Bonded Summoner

Jake marveled at the undead frost giant, which Morwen and her priestesses controlled. She had gathered it at their second pack of giants, and it now fought against its allies. Jake had added [Bolster] to it along with a few other buffs from the clergy classes, which had a significant effect on its capabilities.

It now slammed its large club into the living frost giant, knocking the other off its feet. The frost giant now became easy pickings for Roxo’s sharp blades, and Yiming’s glaive.

There were several times when a boulder was thrown or magical ice shot at Morwen and her priestesses, and having the giant there to guard them had saved Jake from needing extra barriers, or for Ophelia to use [Intervene].

It took them mana to maintain, but Morwen said with the death of the Rift-boss level creatures by the Battlegroup, the emberborn had no trouble keeping their mana high. The effectiveness of their offensive spells against the frost giants was reduced, so they focused on support.

For Auril Heroes, their auril was great at healing flesh and blood, but it was not as great at healing or restoring bone. Vesuvius and Jarrix had taken some nasty smashes with a giant’s club, and their bones were hit heavily. Morwen and her priestesses [Mend Bone] spell was quite useful in managing this.

Then, the priestesses had a useful [Bone Shield] spell, where they would grab bones from corpses or their storage bracelets, and they would hover around and protect the target for a time. This was particularly helpful for protecting against the thrown boulders and giant spikes of ice they sent flying at various Battlegroup members.

They had not spent that much of their allotted time for the Challenge. The time consumed was from a total for the entire Raid, and so they moved with haste. While it seemed like a waste to grab the treasure chests in that case, it was all a part of their ending rating.

A positive gain besides the looted equipment, them looting the chests and defeating the extra enemies meant a better result for Highlands in the end–should they succeed.

Resting up slightly before they entered the Boss battle, they entered a large room–bigger than several football fields. There was a frost giant sitting on the throne in the distance, and he was quite immense.

There were over a dozen giants in front of them, and scripts on the wall behind where the Battlegroup entered, detailing parts of the encounter. It seemed they would have a period of time to fight the giants without the king interfering, but then he would join the battle.

The boss would have a health bar like the previous encounters they faced in the HQ reclamations, and things would happen and change as the fight progressed. Above them, were over a hundred frost golems or elementals trapped in ice crystals, and an immense ice crystal in the center holding vast power.

As the fight went on, the frost golems in their icy prisons would periodically fall from the ceiling to attack the group, until the crystal empowered the boss.

It felt a little odd to have sort-of cliff notes for a Raid Boss right inside the encounter, but Jake figured it was understandable. Unlike preparing for a Raid in a MMO, they were unable to watch a video on the internet or die several times with no repercussions to learn an encounter.

It would be a tragedy of epic proportions for an odd, nearly impossible to counter gamelike mechanic to be the cause of everyone in the world to be consumed by Tartarus.

The frost giants were more numerous than any of their previous encounters, and they definitely seemed better equipped.

There was even what appeared to be some kind of special mage and healer frost giants, where all the previous encounters only included warrior types–even if they could use some form of spells.

The warrior giants were formed up in a crescent moon formation, and the three casters were tucked safely behind them–a powerful mage in the back center. Behind them, the massive frost giant king on his throne.

Jake used the magic earpiece radio to give his orders, as the raid formed up ranks. Vesuvius, Darris, Jarrix, Timone, Seamus, Bedwyr, Longwei, Bree, Drysander and the undead frost giant were all ready to tank and distract their foes if they needed to.

Because the buff would last well into the fight, and it had worked extremely well in past encounters, Jake worked with the girls by splitting the burden of mana, and cast the Giant’s Strength buff once again on Bloodberri.

Her size grew with a feral grin, and the family quickly regenerated the consumed mana by drinking mana water, preparing for the battle ahead of them. In the front of their formation were Jake’s wives, besides Tanda, who stood next to him in the back with her bow at the ready.

He found resonance with his devoted monarch Blood, taking on her state. His goal was to crowd control the warrior classes, and focus down the casters if at all possible.

Jasmina’s song filled the air, her wordless singing drawing auril into the air from the many beastkin. She held a new staff made by Jake, which resembled a tuning fork. It somewhat echoed her song as it was filled with auril, enhancing the radius that her song could affect others. But he had also tested it with her and found that she now had a more offensive capability: she could generate a powerfully focused sonic attack if required.

Nadessa and her dryad mothers gathered their nature mana, forming a magic circle around Jake and Tanda.

Tanda had slowed her breathing, finding harmony with Jake. Following his will, she began creating the runes to comprise their group construct.

Morwen and her priestesses, along with Yiming and Longwei’s wives, joined the magic circle, adding their mana and scripts as well.

Fhesiah, Blood and Berri each worked on their own spell, but he felt some mirth from Fhesiah as she looked over at him.

[You know, I thought it would never happen, but you achieved my dream, husband. Still, I never imagined you could be so shameless.]

Jake frowned even as he focused on the task at hand. “What now?”

[Just look at you, finally surrounded by women. It’s what I always wanted! It’s a pity that almost all of them are another man’s, though. I think some of those Emberborn priestesses might be unattached?]

He chuckled at her joke and thanked her for her levity, he was in fact surrounded by over a dozen women at present. Jake had been a little worried about the battle, but that his wife could still joke around gave him more than a little confidence.

His spell coalesced, the mana from the magic circle pushing the spell even further than Tanda and Jake could accomplish with their Tier 2 spell. A large bundle of vines formed above him, and launched toward the frost giants.

Fhesiah, Blood and Berri’s group spell completed, and a powerful lance of dragon flames formed and shot at the more powerful mage in the rear of the formation. The many allies began their charge at the giants.

The bundle of vines exploded in front of the giants as they roared and created magical icicles above their heads before launching them. The vines quickly wrapped around the dozen warriors, slowing their advance and movements.

Tanda activated her Technique, avenging flames, and had drawn auril into Jake’s crafted arrow to prepare to fire her bow. Flaming auril surged into arrow, and her arms and bow were empowered as well.

The druids all enhanced the growth of the group-cast vines, doing their best to try to restrict them even as the icicles launched at Jake’s forces. Talismans formed barriers to block for Longwei and Yiming, while Jasmina’s barrier covered the many beastkin in their assault.

The dragonfire lance arrived near the frost giant mage, and a powerful frost barrier appeared in front of it–a spell coming from the two priestly looking frost giants. Tanda fired her empowered shot, a beam of flaming dark light blazing toward the barrier.

It looked like it was going to block for the mage as it prepared its own powerful spell, when Tanda’s flaming arrow pierced right through it, and Ophelia’s vajrafire bolt slammed into it. Her Guardian Hearth had transformed into a powerful attack instead, shattering the rest of the shield of ice in an explosion.

This paved the way for the fiery lance as Ophelia rode Valora toward the frost giant warriors, her goal the mage in the back. Tanda’s arrow struck the mage with an explosion of fiery death, a wolf made from her will taking a massive chunk out of its shoulder.

Bloodberri, Bree and Fhesiah followed not far behind, surging toward the warriors. Blood and Berri surged forward with their large bodies, preparing to slice the giants with their tail as they passed them. Additionally, they withdrew a special large baseball they had from their storage bracelet.

Fhesiah drew on her bloodline flames, to bulk herself up as she charged with her Draconic Empowerment.

The lance struck the mage, exploding with a roar of draconic fury. The explosion and arrow knocked the mage back and interrupted whatever spell he was working on, before Valora blitzed forward with a burst of speed.

Ophelia’s powerful vajrafire blade cleaved through the mage’s leg as she rounded on him, but a wave of frost shoved into her as the monster roared. Covering herself and Valora with her Technique, she was covered in a thick layer of ice and shoved a small distance away.

Bloodberri launched the larger baseball as if it were fired from a cannon, the explosion knocking a frost giant priest to the ground in a shower of gore. However, the other priest cast a spell that reconnected the mage’s leg.

The mage turned and swung its massive staff at Ophelia and Valora’s frozen forms, but a powerful arrow from Tanda exploded on its back. It recovered and began its swing again, but Ophelia ran auril through her body and Valora’s, shattering the ice with her will.

Valora easily dodged while changing her flight path, allowing Ophelia to cut into the mage’s leg again as she came back.

Bloodberri, Bree and Fhesiah now arrived at the front ranks, the restrained frost giants unable to mount a decent defense. Bloodberri’s massive maul caved in the skull of one of the giants with the [Maul of Hestia-Echidna] ability, while Fhesiah’s claw shredded right through a restrained giant’s neck. Bree stomped past the warriors, heading to help Ophelia with the mage and priests.

Bloodberri’s large tail wrapped around another giant and shredded him with ease, the size, and power of her tail immense. Only a section of her tail wrapped around the giant, her bringing it along as she continued forward.

The Battlegroup arrived at the other frost giants not long after. Bedwyr cut into one with his war scythe, while Timone, Dahlia, and their mates added attacks to another. Vesuvius and Seamus focused on another with Rookard’s wolves, them all cutting into one trying to free itself.

Yiming and Longwei joined each other on a final one, their battle maidens aiding in the fight with their bows, despite channeling mana into Jake’s magic circle.

Jake’s Heavenly Aura aided them in their attacks, exploding deeper into the wounds and causing the frost giants significant harm. As his Champion Magic reached its peak, the effect had become even more powerful.

The giants tried to spread frost into the vines to break them, but Jake’s monarch state along with the dryads allowed them to hold firm. They had been dousing them with nature magic, which made the vines resilient to the giant’s attempts.

Drysander and the Alliance controlled undead frost giant arrived, each having large wooden clubs of their own. They made quick work of one of the giants, the two large beings tailored for fighting them.

Jake understood that usually one or more of his wives would be hanging off Drysander in his branches as he went on the attack, but they were back at Jake’s magic circle for this battle.

Ophelia went after the mage again, but the priest and mage once again acted. The mage covered himself with a thick frost barrier, while the priest sent out a wave of healing to the restrained giants.

A few had been near death as they were being focused on, but now they broke free of Jake’s vine magic and started swinging their weapons powerfully. One was met with fierce opposition from Timone and Dahlia, their smaller sizes betraying their actual strength.

The other was met by Vesuvius and Darris. Darris controlled his water, slowing the big weapon, while Vesuvius cut into the giant with his glaive.

Bloodberri and Fhesiah rushed the two priest-like giants, the second restoring itself from Bloodberri’s massive cannonball as it recovered. The two were creating difficulty in finishing off the mage or its allies.

Bloodberri had dropped the shredded giant from their tail, and surged forward with their large axe. It howled as they cleaved into their target priest, cutting deeply into its chest. Wrapping her tail around this giant as well, she shredded and crushed the monster with the spikes on her armor.

Meanwhile, Fhesiah fanned the flames of the dragons with one hand, engulfing the other giant priest in flames. The other, she swiped powerfully with her mighty dragon’s claw, cutting deep lines into it. Tanda’s arrow joined her attack, exploding into it with flaming wolf bite and cutting even deeper.

Ophelia pierced through the frost barrier again, having cut through it with her vajrafire blade. The mage tried defending itself using its superior strength and size, but Bree arrived with her vine barrier as she slammed into the creature.

Bree’s fiery vines began twisted and climbed the frost giant, as she belched fire onto the frost giant mage. Ophelia then dealt her own vicious blow to the mage empowered by her [Vajra Strike], the flames and lightning blasting into the monster.

Several of the Battlegroup finished slaying their giants, the warriors working together. Jake released the vines, and began preparing his next spell. Morwen’s priestesses changed their chants, and Nadessa and the dryads began adding mana into the circle once more.

It was just as Bloodberri and Fhesiah finished off their priests, that the Frost Giant King stood and roared in anger. A gleam went through the large ice crystal far above them.

Something within the crystal stirred, and covered the king with a layer of frost, a hit point bar appearing above his head. An immense icicle formed above him as he ran at the Battlegroup, for him to be intercepted by Ophelia on Valora.

The icicle launched at Jake and his magic circle, but Jasmina’s song shifted Darris’s auril water to meet the attack. Then, the icicle passed through Timone’s anti-magic zone, weakening it, and Jake’s Heavenly Aura combined with the water, creating an odd explosion of fire, steam, and water, sending the icicle wildly off course.

The ranged attackers worked with Bree to finish off the mage, while the melee finished off their targets and moved to surround the boss. As they cut into him, the frost covering him seemed to fight back against their attacks, almost as if the armor were alive.

Each attack lowered the boss’s health bar, as Ophelia did her best to counter the massive warrior’s attacks with rapid movement from Valora. She kept the monster’s ire as it tracked her with its swings.

She circled back and forth in a near figure-eight pattern, blocking and countering into its body with her vajrafire blade.

Tanda, Timone and Dahlia all began their Cyclic Resonance, gathering the auril from their allies. Jasmina’s song joined them, enhancing the effect even further.

Fhesiah quickly added both of her hexes, the Sun and Moon Hex. Red-hot flames of the sun began spreading out across the boss’s flesh, along with the black calamitous flames of the moon.

Blood cast her darkness debuffs, and the various clergy added their own buffs and auras to nearby allies. Jake and Tanda finished their spell, the magic circle feeding into the effect.

A deathly apparition of a skull appeared over the boss, Jake finishing [Group Runic Magic: Umbral Decay]. Deathly energies were pumped into the living Frost Giant King, corroding its living frost armor and flesh.

The spell was meant to serve two purposes. It was meant to debuff the boss, but also slowly drain it of its health.

The frost giant king was being mobbed, the many warriors attacking it from all angles. It couldn’t get an attack in very well, with so many melee attackers of all sizes crowding him and knocking his large body around. Bloodberri was still enlarged with Giant’s Strength, her attacks easily causing the large boss to stumble when she struck.

Vesuvius and Jarrix too were large, and their auril enhanced attacks knocked the king somewhat off balance or interrupted his swings.

Even as it nearly landed a powerful attack on Dahlia, Ophelia’s [Intervene] had her moving in a near beam of light to cut into the King’s arm, deflecting the blow at the same time.

They cut down ten percent of the boss’s health, and a wave of frost emanated from the Frost Giant King. The harmful frost cut into their flesh almost like knives as it spread, and four large frost golems fell from the ceiling around the battlefield, the ice surrounding them shattering as they hit the ground.

With Tanda’s help, Jake shifted his resonance to his radiant saint, matching Berri’s heart beats. He rapidly coalesced an empowered Tier 1 Runic Spell: Affliction Removal.

Shoving his purifying flames into the construct, a wave of holy light was released from Jake onto the frozen figures surrounding the boss. The frost effect was overwhelmed and removed from their bodies, allowing them to move once more.

He sent Bree after one of the golems, and set up three teams of two to take on the others, with the ranged attackers focusing on them. Yiming and Longwei, Jarrix and Roxo, Seamus and Rookard, and the many ranged attackers would focus on taking on the golems before returning their damage to the boss.

The boss fight was entering the next stage, where many frost golems would fall from the ominous ceiling covered in frozen golems. Jake had sent so many after them because he knew that many more would fall, and attack those weak to it. Tanda would also focus on both harming the boss, and taking out various frost golems.

Jake was conserving his mana, ready for what lied next. Looking over at Bree, she formed an odd lance over her head, attached to her large boar body. Charging an enemy, Jake was shocked when her vines went aflame, releasing an explosion of fire as it pierced them. Her immense weight behind her and the moderate speed at which she moved, it had pierced the large golem easily.

He was both impressed and satisfied with her performance, sending his praise over their connection. Jake was still perplexed at her attitude change, but was happy with the changes. He could tell she was intelligent and able to understand Jake, but was just unable to communicate with him. Just what was going on in that head of hers?