Izroth loss control over his character's movements as the entire room filled up with water. A whirlpool had formed out of nowhere exactly where Izroth had been standing when he was forcibly dragged underneath the water.
There wasn't any warning to the sudden changes. Also, Izroth just happened to be unlucky. The whirlpool did not have a set spawn point. It could have appeared anywhere within the entire room and yet it chose right underneath Izroth.
〈Battle Alert: You have been affected by a Whirlpool〉
When Izroth loss control of his character's movements, it took him a brief moment to readjust his body. However, Barbados did not wait for him to recover as the sea creature sped towards Izroth and landed a solid hit on him.
-725
〈Battle Alert: You have been affected by Vicious Bite.〉
〈Battle Alert: You will now Bleedout every 1 second for 10 seconds for 50 damage.〉
-50
'The bleedout is ignoring both my physical and magical resistances. I suppose that was to be expected.'
Izroth narrowed his eyes when he was struck by that attack. However, he did not panic and swiftly countered with an attack of his own. Most players would be unable to act while inside of a whirlpool spinning so fast, but Izroth was able to successfully strike back against Barbados.
-995
If Wess and his party were there to see what just occurred, they would all be dumbstruck. Not at the fact that Izroth was able to attack while inside of a whirlpool, but rather he was able to instantly adjust to it and land an attack on his very first try.
It also looked as if he was now unbothered by the whirlpool and could react properly even while spinning around inside of it. Izroth had fought battles in conditions far worse than this whirlpool and managed to come out on top.
While he was caught off guard by the initial loss of control of his character's movements, he still quickly adapted to it in time to counterattack. Though his current situation was not looking too good. Izroth had just taken heavy damage from Barbados and he was now affected by bleedout.
He could not afford to get hit by another blow like that without parrying or else he may not be so fortunate as to survive next time. The whirlpool that had dragged Izroth into it slowly began to disperse.
However, when it finished completely disappearing, two more whirlpools formed on the battlefield at random locations and this time Izroth was not anywhere near the whirlpools.
'I'll have to be careful of those whirlpools. Even though I've already experienced it once, it's best to avoid it if possible. After all, I'd rather not be tossed around while going up against this boss monster.'
Vicious Barbados did not appear to be affected by the whirlpools and could even swim directly through one without its movements being hindered. Its speed was even faster than before now that the water was covering every corner of the room.
Barbados zoomed right towards Izroth at an incredible speed. The sea creature resembled a silver streak traveling through the water with two beady red eyes filled with bloodlust leading the charge.
Izroth removed a Lesser Health Potion from his inventory and immediately consumed it.
+150
Thanks to the Lesser Health Potion, Izroth's HP went up to 781. Even though it only healed him for 150 points, it was enough to cancel out 3 seconds of the bleedout effect. Right now, every bit of HP counted.
'I'll have to look into purchasing some higher grade potions.'
Lesser Health Potions were not made for players that were level 20 or higher. They were not that effective against higher level monsters that could dish out high damage.
Izroth's Lightning Field ran out and his agility dropped back down to 400 points. Thankfully, he still had the max stacks for his Hellfire Rampage. However, Barbados agility was now at least double that of his current agility stat.
'This'll be a bit risky, but it'll pay off nicely if it works.'
As Barbados closed in on Izroth, he began to swim towards one of the whirlpools. Although the whirlpools were not located near Izroth's current position, he was still fast enough to make it there before Barbados arrived.
When Izroth was thrown into the whirlpool, he received the same battle alert as before and lost control of his character's movements for a brief instant. However, Izroth was prepared this time and so he instantly regained control of his character.
Barbados pierced through the whirlpool aiming to shred Izroth into countless little pieces with its rows of sharp teeth. But just when Barbados clamped its jaws shut, Izroth's body was suddenly pulled out of Barbados attack range.
Barbados changed its direction and pressed on with its assault, but every time it was just about to successfully hit Izroth, his body would be yanked into a random direction making it miss with its attack.
'Even a curse can become a blessing in certain situations.'
Izroth was using the force from the whirlpool to his advantage against Barbados. At the moment, Izroth's speed was nowhere close to Barbados. Therefore, he came up with a plan that could possibly even out the playing field.
When being pulled into a whirlpool a player would lose control of their character at first. The whirlpool moved incredibly fast and so it was difficult to regain control once it was lost. But for Izroth, now that he had experienced the sensation once, it was enough to become familiar with the feeling of being within the whirlpool.
He was using the erratic movements caused by being affected by the whirlpool to naturally increase his speed. This was something unthinkable and no player would even dream of attempting such a difficult strategy.
It was one thing to stay still and regain control one time once you lost it while inside of a whirlpool. But, to do it freely and use it as a way to increase your agility... That was something only one of those monstrous players could do!
After getting used to it for a few seconds, Izroth was capable of striking out with his Blade of Lightning as if he were fighting normally. A few moments after that, he was actually able to aim precisely at Barbados vital points.
The whirlpools dispersed and then even more appeared throughout the entire battlefield. Most players would dread more whirlpools appearing, but for Izroth it was like paradise now that he was used to it.
'The amount of whirlpools seems to double every time they respawn. I wonder if there's a limit to it.'
Now that Izroth had a new method on how to deal with Barbados, he began to shave away at its HP slowly but surely.
28%...
15%...
9%...
It was not long before Barbados HP dropped down below 10% and caused it to enter into an enraged state.
〈Battle Alert: Vicious Barbados has entered into an enraged state〉
Vicious Barbados already possessed a very high attack stat. Now that it was enraged, it would only become more deadly as the seconds ticked by. It would not be long before even the whirlpool strategy Izroth was using became useless. He did not have a lot of time to finish the battle.
Izroth thought about using Second Baneful Sword: Kill, but he was unsure of what he would face after this battle and so would rather save it for the time being.
There was also Scagmag's Whale Song but if he were to use that then he would receive no EXP and no loot drops. That was not a tradeoff he was willing to accept.
"Accept your death surface dweller!" Barbados grew faster every second. Its attacks were gradually making its way closer to Izroth. Barbados shot right past Izroth, just barely missing its attack against him.
Izroth acted without hesitation as his leg was already heading towards Barbados. It resembled a snake striking out mercilessly at its prey. Izroth purposely waited until Barbados moved in close enough to execute Serpent's Bite so that the chance of it missing was drastically reduced.
-240
Barbados came to an abrupt halt when Izroth's foot slammed into its body. Izroth only had 1.5 seconds to finish things up and he intended to do just that.
Izroth's Blade of Lightning sliced through Barbados gills, but Izroth did not just stop after one attack and swung out once more with his sword, striking Barbados in the head.
«Critical Hit»
-724
«Critical Hit»
-724
After Izroth's second attack landed on Barbados, the sea creature broke free from the paralyze effect. With its current agility, there was no doubt that the next attack it hit Izroth with would be the end of the fight.
Barbados accelerated forward before turning its body around. Instead of charging in a normal straight line, Barbados kept its actions unpredictable.
However, no matter how much Barbados moved around, Izroth was able to accurately keep track of its movements. Even though he could keep track of Barbados movements, avoiding its attacks were another question altogether.
Izroth stayed still and did not attempt to retreat from his current position. He understood that it would do him no good to fall back as there was no place to go.
Barbados arrived before Izroth, but just before its attack was about to land, Izroth turned into a shadow and disappeared from his current position.
However, when Barbados just shot past Izroth, he instantly canceled his Shadow Movement skill.
The sea creature was startled when Izroth suddenly vanished and was confused for a brief moment, especially since it was in an enraged state. When Barbados noticed that Izroth was behind it, the sea creature swiftly turned around.
Izroth's Blade of Lightning flashed out carrying with it an oppressive aura before quickly returning to its sheath.
Barbados was mere centimeters away from Izroth, but its body stopped when it was struck by Izroth's sword. The water inside of the room began to drain at a rapid pace. The whirlpools naturally stopped when the water finished draining out of the room.
«Critical Hit»
-3,046
'I've underestimated the number of tricks this game has to offer. I wonder if life essence heavenly laws will work properly here. Well, I'll find out eventually.'
Izroth used First Baneful Sword: Destruction to finish off Vicious Barbados, sealing his victory against the boss monster.
〈Battle Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Vicious Barbados〉
〈Battle Alert: You have been awarded 27,695 EXP〉
〈Battle Alert: Congratulations, you have completed the dungeon «Sea Palace Graveyard»〉
Izroth blinked a few times when he received that last system alert. This was the end of the dungeon? What about Scagmag's Whale Song? What about all the visions he was shown? Did he really just overthink everything from the beginning?
Izroth shook his head and went over to pick up the loot. There was nothing he could do if that was the way things were. However, when Izroth noticed one of the items inside of the loot pile had a faint glow around it, he was a bit surprised. He knew what that glow indicated.
'A quest item?'
At the moment, Izroth only had one quest active and that was the SSS-ranked world quest The Beginning of Beginnings. If it really did have something to do with that quest, then there was only one possible thing it could be.
Izroth was in possession of Vozrak's Gift, an item that would guide him to a page from the Book of Beginnings. However, it was supposed to warn him if he was close by to a page, so the chances of the item being a page from the Book of Beginnings were nonexistent.
If that were the case, then it must have something to do with that guy!
'Gilidore, Betrayer of Mankind.'
When Izroth picked up the item, he received an alert from the system and it was just what he predicted it to be.
〈System Alert: 1/1 Find clues regarding the background of Gilidore, has been completed for the world quest «The Beginning of Beginnings».〉
What Izroth held within his hands was a small purple clam. Out of all the places that could have held clues regarding Gilidore, what were the chances that it would be a dungeon that Izroth just happened to choose? He could have spent weeks searching and came up empty-handed!
'What does this have to do with Gilidore's background?'