"Did a meteor fall in front of us?!" Grace asked as I rushed to shield her with my body.
Then we heard Russell struggling. "Help me!" Something was lifting him off the ground, a monster of long ears and red eyes. It looked more humanoid than its fallen brothers, skinny, hunched, and sharp clawed. "Charles, please, save some of the treasures for me! A-anything!"
Charlie chuckled. "Sorry pal, not happening."
"Dammit!" Russell cried before being decapitated by those claws closing around his neck.
That was… gruesome…
"Steve, now!" Charlie shouted so they could charge at the same time, but Grace's voice was louder.
"Get the fuck out of my way!" She was pointing her staff forward, casting a ball of fire rapidly increasing in size. "Fire Crafting, Blaze+!"
The magical projectile was shot at tremendous speed, hitting the creature's chest. It cried as the fire propagated, taking away half of its HP.
"Impressive! That spell did more damage than when you attacked the Weasenox."
"I've already told you that the rain was weakening my magic!"
Dan landed two arrow shots at the creature while Steve dashed forward. The Boss' name was displayed above its body: Bunnskeel. It retaliated by throwing a swipe, which Steve blocked successfully. Charlie, who was behind him, stepped forward and stabbed the boss in the belly.
The monster was now at 30% of its health.
"What are you waiting for?" Grace shouted. "Do something before it kills more of our allies!"
There was no time. Charles had already retreated after the Bunnskeel tried to grab him, and Steve was crouching, shield raised, unable to escape. The boss' sharp fangs created sparkles each time it struck his shield.
Dan shot it one more time, but it was not enough, and I could not shorten the 60 feet distance.
If I didn't do something quickly, Steve would die.
"Here goes nothing!" I concentrated the fire inside me and shouted: "Fire Boost, Valor!" I then grabbed my hammer and aimed it. Oh, right, I had to come up with some 'Words of Power' or something. "Hammer Throw!"
The increased strength that the Valor skill gave me was impressive. My thrown hammer flew almost at the same speed as Dan's arrows, easily crushing the Bunnskeel's skull. The sound of my steel against the bone was pretty satisfying.
+++ Bunnskeel defeated! +++
+++ Thanks to your magnificent display at measuring long distances, you have acquired the Passive Skill: 'Sharpshooter' Level 1! +++
+++ Your 'Monster Slayer' Passive Skill is now Level 3!+++
"What the hell was that?!" Charlie said, astonished. "Was that you, Taylor?"
"Y-yes…" I said, embarrassed. Everyone had heard my stupid technique's name.
"I knew you were special from the first moment I saw you," Charlie beamed.
"You make me question my weapon of choice," Dan said, half-smiling.
"'Hammer Throw'? Seriously?" Grace said behind me, grimacing again.
"Hey, you gave me the idea to throw my weapon!"
My gaze finally landed on Steve, who stood up in front of the boss' corpse without glancing at anyone, and absently checked his User Interface in silence.
+++ Congratulations! Secret Hunting Quest Completed! Rewards: 100 Gold for each Party Member and a piece of gear of your choice! +++
As everyone checked the System notification's contents, no one addressed what had happened to Russell.
"Good job, T," Grace whispered in my ear while everyone had their eyes locked on their menus. "Did you receive an extra notification stating that you have earned a handjob?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"No? I'll have to be the one giving you the reward, then." She giggled.
"Thanks?" I replied, meeting her mischievous gaze.
"Oh, don't give me that look. I know you want it."
* * *
"Here it is, Count Dylak's Mansion," Charlie said, as I saw the building in the distance.
"Charlie," I called in a soft voice. "Comparing it to your last raid, do you think we can make it?"
"After seeing the results of this last battle, I can guarantee we'll make it." He put both hands on his hips and looked at everyone. "Last time I came with a group of ten, and the Bunnskeel killed half of my teammates. We were a disorganized bunch, but look at us now, everyone fulfilled their role successfully! We have firepower thanks to Grace's magic, we have an unmovable wall, thanks to Steve, we have long-range attacks thanks to Dan, and we have my excellent judgment and tenacity."
I tilted my head. "What about me?"
Charlie stepped forward and grabbed me by the shoulders, smirking. "You, my friend, are our ace card. You're a box full of surprises. We count on you."
When my gaze landed on Steve, he was looking away, towards our destiny.
What was his problem?
As we strolled forward, looking at our surroundings in case another Bunnyard attacked us, I admired the three-story building. Its architecture was something I had only seen in classic movies.
It looked abandoned, even though this Virtual World had been activated only five days ago.
"Listen, here's the plan," Charlie started saying. "There's a boss on the second floor, 'Butler something', I can't recall. It won't attack us if we don't go up there. So, what we're going to do is..."
Wait, no…
"Split up?" Grace interrupted.
"Yes," Charlie nodded.
Fuck.
"Why?" Steve said. The only word he had pronounced in like an hour.
"The first floor is full of treasures. Last time we couldn't check all the rooms because someone walked up the stairs and aggroed the damn butler."
"What's 'aggroed'?" I asked.
"His teammate got the butler's attention, pissed him off," Grace replied.
"Exactly." Charlie nodded. "So let's split up and gather at the main gate in… half an hour?"
"That's a good idea!" Grace beamed, giving me a bad feeling about it.
"What if someone finds something and doesn't share it?" Steve asked, distrustful as always!
"Since we're on a Party, the System notifies us when someone finds a treasure, don't worry."
"I want to team up with Taylor!" Grace beamed.
I knew it.
"Yes, that would be ideal. Taylor, I count on you. We need her magic."
"Sure…"
"We're going to have lots of fun," Grace said in front of everyone, but I was the only one that knew her true intentions.