I like them big, do you?

Chapter 78: Showtime

[Your mana is no longer frozen.]

Reylin spat and prepared for his return.

He drank potions to refill his HP and MP, then the glasses shattered on the ground. In his current state, Reylin wanted to deal with the boss and check his new quest comfortably.

But with the monster rampaging around and his friends toiling against it, Reylin quickly took matters into his own hands.

Moreover, Reylin also wanted to test his black nickname.

He appeared on the battlefield for the second time, then threw his fireball. His technique did lethal damage to the boss, and its eyes immediately shifted toward Reylin.

That much was expected, but the boss froze after seeing Reylin's nickname.

Its mind registered the black nickname and the rewards.

And in an instant, the monster screeched!

REEEEEEEE!

It roared so loudly that even its underlings stopped moving, exposing themselves to the other groups.

Reylin sneered and let out fireballs in rapid succession.

His next move left the boss confused as he just disappeared out of its reach!

"Not so intelligent... It's far easier to use Black Rose's Class against it," Reylin's words rang out from behind Steel Melody, who flinched.

She yelped, "Don't surprise me like that! I am quite tense right now!"

"Well, keep taunting that boss. You are the only tank in the main team, so we have to work together. I will keep his attention from time to time, and each time I disappear, you will keep it busy." Reylin said.

"Will do it!" Steel Melody nodded.

"Oh, indeed. That's Steel Melody for you. I was ready to give you a motivational speech on how you should believe in our team and stuff," Reylin sneered, then he began moving around.

He was mainly a mage, but Reylin could afford to go around like an assassin and mage with his items boosting his stats.

His second class also gave him enough stamina, so Reylin was fine.

Steel Melody nudged Reylin's side with her elbow, "You gave a confident speech already, and it ended with you rolling on the ground. Hehe!"

"Shut up," Reylin slammed his fist on her armor in response, then disappeared.

Other than lethal fireballs, Maya's golden light and her sharp sword stood out on the battlefield. One also couldn't forget about the Lioness' bleeding effect that had made a few arms fall out of the boss' body as well.

With Reylin's help, Steel Melody's burden lessened, and at one point, she became so confident that she shoved up the sword into the boss' stomach!

Then, her taunt skill reverberated from inside, weakening the boss!

"We are doing so well! Its HP is already near 30%!" The hero happily exclaimed!

Her happiness was short, however.

The boss entered the final stage.

Its defenses increased, and the players received a huge slow debuff!

Their bodies moved slower, and their weapons became heavier. That slow debuff also applied to mages whose skills channeled far longer!

Reylin narrowed his eyes, "Veins?"

The blue veins surged from the ground and those plugged into the boss' body. Rather than the final stage, it looked like the boss borrowed help from the environment.

Reylin immediately connected dots due to his earlier talk with Alex.

He inwardly thought, 'The boss influenced the whole province... This place has to be the origin, and it began sucking the mana from the whole province.'

Reylin sneered, "Steel Melody. We will draw the monster out. That's the goal."

"Got it!" Steel Melody listened to the strongest.

And everyone else was the same.

They heard Reylin's words and adapted to the new strategy.

Using his black nickname's influence and Steel Melody's taunts, the group drew the boss to the cave's entrance.

Reylin quickly darted back to the cave where the origin of vines was exposed.

It was nothing but a blue mass of mana. The veins came out of it, and it was in a pretty vulnerable state.

Reylin touched the mass, and he poured his own mana into it.

His mana was nothing but normal mana. That was exactly what the hero's province needed, and by slowly doing it, Reylin began the process of purifying the land!

Of course, Reylin thought about cutting off the veins. It would make the boss weaker, but what if the blue mass disappeared back to the ground?

They currently didn't possess any means to find or expose it, so Reylin was careful with it, "This sucks mana better than some whore," Reylin cursed.

[Rey Flames Lin: I need a fire mage.]

[Ferocious Bear: Okay!]

After the fire mage from the hero's guild appeared, he instantly pointed his staff at the pyromaniac. The flames landed on Reylin, and he converted it into mana!

"How is the boss battle going?" He asked while keeping his hand on the blue mass.

"Slow! It's slow!" The player replied loudly.

That young man was quite tense while alone with Reylin, but the pyromaniac paid no heed to his behavior and nodded with a smile, "That's good."

-

"I am all spent!" Ferocious Bear loudly said, then dropped onto her ass.

Everyone else felt the same, but some players felt even worse as the drops from the boss weren't satisfying at all. However, every boss gave many experience points, so no one dared to complain openly.

It was also another valuable experience.

"Yep!" Steel Melody agreed with Maya.

On the other hand, Reylin was back to pestering Aria.

He didn't know how much purified the province became, but he spent a lot of time with the mass of mana, and the fire mage depleted his mana ten times! That was quite an achievement, and the player boasted about it with his friends.

It was weird, but Reylin didn't comment about it.

He said to Lioness, "How about we take a carriage back to the Blue Rose Capital? If we go to the neighboring province now and take one, we should be back in the beginner city just before midnight."

"That should do," Lioness smiled.

"Eh, you are going already?" Ferocious Bear chimed in.

Reylin gave her a pat and said, "We will see each other in school tomorrow. I have something to talk about with you, so don't skip school."

"I am a good student! I won't skip it anymore!" Maya replied.

Then, Steel Melody also bid her farewell, "He will be simping for the whole evening now. Learn how to give up, Rey!"

"I actually know when to give up," Reylin sneered back at her and left the cave together with Lioness.

On their way toward the neighboring province, Reylin said, "I guess female players have it the worst here. You have to frequently check your armor." He looked at the armor that exposed her skin in a few places.

Those were the scratches from the boss.

Aria chuckled, "How about you fix it? You can give it a try with your flame artist class. I don't know whether you want to waste your resources on me, though."

"I can help you undress too," Reylin sneered.

"That's a nice offer, but..." Aria clicked on the system, then took off the armor through it! She also equipped a white shirt beforehand, so Reylin didn't see anything enticing!

He clicked his tongue and took her armor, "At least I have enough trust to check your equipment."

"I was ready to become your girlfriend, so this is nothing much, isn't it?" Aria replied, then looked carefully at Reylin's hands.

He began the process of repairing her armor.

That was just melting the resources to fill the gaps, so Reylin was sure he would be able to do it.

"That black nickname is going to cause you a lot of trouble," Lioness read the message that popped in her system after Reylin's return.

She did it just now and commented on it.

Reylin chuckled, "You will be the first one. I will ask for help if need be."

"A simp should make himself look the best. That's now how you do it, Reylin," Aria laughed out loud.

"Well, you were also quite underwhelming despite taking a few hands off the boss. Still, I am sure your skill has potential," Reylin was quite frank with Lioness.

She smiled, "Indeed, you can't be a simp."

"Really? Well, I can be brutally honest," Reylin passed her armor, then let out a fireball, "I still can't pour my whole mana into it. Quite disappointing, but I will get to that point soon enough."

"You will," Aria took the armor, but she didn't equip it.

The duo talked, and it was an honest and enjoyable conversation. The mood special to both of them unfurled between them, and Reylin didn't even notice when they entered the neighboring province's city.

The NPCs, mainly those who practiced weapons in their lives, glared at him with bare hostility as they wanted to get the ascended blessing.

Reylin ignored them and asked Aria, "Go out with me."

"I will think about it," Aria chuckled.

"Well, we will need a carriage just for us, so book one, kay? Here's the money," Reylin passed some money, then left the city.

A few NPCs went after him, but they wouldn't be a problem.

Aria glanced at the money Reylin passed to her, "That would cover half the price at most.. What a bad simp."