"Wait, guys. We need to play the flute before we engage." Ash reminded them.
Before engaging the boss or entering any Dungeon, performing certain actions could increase their stats. Playing the zither could raise their defense, dancing with teammates could raise their HP, and the list goes on. Sometimes, doing weird actions like farting would do the opposite and trigger the enemy to increase their damage instead.
Playing the flute was Ash's favorite. It could increase their Attack stats during the fight and he liked how his character looked when he was blowing the flute. He resembled one of those cool heroes he had seen in martial arts movies.
"Sure, let's give our superstar some time to perform." PandaHero laughed.
"At your command, Ash." everyone was prepared to take one Xue Ying, the boss with an empathetic past. Ash felt sad for him but they were still going to kill him anyway. He was just an NPC.
"Before Xue Ying's blood drops to 50%, attack like mad and avoid his attacks. MilkTea, take note of Snowman's blood and do the usual healing. When his blood is almost half, everyone gets back to the center no matter where you are. Xue Ying will launch a full-screen attack that you can't run away from. So, gather at the center so MilkTea can heal us easily. Things are a little more complicated when his blood drops below 50%. I'll drop reminders later. Alright, let's go!" Ash's commands were brief but clear, and everyone understood. They had a lot of chemistry playing together all these years and knew what to do on their own.
As the tanker, Snowman made the first move. Everyone followed Ash's command and attacked whenever they could. MilkTeaLover joined in too although he had limited attack skills.
"Everyone except Snowman gets behind the boss now."
The timing was perfect. They evaded Xue Ying's semi-circle sword attack which was quite painful. Snowman's HP dropped by 20% but MilkTeaLover was already healing him. Playing with this team was awesome. They knew what to do even if Ash didn't remind them.
Things were quite easy - they dodged attacks, did all the damage, and healed at the right time. The boss's blood was approaching the 50% mark.
"Gather at the center."
Everything happened according to Ash's words. The full-screen attack happened and MilkTeaLover cast his Ultimate healing skill at the exact moment to prevent anyone from dying. But this was a warm-up. The real fight was just about to begin.
"Alright, MilkTea, find a safe spot and concentrate on healing. The boss's damage and defense will double since he only has 50% blood left. It's gonna take some time to wear him out. Mystic, use your long-range attacks so you don't have to get close to the boss. Snowman, do your best to tank. If you fail, either I or Panda will back you up. Don't worry."
"Hey, when did I fail to tank?" Snowman complained.
"Um, there was this one time…but never mind, you have a selective memory that chooses to forget about your failures." PandaHero scorned him.
"Guys, according to the guide, Xue Ying's disciples will appear to help him so we gotta look out for that. They didn't say what exactly the disciples will be doing so stay alert." Ash brought their attention back to the game.
The second half of the fight was tough. Xue Ying's attacks were faster and there were some instances when they couldn't evade his attacks in time. MilkTeaLover was busy healing every second.
MilkTeaLover: CD, CD, guys. Gotta wait another eight seconds.
(note: CD refers to cooldown - a period of time before an ability or item can be used again)
Sometimes, they were amazed at how MilkTeaLover could type so swiftly in the middle of a fight.
"Don't worry. I've got us covered." with that said, Ash used an antidote that restored everyone's HP back to full.
"Just how many Golden Leaves do you have? These antidotes aren't cheap." Snowman asked.
"It's okay. I think I have enough to buy another thousand bottles of antidotes."
"...….."
Okay, they get it. It was Ash's way of saying "I'm rich".
MysticSlayer noticed some shadows appearing behind Xue Ying, "What are those?"
It was Xue Ying's disciples. To be exact, the spirits of Xue Ying's disciples who were buried in the same tomb. They were joining him in the fight.
"Okay, now should we attack them or…" they were waiting for Ash's instructions.
"Snowman and I will continue to attack the boss. Mystic and Panda, we'll depend on you to kill the disciples."
"Yes, sir," PandaHero and MysticSlayer began clearing the disciples. They thought it was gonna be easy but these spirits were tricky! They were floating around and it wasn't easy to attack them. Fortunately, PandaHero and MysticSlayer were experienced players who could see the fight pattern of these spirits after a while and knew exactly when to attack them.
"Okay, Ash. We cleared them."
They were back to attacking Xue Ying, who had about 20% blood left. They were getting the hang of his attacks, if all goes well, they could be…
"Wait, what did I just see?" Snowman screamed into the microphone, sending everyone's ears a shock. "Did..did..did the boss's life just increase?"