Other players have said that anyone who approaches the ritual, either by air or by land, is struck by a large mass of thin tentacles belonging to the Dark Young. Those same thin tentacles block all of our long-range attacks too. That’s why, even with so many HP bars, we haven’t even made a dent in it.
The Dark Young slams its tentacles in one spot, then sweeps the others closer to where we’re located.
“Not again!”
“Aaah, it makes my heart leap too!”
“Leap with your legs, not your he—hey!”
“It’s a different height this time?!”
Everyone was able to jump over the previous sweep, which was only leg-high, but this sweep came at the height of our stomachs. I float up even higher.
“You have to get on the ground!”
“Take th—what?! Bfff!”
“Oof!”
The tentacle passes over the heads of those who went into prone positions. As for those who tried to jump? Some people cleared it, but others had their legs struck, while others ended up face-down, kissing the dirt. Anyone who hesitated was mowed down mercilessly by the tentacle.
“I told you to get down.”
“Say it quicker…next time…”
Those struck in the face took quite a lot of damage.
“It doesn’t seem possible to dodge these ones without getting more distance first.”
“Agreed. I didn’t expect to have to go prone for some of them. Crouching doesn’t get you low enough.”
“There’s not enough space for it either.”
The further away from the Dark Young you go, the harder it is to dodge the tentacle strikes. You need multiple players combining their strength to stop those blows, but if they succeed, they stop anyone within a certain radius nearby from being hit. In other words, we should probably put tanks and off tanks behind the front lines too. That would give us more of an advantage.
I summon Unit One as a tank. Unit One, Mr. Skelly’s tank, and I will be able to block a tentacle strike, but since I block with my weapon, I’m curious about what the damage penetration will be like.
Actually, wouldn’t I fare better in the air for this fight? It’ll make more space on the ground for the others if I take off, and I don’t see any need for me to stay on my feet.
I think I’ll change locations after all. “I’m going to head into the sky, Mr. Skelly,” I inform him. He should be able to move around easier on his own, and I can link up with the twins in the air instead.
“Got it!”
The Dark Young hasn’t targeted players in the sky with any unique attacks yet. It strikes with its tentacles, but we can avoid those. The higher up you are, the faster attacks come compared to being on the ground, but it’s also much easier to dodge them in the air.
I launch spells at the Dark Young from above.
“Meeeeeeeh!”
Its voice is a bit higher pitched than before. Oh? All of its thin tentacles have gathered up as if to protect itself. I think I’ll need to get information from Magia Trace.
“It’s gathering magical energy, I see. I believe this animation shows it’s preparing for a magic attack,” I tell the others.
“For real?”
“Prepare for an incoming Dark Magic attack,” I warn.
“We’d rather it not… Wait, what?”
Wait, what?
A bunch of black circles appear around the Dark Young like a porcupine fish. There don’t seem to be any behind it, but the documents didn’t say anything about this kind of attack!
I don’t think I’ll be able to block the hits with Space Magic in time. It definitely looks like a shotgun-style attack, so using my invulnerability will just waste MP. I’ll have to use Light Burst and evade the hits as best as I can!
“Time to take anti-magic measures!”
“But I don’t have any of those!”
“Then just drop to the ground!”
“Lumen Wall.”
“Magic Guard.”
“Magic Barrier.”
A bunch of lines appear all around me thanks to Danger Sense. Once the Dark Young spreads its tentacles, it shoots out a large mass of spheres.
“Aaaah!” cry the players.
Oof! This is impossible! I only take half damage from Dark Magic, but that single attack still drained 40 percent of my health!
That leaves 60 percent for me, but players with less health or defensive skills are put down to 40 percent health. Some, like the musicians, are in the red zone now with their health down to 20 percent.
“That was scary!”
“Angels just fell from the sky, boss!”
A rain of angel corpses just fell from the sky, boss! It would be a horror movie if that were actually the original line.
It looks like the angel players took the worst of the damage. Angels and demons are both popular choices among the inhuman races, after all. At this point, it’s the players on the ground who took the least magic damage.
The twins are supposed to have incoming Dark Magic damage reduction too, but their base level is lower compared to the rest of us. The fact that they’re alive must mean there’s some other unique factor involved. I’m just glad they made it through that attack.
“Party Heal!” comes a chorus of voices.
The healers have begun to get us back on our feet. I’ll heal too, of course.
“Meeeeeeeh!”
“Damn you!”
“Duck, Nappa!”
The Dark Young wasted no time attacking us again with its thick tentacles.
I feel bad for the healers it’s targeting. They have to heal their parties and dodge attacks. Everyone else is able to safely use this opportunity to heal themselves.
Us flying players watch over them from above.
“Heh! You’ll have to go on without me…”
“Shut up and get back on your feet!”
“Someone…save me…please…”
“Resurrection!” the player casts.
“Hey, thanks!”
More people are dying than I expected.
When I see a player, a corpse, gloomily leaving the rest of the fight up to his friend, I hit him in the face with revival medicine.
Revival medicine seems to give more HP than normal revivals, but the perk of the Resurrection spell is that you can bring someone back without using anything other than MP. As someone who can craft high-quality revival medicine, I think it’s best to stock up on the potions to prevent running out, or in case I end up in a pinch.
“Attacks from behind aren’t hurting it,” the twins remark.
“Yes, that’s because the Blessed have put up a force field,” I reply.
“It’s a cocoon of light!”
The force field spans over them in the shape of a dome.
“Meeeeeeeh!”
“Again?!” everyone cries.
It strikes two spots on the ground and sweeps another two spots. I see, so its areas of choice to target must be completely random. That means nowhere is guaranteed to be safe.
“Ah ha ha ha! I know exactly how that move works—whoa!”
“What’s the point in knowing how it works if you can’t even dodge it?”
“Oh, drat! I can barely move!”
“Get the lead out, gramps!”
The close-range fighters have to get their attacks in while also dodging incoming hits. It seems like a very rough job. It’s too hard to jump, so they slice at the tentacles when they sweep by overhead or get a few hits in after dodging vertical strikes.
It’s a little—no, it’s very hard to get close to the Dark Young at all.
“Wha?! Aaaah! Someone help meeeee!”
“Holy crap, he’s been captured!”
Yes, he certainly has been. Will the Dark Young release that player if we attack it? It makes sense in theory, but I doubt it actually works like that.
The Dark Young brings the player up to his mouth, causing this person to lose HP at a rapid speed.
“Ah ha!”
“Why does he sound so happy about it?” the other players question.
Maybe he’s a little messed up in the head. I can picture a heart symbol attached to the end of his cries.
He dies once his HP hits zero and is tossed aside like garbage.
“Heh, what a horrible way to treat someone.”
“So if you’re close to the tentacles when they retreat from attacks, you’ll end up snagged by them, huh?”
“Meeeeh!”
Oh, is it just me, or was that bleat a little different?
“It’s going for something new! Not a normal strike attack!”
“Hang on, no way!”
The four thick tentacles rise up in the air as the ground turns red in multiple spots. That must mean it’s going to hit two spots with each tentacle, making a total of eight danger zones. That’s a very deadly attack over quite a wide range.
Since it’s another tentacle strike, us flying players can avoid it.
“Meeeeeeh!”
The thin tentacles have started to gather up protectively around the Dark Young—a sign that it’s preparing for a magic attack. But this time, it’s something even more frightening.
“Get behind me, Ametrine,” I order them.
“Light Magic will kill us!” they cry.
The magical energy gathering around the Dark Young turns white, and this time, it begins to make a massive amount of white spheres. It then fires them off with the same animation as last time.
“Demons just fell from the sky, boss!”
“Wraiths too!”
Dark Magic hurts the angels, but Light Magic actually packs more of a punch. Lots of demons and undead players died to that. Wraiths are popular undead races, and they have no chance of surviving that attack.
“Ha ha! Alf died!”
“Oh, shut up!”
“Do you have to use Reflect on that one as a tank?” I ask.
“Maybe. I can handle the Dark spells, but I guess I need to save my HP for Light attacks. If there’s no other way, I’ll just have to Reflect both.”
I did see Alf’s HP bar go all the way down to zero on my party list. He’d been at almost full health right before that too. That’s what happens when you’re a tank on the front lines like Mr. Alf. If those magic attacks contain your weakest attribute, you’ll die in a split second.
“Meeeeh!”
“Not again!” everyone cries.
Looks like it’s going in for a sweep this time. It sweeps four locations at once, but each tentacle is positioned at a different height. The players have the tough job of jumping, then crouching, then going prone. Oh no!