When Luke used Taunt on the first monster, it suddenly swung its claw to attack him. Luke quickly raised his shield to block the attack, but he still took a hit.
-300 HP
Seeing that he lost half of his HP from the first attack, Luke yelled, "Sweetpumpkin, Bluesmoke, use your healing abilities on me fast!"
"I won't be able to take another hit!"
When Sweetpumpkin heard that, she immediately used Great Mend, one of the basic skills of the Cleric class. Clerics are known for their potent, direct healing abilities. They can deliver large bursts of healing when needed, making them effective at quickly restoring another player's health. They also have healing spells that affect multiple targets at once.
Great Mend
Effect: Instantly restores 100 HP to a single ally.
Cast Time: 1 second.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Luke suddenly regained
+100 HP
But he wasn't entirely relieved, knowing that if he took another hit from the monster, he would die. The rest of the squad, seeing this, felt even more despair than when they first saw the monsters coming for them.
Suddenly, a huge lightning bolt struck from the sky, dealing -200 HP to the monster. When the others saw who had attacked, they were surprised—it was Creed who had used the spell. Seeing that Creed was only level 4, they had thought he was dead weight.
Sweetpumpkin said, "Nice one, Creed!" When Creed heard that, he smiled and mumbled, "No problem."
To their surprise, despite being level 4, Creed had done massive damage to the monster. The creature ignored Luke and started heading toward Creed. When Luke saw this, he attacked the monster with his shield.
-20
-20
But the monster ignored him, and since Taunt was on cooldown, Luke couldn't use it again. The rest of the group started to panic.
Just as the monster was about to reach them, they heard a system notification that surprised them even more.
[System Notification]
Congratulations!
Your party has slain a Mire Lurker (Level 10).
Experience Gained: 500 EXP
When they saw the notification, they looked over at Manho and saw that he had already killed the monster and was looting its corpse. The amount of XP they got was low because they hadn't done any damage or healed Manho in his fight against the other monster.
Manho leveled up to level 8 when he killed the monster. He thought, "The Mire Lurker has good defense, but they're so slow I could kill them all if I wanted to."
Sweetpumpkin thought, "Even if he's level 7, he shouldn't have killed the monster this fast!"
Suddenly, Bluesmoke started yelling, "Don't loot the monster—help us first, we're going to die!"
When Manho heard that, he smiled and dashed to the group's location. When he arrived, he slashed the monster, dealing 300 damage. The monster's HP was already at 1360/2000.
When the monster saw Manho dealing this much damage, it tried to attack him, but Manho was so fast that the monster couldn't even see him. Manho was playing with the monster like a toy before he finally killed it.
[System Notification]
Congratulations!
Your party has slain a Mire Lurker (Level 10).
Experience Gained: 700 EXP
The rest of the group received XP equal to the amount of contribution they made. Creed leveled up to level 5 and was close to reaching level 6. Sweetpumpkin was already level 6, Bluesmoke didn't level up but was close to level 6, and Luke was 98% toward level 7.
In New Haven, the system was designed so no one could cheat their way to higher levels. Even if someone tried, their mechanics and power would be limited, making it impossible for the player to pass their tier promotion test.
As for healers and other Crafting Professions, to level up, they only needed to do what their class required—healers needed to heal people in raids and dungeons to gain XP. The game was balanced, giving every class advantages and disadvantages.
Manho suddenly started organizing the loot. When he saw it, he smirked and thought, "Luke is really lucky..."
Aegis of the Mire
Tier: Silver
Type: Shield
Defense: +180
Durability: 250/250
Class Requirement: Shield-warrior
Description: The Aegis of the Mire is a large, oval-shaped shield forged from the hardened shell of a Mire Lurker, reinforced with silver inlays that pulse with a faint, greenish glow. The shield's surface is rough to the touch, reminiscent of the swampy terrain from which its materials were harvested. Despite its heavy appearance, the shield is surprisingly light, allowing for quick maneuverability while providing exceptional protection.
Special Effects:
Swamp's Resilience: Grants the user +15% resistance to poison and nature-based attacks.Reflective Surface: Has a 10% chance to reflect 20% of incoming melee damage back to the attacker.Swampwalker's Guard: Increases movement speed by 5% in swampy or muddy terrain.
The shield was decent for silver equipment, and it was good for this particular dungeon. When Manho shared the loot and the rest saw what they got, everyone was excited, especially Luke, when he saw the shield—because he was the only tank in the group, and the shield would be his.
Manho looked at the rest of the loot. There were no skill books or equipment, only some parts of the monster. When Manho saw the poison-resisting potions, he sighed in relief, thinking, "I had a headache just thinking of how we're going to kill the boss, but we got the potions."
Manho suddenly said, "Brightsmile will get the shield, and we'll split the rest equally."
When they heard that, the rest smiled even more. They had thought Manho would take everything because he was the one who killed the monsters anyway.
x2 Mire Lurker Shell Fragment (basic)
x3Mire Lurker Claw (basic)
x2Bogweed Herb (basic)
x1Rare Swamp Pearl (silver)
x3Poison-Resisting Potion (basic)
x20 silver coins.
Manho said, "I'll take the Rare Swamp Pearl and 10 silver coins. You split the rest among yourselves."
Manho continued, "As for the poison-resisting potions, we'll need them for the boss, so we need to keep them."
When the rest heard that, they nodded and didn't disagree.
Manho inspected the Poison-Resisting Potion.
Poison-Resisting Potion (basic)
Description: This potion is a murky green liquid stored in a small, sturdy glass vial. When consumed, it fortifies the drinker's body against the effects of poison, allowing them to resist and endure toxic substances that would otherwise cause significant harm.
Effect: Increases poison resistance by 50% for 30 minutes. Reduces the duration of poison effects by half and decreases the potency of ongoing poison damage.
Duration: 30 minutes.
Cooldown: Can only be consumed once every 180 minutes.
Flavor Text: "Brewed from the rare Bogweed Herb found only in the most treacherous swamps, this potion is a lifesaver for those who tread through venomous lands."
When Manho saw the effects, he smiled, thinking, "Now the boss won't be a problem, and we even have a strong tank that's good against poison monsters!"
Suddenly, Manho said, "Now, follow me. We'll do the same plan—I'll get the monsters, and you wait behind me."
When the rest heard him, they didn't object. Now that they knew Manho was strong, they had a boost in confidence because they had helped him kill one of the monsters. They started to follow Manho.
He then said, "Follow me closely. There are a lot of traps, so you need to be careful."
The rest nodded and followed him deeper into the foggy forest...