“Oh, hi boys,” she said, with her left forearm in her right hand.
Cayn wasted no time and started healing her. “Where were you going like that?”
“I was looking for some healing but got lost.”
“Can you tell us what you know while we heal you?” Astor asked, adding some [Heals].
Only those under level 20 could damage the World Boss. And as most of the population was level 100, only a handful of volunteers were fighting. How could someone under level 20 kill a giant tortoise? That sounded ridiculous for most. As for Astor, it sounded like a simple problem. “Why don't we just burn it whole?”
Bel and Cayn looked at him confused.
“I can do it.” He only had a simple plan involving the [Druid] class, but he was confident in it.
Bel, all fixed, stretched up. “If you say so.”
“As long as you don't put your life in danger,” Cayn told Astor.
Astor told them his plan and with no further words spoken, their bonds tightened for what was about to happen.
***
Dark virescent shell. Hollow eyes. Head scraping the starry sky.
Earthquake.
Time was ticking. Astor was on his spot, right on the blue line. Verdant First Land and World Boss in front. He put a barrier in the air and waited a few moments, practicing with [Druid] skills. He only needed one of them: [Meteorokinesis].
A bright light shone in the night, signaling the start of the plan. “[Switch: Mage].” With wind magic, he propelled himself up and flew to his single floating barrier. He stood on it then anchored himself with some earth magic. He was in position and ready.
Multiple barriers spawned and merged together, concealing the World Boss into a cylinder. It was large enough to contain approximately two steps; the time window was short. An opening appeared right in front of Astor.
Astor threw a slow fireball then switched quickly to [Druid]. “[Meteorokinesis].” A current of wind surge into the cylinder blowing blades of winds against the tortoise. The fireball grazed the current maintained by Astor and ignited into a blaze, blasting the World Boss with thousands of fireblades.
[Meteorokinesis] was similar to his [Element] skill, wind magic wise. Except, contrary to it, it controlled the wind instead of creating it. That meant it used less mana, and with his cloak’s passive, he could last longer.
As expected, the surplus of oxygen made by [Druids] down below, by controlling trees, made the air extremely inflammable. And it was all thanks to Bel and Cayn coordinating the whole thing.
Astor invoked two screens: “System, mana and inventory check.”
Mana: 74/100
Inventory:
5
5
1
Now all he had to do was focus on his skills and drink a
Burnt smell. Red orange firestorm. Astor felt overwhelmed by the heat and pressure. Yet, he persisted.
The tortoise took another step and grew closer. Vibrations ran through his skin. He looked at the monster, assessing whether or not it was taking enough damage: its shell blackened, but its skin was intact. He mustn’t be the only one checking as the current of fire wind grew in intensity.
He knew the fireblades weren't enough, for the tortoise was about to step again and would crush the barriers at some point. It’d release the heated wind and damage a large area. Astor had to make a storm. Not only would it minimize the spread once the barriers are gone, it’d also do more damage to the World Boss. He was the only one capable of hurting the World Boss with this forbidden knowledge. Who would have thought the babbling of a Helper experimenting with weather would be useful?
He focused. The air flow went circular and as the cylinder got clustered, smoke escaped from atop. It made it easier for Astor to see what’s going on.
The fire turned yellow then white. His skin started to peel off from the smoke’s heat. He drank a
The monster was now covered in the purest of flames; Astor hoped it’d be enough.
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His heart stressed out as moments passed. Astor was being blazed away by his own making, he didn’t know how long he held so far. But he knew one thing: once either his
Silence. No movement from the monster, no sound, naught. Was it over? Astor held the firestorm either way. From afar, he could see Bel’s noticeable pink hair. She was near the barriers, looking through them. Persons around acted alike. They looked at each other then bursted in joy. What a relief.
They signaled Astor to stop, which he did and they shouted victory. And as they did so, the blue firestorm waned.
It was a lot of effort but he was happy. Still, something felt off. It was too easy. He looked at the tortoise once more.
Black shell. Coarsed skin. Red eyes. Multiple glowing circles spawned under it. Something dangerous was about to happen. Astor could feel it, as the World Boss stared right into his soul. He froze in one place even though his body was scorching hot.
Explosion.
***
Bel’s voice resounded, “Blue eyes, wakey wakey.”
Yellow sparkes shone all above Astor. Bel and Cayn were healing him, they must’ve kept a close eye on him to know where he fell. In no time, Astor was afoot.
“What should we do now?” Bel asked, looking at the giant tortoise about to take another step.
“Look,” Cayn pointed at something, on the World Boss’ belly, “right in the middle.”
Lucent. Red bright in the night. No mistaking, it was the monster’s core. They were close enough to take the opportunity. But Astor was out of mana.
“The core looks pretty intact, we will have to rough it up with our own hands I think,” Bel said.
They ran to it, switching to [Warrior]. Bel, the fastest, took the initiative. She jumped and punched it with [Strike]; the mana core fissured. It worked.
The tortoise turned its head, glancing at Bel. A circle glowed under her. Explosion. Smoke. Barrier around her. She managed to switch to [Priest] and protect herself in a split second.
Astor will have to do the same.
“Let’s go,” Cayn told Astor.
They took turn damaging with [Strikes] and baiting the counter attacks with [Protection].
As of right now, only the trio could deal damage to it, so they were alone in the area. Couldn’t blame others, facing the center of a earthquake wasn’t easy on the body, if it wasn’t for the [Priest] class, they’d be in a sad state.
The core was half-destroyed. And the trio was out of breath. Yet, they couldn’t stay in one place as the circles started blasting fiercer than before. Smoke covered the area and burned the eyes. Breathless, fatigued and partially blind, Astor couldn’t keep up. His legs gave out as a circle shone under him. He stared at it. Explosion. A barrier surrounded him; it wasn’t his.
“Bel!” Cayn yelled. It was his barrier. “Carry Astor.”
Bel dashed to Astor, the barrier around him vanished and she grabbed him. She ran until the circles stopped appearing. They both took their breath as Cayn stalled for them.
“Imma be honest, I don’t think it will stop even if we break the mana core,” Bel said.
He understood what she asked of him: to kill the World Boss. It was frowned upon to kill a monster or an animal in general but rules didn’t matter right now. She was right, they had to do it.
“What do we do?” Astor asked.
Bel replied, “Me and Cayn will distract it. You blast its big head with the strongest attack you have.” She ran right back after.
His strongest attack? The firestorm was his biggest feat so far, he had to think of something better. Something that could cut the head in one go. He had an idea.
First, making a barrier. Cayn could shape it into a chain, Astor aimed for a sharp windblade-shape. Next, amplifying it with [Slash]. Bel would often buff her hands and quickly break mana cores with that skill. And finally, a strong wind, strong enough to propel this improved windblade. He liked the windblade attack, it was enough to knock down monsters but not hurt them. This time he had to give it his all to decapitate the World Boss.
Adrenaline rushed. He took a deep breath and focused. With his hands extended toward the amplified-barrier, he blasted the heaviest windblade he could. The attack flew in an instant, slashing right through the tortoise’s neck and going even further, to the stars.
He fell from the blowback, admiring his attack vanishing in the distance. The World Boss’s head fell. Yet it was standing. Fierce and proud. A true monument posed under the moonlight.
Astor’s heart raced like crazy. He was more than stressed out. And yet he was smiling. He did it. He lived up to expectations.
Bel jumped on him giving him the tighest hug. “Teach me that attack!” Cayn followed and calmly joined the hug, bawling out. It must’ve been hard for Cayn, while Bel was… Bel.
The trio sat there for a while, hugging each other, with a happy Astor. A blue screen popped up.
World Boss vanquished: 1/9.
Eight more?
***
A few days have passed, Bel and Cayn got proper recognition for the World Boss’ defeat. As for Astor, he preferred to remain anonymous, as it didn’t offer any kind of benefit toward his goal.
Most were just aware of someone wearing a blue cloak with cat ears. They also nicknamed him “Azure flame.” It became so popular that even the System recognized it.
Astor
Class: [Mage]
Level: 20
Skills mastered: 3
Title:
Mana: 100/100
Skill sets:
[Class switch] skills.
[Mage] skills.
Astor considered whether or not it was worth it to continue the Journey that way, as it could be dangerous. But the answer was pretty evident; he enjoyed the thrill of life for once. It was fun and he didn’t want it to end. Maybe taking his time on his— their Journey wasn’t so bad.
Yes, the orphanage was still around but couldn’t he indulge himself? Weighting his own happiness with those of others was complicated, only the future could tell what the right decisions would be, until then, he will follow his heart.
That’s a wrap for the first arc.
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