Chapter 16: Dorian the Guardian of Wish
The party arrived at the third floor. Unlike the second floor, the third floor was bright. There were statue of knights on both side.
The carpeted pathway was red color like dyed by countless of blood. The settings inside the Tower of Wish before it closed was glorious and harmonious. Unlike now, which was disturbing and gloomy. The Order faction tried to re-open the Tower of Wish for the greater good but failed miserably.
Perhaps, the tower itself has its own will. The tower without its keeper activated itself every time there was intruder for self protection, until recently. It was reactivated and working properly but, like a haunted tower, the spirits of the keeper, guardian, helper and the 'Shadow of Azalea' that was buried inside, worked like before the tower stopped operating.
Therefore, Order faction issued a mission to explore and unveil the secret surrounding the tower. Unexpectedly, after reaching the peak, the greed of those who reached the peak were revealed. The exploration and investigations were turned into a carnage every time they reached the peak.
Only players were the exception who only not benefitted but also finished the investigation without solving the problem.
Like a broken record, the revengeful ghost never stopped appearing so did the Tower of Wish operating like a broken machine.
The ten players quietly walked the path towards the boss. They finally reached the end and saw the ghost of Dorian with his full set of golden armor and sword protecting the door towards the fourth floor.
If it wasn't for the black mist surrounding Dorian, he might looked like a perfect knight with his golden set. But, unfortunately, the settings they were facing was totally gloomy and creepy.
The players went to their formation and stayed vigilant. Unlike normal, elite, and nightmare difficulty Dorian moved his head and looked at the ten people.
"Challengers of the Tower I once protected prepare yourself to die in my hands." The left eye part of Dorian's helmet glowed red.
The party looked at Dorian and the status revealed itself. Without waiting Dorian stepped up and unsheathed his golden sword.
Liam, Leonel, and Xavier stepped up and blocked Dorian. A clashing sound echoed throughout the hall. Clashing of swords and sounds of creaking metals were produced by their exchanges.
[Name: Dorian the Revengeful Guardian
Lv. 26 Heroic Mode
HP: 2,500,000/2,500,000
MP: 300,000
Description: Dorian, with his golden set, protected the Tower with all his life. He was killed by the priestess of the tower he once swore to protect. Before his last breath, he promised to protect the tower. Now, with his lingering attachment towards the tower, he became a dreadful ghost who only know that he needed to fulfill his role until his death.]
Black Hope sucked a mouthful of breath. He knew how twisted the tower once he finished it once. But, he never knew that a full description would be available when it was Hell difficulty. Yes, he cleared the tower with his team before until nightmare.
The differences were Dorian only had 1,500,000 health compared to now and a simple description.
He didn't know that while he was only clearing the dungeon but Liam, Leonel, Zigz, Misha, Velkner, Olivia, Rain, and Xavier had ongoing quests related to the tower. Eight out of ten players were tasked with a quest to clear and reveal the story behind the dungeon.
Liam activated his domain skill Flowing River, he tried to attack and evade but unfortunately his mana consumed a lot of mana so he could only activate it for a short amount of time.
Xavier, a new dragon knight, without a dragon couldn't show his true prowess. He could only depend on his exceptional controls to contribute.
Leonel, with his advancement quest, was only a normal class with a normal growth. He could only provide assistance to the two.
Misha started to dance and buffed her teammates. Rain drew his bow and provide timely assistance when needed. Zigz could only rely on his skill Gambling to try his luck to draw a magic skill but unfortunately, he was only consuming his mana without any good outcome.
Olivia started to chant her skills. She was slowly chanting every syllable, not because she wasn't good enough but she couldn't hold the skill after finishing the chanting. She wasn't at that level yet.
Black Hope with his timely support would occasionally heal Liam, Leonel, and Xavier as the front of the team.
Ye Han could only wait for his turn, so did Velkner. Those three were truly monstrous to hold their position.
Dorian was only a knight without any big moves. He was only resilient and hard to kill. He wasn't slow nor fast. Dorian's life was depleted slowly until his life reached 0.
There was no big event. The three was exhausted. Their DPS was so small that they took 20 minutes to kill Dorian with all their might.
"That was hard."
"Yeah."
"Great job."
"Yeah, we need to go to the fourth floor."
But before they could move a mist inside Dorian stood up.
"Heroes of future generation, I, Dorian the Guardian of Wish, would like to express my utmost thanks. I hope you unleashed this eternal grievance I had. Please release us."
[Dorian's Wish]
Dorian, the Guardian of Wish, wanted to be unleashed in the eternal imprisonment. He wished his soul to be reincarnated to once again fulfill his promise, protecting the Tower of Wish eternally.
Mission: Set Dorian's spirit free
Reward: Rare Equipment/Dorian's Promise
Failure: Dorian's enmity
Ten players inhaled a mouthful of breath. They were all surprised with the turn of events. They never experienced receiving a quest inside a dungeon.
This was a first for everybody, but they knew that quest like this wasn't easy. The mist gradually dispersed so did the body. Only the drops remained.
Ye Han picked up the items and send the attributes to the party.
Golden Armor (Body) (Rare)
Type: Heavy
Physical Defense +120
Magical Defense +60
HP +1000
VIT +10
Golden Armlet (Arm) (Rare)
Type: Heavy
Physical Defense +100
Magical Defense +50
HP +500
VIT +8
Dungeon Teleport Scroll (consumable)
Use to teleport a party of 10 to the entrance of a dungeon.
Wish Potion (small) (consumable) x10
Use to gain a small wish inside the Tower of Wish
Everything seemed a first to everyone today. The Wish potion and scroll were also a first time drop on the dungeon.
Aside from consumables, they couldn't use both the armor and armlet. They could only picked it up first and proceed to the next floor.
The fourth floor was like the second floor. Only mobs were present so the party easily disposed those mobs.
Liam observed his teammates since the start. Besides Xavier and Leonel, which were exceptional, Rain, Zigz, Misha, and Olivia knew to take action when needed.
Velkner, Black Hope, and Ye Han weren't there but still good. Well, he was also a beginner before so he knew how hard the control was.
He might complete his quest so he wasn't worried but, he still needed to stay vigilant because it wouldn't be called Hell difficulty if it was easy.
The group entered the fifth floor. The fifth floor's boss was Wilfred, the helper of the tower. He was also a vengeful spirit that couldn't move on or so it seemed at the surface.
Wilfred was a priest and a magician. He was a dual class boss that was hard to kill like Dorian. On normal and elite difficulty he could only cast Lesser Heal which healed him 10% of HP. He was a vengeful spirit that could heal. How fucked up was the soul but could still heal itself.
The answer was, the game itself was a fantasy. Anything could happen. The fate of these ten people would be tested on the sixth floor and above.
Dungeon clear rewards were based on the time they were cleared. But, the team didn't care about the time. One wrong move and they'll be wipe out.
Liam could only braced himself and let go of his worries. He felt that these team could clear this dungeon. The final chapter would commence soon.