"Ryore, Are you alright?"
Xvin asked.
"I'm not!"
The guy wielding an Axe replied while shoving Xvin's hand away.
"My feelings were hurt!"
"It's okay, we lose every once in a while."
"Shut up, I could've killed him if I didn't believe you. You dropped some hard maths. I thought you actually know your shit. I thought he's already one hit because of you."
"No. I'm sure I was correct. He was definitely fractured at my attack. I dunno what happened."
"So… did he use hacks?"
"I don't think so, it might be an item."
"How sure are you?"
"I mean, what kind of stupid hacker would just hack to survive an attack. If I'm a hacker, I'll find a hack that could kill my opponents, but he definitely escaped on his own. How that hell did he do that?"
A blonde woman approached Xvin and bowed.
"Sir, we're done!"
"Good work, Pixie. Alright, let's head to the next room."
The players took a last look at the room to check if they didn't leave anything. While walking toward the next room, Xvin was still bothered about Kane.
"Hey, Ryore. You think that guy is dead?"
"Probably not. It will be embarrassing if he survived a battle against us, but he died against the 2nd Floor monsters."
And then they all went to the portal.
[You cleared Wallace Tower Floor 1]
[You entered Wallace Tower Floor 2]
Led by Xvin and Ryore, the whole group sneakily charged to the darkness of the next room. Suddenly, they saw a faint light approaching. Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Xvin scratched his head while looking at Ryore.
"This again."
Kane was recognized by the players as soon as he got closer. Ryore pulled out his axe from his inventory and was about to charge at Kane.
"It's payback time, bitch!"
But Xvin grabbed his shoulder.
"We have to run!"
"Run, my ass. I'm not running from this guy!"
"Not that guy!"
Since Ryore was determined to fight Kane, Xvin turned around and ran away. His other party members followed him. Ryore grinned as Kane was just a few steps away.
He raised his axe to prepare for the incoming Kane. But his smile quickly wore off upon seeing the whole mob of armored skeletons behind Kane.
"THIS STUPID SHIT!!"
Ryore swiftly turned around and started running away.
WHOOSH!
It only took a few seconds for Kane to run past Ryore. Both of them momentarily stared at each other before Kane outran him.
"Arrghh! That slippery shit!"
Ryore shouted. But he felt the shaking of the ground got a lot stronger. He looked behind and saw that a skeleton already reached him and swung his blade at his back.
SLASH!
Ryore got sliced on his back, but he's still alive due to his massive HP. Having no other choice, Ryore faced the Skeletons.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
BOOM!
Ryore charged at them and bombarded them with his Shockwaves. The room was filled with light. Despite getting their attention, some of the Skeletons continued moving forward and chased the rest of their group.
Xvin approached a running party member on his side.
"Hey, what's going on behind us?"
"Sir! Ryore got caught by the mob!"
"Shit! Dumbass! I told him to run!"
Xvin stopped running and turned around.
WHOOSH!
As soon as he turned around, he and Kane just stared at each other while Kane went past him.
"What the?! Take this!"
Xvin tried to bombard Kane.
"Kyaaa!"
Xvin withdrew upon hearing screams at the back. It was in the hindmost part of their group. Xvin ignored Kane and immediately came to rescue.
He just high up and blasted flames from his hands, propelling him forward, to reach his friends faster. Xvin aimed his hands at the Skeleton and unleashed multiple explosions on their heads, instantly killing them.
While flying, Xvin saw that Ryore was being overrun by the monsters. He tried to fly toward him, but a larger skeleton appeared in front of him. It was a captain.
Skeleton Captain LVL 35 – [HP: 4300/4300]
In Arcadia, dungeon rooms are usually filled with the same kind of monsters. These are called creeps or minions. However, some monsters managed to evolve that they became a stronger type of their species. These are called Captains.
Xvin tried to evade the Captain, but its long blade prevents him from doing so. Annoyed, Xvin aimed his palms at the Captain and fired it at its head. But the Captain quickly defended itself with a shield.
Because the Captain was equipped with a shield, Xvin had to attack it from behind. Xvin managed to sprint to his back to attack him from behind. But a skeleton minion was waiting for him at the back.
SLASH!
The minion slashed him on his chest, dealing a little bit of damage. But Xvin quickly killed it by exploding its head. However, the Captain immediately did a 360 degrees spin along with his long blade.
SHING!
Ugh!
Xvin got hit again in his chest. He lost a lot of HP this time. That attack hurled him in the air, high enough for him to unleash his flames directly at the Captain's head.
Skeleton Captain LVL 35 – [HP: 1970/4300]
It was a direct attack, but it wasn't enough to kill it.
Both Xvin and the Captain regained their composure. They both stood up and ran at each other. The Captain swung its blade at Xvin, but Xvin blasted the floor to propel himself upward. Xvin was once again in the level of the Captain's head.
Meanwhile, Ryore was having a hard to to hold the mobs.
TSK!
"Agghhh!"
Ryore screamed. He was stabbed in the chest. At that point, he finally received the FRACTURED status.
'Shit.'
A skeleton minion ran to his back and raised his blade to attack him. The regretful Ryore just closed his eyes to accept his fate.
BOOOM!
Everything beside Ryore exploded, saving him from the skeletons. It came from Xvin.
Xvin managed to save Ryore, but lost his chance to kill the Captain.
PAK! BOOM!
The Captain bashed its head towards Xvin that slammed him onto the ground.
Ryore stood up and tried to save Xvin but couldn't move because he was still under the FRACTURED status. But that was the least of his problems, as another wave of skeletons were approaching him from behind. Having no other choice, Ryore just decided to face them.
Xvin came out of the rubble. The Captain noticed him. Xvin charged his hands but was still contemplating if he should save Ryore or he should kill the Captain.
Suddenly, something went past the Captain and Xvin. It was Kane. He went back and sliced the Skeleton Captain's head.
Skeleton Captain LVL 35 – [HP: 1970/4300]
Skeleton Captain LVL 35 – [HP: 1969/4300]
Seeing that it was useless, Kane just continued running away from the Captain and went straight to Ryore. Xvin was confused.
'What the hell is the deal with that guy?'
Using his high movement speed, Kane struck his blade at all of the Skeleton that was about to aim Ryore.
Skeleton Minion LVL 30 – [HP: 2995/3000]
Skeleton Minion LVL 30 – [HP: 2995/3000]
Skeleton Minion LVL 30 – [HP: 2995/3000]
Skeleton Minion LVL 30 – [HP: 2995/3000]
Kane went past Ryore and continued hitting the skeletons in the head.
Xvin was about to prepare of the Captain's attack, but it suddenly walked away and marched toward Kane's direction.
Seeing that it was distracted, Xvin quickly propelled himself in the air and blasted the Captain's head.
KABOOM!
Skeleton Captain LVL 35 – [HP: 0/4300]
Xvin immediately dashed toward Ryore to protect him, but all of the other skeletons already left to chase Kane. Ryore couldn't help but laugh.
"I nearly fucking died."
"It seems they're chasing him once again. All right, everyone! They're chasing him again! You know the drill! Charge!"
All of their party members ran and chased the mob behind Kane. Xvin and Ryore have left in the center of the room once again. Xvin's hand suddenly started glowing green. He placed it on Ryore's shoulder and healed him. Xvin, while watching Kane, couldn't help but to feel bad.
"He saved us. Again. And we just tried to kill him."
"Well, our run was ruined because of him."
Because of his ridiculous movement speed, Kane could easily dodge and attack the slow-moving skeletons. He managed to hit their heads with ease. Despite only dealing 1 damage to them, it was enough to get their attention, and started chasing him.
After a few minutes, the room was cleared. The guild party started mining.
CHING! CHING! CHING!
Three gates opened for the next room. The two were glowing blue, while the one in the middle was glowing red. Xvin gasped.
"What? A red gate? This is my first time seeing it…"
But Ryore didn't care. He walked forward to continued his unfinished business with the exhausted Kane.
"Come here, you little shit. You brought us enough trouble!"
Seeing him come, Kane immediately ran despite nearly running out of breath. Ryore kept on shouted.
"Hey! Come here!"
But Xvin's eyes widened upon looking at the direction where Kane was heading.
"No! Wait! Stop! Ryore, stop him!"
"Hey! Little shit! Stop running!"
But Kane just ran away straight at the red gate and disappeared. As soon as he entered, the other two gates vanished. Xvin ran at Ryore and smacked the back of his head.
PAK!
"WHY?! DID?! YOU?! HAVE?! TO?! SCARE HIM!!"
"I didn't know he'll go to the red gate."
"Now what? The other two gates disappeared. We got no choice but to follow. Everyone stop mining! Head to the Red Gate!"
The looters stopped.
The miners stopped.
All of their activities were stopped. They all gathered in front of the Red Gate with Xvin in front.
"You know what red gates are. We have to be prepared for the worst. We vowed earlier that me and Ryore will lead you and protect you throughout this raid, but that's not the case anymore. Red Gates are called massacre rooms for a reason. Survival is each and our own responsibility. Let's go!"
Xvin stepped into the portal and disappeared. Ryore and the rest followed.
[You cleared Wallace Tower Floor 2]
[You entered a new area – Wallace Tower Floor X]