The third boss was an Obsidian Colossus—and the adds that it summoned were even more punishing.
For every limb the main raid destroyed, the Colossus spawned a wave of Level 13-20 Obsidian Wyrms.
Max fought for forty-five straight minutes, managing wave after wave of adds. His potions ran out. His stamina hit zero, and he started taking exhaustion damage.
[EXHAUSTION: -15 HP per second]
[MaxThorne: 134/390 HP]
Night was nearly destroyed multiple times, its health dropping to critical levels before drain effects saved it.
When the Colossus finally fell, Max collapsed to his knees, his entire body screaming with pain.
[OBSIDIAN COLOSSUS DEFEATED]
[WAVE 3 COMPLETE]
"Ten-minute break," Kaito ordered. "Everyone recover."
The DPS meters updated:
RAID DPS RANKINGS (Overall)
1. PhoenixKaito – 47,823 DPS
2. ArchMage_Kira – 45,167 DPS
3. PhoenixAyame – 43,891 DPS
13. MaxThorne – 18,432 DPS
Max was thirteenth out of twenty raiders.
But the number was misleading. The high-level players were fighting single high-HP bosses with massive damage numbers. Max was fighting hundreds of smaller enemies, his damage was spread out.
SteelTitan, one of the top 10 in the world, came over, drinking a stamina potion. "You're doing good work, kid. Nobody else could handle that volume of adds at level 13."
"I'm barely keeping up," Max admitted.
"You're the only reason the healers are still alive," Velara said, sitting beside him. "Without you controlling those spawns, we would have been wiped twice already."
Kaito addressed the raid. "We're halfway through. Fourth boss is the Magma Drake. Fifth boss is the Obsidian Overlord—final boss, multiple phases, likely to take two hours by itself. Everyone good to continue?"
Tired voices nodded.
"Then let's push."
The fourth boss was a nightmare.
[MAGMA DRAKE SOVEREIGN – Level 44 Legendary Elite]
HP: 350,000/350,000
A massive dragon made of molten rock and flame, with mechanics so complex that Kaito had to explain the strategy three times.
Phase 1: Destroy wing cores while dodging breathe attack
Phase 2: Aerial assault—dodge falling meteors while maintaining DPS
Phase 3: Ground phase with massive AOE and—Max's responsibility—constant spawns of Level 14-18 Magma Whelps
They got wiped on the first attempt. The meteors in Phase 2 killed half the raid.
[RAID WIPE]
[All equipment durability reduced by 25%]
[Repair costs estimated: 15,000 gold total]
"Again," Kaito said grimly. "We know the mechanics now. Focus."
Second attempt got them to Phase 3 before the whelp spawns overwhelmed them. Max couldn't keep up—there were too many, and he ran out of stamina.
[RAID WIPE]
[Equipment durability reduced by 25%]
Third attempt, they finally got the coordination right.
Max fought through Phase 3 with everything he had. The whelp spawns were relentless—wave after wave, each one capable of killing a healer in seconds.
He and Night became a whirlwind of shadow and steel. Shadow Step, strike, phase, strike, dodge breath weapon, strike again.
His health dropped. His stamina hit zero. Exhaustion debuffs stacked.
[EXHAUSTION LEVEL 3: -25 HP per second]
[MaxThorne: 87/390 HP]
"Thirty seconds!" Kaito shouted. "Final burn!"
The Drake's health dropped under the devastating assault from the high-level players: 15,000... 10,000... 5,000...
Max killed the last whelp with his final point of stamina.
[MAGMA DRAKE SOVEREIGN DEFEATED]
Max collapsed completely, his vision blurring from exhaustion.
[BOSS DEFEATED]
[LEGENDARY LOOT DETECTED]
Ayame walked over, kneeling beside him in the game. "You did well. Rest—we've got a ten-minute break before the final boss."
Max could barely nod.
He had given everything.
And the hardest fight was still ahead.
"Healers, top off MaxThorne," Kaito commanded. "We need everyone at full capacity for the final boss."
Immediately, healing light washed over Max. HealerMiko, LightBringer_Sora, and NatureSong all channeled simultaneously, their combined magic flooding his system.
[Healing Wave: +150 HP]
[Divine Restoration: +100 HP]
[Nature's Renewal: +80 HP]
[Stamina Regeneration Boost: +200 Stamina]
[Exhaustion Debuffs Removed]
Max gasped as the pain vanished and energy surged back through his body. His health bar filled completely, his stamina recovered, and the crushing weight of exhaustion lifted.
[MaxThorne: 390/390 HP]
[Stamina: 310/310]
He took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled slowly. When he opened his eyes again, the world came back into sharp focus.
Velara was sitting beside him, her white-haired avatar somehow still looking pristine despite the brutal combat. She smiled slightly.
"Tiring, huh?" she said.
Max chuckled, sitting up. "Yeah. Just a bit."
"You did good though. Five hundred-plus adds killed—that's not nothing."
"Five hundred..." Max checked his combat log and blinked. She was right. 523 enemies defeated, most of them 1-5 levels above him. "Holy shit."
"Mmhmm." Velara stretched. "You carried add control basically solo."
Max looked at her, his eyes drawn to her name tag. Level 37 Shadowblade.
"You sure scammed me," he said, shaking his head. "Why were you hiding your level until now?"
Velara laughed. "Scammed? That's harsh."
"You let me think you were like, level 15 or something when we first ran together. You're level 37."
"I never said what level I was," Velara pointed out, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "You just assumed. And honestly, I wanted to clear lower-level dungeons for the completion achievements and rare material drops. Some crafting ingredients only drop from low-level content, and most high-level players ignore them."
"So you were farming?" Max asked.
"Min-maxing," she corrected. "There's a difference. Besides, it was fun. High-level content is all about perfect execution and stress. Low-level dungeons let me experiment with builds and just enjoy the game."
"Do you have like, multiple sets of gear or something? Items that scale down your level?"
"Yep." Velara pulled up her inventory, showing him. "I've got three different gear sets—one for max-level content, one for mid-tier farming, and one that artificially caps my stats for low-level zones. Expensive to maintain, but worth it."
"That's actually genius," Max admitted.
"I know." She grinned. "My father thinks it's a waste of resources, but he doesn't understand optimization like I do."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, watching the rest of the raid prepare for the final boss. Kaito and Ayame were discussing strategy. The healers were distributing potions from the guild vault. The high-level DPS players were checking enchantments and buff rotations.
"You know what's funny?" Velara said suddenly. "When we first ran together, I thought you were just another decent player. Good instincts, solid mechanics, but nothing special."
"Gee, thanks."