Three days have passed since we came out of the dungeon.

In that time I started hammering out bronze swords like a madman. Specializing on a specific type of item makes it a lot easier to gain experience. Thankfully, this game does not penalize the player for grinding the same type of item out day by day. In fact, it gets even easier.

I now have 150 generic bronze short swords, which at 20 experience a piece gave me 3,000 xp. I also made a few custom designs, which at first failed every time, but now has a 80% success rate. From that I gained another 600 experience, and now I am 70% to reaching the next level.

This rate of growth is almost cheating; however, I did do nothing but blacksmithing from dawn until dusk for three days. Actually, I didn’t mean to do this everyday, but I lost myself in almost a trace while watching my blacksmithing experience increasing.

The guys from Subestimar keep popping in and disturbing my work to ask when I will be selling the next batch, but other than that, I have been alone. Gem is off doing her own thing. She mentioned to me with strong determination that she didn’t want to be left behind. After that, I only ever saw her at night in our room.

Strangely enough, she doesn’t bother moving to another room or kicking me out. I felt guilty about this, but when I mentioned it to her, she got upset.

Women are complicated.

Player: Ilyena has sent you a message.

Speaking of which..

“Where are you right now?” A curt voice rings out.

Umm... You could at least add a little more information in your message, you know. Even a simple greeting would work.

I open up the window to send her a message. “Hello to you too. I’m at the Prancing Mare, why?”

Player: Ilyena has sent you a message.

“Stay there.”

Thirty minutes later.

Ilyena arrives dressed in full battle gear covered by a dark black cloak. Of course, she still has a veil hiding her face, but the rest of her armour is a clear upgrade from before.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m making weapons.” I hold up a custom bronze sword I just finished. “Here, take a look.”

Without a word, she grabs the sword from my hands. “Hmm,” She gives it a few practice swings. “How much?”

“Huh? Umm, I think the market price for a generic one is 4 silver, so 5 silver?”

With the dungeon location being leaked, everyone has been buying out the stocks on armaments. Those clever merchants who predicted this stand to gain quite the profit. The swords won’t last long once on sale. I’d sell them myself, but i’m not a salesman, and I would rather spent the time making more weapons.

“Expensive.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t mind giving you a discount on account of our friendship. Let’s say... 3 silver?”

She tosses me the money and I give her the sword. I could be mistaken, but I think I saw her smile, albeit briefly. The veil may cover her face, but some details are still visible.

After replacing her current equipped sword, she looks up at me.

“Why aren’t you taking advantage of your higher level instead of spending your time locked away?”

“Ahh, there are too many that are obsessed with gaining that little bit of strength to the point that it becomes their life.” I sigh before continuing, “Personally, I’d rather enjoy my time smithing or doing other skills than mindlessly fighting. Of course, I won’t let myself fall too far behind.”

Maybe that sounded a bit condescending.

“Hmm” She pauses, “Is that so?”

“I’ve been thinking of taking up gardening, or maybe the skill’s called farming? Anyways, I’ll plant a small herb patch and use them for alchemy. Lady Alenia, that’s the owner of this place by the way, said she would lend me a small plot of land for half the cost of those public plots.”

“Hmmph” She snorts, “The boss is going to be found soon. The dungeon is 85% cleared.”

With that, she turns away. I watch on my map as the green dot fades away. After confirming she has gone, I stare into the flame at the red hot coals.

“Hmm, maybe I should take a break.”

With that train of thought, I gather up my supplies and tidy up the forge.

“Might as well go sell these swords. Lets see... 150 swords at 4 silver a piece would give me 600 silver, or 60,000 Tor.” While this amount of wealth cannot compete with the big guys, I’m still very well off. I notify the guy’s at Subestimar of my newest shipment and they seem very enthusiastic.

Walking down the main street, I cannot help but notice the eyes of many players are filled with hope. Soon the first dungeon will be cleared and we will be one step closer to being saved.

I make my way over to Subestimar’s shop with my map open, recording the surrounding area. Any amount of experience is beneficial, so I want to get into the habit of doing so. When I finally arrive at their shop, I am shocked by what I see. A huge crowd of players has gathered around the entrance, taking over the street. When I get closer, I can hear a voice sounding out.

“Everyone! can I please have your attention!” The voice of Swiftcrest rings out. The gathered crowd quiets down until only a few whispers and coughs are audible. “Our supplier will be arriving shortly, and with him is 150 bronze short swords!

“With the dungeon almost cleared and the boss fight looming ahead, now is the time to upgrade your gear!”

“Now,” his voice returns to a normal decibel level, “In accordance with our usual policy, we are limiting the purchasing of these swords to a maximum of one per player. This is non negotiable.”

There were some dissatisfied grunts and comments at this, but Swiftcrest ignores them.

I push my way through the crowd toward the store entrance. The game system makes it so that authorized personnel can access the shop inventory from within 10 feet of the shops entrance. This makes it possible to have stalls outside of the shop, but now it allows me to put the items into shop without drawing attention to myself.

"Ahh, the items have arrived! We will start selling them soon on a first come first serve basis. They will be going for the low price of 7 silver, or 700 Tor per weapon."

"What?!"

"That's a lot lower than Sacred Order's shop!"

"Yea! The Sacred Order is selling bronze swords for at least 10 silver each."

"They sure know how to he customer loyalty."

"Why doesn't the blacksmith go work for Sacred Order, not that I want him to, but wouldn't it make more sense?"

"I heard they only have a single blacksmith behind this shop, but he's supposedly on the Sacred Order's wanted list."

""Really?""

Ahh the peanut gallery is amusing to listen to. I may be on their blacklist, but they didn't recognize me during the dungeon exploration, so I don't think it matters all that much.

The sales commence and the players are already fighting over who gets one first.

"Hey beat it! I was here first!"

"Oh yeah? Well where's your proof?"

"Cut it out."

"Move out of my way, I need to get one of those swords."

It only takes 10 minutes, but every sword gets sold, and the customers are leaving with smiles on their faces. It's amazing how popular these are, but I guess with almost 500,000 people living in the city, the weapons and armour are very hot commodities. It's nice not having to deal with that, because I can level faster and have a better advantage in fights.

Swiftcrest looks relieved to be finished selling them all. 80% of the profit brings me 84,000 Tor. Currently I have more money than I know what to do with. The price of bronze weapons and armour has become inflated, but once the level is cleared, I'm sure it will stabilize.

Player: Ilyena has sent you a message.

"The boss has been found. Come to the dungeon quickly."

Well that was fast. I send her a reply, "I'm on my way."

Over the course of the three days I had been in isolation, there are a lot of people selling crystals set to the dungeons entrance. Or more precisely, the fort outside the entrance. I approach Swiftcrest and purchase a teleportation crystal for a low price.

I activate the crystal and the familiar light envelopes me as I am sent toward the dungeon. What awaits me is a large crowd of players packed in the streets like sardines. The noise level is so loud I can barely hear my own thoughts. I pick up bits and pieces of conversations, but they all have one thing in common: the boss has been found.

Interestingly enough, there are some rumours that the Sacred Order has already assaulted the boss, but was sent running with their tails between their legs after losing over half their team. Now, I'm sure that's exaggerated, but it's still a cause for concern. They are among the best armoured players and their overall combat strength is not weak.

Player: Ilyena has sent you a message.

"Where are you?"

I open my map and see a green dot about 10 meters away from me. Thankfully it doesn't show every person on it, otherwise it would be a massive sea of white dots. At least I imagine they'd be white.

"Check your map. I'm not too far from you." I can tell it's her, because when I hover over the dot on the map, her name shows up.

Sure enough. Shortly after, I see her pushing her way through the crowd. Dressed in full battle gear, she looks ready to fight at any moment. She has a look of annoyance on her face that can barely be seen under her veil. I wonder how long she is going to keep up the veil. I imagine it must reduce her visibility somewhat.

Notification Player: Ilyena invites you to join her party. Do you accept? Yes No

I join her party immediately. It's just the two of us at the moment though.

"They've blocked anyone from going in right now."

"What!? Why?"

"They said it's to make one giant raid team."

"Hmm, I see." It makes sense in a way. They wouldn't want a bunch of lower leveled, unprepared players rushing in there and getting themselves killed.

I happen to notice Ilyena is now level 18. There goes my higher level advantage, but oh well. I'm richer. Plus, once my blacksmithing reaches level three I can upgrade my armour basically for free.

"I see you've been busy."

"Huh?" She looks at me with a confused expression.

"Your level." I pause, “It's higher than mine."

"Hmph. That's why I told you not to waist your time."

"I believe your words were more like ‘why are you spending your time locked away’”

"Same thing." She looks towards the dungeon entrance, “Looks like they are going to say something."

"Oh?" I look towards the entrance and see a player standing upon the inner gate.

"ATTENTION!"

The unnecessary chatter dies down to a whisper.

"WOULD ALL PLAYERS ABOVE LEVEL 15 COME TO THE COMMAND TENT."

"He must be referring to where we were a few days ago." I try to look for it, but what I see is not the same makeshift setup from a few days ago.

In its place is a regal looking tent that is two stories tall at it's peak. Between us and it are a sea of players. Seems like we will have to push our way through.

"Excuse me."

“Move it.”

"Pardon me."

"Can you please let me through."

I try to make my way through along with Ilyena, but there are so many people in the way. Many recognize out bronze armour and make way, but even more are oblivious. However, I don't blame them.

The players stationed as guards let us into the command tent without much trouble. I recognize a few of the faces from the previous dungeon dive, but no Sirius, Astrya, or Elayne. Even a few of the people who didn't get chosen for that excursion are here; however, most of new faces.

This time, there are no orderly seats within the tent, but rather an open floor plan. There is a raised wooden platform at the far end with a podium. It's not long after the announcement but the tent is already filling up. While it may not be a huge number, there are at least 50 people in the tent.

"ATTENTION!"

"Ahem." A middle aged man clothes in red Sacred Order robes clears his throat. "The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the boss battle against the [Black Widow]."

Oh great. More spiders.

"The bosses skills and attack patterns have already been scouted by our preliminary teams. This information came at a terrible price, so be thankful."

A cost as in you tried to take on the boss all by yourselves and then failed miserably.

"A plan of attack has already been drawn up, and anyone above level 10 will be required to participate. This is not about hogging achievements or experience, but for our freedom. So, I expect each and every one of you to do your part!"

Murmurs can be heard throughout the tent. This guy they have speaking isn't as charismatic as the previous guy they had.

"As we speak, those outside are getting told their part of the plan! They will serve as the vanguard and clear the floor of the spiderlings, paving the way for all of you to reach the boss."

So basically they are being treated as cannon fodder.

"These spiderlings caused an excessive amount of damage to the previous team, so the Black Widow will be a lot easier with them out of the way. Therefore, we cannot let their sacrifices be in vain. This must be accomplished on the first try. It will be defeated on the first try!"

Hmm, so he's not even going to deny it. I hope Gem's not going to be participating. I don't want her to just be fodder.

"Now, for attack patterns. Once the door opens to the boss room, the spiderlings will spawn from the walls on either side. From what we've found, They are all level 12 and one spawns every 10 seconds not including the initial wave.

"Those players levels 10-14 will deal with them, while the rest of us wait for the boss. Previously, the Black Widow did not come out immediately, but rather after approximately half of the spiderlings were killed."

The player then motions for a blackboard with drawing paper to be brought in. On it is a depiction of a typical black widow spider with the red hourglass on its underside; however, another image shows a half spider half woman, with the spider half resembling the typical black widow spider.

"As for the Black Widow herself, she mainly uses melee combat, but also has a ranged poison attack. That is all we were able to discover so far. Based on trends from other games, she should have at least two more abilities we are unaware of. One for when she gets into the yellow at 50% and another when she gets into the red at 10% health."

He flips the paper over the top, and what is on the next page is a 2D map of the boss room.

"For the fight, I suggest you form groups of at least two. This is so you can watch each other's backs and hopefully minimize casualties. See here," He points to an area near the back of the boss room and makes a circular motion. "This is where the boss will come out. Anyone within this area when the boss arrives, will most likely die."

He's not painting a very good picture. Looks of anxiety and nervousness can be seen throughout the gathered players. Many are fidgeting with their weapons or adjusting their armour.

I am reminded of when the Colossal Arachnid first came out. It charged towards Sirius without warning, causing him to almost die. And this time there is nothing to hide behind.

"We will provide each of you with two level 2 health potions and one level 2 stamina potion. These potions may be called minor health or stamina potions, but they are made by level 2 alchemists and are more effective than their counterparts."

After he says this, other players come out and start distributing the potions. Two red and one green. He waits until we have all gotten out potions before continuing.

"I will open up a teleportation gate in a moment. Beyond it is a large hall before the boss room. Everyone will assemble there."

I turn to Ilyena and ask, "what do you think of this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sacrificing those below level 15 to serve as fodder."

"Umm, someone has to do it. Besides, it's not as if they are guaranteed to die."

Hmm, she has a point there. That there will be casualties is a given, but the major should survive. However, we should be aiming for a zero casualty rate, so I cannot just let go of the speakers choice of words.

"You may be right."

"Mhmm."

The player takes out a glowing purple crystal from his inventory. As the crystal shatters, a giant portal opens in its place. In the middle of that portal is a faint white haze.

We all move towards the portal, and one by one disappear into the white light.

What awaits us is a wide open room with a large door at one end dwarfing all of us. It must be 20 feet tall and equally as wide. It is carved with designs of a spider sitting in the middle of a web. The spider is looking down towards the handles as if ready to pounce on its prey.

People keep pouring into the room non stop. It's amazing how many are here, but compared to the 400 some thousand people in this world, it is still a small number. It's definitely less than 1%. Some of the big name players are here such as Zhaos from the Sacred Order, Davion from Shadowguard, and Celeritas from Wings of Liberty. Their armours have undergone a clear upgrade from the past, and it looks like they are wearing iron armour. Their top blacksmiths must have surpassed level 3, because iron is the next tier after bronze.

"ATTENTION!" The leader of the Sacred Order, Zhaos, shouts, "The boss fight will commence shortly, but before then I would like to leave a few words with all of you. We were all once members of society drawn to this world of our own accord. Perhaps it was for entertainment, or an escape, or a love for RPGs, but we all came together to play EndGame Online. And after today, we will be one step closer towards beating this game.

"You all are the strongest players, and I commend your bravery. Less than one percent of people showed up on this day. But those who chose to stay in safety placed their trust and hopes in us. We will not let them down!"

He turns towards the massive doors and, while surrounded by an elite bodyguard force, pushes them open. Despite it's massive size, it opens very easily.

"FORWARD THE VANGUARD!"

With that, a mass of players charges towards the door and into the abyss beyond. I watch my map as a green dot charges in with them. I try looking amongst the sea of players, but have no luck. Whoever it is, I hope they survive.