor an ant. You all will regret challenging me!"
With those words Mehphre suddenly flapped his majestic wings. A fierce wind spread, pulling on everyone's clothes. Mysterious patterns glowed on the draconian's wings as a large amount of black air was suddenly produced.
The black air spread towards the edges of the rocky plain and formed a sturdy barrier, creating a limited battlefield.
Fortunately, the plain covered a huge area. It was still enough space for the players to move with their mounts.
But after doing this, Mehphre didn't stop flapping his wings. Instead, he even increased his power. He pushed himself off the ground and shot into the air.
Within seconds his body appeared to be the size of a bird as he circled above everyone's heads.
"Damn, he's starting with a skill!"
Even Liam couldn't help but be surprised. Right at the beginning the boss showed one of his most powerful moves. Now the guild members had to prove that they learned something during the training.
[Bleary Mirage: Scatter!]
The guild chat was silent as everyone saw that the time for jokes was over. Everyone was prepared to react to orders. As soon as Bleary Mirage wrote, the players moved and spread through the battlefield.
However, this already presented the first difficulty as a hailstorm was moving from one side of the battlefield to the other. The players were forced to dodge, which caused them to squeeze together with their colleagues.
Others observed the chaotic scene before glancing at Liam wondering why he would choose such a location to battle the world boss.
But the veteran paid them no mind, staring at Mehphre in the sky. His job was to warn the guild members in advance.
Mehphre drew one more circle before finally opening his ugly maw wide. A flame began to boil in his throat, its heat distorting the air, raising the already high temperature.
Suddenly the world boss jerked his head downwards and spat out the terrifying flames.
Lima narrowed his eyes, looking closely as the flames grew from a tiny dot to a large area. As soon as he was certain, he sent a single word into the guild chat.
[Bleary Mirage: Circle!]
Movement instantly came into the guild members. Remembering the earlier training they began to split up. Most of the members ran towards the center of the plain while some stuck close to the edge.
The horrifying flames approached at a high speed. For the players they looked like a randomly shaped cluster of ominous dark flames with a faint hint of orange.
Yet as the flames were close to the ground they suddenly spread out, taking the form of a large ring or circle.
Boom!
Finally, the flames crashed into the ground, spreading fearsome sparks and even dispersing the hailstorm.
Silent Acacia stood at the edge of the battlefield, with a few other hunters behind his back. His heart skipped a beat as breathing became difficult momentarily. The flames struck right in front of his face, the searing heat causing him to break out in sweat.
The young man couldn't help but throw an admiring glance at Liam. Thanks to the expert's preparation almost no one remained in the area affected by the flames.
Only at the spot where the hailstorm caused some confusion earlier did the players fail to leave in time and were hit by the flames, suffering heavy damage of up to 4500 points.
A moment later the flames sizzled out, leaving behind the blackened rocks.
Unfortunately, Mehphre wasn't done yet. The draconian immediately followed up with his next attack.
[Bleary Mirage: Star!]
Everyone instantly moved. The first miscoordinations appeared as players collided with their mounts, attempting to dodge in different directions.
However, most of the guild members managed to position themselves in a bunch of triangles oriented along the battlefield's edge.
The flames came closer and formed a star shape consisting of six straight lines crossing at the center of the arena.
However, this shape was one of the most difficult to dodge as Liam could only predict the shape but not the orientation. Only as the flames took their final position did the players know where exactly the skill would strike.
[Bleary Mirage: Turn Clockwise!]
The players scrambled to follow orders. Carefully controlling their mounts, they tried to keep a quick but even pace as they rotated as a group.
This maneuver however proved incredibly difficult.
"Clockwise, idiot!"
"Faster, faster!"
"Don't bump into me!"
The players shouted chaotically, their hearts in their throats, as a menacing heat announced the arrival of the flames.
Finally, the star of flames collided with the ground causing it to quake.
Due to the chaos several players were burned by the flames. In a short time, the collective damage reached a frightening number. The guild's healers quickly went to work.
Melodious Edelweiss's angelic voice soothed everyone's worries as she began to sing [Song of Healing]. She didn't dare to keep it up for too long, however, as it would be unwise to spend all her mana at the beginning of the fight.
The guild did their best to organize some mana potions in preparation for the fight. It was one of Liam's few regrets that they hadn't managed to get their hands on the recipe.
Now there was a shop in Brobrity not far from Dream Avenue's who could produce mana potions, which attracted the attention of larger organizations wo had to prepare for long boss fights.
The shop was a strong competitor. Luckily Dream Avenue had a slight advantage due to the overall variety of high-quality potions. Many of those could be attributed to Cyclone's luck.
The friends had even considered sending Cyclone on a mission to procure the recipe through looting but then the hunt for set equipment took priority.
All of this led to the situation now where Dream Avenue's mages had to use their mana effectively or they were in danger of their mana running out before the boss fell.
Liam thought about all this as he swiped his eyes over the many injured players. Although he felt unhappy inwardly, he didn't show it on his face as he continued to focus on the world boss.
Mehphre continued his attack, raining down flames on the guild as if he intended to do so all day. A square and another circle followed, causing more damage among Dream Avenue.
However, after the fourth round the boss's throat finally felt painfully parched.
"Roaaar!"
Mehphre's roar shook the world as the draconian finally returned to the ground. His landing caused the earth to tremble. His oppressive presence intimidated the players momentarily.
It was Radiant Shield who stuck out his chest, taking the first step.
"ATTACK!"
The tank shouted with all his might, not falling far behind the draconian's roar. Under his lead five tanks surged towards the boss. Following Liam's preparations, they simultaneously used their actions to build up aggro.
Liam watched closely. After the tanks had done their jobs, he finally gave everyone the signal to engage the world boss.
The veteran rode his majestic mount at the front as he closed in on the boss.
Reen let out a defying cry. Basilisk were close relatives of dragons. As Mehphre radiated a strong aura the basilisks felt provoked, even more eager to kill Mehphre than the players themselves.
Liam lightly patted his proud mount as he reached the towering draconian. He checked the boss's status while unleashing his own attacks.
[Mehphre the dark draconian
Rank: World Boss
Level: 42
HP: 570.000/570.000]
Liam quickly arrived next to Mehphre's leg which was about as tall as him without a mount. His ultimate skill was activated. His swords flashed like rays of light, empowered by some small buffs from various guild members. He again showed how one should coordinate with their mount as his attacks intertwined with Reen's.
[-142!]
[-71!]
[-190!]
Reen had just performed a [Cross Slash] in Liam's stead when Mehphre suddenly moved. Although he only took a step, it forced Liam to sway backwards, avoiding the leg bulging with muscles.
However, Liam's rhythm wouldn't be interrupted this easily. He kept his calm as he finished the rotation with a [Holy Wave] followed by [Double Slash].
Finally, the first holy marks were stacked on Mehphre and exploded. Compared to the towering figure the explosion didn't stand out much, but the damage was considerable.
[-790!]
"That's it!"
"As expected of Mirage!"
"Don't fall behind, guys!"