Six months had passed since the team first arrived at the Fifth Gate and started their task of rescuing the souls of the undead soldiers that fought valiantly to protect the way of live that Rahz and the others creature of the alliance enjoyed in the present.
In many occasions the team had come close to dying and being a permanent resident of the fallen gate but they were still going at it. The strategy that they were using had been altered and refined through constant dedication and they had it down to a science. They knew all the patterns, weaknesses, even the way the enemies would come through the walls to attack them, the only problem was time. Every three days the Undead that had been killed rose once more and all the work done until that moment was reset and they had to start all over again.
It was not all bad news though, Rahz and the others teamwork had reached a level in which they understood each other by a mere look or gesture but most important of all, they developed a trust in each other that allowed them to display their powers to the fullest. The second benefit for Midori and specially for Elune was their increased in levels. Elune reached level 14 and the increase to her Wisdom and Intelligence allowed her better control of her Mana as well as expanded her Mana reserved.
This change couldn't be overlooked as in many occasions the team almost saw the light at the end of the tunnel but had to move back when informed by their healer, "I have no much mana left!!".
Midori increased 2 feet in length and learned a new skill called Skin Clone. Skin Clone was both an offensive and defensive skill that allowed Midori to shed her skin leaving behind a clone of herself while she burrowed underneath the earth and launch and attack from down under.
Skin Clone required a lot of nature's energy but it was truly an amazing skill. This skill allowed Midori to soak a little bit of damage while Rahz fell back to wait for his runes to come back up.
The increase in Levels couldn't have come at a better time as there was only half a day left for all the defeated soldiers to rise once more. The team decided it was better to save their energy and prepare themselves mentally to tackle the task after the reset. They were close to clearing the first part of the floor on many occasions but they all felt they now had what was missing before.
A day later, the Soldiers rose once again in their original positions and started their patrols while Rahz and the others looked at each other and with determined faces moved across the screen. The team immediately started moving to the right side along the hallway. Through trial and error, the team realized that the further in they went, the better the condition of the walls and the less number of soldiers that could pass through. They had never attempted to run before because once they went all the way in, they had to kill their way back to the entrance and they weren't sure to be able to kill them all.
This time it was different, they were confident that the group was ready and that at the very least they could destroy all the soldiers before the deadline.
Rahz took the lead and when the first Soldiers head it their way, the team had already covered half the distance to the end of the hallway. Riddick used Judgment and punishment to trap them in chaos chains while Rahz activated Immolation Aura and with the Rage generated used Pulverizing Wave.
FLash!! GRuuush!!
The Energy Wave passed through the trapped soldiers and turned them into dust. The ones in the back were knockdown and then incinerated by the Immolation Aura.
It was a really nice strategy that allowed them to continue moving forward, while in their backside, a horde of undead was chasing after them growling and waiting for the opportunity to tear them to pieces. Rahz and Riddick repeated the same tactic 3 more times before they saw the 90 degree turn and saw no more holes on the walls.
"This is it guys, after we make the turn, go in 20 feet and get into formation. We got this!!" Rahz was extremely excited, this whole event was an adrenaline rush like no other.
Rahz took the first turned to attack, the width of the hall limit the amount of undead that could attack at the same time as well as the direction. Rahz only had to worry about what was in from of him and he started with a Pulverizing Wave followed by Immolation Aura, followed by a Cyclone. Undead ashes fell to the ground in waves while the soldiers move forward. Riddick's job was to Bind the undead in the front and prevent them from moving passed the 20 feet line while Midori and Rahz changed duties.
Rahz used all his skills and moved back while tagging Midori to the front. The basilisk immediately use her Dark Gray Aura on her tail and then used it as a whip against the enemies in the front destroying a few and knocking the others back.
BANG.. BANG...BANG
Rawrrr!! GROWLLL!! The undead stood up and started attacking from different directions and some even crawled on the walls and jumped towards Midori in an attempt to overwhelm her by their numbers.
Midori didn't panic , after the Tail Whip, it was time for her most powerful skill.
Whoosh!!
Petrifying Gaze was released and everything that was coming her way got turned into stone. The undead crawling on the walls fell down and broke into pieces but there was no time to rejoice as new soldiers took their place.
HISS!!
It was her battle cry before using her Skin Clone, all the undead cut the clone to pieces before a loud noise came from their feet.
BOOOM!!
A 9 ft Basilisk flew upward from underground encased on her Grey Aura and smash the undead against the ceiling. It was the second part of her skill, the impact generated made the hall shake and while the pieces felt to the ground Midori quickly made her way back and Riddick stepped up.
The moment Riddick stepped up, he binded the incoming undead with chaos chains while he rained chaos fire and burn the shit out of them.
Riddick smiled at his handy work and said " Extra Crispy!!"
Elune's job as the healer was very simple but also the most taxing, everytime Rahz used Chaos Energy he wounded himself in the process and a minute in the fight did not go by without rusty weapons depleting her Wards trying to end Rahz's life.
All in all the rotation strategy was a complete success, after a full day of fighting the final Undead Soldier was destroyed and the entire team was able to lay on the floor with smile on their faces.
"THAT WAS INTENSE!!! GOOD JOB EVERYONE!! TRULY REMARKABLE!!"
The team turned to look at the direction of the voice and saw their good friend Mr. Royal Guard standing there with a proud look on his face.
"Wait… Wait.. You were able to come in all this time!!!"
"DUH!!! I am specter, there are very few places I can not visit"
"Then why can't you beat Lord Darick and help your fellow Undead be relieved of their curse… Your Level is way higher than anybody here it should be a piece of Cake.. WTF."
"No can't do, my curse can only be dispel by finding people with amazing destiny and helping them with the task. It is the queens mandate...Oops I shouldn't have said that.. N O... M O R E QUESTIONS"
The Old Guard folded his arms across his chest and said, " Anyways, well done. It took you forever to clear the floor but at least you managed to make it this far, there is still hope for my brothers to rest in peace".
The veins in Rahz's forehead threatened to pop off his face as they pulsated with rage the moment he heard the comments of the ungrateful Guard.
The Old Guard ignored all the enraged faces in front of him and continued " Since you are the first assistants in so many years, I don't want you to die without knowing why. The moment you cross the door at the end of the hall, and go into the Circular Room, General Acharya that had been in deep meditation all this years will wake up and start to defend the passage to the second floor with all her might. Generals are not like those soldiers you just kill, they were close to reaching the Apex of their class and even if their levels were lost by the curse, the plethora of abilities they learned through their lifespan are available to them".
"General Acharya was a very powerful mage that reached Level 47 before dying during the invasion. I saw her fights during the royal tournaments a few times and out of all the guardians in this gate, she is probably the more difficult to handle".
"Acharya always starts her fights using Triplication. She divides herself into three very real versions of herself, each with their own unique abilities. She can use all the arcane elements Darkness,Light, Ice, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Earth and each version of herself would be using one. There is no way to determine which three you will see but everytime she comes back into one, she will split once more and change the elements around. By splitting she decreases the uumff in her spells but she gains so much more"
"I saw her toy with opponents higher level than her until they begged for Mercy!! The last thing I can tell you is that she has forbidden spells that take long to cast, but once they are completed the devastation is INSANE!!. She likes to use two version of herself to buy time while the third chants the forbidden spell".
"Well that is all I got, so... Good Luck and Don't Die"