"Star?!"
Even Cassy was surprised by Aster's sudden dash, weaving through the trees ahead. Even the rest of the girls were stunned by his decision, delaying their reaction by a few seconds.
"...! Muscle woman, Vixen!" Kali returned to her senses first and quickly commanded the two beside her. "Go and tank that goddamned boss! Stupid Rabbit, prepare to heal them!"
Aster, who activated his Physical Enchant, was so fast that they couldn't catch up to him. He arrived before the boss and swung his sword toward its face. The Berserk Gray Wolf quickly saw his attack and dodged to the side.
*GROOOWWWL!*
The wolf roared in annoyance, before pouncing right at him while swinging its claws. Aster quickly saw this and took a short jump back, letting the wolf swipe nothing but air.
"While I have it's attention, run!" He quickly glanced at the woman, Lorelai, and commanded.
"Y-You are...!"
Her eyes opened wide in surprise upon seeing Aster bravely facing the Berserk Gray Wolf by himself. "N-No, I can't leave you alone! I, I'll fight too!" She exclaimed, her expression earnest, and filled with grim resolve.
However, before she could move, two figures ran past her, coming to Aster's aid.
"Knight's Challenge!"
"Stop bugging my darling!!!"
Liz spread her draconic wings wide as she used them as brakes, coming to a sudden stop right in front of Aster, and activating her taunt skill. All of the Field Boss's aggro turned to her in a flash!
While the big mutt was focused on Liz, Tina moved to its side, and let out a powerful punch to the gap between its second and third ribs.
*BAM!*
The punch was powerful enough that the giant figure of the boss monster slid a few feet to the side!
"Assassinate!"
At the same time, Kali appeared like a mirage on top of the monster's head, and stabbed her dagger towards the back of its nape. But to her surprise, her dagger couldn't go deeper than half an inch before coming to a stop. The monster's hide was so tough!
"Haaap!"
And with a cheerful battle cry, Cassy let out a powerful kick toward the monster's chin, sending its head up. It was pretty effective! After she landed a solid hit, she quickly jumped to a safe spot behind Liz and finished casting her spell, taking in everyone within its range.
Aster didn't wait until it regained its stance, of course, and quickly filled the edge of his blade with mana, and slashed it down towards the neck. "Mana Slash!"
He was expecting to open a large wound again, but to his surprise, his sword went through like a hot knife cutting through butter. The defense-weakening curse was powerful enough to lower its defenses by 40%, allowing Aster's sword to pierce deeper and faster!
The Berserk Gray Wolf's head fell to the ground and rolled like a ball before blood started spurting out of its neck. All five of them stared at the boss's corpse, wondering if that was it.
Aster opened his mouth in doubt, muttering. "That's... all the field boss got?"
It ended so easily that they all felt lost! They felt that the field boss was too weak compared to its grand reputation!
"..."
And all of that was achieved thanks to Lorelai's help. Her hex, which weakened the monster's defense, was the one that shortened the time they needed to win!
Of course, it's not like they wouldn't win without her help. If she didn't move, then Aster's party would still manage to hunt the boss after three minutes or so. It was simply a matter of when!
Seeing that the boss was dead, Aster sheathed his sword and walked toward the woman, Lorelai, and greeted her. "It's a surprise to meet you here. Are you perhaps alone? Where's your party?"
But her face turned sad the moment she heard the question.
"That... half died to the field boss, while the other half ran while leaving me behind." She explained with tears in her eyes.
"... Sorry to hear that." Aster felt that his question was too callous. "Then, do you want us to guide you back to the entrance? It's dangerous going alone." He offered, as if to apologize.
"No, it's fine. Please don't bother; I'd feel bad disrupting your hunting." But Lorelai refused, acting reserved.
"It's fine, it's fine." Aster countered. "It's not that far anyway. Right, girls?"
"Yep! It's dangerous going alone!"
"I don't care either way."
"If that's what Aster wants to do, I don't mind."
"As long as you keep your hands off what's mine, then we're good."
Other than Tina, who was intimidating her instead of agreeing, nobody else raised a complaint. As such, they decided to guide Lorelai back to the entrance first.
Nobody noticed the faint, nefarious smile that flashed on her face for a brief instant.