If it were just a matter of HP recovery, that wouldn't be too much of an issue; they could simply continue the fight and defeat the boss.
The real problem was that the wound on the boss's throat had started to heal, which meant it could resume its ultrasonic attacks.
The previous sonic assault had already left them disoriented and in a poor emotional state, even drastically reducing their mind power.
Another such attack now would not be so easily handled.
The boss was now on alert and wouldn't likely allow John another direct attack.
No matter what, they needed to finish it off quickly.
"How much MP do you have left?" John asked.
He had finally pinpointed the most vexing aspect of this boss: if the sonic attacks were manageable, then Blood Absorption was truly the worst.
Just as they were about to deplete the boss's HP, it had replenished itself, a situation that could frustrate anyone to the point of explosion.
The worst part was that they had just used most of their powerful moves on the minions.
He was still alright, as his mana was consistently around 80%.
But this could spell trouble for Isabella; if she didn't have ample mana reserves, she would surely run out.
"I have three MP restoration potions left; I can hold out for another three minutes!"
There was no helping it; as a fire-based magus, Isabella's MP consumption was simply too high, and she hadn't brought enough supplies this time.
She had already used most of her MP.
Three minutes...
John's expression grew even more solemn; it meant they had to defeat the boss within these three minutes!
"It's okay, you keep distracting the boss in the front like before, and leave the rest to me."
Isabella frowned slightly, but seeing John's determined demeanor, she instinctively nodded.
For some reason, she felt a strong trust in John, even though they had not known each other long and she had initially harbored some negative opinions about him.
She had thought about challenging him to see who was better, but now, she felt he wasn't as bad as she had imagined.
This time, John didn't resort to his usual sneaky tactics but went directly to the rear of the boss to deliver physical attacks.
With time running out, there was no room for the cautious approach they had used before; they had to finish this quickly and deplete the boss's HP!
2345788!
4536785!
A series of critical hits visibly slashed a significant portion from the boss's HP.
When the boss's HP dropped below 10% again, both of their hearts involuntarily raced.
If the boss absorbed the minions one more time, they would really be in trouble! While John was still managing, Isabella's MP had completely run out!
"Keep attacking, regardless!"
John no longer concerned himself with Isabella managing her MP, instead urging her to use her most powerful skills.
After all, they didn't have much time left, and another burst from the boss could mean the end for them both. see more mvle mp|y|r
Sure enough, when the HP dropped to 8%, the boss raised its head again, seemingly summoning the minions.
It was just a second away.
The blood mist would have fully merged into a blood cocoon, and who knows how much HP the boss would have absorbed then, forcing them to start over.
Isabella's hand trembled slightly as she gripped her staff.
She had just used up her last bit of MP, and the excessive use of spells left her feeling as if her entire body was being pricked with needles.
"Are you okay?" John asked, his voice hoarse and weary.
"Still alive," Isabella replied with a raspy voice.
She had truly been drained, especially as she watched the boss nearly regain its strength; her heart had leapt into her throat, fearing all their efforts were about to be undone.
"Heh..."
John chuckled lightly, pulling an MP restoration potion from his backpack and tossing it to Isabella.
"Looks like you do have some skill, I thought you wouldn't last until the end."
Isabella eyed the potion disdainfully, which had picked up some bat blood plasma from rolling over.
Nevertheless, she forced down her disgust, wiped the liquid clean, and began drinking it in gulps.
"You're not so bad yourself, I thought you would have been dead by now."
Though Isabella had been the one engaging the Vampire Bat King, John had dealt most of the damage.
Without his critical hits, Isabella's mana might have been depleted several times over without even scratching the Vampire Bat King sufficiently.
"Enough with the mutual admiration, let's see what dropped," John said.
Another platinum-tier boss down, the loot ought to be good.
"You did most of the damage, you should check the loot," Isabella said flatly.
John chuckled somewhat helplessly, "Without your distraction, I couldn't have dealt that damage. Go ahead, I'm too worn out anyway. We can always split it later."
Isabella gave John a peculiar look, but eventually did not refuse and went under the boss to check the loot.
The attributes of the dropped four-piece set were rather ordinary.
For a platinum-tier boss, it was disappointing to see equipment that was only silver-tier.
[Equipment]: Blood Staff
[Type]: Weapon
[Level]: Lv30
[Tier]: Gold-tier
[Quality]: Perfect
[Attributes]: Spirit +320, Attack Power +350, +50% damage for fire-based spells, MP recovery speed +10%
[Skill One]: Absorption (Passive)
[Description]: 30% chance to convert 0.1% of the damage from fire-based spells into the caster's HP.
[Skill Two]: Blood Shield (Active)
[Description]: Can summon a Vampire Bat sacrificial shield, absorbing damage up to 20 times the caster's HP. When the shield explodes, it deals twice the caster's magic attack power as damage to all within a 10-meter radius.