After dispatching several more groups of monsters, Ryan and his party entered a space that looked straight out of a nightmare. Countless bones paved the ground, arranged in grotesque patterns that sent a chill down their spines. Even though the ga’s chanics dulled the impact, the scene could easily rival the set of a horror film.
"Ugh, these disgusting things are just laid out so brazenly!" Evelyn recoiled, her voice filled with distaste as she scanned the wide-open plaza. She seed completely unbothered by the towering boss posing ominously at the center.
—
Vein of Tornt
Boss
Level: 10
HP: 6320
Type: Undead
---
Unlike other elite enemies they’d faced, this boss had a massive health pool and a unique presence. It resembled a normal human NPC but carried a ghostly aura—clearly one of the spirit-type undead.
Ryan clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. The girls gathered around, their expressions a mix of anticipation and caution. Despite their usual pride, they followed Ryan’s instructions without too much resistance. After all, Featherlight had twice earned Glorious Achievents. Even if many dismissed him as just a lucky player, his reputation still carried weight.
"Alright, from the video we just watched, this boss has three distinct phases," Ryan began, pulling up the clip again. "It transitions at 60% and 20% health."
He paused the video and pointed to the mont a player beca engulfed in purple mist.
"First, it randomly casts a curse on a player. After 24 seconds, that curse summons a Shadow Banshee. The banshee doesn’t have much HP, but every ti it lands a hit, the entire party takes shadow damage and loses mana. Evelyn, your priority is to take those out imdiately."
"Got it," Evelyn replied, already narrowing her eyes as if picturing the banshees in her crosshairs.
"Second ability—’Shifting Form,’" Ryan continued. "The boss will randomly swap positions with soone in the party and clear all aggro. So, try to stay within ten yards of . That way, I can instantly use Judgnt to regain threat."
The group nodded. It was a minor inconvenience, but manageable.
"Oh, and one more thing. The boss has a cleave attack—it hits everyone in a cone in front of it. Faded Leaf Kitten, make sure you stay behind it at all tis. No heroics. Just stab from the back."
"Understood," Kitten said with a nod, adjusting her stance already.
"Once it drops to 60% health, we move into Phase Two," Ryan went on. "From here, it becos mobile. It’ll start emitting purple flas, and anyone nearby will take constant shadow damage. Worse, the flas follow wherever it goes. If the trail gets too long..."
He fast-forwarded the video to a mont where shadowy circles were left behind the boss, from which small skeletons erged.
"...these guys show up. They don’t have much health, but their damage is on par with regular mobs. And there’s a lot of them—at least a dozen at once. If they show up during the boss fight, we’re going to have a problem."
The team collectively tensed at the sight of the skeleton swarm.
Of course, Ryan wasn’t telling them everything. In truth, the skeletons didn’t spawn just because the trail got "too long." They appeared in every fla trail if any part of it extended beyond a certain radius from the boss. A careful tank could technically prevent them from spawning entirely.
But Ryan kept that part to himself. Giving out information not shown in the video might lead to questions—questions he didn’t feel like answering right now.
"Now, look at the third phase," Ryan continued, pointing to the final part of the video. "The purple flas disappear, but the boss enters a Berserk state. Every ti it hits soone, it applies a Mortal Strike effect—reducing healing received by 10%. And the effect stacks. This party wiped because their DPS wasn’t high enough—their tank ended up with 100% healing reduction. Basically, they couldn’t heal him at all."
He closed the video and looked around at the team.
"Alright, that’s all for the boss chanics. Everyone confident we can take it down?"
"What are you waiting for? Let’s go—we’re ready!" Evelyn grinned, practically bouncing in place. The other girls looked just as focused, their expressions sharpening with anticipation. Heavyblade Vina, quietly whispered encouragent to herself, eyes fixed on the boss ahead.
Seeing their growing enthusiasm, Ryan nodded and didn’t waste another second. "Stick to my rhythm. Don’t stray too far!" he shouted—and charged forward.
The Vein of Tornt was pacing slowly in the middle of the bone-littered plaza. As Ryan entered its range, the boss let out a low, echoing roar and lunged.
Ryan imdiately cast Judgnt, striking for 102 Holy damage. Under the effect of Righteous Fury, his threat spiked to the top instantly. As the boss closed in, Ryan quickly cast a one-second skill to reapply his weapon enchantnt—an annoying but necessary step for Paladins, since every use of Judgnt consud the enchant.
The boss’s first hit landed solidly—130 damage. A decent blow, but not alarming. Ryan’s health dropped just over 20%, prompting a collective breath of relief from the team. Its damage was manageable.
He began pulling the boss slowly toward the edge of the arena, positioning it near a wall. After about ten seconds, once he was sure his threat lead was stable, he called out to the girls who had gathered just behind him.
"Go! Attack now!"
The team sprang into action. In seconds, the boss’s health dropped by over 600. A ripple of purple light peeled off its body and drifted toward Vina—the first curse had landed on the healer.
"Evelyn, ease off your damage! Once the ghost appears, kill it right away!" Ryan barked, already spotting the telltale signs of the curse.
Just then, a Shadow Banshee erged from Vina’s form and let out a shriek before lunging forward.
-121
Everyone took damage from the spectral strike. Ryan winced as he noticed his mana drop by about 70—a sixth of his total. A few more hits like that, and Vina wouldn’t have the mana left to keep them alive.
Evelyn reacted quickly, firing two Malicious Stings in rapid succession. The Banshee, with barely 100 HP, dropped instantly.
"Nice! Stay sharp—if another Banshee shows up and it gets more than a hit or two, Vina’s mana will be gone," Ryan said, watching as the curse continued to linger on her.
Then—without warning—the boss shimred and vanished.
"Oh no!" Ryan hissed.
Shifting Form.
The boss instantly reappeared beside Mia who had been standing right next to Vina. Just seconds earlier, Vina had cast Radiant Light to heal Ryan, making him top of the aggro table once the boss reset.
Wham! The boss’s sudden strike slamd into Vina, tearing off half her health in an instant.
Before the second hit could land, Ryan’s Reckoning triggered, slamming into the boss and yanking its attention back.
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