The party stood before the towering structure of the Tower of Unity, its grandeur taking their breaths away. The air was filled with a sense of anticipation and excitement, as they prepared themselves mentally for the journey ahead.
Archmage Sylphrena led the way, wearing her skintight red dress which she referred to as her battle suit. Her long hair was tied up in a messy bun, and her ruby red eyes sparkled with determination. High Mage Zephyrus walked closely beside her, his gaze fixed ahead as he focused on the task at hand.
As Pond looked around at his companions, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. Each member of the party was a legendary figure in their own right, with their own unique set of skills and talents. "You look amazing in that dress, my lady," he complimented Sylphrena, causing her cheeks to flush red in response.
Archmages Drakon and Celeste walked behind the leaders, deep in conversation about the history of the tower. Professor Luovizt was examining the architecture of the tower, occasionally muttering to himself as he made notes in his notebook. Xiao Ming played a cheerful tune on his lute, adding a sense of lightness to the otherwise serious atmosphere.
Anastasia was busy practicing her spells, a determined expression on her face as she focused on perfecting her craft. Palm was checking his equipment, making sure everything was in order and ready for battle. As they approached the entrance to the tower, Sylphrena turned to the party and said, "Are you ready? The journey ahead will be dangerous, but I have faith that we can overcome any obstacle if we work together."
"We're ready," Pond replied, his voice filled with confidence. "Let's do this."
-------
Suddenly, Sylphrena realized that they were one member short. "Wait a minute, we only have nine members. Who's missing?" she asked, checking her squad list.
Pond replied, "Pim was never counted as a party member. She's my human beast buddy, like Gusty is to Aelara. That means we have one more spot available."
Just then, Kate emerged from the shadows. "Maybe I could be some help," she said confidently. "As you know, I'm also a top-ranked player. Adding me to the party could be a good thing, isn't it?"
Sylphrena looked skeptical. "Who is this talking boobs? Is she your girlfriend, Pond?" she asked with annoyance, eyeing Kate's ample chest.
"No, she's just my friend Kate, the leader of the Black Phoenix guild," Pond replied.
Anastasia spoke up, "Do you think we can trust her?"
Pond hesitated for a moment before Zephyrus spoke up. "I guarantee she's fine to join our party," he said with a knowing smile.
As Kate saw Zephyrus, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe that the man from her dream was standing right in front of her. She was shocked and stunned, and for a moment, she couldn't speak. She blushed as she took in his appearance - the silver long hair, the white pale skin, and the ruby red eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. He was tall and lean, with a razor-sharp jawline that made him look even more attractive.
Zephyrus was wearing a sexy skintight red leather outfit that hugged his muscular body perfectly. He had twin long katana swords attached to his back, making him look like a true warrior. Kate couldn't help but admire his outfit and the way it emphasized his physique.
As they stood there in silence, Kate started to brush off her clothes, trying to clear her mind from the thoughts of what happened in her dream. She couldn't believe that she was feeling this way, especially since she had never met Zephyrus before.
Finally, she mustered up the courage to speak. "Did we...meet before?" she asked, trying to sound casual. Zephyrus looked at her, his ruby red eyes sparkling with amusement. "Yes, we did. Do you want me to tell you where we met?" he said with a grin. Kate blushed, feeling embarrassed that she couldn't remember. "No, no, it's okay. I remember now. It was just like yesterday," she said, trying to cover up her mistake.
The rest of the party looked at them, confused by the sudden exchange. "Do you two know each other?" Sylphrena asked, raising an eyebrow. "Er...yeah, something like that," Zephyrus replied with a smirk, and Kate just nodded, feeling grateful that the attention was no longer on her.
Sylphrena said with a smirk. "More than 100 years, and I never knew you liked this type of girl, Zephyrus,"
"If Zephyrus guarantees that we can trust her, then we will respect his decision," Anastasia said, trying to diffuse the tension.
-------
As they made their way into the Tower of Unity, the atmosphere was tense and serious. The party knew that they were embarking on a dangerous mission and were focused on the task ahead. The air was thick with the smell of blood, and the sound of monsters growling and snarling echoed throughout the tower.
As they climbed the first 100 floors, High Mage Zephyrus's skill with his Katana was unmatched. He could one-shot kill any mob or boss with just one swift strike. The party was impressed with his skills, and they made quick work of the lower levels.
On the 100-200 floors, Archmage Sylphrena used her powerful blood magic to drain the blood from the monsters, leaving a sea of red behind. High Mage Zephyrus then used his twin Katana skill, "The Million Blades," to shred the mobs and bosses into pieces. It was a gruesome sight, but the party knew that they had to press on.
As they continued to climb, Palm and Xiao Ming lightened the mood with their jokes.
Palm joked, "Thank god that Sylphrena and Zephyrus were our allies and not our enemies. Now I know why they wear those red costumes. It'll make laundry a lot easier." Everyone chuckled at his joke, even Sylphrena who was often serious and didn't usually joke around.
Xiao Ming chimed in with his own joke, "It's like we're an AFK cheating party, just letting those legendary NPCs do all the work for us!" This time, even Archmage Drakon, who was usually stoic, cracked a small smile. Their jokes brought a smile to everyone's faces and helped to ease the tension.
As they approached the 300th floor, Professor Luovizt informed the party that they were getting close to the top. Archmage Sylphrena told everyone to step back as she prepared to use her Instant Death skill. She had warned the party beforehand that the skill was powerful and could kill everything in its path. The party watched in amazement and horror as every living thing on each floor was wiped out in just one second, except for them.
As they reached the final floors, Archmage Sylphrena became exhausted and could hardly breathe. Pond used his Grooming skill to calm her down, and it worked like a charm. Sylphrena's mana was fully recharged, and her tiredness disappeared. The warmth of Pond's skill reminded her of her father, and she couldn't help but feel grateful to have him on her team.
The party pressed on, and they finally reached the top of the tower. They were met with a bright light that enveloped them, and they felt a surge of energy coursing through their bodies. They had done it. They had reached the top of the Tower of Unity.
---------
As they reached the summit, they saw a dark portal surrounded by the ominous aura. Sylphrena stepped forward and opened the portal with her powerful magic. The party took a deep breath and stepped through the portal, ready to face whatever awaited them on the other side.
As they stepped through the portal, they were greeted by strange sounds coming from all directions. "Welcome the Supreme One we have been waiting for so long," the voices said. The party members looked at each other in confusion, wondering what the strange greeting could mean.
Pond noticed that Pim was missing, and he started to feel worried. "Where is Pim?" he asked the rest of the group. They all looked around, but they couldn't find her anywhere.
Suddenly, they saw Pim sitting on a golden throne with golden angel wings spreading behind her back. She was in a trance, and no matter how much they tried to wake her up, she wouldn't respond.
As the party saw Pim in her trance, they were filled with concern and confusion. Pond and the others tried to call her consciousness back, but she remained unresponsive. They were all worried and wondered what could have caused this.
Inside Pim's mind, she was forced to relive the pictures of Pond with other girls over and over again. She saw herself laughing and teasing with Pond in the game and at her bakery, but then she saw Kate with her greedy eyes that looked at Pond, and Sylphrena with her admiring eyes that made Pim feel like an outsider. The pictures kept repeating in her mind, causing her to feel insecure and alone.
The party could see the golden angel wings spreading behind Pim's back, and they knew that something was wrong. They tried to communicate with her, but she wouldn't respond. They were all worried and didn't know what to do.
As they looked around, they saw that they were surrounded by a strange aura. They couldn't explain what it was or where it came from, but it made them all feel uneasy. They knew that they had to act fast to help Pim and get out of there.
Pond was the most worried of all. He couldn't bear to see Pim in this state and was desperate to find a way to wake her up. He kept trying to call her name and shake her, but nothing seemed to work.
------
While Pim was in her trance, the rest of the party had to face her powerful attacks. Sylphrena quickly gave orders to the others to use their skills to defend themselves.
As Pim's attack hit the party, everyone scrambled to defend themselves. Sylphrena quickly took charge and gave orders to the others to use their skills to defend themselves. With Archmage Drakon's Sacred Healing skill and Archmage Celeste's Holy Shield, they were able to withstand the attack, but the damage was still severe.
"We need to get out of here," Sylphrena said urgently. "We can't survive another attack like that."
Pond and the others looked around, panicked, trying to figure out what to do. That's when Sylphrena called out to the Mages Councils to use their sacred seal. "Using the sacred seal now!" she ordered.
As the Mages Councils heard her order, they quickly activated their own sacred seal. A red aura covered the whole party and they were suddenly warped back to the Mages Councils.
The party breathed a collective sigh of relief as they found themselves back in the safe confines of the Mages Councils. But as they looked around at each other, they knew that something was wrong. Pim was still in her trance, and no matter what they did, they couldn't wake her up.
"What the hell is going on?" Palm exclaimed, frustration clear in his voice. "This shouldn't be happening."
Sylphrena looked at the group with concern. "We need to figure out what's going on with Pim," she said. "There must be something we can do to help her."
Pond quickly logged off the game and rushed to Pim's side. As Pond rushed to Pim's side in her bedroom, he was met with a somber atmosphere. The room was quiet, except for the sound of his own sobs. The lights were dimmed, and the only source of light was a small lamp on the bedside table. He knelt by her bed and tried shaking her again, but there was still no response.
Pond's heart felt heavy as he realized how much he cared about Pim. She had always been by his side, both in the game and in real life. He remembered all the fun times they had together, the laughter and the joy they shared. He didn't want to lose her.
He kept calling her name, but there was still no response. He was at a loss of what to do. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Pim, his dear friend and companion. He felt like he had to do something, anything to help her.
As he cried uncontrollably, Pond decided to call Palm for help. Palm was the only one he could think of who might know what to do. As he waited for Palm to answer the call, he kept looking at Pim's peaceful face, hoping that she would wake up.
--------
The atmosphere in Pim's bakery bedroom was heavy with sadness and worry as Pond and Palm waited anxiously for a response from Beyond Corporation. Pond was still beside Pim's bed, holding her hand and refusing to leave her side, while Palm was sitting in a nearby chair, furiously typing away on his computer, trying to find any information that might help them understand what was happening to Pim.
Suddenly, Palm received a message from Beyond Corporation. "We've detected a malfunction in the AI quantum computer AJ-34," the message read. "It seems that there was an error in the programming that caused Pim's consciousness to become trapped within the game. We're working on a solution, but it may take some time."
Pond was relieved to hear that they had found the source of the problem, but he was still worried about Pim. "How long will it take to fix her?" he asked Palm, desperation clear in his voice.
Palm sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. "I don't know, Pond," he replied. "They didn't give us a timeline. But we'll keep pushing until we find a solution. I promise."
Pond nodded, still holding Pim's hand tightly. "Thank you, Palm. I don't know what I would do without you."
Palm smiled weakly. "You don't have to thank me, Pond. We're all in this together. We'll find a way to bring Pim back, I promise you that."