Hearing the sound of the taunt, Astaria instantly realises that Square Jaw will also be affected, so she quickly rushes back into melee range and let's loose a flurry of strikes against the goblin's knee, regaining the boss's attention as it swings at her with its fist.
Narrowly dodging the attack, Astaria uses evasion to take some distance again. Looking towards her friends for an opportunity to clear away some of the enemy summons, Astaria notices that most of the enemies are now gathered into a group that is being held back by Tyrell and Russel.
Taking this golden opportunity, Astaria launches a fireball right into the centre of the goblins, instantly killing 6 of them while wounding and knocking down a few others that are close to where the fireball explodes.
[6X Elite Goblin Lv 15 defeated. 39.7% XP gained. 336% skill point XP gained]
[Lv 16 -> 17]
[All Attributes +1]
[+5 Attribute Points]
[+3 Skill Points]
Returning her attention back to the Square Jaw, Astaria ducks under the wild swing of the boss's arm that he is using like a club, and makes another swing at the goblin's knee, the action now second nature to her after repeating it so many times.
Glancing back over to her friends, Astaria can see that Ash is making the most of the new skill he unlocked at lv 16, sending out a slash of energy from the swing of his sword, decapitating 3 of the goblins that are rushing him.
[2X Elite Goblin Lv 15 defeated. 9.8% XP gained. 112% skill point XP gained]
[+1 Skill Point]
Meanwhile, Tyrell is blocking a goblin's spear while closing the distance so the swing of his now glowing hammer will find its mark.
[Elite Goblin Lv 15 defeated. 4.9% XP gained. 56% skill point XP gained]
[+1 Skill Point]
Russel, standing next to Tyrell blocks the onslaught from 2 goblins while Ben and Roxanne launch attacks from behind to kill one of the goblins he is fighting.
Pleased that everyone is coping quite well, Astaria moves back again, kiting Square Jaw away from the group while sending out the occasional spells.
In gaming terms, kiting is a method where a player runs around while enemies chase behind while usually unable to deal damage due to the distance. This allows a player to occasionally attack enemies with low risk or to buy time.
Seeing that her mana has fallen down to 90, Astaria decides to preserve as much as she can while calling for Russel and Tyrell to take over tanking so she can drink a mana potion.
Deciding on this strategy, Astaria keeps her distance, occasionally stepping into the boss's attack range to strike its knee when it leaves an opening. Glancing back at her friends, she can see that they are almost finished killing the summons, with only 3 of the goblins remaining. Inwardly giving a nod of approval, she calls out to Tyrell who was the closest to her.
"Tyrell, tank for 10, need to chug a mana pot!"
Hearing her words, he lets out a quick reply before using the skill [Shield Bash] on a goblin to stun it, then ending its life by squishing its head like a watermelon with his hammer.
"Got it."
Readying herself, Astaria brings up her inventory menu while keeping her distance, quickly replacing her staff with the potion in her left hand.
Hearing the clangs from Russel and Tyrell's weapons, Astaria immediately stops moving, uncorking the potion and drinking it as fast as she can with big gulps, her days of partying showing her experience in an unexpected way.
The mana potion that Astaria is using would replenish 750 MP over the period of 60 seconds, however since her maximum MP was at 610, it will only restore that amount. If potions like these were able to replenish mana above the consumer's maximum, it could give a player unlimited mana for that duration depending on the potion's quality, a serious exploit that rich players could easily abuse.
Seeing her mana start to regenerate, Astaria continues gulping, watching the bitter blue liquid quickly vanish.
With a gasp for air, Astaria lowers her head to see Square Jaw chasing after Tyrell who is hurling abuse, while Russel starts to lag behind the Boss as he attempts to get a hit on it.
"Haha, you big green baboon, looks like your mother hit you with a brick while you were a little green scrote, chasing after me like I stole your damned sweet roll!"
This comment receives a few laughs from Ben who is watching Tyrell trying to keep Square Jaw's attention, while the boss roars in indignation as it understands that the tiny ant is currently insulting it.
Astaria has no chance to appreciate Tyrell's taunts nor wipe the dribble of mana potion from her chin upon seeing that Square Jaw has almost caught up to Tyrell.
Immediately casting her fastest attack, lightning strikes Square Jaw twice from above, giving Tyrell some leeway as the boss staggers from the magic. Noticing that the boss is still focusing on Tyrell, Astaria lets off a fireball before rushing forward, readying her sword to strike again.
The fireball explodes on the boss's back causing its head to snap to the direction Astaria is running from, showing that she has successfully regained the boss's attention. As Square Jaw charges at her, Tyrell and Russel return to their positions as the raid party moves back to its original formation ready for the next stretch of the fight.
The group continues to use the current strategy of using a periodic magical bombardment to limit Square Jaw's movement while Astaria buys time for everyone's skill cooldowns to end by fighting with her sword. The party also swiftly clear out the groups of 20 summons with increasing efficiency as the boss's health hit 50% and 25%, the xp gained helping Astaria reach Lv 18 and gain some more skill points.
[8X Elite Goblin Lv 15 defeated. 39.2% XP gained. 448% skill point XP gained]
[+4 Skill Points]
[9X Elite Goblin Lv 15 defeated. 33.8% XP gained. 504% skill point XP gained]
[Lv 17 -> 18]
[All Attributes +1]
[+5 Attribute Points]
[+5 Skill Points]
With the last goblin gone, Square Jaw lets out a deafening roar much louder than when he summons the Lv 15 goblins, causing everyone's ears to ring.
The experienced MMO players in the group realise that this means there is a change in the boss, causing Tyrell, Roxanne, and Astaria shout in unison.
""Be careful!""
Square Jaw having finished its deafening roar, slams both of his hands down into the floor in front of him, making growling sounds from deep within his throat.
Seeing this behavior that she has seen from similar boss's but not from the regular Square Jaw, Astaria calls out.
"Berserk state, wait for me to disable its knee before you guys attack."
Deciding it will be too dangerous for the party who are still lack experience, Astaria focuses on ensuring that Square Jaw fully loses movement in its right leg. Over the course of the last 12 minutes of fighting Astaria had managed to make her previous gash much wider, with blood now spurting out causing major bleed damage to the boss while slowing its movement down a little.
Giving a rough estimate Astaria predicts that within 8 good hits she can cut through enough of the knee to completely disable the limb.
Moving with extra caution, Astaria starts bombarding the boss with magic attacks as she buys herself a little time to ready herself.
Quickly adding her newly gained 10 attribute points straight into agility, Astaria casts a fireball before using evasion to close the gap between her and Square Jaw.
Making the most of the stun her fireball provides, Astaria unsummons her staff with a flick of her hand and uses all her strength to strike the large wound. Feeling its flesh getting cut again, Square Jaw wildly swings its right arm down by its knee as Astaria barely manages to dodge now that the boss's speed has increased from its berserk state.
Taking a step back, Astaria immediately uses her evasion skill to dodge the boss who charges at her with a burst of speed.
Astaria swings her sword as she begins to evade in an attempt to hit the wound again, however due to the increase in pressure the sword catches the goblin just above its knee, missing its mark.
Having a sudden idea, Astaria moves in to slash Square Jaw's leg again, evading under another lunge. At this stage in the fight, Square Jaw is back in the centre of the room, only 5 metres away from the massive campfire.
Moving to position herself between the boss and the fire, Astaria summons her staff and launches a mana arrow at its eye which it dodges, loudly roaring in anger and stepping forward to lunge at her again.
Waiting for the perfect opportunity to evade while the incredibly hot fire heats her back, Astaria smirks seeing Square Jaw unable to see the obvious trap in its enraged state.
As Square Jaw's hand is just a foot away from her face, Astaria uses her evasion skill to move under the attack and arrive 2 meters behind the boss. With a cast of her lightning, the large goblin momentarily stiffens as the attack strikes, his previous momentum carrying him half a metre away from the fire.