The moment its health bar popped up, I fired immediately.

  "Piercing Shot!"

  The Boss cut the arrow in half before it could hit; Admiral Theron was impossibly fast.

  One moment it stood next to his coffin, and a second later, the boss was towering over Lothras, drawing its second sabre.

  The Paladin barely had time to raise his shield into defensive formation before the two blades came down in a cross-cut.

  The whole cavern shook from the power of the attack.

  -110!

  Lothras had lost 15% of his health from an attack he had blocked perfectly.

  I didn’t even have time to comprehend that this meant that Lothras had more than 600 health, double what I had, because the boss had suddenly jumped right in front of me.

  “Leap Attack!”

  The blades missed me by an inch, while my follow-up shot connected.

  -240!

  The good news was that the boss had very low defenses.

  The bad? It had a huge health pool.

  Its health bar didn’t move.

  “Chain Agression!” Lothras shouted, using the uncommon taunt skill that came in very handy for both Paladins and Guardians. The boss had once again turned its attention to him.

  “Oath of Steel!” he buffed his defenses.

  Kara started playing a melody, much more complicated than what she’d used so far, and soon enough, the buff activated.

  I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  “How did you–?” I started.

  “I’ve got a hidden skill,” she explained in a hurry. “Double Cast. If I can somehow weave two skills together, I can cast both at the same time. This is probably the easiest to do with a Bard.”

  I wouldn’t have called it easy, but she had a point. She combined the two melodies and managed to use both “Aria of Protection” and “Lullaby of Dismay” simultaneously, boosting our defenses while debuffing the boss.

  “You’re amazing,” Athos said simply.

  “That is not news to me, darling,” she smiled. “But this would be way harder to achieve for any other cast. I have no idea how an Arcanist or a Ranger could ‘weave two skills together’. All I have to do is play.”

  “Yeah, you’re great,” Lothras said, ducking away from another cross cut. This was the first time I had seen him dodge something. “But let’s focus, please.”

  “Right.”

  She then played a different tune. “Sonet of Valor!”

  I felt the power surging through my veins.

  I activated Nature’s Howl and started firing continuously.

  “Fan of Arrows!”

  -75!

  -75!

  -75!

  -75!

  …

  All arrows connected, dealing 600 damage to the boss. It finally felt the hit.

  Athos was dancing around, using Vertical Strike, Piercing Stab, and Horizontal Slash in quick succession, chipping away at the health of the boss, while Lothras was trying to keep its attention on him without dying.

  He chugged down a medium health pot, then activated Oath of Vitality to increase his regeneration.

  “I can do damage too, you pile of bones!” He roared loudly. “Radiant Edge!”

  That was a skill I didn’t know, but it hit the boss in a fast fashion. Lothras’ weapon increased in length, a pure light blade engulfing it, which he then smashed into the Admiral.

  -729!

  It took a huge chunk of our foe’s health.

  But it wasn’t enough to stagger it.

  Admiral Theron retaliated with a skill of its own: the sabers started glowing with a purple, iridescent light and sent waves of energy flying through the room.

  Kara dodged it as we were pretty far from the wind-up, but the almost instantaneous ability hit both Lothras and Athos.

  -239!

  -287!

  Athos suddenly had less than 10% HP remaining, and even Lothras was battered.

  Kara rolled ahead and started playing. “Healing Notes!”

  Slow regeneration engulfed both of our melee players. The healing ability of a bard was nowhere near a Cleric’s, a Druid’s, or even a Paladin’s.

  But it was enough to save them from certain demise.

  The Admiral came to our tank once again. Lothras caught both blades on his shield, and the impact drove him back three steps, boots scraping against the stone floor.

  The skeleton pressed forward, sabres whirling in blurring patterns. The Paladin blocked, parried, and deflected with impeccable shield work, but he was being pushed back steadily. Each blocked strike cost him health despite the successful defense, and Kara had to switch solely to keeping him alive.

  “Soothing Melody, Healing Notes!”

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  The double cast of the two healing skills was barely enough to stabilize Lothras’s health, but it worked.

  I fired a Piercing Shot. The arrow struck the Admiral’s spine dead center, punching through bone.

  -326!

  Athos activated Blade Rush, his sword blazing as he re-entered the fray. The strike caught the boss’s left femur, and I heard the bone crack.

  -276!

  The creature’s response was immediate. It pivoted, left sabre parrying Athos’s follow-up attack, while the right swept low at the Swordsman.

  He jumped back, barely clearing the incoming hit.

  I fired arrows in rapid succession, alternating between Piercing Shot and Burning Arrow whenever they came off cooldown. The fire damage was much more effective against an undead like Admiral Theron.

  Kara was constantly switching between songs, depending on whether we needed heals, power or defense, and she was masterfully weaving attacks in between; Echo Strike, Thunderous Accord and Deafening Wave were not doing as much damage as my arrows or Athos’s strikes, but she kept Double Casting the best combinations for the situation, making her a force to be reckoned with.

  She might not be as much of a threat in a 1v1 as Kaelith or Seraphina, I thought. But she is more impressive in many other ways.

  At this point, it was clear to me why she was the one chosen by the Count’s men.

  The defensive boost from Aria of Protection arrived just as the Admiral hurled one of its sabres towards me.

  The blade spun through the air like a throwing axe, with impossible accuracy. I dove left, barely out of harm’s way.

  The sabre embedded itself in the wall, way too close to where I was standing moments ago, sinking at least half a meter into solid stone.

  The skeleton didn’t miss his weapon for long. A tether made out of pure, purple mana shot out from its hand, grasping the blade, yanking it from the wall, back into the arms of its owner.

  Lothras activated Golden Dawn. The light pulsed around him, regenerating his HP while dealing holy damage to the undead.

  “Don’t forget to check durability!” I shouted, mainly to him, but it was good general advice, too.

  “I’m not an idiot!” He barked back, but I didn’t feel the usual edge in his voice. “Shield’s at 67%! Started the boss fight with 95%.”

  I made some quick calculations. Lothras’s shield had lost almost 30% of its durability in the time we pushed the boss down to 60% health.

  Numbers were in our favour, but it was closer than expected. If the boss enters an enraged state, this could be a problem.

  Not to mention, if this was not the end of the dungeon, we might have a bit of a problem as well.

  “I have Repair Kits!” He shouted, as if he knew what I was thinking. “Stop mathing, start fighting!”

  He was right. And he also had better precog than me, by the looks of it. I completely forgot about item durability while we were in Tidemark. Should have bought some Repair Kits as well.

  Most of my items were still at 100%; wear and tear didn’t really affect the majority of equipment. Armor lost durability from getting hit, and while weapons did from getting used, it was negligible. Only blocks and parries affected them, really.

  My bow was at 99% despite being used for a while, since I hadn’t blocked anything with it so far, and most of my armor pieces were above 90% as well.

  My thought process was interrupted by the boss, as it suddenly jumped at me. Rude, I thought.

  I dodged his double attack, then Quick Stepped away from a follow-up strike. My agility was working overtime.

  I was already drawing, Burning Arrow at the ready.

  To my surprise, my skill was shattered, blocked by a purple, ethereal shield bubble appearing around the boss.

  Its movements stopped suddenly, and it went down on one knee, holding its weapons like it was doing some kind of ritual.

  For the first time ever since I started playing, I saw another bar appear under the boss’s health bar. It started increasing rapidly.

  “We need to interrupt him!” Lothras shouted. “It’s a Limit Break ability!”

  I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t have to. From its sheer aura, I could feel it was a problem.

  “Damage it or CC it now!” Athos called, activating Three-Blade Execution. “Throw everything at it!”

  “Radiant Edge!”

  “Comet! Three-Blade Execution!”

  “Song of Valor, Chordbreaker!”

  “Nature’s Howl! Piercing Shot!”

  We tuned our damage output to the max, hitting Admiral Theron with everything we’d got.

  Its Limit Break bar was about 80% full when we shattered the barrier. The boss staggered from the impact and entered a dazed state.

  “Now, it’s free damage!” Athos shouted. “Saltstone Edge!”

  -525!

  “Fan of Arrows!”

  -92!

  -92!

  -92!

  …

  Fan of Arrows did over 700 damage, more than before, which meant that the boss was more vulnerable after an unsuccessful Limit Break.

  “Purging Flame!”

  “Thunderous Accord!”

  Sadly, our group didn’t have access to the real heavy hitters like Lothras’s Radiant Edge or Athos’s Three-Blade Execution, as they were needed to break the barrier, but even then, we still pushed out quite the hurt.

  The boss had around 30% HP left after getting up.

  And it was angry.

  The skeleton stood up, and its bones started knitting themselves back together with unnatural speed. The fractures sealed, the cracks faded.

  It was regenerating.

  “It’s healing!” Lothras called out the obvious.

  The Admiral charged him.

  He had maybe one second to react, Holy Charging out of harm’s way, but the skeleton adjusted mid-charge, both sabres sweeping in wide arcs that forced him to keep moving. He couldn’t even stop to retaliate; every time he tried to activate a skill, another slash forced him to dodge.

  Athos appeared from the side, Horizontal Slash cutting the boss in a wide arc. The distraction worked. The Admiral pivoted to face him, both sabres coming down in a devastating overhead strike.

  Athos had no time to dodge. He caught both blades on his sword, the impact driving him to one knee.

  -186!

  He lost over half his HP from a blocked strike. Healing Notes switched from Lothras to the Swordsman, but the skeleton’s blades were already aiming for the fatal strike.

  Athos dodged with incredible speed and retaliated with a point-blank Saltstone Edge.

  -462!

  They engaged in a fierce duel, but every time the skeleton tried to hit, Athos twisted his body in a way that made him seem almost like liquid.

  Rising Tide, I thought. His movement speed is through the roof.

  Then he used Comet as it came off cooldown, just as Admiral Theron tried to land another overhead slash. The swordsman shot up into the air and came crashing down with surgical precision.

  -597!

  I drew and fired, drew and fired, drew and fired. My new attack speed made me feel like I was using an automatic weapon.

  Arrow after arrow slammed into the skeleton, chipping away at its health despite its fast regeneration.

  Twenty-five percent. Twenty percent.

  The Admiral slammed its sabres together, and I knew what was coming. Another shockwave skill.

  "Scatter!" I shouted.

  We split into four directions. The shockwave erupted, necrotic energy filling the chamber. Lothras used Oath of Steel, Kara was buffing all of our defenses, and I was far enough, but even at this range, buffed with a multitude of skills, almost a third of my HP disappeared in an instant.

  -96!

  Athos got the short end of the stick; his health plummeted, and he was on lower double digits.

  "Heal him!" Lothras roared.

  Kara chugged down a mana potion, then cast Healing Notes. The harmonic resonance, along with Athos using one of his own potions, kept the Swordsman in the fight.

  I fired Burning Arrow at the boss’s feet, flames spreading across the ground. The skeleton stood in the fire, its bones blackening, the healing effect finally stopping.

  "Keep the pressure!" Athos used Blade Rush, closing the gap.

  He’s not concerned about his own safety, I thought.

  The Admiral swung wildly, one saber nearly taking Athos's head off. He ducked, rolled, then came up slashing. The blade caught the skeleton's wrist, and the right sabre went flying, clattering across the chamber.

  One weapon left. Ten percent health.

  Lothras activated Oath of Vitality, his health climbing once again.

  Then he rushed to intercept the boss’s attacks, countering with Purging Flame and Smite whenever he could.

  He caught the skeleton's next strike on his shield and shoved forward, putting all his strength into it. The Admiral stumbled back into the fire, and its bones began to burn once again.

  I started channeling a Leap Attack, waiting for the perfect moment. The skeleton raised its remaining sabre for an overhead strike on Lothras.

  I jumped, the leap carrying me high above the battlefield. At the apex, I drew and released.

  The arrow flew straight and true, powered by every buff we had active, guided by my impeccable aim, strengthened by my attributes.

  It struck Theron Trynd's skull at the temple, punched clean through, and embedded itself in the far wall.

  -236!

  The skeleton froze mid-strike.

  Its health hit zero.

  For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then cracks spread across every bone simultaneously, glowing with the same light that had filled its eye sockets.

  The cracks widened, light spilling out like water from a broken dam.

  Admiral Theron Trynd shattered.

  Fragments of bone exploded outward, disintegrating into ash before they hit the ground.

  His remaining sabre clattered to the floor, then dissolved into motes of light.

  A system notification appeared.

  ?