MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

"..We're here."

After getting a small glimpse into what the boss would be like by the time they reached the end of the dungeon, the entire group decided to be more cautious during the second half, spending more time than usual during every fight to hone their combat skills as much as possible.

Because of that, Valyr and the others roughly spent a total of five hours to reach the end of the Cave of Beginnings at Insane difficulty, only now arriving at the room that would separate them from true success or utter failure.

"Everyone's already clear on what to do, right?" Deciding to give everyone a bit of motivation before the final battle, SeventhShield decided to instill everyone with confidence through his words.

"We've already fought against the boss multiple times, haven't we? Have a bit more confidence in yourselves. Although we've only fought against the boss multiple times in the lower difficulties, I'm sure the boss we'll face here would be the same."

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' thought Valyr the moment he heard those words, recalling the mini-boss they fought a couple hours earlier.

'The boss you guys have been fighting in the earlier difficulties is none other than the mini-boss you've fought here.'

'As for the boss of the Insane and Nightmare difficulty of this dungeon…' Valyr slightly shook his head at the thought.

'Even I had to spend a lot of time beating it with my friends back then.'

'However, not only would you guys have to face a boss whose mechanics are unknown to you guys, you'll also have to face the betrayal of one of your party members as well,' continued the young man, briefly glancing at Darklight as SeventhShield continued to speak.

"Just like the fight against the mini-boss, Zack and I will be at the frontlines," said the man as everyone nodded while listening.

"Lycana and Uzume will make up the middle. Lycana will be focused on supporting us through buffs and heals, while Uzume will rotate between offense and defense."

"As for the rear, that's where Darklight and Ataraxia will come in." At those words, SeventhShield looked at Valyr with a kind smile.

"If it's possible, could you initiate the fight against the boss with one of your spells again?"

"Sure." Valyr nodded without hesitation, thinking it'd be a great idea to do so as preparation for what Darklight might do.

"As for you, Darklight, if you could focus your attacks on the boss' vital spots, that would be great," continued SeventhShield as he nodded, shifting his gaze towards Darklight.

"I'll try my best." The latter nodded in response, a hint of malice hidden deep beneath the man's gaze.

"Alright." With everyone now prepared to fight against the final boss of the dungeon, SeventhShield went ahead and moved to the front of the group, opening the doors to the boss room after taking in a deep breath.

Creak…

Continuing to take in a deep breath as to retain composure, he and Zack soon entered the boss room in its entirety, with Valyr and the others swiftly following behind them.

"This… is a bit different than what I expected." Taking a look at their surroundings, Lycana instantly noticed the fact that there seemed to be various carvings interspersed throughout the walls.

"Not only that, but the boss looks different too," said Uzume in response to her words, pointing at the robed being at the very center of the room.

"Grash grsh'ak… grm gruudh…"

Oblivious to the presence of the six appearing in its room, the robed being at the center continued to utter out chants in a guttural tone, with each syllable it let out causing the room to faintly quake in response.

"A mage, huh?" Although he inwardly began to panic at the sight of the robed being, SeventhShield outwardly maintained his calm as he used [Analysis] on it.

Ding! Read exclusive chapters at empire

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[Hobgoblin Mage (Rare Elite)] (Level 23 | Boss)

HP: 4,630/4,630

MP: 3,490/3,490

Stats: 123 VIT, 64 STR, 103 AGI, 63 DEX, 154 INT, 144 WIS, 100 PER, 62 LUK

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"…This is gonna be a tough one." Having already expected the boss to have far higher stats than even the mini-boss, SeventhShield was able to remain calm as he clicked his tongue.

Shifting his gaze towards Valyr at the back, he then gave the young man a faint nod, prompting the latter to nod back as he already knew what he had to do.

"Buffs please, Lycana," said the young man as he said to the middle of the formation.

Nodding in response, Lycana went ahead and cast a couple of buffs on Valyr, improving his INT and Attack stat as much as possible with her current capabilities.

Whoosh!

Feeling a bit more strength course through his body thanks to her buffs, the young man faintly nodded in satisfaction before extending one of his arms towards the being.

"May the power of mana—!"

"[Mana Bolt]!"

Bang!

'-692!'

"Grssh…" Although Valyr's attack did not hit any of the robed being's weak spots, the damage it dealt was still more than enough for it to pay attention to them.

"Grk grsih…" With its aura tinged with a hint of fury, the robed being removed its hood, allowing the group to witness a hobgoblin staring at them with crimson red eyes.

"Gragh grshmk!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Finding the culprit that interrupted its chant midway, the hobgoblin did not hesitate to fire a barrage of energy bolts the moment it figured it out, with all of them heading straight directly for Valyr.

"[Taunt]!" Confident that Valyr would be able to protect himself, SeventhShield charged towards the mage with all its might, forcing it to focus its aggro at him with a skill.

Bang!

With him slamming his shield down on the ground, it was only then did the hobgoblin finally pay attention to him, sending out a few bolts of energy as a way to vent its anger.

Though, just as he was about to block all of the energy bolts that came his way…

Psh!

Out of nowhere, he felt something sharp pierce through his shoulder.

"What…?" Although the pain from it did not affect him that much from blocking the hobgoblin's attacks, SeventhShield grew more alert as he looked at his surroundings, only to notice that a certain member of his group was looking at him with malicious eyes.

"Hehehe…" Seeing that his arrow hit the man's shoulder without issues, Darklight began to let out laughter that slowly turned into a cackle.

"I was waiting for this very moment…"

Ding!

[Darklight has left the party.]

Just as everyone else was wondering what was going on, the notification they received from the system was all they needed to understand, causing everyone to look at Darklight with a grim expression.

"Is this how it's gonna be, Darklight?" Taking out the arrow from his shoulder, SeventhShield continued to look at the man with a solemn expression whilst he continued to block the hobgoblin's attacks.

"Hehehe…" In response, Darklight continued to let out a cackle as his shadow began to spread through the ground. "It was only a matter of time when the perfect opportunity would come."

"Unfortunately for you guys, now's that time… hehehehe…"

As Darklight continued to cackle in response to the grim expressions everyone else had, one person in the group let out a wide sigh of relief.

"Haah… fucking finally." Shifting his gaze between both Darklight and the hobgoblin they were facing, Valyr looked at the former with a calm expression on his face. "And here I thought you'd show your true self near the end."

"As if that's going to make a difference," replied Darklight back with an ugly grin. "After all, everyone's belongings will soon become mine."

"Is that so?" Though such words invoked fear into SeventhShield as they knew they were in a precarious situation, Valyr merely found the man's words amusing.

"Well… thank you for giving me a reason not to hold back, then."

"…"

"[Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles]."