Nyx had started stalking Lazarus actively ingame. It was a way to practice her assassin skills. Since she had been a fan of his and had studied his footage diligently, she had a rough idea of the usual spots where he would sometimes appear. One was on the plains outside his City. He would often go there to play with Pixel.
Other locations he could be found were at the Assassin's Path and the other Lord's Cities, specifically Valentine and Isis. If she couldn't find him there, she would check out the dungeons, since it was common knowledge that he was collecting Orbs and levelling up.
She had seen him enter dungeons with only his wolf on several occasions and exiting some time later, battered, bruised, bleeding and triumphant. When unsatisfied with himself, he would run the same dungeon several times until he achieved his desired results. He fared better when he went in with Valentine. Until now, she had only observed the legendary Thief from afar. He was obviously a good and trusted friend of Lazarus.
Lazarus was aware of her activities. His had been continuously upgrading his Perception, Speed and Skill, along with other things as he levelled up. Sometimes he avoided her, sometimes he let her trail him for a while before either disappearing from sight or throwing her a glance to let her know she had been busted. It became a game in itself between the two assassins.
She had once confessed to him in the rare occasion when they had spoken, that she was observing him to improve herself. He used and combined the assassin's skill in unique ways. 'Normal' assassins tended to depend on subterfuge, throwing blades, darts and poisons. He depended on his Speed, trademark ebony bow and hunting knife. Lazarus was crazy. What kind of assassin wanted close combat when they could kill safely from afar?
That was why he was probably so successful, she reasoned. Although he preferred long ranged battles, he could handle close combat if the situation warranted it. He probably practised with those monsters in the dungeons. She was trying to learn from him and balance out her skills.
He had looked at her thoughtfully and nodded to himself. She would do, he thought to himself. If he ever had to release Anya, he would pass the wolf along to her, if Anya consented of course. Nyx was an assassin like him and Anya had taken a liking to her. His wolf should be happy when he was not able to come on anymore.
He caught her eye and half-smiled. Before she could say another word, he had gone off again, this time to a lower level dungeon. As usual, she had followed him and was surprised when he invited her to dungeon with him. He had turned back to look at her before entering.
"Coming?"
"Really?"
He gave her an amused half-smile, "Yeah really. Let's see what you've got."
That was the first time they went dungeoning together. That was when her 'training' unofficially started. After that, he would take her to different dungeons and terrains. He put her in impossible situations, crazy odds and taught her tricks to overcome them, but cautioned her that these were for Orc Wars only. The cheats and small tricks may not hold for other MMORPG games. He had studied the system well, unless Simtrixx changed it up, he had no real problems with the standard dungeon and monsters. They were programmed NPCs. The main variable was the other Heroes. No one could categorise them, everyone had their own playing style, quirks and strengths.
He encouraged her to Research her Hero's various skills. He reminded her to continue upgrading her city, resources and gathering them when needed.
Lazarus taught her, practiced with her and dungeoned with her.
Nyx improved and levelled up steadily.
He smiled in satisfaction. She would make a good successor. He would leave everything to her when the time came.
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They had entered the level 60 dungeon, coming out twenty minutes later. She had come out paralyzed, at 27 per cent health and needing his help to save her. He had breezed through it, damn him, helping her out whilst taking care of most of the monsters. The screeching filthy harpy Boss had almost killed her, scratching her with poisoned talons and caging her in it's claws. It was humiliating to be carried off like a piece of meat.
Lazarus had sprung into action whirling around from several minions at Nyx's scream to face the Harpy Boss. His hands blurred as he loosed arrow after arrow into the shrieking monster. The Boss flapped her huge wings in defiance, buffeting the assassin, knocking him off his feet. His last few arrows fell harmlessly onto the ground.
The monstrous woman-bird released Nyx, letting the assassin fall in the air, the harpy's injured body unable to hold onto the girl and fight at the same time. Lazarus ran to the falling Hero, catching her in his arms as she plummeted to the ground.
Meanwhile the harpy attacked Lazarus, swooping down at him, crackling gleefully, "You're dead!!"
Lazarus held Nyx tightly and hunched, turning his body protectively to shield her from the impending attack. He braced himself for impact. It never came.
Anya had charged when the Boss had come within range. The white wolf leaped at the disgusting harpy at the last few seconds, clamping her powerful jaws onto the Boss's extended legs, throwing the filthy hybrid off balance.
"Why you meddling mutt!!"
Anya just growled in response, her mouth full of tough stringy meat and feathers.
The harpy screeched in pain and went down in a heap. The wolf continued to harass the grounded Boss.
Quickly, Lazarus lay the unconscious Nyx down and drew his hunting knife. He leapt into the fray. Together, the ghost lord and his familiar made short work of the Boss. It died still screaming obscenities at the duo. It's raucous voice fading with its disintegrating body.
All was calm for a moment before an ominous rumbling begun.
"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good."
"I think the Boss's death triggered an earthquake."
"Yeah."
Quickly, he collected the Items the Harpy Boss had dropped then turned to Nyx, shaking her gently.
"Hey, wake up. We have to get out of here."
Her eyes fluttered open, aware but she could not move or speak. She panicked. The harpy's poisoned claws had paralyzed her.
Nyx, Health 27 per cent.
He frowned, assessing the situation. Not good.
"Stay still. Your Health will regenerate and you will be okay in a few minutes. You will be able to move then."
There was no time. Making a decision, Lazarus steeled himself and picked her up bodily heading towards the exit. Anya followed closely. They had to run the last few steps as the rumbling increased and their surroundings started to crumble. They made it out into the safe zone, hurling themselves out the designated dungeon area onto stable ground.
"Killing the Boss was a trap," he heard Anya's disgusted voice in his head. "Next time we won't kill her, we'll just mess her up a bit."
Lazarus smiled wryly, "Next time?"
"I know you will go in again with her. She hasn't conquered this dungeon yet. She needs more practice," came the wolf's reply.
"True." He was about to set Nyx down when he became aware of a group approaching them. Anya tensed and started growling menacingly in her throat.
"It's been a long time, my Lord Lazarus."
Lazarus turned around, still carrying the paralyzed Nyx to look into Althea's angry face.
Althea, Healer Level 21
"It seems you have recovered from your affliction," she said sarcastically, her eyes flicking to the beautiful assassin in his arms.