"Rock, paper, scissors!" The duo shouts with a flash of hands. Syringa does a fist pump as Gladiolus squats in defeat with her girlfriend rubbing her back.
"Casters, fire at the furthest away. We're going to wipe them out as one big group!" Syringa orders, twirling her weapon before gripping it in both hands. Gladiolus breaks out her loss once the 19 other monsters are about to reach them. She and the other frontlines use their luring Skills.
Tara and the other Novelists simply stay and watch. Izel and Pakeeja are both recording. Who knew when they'd be able to join a Field Raid like this, let alone have members from both sides work together? Even with the Artisans players among them, between their gear and the party buff, they made quick work of the Stone Dolls. Every player present had been at level 11 and were now 25% away from level 12!
"How many do we have?" A key appears in Pakeeja's hand as the last monster falls. She struts over to the now unguarded chest.
"Every monster dropped one of each, except the final one dropped double the amount. So 22 in total!" Sassy Daisy reports having taken up keeping inventory.
Pakeeja smirks. As leader she can see energy levels and Hidden Stats of her party. It looks like her Fortune and Tara's Luck are applied to their friends and overlapped. Once she collects the chest's item they'd combine all the Tier Drop Shards together.
With the turn of the key, the lid pops open. A dark brown light escapes from the chest into the sky above.
"Well that was anti--" Pakeeja's cut off as a giant stone warrior, faceless and featureless like the Stone Dolls, slams down onto the ground.
"I could have avoided that," Pakeeja chides Tara who sets her down 20 yards away. Tara had used Moonlight Stroll to flicker and scoop up their leader.
"Sorry, instinct." Tara mutters as her eyes narrow at the Boss before them.
[Onyx General | Common | Level 20 | Greater]
<60,000>
The flash of Arts, Crafts, and leveling up catches the attention of a scout. He is Cloaked Dagger, a Dexterity focused Infantry.
An elder member of Scissor Heart from the beginnings of the guild, in previous games he had played the stealth based classes. Renovel was no different.
It is because of his affiliation that he recognizes members of Ruby Blade. The upstart's skirmish with that area's branch had been worthy of the Guild's higher ups' attention, including him.
He arrives just in time to see the Ruby Blade charge with their Novelists hanging back. It seems they got lucky and were somehow able to meet up. His Guild Leader has been trying to contact their other members when Hidden Dagger left to explore.
They make quick work of the monsters but Dagger isn't impressed. The monsters here must be weak for them to clear them out in several minutes.
A short figure with a feathery reptile tail approaches a chest and suddenly a gigantic monster appears. Hidden Dagger is just outside of the range so he couldn't see any of the Mobs or this Boss's stats. Only those engaged could see that information.
A Pugilist and the shortie appear at the base of the tree he's hiding in. He isn't worried as he has a Stealth Skill and had recently acquired the Camouflage trait.
He shivers then, causing his gaze to lock with the Pugilist. He can't be caught but her eyes shine like mirrors...
Whoever has been spying on them retreats when Tara uses Inspect. Once in range, Wolyung sensed their presence. Tara declines Oorun's offer of a hunt but is glad they are present.
The monster roars, giving a sweep of its weapon. Those closest, the Vanguards and Forefends, get sent flying backwards from the air pressure alone. Tara steps forward but Pakeeja throws their arm out.
"What number are you thinking of Syringa?" They ask, eyes focusing on the side screen. All the toon style icons of those caught up in the attack had taken 300 damage.
"Hmm. Maybe 50 percent?" Syringa replies, placing a hand on her cheek and cracking her neck.
"Ha! You need 50 percent? We only need 25!" Gladiolus snickers, placing herself in the center of the monster's sight. Cyan colored Essence begins to swirl at her feet.
"This isn't a competition." Syringa snaps as black energy explodes from her body. She jumps forward and slashes down downwards with a Vanguard's Cleave! The Onyx General's health pool barely budges as it's hit for 200 damage! Syringa clicks her tongue. Her physical damage is ignored entirely.
As Tara watches her friends fight in earnest this time, they're at least mid tier Blood Flowing by her World's standards. If they went all out they'd likely be just shy of Bone Crystallization high tier. This was the combined might of compatible weaponry, their Soul Realms guiding their energy flow, and the Twin Sphere energy boosting their Skills.
In truth, in the now 40 minutes they'd been fighting, only one team was half way through the Mobs. Iron Wall bellows with laughter as he beheads a [Silhouette].
"This truly is a good sword." He comments. He hadn't found a nice blade like this since his second virtuality game. Weapons that bind to and grow with their wielder were the rarest of the rare, even for an Ultra Guild.
He assumes the little Workshop had gotten unbelievably lucky and gave away their best card for a chance at business. In the time since he has received his gift, some benefits have shown so far. Only his and Cloud Piercer's moves seem to be dealing any significant damage in the face of the shadow creatures' defenses.
"Oh, that's interesting." Cloud Piercer comments as she dodges an attack and twirls to its back. Iron Wall grabs a monster by its head with one hand, keeping it arm's length as he checks the link she passed on.
"Ah, so those brats from Lapis Tome found each other. Looks like the group bonus is significant. They don't even have their Novelists helping! And I think they have Sassy Daisy among them."
Though inter Guild communication is blocked, the forums could still be accessed for information. One of Cloud Piercer's spies, Hidden Dagger, shares the link to her directly. It is a short video showing the young Workshop actually finishing the last of their Mobs.
"Wait til the end," Cloud Piecer says as a needle passes through a monster's abdomen without her looking.
"Ah! They're little Star's friends! I wonder what training she's gotten to notice Dagger?" He's all smiles now. No wonder Lapis Tome is so generous with their trade terms.
"It seems like once we open the chest, we'll have to fight a Boss. Should we see if we can rally everyone?" Cloud Piercer asks.
"No, we'll find a way to use everyone present. It can't be impossible." He replies, crushing the monster's head. "And as if you or I have gotten serious. Whatever we face won't be enough to stop us, it'll merely take some time and coordination."
He scoffs at the notion. They were just toying with the Mobs recently. Some things they learned or acquired in previous games stayed with them.
Nearly an hour passes as Tara's friends battle the Onyx General. Though they only know a few among them, Water and Wind infused Skills dealt the most damage. Between Syringa commanding their melee players while Gladiolus directs their casters and Bow users, there is an ease to the flow of battle. Even when the monster goes Berserk, increasing it's stats by 15 percent, they hardly feel a sense of crisis. With only physical attacks, there isn't much of a threat.
As the Onyx General gives a final roar of defiance before its Health bottoms out, Syringa dashes forward with a Cleave and Gladiolus with a Bash! Whoever got the final strike on a Boss would receive double Experience. Before either move could connect, however, a streak of red flame turned the monster into tri-colored sparkles.
Skidding to a stop before they collide, the two whip around to find a cheering Flame Ribbon twirling in Tara's arms. When it came to casting speed of Skills, not even Dexterity focused Infantries could move faster than a talented magic user like her. The items dropped are 40 complete Tier Drops and Mysterious Crystals along with a piece of paper.
[Onyx General Defeated!]
Pakeeja pauses the moment she collects the map as a notification rings out. Luckily, no location is given with the announcement as it sends the other Guilds into a frenzy. Both Blueriver and Humility's Blade teams are only halfway through their Mobs, to say nothing of the second and first-rate guilds having a harsher time.
Moreover, the lack of information made the struggling Guilds more curious. They flock to the forums with speculation and monetary rewards for information.
Izel reads over the ones that caught her eye, surprised at how different the results were between her group and others. Sure they have numbers and good Equipment but the differences are too big!
"You have that look in your eye again, Fawn," Pakeeja states over their shoulder as they display the map for everyone.
"I just want to run a few tests, Swallow! No one will get hurt, honest!" As Izel looks at the map, several familiar names to her in their region.
The island they are on is divided into seven sections and color coded according to each element. The details of the map also explain that the platforms for each treasure chest and subsequent Boss are for teleportation. They can send anyone on it to another section's unoccupied platform.
When Pakeeja puts ten of the Tier Drops together, they form a Tier Crystal. Everyone's eyes sparkle when they read the description:
[Tier Crystal: Use during a Class Advance Quest to raise completion rate!]
In Adventure Mode, regardless if one was an independent player or Guild player, Explorer or Artisan, everyone is a member of the Explorer's League. The League Halls are places where one can easily receive Quests and interact with numerous NPC.
The player tier system is the same as Equipment but differs from monsters, such as Porcelain for Common, Obsidian for Elite, and Iron for Thane. Currently players are marked Porcelain, or first tier, but the stronger ones are closer to Obsidian. Everyone is similarly bestowed with a special Quest called the Class Advance Quest. As they had not been unlocked due to low levels, the multi-continental quest had gone ignored as the various powers stabilized their footholds instead.
With level 20, the minimum needed to take the quest, arriving in the not so distant future, the Orange Ocean company reveals some new information during the update. The Advancement Quest would allow players to further specialize their abilities. The Quest, Orange Ocean states, is not easy. Success however makes acquiring Obsidian Skills, facing stronger Dungeons, and higher level of Quests with better rewards available.