Afterlife Dream

Purification and Dispel skills were like the opposite sides of the same coin. Purification eliminated all negative buffs that came from the enemies, while Dispel eliminated all positive buffs that the enemies had. Right after I cast the spell, a huge golden translucent light spread from the tip of my wand and shot at the enemies. It did not hit them. It wrapped both Mark James and Betty Hayes inside a huge bubble instead. Dispel's bubble looked a lot like the Purification dome.

Both Mark James and Betty Hayes stared at the bubble around them dumbly. The bubble only lasted for three seconds. It popped right after and released Mark James and Betty Hayes in an unbuffed state. Mark James was back to his original size! A relatively harmless explorer compared to the pain in the crack that he was just minutes ago.

"YESSSS!!!" I shouted, punching into the sky as if I had just finished the whole Third Job Advancement Quest. My joy did not last long after I looked up at the digital clock that hovered in the sky.

I only had twelve minutes left. I had wasted too much time trying to figure out how to defeat this evil duo.

Another battle cry escaped Mahi-Mahi, who then charged at the enemies with renewed spirit.

While Mahi-Mahi was pounding mercilessly on Mark James, I attacked Betty Hayes. This time I was not going to allow her to buff Mark James at all. I used all the skills that I had on her. Spiritual Meteor followed by Prayer, then Holy Arrows, and last but not least, Holy Wings.

Bombarded by my incessant attacks, Betty Hayes did not even have time to take a breather, let alone buff herself and attack me. Faced with the pressure of running time, I also could barely breathe.

Devoid of her version of Mana Guard, Betty Hayes was a lot more vulnerable. Nevertheless, it still took a long time for me to kill her. By the time her HP bar went to zero, Mahi-Mahi also landed the last blow on Mark James. I glanced at the digital clock in fright. Nine minutes and forty-five seconds left.

"Dear Adventurer, congratulations on defeating the explorers. Thanks to your hard work, all explorers have left the island."

Exhausted from the intense fight with Betty Hayes, I bent my back slightly and supported myself on my knees. It was not the end. I glanced at the digital clock nervously again. Nine minutes and thirty seconds left. Fifteen seconds had passed while the mechanical voice took its time to announce the last challenge.

"Bzzt... Bzzzt..."

"System, is something happening?"

"Bzzt... Bzzt... The system is checking for intruders... Detecting intruders, detecting intruders..."

A loud alarm echoed throughout the open space.

"Warning! Warning! The system has detected a foreign creature in the depth of the forest! We discover that the explorers had accidentally left a monster behind. It will wreak havoc all over the island if left alone."

"Oh, no. Dear Adventurer, this is your last mission for the day. Please defeat the monster that was left behind to return Paradise Island to a peaceful time!"

Next to me, Mahi-Mahi vanished into thin air. Behind me, a path deep into the forest opened. I turned my back to the ocean and walked along the path. My walk quickly turned into a run after I noticed that I only had less than nine minutes left.

The path brought me to a long bridge that connected two cliffs. It was made of wooden plates and ropes, and it looked like it was at least a hundred years old. At the other end of the bridge was a tropical jungle with tall trees and a long of hanging vines. The trees had leaves that were at least one meter wide. I resisted the urge to look down the huge ravine that stretched below the bridge as I took a deep breath and slowly walked along the old bridge.

A screeching noise over my head made me snap up in fright. I saw nothing but a bunch of tropical trees forming a jungle ahead of me. Under time pressure, I ignored whatever it was and teleported my way to the end of the bridge. Just when I reached the middle of the bridge, I saw it.

A huge bright green praying mantis in metallic armor swooped down on me. Its robust forearms were equipped with jagged edges, looking a lot like a pair of saws. They were put up in front of its body, ready to slash anything and anyone that had enough guts to challenge it.

"Ugh!"

I threw myself to the front to evade its vicious, sawlike forearms. They broke through the old wooden plates like nothing. I turned around and was just in time to cast Divine Guard and Mana Guard on myself before it came to stab at my abdomen. I cringed from the stab and quickly healed myself. The wound disappeared, but the burning pain remained in my nerves for a few more seconds.

The Evil Mantis Lord was unbelievably strong and fast. Its physical attack was done by stabbing at the opponent using the jagged forearms. It was like fighting a boxer with two jagged knives instead of boxing gloves. Additionally, its forearms could reach quite far.

From where it was standing, it was able to reach up to three meters in front of him. A cold shiver ran down my spine whenever I missed an attack by millimeters. I could heal myself from stab wounds, but what if the Evil Mantis Lord cut off my limbs??? I did not think that I would be able to heal myself still...

To make matters worse, we were still fighting on an old, frail bridge. As Evil Lord Mantis stabbed at me viciously, he destroyed more and more wooden plates, creating holes in the deck. I wanted to slowly retreat, but then the Evil Mantis Lord suddenly stopped attacking.

My eyes grew wide from fear. I quickly grabbed a Chocolate Cake from my inventory and ate it. I barely avoided my untimely death. The Evil Mantis Lord lifted its head up and roared into the sky. All around him, the wooden plates and the ropes that held the bridge together disintegrated into dust. The destructive wave did not stop there. It spread throughout the bridge. I ran to the end of the bridge, but the wave still hit me. I was slammed against a tree and slid down the trunk uselessly.

Five seconds were over. I looked up and saw the Evil Mantis Lord flying at me. I avoided one of its forearms, but the other pierced into my left arm.

I screamed out of pain and quickly kicked at the boss.

After dislodging myself from the trunk and Evil Mantis Lord's forearm, I stumbled some distance away.

"Dear Adventurer, you only have six minutes left."

I widened my eyes in shock. Four minutes? The Evil Mantis Lord's HP bar was still full! I had to attack. If I did not attack, I might as well die now because then I would have to repeat the test again! And for goodness sake, no way. I was not going to repeat this hellish test! The Evil Mantis Lord was going to die in my hand today or else.

Oh, the pain of being a Healer. I attacked the boss using every offensive skill that I had, but it was still far from enough. Not only that, but I also had to be very careful in avoiding its attacks. We performed a weird dance with each other, in which I kept moving backward while switching between attacking and defending repeatedly.

I did not dare to use Spiritual Meteor or Prayer after my last encounter with the Fire Golem. It turned out that while it worked wonders for normal monsters and temporarily immobilized them during the duration of the attack, it did not yield a similar result with bosses. That was why I was smacked to the ground by the Fire Golem in my first failed run. I definitely did not wish to be stabbed by the Evil Mantis Lord while levitating in the air.

So what was left?

Magical Ball, Holy Arrow, and Holy Wings. I prefer Holy Arrow because it was a quick attack with a cooldown time of 0.1 second. Magical Ball was slow. To cast Holy Wings, I had to get close to the boss and it was not a great idea at all.

I glanced at the digital clock nervously.

Five minutes fifty seconds.

Five minutes forty seconds.

My heart was racing faster and faster. I still had a trump card inside my inventory. A very expensive trump card that I hoped to sell but was unable to. Maybe it was the game's will.

Five minutes thirty seconds.

Five minutes twenty seconds.

20% HP down... I had to be faster...

Five minutes ten seconds...

Five minutes. Now!

I opened my inventory as fast as the lightning and grabbed at an idle potion.