"BOOM!"
After being submitted to the group's relentless attacks, the gates rumbled open unwillingly. After all, [Wuji] wouldn't be so kind to just simply let them in. The monolith doors breathed their final creaks, the party advancing forward, unhindered.
[( Location: Wuji Courtyard )]
Rich forests and lush greenery surrounded the courtyard's interior. The party's footsteps echoed across the sturdy pavement. Many of their gazes were attracted to the shiny luster of the [Golden Stone] that it was constructed of.
Randall wished he could take just a little- yes, it'd be just a little bit. No one would notice right? It didn't seem like [Wuji] was going to actually use it, so it might as well be better for him to sell it to the NPCs.
He really did need the money. Freedom! had been his lifeline for the past eight years, and now his days were now spent living off of cup noodles and part-time jobs.
Randall continued to stare at the floor with reddened eyes, his drool dripping down noisily.
Turning around, he saw the group had gone further ahead. Taking one last look at the road, he ran to catch up, feeling the ache in his bleeding heart.
"Wai-Wait for me!"
The party continued to follow the path, now made of the divine material [Firmament Stone], which greatly disappointed Randall.
Although it was still an expensive material, [Firmament Stone] was well known for its absurdly high defense. It would take Randall hours to merely chip away a little piece, let alone the entire area.
His stray thoughts and nonchalant manner made it clear that he had not learned anything at all from his bout with Despair. Besides Randall, the rest of the group remained vigilant the entire way; this was [Wuji] they were up against.
Finally making out the towering silhouette of the [( Wuji Guild Base )], the group sighed in relief. Looking around at the battlefield that once held one of the most grandeur scenes within Freedom!, many of the players lost themselves in the nostalgia.
The flickering runes at the entryway of the huge fortress went completely unnoticed.
"Wow, we're already here?" Randall was shocked.
He was expecting some trap; some high-level monsters or something to get in their way.
This was like taking candy from a baby.
"Ha, I can just feel this raid will be easy. It seems like [Wuji] has really gone away for good!" As his confidence increased, Randall's mood improved, forgetting about the golden pavement. Although, it probably wouldn't hurt to take some after they completed the raid.
Randall's overconfidence received many contemptuous looks and shaking heads from the other players. They couldn't afford to be so assured of victory in this raid; one mistake and it would be all over.
Geass sighed as he promised to himself that he would lecture Randall later on. After all, overconfidence breeded danger.
The party continued to advance, leaving the absent-minded Randall behind.
Despair, hidden in the darkness with [Umbral Shade], glared at Randall viciously before turning around and following the others.
"Guys? Oh, come on!" cried out Randall, his short moment of glee fading away. His stocky frame clumsily bobbed up and down as he rushed to catch up.
The rest of the way was rather uneventful. It wasn't until they had gotten closer to the [(Guild Base)], about 300 meters away, when the [Holy Priest], a male elf with golden, braided hair yelled out.
"I sense magic fluctuations! Everyone get ready!"
Suddenly, hundreds of small orbs surrounded them, space distorting around each one. A misty fog enshrouded these mysterious orbs, which began to assimilate into spectral figures. The figures were covered in ghostly blue flames, their listless eyes and pale, spiny fingers added to their frightening appearance.
"[Phantasmal Spirits]! WTF?!"
"I thought those would at the very least be in the third floor!"
"Well, clearly they're not!"
The spectral soldiers charged, ready to annihilate these invaders. The level-200 [Phantasmal Spirits] each had 1,000,000,000 HP, a rather low amount compared to other monsters of the same level. What was the problem was their innate status, [Intangible], which blocked all physical and magic attacks that were not soul-based. This meant that at least 90% of their skills would be useless in this battle.
"Quick, [Soul Reaper] activate | Phase Shift | and | Soul Domain |. [Holy Priest], prepare to use | Divine Clearance | at any moment!" directed Geass, quickly assuming command.
The [Soul Reaper] swiftly followed out his orders, casting the two | Divine-Level | skills. With the combination of the [Soul Reaper's] skills, they would be able to negate the effect of [Intangible].
The entire party began turning translucent, gaining the [Spirit] status. A blue-green domain encompassed the area, closing off escape for both the [Phantasmal Spirits] and the group.
Within this domain, all friendly [Spirit] creatures would gain massive buffs to their attacks- including those who had the [Spirit] status. Hostile [Spirits] would be weakened, their stats decreasing substantially. This deadly combo was supposed to be reserved for the third floor, but they had to waste it here.
The melee-classes began slaughtering a path through the rampaging spectrals, the ranged-classes backing them up a safe distance away. Their onslaught of attacks quickly overpowered the mob. The spectral soldiers, before dying, crushed the marble sized orbs. Each orb created massive currents of magical power, sucking in everything like miniature black holes.
The priest, anticipating this, immediately cast | Divine Clearance |. The spectrals screamed in agony as they winked out of existence, the orbs losing their luminosity, disintegrating into fine particles of dust.
Deep breaths could be heard as the worn-out party tried to catch their breath. Although the fight had been rather short, it was by no means easy; such an abrupt encounter required perfect coordination and reaction-times. Many of the players sent grateful looks towards Geass, whose composed thinking and quick control over the situation had been a boon. Despair stared at Randall, who had a triumphant look plastered on his face.
"We did it guys!" Randall exclaimed enthusiastically, his arms waving in the air.
"For a price...We ended up wasting three | Divine-Level | skills already," reminded Despair, his cold voice dousing Randall's high spirits.
"Oh...Yeah, I guess. But still, we survived!"
Despair couldn't understand how this brainless oaf was the third-ranked [Berserker] on Freedom! Did he not understand how important each | Divine-Level | skill was?
Before the two could get into another fight, Geass suggested that the party take a short break. Despair couldn't disagree with that, so he let off Randall this time- only this time.
Fifteen minutes flew by and they continued onwards, finally arriving at the entryway of the huge
Feeling something was strange, Geass motioned for the party to stop and asked the [Divine Cleric] to cast [Reveal]. A bright light illuminated the area in front of them. There were no indications of any traps, but Geass' gut feeling was telling him that something was wrong. How very wrong, he would not find out until later, when it was too late. Reminding the party, especially Randall, to be more careful, the group headed inside, swallowed whole by the darkness. The gates silently closed. The real raid was now beginning.
[( Wuji Guild Base- Interior, 1st Floor )]
Entering into the first floor, the azure doors disappeared; what replaced it was a solid wall filled with intricate designs. Now, there was only one way to go: forward. As the group continued onward, the terrain changed into a huge field of rocky, barren land. A dim sky encompassed the land, and along with the dry, crusty air, this first floor seemed like a desert. Off into the distance, large monsters with long, giraffe-like necks and protruding eyeballs- known as Sydras- caught sight of them. The ground shook as they began stampeding towards their direction.
"Well then, it looks they gave us no time to prepare."
"Let's go!"
"[Lighting Storm], [Meteor], [Heaven Falls Down], [Light Shield], [Reaper Slash] ..."
The expert player's skills were now given a chance to shine as they massacred the monsters left and right. However, with the addition of crafty traps and random summons, the fights became increasingly difficult. The group barely made it past each floor. They cursed at [Wuji] for their deviousness.
"F*ck! What is this silencing trap?! I can't use my heal spell!"
"Holy sh*t, a lvl 200 Baby spawned on top of me!"
"WTF? Why are your spells hitting me! Aim properly!"
"It's this sh*tty misdirection trap! ...Sorry for putting an arrow in your ass"
"When I'm done with this monster, you ain't going to have an ass!"
. . .
Finally, they reached the end of the ninth floor, [Lavaross], tired and hateful of this torturous hellhole. All they wanted now was for it to be over.
"Is this-is this really the final floor? The one where the Divine-class guild, Blue-Wings, was destroyed?"
"Yeah, I really wished that they had given some information regarding this floor, but after they were massacred, Blue-Wings closed themselves from the rest of the world, having zero contact at all with anything [Wuji]-related."
The reason why they could even survive the past floors without losing a single member was due to the sacrifices that the many other players had gone through before them. Without any knowledge of this new floor, they would be at a huge disadvantage.
"Gulp."
"Guys...I think I know why Blue-Wings closed themselves off," said Tall Stature, awkwardly laughing, sweat beading down his forehead.
"What?"
His trembling fingers pointed to a blinking blue screen on the periphery of the floor's entrance. It was all the way at the very edge, something that most would not notice. It showed a map of the [Wuji]
[ You are here, Floor 10 of [Wuji]
The players staring at the map froze, their bodies quivering slightly, fear invading their innermost thoughts.
The map represented a rough model of the Guild Base, which showed the section that could be seen from the outside, the topmost part of [Wuji]. These were the first ten floors. What horrified the party were the 90 floors labeled underneath, some even hinting at different-dimension floors. This expert party used up almost all of their hidden aces to deal with the first ten floors, and there were ninety more of increasing difficulty? They hadn't even encountered a single [Wuji] player yet. No wonder Blue-Wings had given up.
Legs trembling, the players stared at each other, waiting for someone to make a move. Running seemed like the best option, but no one wanted to be labeled a coward. Geass wanted to remind everyone to stay calm, but even his body was trembling in fear.
A succession of claps shook them awake, as loud as lightning.
"Clap. Clap. Clap."
The echoing of footsteps brought about goosebumps on their skin. The hair on their necks stood up.
"I'm so honored to finally have… visitors." Wuji's voice penetrated throughout their surroundings.
The party stared at the emerging figure- a strong-bodied male with turquoise hair and green eyes. (A certain person was too lazy to change their appearance). He was clad in light, translucent armor that seemed to phase in and out of reality. Above the turquoise bushel of hair was a flickering name, changing in a myriad of colors: [Free].
"After all, everyone's thinks [Wuji]'s dead now… It seems like everyone thinks this is a place where they can come and go wherever they want," said Wuji, his voice becoming a slight growl.
"Ahh!"
One of the players couldn't handle it anymore; the pressure he exerted was too much to handle. Quickly dashing away, countless thoughts filled the player's mind: I have to get away from him. I have to- this is impossible! Why did I even agree to this? This was suicidal, it's [Wuji]! I have to run. I have to ru-
"Now, now- where do you think you're going?"
An invisible force pulled the player across the ground mercilessly.
"Free, we can talk about this right- hehe, I can pay for the damages. No harm don-"
"After bullying my precious monsters?" Freedom! was Wuji's everything; the monsters and the NPCs were like his own flesh and blood family. And on the last day of the game, the day when his mood was in the worst state, someone just decided to barge in on his base, destroying everything in their path. Not even the front gate was spared! Who said they deserved mercy?
[Disintegrate]. The other players looked away as the player was turned into ashes, their final traces scattered by the wind.
"NO!"
"We can beat him if we work together! [Divine Rage], | Berserk God |, | Unstoppable Force |, |Magic Force| !" Randall yelled, breaking out of his stupor and rushing towards Wuji, adrenaline coursing through his body.
"No! Randall, stop! Don't be reckless!" Geass called out. But it was too late. Randall had already arrived at Wuji's location.
"Haha, you actually let a [Beserker] get near you?! It's over now!"
Activating [God Smash] and [Slaying Aura], Randall's axe swung down onto Wuji with inconceivable force.
"|| Purgatory || " Wuji nonchalantly pointed his finger towards Randall. Randall's eyes flew wide open. But nothing changed. He triumphantly laughed as his axe continued to descend- what he didn't realize was that he wasn't moving at all; he was in a [Hallucination] state.
"Guys! I've got this!" Randall looked back at his teammates. His gaze met their reddened eyes, horrified as they stared at him.
"What? What's wron-"
Randall looked at himself. Oh, I'm dea-.
Randall's war-axe smashed down to the ground with a resounding boom.
Geass and the others couldn't think; Randall had been completely played with by Wuji, who undoubtedly used a || Beyond Divinity || skill. Skills like that were practically impossible to use; they required inputs of over 2000 APM.
A dark, illusory figure appeared behind Wuji, his dual daggers an inch away from his neck. Their dejected eyes lit up again with hope.
"| God Force |, [Silenced Kill], [Impervious], [Dance of Blades], [Fatality] …" Despair's daggers closed in, augmented by multiple skills. There was no way for Wuji to avoid this attack!
" || Magic Flow || "
The blood within Wuji's veins began glowing, a misty aura enshrouding him as an ethereal sword materialized in his hand.
"Aargh!" yelled Despair, bringing down his daggers. He accomplished hundreds of dagger attacks and combos in quick succession. This all happened within seconds.
Wuji leisurely countered all of Despair's strikes, his sword phasing through the air, ripping apart space.
Despair, tiring for a single moment, gave away an opening.
Wuji stabbed forward.
Despair dodged with [Shadow Move], escaping by a hair's breadth.
"Divine Item: [Abyss Cloak]!" After failing the assassination, Despair wouldn't dare fight him head-on. He entered the [Abyss Realm], becoming impossible to attack.
"You can't escape," Wuji whispered. He couldn't attack Despair, but what about the realm?
"|| Singularity Point ||" Wuji made 10,000 cuts within seconds of Despair's retreat, immediately forcing the realms to collapse on each other; they were now one in the same.
Despair, who had just escaped, was now back in the naked open, his eyes wide open, stunned.
"Impossib-"
Wuji's blade silently passed through Despair's body, as if it was made of paper.
His eyes were unwilling.
His body, now dust, accompanied the ashes on the floor.
"Maybe for others. Not for me."
Only a few seconds had gone by in that brief encounter. Barely being able to follow what happened, the rest of the party panicked and fled. Geass had turned to stone; his body wouldn't move.
This- this is impossible, he thought to himself. His skills haven't regressed, they've increased! He never even used those skills before! What APM was that? The skill combo required to even cut dimensions was unheard of- it was inhuman!
"You- you're a monster!" he screamed, his composed front completely breaking down, cutting a sorry figure for himself.
"Not a monster- I'm just one man, after all," smiled Wuji, looking like a merciless demon.
"Yes, he is just one man," a robotic voice agreed. Nine silhouettes appeared from the darkness, fully sinking Geass into despair. There was no hope.
The nine figures stood side by side to Free. Luminous armor and God-Weapons fully adorned these legendary players. This was the full force of the Deity- no, the Supreme-class Guild, [Wuji]. Geass could feel his pants beginning to dampen.
"Wu-Wuji. It's not dead. Aha. It's not dead at all. AHAHAH!" laughed Geass, his mind completely broken down. With reddened eyes, he rushed towards the group with his shield and sword, screaming.
"| Divine Radiance |, | Resplendent Light |, | Paladin's Fury |, | Divine Judgement | !"
Oh dear. Wuji felt a bit sorry for the poor guy. I really didn't mean to make him go insane, he thought. To be honest, he was just playing around. He didn't think they'd be this weak.
"|| Time Stop ||" commanded _Mage, forcing the [Holy Knight] to freeze dead in his tracks.
Beyond Divinity || skills surpassed every other effect; only those of higher or equal rank could match its power.
"I should've- I should've known it was impossible. To ever defeat the inhuman monsters of [Wuji]..." Geass cried out.
He used the God-Item: [Intervention] to remove the status effect for a single second, enough time to stab his sword into his body.
"At least… I tried."
Geass' body burst into white particles. This was the last life he had in Freedom!
A minute later, the rest of the group was completely eliminated.
Wuji confirmed that there were no survivors and began to head back to the
"Hmm, why would it send [003-004] when they had such meager streng-" Wuji rapidly turned around, stabbing his sword into empty air.
"Come out, I know you're there."
A small giggle echoed out.
"Wow! You really are the number-one expert. No one's noticed me before," commended a small figure.
It was a little child, with short, golden hair, pale skin and kaleidoscopic eyes. Wuji's gaze was fixated on its small frame, unable to make out its gender. This seemingly harmless child made Wuji feel truly threatened for once in his entire lifetime of playing Freedom!
"Who are you?" Wuji tried to access the child's information with || Omniscient Eyes || but all it showed was:
Name: IAmAGod(Literally)4
Class: ????
Level: ????.
Description: Do not provoke under any circumstances.