31 October 2023
Amneslia Weald, 39th Floor
As the front liners of Horizon's Edge ran towards me, I couldn't help but feel a wave of relief flushing away the stress piled up on my shoulders.
Nicolas was leading the charge, his sword and shield at the ready, as he and the other tank players rushed past me in a storm of heavy footsteps, beelining the boss with adredaline.
It has finally turned into a full-blown boss raid. A development in which I had seen the least chance in happening, due to the safe zone battle with the Knights of the Blood Oath.
I noticed guildmates from Land Company following suit behind the frontliners, nodding or waving at me as they ran past. As speechless as I was in this curretn change of events, I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about Land Company.
Maybe I should have managed Land Company more than I had in the past, instead of Drifting with other parties whenever I had the chance.......
"Zen!" Misuko's voice sprung me out of my thoughts.
I turned around to Misuko, standing in between me and Fangras, who had done the same.
Noticing the leader of the Lycan Mark right in front of her, she pulled her arm over to her back, about to brandish out her green axe, shooting a short glare at him as she did. It seemed that she still had grudges about being threatened by Fangras personally that day, in front of her whole guild.
My hand rested on Misuko's shoulder, as she paused, probably knowing what I would say about her actions. I myself had been up close and personal with the sharp edge of Fangras' scimitar as well, but after exchanging words with such a guy, retaliating to threaten back at him wasn't the way to go.
"We'll settle this after the boss gets defeated." I said. "Won't be long now, since it doesn't have much HP. Letting all the 3 Companies to take it on seems to be overkill."
Misuko, who had her grip on the handle of her axe, slowly loosened, albeit her sharp eyes locked on at Fangras, all without sounding out a single word. I might have thought that Fangras would also bring out his scimitar in some unreasonable attitude, but he stood there, frozen, as if in a daze of sorts.
His conversation with me had definitely changed him in some way, no matter how impactful that change might have been.
"Well, we're all in this together, aren't we? It's a guild affair, after all." Misuko turned to me as she tried to give me her usual smile. "Are you still planning to join the boss raid, Zen?"
"I'm the one who activated the quest." I replied, turning to the boss in the distance. "It's my responsibility to complete it."
Turning back to Fangras, who was also watching the boss raid unfold before him, I called at him, brandishing out my spear as I did so.
"Now you can definitely meet Hallow again. Whether you want to join in the raid is entirely up to you. Or you can just stick around until it's done, I don't mind either way."
I started to head for the site of the boss raid, before turning back to add more.
"Oh, and um, the Twin Fangs are still out there fighting the boss. Can you thank them on my behalf?"
And with that, I rushed into the site of the boss raid once more.
The boss, Terror Joker, wasn't in its best shape, being outnumbered by its raiders. But its AOE attacks, which were the sweeping action of the its limbs, still posed a threat to us.
Nevertheless, it was still relying on its last remaining HP bar to survive. The tank players from Horizon's Edge were doing a pretty good job at absorbing the boss's attacks. No player's HP was in the red zone yet, but everyone was struggling to find a good opening to strike.
The only real source of damage inflicted on the boss was the Twin Fangs constantly chipping off the boss while still being able to dodge the boss's limbs, with the help of my fellow guildmates from Land Company, some of whom were close enough to land a weapon skill on the boss whenever they had the chance.
Still, it was way too slow. It can never be certain when the boss would change attack patterns, or conjure up a new form of itself at this point in time, especially when it is cornered by so many attackers.
"Z!" A voice came from behind me.
The next moment saw me feel something at my left hip, before I even tried to turn around. The sensation of a blade driving itself into my hip was hard not to recognize, but my HP gauge, which I never knew was dangerously in the yellow zone after my first encounter with the boss until now, was regenerating instead of decreasing into the red zone.
I turned to the blade, with a mix of confusion and shock. It was a dagger, enveloped in a green-coloured aura while having half of its blade into my body, as if it had phased through it, not a single red pixel leaking out from where it had stabbed me into.
The player from where the voice had come from stood in front of me, smiling as she put her hands behind her back.
"The Jade Blade, from the Rainbow Gift Skill......how did you like it?" Irokei asked.
It was yet another buff.......a HP regen buff. The second of the series of buffs that the Rainbow Gift skill can bestow onto the user's weapon. That was the extent of what I knew about the Rainbow Gift at that point in time, though.
Before this whole guild conflict had started off, I had told Irokei about my speculation on the Rainbow Gift skill; that it was a skill which could give buffs to players through the blade of the user's weapon. The fight with Hallow in the 40th floor Labyrinth had confirmed that theory.
It was still a skill in its infancy state, being low-levelled and having many skill mods that were not unlocked yet, but Irokei was determined to unlock them all, since she was the only player that owned the skill.
I never knew how much she had levelled up the skill by then, but seeing another buff that Irokei could use from it posed a good idea of that extent.
"Next time, just don't use it as a surprise, can?" I replied as I pulled her dagger out, leaving no sign of a stab wound the moment the blade left my body.
I simply smiled, though, as I placed the dagger onto her hand. It was my way of thanks in such a situation of urgency.
Starting to rush at the boss again, I gripped tightly onto my spear. Irokei followed suit this time, her dagger held at the ready.
"Heal anyone who's down!" I shouted. "But, stay alive yourself!"
Although I never saw Irokei's reaction to my command, I was sure that she heard it loud and clear.
As I got in range of the boss's limbs, I shouted once more at the scene that laid before me.
"Land Company! Let's end this!"
The guildmates around turned at me, their weapons raised up as they headed for the boss, their battle cries ringing throughout the vicinity. The boss's limbs suddenly raised high up as well, as all of them went straight at me.
I had expected this to happen. As the player who accepted the quest, I myself was meant to fight the Terror Joker, so it was natural that the boss would shift its aggro onto me when I came into its line of vision.
I held my spear up, with its blade in front, standing still. I had hoped that my guildmates would see the chance to get close to the boss, and finish it in time.
As those limbs were about to be slammed down onto me, I saw a slash at the limbs. A scimitar ran through the limbs, glowing in the light effect as it trailed away from it in a crescent shape. I watched, as if in slow motion, as the wielder sprung in the air as he did, across my vision.
Fangras never spoke a word as he activated his scimitar skill, slicing through the limbs as if they were noodles. He looked at me, as indifferent as he was a minute ago. As he landed, he finally spoke, sheathing his scimitar back into its sheathe.
"For Hallow."
It was all I needed to hear from a player who was both an enemy and an ally to me.
As the boss fell back with its cut limbs, I charged on, the blade of my spear glowing always it did, such like my guildmates as we went at it from all directions. Our cries rang through each other, as weapon skills bombarded the Terror Joker one by one, the players executing their Switches as fast as they could for the next one to rush in.
I went along with the momentum of the last Switch, following up with a simple <<Sonic Charge>>. Letting go of my left hand to stretch my spear out with my right, I held on tight, as my Binarium Edge dragged me under the influence of the skill assist system, its blade shining like a comet with its tail.
PHSKKK...!
All I heard soon after was the all-to-familiar shattering sound, blasting into my ears, as the boss exploded into sparkling fragments that glittered in the dark forest.
"Well fought.....Visitor."
I turned around, staring down at Igore, the short NPC who was standing in front of me, as if he had appeared out of mid-air. His sinister tone slightly annoyed me, but what annoyed me most was the fact that he was addressing only me in the vicinity.
"Tell that....to everyone else here." I told Igore, who simply smiled. I had to give credit to my guildmates around me, who had fought the latter half of the boss fight, even though an ignorant NPC like Igore would never comprehend those words.
"You are to receive your reward, the opportunity to communicate with the dead. Please state the name of the deceased in which you would like to meet." Igore continued.
So the rumoured quest reward of this Halloween quest.......was true after all.
"...Hallow." I answered.
"A truly fitting name for a day of this occasion!" Igore chuckled as he put his arms up briefly, as if he wanted to celebrate on the spot. "Very well....please look at the grave behind you."
Everyone shifted their attention to the giant tombstone, which started to glow clearly throughout the dimness of the forest. A slightly translucent humanoid figure rose in front of the stone structure. His eyes were closed, as he stood with all of his equipment on him.
Including his wide-bladed two-handed sword, effortlessly strapped onto his back without any question of his seemingly weaker body build.
As he finally opened his eyes, the figure looked straight at me for a while. I looked back, never really prepared on what to say to someone who was already dead.
Hallow of the Lycan Mark spoke first, as his glowing body shimmered throughout the Amneslia Weald.
"Hey.........Rival."
============================================================