They all sat up in their room, no words being said, as anxiety filled the air, all of them staring off, wondering what they could do against someone like that and realizing how much stronger they would have to get if the evil King Bahamut was released. They all had small fears and doubts but even at their lowest time they seemed to win and beat the bosses, this time he simply laughed at them and left, as if that whole battle was just some game to keep them busy. None of them knew how to feel, every time they started riding a high, a new problem came up and knocked them back down, making them realize how much harder they would have to work to stay alive and now wondering if it was worth it all.
"What if we just found an island and stayed there." Meekle's voice finally breaking the hours of silence, but all of them just shook their head.
"We already went over these thoughts, sooner or later we would be found, plus, how could we leave all of this to be burned to the ground." Vixen, though liking the idea of hiding away from it all, knew that wasn't an option.
"I am sorry everyone, it was my idea to come to this world and all its done is put us in danger over and over again." Art's head fell, his knees curling up and his arms wrapping over his head. Every time something went wrong he blamed himself, that is why he has tried so hard to be a better leader, to help them all and keep their spirits high, but he even had to admit that the situation seemed to be getting worse. With his words the room fell silent, it was as if they were all hoping he would come in with a big speech, something that would raise their spirits and get them motivated again, but with his even him feeling at a loss, none of them knew what to do next.
"Hey man, it isn't your fault, we all chose to come in with you. Don't beat yourself up." Tophuu tried helping him, reassure him that this was not on him, that he was not to blame but still, it was hard to get out of a state of mind that just kept dragging them all down.
Steps were heard outside the door, but no knock, a piece of paper was shoved under the door, which they all glanced at and Vixen quickly grabbed the knob and opened the door, looking around, but there was no one to be seen. All of them watching intensely and ready to move, spirits low or not, they reacted to protect themselves and each other, none of them realizing that this was a true trait of a hero.
"What does it say?" Art was the first to ask, though they were all curious.
Vixen picked it up and unfolded it, "You have all done so well, three pieces down and a successful raid on the Legion. Beating the boss was not the mission, you saved all that needed to be, so hold your heads high and move forward, still four pieces of the relic to go. Signed King." They all looked around and wondered the same thing, who was the letter from.
"Could that be King, as in the King of Crystalis?" Razah stepped forward looking at the note, it made them all feel a bit better, it was true, they saved Ana and that was what they wanted to do. But anxiety wasn't an effect that could be lifted with just a few words or a simple spell. A day filled with mostly silence till night came and they all still just sat around, wondering what their next move should be, the note now just a taunt at them for taking so long. It took them all time but they finally fell asleep and when the morning chime went off, none of them were up and rushing out the door, they just stayed their till a knock came to the door. Art got up and opened the door, Ana had come to see them.
"I wanted to thank you all for saving me." A smile streamed across her face till she saw the mood that went around the room. She gave Art a questioning look and he shrugged and gave her the short explanation. "Guys, you are seeing this all wrong, you did a great job but you can't win them all. You aren't just adventurers anymore, you're heroes." They all gave her a questionable look, as if to say do they look like heroes as they all sit there licking their mental and emotional wounds.
"Sorry Ana, we just don't feel much like heroes. Heroes tend to ride in, beat the bad guys and save the day." Meekle shrugged as though he was saying that wasn't him, or any of them as his foot bounced at one of the bed legs in a nervous repetitive motion.
"You are all so silly, don't you know that all heroes have fears, they all have failures and they have all been knocked down. But they all get back up and keep going, because people need them." She gave them all a big smile, "You know you're a hero Art." She winked and turned around her hands laced behind her back as she made her way out of the room. They all looked around at each other as the door closed, the final click of the door latch echoing in their ears as they went over her words.
They paced around, all of them suddenly feeling restless, they started pacing ideas of the what they should do, knowing they had to get the rest of the seals, they felt as though they were on a time limit, they weren't sure how real the game had become or if the story line would move on without them. They started going through their bags, taking inventory of what they had and what they needed, unsure of the next time they would get the chance to stock up. Art stumbled on one of the gems they had got from the mimics, as well as from other monsters, usually as a rare drop. He noticed that it had an item details option, when he clicked it he smiled.
"Guys, look at this." His voice finding excitement once again as he explained to them what the gem was and did, a permanent stat boost, it wasn't a lot, but all together with all they had found they could give themselves a nice boost to their strength or defense. They had enough gems to go around and split it up based on what the class needed, such as Art needing strength, Vixen needing speed and Fenix who needed a bit of both. If they didn't have a stat boost to fit what one of them needed, they let them choose something, Meekle deciding on defense and attack, while Tophuu went with health up, giving him more health points and defense. Razah was given all the magic up gems, they saw her as one of the strongest on the team and this would give a great boost to her and her power. It was shocking to her, she hadn't realized it but they all truly relied on her and thought she was amazing.
The praise from the group made her a bit nervous, knowing this they laid off and all went on, talking ideas and plans but Art noticed something going on with Razah, she seemed to be thinking intensely.
"Whats up Razah?" He looked towards where she was looking, her eyes fixed on Tophuu.
"Its just, do you think my power is that cool? I always thought Tophuu got one of the coolest ones, it reminded me of a game I use to play where you could catch cute little monsters." Art gave a laugh and shook his head.
"I think I know what game your talking about, I played it a few times too. But I think you both got really awesome powers." No one had realized how much she liked and enjoyed Tophuu's magic abilities, not that she liked all the weirder monsters he chose to catch and how many of the other monsters he passed up because they weren't weird or unusual. Still, it calmed Art to hear things like this, to hear them speak normally and not just of their dread.
"Guys, I think we should go see Ana, figure out where the next seal is and try and go for it. I know we were all having a low moment but we can't let it take us over, we had out time to rest and recover, now its time for us to act, to remember why we chose to fight in the first place." Art smiled, looking around the room at them all, none of them objecting, though nerves still ran high, they all wanted to continue, they all had grown a lot, not just as individuals, they all had gotten much closer sense they started and truly relied on one another and trusted each other to keep them safe. They had to remember that not a single one of them was alone in this fight.
They quickly gathered their things and went to see Ana, finding her waiting for them out in front of the Inn with a smile, as if she knew it wouldn't take them to much longer. She gave them the information on the next seal, this one was a bit tougher to get to than the rest. Not quite what they expected but they were excited. She explained that the next one was in an old temple that had fallen into the sea many hundreds of years ago, that a magic seal kept the water mostly out of it but that they better be prepared to get wet. This made them all laugh a bit, they made a few stops, picking up more potions, the shop informed them that they had upgraded the potions from normal to High Potion. This would give a bigger boost in healing so they didn't have to use as many, sadly Art was still pretty broke and had to beg the others to help him out.
Once they were all ready they headed out, rushing towards the sea and knocking down every monster they could find to try and boost themselves up. Once there they blew their horn and asked their friend if he could take them to the under water temple, hoping that he would know where it was, the part that made their skin crawl a bit was that they had to climb into the mouth of the Whale Dragon once more to get there. They all shoved at Art, telling him he had to go first, threatening to take back the potions they had got him if he didn't. He slowly stepped into the mouth, its tongue was soft and sponge like, much dryer than he expected with a bit of a bounce to it, he then waved them on as he now stood inside the mouth of the beast.
They heard a lot of sounds as they went under the water, other animals scraping across the Dragon Whale and other sounds of monsters screeching echoed through the ocean and inside the Dragon Whale, it was not what they expected but still it was the quickest way to get there. After some time of feeling blind and just waiting they heard a large splashing noise as the mouth opened up, water spilling across like a waterfall as they exited and looked around. The temple was huge and for being at the bottom of the ocean was well preserved, though a bit wet and looked like it was leaking water from some areas.
Their attention was grabbed quickly by the clanking of armor as they rushed around to the front side of the temple, seeing Legion soldiers running around, they all had to stop and take a deep breath for a moment, their backs pressed against the side of the temple. Art turned to them and nodded, making sure they were all ready for this battle, they gave him one back and they rushed out, taking on the first one by surprise. Meekle quickly cursed the group with critical strike, upping the critical damage they would put out, the first one fell quickly to their surprise but with it they were rushed by all the Legion knights that were there.
Art wasted little time as he pulled out four swords and started into his attacks, Vixen wasn't far behind with her rain of arrows. The Legion stood ten strong at this point, the most they had ever battled all at once and they had to stay focused. Fenix went full wolf mode and started attacking, his whole body covered in fur, he looked a lot like a werewolf at this point and dropped his slashing skills on them. Tophuu summoned his electro slime and mutt to help out but they were having a hard time, trying to keep ten of them at bay. Meekle continued to buff as needed but it came time for him to stop that and rush in to help hold them back while Razah was casting her spell.
"Anubis, here me and come forth to help these souls to the other side, make it swift and leave no trace as they are taken from my sight. I ask for your power in this moment, to come and show the fools who cross you the underworld. Eternal Judgement." A hyena like laughter filled the air as three of the Legion knights were quickly wrapped in cloth bandages till that was all that was seen and they were pulled into a black void. This cut down their enemies so it was almost even, everyone took on one except Art who took on two of them at once, one sword in each hand and two hovering around him, attacking in sync with him. The Legion got in some good attacks but could not truly hold up to the power that they were putting out. Each one of them getting better and better, though the Legion had thick armor and good defense they finally dispatched them.
After fending off the Legion they made their way to the temple steps and went up to the door, but no matter how hard they pushed or pulled the door wouldn't open. They looked around and it made more sense as to why all the Legion members were wondering around, there was no way they in, no windows big enough, no holes busted into the walls. This temple stood strong and kept anyone from entering. Examining the door there was a cut out in it, as if there was a piece missing, or a key that would fit it and unlock the door. They searched all around the temple but there was nothing, Fenix and Tophuu even started digging around the area but that would take forever and even then, they didn't know if it was there.
They went back to the door and all started wondering if their would be another way in, Art and Meekle attacked the door and Razah even tried using spells. Fenix then tried picking at the lock but it just wasn't happening.
"Wait, I know that shape, I know what we have to do." Tophuu said with joy as he ran down the steps, "Come on, lets go." He rushed them as they headed back to the Whale Dragon. All of them tried to stop Tophuu and have him tell them but he jumped into the mouth and they all followed. On the way there he explained that it looked a lot like the shape of a crown and that still didn't help them figure it out, he continued giving off vague and random hints but they were no help, most of them didn't even make sense, like Tophuu was remembering things that never happened. When they came up out of the water they recognized the area, they were back in Crystalia. Tophuu took off running and they all had to try and keep up with him, he seemed ecstatic as it started to dawn on them all just what the shape was.
The hit the edge of Slime Forest and looked at each other, "Do you really think this is it Tophuu?" Vixen asked him, and he shook his head up and down quickly.
"I couldn't forget this, I have wanted to come back here ever sense we first saw it."
"Alright, I guess we are going to take on King Slimey." Art took a deep breath, it had been so long sense they had been here. He patted Tophuu on the shoulder, "Good work man, I would have never thought of this." Tophuu got a big smile and they started stealthily heading into the forest, staying low to the ground and checking each area before moving forward. They found that the monsters in the forest seemed so easy to beat at this point, it was odd, it didn't feel like it was all that long ago they had trouble just trying to stand up to some of these things.
Soon they reached the large area where King Slimey bounced about, leaving trails of slime all over the place. They wondered if they could just take the crown but it was so big it would take quite a bit to climb him and he was just a round blob of slime, they wouldn't be able to climb up the slime so they headed in, hoping to get a surprise attack but with the first attack about to land it hit Art back, its slime body morphing so that arms came out of it at all sides and slammed against the ground, making it rumble. Its eyes fell into it and popped up in its back, now facing them it let out the tiniest roar before it bounced around. That's when they all ran at it, attacking as quickly as they can but barely landing hits as they had to keep dodging its attacks. Art getting knocked back a few times, it seems they would have to play the defense game and leave the attacks up to the long range fighters, he rushed back in and started using a more defensive style, his swords acting more as shields and deflecting the blows, Fenix caught on quick to this and started doing the same, using his elephant body to up his defensive ability, Meekle also cursed them so that they had plus defense. The attacks were left to Tophuu with his whip, Vixen and Razah, they were hitting it with all they had but attack after attack it was getting rough, they finally got it to half health and it started bouncing around again before it turned it a disc shape and shot back and forth, all of them dropping to the floor trying to avoid it but it just came slamming down on them, doing good damage before it turned back into its large ball form and bounced around.
Its health started rising every time it landed on slime that it had laying about the forest, this made the fight much harder, there was no way for them to clear the slime away. They rushed in again with the same idea as before but this time Art had more sword so he could do some extra attacks but it was draining his magic quickly. He wanted to keep him from jumping around so they had to lay into it. Fenix tried to grab it but it just slipped right out of his arms and started bouncing, healing as they took its health, they were at a stand still, keeping it at half health but it healing to quick for them to drop it farther. Razah used her Osiris magic while Vixen used her falling star mixed with exploding arrows and together they hit a combo, Art and Fenix shouted out a combo name for them.
"God Star." They jumped back and in that moment Tophuu got an alert, he got a big grin over his face as he put out both hands.
"Capture All." He called out as he had gained his ultimate skill, the ability to catch larger and stronger monsters, including those in the boss category, excluding main story bosses. Large wire nets shot out and wrapped around Slimey who struggled, the wraps blinked red as the Slime King tried to get free, it blinked again and he started bouncing around, trying to get free, and then the wires all turned red for a moment and shifted blue and covered over Slimey as a success notice popped up for Tophuu. He had caught the Slime King and was now able to summon him forth, everyone looked at Tophuu with confusion covering over them, as they tried to find the words to explain what they were feeling. Soon they all shouted in joy for Tophuu, telling him how amazing and awesome that was.
"How did you even know to do that?" Meekle asked.
"It popped up as an alert that my skill was ready, I didn't know how or if it would work but it was worth a try, right?" They all patted and ruffled at his hair as his smile grew bigger and bigger.
"Now we have the key, I agree it was the right size and shape, it seems as though this is our best bet for entering the temple. How did you remember that crown that the Slime King wore Tophuu?" Fenix pondered on how he remembered such a small detail.
"Well, I have always wanted to come back and try and catch him, I didn't realize I was going to need a special skill for it but it was worth the wait. But I remember the crown because it stood out so much against his blue," He paused for a moment to think, "Skin? I guess is the best word I have for it." He laughed and stuck his tongue out, over joyed at how this all played out.
They soon heard the clanking of armor in the forest, words of "I heard someone over here," shouted between soldiers and they started moving back towards the exit of the forest. The sound started getting louder, like iron footsteps pounding against the ground, they started moving faster before the trees behind them started shaking.
"Time to get out of here." Art shouted as they rushed, exiting the forest to find that there were many Legion knights around and many more coming from the forest, they started running as fast as they could down hill and hearing the soldiers behind them, not a single one of them looked back. Art started blowing the horn well before they were even in site of the water, but losing his focus on running he tripped and tumbled around as he tried to get back to his feet, feeling them try to grab at him before they were hit back. He got up to see Meekle smiling at him, just like always, they were there to protect one another. He jumped to his feet and started running again, but the Dragon Whale was no where in site as he started to blow it again, none of them taking a chance as they jumped off the mainland and into the ocean. As their body hit the water they were quickly swallowed up by the Dragon Whale, finding that the water was soon gone from around them.
They brushed back their wet hair and took a breath as they started descending into the water once more and quickly finding themselves at the temple.
"We need to find a better way to ride on that." Vixen said as she exited the beast.
"Well, its not like we can strap a cockpit on top of him and just ride him." Art's voice sarcastic at her, though the others seemed to be taking that thought into consideration. This became a debate of sorts between the group as they spoke quietly, looking around all the sides of the temple before heading up the steps.
"I am just saying, it would be really nice to be able to see where we are going." Vixen continued with the debate.
"Yeah, but that cant be comfortable for it. Plus, where are we going to find something that fits around his head." Art not up for the idea.
"Maybe they make magic that can do something like that?" Razah reminding them that they are in fact in a fantasy world and that could very well be a thing.
They all gathered at the door and looked at Tophuu, he was so excited to test out his new buddy, "Come on out Slimey." His voice a high pitch as the giant slime came forth and bounced around, Tophuu felt drained though, it took all of his magic bar to summon it. That was something they didn't expect but to Fenix it seemed logical that summoning such a powerful creature or having such power would come at a greater cost than usual. Tophuu took the crown from Slimey and it fit perfectly, the door shifted and slid open, water poured out and rushed passed them, soaking them up to their shins. They were happy at least knowing that the Legion had not been able to get inside yet as they took the first step forward into the dungeon.