Luring the King Boar and its underling to the open field is a very tough challenge. Reynes is recovering from injuries, and the Lexington Family has to end the fight here to avoid more damage. Both Kurt and Yuki were SS Rank adventurers, but if Reynes and Klendiana join the guild, they could be rated around B to C Rank. The Lexington Family's party level was at an A-Rank party if the average rate applies.
As Klendiana transforms the plain into the mud, Kurt slowly puts Reynes down as he begins to recover from injuries.
"Thank you…"
The King Boar roars as some boars transform into Wereboar that can walk with two legs and has strong charging power.
Reynes began to concentrate his power, but he remembered Shina's warning.
"Reynes. Your ability [Sustainable Damage] is very dangerous. It's a skill that every Tank would desire. But, your healing aptitude is at the Intermediate level. You would need a healer in your journey, or the damage you sustain, even if you use [Limit Break] to increase damage sustained, would have far more consequences."
"How come?"
"It temporarily suspends any received damage to the certain threshold. Compared to [Damage Mitigation] and [Damage Absorption], [Sustainable Damage] allows you to remain fighting in full strength after taking damage, but there is a catch."
"I will suffer a lot of drawbacks once the effect wears off, isn't it?"
"Exactly. The pressure goes to the support or healer. They have to make sure that the Tank does not receive damage beyond the limit you can take; otherwise, the damage you receive would multiply."
Reynes have to use [Sustainable Damage] if he wants to protect his family. In this situation, even though Klendiana attempts to even the odds by turning the field into the mud, they are still outnumbered four to one, and Reynes has to assist Klendiana in holding off the minions. Right now, Reynes could imagine if there were any spells to break the odds.
A sound echoes in his head while thinking about it.
"Oh, son of Sevis. I shall grant you [Party Absorption] to help those who need your protection in the future."
A new skill? [Party Absorption]? It's new to him, and he may want to use it immediately.
"Sister. I will use [Party Absorption] to the entire family."
"Reynes. You know the ability you're talking about, right?"
Kurt interjects the talk, and Reynes nods.
"Yes. I'm aware of that, father."
"Alright. We will save some mana for healing later. Even though we can sustain the damage thanks to Sage Ore's augmentation, I will procure the potions later."
"Thank you, father. [Limit Break!!] [Sustainable Damage!! Fourth Release!!] [Party Absorption!!]"
Reynes almost got bogged down by the sudden damage he had to take. Klendiana was surprised to hear that Reynes was using [Fourth Release] of the [Limit Break], which allows him to sustain damage up to four times.
"Ugh!"
Taking all of the damage his family takes for himself is burdensome, but it's the best chance to defeat King Boar.
"I will create an opening. Father, Mother, Sister. Please cover me."
"We're right behind you."
Readying his shield, Reynes begins to dash into the Boar King's formation as Yuki takes the rear guard while Kurt and Klendiana take the center of the formation.
The wereboar charges at them, but Reynes manages to parry it using the handling technique on his shield. Kurt quickly cut its head off as the Lexington Family continue to charge. The King Boar casts multiple spells of fire and rock barrage, and Klendiana manages to mitigate the damage using [Spell Protection] and dodge any trajectory that comes towards her.
The wereboar returns and casts an ice spike. Yuki quickly takes action by summoning an ice wall to stop the spikes.
As King Boar was further enraged that its Lieutenants kept getting defeated by the Lexington Family, it pounded the ground, causing a brief earthquake.
"Whoa!"
They were narrowly off-balanced but kept their feet up. As they recover from the stumbling ground, a Wereboar charge at them, and Reynes quickly use himself and his shield to defend themselves from the attack.
"Ngh…!"
Thanks to [Sustainable Damage], Reynes can absorb the damage. Yuki wraps the vines around the legs, knocking the Wereboar down, and Kurt beheads it.
Although the field is muddy, Klendiana uses her magic to keep them afloat while running. Since a muddy field slows down any boar's mobility, this is a perfect chance to slay King Boar. The King Boar, however, still have some ace up its sleeve. It summons more of Raboar, Wereboar, and many more. As King Boar's leader buff augmented the Boar, they charged in while Reynes returned to the front to take all of the attacks.
"Sister! Use it now!"
"O, Spirit of the Earth…."
"[Limit Break!!] [Third Release!!] [Electro Shock!!]"
"[Wind Cutter!!]"
Breaking through hordes of boar monsters, Yuki asks the Spirits of the Plant and Earth to hinder King Boar's movement. Kurt uses Reynes' back to leap towards King Boar, and Klendiana weakens it by conducting [Mana Overload] in elemental style.
"This will end you!"
ROAARRR!!!
As King Boar roars in a rage, it casts a strong gust of wind upon Kurt. Thankfully, Klendiana manages to mitigate it by using her own wind spell.
Kurt thrusts his sword to King Boar's forehead, but it doesn't deal any effect on it since King Boar's forehead is covered by a magic barrier. Reynes leap forward, transforming his sword into a hammer and smashing its barrier.
OIINKK!!!
It grabs Reynes and throws him away, but the magic shield surrounding its forehead starts to crack.
"Are you okay, son?"
"I need two more smashes before it's exposed."
"He knew we could crack its magic. He would likely put on more defenses or have more aggressive minions to take us down."
"You got any ideas, Klendiana?"
"I have. But I need mother's assistance."
"Using spirits as a support?"
"Yes. We will go all-out this time."
Reynes already trigger the [Limit Break] and [Sustainable Damage]. While he's recuperating to take more damage later, the Lexington Family devises another plan.
"Father, if you can also use your weapon to transform it into a hammer and pour some magic, then it can deal more damage to the shield."
"I'm not as proficient as you, Reynes. But I will try."
Kurt got a few understanding of how Sage Ore works. For Reynes and Klendiana, they've already grasped how Sage Ore works. One of the equipments Klendiana make is a staff imbued with all elements, albeit it was a low grade.
"How's the injury, Reynes?"
"I can manage it, father. We need more than this to defeat King Boar."
Nodding, the Lexington Family gathers around. Klendiana froze the water as it became slippery, a good advantage to dealing with Wereboar and Boarthog.
"[Float!!] [Air Mobility!!]"
Klendiana utilizes the mobility of the Lexington Family using [Air Mobility], which can only be used when the users and those who users selected are not on the ground to gain mobility.
The boars gathered again as the King Boar buffed them up and resumed the attack using Earth Magic. The offense resumes as the clash begins once more.
Utilizing the opening left by the minions, the Lexington Family charges King Boar once more. However, King Boar has something up to its sleeve, and it has identified a key person to defeat before eliminating the Lexington Family.
As Reynes was about to smash the barrier for the second time, King Boar had already foreseen this as it attacked Reynes with augmented magic.
Reynes braces for the attack as he tosses the hammer to Kurt to smash the second barrier. The impact of King Boar's fist is so strong that he can feel some of his bones were broken when it made contact with his body.
As he took more than he could sustain, he could feel something was unlocked within his body as he was about to lose consciousness.
"Oh, my children. I will grant you and your sister [Fortification] and its varieties. Furthermore, I shall bless your family with a new skill. Use this well, as it would be your ultimate power when facing formidable opponents. There would be more recipients that would receive this power in the future."
Who is the god that talks to his head? But, he can feel a surge of power and strengthen his defenses, although King Boar manages to bypass physical enhancement.
As he was about to fall, he got back up again. This time, following an unknown God's instruction, he awakened his power from his body.
"[Rally Awakening!!]"
A surge of power emerges from his body as Reynes' pupils and hair become darker than a common black upon unleashing [Rally Awakening].
Kurt, Yuki, and Klendiana also got whispers from the Unknown God, as they would also intend to use it to finish the fight once and for all.