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It was here, during his fourth pull from the headless knight's castle proper, that Meliadol died. With a rampaging horde of undead knights and hellhounds on his heels, he had gotten turned around and trapped in some random pocket of the maze-like hallways and rooms.
But since the horde that had killed him had not caught wind of the rest of the party, they reset back to their original positions after his death. Bast and crew were able to navigate through the castle and find his body.
One resurrection spell of Auri's later, Meliadol was back on his feet. Of course, there was no spell to cure acute embarrassment, the teasing comments of Darlia and B.D were ruthless, but Meliadol was determined to correct his mistakes.
The rest of the dungeon went without a problem. They sent the headless knight to his second death and a window popped up in everyone's vision:
Congratulations for clearing the Challenge of the Headless Knight Halloween Event!
Time: 32:19:23
Reward: 32 Golden Bone chips
"Tch! What a low amount of chips!" Darlia scoffed, though her tone didn't quite match up with her words, "We'd have more if someone didn't die." It was obvious to Meliadol, who had gotten to know her better, that she was just joking with him, but it still made his ears burn.
He could not refute her claim.
The chips came in three variations: white, silver, and gold. Normal enemies dropped the white, mini-bosses and the headless knight dropped silver, and the clear time would grant the much sought-after golden. Faster time equaled more golden chips, of course. The chips were a form of currency that could be spent at various event vendors for limited time prizes.
It was because of his death that the clear time took so long. The three had to clear many needless packs of guards and monsters to reach his body. That and the temporary stat fatigue that onsite resurrection inflicted lowered his damage. So when he started helping them clear the inner sanctum, his already meager damage was lowered severely.
Another window popped up. It was a long list, a leaderboard, featuring the top ten thousand clear times and players. Their party was not on it. Meliadol felt the judgement in the thoughts of his party. It was all his fault after all.
"Eh, you win some, you lose some!" Bast said with a smile, surprising Meliadol, "Ya'll wanna go back outside the dungeon to reset it? We still have two more runs for today before our event dungeon passes are used up. No sense wasting our daily chances, ya know?"
Both Meliadol and Darlia nodded in agreement, but it was surprisingly Auri that piped up to the contrary.
"That's it for me!" Auri stretched, as if tired. "I got work early in the morning, so I'm only good for one run! You'll be okay to keep going?"
"Oh, okay. Goodnight, Auri." Bast gave the woman a smile, "Don't worry about the group. We'll pick up someone from the guild."
"Glad to hear it! Goodluck, Mely! No more dying, haha!" With a thumbs up and a wink, Auri logged off.
The moment she disappeared, Darlia let out a large sigh of relief, "Thank God, I thought she'd never leave!"
"Yeah, she usually gets off earlier than this." Bast shrugged.
Meliadol looked back and forth between the two, "Wait, you wanted her to go?"
"Well, duh." Darlia rolled her eyes, "There's no way we can attempt a record with her here."
"Don't get us wrong," Bast hastily clarified, "She's a valuable member of the guild, and a good friend to boot, but simply put, bringing a healer along is a terrible way to attempt a record nowadays."
He didn't get how that could be true. "But…she's the healer…?"
"We don't need a healer. Do you remember those articles I sent you? In particular, the one I asked you to read on our way over here?"
Meliadol nodded. Bast's articles and guides he had sent were expansive, but the one he had specifically pointed out was one of the smaller guides pertaining to the art of potion use.
In Nevergarden, there were a myriad of potions with different effects. Some would heal you gradually for a large amount, others would provide an immediate boost to health, and still others would remove debuffs or provide buffs. Sometimes a combination of the three or even more complicated effects. The one universal truth to these potions is that they shared a cooldown, but the length of the cooldown varied from potion used.
Sometimes it was best to use a small health regen potion the moment you lost health, to help prevent spikes in damage and to get the potion on "cooldown" as fast as possible. Other times it was best to save the potion cooldown for a big heal, or to remove an important debuff. This interaction between times and priorities was integral to personal success in Nevergarden, and Bast had been insistent that Meliadol read and apply these things.
Oddly enough, despite that, Bast had messaged Meliadol right before the instance, telling him not to use any potions during their runs just yet. At the time, he had thought the berserker's words odd. Why tell him to do the things in the article, but then add a caveat to not start immediately?
But now he had a suspicion as to why.
"So this is why you told me to save my potions I bought!" Meliadol started plainly, "You knew our healer would leave!"
"Well, duh," Darlia interjected.
They were going to attempt this dungeon without a healer? Meliadol's mind flickered to the numerous close calls he had during their last completion. A bead of sweat ran down his back. He didn't think potions would be enough, yet Bast and Darlia continued as if it was just a walk in the park. What other choice did he have but to go along with it?
Finally the three of them had gathered outside the portal to the event dungeon. Countless players of all races and classes milled about it; some advertised for their groups, looking for members willing to take on the holiday event. Others were just waiting for their group to show up.
"Yo! I was dying of boredom out here!" A familiar voice said from the crowd.
Player Bow Down has joined the party!
Sure enough, the health and mana bars of B.D appeared in the party statuses and the cocky gunslinger gave a small wave to the three. Had all of this been prepared in advance? Meliadol wasn't sure, but a glance at both Darlia and Bast made it obvious that neither was surprised at B.D's appearance. It wasn't like he had been chilling outside and they invited him out of convenience. It was plain to see that this was the original intent for the party.
"Put the kid to sleep?" Bast asked as the gunslinger approached.
"Yeah, he's sleeping like, well, a baby. We'll see how long that lasts! I swear the little shit always waits until I'm right in the middle of something…" B.D grumbled.
"Auri logged off a moment ago. Had to go to bed herself."
"At least the pervert is consistent." B.D said, slapping his hands together and rubbing, as if to warm them, "She never pulls late nights."
"Hey now, don't call Auri such things. She has the heart of a real healer. Always willing to show a new player the basics. Very nurturing." Bast admonished the gunslinger lightly.
B.D waved the explanation away as they started to walk back to the entrance to the event, "Bah, don't let her nice girl mask fool you. You've not had to listen to her when she starts talking about her taste in men. I wouldn't be surprised if this whole help a newbie thing out is some sort of fetish of hers! Get 'em while they're young!" Darlia and Bast laughed gently, but B.D continued, "Anyway, showing this newbie such old ways of grouping is a shame. Imagine if he thought that the boring dps, tank, healer triangle was the only way to do things! Ugh! The travesty!"
"One must learn the rules before you can break them." Darlia reminded the gunslinger.
"I guess," B.D shrugged, "Still, are you excited?"
It took Meliadol a moment to realize this question was directed at him. He had been content just listening to the banter between the three, feeling out of place within such a tight knit group of players. But now he had the focus of everyone. Putting him on the spot was annoying. Meliadol suspected B.D did such things on purpose.
"I'm actually terrified." he admitted reluctantly, "I almost died a bunch with a healer…"
"Psh, almost died?" Darlia quipped.
"Alright, I did die. Once. Was my fault though. I took a wrong turn and got lost with a bunch on me."
"Oh? This is your first time in a group, right?" B.D suddenly seemed serious.
"Uh, yeah?"
"And they have you as the puller?!" The gunslinger exclaimed, whirling on Bast and Darlia. B.D pointed an accusatory finger, "Are you guys trying to set this guy up for failure? Like seriously? He's barely level five, which he most likely got just now during his last run, and you're going to have him do such an important, job? He doesn't have the map, class, or even game knowledge to do this! The guy hasn't even chosen his first class job yet! We'd be better served by a low-level summoner pet!"
Darlia just glared at B.D, not backing down, "Calm down there, killer." She said, chin slightly upturned, "We wouldn't have put him in the role if he couldn't do it. He's kinda like you. The type of blockhead who needs to bash his head against the wall until it breaks."
The gunslinger looked skeptical. "Until what breaks? The wall or the head?"
"Yes."
The two glared at each other, tension rising.
"Ahem," Meliadol didn't like so many just talking over him, especially when it was about him. As one, the three of them turned, "You know I can make my own decisions, right? I'm nervous, I won't lie, but I don't mind doing it. The challenge is kinda fun. Can't learn without a bit of failure, am I right?"
Compared to the days he had spent trying to beat those skeletons at the Boneyard in Styxx, this was nothing. Of course, if he died during the run and they didn't have someone with resurrection, he'd be unable to get back in until either his party finished the dungeon, or they abandoned it.
Still, it was a risk he was willing to take.
Bast shot Meliadol a grateful smile before turning back to B.D, "Well, you heard the man. He doesn't mind, Darlia doesn't mind, and I don't mind. Seems like you've been outvoted, friend."
B.D continued to grumble, something about "a waste of my time", and "gonna die first pull in", among other things, but he stayed in group and followed them right into the portal that led to the event. The swirling vertical pool welcomed them. In seconds, they stood before the looming castle bathed in darkness once more, with nothing but the moon as their witness.
The party silently made their way up the trail, ignoring the split-off that led to the catacombs. It'd be a repeat of his first run, except this time there was no safety net. Meliadol had read the article Bast had sent him. He knew the basic premise, the theory of it, but it was tentative at best. Yet now as he was approaching the moment to put it all to test, he was starting to get nervous, despite his earlier words.
Could he do it?
In the pits of his stomach, silently to himself…he doubted.
All too soon, they had maneuvered themselves along the outer wall, to the place that held the minor break that would allow them passage. B.D put a hand on Meliadol's shoulder, stopping him, "Wait, are you sure you wanna do this? I usually pull. I can do it instead, if you want."
Meliadol looked at the gunslinger, then to the sheer stone wall before him. He was fortunate to be able to do a dungeon at this level. According to online sources, the first available true dungeon was at level twenty normally. But this one was special, which is why he could do it. Event dungeons scaled dynamically to the highest level of the participants. This was to allow everyone to participate regardless of level, since they could just level sync to the lowest member of the group. "Play with your friends!" was the gist of it.
In world dungeons they had level ranges that were set as static. He couldn't do them until he was level appropriate.
It'd be dumb for him to pass this experience up. After an event was over, the event dungeon would disappear until next time. Which is why Bast had brought him here. The berserker wanted him to sample the dynamic possibilities with Nevergarden. Though it was only a fraction of what was available, since he had no job or class himself beyond the base one of Adventurer.
He still wanted to gaze through that window.
Meliadol glanced back to B.D who was looking at him expectantly. The slight puff of their breathing could be seen in the midnight air, and the mist rolled along the ground, swirling with every movement of their feet. This world, this game…is quite realistic. Meliadol idly thought before shaking his head to clear it, "Thanks for the offer, but I can do this. Or at least I have to try."
B.D's lips thinned, but the gunslinger didn't object. Meliadol gave Bast a nod before breaking into a run. The berserker crouched, his back against the wall, hands clasped and forearms held out before him. Meliadol jumped, and with a mighty heave, Bast served as springboard, launching him into the air.
For a brief moment, Meliadol flew, twisting over the wall to land on the other side.
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