The Elemental Spirit’s Meteor Shower

The second boss was an Elemental Spirit. Much like the minor monsters of the second stage, this boss boasted high attack power but low defense.

Crucially, its damage was entirely magical. For warriors, physical defense generally surpassed magical defense. Furthermore, blocking could not fully negate a magic-type boss’s attacks.

Therefore, magic-wielding bosses were typically the least favored among players. However, these bosses were a staple in nearly every dungeon, and the equipment for mages and priests largely dropped from them.

Despite their difficulty, many players still actively sought them out.

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[Elemental Spirit (Level 15 Silver-tier BOSS): HP: 180,000/180,000. Magic Attack: 1400-1480]

The Elemental Spirit’s attacks were terrifying, capable of wiping out nearly half of Ye Jue’s health in a single strike.

Fortunately, its attack frequency was not particularly high. Coupled with Ye Jue’s highly leveled Block skill, which had a very short cooldown, it significantly alleviated Lin Shenyue’s pressure, even if it only mitigated half of the magic damage.

Though Lin Shenyue’s healing skills remained at their initial Level 1, her substantial healing bonus allowed her to sustain the team against the Elemental Spirit’s attacks on normal difficulty.

Under the team’s steady rhythm, the Elemental Spirit’s health rapidly dwindled. While Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze’s damage output might have been suboptimal, Xu Linglong and Divine Wind’s contributions were substantial, more than compensating for any deficit.

As the boss’s health dropped to 80%, the team braced for its first major ultimate ability.

The Elemental Spirit ceased its assault, slowly ascending into the air. Observing this, Lin Shenyue decisively commanded, “Everyone, stop attacking and spread out!”

While continuing to deal damage during the boss’s preparation phase was a viable strategy, Lin Shenyue opted for a cautious approach to prevent any unforeseen complications. She held a particular regard for the abilities of magic-type bosses.

Their skills typically involved high-damage, wide-area attacks, which could easily lead to a team wipe.

Everyone immediately ceased their attacks. The three players, excluding Ye Jue, began to disperse, yet they subtly maintained Lin Shenyue at their center.

This formation was designed to facilitate Lin Shenyue’s healing efforts.

After a two-second charge-up, everyone was in position. As expected, the boss unleashed a skill called Meteor Shower. Countless small fireballs rained down from the sky, covering a twenty-meter radius.

Although each fireball inflicted minimal damage, their sheer number was overwhelming. Lin Shenyue quickly cast a barrier on herself, then applied a heal to Divine Wind, whose defenses were comparatively weaker.

Following this, she activated Prayer.

Prayer, being the priest’s sole area-of-effect healing skill in the early game, offered a tremendous advantage in dungeons and future group PvP battles. However, it came with several drawbacks.

Its cast time, the inability to move while channeling, and its relatively modest healing output meant it wasn’t particularly sought after. In the later stages, once priests acquired other area-of-effect skills, Prayer was largely forgotten.

Yet, in the current predicament, this skill perfectly counteracted the fireballs that occasionally struck the team when they failed to dodge in time.

For an ordinary team, this ability could easily lead to chaos. Furthermore, regular teams often struggled with positioning against this skill, resulting in rapid health depletion that healers couldn’t keep up with.

However, for their team, which had already established preliminary teamwork and comprised individuals with top-tier awareness, surviving this skill proved relatively easy.

Aside from Lin Shenyue, who suffered intense pain after her barrier shattered and she was hit by several fireballs, the other four remained in good condition.

Lin Shenyue bit down hard on her lip, the searing pain from the fireballs momentarily disorienting her. She knew such situations would recur, so she endured the agony, forcing herself to acclimate to the sensation.

While dodging, Ye Jue spared a glance to check on Lin Shenyue. Even as a seasoned gamer, he only set his pain sensitivity to 50%, as anything higher would impair his control.

It wasn’t unheard of for players to set their pain sensitivity to 100%, like Lin Shenyue. However, such individuals were either fanatics or non-combat players solely interested in experiencing the game world.

While 100% pain sensitivity could enhance one’s awareness of danger in the game, the realistic pain was incredibly difficult to adapt to for modern people largely unaccustomed to conflict. Given Lin Shenyue’s pampered background, he worried she might not be able to endure it.

Yet, witnessing Lin Shenyue grit her teeth and persist, he couldn’t help but revise his opinion of her.

After enduring the barrage of skills, Lin Shenyue felt a profound mental exhaustion. Though her in-game status remained unchanged, she sensed a decline in her overall condition.

Despite her best efforts to dodge, the Meteor Shower skill was erratic, making it impossible to predict. Coupled with her slower reaction time, she only managed to evade two fireballs, taking three direct hits.

Had she not prepared for impact and used the group healing spell, she likely would have been instantly killed.

“Let’s slow down the attack rhythm for a moment,” Lin Shenyue said, her voice tinged with weariness. “Ensure your health is stable, and let me recover.”

Xu Linglong cast a worried glance at Lin Shenyue, who was leaning on her staff to rest, and frowned. Though they were close friends, Xu Linglong never interfered with Lin Shenyue’s decisions, choosing instead to offer silent support.

Thus, she suppressed her urge to offer advice.

Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze, however, looked at Lin Shenyue with a puzzled expression. He was the only one in the team unaware that Lin Shenyue played with 100% pain sensitivity, so he couldn’t quite comprehend her pained demeanor.

He secretly asked Divine Wind, “What’s wrong with Yue’er? She looks like she’s in a lot of pain.”

Divine Wind glanced at Lin Shenyue, hesitated, then decided it was pointless to keep it a secret. “Yue’er’s gaming equipment can’t adjust pain sensitivity. She plays at 100%.”

Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze was utterly shocked. Even he only set his pain sensitivity to 30%, as anything higher would hinder his performance. As he watched Lin Shenyue grit her teeth and persevere, the scorn he had secretly held for her quietly dissipated.

He had assumed Lin Shenyue was merely enduring the minimum 10% pain sensitivity, never imagining it was a full 100%. This revelation filled Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze with a newfound respect.

After a full five minutes, Lin Shenyue’s complexion finally returned to normal. “Resume attack frequency,” she instructed.

Hitting the boss once, Xu Linglong frowned. “Do you want to rest a little longer?”

Lin Shenyue shook her head, a faint smile gracing her lips. “I’m fine, really. The longer we drag this out, the more likely something unexpected will happen.”

Xu Linglong took a step back, observing Lin Shenyue. Seeing that her expression had significantly improved, she nodded and plunged back into the attack.