The sun hadn't fully risen, but the camp was already alive with anticipation. The survivors, weary from the previous battles and the weight of the task ahead, had come together to send off the group of brave souls who were about to venture into the depths of the forest to face the Guardian.
Julius stood in the back of it all, looking around frantically, his heart pounding in his chest. The weight of the situation was becoming all too real. It was almsot time for them to set out, to take down the guardian that had already killed 10.
Yara stood next to him, her face pale but resolute. She didn't speak, but Julius could feel the same anxiety radiating from her, the fear she tried to keep hidden beneath a mask of determination. She had volunteered just as he had, and now, together, they would face the challenge that many in the camp had ran from.
Of course they didn't want to fight this Guardian, it had killed 10 people with ease and it was level 13. But someone had to do the dirty work.
The team was gathered in a circle, with Dain in the center, giving final instructions. There were twenty of them—Dain, Kael, Julius, Yara, and several others from different groups who had volunteered. The mood was somber but charged with the adrenaline of the upcoming battle.
"Alright, listen up," Dain's voice cut through the noise, steady and commanding. "We're not here to make a show of this. We're here to kill that Guardian and get the hell out of this forest. Stick to the plan, follow the formation, and don't do anything stupid.
"We fight together, we survive together. Got it? I don't want to see any flashy attacks, stick to efficiency. Stay in the formation we decided beforehand, warriors and tanks at the front. Mages at the back, rogues around the edges. Enchanters behind the mages and healers at the centre of it all."
The group nodded as one, their faces grim but determined. They had taken in a lot of information, they had to make sure none of it was wasted.
The quest tab flashed by his side, Julius closed it swiftly. No more distractions.
{Quest: Defeat the Forest Guardian}
{Reward: The Barrier will dissapear, It may drop loot. It will drop EXP and potentially a unique skill.}
As the group of 20 made their way out of the camp, the survivors left behind wished for their sucess and cheered them on. It wasn't the kind of cheer that was filled with joy, but a cheer born of guilt, hope, and the recognition that these twenty people were their only chance at escaping this place. Some of them called out words of encouragement, others simply watched with bated breath, hoping for a victory that seemed so unachievable.
Julius felt a twinge of guilt. He wasn't sure if he was ready for this. If they failed, he wouldn't just be condemning himself—he'd be condemning everyone back at camp to death. He glanced over at Yara, who caught his eye and offered him a small, almost imperceptible nod. That was enough.
He was a rogue, he wasn't sure how useful he could be. It seemed his greatest strength was leaving battles and being untraceable. He knew that if this group failed in their task, everything would be over.
They followed the lead of the man who had been the only survivor from the previous group—one of the unlucky ten who had gone out only to see his comrades slaughtered. His wounds had been cleaned, and the fear in his eyes was unmistakable. He wouldn't be in the fight so they didn't count him as one of the 20.
He had volunteered for the task of leading them to the place where his team had fallen, but Julius could see the way his hands trembled as he gripped his weapon. It was clear he was only here out of nessecity, Dain wanted to see where the Forest Guardian had wiped out his squad.
As they trekked deeper into the forest, the trees grew taller, more twisted. The atmosphere grew more thin, a sense of dread hung over them like a reaper.
They didn't speak much, each member of the team lost in their thoughts, preparing themselves for what lay ahead. The only sounds were the crunching of leaves underfoot and the occasional howl of wind through the trees.
The air was thick with the acrid scent of the forest as the group approached the clearing where the Forest Guardian had last been seen. Every step felt heavier than the last, the weight of dread sinking deeper into their bones. They had no illusions now. They were walking into the jaws of death.
The group, led by Dain, moved quietly but quickly, trying to keep the element of surprise. The trees around them seemed unnaturally still, their branches swaying in an eerie silence, almost as if the forest itself was holding its breath. Julius tightened his grip on his dagger, his appearance a blur thanks to the [Shadow Veil increasing his stealth] Yara's fingers twitched with the need to conjure flames, but she held back, knowing that she had to save her mana.
"So it's here?" Dain asked Toran, the leader of the dead groups.
"Yes, just through here is where it slaughtered our parties." Toran said, he then began to walk back. "I won't be of much use, after all I'm only level 3, I wish you all luck."
"We will need it." Dain stated. He then led the group of 20 into the place where the Guardian was most likely to be.
At the edge of the clearing, the atmosphere shifted, the light from the sky was filtered out by the heavy silhouettes of branches above.
The trees parted, revealing the monstrous form of the Guardian standing imposingly on the other side, its massive body covered in dark feathers that shimmered like obsidian. The air grew heavy, the ground trembling beneath their feet as the creature raised its grotesque head—its hundred faces staring at them, some twisted in anguish, others frozen in a grimace of hate.
If Julius had to summarise it's appearance in one line it was...
'A huge bird but it's head is a lump of flesh made up of a hundred clumped human faces, all screaming in agony.'
The human faces that were clumped into it's head screamed out in agony and Julius felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Without warning, the Guardian's mini faces screeched, a horrible, blood-curdling cacophony that seemed to ruin the very air they breathed.
The ground began to rumble, the party readied themselves for the battle.
Dain barked out orders, his voice steady despite the fear creeping into his heart. "Form up! Ranged, stay back! Close formation! Injured sprint to the healers, healers stick with the enchanters. Tanks on the frontline, everyone else on the edges." The group scattered, but Julius didn't have time to get into position. The Forest Guardian moved faster than he anticipated, the ground shaking with each step as it lunged toward them with terrifying speed. It was a blur, the hundreds of human faces that made up it's head all molded together becoming a horrifying swirl of moving flesh.
A beserker was the first to react, charging forward with his heavy axe raised, his face enraged with determination. But before he could land a blow, the Guardian lashed out with its enormous wings, sending the large warrior tumbling across the ground. A trail of dust rose in his wake.
A lone warrior charged, taken away be the adrenaline of the moment. The Guardian's talons, as large as spears, struck him down in a single motion. The sound of bones cracking was sickening as his body was lifted into the air, and then dropped like a ragdoll lifelessly.
The others froze, horror spreading through the ranks. Dain's eyes hardened. He couldn't afford to hesitate. They had to finish this.
"Attack!" he roared. "DO NOT FALTER, VICTORY IS ONLY POSSIBLE THROUGH ORDER."
Julius, didn't hesitate. He dashed forward, ducking under the Guardian's sweeping wings. He was small and fast, his body agile enough to avoid the worst of the attacks. With a swift motion, he drew his dagger and slashed at the Guardian's exposed underbelly, trying to land a hit. It was a glancing blow, not enough to penetrate its hide, but it didn't matter. At least it was something.
The Guardian screeched in pain, and Julius stumbled back, his eyes wide. He could feel the weight of its presence, an oppressive force that made even the air feel heavy. The scream of a hundred souls was so loud that it caused blood to seep from his ears, his mind felt like it had been sundered apart. Julius ran back in agony, towards the healers.
The Guardian quickly took to the air, away from all the melees on the ground.
"Focus on its wings!" Dain shouted, noticing that the creature was retreating into the sky. "Take out its ability to fly!"
A few of the archers drew their bows and aimed at the creature's wings, loosing arrows with precision. The arrows struck, but the Guardian's wings were too tough. The arrows barely made a mark before they were knocked away by its supernatural winds. The faces on its neck twisted in anger, and it shrieked again, sending another gust of wind toward the group. It then followed the gust of wind, diving into the group with a war cry that acted as a global debuff.
[Your sanity is lowered by 50%, Forest Guardian's War-Cry was used.]
Everyone felt their minds begin to break, everything was going dark.
"CLEANSE." A healer shouted, freeing many of the group from their moment of insanity.
[You have been cleansed, your sanity has returned to normal levels.]
Dain was the first to meet with the diving Guardian, charging in with his sword raised high. He met the Guardian head-on, his blade clashing against the creature's hide, but it did nothing. The beast retaliated with a swipe of its talon, forcing Dain to take a heavy blow and collapse.
"It keeps resisting my fire" Yara shouted, her voice filled with urgency. Every fireball she sent was batted away by it's wings, they seemed to have anti-magic properties.
Once again, she quickly cast a fireball, throwing it directly at the Guardian's chest, but the creature only flinched slightly before the flames were absorbed by its dark feathers, as if they were being swallowed by the very essence of the forest itself.
"We're wasting time!" one of the mages shouted, looking desperately around. "We need to hit it where it counts—its heart! Aim for it's flesh under it's chest, that should be it's weakest part."
It was then that the Guardian made its move. It flapped its wings once more, sending a gust so powerful that it knocked most of the group off their feet. Julius felt his legs give out beneath him as the wind slammed him to the ground. He barely managed to scramble to his feet, the ground shifting beneath him. Many of the group were slammed back by the powerful force, into the trees behind them.
The cracking of bones came out like a chorus. Many screamed in agony.
"My back-. I broke my back."
The healers went to work, casting as many spells as they could until their mana ran dry.
It was then that the creature lunged again, its talons extended toward Dain, aiming directly for his heart. But this time, the attack wasn't fast enough.
Dain, with a warrior's instinct, managed to sidestep, slashing at the Guardian's talon in the process. The creature screamed in rage, its monstrous faces contorting even further, their mouths opening wide as if to swallow him whole.
"Warlord's Execution!" He struck it with his greatsword, cleaving a large part of it's many faces off. They fell to the floor and become silent and motionless.
Julius, using the opportunity, darted forward again, aiming for the creature's throat, but the moment he was close enough, he saw a flash of movement from the corner of his eye.
"Yara!" he shouted, just in time for her to cast another spell.
Yara had been focusing on preparing another fireball, and at that moment, she let loose the most powerful one yet, a massive fireball that collided with the Guardian's neck. The flames engulfed its body, and for a brief moment, it screeched in agony.
But the Guardian, with its terrifying endurance, recovered quickly, its wings flapping harder than ever before to shake off the flames. The ground beneath them trembled as it turned its fury toward Yara. Before anyone could react, the Guardian lashed out, its talons slicing through the air toward her.
Julius moved on instinct, sprinting toward her, but he was too far away. Yara dodged to the side, but not fast enough. The Guardian's talon grazed her side, throwing her to the ground.
"Crap." Julius muttered his heart pounding as he watched her struggle to get back on her feet, the blood pouring from the wound.
A group of knights and warriors, the frontline, met with the Guardian. There they formed a wall and slashed at it, causing it to be wounded in many areas. It howled in pain, once again causing their ears to bleed.
The Guardian then turned to desperation , its remaining faces contorting and screaming as it prepared to finish them all off. It flapped its wings again, creating a tornado of winds so powerful that it sent the rest of the group into dissaray as they found themselves being flung around in random directions.
Julius's heart raced as he realized that they were on the verge of losing everything. The Guardian was too powerful, too relentless.
But then, a thought flickered in his mind. He had to end this. He had to take it down. With his dagger, if he found a weak spot on the Guardian he might be able to do lethal damage. He had been pretty useless so far, only landing one blow, now was his chance.
As Dain once again battled the Guardian with the help of the reassembled frontline, he ran around the Guardian and prepared to strike.
With a roar, Julius dashed toward the Guardian's exposed neck, using all the speed and power he had left. His dagger found a weak point between two of the faces, and with one final, desperate stab, he drove the blade deep into the heart of the creature. His arm struck so deep into the Guardian that it took a few moments to pull it out, and when he had, his entire arm was covered in crimson blood, strange fluids and intestines.
The Guardian shrieked once more, a final, haunting cry that echoed through the forest. Its wings flapped one last time, but its body collapsed to the ground with a deafening crash. The faces contorted, twisting as the life drained from it. For a moment, the world stood still and then the group rejoiced in victory.
Only one had died, the healers had done an almost perfect job of keeping everyone alive.
Julius stumbled backward, his chest heaving as he collapsed to the ground, staring at the fallen creature. Blood poured from its neck, staining the earth around them.
Then, the system's notification echoed in their minds.
{You have slain the Forest Guardian.}
{Quest Completed.}
{Rewards will be granted in 1 hour...}
Julius's heart still raced, and the weight of the moment settled in. The others gathered around him, their faces a mixture of exhaustion, relief, and disbelief.
{You have obtained a rare drop}
{Landing the last hit on a boss grants 50% Extra Personal drop rate}
{You obtained The Soul Blade, a Legendary sword.}
But as the last of the group stepped forward, Dain looked at Julius. His face was hard, his expression unreadable.
"That was a good kill. But that drop... We need to talk about it."
"Really, now? I got the last hit, it might still be kicking if it wasn't for me." Julius squared up with Dain, holding the Soul Blade in his hand. A pitch black blade, that everyone's eyes laid on.
Kael stepped up.
"Julius, is this going to be a problem?"