"Death awaits those who foil my plan!" a menacing-looking NPC, Sabre, greeted Lucas and his not-so-trustworthy team of bots fiercely. Clad in black robes and armed with a broadsword, Sabre was ready to end their lives.
Lucas decide to take a breather before engaging Sabre, who was now standing like a frozen statue. Final bosses of dungeons typically wouldn't make the first attack. They'd only begin attacking after players make the first move. The rules apply to bots too - they would only start moving after a human player engages the boss.
He took a while to marvel at the majestic interior of the grand library. The sides were lined with endless rows of bookshelves and two dragon pillars in the middle were the most outstanding features.
"Hmm, this place was supposed to contain secret martial arts scrolls, I wonder…" curious, Lucas randomly flipped through a few books and scrolls laying on the shelf. Alas, they contained nothing but empty pages.
"Lucas Yang, you didn't think you'd find the real Nine Yin Manual here, did you…" the gaming world felt too real that he thought he would uncover legendary martial arts skills in these books.
"Okay, back to real business." he turned to look at the bots who were completely unfazed. They were his only hope now.
"Sabre's just a Level 10 boss so his attacks are simple. Aside from his normal broadsword attacks, there are only two other skills to look out for - Sword Slam and Sabre's Rampage. Sword Slam would deal damage to players within the radius of his attack so try not to get hit. When his blood drops to 20%, he'll go berserk and launch Sabre's Rampage which is very painful. As you bots should know by now, there are two golden rules to observe - avoid attacks and heal…at the right time."
Lucas knew he was speaking to a wall, the bots were not the least fascinated by him.
"Alright…just one rule, don't die. It's all I ask of you, bots."
Casting his gaze at Sabre, he marched towards him. Sabre was the easiest of bosses to kill, they should be done fairly quickly if things go smoothly.
"Let's do this, bots!" Lucas made the first attacked and pulled back so Eternal Sun would pull the aggro. Sabre came alive from his 'frozen state' and began swinging his broadsword.
Things progressed rather well and Sabre's life dropped to 50%. Although the bots mindlessly attacked without dodging Sabre's attacks and Sakura Meow's healing was far from perfect, they managed to stay alive thus far. Maybe they could really make it through in just one attempt.
"Well done, bots! You guys…" just as Lucas thought they deserved some praising, a terrible tragedy happened. "Sakura Meow, move away!"
His one and only healer remained inside the radius of Sabre's Sword Slam attack, unafraid of death. Lucas watched her HP drop to 50%. Everyone on his team was as fragile as glass. If Sakura Meow died, it'd be the end. The wilful Sakura Meow healed herself back to 70% HP but continued to remain in the radius of Sabre's attacks. Whoever programmed these bots sure did a sloppy job. Sakura Meow would probably die first and leave them on the lurch. Without a healer, the chances of success were bleaker.
Like a crystal ball prediction that came true, Sakura Meow's name greyed out in a matter of seconds. Sabre's HP was now 40%.
"C'mon bots, we can pass this dungeon as long as you evade the attacks," Lucas tried to 'encourage' them.
This was not a good day for teaming with bots. Everything that could go wrong happened. Lucas felt no other player had it worst than him when it came to bots. At the way things were going, they would all perish once Sabre reaches berserk mode. Gritting his teeth, Lucas continued to attack Sabre. He wasn't going to give up even if the odds were against him.
For someone who once controlled the mightiest avatar, Ash Knight, playing with bots was beyond his league. Soon, the three other bots in his team died after failing to evade the Sabre's Rampage skill. With only one target left, Sabre headed for Lucas and took him out with a normal broadsword attack.
[Lucien Cavalier, you have failed to defeat Sabre. Find ways to become stronger and try again!]
Passing out, Lucas fell to the ground and was transported out of the dungeon. When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in Dong Yang Sect with his HP restored back to full.
"Yeah, tell me how else I can find ways to become stronger when I've done every quest and mission I can," he rebutted the system. This wasn't about him being weaker or stronger, it was about stupid bots and being stuck in an older server. Had he transmigrated to a newer server, he'd probably have no trouble teaming with other newbies and passing the Sacred Temples dungeon.
In Lucas's history of playing DOJ, he didn't recount any defeats. This was the first time he failed a dungeon - a freaking level 10 dungeon. And he was killed with a normal broadsword attack. How…unglamorous. DOJ must be trying to mock him for performing too well as Ash Knight. The lousy bots were probably sent as a punishment. If the game had a soul, it was probably enjoying a good show watching him suffer.
Lucas checked his team list - the same bots were still on his team. He could either kick them out and wait for the system to assign him different bots or try the dungeon again with the same bunch.
"Sorry Sakura Meow and the others, it's time to say goodbye," he preferred to try it out with a new team. Perhaps, the bots assigned to him would be smarter now. After a few minutes…
[Mini Shark has joined your team!]
[Fangs has joined your team!]
[Cool Guy has joined your team!]
[Sakura Meow has joined your team!]
"Alright, a new team. Wait, what?" he was annoyed to see Sakura Meow's name again. She was like the classmate nobody wanted in their project group because she sucked. Sakura Meow getting reassigned to him again was a nightmare.
Nonetheless, Lucas decided to try another round with this team. Maybe Mini Shark, Fangs, and Cool Guy would complement the shortcomings of Sakura Meow.
The second round was worse than the first, they didn't even make it to fight Sabre because Sakura Meow was lagging. The other bots weren't exactly the best either. Lucas restarted the dungeon, hoping to get rid of Sakura Meow but even in the third match, she came back to him like super glue. The game had a way of screwing with him.
Entering the dungeon for the third time, Sakura Meow was once again the black sheep. After dying during the third wave of attacks, she revived but was stuck in the starting point of the dungeon and wouldn't move. Lucas experienced all sorts of bugs that one would encounter with bots in a matter of hours.
He quit the dungeon once again and tried for the fourth time. He was getting tired by now and might just call it a day if Sakura Meow was once again assigned to his team. Kicking every bot out of his team, he waited for new ones again…
[Potato Cultivator has joined your team!]
[Snowy Dreams has joined your team!]
[Sl@m Dunk has joined your team!]
[Sakura Meow has joined your team!]
Goodness! Was Sakura Meow the only available bot healer? Lucas buried his face in his hands. He was no match for this Sakura Meow. There was one thing he could try though he needed some luck.
He didn't need an entire team of human players to help him get past this dungeon. He only needed one human player willing to join his team. Somebody, anybody. The rest of them can be bots. A level 10 dungeon is a piece of cake for veteran players. Having just one of them on the team is enough.
Looking at the Public Chat again, he saw many active players chatting away. They were all beyond Level 90. Maybe this time, somebody wouldn't mind helping a pathetic newbie. He removed Sakura Meow from his team.
[Public Chat Channel]
Lucien Cavalier: Hi, looking for help on Sacred Temples Dungeon. I just need one more player. Please join my team!
RoseRoyce: lol, is this the same guy who tried to look for help earlier?
Lolipop23: Give it up, no one's interested to help you.
NoJoke: Get lost, newbie. Don't waste people's time here!
MickeyluvMinnie: I'd help you if you give me a hundred bucks.
Plower: That's suspicious. Nobody plays level 10 here!
Lucas didn't understand these players. It was fine if they weren't interested to help him but why throw rude comments at him? They could have just ignored his message. Any real newbie seeking help in a game would've been disheartened to see such replies. These players are spoiling the game which promoted the spirit of the martial arts world. As martial artists of DOJ, one should be helping the weak instead of adding frost to the snow.
A notification disrupted Lucas' chain of thoughts.
[MilkTeaLover has joined your team!]
The veteran he was waiting for has arrived and it was none other than his beloved healer, MilkTeaLover!