The Knot That Binds

Five: First Steps

Four health bars should be nothing for this many players, but not a single bar has been depleted yet. Thanks to the rambunctious nature of the beast, it's hard to get close without risking death. The AFA tried their stationary shield formation, but the deer the size of a giraffe was not content with letting them settle down in one spot for too long. Constantly performing charges, the army had to treat it like a bull, avoiding the stampede instead of standing their ground. Our job, to deal with the adds, wasn't too difficult. Several standard-sized deer spawned and would try and rush to the boss's side, we had to stop that. Because of their inherent drive to reach the boss, the adds were sort of defenseless, opting to not fight back. Only now and then would a deer choose to defend itself. I found myself dealing with one, doing the tango as my feet worked to stay nimble and ready to avoid an antler attack. Agility wasn't my specialty, but getting stabbed by a deer was one of the worst parts about fighting through the labyrinth so I wasn't gonna bank on my Vitality stat. With a huff, it drops its head but waits. Just like the beta, the deer adds wouldn't charge until they scraped a hoof along the ground first. Armed with such knowledge, timing the attack was easy and I performed an unassisted stab into its heart as the beast stormed right past me. A scream makes my blood freeze, looking over I see a deer that rammed its main antler into Montes's buckler, but a branching dagger drove right into his arm. Quickly, I perform Spiral Nail and dismember the monster with ease.

"Drink a health potion, quickly!"

Montes nods and begins to do so, I stand guard just in case. Looking over at the main battle, my throat constricts when I see an AFA soldier get tossed into the air. When his body crashes into the hard earth, he disappears into polygons. There it is, the first death in the boss battle. Everything within me wants so desperately for it to be the last, but I know that we would never be so lucky as to lose only one player.

"Vertical Strike!"

Gambit cries, cutting two deer down at once. Exhausted from chaining too many sword skills together, he stops momentarily to catch his breath. That one second, unfortunately, was all a deer needed to begin a charge at his flank.

"Gambit! Stop resting, dumbass!"

He whips around and can only watch as the deer pierces his chest. There was no scream, only gasps of disbelief as the monster lifted him straight off his feet.

"Piercing Drive!"

My sword glows yellow and it whips forward, accelerating me toward the deer and landing the tip in its side. My Dexterity kicks in and gives me a critical hit, saving the scarlet swordsman thanks to a lucky shot. The moment he falls back on his feet, I shove a health potion in his face and demand that he drink. Beyond the difficulty, what makes a boss fight so hard is the location. You can't physically leave the room once you fully cross the threshold of the main doors. Of course, you can use a teleport crystal, but they cost so much that it's a major setback just using one. That's not to say the hefty price tag is worth more than a life, it just makes it a bit harder to make that call.

"Hey!-"

Korova shouts through gritted teeth. My stomach drops when I see him holding his spear sideways, using it as a bar to hold two deer at bay. At once, my feet take off on their own and I dispatch the two deer with another sword skill. Korova thanks me, but then his smile of relief falters. Behind, the boss's first health bar finally depletes. That comes at the cost of four more AFA shieldbearers being sent into the air. More unnecessary deaths. Doesn't Troy see that his formation isn't working? Bunkering down doesn't help against a boss, they deal too much damage to tank the hit. Right on cue, an AFA shieldman slowly stands from his braced position. Then, either out of intelligence or cowardice, he sprints in the opposite direction.