New Game Plus: I crave challenges

Feeling his strength being chipped away, Maliff's face suddenly turned vicious.

"Come here you pigs!"

The jailer growled angrily as he put his knife away, stretching out his arms.

"Careful! Don't get grabbed! Dodge!"

Liam hastily warned his party as Maliff threw his body forward, aiming for Radiant Shield's shoulders.

The tank felt as if a bear was about to maul him. His body shook as he dodged at the last second.

But the jailer wasn't done yet. Chaos broke out as he threw his body left and right to catch the party members.

Unfortunately, the party didn't have much room to dodge as they were forced to fight close to the wall.

After five attempts Maliff finally managed to get his hands on Bloody Edge.

The thief yelped as two hands clamped down on his shoulders like bear claws. No amount of struggle was able to save him.

Even as the other party members attacked, Maliff didn't let go.

Suddenly a cage to the right opened by itself. The jailer grinned hideously as he easily tossed Bloody Edge into the cage, closing the door behind him.

The thief groaned as he landed heavily on the floor, loosing almost half of his HP.

[-250!]

Cyclone couldn't help but snicker seeing the young man locked away. But Liam admonished her quickly:

"Don't laugh! We need to get him out! Acacia, open the lock!"

With how urgent Liam's voice sounded the hunter didn't complain. He darted over, dexterously fiddling with the lock.

In the meantime, though, the fight didn't stop. Maliff took out his knife again, swinging it fiercely.

Silver Blade reacted immediately. Her shield clashed with the weapon, sending a tremor through her body.

The loud collision sound reminded everyone, prompting them to act against Maliff swiftly.

"I'm trying a spell!"

Fortune yelled her announcement as she moved some distance away. She felt nervous as this would be her first time casting.

If Maliff somehow managed to get close to her, the six second cast could be interrupted at any moment.

Thus, Fortune felt incredibly tense as she swung her long staff above her head, gathering a large amount of mana.

Luckily NPCs weren't intelligent enough to prioritize casting mages. Malif was still preoccupied with Silver Blade, hacking his knife at her.

At this moment the tank's stance broke.

[-478!]

A terrifying damage number popped up, shaking the party.

"Damn that physical damage! Let me do the tanking!", suggested Radiant Shield.

Naturally Silver Blade accepted readily.

Radiant Shield activated one of his new skills. He slammed his sword against his shield, scattering a holy light in all directions.

Maliff was hit squarely in the chest. Although this skill dealt some holy damage, it's main purpose was to draw the opponent's aggro.

Thus, the jailer let go of Silver Blade, directing his angry eyes at Radiant Shield.

"Finally did it!"

At this moment Silent Acacia exclaimed with relief as a click could be heard, the cage door swinging open, granting Bloody Edge his freedom back.

The thief felt embarrassed. Wishing to make good on his mistake he directly went into stealth, sneaking behind Maliff.

His new class Light Walker allowed him to wield two daggers. Both their tips suddenly shone in a dangerous grey light as he plunged them into the enemy's back.

This was one of his new skills, applying his offhand weapon's damage as holy damage.

[-110!]

"Argh!"

Maliff groaned strangely as he stabbed his knife forward like a pouncing snake.

Radiant Shield was caught off guard as the opponent's attack speed had strangely increased. He didn't manage to get his shield in the way.

[-594!]

Radiant Shield almost didn't belief his eyes as he reeled backwards.

"F*ck! What's with that guy's attack speed?"

"It's increasing."

"Well, no sh*t…"

The tank took a deep breath as a warm energy suddenly fell on him. It was Balm's new skill, which regenerated HP over time.

[+194!]

"Thanks Balm! Glad you got some new healing spells."

"Hehe, yes.", replied the young woman with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Watch out!"

At this moment Fortune suddenly yelled a warning. A large amount of mana gathered towards her, letting the tip of her staff shine in a mystical blue light.

"Arcana Bolt!"

The woman shouted dramatically as multiple magical arrows shot out of her weapon. The arrows were full of energy, forcing the caster to control them tightly and not get overwhelmed by the rebound.

Since this was the first time for Fortune, she found it incredibly difficult, only landing three out of ten attacks.

[-74!]

[-74!]

[-74!]

"Wow, you're the best Fortune!"

Cyclone praised with stars in her eyes, impressed by the damage her idol was dealing.

Liam, who just managed to let his holy marks explode again, felt his eye twitch as he overheard Cyclone.

But there was no time to compare damage numbers as Maliff suddenly let out a guttural roar.

"Ahhh!"

All the party members felt their eardrums beating wildly, a dizziness assaulting their heads.

They were forced to remain rooted as the jailer took a large step, arriving before the cage which held Bloody Edge earlier.

With steam visibly coming from his nostrils the scarred man grabbed the cage, raising it high above his head.

Liam felt his chest tighten. He didn't remember that this boss had the ability to stun. Most likely this had something to do with what C described as hell difficulty.

But the veteran didn't despair. He knew how to deal with stuns, focusing his mind and pushing his stiff limbs to move.

It was a feeling as if frozen in ice. A moment later Liam managed to break out.

"Force yourselves to move! Don't wait for the stun to end on its own!"

Hastily informing his teammates, Liam dashed towards the opponent, hoping to draw his attention.

But the jailer wouldn't have it. He fletched his teeth as a red line blinked before him, aiming right for Fortune.

The mage felt her stomach sink. Fear gripped her heart, preventing her from struggling against the stun.

"Catch, worm!"

Maliff spoke with an ugly grin as he suddenly threw the cage. It raced through the air at high speeds.

Fortune closed her eyes, expecting to lose a life here. But suddenly a heroic voice could be heard.

"Holy barrier!"

Radiant Shield raised his sword high shining a brilliant light on fortune. A thin, holy barrier engulfed the mage, shielding her from harm.

The sturdy metallic cage arrived a moment later. Everyone held their breaths as they watched the projectile collide with the barrier.

Bang!

A tremor spread accompanied by a loud sound. The holy barrier wavered dangerously, but in the end, it barely held on. Fortune sighed in relief shooting Radiant Shield a thankful glance.

Even Liam threw the tank a thumbs up before hacking his swords at Maliff.

One by one the party members managed to free themselves form the stun. The heated battle continued. Maliff landed some more attacks on Radiant Shield, but Balm's healing canceled them out.

A few moments later the jailer activated his skill again. Putting his knife away he lunged like a rampaging bear.

However, the party didn't fall for the same trick a second time. They positioned themselves well, dancing around the scarred opponent skillfully.

A few of the members were even brave enough to get a few attacks in while dodging.

Liam was pleased with the development as he stacked his holy marks. With some luck he managed to build up five marks, dealing a record breaking nearly 400 points of damage.

With such brutal hits the jailer was soon down to critical health.

Liam held his breath, fearing that Maliff might enter a berserk mode. But luckily nothing of the sort happened, allowing the party to bring the fight to an end.

"No! I don't deserve this!"

Maliff let out a shout of despair as Bloody Edge angrily plunged his daggers into the jailer's back, ending his life.

"Villain! That's for putting me in a cage!"

Bloody Edge still felt humiliated even after the NPC laid on the ground lifelessly.

Suddenly a low laughter could be heard.

"Haha, right I would've almost forgotten without your reminder."

Bloody Edge felt his brows twitch as he listened to Cyclone. Balm stood next to the mage, holding her hands over mouth, finding it difficult not to be infected by the laughter.

Fortunately, there was always an easy way to shut Cyclone up. Everyone in the party knew it by now.

Thus, Bloody Edge grinned as he moved his hand as if in slow motion, reaching for the boss's corpse.

"Don't you dare!"

Cyclone's eyes opened wide as she threw her body forward, vying for the loot.

The other party members were amused by her posture as they watched Cyclone overtaking Bloody Edge.

Sighing, the young woman looked at her hand where a one-handed hammer shimmering with a blue light had appeared.

She checked out the item before handing it over to Radiant Shield.

"I guess you deserve it."

[Hammer of the sacred order

Category: Uncommon

Level requirement: 15

Attack Damage: 19-21

Attack Speed: 0,6

Physical Resistance: +5

Effect 1: Shield skills block all attributed damage for 10% of their strength.

A powerful weapon forged and sold by the sacred order. If you want a stronger version, you will be forced to join them.]