Moving through the corridor, the duo pushed into the next area of the harsh environment, entering a long, vast room occupied by red-and-orange plantlife. It was a garden of some kind, looked over by colorful stained glass above and ominous chandeliers.
"Do ya remember where the boss' chamber is? I can't remember a damn thing about the layout of this place," Vangrave asked, tapping the shaft of his halberd against his shoulder.
"It doesn't work like that," Zero replied without looking at the man, walking around the stone-tiled garden before kneeling down, inspecting the soil-littered ground.
"Huh?" Vangrave exhaled with a raised eyebrow.
"You seriously don't know? The Millenium Zone is as difficult as it is for one unique difference it has compared to other raids: the boss chamber is in a different location in each instance," Zero explained, "It wears people down as they have to explore each and every corner of it–even if you have a healer with you, those ailments stack up over time, while your MP doesn't."
"Argh, it becomes even more a pain in the ass by the minute," Vangrave muttered as he ruffled his own hair, "Well, then nothing else to do besides–"
BANG
–Before the spiky-haired warrior could fully complete his sentence, the loud, jarring sound of a volatile projectile cut his words short. In a quick reflex, Zero stepped in front of his companion, raising his hand with an instantaneous invocation:
["Unholy Hide of The Abyss"]
An astral shield forged of spiraling shadows manifested in front of his extended gauntlet, blocking the fast-moving projectile before it could collide with Vangrave.
"--Wha?" Vangrave finally reacted, completely caught off-guard.
"Looks like we're not alone," Zero remarked quietly, glancing around as his eyes summoned their cerulean glow, "It's a gunner."
Using his enhanced vision, the dark-haired player looked around for the hostile player.
Vangrave clicked his tongue, flipping his ivory weapon around as he stood back-to-back with Zero, "Just my damn luck, isn't it? Never met a gunner that wasn't an annoying prick!"
Even when using the vision-altering skill, Zero found himself unable to get a read on where the enemy player was. It didn't help that the tall, overgrown plants of the garden gently swayed, making it harder to see through.
With eyes that could see through nearby objects, there was no doubt that if the player was visible, he would be able to see them.
'They're good. Figures if they're here in this raid. They're using a skill to conceal themselves–they took into account the possibility of an ability like mine. Not bad,' Zero thought.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
As another volley of magically-empowered bullets flashed through the dim, crimson courtyard, Zero raised his barrier once again to defend against the attack.
"Annoying! Argh…I can't get a read on any of where this fucker is attacking from!" Vangrave said, almost growling as he spun around.
The bullets, intertwined with verdant electricity, zapped across the vast chamber from different angles each time. Zero continued blocking the incoming attacks, though felt even his shadow-forged barrier being pressed.
[DURABILITY: 20/100]
'It's wearing down quickly, even at my current level. That must mean whoever this person is, they're specced as an anti-magic gunner: without a doubt a player focused on player-versus-player combat,' Zero deduced.
["Sonic Listening"]
Sound met his ears in a more meticulous fashion, with the vibrations that collided with every surface were honed in on, giving him complete spatial hearing as he momentarily closed his eyes.
Relying on his sense of hearing as every minuscule noise traced itself back to his ears, feeling the subtle vibrations brush against his skin, he finally honed in on it: across the vast, stone-tiled garden of crimson flowers, the hidden presence was found.
'Found you,' Zero thought.
Behind the set of marble pillars that held the ceiling of vibrant glass up, the source of the bullet's noise stood.
"I'm handling this guy," Zero claimed.
Vangrave gritted his teeth, still rattled by the surprise attack, "Huh?! I wanna rip that guy a new one, though!"
Glancing back, the black-haired man spoke calmly, "It's likely he's not here alone. With how this guy is fighting, I'd say splitting us up is what they want–still, doesn't mean a damn thing, does it?"
"Nope! We'll win anyway!" Vangrave came around to the idea with a heated-up smile.
For Zero, he knew that he worked better alone, even if it was something he'd have to get used to doing otherwise if he hoped to assemble an army of his own.
For the moment, however, he called upon his obsidian sword as he began to slowly walk forward through the crimson foliage.
'PvP in Abyss Online is considered the most complex of any game. One of the main attractions of Abyss is the freedom players have to create their own play style with thousands of skills to allocate points into. That's what makes challenging other players dangerous—there is no same player,' Zero thought.
After delving into the heart of the inside garden, surrounded by tall, twisted growths of scarlet nature, the player shrouded in pitch-black armor stood alone in what was now silence. His eyes darted side-to-side, but his body remained unmoving; sounds muffled expertly were picked up by his enhanced senses–even the tiniest rustling within the looming plants.
There was a certain feeling that bubbled up in Zero: his blood boiled within his body, running hot with excitement as his heart thumped. At times like this, the virtual world he existed in was no less than that of reality–perhaps it felt even more real.
Above all else, this is what he loved: encounters alone, exposed at every angle.
'Come on,' Zero excitedly thought.
After standing perfectly still for a minute, something finally came–a small, fast click met his ears, allowing him to instantaneously move his body in reaction as the next sound made itself known:
BANG
Coming from the left, a projectile coiled in emerald electricity pierced through the wall of plants. The air sizzled in the path of the fast-moving object as it primed itself for the player's temple. As it came mere inches from making contact, the young man side-stepped it with a combination of inhuman reflexes and agility.
'Found you,' Zero thought.
In a single movement, he evaded the incoming bullet while dashing towards the direction it came from, enhancing his speed as his legs momentarily became infused with a cyan glow:
["Stride of Hermes"]
There was no argument that the physical abilities wielded within Abyss Online were nothing short of impossible in reality, yet even moving at speeds that broke the sound barrier with a single step, the dedicated player was able to react to his own agility.
This was the result of the technological advances in virtual reality gaming: it was able to fundamentally alter one's own mental capacities within the unlimited potential of the digital landscape.
Zero crossed the garden within a second as the wind broke behind him, sliding his boots across the ground to brake as he pivoted left, turning as he found the one who had been shooting at him.
Standing there with their back to the pillar was a masculine figure, dressed head-to-toe in black-and-red fabric with their face covered, wielding a bulky, long-barreled weapon.
The exact moment his eyes laid on the hostile player, Zero activated his deciphering skill:
["Sleuth"]
[???] [Level: ???] [Class: Gunner] [Affiliation: N/A]
Very little information popped up for him as he used the skill, being shot at immediately as he flipped back to avoid the graze of the lightning-infused bullets.
'He's hiding his name and level. Must be using "Facade" to hide his player information–it looks like he's taking his stealthiness to the next level. By that get-up, too, he's hiding it, but it's crystal clear: he's part of the Black Moon Assassins,' Zero deduced.