It is 9pm in the game. Our party was gathering up and preparing for the multi party raid. It's a boss raid planned by the 5th highest ranking guild, the Dark Phoenix. It's a guild composed mainly of Rangers with a few Mages and Knights. Last week, they announced at the world chat that they will hold a 'multi party' raid, in which they will lead parties who wishes to participate in a boss raid. Their target boss is Slytherin, the giant Basilisk which is derived from the European legends.
We are currently outside of the dungeon while waiting for the few other parties who would participate. The scenery is calm, with overgrown moss covering most of the bricked pathway. Trees surround the 'camp' with few lanterns and luminous orbs lighting the area. The moon was bright despite being a crescent moon. The sky is clear ang many stars can be seen with the naked eyes. Sometimes, I forget that this just a virtual reality. All seems too real.
"Hey Rico!"
I heard a voice not so distant from me. I looked back and saw Lloyd, a party member and a friend in the true world. He was tall, probably 5'9 and has light brown skin color. He's also fairly handsome. A typical college student who work part time in a burger stand. This is how he looks like in the real world too. MM (Might and Magic) uses the capsule's scanners to project your real appearance in-game. This way nobody would fool anyone of their appearance.
-"I told you not to call me by my real name."
(I'll be using "-" as a symbol for a reply)
"Yeah yeah, you always say that. What am i supposed to do? Call you by your weird nickname? nameless_king My-ass." He replied with a prose. He was walking towards me as he was speaking.
(note. I didn't use "-" because the other guy started it first.)
-" Yes."
"Don't wanna."
I turned my back and sighed. In front of pushy guys like him, reasoning is futile.
"Where are the others?"
-" They haven't arrived yet."
"Why are they always late at times like this?"
I understood his complains. If they were here now, we could have planned our strategies and replenish our supplies. We could also arrange our buffs and spell order. Some might think that I'm exaggerating it but no. This is just how important this is for me. I'd have to scold them later on.
"Ask them."
Just as I was speaking, a member of the Dark Phoenix stood up on a fallen log. He used the spell 'Amplify' to make his voice louder. This is a spell of the sound attribute. I guess there are also valuable members of this guild.
"Fellow adventurers, may I have your attention?" he spoke with a high and slightly round voice. A tenor. The Amplify he used before made it loud even to use who was distant from him.
He's into roleplaying too much. We're all players so he didn't have to say adventurers out loud. I can't blame him tho, I'm also the same. But, hearing others say it was too cringe for me.
"As all of you was informed we are having a .....blah blah...."
It's none of my business to listen.
While the guy was speaking, my other party members arrived. Leah, Hae Won,
Yae, Ash, and Chael. They all arrived together.
"You're all late."
"It's fine. It's not like any relevant thing happened before we arrive."
Chael the arrogant one. Among all the other party members, he probably the most annoying member. Well I guess that's the characteristics of a Berserker.
"Sorry, something urgent came up so I didn't log in on time." Yae reasoned with a bitter smile.
"Same here."
"Me too."
" I just took a bath so I had to dry my hair before logging in."
(Quick Info on the party members)
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Character Name : nameless_king.
Class : blue mage
Lvl.267
Title : the Copycat Mage
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Character Name : Lloyd
Class : Knight
Lvl.273
Title : the Killer Tank
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Character Name : Leah
Class : Summoner
Lvl.243
Title : (Unavailable. Must be lvl.250+)
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Character Name : Yae
Class : Mage
Lvl.257
Title : Fox Lady
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Character Name : Hae Won
Class : Assassin
Lvl.246
Title : (Unavailable. Must be lvl.250+)
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Character Name : Ash
Class : Ranger
Lvl.260
Title : the One who Kills from Afar
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Character Name : Michael
Class : Berserker
Lvl.258
Title : Rampage
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The member of the Dark Phoenix finished his speech. Despite the words of encouragement he spake, the crowd was silent. Only few whispers can be heard. This is a sign that everybody knew the dangers of facing a Legend grade beast. Even tho being just a mere character, nobody wanted to die because of the temporary ban from logging in after death. The higher your level, the longer the ban.
Finally, after the speech, the two other member of the leading guild opened the massive door which leads to the 'den'. The door was 12 ft. tall and it has an exterior design which resembled a serpent. It was made of marble and a relic was embedded upon the eyes of the serpent. The relic keeps the door from being destroyed and also prevents lower level players from entering. Only players level 130 and above may enter.
As the huge door was opened, a strong killing intent was released. It was enough to make a veteran player tremble im fear. As expected of a legend grade beast. However, the parties who participated in this raid are not just some normal party. Everyone was strong and willing to achieve thier goal— to deal the final blow.
'Last hit'. This was a gaming term that players use.Before a monster dies, there are players who use high burst skill to deal high damage and kill the monster. Be killing it, they will receive the highest gold and experience and also the relics it drops.
"Finally....Well then, let us begin."
I went ahead and took the lead. My party members followed me as they prepare using their buffs and puting on defense relics.
There are a total of 11 parties participating including us. There are also 4 official guilds among the raid including the leading guild. There's a big difference between parties and guilds. Guilds are official groups composed of pro players and veterans. They are offical and have certain authorities that parties don't have. An example of this are Guild Halls, or 'bases' on where the guild members gathers. Parties, on the other hand are smaller groups that are only created during raids or other purposes. Parties can be composed of memebers of different guilds.
As the guild and parties eneter the dungeon, the pressure grew higher. Everyone was quiet and cautious. We had to be careful of traps and ambushes. High level monsters are also present in this dungeon as it being a legend grade. Probably a General type or something higher.
Our party was the last group that entered the dungeon. The door was left open so escaping will be easier when things get out of hand. The plan was simple. We let the parties who were ahead of us take care of the monsters. They can have the loots and the items the monsters drop. Our goal was just to last hit the boss and quickly escape. Who knows what the other players might do to us if we successfully deal the final blow?
After a few minutes of walking and letting the others fight the monsters, we finally reached the lower part of the dungeon. The dungeon's structure is simple. The entrance, the high ground, the stairway, and the boss room. The boss room was underground so we had to go down the stairs almost everytime. There were few stops to let the players recover stamina and mana. Currently, we are resting at the bottom of the stairs we had climbed down. It was a giant hall with big roots on the walls. Our party was sitting on some giant bone that looks like it belonged to a snake. Other players was leaning on the dungeon walls while others was standing still. The dungeon is mossy, like the ones outside the door; the temperature was humid, and ipand slightly dewy. A perfect habitat for a snake.
Fortunately for us, no General grade monsters had appeared, that is until...
"Everyone! Prepare! A Calamity grade!!"
A loud shout was heard coming from the front lines. Despite everyone being cautious and maintaing focused, they all panicked when they heard it was a 'calamity grade' An 'S' grade monster. Everyone tried to be composed despite panicking at first. They prepared their spells and also their weapons.
Our party was used to this kind of situations so I needn't to give instructions. They knew what to do and waited for my signals. Yae prepared an AOE lightning spell which was her specialty. Her main attribute is lightning and she's considered as one of the best lightning mages.
Leah started an incantation to summon a beast. I told her to call e healing type so we can replenish our mana while clashing. Ash and Chael is waiting for my signal to counter, and Hae Won already went to the front lines to provide info for us. The hall we were in was long and the calamity grade beast could not be seen. Hae Won took the initiative to gain info for us.
I casted the spell 'Divine Protection' to increase my party's physical and magical defense. It also has healing abilities.
As few seconds went on, loud clashes and spell explosions could be heard even in the back. So far, no players has died and no one logged out either. It's a good thing since we'll be needing lots of contributors to succesfully execute this raid.
Few more seconds and Hae Won returned. She cancelled her 'Stealth' skill and exposed herself to us.
"Big trouble. The enemy we're facing is Kriknak among with other Captain grade lizardons.
Kriknak is a giant lizardon holding a trident. He has remarkable control over his wind attribute. That's why he was of the calamity grade. Lizardons are a mix of lizards and dragons. They might not have wings but thier scales are of an S+ armor relic. They are tough formidable armors. More importantly, why is he here?
" I see. I will prepare some armore break enchants and apply them on your weapons. "
As I was speaking, a white greenish light shined from the front lines. It took me a while to figure out what is but it's bad news.
"damn, everyone prepare yourselves!!!" I shouted as I projected my staff and prepared a mana barrier.
The light was from a spell cast, Tempest. One of Kriknak's special ability. An AOE burst wind skill. The damage would be worst specially since we're on a closed space and there's no vent for the wind to escape. This means the wind well keep revolving aroung the hall and we're all gonna die. Probably.
With only a couple seconds to react, my mana barrier didn't complete and a great wind blew coming from the front. 2 seconds of silence, then the wind suddenly revolved and created a massive tempest tornado. Everyone was dragged along the wind and their characters suddenly disappeared. They died.
If not for the gravity spell I casted within those 2 seconds, we could've been blown away too. However, my mana was constantly withering. Maintaing a gravity spell consumes to much mana and its also depleting rapidly! What the heck?!
"Everyone. I don't know if how long my mana might last but we might die here. "
" It's unavoidable."
Everybody seemed to agree with Leah's statement. It's fine. We might get banned but we could just try again another time.
(changing perspective. )
Rico and his party stood firmly amidst the giant tornado. No one knew how long it will last due to the closed space they're in. Usually, tornado spells disperse when the wind loses momentum and scatters. But for a closed space like this, it might last more than just a few minutes.
Rico's mana was nearing its limit. The 'Grounded' spell he casted was losing its effect. Chael, who was clinging onto Rico's robe was being sucked as the spells range was gradually getting smaller. Finally Rico's mana was depleted and all of them was sucked by the giant tornado.
'Damn! This was our chance! Now we lost it!' Rico's thought was full of complaints and regret as his avator slowly disappeared.
: I'll be puttig the publishing on hold for now and complete the story first.
-author