Rae pulled the first group to them, and Karl noticed that the formation had shifted, as had the incoming targets.
These were all Dark Elves, with a cleric and two mages behind six warriors.
At this point, everyone knew the routine. Let Rae eat the cleric while they focused on the mages.
It was a tried and true thod, as the Spider Priests, as the Dwarves Called the Dark Elven Clerics, were similar to the Black Dragon Clerics, in that their specialty was buffing their allies, not in directly healing.
However, they did have an excellent life steal spell that Rae was hoping to gain by osmosis.
Now, under normal circumstances, that would be an absolutely ridiculous idea. But this was Rae, Queen of Blood Magic. If anyone could learn a skill simply by eating enough creatures that had the skill, it would be her.
Plus, it looked like these Dark Elves worshipped a Spider Goddess, so that was an extra point in her favour.
If the spell was a blessing from their God, Rae might just gain it as a form of divine blessing.
Hawk grabbed another group, while Rae patiently waited on the wall of a building for their Cleric to pass by.
The mont that it did, she pounced, tearing it apart and then eating the pieces.
"What is the spider doing?" One of the beastkin asked in a terrified, pleading tone as the pieces of Cleric seed to simply vanish into thin air.
"She's incorporeal. Don't worry about it too much, she will be fine, and she's not taking damage." Karl replied casually.
That didn't answer the question, but Rae was close to a breakthrough. She could feel the skill that she was after, and with so practice, she knew that she would eventually get the life stealing effect right. But if she could find a few more targets, it would be much faster.
Why she actually needed the skill was a mystery. [Night Haunter] ca with incredible regenerative powers in incorporeal form. Plus, Karl already knew a [Life Steal] skill that she could use, just not this particular one.
Rae was happy, though. And that was what really mattered.
Then, on one pull, the mages retreated behind a barrier and were attempting to cast a major group spell of so sort.
"Karl, reinforce the barrier. This effect uses all their mana, and it's been known to kill multiple party mbers if the healing over the duration isn't high enough." Thomas insisted.
Karl nodded, but didn't change the barrier.
[Cara, you're up.] [They've got like ten seconds left in the casting. Eight, six, four, NOPE! Muahaha.]
Everyone watched as the mages finished their chant and threw their hands up in the air. Then... nothing.
The mages looked just as shocked and confused as the rest of the group.
"Winged Void Badger! She can [Nullify] at the Overlord Rank." Karl shouted to the warriors in front, so they didn't leave their positions.
The Dark Elves didn't seem to understand, but the mages were exhausted. A single flick with Cara's claw took down their barrier, and then the Badger was on them, pumlling them into the dirt and pulling their robes up over their heads to stop them from being able to properly fight back.
The Dragonkin didn't seem to know how to respond to that, but the Dwarves thought it was brilliant.
"Yeah, Jersey them and sucker punch to the face. Oh, is that a Void Blast on her fist?" The healing Shaman cheered.
"Cara is known for her creative fighting style." Karl agreed.
"I swear that every badger type magical beast has the soul of a hooligan who pleased the gods trapped in them." The Black Dragon Cleric laughed.
They finished with another group of the mages in under a minute, as after the first ti, Cara simply nullified their barrier and let Rae in with her Golems. The Elves had insane magical power, but the group had a Cara. Once that was factored in, the Dark Elves really did stand no chance against the dynamic duo.
"For the boss ahead, the best option is to slow them down as much as possible. What do we have for options today?" Thomas asked as they finished with the mages and took a breather for a drink and a light snack.
The mages listed the basics. [Slow], and [Paralyze]. "Well, I can have Rae wrap it up in Overlord Rank webbing, that should slow it down. Or I can create an Ice or Lightning barrier on the ground. That will make things spicy." Karl suggested.
"How about a big fat 'no' to turning the entire boss encounter into a skating rink?" The Shaman suggested.
"So, Lightning? It's a wall type spell, but nothing says that you have to extend it upwards. If we can get the boss to leap or move, I can create the sheet of Lightning under its feet.
It won't hurt group mbers, but Lightning has a [Stun] effect when enemies are standing in it." Karl offered.
Technically, he had two options. Thor knew [Lightning Zone] and [Blockade]. The Blockade skill covered a much larger area, though. At least it did if you only made it a few centitres thick.
Thomas shook his head. "The reason we need to slow it is so the Warriors can keep it from flying around. Encouraging it not to land only makes things worse for us. The spider silk trap seems like a viable option, and we can try to slow or paralyze it, but the boss monsters are highly resistant to negative spell effects."
The group nodded, and the warriors worked on a plan. "Alright, Rae will wrap it, keep it near the ground. The buildings at the edge should make good anchors if you need to tie the webs off. But we suspect that the boss will cut through them fast enough, that it is all you'll be doing. Cara, nullify the more powerful spells.
Mages, no fire and nothing that will shred the webs if you can avoid it.
The warriors have a shorter attack range, so we will do what we can. But primarily, we are there as a at shield to protect the mages from the wrath of the boss while they bring it down." Thomas announced.
"Got it. We will spread around the area, so it can't attack us all at once, and Karl can focus on restoring the barriers of whoever has its attention." The Shaman agreed.
Thomas smiled. "I have a taunt ability, which will keep it on for a while. Just do as much damage as you can while it's distracted."
User Comments
0 comments from readers