[Bloody Gall Heinrigg
Rank: Elite
Level: 10
HP: 2400/2400]
Liam was surprised by the elite's appearance. He looked over his shoulder, watching the three bandits standing behind him menacingly.
Meanwhile his holy tempest skill was ticking quickly, with only five seconds left.
"Well then, come on!"
Liam gritted his teeth as he turned around, aiming his double slash at a single bandit.
The orc's chest was cut open as he fell dead to the floor, increasing the duration of Liam's skill.
"Little rat!"
The other bandits shouted with rage in their voice, hacking at Liam with long blades.
Holding his breath the veteran twisted his foot. With a quick turn he barely evaded the threatening edges.
Meanwhile, splinters shot through the air as the bandit elite swung his two-handed great sword. With loud cracking a few tables in his way were hacked apart.
"Come here!"
Heinrigg shouted angrily as Liam surprisingly complied. The young man made use of his newfound agility to perform a large step and swing his swords at the bandit elite.
[-153!]
[-77!]
NaturaNaturally Heinrigg retaliated in kind. A pressure spread through the area as his heavy weapon shot at Liam.
The latter gritted his teeth as he dove below the weapon, sending out a [Cross Slash] in one smooth motion.
[-300!]
[-47!]
The cross slash affected by Liam's holy tempests dealt additional holy damage, shaving of a huge chunk of the elite's HP.
Suddenly a blade enlarged in front of Liam's eyes. While he dealt with the elite, the other bandits had sneaked up on him.
Liam was thrown off balance. He could do nothing but let himself fall to the ground.
[Stance -12]
The veteran felt incredibly awkward as he tried to get back to his feet. But the bandit elite wouldn't have it.
"Die! Vermin!"
The burly man's muscles bulged even more as he swung his heavy sword wildly in all directions.
Liam gritted his teeth as he felt the lump of metal colliding with his waist, throwing him out a few meters.
[-346!]
Liam came to a stop, leaning against the wall, his breath irregular.
[Holy Tempest: 11s... 10s…]
Right! No time to waste!
The veteran ignored the mild pain as he dragged his body up.
His eyes fell on the still rampaging bandit elite and his two minions, which stormed towards Liam.
The veteran calculated for a single moment before reaching out with his hand.
His last skill, [Holy Mark Explosion] was activated. A progress bar appeared before his eyes, counting down two seconds.
Meanwhile the weaker bandits came dangerously close. One of them raised his sword. If Liam were to be hit, his skill would be canceled, putting him in a precarious situation.
But fortunately, his estimation proved correct. Before the bandit's attack could land, Liam's skill was ready.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With a loud noise all the holy marks exploded simultaneously, searing rays of holy light shooting in all directions.
The huge damage was too much for the normal bandits to bear as their HP emptied out.
"Looks like it's only me and you now.", Liam murmured as the bandit elite closed the distance.
The huge sword swung towards Liam's neck. Following its trajectory closely Liam landed an attack on his own before abruptly ducking below the sharp blade.
"You…!"
The bandit elite bellowed angrily as his muscles bulged again. Liam gritted his teeth knowing that Heinrigg was about to use his skill.
I have to risk it…
Liam acted quickly, using his [Brutal Strike]. But unfortunately, the stun didn't trigger.
The instant his sword made contact with the enemy, the veteran drew back. Seeing the result, he could do nothing but wait helplessly and watch Heinrigg perform. His movements were too fast. Even Liam didn't want to risk dodging.
[Holy Tempest: 2s... 1s…]
Liam sighed as his ultimate skill ran out. Now he only had some stance left.
A few moments later the bandit elite showed signs of slowing down.
Liam was ready for this moment. He instantly sent out a wave of holy magic. A second holy mark appeared above Heinrigg's head.
Before the bandit elite knew it, Liam had closed the distance, attacking with his swords, applying another holy mark. A cross slash followed immediately.
Four marks! Take this!
Liam's swords flashed, ending the rotation ended with a double slash.
Boom!
The ground shook slightly as the five marks exploded, rocking the bandit elite.
Liam's attacks flowed beautifully. Heinrigg only got in a single attack before lifelessly dropping to the ground.
Liam took a deep breath. Throughout the fight he lost a bit more than a third of his HP. This was the result of his skillful usage of [Holy Tempest].
Still, the veteran was not satisfied.
I'm too rusty. If I had used flash step, I would've avoided the damage form the skill.
I guess it's not only our mages who need to train.
While Liam replayed the fight in his mind, he went around gathering all the loot. Unfortunately, the normal bandits only dropped white items which Liam equipped casually.
Liam could only hypnotize himself with the about 800 EXP the fight brought him before reaching the bandit elite.
He was just about to reach out with his hand when he remembered Cyclone's usual routine.
Carefully looking around, making sure that no one saw him, Liam brought his hands together in prayer.
Liam silently pleaded all the gods coming to his mind, not even stopping before Zeus and Jupiter, before finally looting the bandit.
A blue sheen appeared in his hand. For a second Liam was smiling brightly before his mouth slowly returned to normal.
Usually a blue-uncommon equipment was a reason for happiness but Liam remembered that he was level 10 now.
There should be a slim chance for yellow-rare equipment to drop now. Although it's unlikely, it's not impossible.
Truly, sometimes ignorance is bliss. If I wouldn't have known this, I would be more than satisfied with a blue equipment.
Liam smiled wryly as he looked at the ring in his hand.
[Ring of Flaming Lakes of Roulard
Category: Uncommon
Level requirement: 10
Intelligence +7
Fire Damage +10%
Critical Chance +10%
Effect: With a chance of 5% every skill of yours deals an additional 10% damage as fire damage.
Fished out of a lava lake this ring has seen better days.]
Although the ring wasn't a perfect fit for Liam, it could still boost his damage somewhat. For now, there was no harm in wearing it.
Next the veteran looked into his inventory, searching for the rest of the elite's loot.
His eyes lit up as he found a green sword, which he equipped in his main hand, delegating Heirim's Crimson Sword to his offhand.
Even a few basic health potions dropped.
But the most surprising was a small dark dagger. A notification appeared before Liam's eyes as he inspected it.
[Do you wish to accept the quest 'Reaches of the Black Hand'?]
Liam was taken aback, forced to rummage through his memories. Soon the quest roughly appeared in his mind while he accepted it.
[>Story< Quest: Reaches of the Black Hand
Step 1: Bring 'mysterious black dagger' either to Taragal in Duabalis City or to Seytor in Five River City!
Hint: Your decision will influence the quest going forward]
Liam was surprised to casually find a story quest with branching decisions. He played with the mysterious black dagger in his hand before putting it away.
Story quests were more interesting to clear with the group, thus he would discuss with them later.
For now, Liam still had two treasure chests to loot. Rummaging through a pile of rubbish he soon found the chests, opening them with a grin.
Unfortunately, he only received some green-magic equipment.
That's what you get for not praying…
Liam choose not to be overly greedy, making his way back towards the core city area.
At this point quite some time had passed. Liam chatted with his team, making sure that everyone had received their advanced class.
Thus, the party finally decided to help out Cyclone who was still stuck.
[Bleary Mirage: Alright guys, gather at Svebrial City.]
At first no one complained, but soon Bloody Edge and Radiant Shield were the first to reach the teleporter.
They saw the cost of five silver and felt their stomachs sink. This was almost half of what the party members had at this point in time.
Fortunately, Cyclone managed to arduously convince everyone.
As Liam watched the discussion he couldn't help but inquire with Silver Blade.
[Bleary Mirage: @Silver Blade, how is the selling of Fiery Tacaria going along?]
[Silver Blade: Great! Your five hundred stalks were sold in no time as soon as some guilds got wind of it. Now, my people are constantly farming and raking in money!]
[Bleary Mirage: Good job. Keep an eye out for any news about someone clearing the dungeon. This should be the time when the demand will decrease.]
[Silver Blade: Sure.]
Suddenly Silver Blade couldn't help but laugh. Just as she answered Bleary Mirage, the expert turned around a corner, appearing in her vision.
It wasn't surprising since their goal was the teleporter. Thus, the two bantered for a bit before travelling to Svebrial together.