From a distance, Alisha and the others could see the sealed door of the floor boss. The woman didn't know if a group of adventurers was already challenging it.
She asked the other to wait while she checked forward, specifically to the system panel on the boss room door.
Alisha saw that the floor boss had not been challenged by anyone that day. Still waiting for a team to register for a floor boss challenge.
Aaron squinted; Alisha took quite a while to look at the system panel. He approached her out of curiosity to find out what made Alisha remain silent for a long time.
"Where are you going?" asked Isabella.
"I'll be there for a minute."
"Let me come with you," said Liel, taking the first initiative to prove she would not give up on winning Aaron's heart.
The young man didn't mind. Together with Liel, they made their way over to Alisha, who still stared at the system panel on the floor boss as if something was haunting her mind.
Aaron's arrival was brought to Alisha's attention. The woman glanced to the side while breaking her deep reverie. The young man came with Liel, who immediately responded with a smile from Alisha.
"What's the matter, Alisha?" asked Aaron.
"Aaron? It's nothing. I'm just wondering whether we can beat this floor boss."
"You know the risks of taking on this challenge, right?" asked Alisha.
Aaron cleared his throat, staring ahead precisely at the system panel before the floor boss's door, "Yeah. Once you take the challenge, you have only two choices: you defeat the boss, or it defeats you."
"Is that maybe what makes many adventurers refuse to challenge a floor boss before they are completely confident they can defeat it?" asked Liel. Alisha cleared her throat in reply.
"That's right. It's been three months since anyone dared to go up the floor. They also didn't have any precise information about the floor boss's characteristics," said Alisha.
"Is that what makes you doubt?" asked Aaron.
Alisha was heard taking several deep breaths, then exhaling gently. Although she had a strong and confident young man like Aaron, but it was undeniable that the unknown abilities of the floor boss made everyone so cautious.
Ignorance was pending death. That was what Alisha thought, and she was reluctant for it to happen.
"Can we defeat it?" asked Alisha, sounding a little worried.
"Don't worry. I'm pretty familiar with the floor boss room. There's nothing we need to worry about."
"Aaron's right, Alisha. We can defeat the floor boss if we work together," replied Liel, supporting Aaron's opinion.
The captain of Aaron's group was seen examining the young man's face and attitude. Alisha could see a look of high confidence in him, which was completely different from other adventurers who were about to challenge the floor boss.
"Since you're so confident, there's nothing for me to worry about, right?"
"Yeah."
After preparing themselves, Isabella, Alpha, Alex, and the others stepped toward Alisha. Their MPs and HP were fully filled.
Now, they were all just waiting for Alisha to decide whether to challenge the floor boss or not.
Alisha reached forward, pressing her palm on a box-shaped panel as a prelude to team registration.
[Boss Floor Challenge]
[Registration successful]
[Team Name: Dimension Justice]
[Team Leader: Alisha]
[Number of Team Members: 8]
[Challenge: Red Centaur]
[WARNING!]
[The team taking the challenge cannot retreat]
[The team can leave only once the boss is dead]
[Take the challenge?]
[Yes] [No]
"Are you ready?" asked Alisha. They looked serious as they cleared their throat and nodded.
"We have prepared ourselves before the raid."
"Good."
Alisha pressed the Yes menu, a confirmation panel appeared before Alisha and the others, explaining the details of the monsters they would fight in the floor boss room.
[Dimension Justice team confirmed]
[Monster Details]
[Monster: Red Centaur]
[Level: 42]
[HP: 54000/54000]
[MP: 56000/56000]
[Element: Fire]
Blue lights flashed inside the boss room. A monster, half human and half horse, was there, and it seemed to be waiting for the adventurers to challenge it.
It was pretty big, more than the size of an elephant. What caught Alisha and the rest of her team's attention was the fiery red color of its fur, along with a red aura similar to flames.
No wonder for Aaron and the others since its element was Fire. All team members had to be alert this time because the fire element floor boss was sometimes troublesome.
From the Red Centaur's hand, Aaron saw a huge axe appear, followed by a flash of red light. Alisha gave the order to immediately disperse and form a circular formation surrounding the monster.
Unfortunately for them, Liel had to bear the brunt of her symptoms relapsing.
Liel fell to her knees while clutching her tight and painful chest. Aaron sharpened his eyes, he had to go near Liel immediately to recover her condition.
"Clara! Cover me, please. I must recover Liel's symptoms," Aaron pleaded firmly.
Clara cleared her throat. She followed Aaron from where he was to near Liel, not far away. Alisha and the others were seen launching their attacks towards the red centaur. The monster had five HP bars, which adjusted its HP count.
"Aaron! Be careful," said Isabella.
Isabella landed a red rose petal sword attack forward, dealing significant damage.
[Damage +8940]
Aaron arrived near Liel, who still groaned in pain. Clara created a protective shield from her talent, while Aaron focused on directing his dark elemental energy into Liel's body.
"Sorry for troubling you, Aaron."
"Be quiet. I'll be here taking care of you," Aaron stated, wanting to focus on recovering Liel's symptoms.
Slowly, the purple veins running through Liel's body began to fade. The labored breathing also disappeared. The pain in her chest was gone, and Liel no longer felt as much pain as before.
After all the attacks were over, they could only make the Red Centaur lose one HP bar.
Alisha spoke loudly, telling her members to form a strong defense wall as the Red Centaur was about to unleash its first attack.
The monster stomped its horse's hooves on the floor. The first stomp sent a wave of powerful energy throughout the place, causing half of Alisha's members to be knocked back and fail to maintain their magic shields.
The second stomp was done. This time, the Red Centaur monster gave rise to a gigantic wave of fire that spread everywhere.
"Jack! Rasputin! Cover us!"
[Servant:]
[Servant Activated]
[1. Jack the Ripper]
[2. Gregori Rasputin]
[MP -24000]
Two servant figures appeared before Aaron, stretching their hands forward to bring up a magic defense wall.
Clara pulled the few members who fell to take cover behind the magic defense of Aaron's two servants. They were injured from the first impact of the Red Centaur's stomp.
A wave of fire crashed through the magic shield; it was strong and scorching. Alisha and Isabella managed to withstand the attack, but Alex failed to shield himself.
"AAKKKH!" cried Alex, suffering from the pain of being burned in a high-temperature fire.
"ALEX!" shouted Alpha.
Alpha tried to stretch out his arms to the side to protect Alex. But, it was in vain for Alpha due to the great intensity of the fire wave attack.
Alisha widened her eyes. She bit her lower lip until it bled, feeling deeply guilty for failing to protect one of her members.
Elsewhere, Aaron heard Alex's screams of pain. He stood up and saw Alex being burned alive. Aaron's eyes watched as Alex's HP bar drastically reduced until it completely disappeared.
"Shit!"
'Did Isabella survive?' Aaron asked, looking for Isabella's whereabouts.
The wave of fire had finished, and the room floor turned black from the burning effects. Alisha and the others began to dispel their defensive magic.
[Nerf!]
[STR -50%]
Alpha rushed over to Alex, who was fatally wounded. His skin blistered and peeling off, smoke billowing all over Alex's body.
"Alex! Hang in there, buddy. Hurry up and drink this HP Potion!" said Alpha.
The man shook his head; it was difficult for him to survive in his current condition.
Alisha stepped closer and was shocked to see Alex's condition. Her eyes looked shiny and filled with unshed tears.
"Captain Alisha?"
"This ... is really painful."
"YOU MUST DRINK THIS HP POTION, ALEX!" shouted Alpha, reluctant for his best friend to die.
In the end, Alex's life was beyond help. He exhaled and died with his eyes still open.
Alpha was the one who was devastated by Alex's death; the two had been friends since they were on the second floor. The man continued to clench his hands tightly until they bled.
Alpha's eyes were fixed to the side, gazing intimidatingly at Aaron and Liel. The moment before Liel's symptoms relapsed, Aaron was right near Alex.
"You're putting that sick woman's life ahead of Alex's. He's more useful than she is!" the Alpha scolded, rising to his feet as he pointed angrily at Aaron.
"I feel sorry for his death. And yet, you were also near him."
"When his magic was destroyed, you just stood there doing nothing like a coward!" snapped Aaron, equally annoyed.
"What did you say, goddamn it?!"
Aaron and Alpha stepped into the middle of the room, about to beat each other up to vent their frustration.
Alisha and Isabella walked towards them, Alisha holding Alpha back while Isabella to Aaron.
"I have told you bringing that woman would be disastrous for us, Alisha."
"If she hadn't relapsed, maybe Alex wouldn't have to die!" annoyed Alpha.
Liel looked down sluggishly, then cried for the first time in front of many people. A sense of guilt filled her head and heart.
Alpha was right! If her illness hadn't relapsed, maybe Alex could have been saved.
"Stop it, both of you! We can't fight; it's not something Alex wants!" Alisha insisted.
"Be calm, Aaron. You can't be provoked by his words," Isabella whispered, calming Aaron's upset heart.
Aaron tried to take a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, "The decision to invite Liel is mine. You have no right to decide!"
"Then hurry up and get this over with. Did you just rely on the power of your two servants? Show us your dark elemental talent!"
'He's really too much. Is he gonna force Aaron to use all his talents?' Isabella complained.
Aaron turned aside, looking at the Red Centaur monster with four HP bars left. With great determination and resentment, he stepped past Isabella to stand exactly before the Centaur monster.
"You people are so pathetic!"
"Let me show you the power of my talent."