A Berserk Field Boss

As it was universally understood that Mages sorely lacked defensive capabilities, their Magic Power was adjusted accordingly. In a sense, at this point in Zenith Online, Mages could be considered a cheat code.

Granted, this only rang true if the Mage in question had adequate aiming abilities and access to decent equipment. Otherwise, they, too, would be in a similar challenging situation. 

A few seconds later, Kieran watched as a pleasant cluster of energy passed by him and encompassed Bastion. When Kieran looked at the alert in his battle log, his brow arched.

+127! [Bastion's Health: 940/1,139]

If Kieran ignored the fact Sera's Healing Light eclipsed what Sithik or Cygnus could muster, there was still something else capable of rousing his astonishment—Bastion's Health.

Although Health and DEF was a Knight's specialty, Kieran didn't expect him to exceed 1,000 by a commendable margin. 

'Even if it's achieved with the help of gear, I'm certain his VIT is naturally high. That's definitely an advantage he received from the Knight Instructor,' Kieran thought.

When Kieran looked deeper into the logs, he found something even more disgusting. Surprisingly, Bastion's current DEF was approaching 300, which was more than double Kieran's DEF.

'To call him an excellent early-game tank would be an understatement,' Kieran mused.

Thanks to Bastion's efforts and remarkable defensive abilities, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's aggro was maintained at all times, its physical attacks limited to Bastion. 

The longer Bastion kept the Field Boss occupied, the wider the damage windows grew since an occupied foe translated to fewer interruptions.

Unfortunately, battling against a Field Boss was not a straightforward endeavor. Its attack patterns weren't just limited to rushing, pouncing, swiping, and biting. The Colossal Scarlet Wolf could also unleash abilities.

All of a sudden, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf lifted its head while its torso expanded. All signs pointed to an incoming ability, namely one centered around howling.

The temperature began to rise as Kieran issued an order. Attempting to cancel this Field Boss' actions was something Kieran considered, but after witnessing how fast it amassed Mana, Kieran decided against it.

"Altair, Cyr—maintain some distance from the Colossal Scarlet Wolf," Kieran directed.

At the same time, he retreated behind Bastion, who activated another skill in his arsenal.

"Oath of Protection!"

After activating this skill, Bastion became the sole receiver of damage for the team. It may be a skill with a long cooldown, but it was incredibly useful in situations where a party faced an inevitable large-scale attack.

Unfortunately, this skill also increased the damage the user received by 10% for every person within the skill's protection range. In other words, Bastion would receive almost double the original damage.

Aowoo!

Soon, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf emitted a howl that bombarded Bastion. 

However, it was no normal howl. 

Each sound wave was saturated by reddish embers that left scorch marks on Bastion's armor. This not only reduced Bastion's Health greatly with each tick of damage, but the durability of Bastion's equipment dropped considerably as well.

With how rapidly Bastion lost Health, Sera stepped forward and said a quick prayer. A second later, she used a Healing Light followed by a Mending Aura, enveloping Bastion in a lasting radiance of healing energy.

Once done, she prepared to unleash a Regeneration Burst.

All of this entered Kieran's notice as he kept a close eye on the actions of this makeshift team. 'Despite her young and almost vulnerable appearance, this girl is extremely skilled at her task. Her awareness on the battlefield is remarkable and she excels at fulfilling her role. Sithik and Cygnus could learn a thing or two from her.'

Kieran, Altair, and Cyr alternated their attacks on the Field Boss, timing it with Bastion's aggro-producing actions. 

Once Bastion grabbed ahold of the aggro that threatened to slip away and disrupted its momentum, Aspaira and Alice would unleash magical attacks.

Sadly, there were times when the Colossal Scarlet Wolf became unapproachable due to its body being bathed in a sea of flames. If Bastion attempted to get too close, he would begin losing Health in the form of burn damage.

"Field Bosses are really a pain in the ass, huh?" Bastion groaned with a frustrated scowl. 

"You don't know the half of it. I've just about had it and all I'm doing is healing!" Sithik complained.

"I think the real issue is how small our strike force is. Or rather, how unimpressive our damage is. We're making headway, but it's not enough," Cyr chimed in.

"You're not wrong," Kieran said. "While we continue to whittle away at its Health, at the rate we're going, it'll be at least an hour before we take it down. The constant regeneration is what calls for incredible amounts of burst damage to take down Boss Monsters."

The issue with battling against a Field Boss for an hour was their Stamina. The odds of their Stamina holding out for that long were extremely slim. Not to mention, there was also the issue of more people arriving.

Though most players within Gena Village weren't interested in slaying the boss after hearing the rumors of its strength, there were naturally those that would want a chance at redemption for the death they suffered.

Aside from that, there were those select few who also wished to try their hand in the matter. Given these factors, Kieran understood the Field Boss needed to be dealt with swiftly.

"Our main objective is ensuring that this does not turn into a battle of attrition. That said, I'll have to be a bit reckless," Kieran voiced, glancing toward Bastion.

"I'm almost certain that tanking is about to become problematic for you, so let me apologize in advance," Kieran said.

Bastion arched his brow. "Damn… just what do you have in mind for you to make that claim?"

"Watch and you'll see," Kieran replied. 

All of a sudden, the way he wielded his greatsword changed, placing more focus on speed rather than heavy attacks. 

Whoosh!

"Alice, Aspaira, I'll create as many openings as you need. Launch an unrelenting stream of spells," Kieran ordered.

Whereas Aspaira clutched her staff in response, gazing at the Colossal Scarlet Wolf strangely, Alice responded with a subtle nod.

A moment later, Kieran arrived beside Bastion and surpassed him. 

Though Bastion held the highest aggro value, with a Field Boss, once a player came too close, they'd immediately switch their focus to the closest individual. That presence would then be viewed as an imminent threat.

Nevertheless, Kieran continued with his actions, ducking underneath a blast of fire and closing the distance between him and the large beast.

Bang!

Kieran's blade swept out in an arc matching a half moon, but despite the STR fueling his attack, it didn't cause a Knockback as Kieran had hoped. 

But that didn't stop him.

Following his swing, Kieran spun and lashed out his leg, landing a swift kick in the same spot, right below the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's jaw.

After launching his attack, the beast retreated one step. In response, Kieran took it as a sign to press further, unleashing a flurry of swift attacks.

-101 

-92

-94

A number of decent damage values appeared over the beast's head in quick succession. Managing to deal close to 100 damage per strike to a Field Boss using basic attacks was quite a considerable feat.

Eventually, Kieran created an opening in the beast's defense, allowing Aspaira and Alice to inflict damage. And because Kieran interfered with the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's attempt to dodge, the two Mages mustered a 100% accuracy rate with their spells.

However, Kieran's actions created an unstable situation. After all, a frantic Field Boss capable of wielding flame attacks was quite a nuisance.

Yet… 

'If my memory serves me right…'

Kieran suddenly stepped forward, entering within three meters of the boss. A second later, a ring of fire sprouted, encasing Kieran and Bastion. 

"Tank," Kieran directed.

As Bastion defended against the incoming attacks, his grimace deepened. "Excuse me sir… this thing is LITERALLY destroying my equipment. Its claws are on FIRE. FIRE! Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

"I'm aware. I have functional eyes," Kieran retorted, briefly scanning the damage to Bastion's shield. "It'll hold up, just continue tanking."

Afterward, Kieran frequently unleashed Force Slash to create a surge of damage and an opening in the flaming circle. Unfortunately, this opening was small and only Alice managed to aim her Mana Torrent through the opening.

Unlike before, none of the clusters of Mana resulted in a Critical Hit, but it still dealt a considerable amount of damage.

By the time the circle of fire dissipated a few minutes, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf lifted its head and released a deafening howl. As its Health had dropped to 15%, the Field Boss entered a state unique to Boss Monsters—Berserk.

In an instant, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's body swelled as its muscles rippled with strength. Its claws also left scorch marks on the ground when it moved.

〈Alert: Field Boss Colossal Scarlet Wolf has entered its «Berserk» phase.〉

〈Alert: Colossal Scarlet Wolf's STR and AGI have increased by 35%.〉

Compared to Grifear, who lost Defense in exchange for increased Strength and Agility, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf didn't have this issue. A Field Boss's Berserk state was more complete compared to a low-ranking Dungeon Boss.

Whoosh! Ssszzzt! Bang!

Bastion's eyes widened, shaken by how fast the Field Boss had become. A Berserk Field Boss was a terrifying opponent to clash against. Despite Bastion's immense weight and high DEF, he was thrown back. 

Before he could stabilize, the beast opened its maw and fired a flaming orb at Bastion's shield.

Bang!

-546 [Bastion's Health: 245/1,039]

With just two attacks, Bastion was left with less than 25% of his Health.

In response, three layers of heals immediately fell upon Bastion's body. One came from Sera's Restorative Mist, another from Cygnus's Mending Aura, and the remaining presence was Sithik's Healing Light.

With that, Bastion's Health instantly shot back up to 60%.

Once that happened, Sera prepped her Regeneration Burst.

From how it reacted, it was clear the Field Boss was now hellbent on ensuring the destruction of this party. Thus, employing large heals became inevitable.