“Four Boss Monsters...” muttered Sain drawing his weapon as he got off the stopped carriage. Miriel who heard him exclaimed, “Four of them?! Are you sure you're not mistaken?”

Hearing this, the others started to panic a bit as well. A Boss Monster was something that needed to be taken with caution. However facing four of them at once was a death wish, especially when there were four of them at once.

“Should we run?” suggested Shadow immediately. He had a good feeling that he was going to be bait here.

However Lyndis said, “I think we need to fight. Doubt we can escape with the carriage. If we abandon it that means over a hundred gold gone.”

Hearing this now, Miriel quickly said, “I agree with Lyndis. A hundred gold is still a lot and to waste that...I would rather die twice then do that.”

Sain looked at each and every one of them even though it was not the time for that now. Shadow had a look of he didn't care what happened, Miriel and Lyndis were determined to fight. And Serena and Raven did not seem to mind battling at this point.

He looked over to see the Boss Monsters looking at them curiously. There was a Blue Stripped Panther, Red Moon Bear, Green Poison Serpent and a Giant Purple Rabbit. Sain had read up on the bosses in the western continent and their appearances so he knew these were the names of those Boss Monsters.

And from the looks of it, all of them were in the level 250 range.

It would be soon that they would attack so he needed to explain some general plans to the rest of them.

“From their names, the Bear is a strength type, the Serpent is a poison type and the Panther and Rabbit are agility types but seeing that the Rabbit's body shape is similar to the Bear's, I'm guessing it could be a balanced type.”

“So what do we do?” asked Lyndis.

“Raven has the worse speed so he can't take on the Panther and I'm not taking any chances on the rabbit. Therefore you need to take on the bear.”

Raven nodded in understanding.

“As for the Serpent whose a poison type..they are generally weak against fire types but snakes are generally weak against ice types. Therefore either Lyndis or Miriel should take care of that one. Serena or me can remove the poison from you if we have the chance”

“Got it.” “Right.”

Lyndis and Miriel looked at each other and then Miriel said, “Lyndis can take it, I'll support if I need to.”

“Agreed” said Lyndis nodding.

“Shadow” said Sain looking at him, “Take the speed type. You are twice as fast as any of us and can even go faster. I'm afraid that the rest of us will be unable keep up with that panther otherwise.”

“Fine...” sighed Shadow, “In the end I'm to bait it till the rest of you help me out right?”

Sain shook his head with a smile and said, “No, you will have to kill it. The rest of us will be too preoccupied to help you that much. But if you wish, Serena can help you though she will be healing the rest of us most of the time.”

Sain looked at Serena confirming this arrangement.

“I'll do my best!” Serena said with determination.

“As for the Rabbit...I'll have to take it since no one else is left with the ability to tank it. I'll have to use Luna as well to keep up with it” said Sain with a sigh, “Miriel I want you to focus more on buffs and placing barriers on us for this battle. Support with Ice Magic when you think will work.”

“Right” said Miriel starting chanting her spells.

“Serena don't use your buffs since they take too much mana” said Sain adding in that information, “Also, everyone can use 'Boost' if they feel like it. Surviving comes first and if any of you guys kill one of the bosses, support the others the best you can.”

Sain looked at the boss monsters again, he saw them approaching more hostile than before now.

“They're coming, hurry up with the buffs” said Sain starting to chant for his own buffs as well.

The battle between the group of six at just over level 200 and the four boss monsters at level 250 was beginning.

xXx

Raven approached the Red Moon Bear. It was a massive creature that was 3 metres in height as it was standing on its two legs. The amount of fur it had seemed thin but instead, its muscles were several times thicker.

He was alone on this task but it seems like there was little chance that he or the others would be attacked by the other Boss Monsters at least. Boss Monsters had pride as well and it looked like they intentionally spread themselves out for one on one matches.

They were confident on winning.

However it was the same for him and the rest of the group as well. Currently he had Miriel's songs which gave him 50% more strength and agility along with Sain's buffs, that's 150 points in strength, agility and endurance.

Due to the effects of Lyndis' battle buff as well, his attack, defence, speed and fighting spirit increased by 4% as well. Finally his own battle aura when active would increase his attack, defence and speed by 3%, 4% with the effects of 'Aura Manipulation' as well. Of course this is only when the skill is active.

Right now he also equipped his Tower Shield as well on his left arm and placed his other shield on his right arm. This increased his defence to almost 800 compared to his offence that was barely over 650.

In Royal Road, your offence and defence were determined by several factors, but the game is able to show you the base values of both.

Offence is a value determined by your base weapon damage and strength and will increase or decrease in battle with the speed, power and position of your attack, as such agility is also a factor in your attack but is a variable stat which is why it does not show up in the calculation.

Defence however is determined by your base armour defence, vitality and endurance and will rise or lower depending on where you get hit. At some places, like your eyes, you have no defence there and such locations are known to give the attacker a critical or fatal hit.

Therefore even against this Red Moon Bear that seemingly had higher attack and defence than him, it was possible to win.

Staring at the Red Moon Bear, Raven noticed when it quickly rushed up to him in a single step and slash downwards using its large claw. Raven quickly stepped back in the face of this and lifted his Tower Shield.

BANG!

The attack gazed his Tower Shield but at the same time forced him back a whole 3 metres. Its attack was frightening high. The durability of his Tower Shield decreased by a point due to that as well.

However he wasn't going to give up based on one attack.

“Battle Aura!” he surrounded himself with his aura and then said, “Boost!”

Boost has been activated. All stats, effects and consumption will double

Effects of the 'Mark of the Star' is now active. 'Gravity Force' is now active

All of a sudden his body was surrounded by an invisible force. His body was become a base where gravity was distorted and being controlled by him. By surrounding his body with this power, he was able to divert attack from him.

Moderate Health Regeneration has been applied, 2500 health will regeneration over 100 seconds

All of a sudden Raven saw this message appear in front of him as well. It looked like Serena was starting to heal everyone by applying regeneration spells onto all of them one at a time. This could possibly lower the chance of him dying.

Seeing this and the fact that 'Boost' was active which not only doubled his stats but also all the effects on him, Raven was much stronger than before that he could not compare. He felt like he could tank a level 300 foe right now.

“Footwork!”

Therefore he charged at the Red Moon Bear that was in its process of doing his second attack at Raven.

Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnng!

He let the attack claw at the edge of his shield again as he moved forward holding his halberd in his right hand. Covering it using 'Gravity Force' again, he increased the power of his strike like that.

“Double Strike!”

And he swung his halberd twice and hit the Red Moon Bear squarely head on.

BANG BANG!!

Both attacks hit the Red Moon Bear head on but it didn't seem to do much damage. Normally this kind of attack could blast an enemy away or at least deal a deep cut in them. But the muscles of this Red Moon Bear completely blocked it.

“ROOOOARRR!!!”

Not to mention that now that he had provoked it, another two attacks came down on him again.

BANG BANG!

This time, Raven was sent flying back a bit and fell down and the moment he looked to get up, he saw the Red Moon Bear charging at him again.

Guard Point Barrier has been applied on you

BANG!

“Roar?!”

All of a sudden, the Red Moon Bear's attack was sent back to it through the barrier that was placed on him. As the one who gets these barriers the most, Raven knew that this point could sent back an attack if hit.

The only downside was that the barrier was extremely small, only the size of a hand and Miriel had to control that as well.

He doubt she could do that a second time, so he got up and prepared to fight again. Several times he had avoided taking damage due to chance but soon enough his stamina would wear off. He needed to finish this quickly, but that was impossible.

xXx

At the same time, Shadow was having difficulties with the Blue Stripped Panther as well.

“Burst Speed!” she shouted retreating again along with his three clones that he made using his 'Real Illusion' skill.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

However instantly, those three clones were attacked as they were slightly slower than he was in reacting to attacks. Shadow thought this had to be a joke, what kind of monster could attack him at three different places at once?!

As expected, he drew the worse straw out of everyone. He wanted to curse Sain right now but he figured that anyone else wouldn't even be able to keep up with this thing to begin with.

“Divine Shadow Art: Assassinate!”

Shadow teleported behind the Blue Stripped Panther the moment that it landed onto the ground and therefore stopped moving for an instant.

Slash!

However he missed! That Panther moved behind him instantly and tried to attack him.

“Shadow Step!”

He used this skill along with creating another three clones as decoys to get out of danger.

Slash!

One of the clones that moved to block the attack was split into pieces instantly. Once again Shadow cursed at the fact he was fighting this thing. He didn't even have time to think of anything at all.

At this rate he would run out of mana and die. Unlike some people, he and Raven had a low amount of mana to use, well compared to the others. He only had 1400 mana to use in this battle and within a minute, he used up a third of it instantly.

“Tch.”

Shadow leaped around the place, using complicated movements to confuse the panther on where to attack. Because this was an open plains type of place, he was more disadvantaged than the others. His main focus was on stealth not on head on combat.

“Critical Eyes!” His eyes were covered with a strange light that would allow him to see the weak spots of the Panther.

Several places lit up but they were the eyes and other common places you would target even without the skill. He just wasted 50 mana thanks to this skill.

“God Damn it!” he shouted holding his two weapons at hand. One of them, the dagger was completely useless against this foe. It was too weak and needed to be replaced later, if only he spent money to buy a newer better one.

Using a bow against this thing was useless as well. It was simply too fast to aim and shoot at it. Plus, Shadow thinks that it can knock out the arrows in mid flight since the bow was quite low levelled as well.

“Do I have any support here?!” Shadow decided to shout out but then he looked to see three others in deep combat unable to do anything. Another thing was that Miriel and Serena were constantly casting spells as well to support the rest of them and were barely keeping them alive.

With a sigh, he continued battling without much choice.

xXx

Sain moved back even more due to the rentless attacks from this Purple Giant Rabbit. Looked like he picked quite a difficult one to deal with.

In terms of attack, defence or speed, the other Boss Monsters were probably better than this one. However this one was quite ferocious in attacking him using his entire body to attack which included body slams often and slide kicks as well.

“Luna! Distract it! Miriel and Serena, knock it away if it tries otherwise” Sain ordered with a shout.

Even though he said that Miriel and Serena were to support the others as well, most of their efforts were on aiding him instead.

From the looks of things, Raven and Shadow were even with their own Boss Monster but Lyndis was struggling a bit on her own. But in the end, even with Luna, he was struggling the most which was why he changed the plan mid way since if one of them died then the plan would fall apart.

Originally he was hoping that they could win in a one on one match with each of the Boss Monsters since they had gotten stronger, but he was severely naive in even thinking of that! Each of them had enough strength to take 2-3 of them at a time. In a battle of attrition, they would lose.

Therefore, he changed the plan for them to gang up on one of the Boss Monsters and kill it and move onto the next one until all of them were dead. It was a simple plan to which even a child could think of.

Which was why he called Miriel and Serena over to help him.

But he had no time to worry about him, that is, that Giant Rabbit which had a body type similar to that Bear Raven was fighting did a jump kick towards him. He dodged to the left to which the Rabbit's left fist was aimed and fired at him as well.

He ducked to dodge that attack as well and stabbed his spear into the arm that narrowly missed him. Another kick was coming this way so Sain leaped back but the Rabbit charged in at that moment.

Vines wrapped around the Rabbit and ice flew to hit the Rabbit as well. He liked the idea that he was not alone in this.

“Evil Rule Art: Mind Break!” he chanted using that spell on the Rabbit but it had no effect.

“Tch...Luna!” Sain shouted commanding him to attack.

BITE!

Luna bite the leg of the Rabbit from behind and caused some damage that way.

BANG!

At the next instant, Miriel used 'Glacier Strike' on the Rabbit as well. She seemed to be gathering power and then focused it onto the spell that she just used.

“Haaaaaaa!!!”

And then used her 'Living Ice' ability which she gained while using 'Boost' to create two large ice hands from that ice to grab hold and pin down the Rabbit.

Grab~ Grab~

The Rabbit immediately tried to struggle out of the ice but it was quite large and was holding quite tightly onto the Rabbit preventing it from moving that much.

“Attack now! Ice Bolts!” Miriel cried firing off her Ice Spell one after the other to the Rabbit.

“Leaf Slicer! Blood Burst!” Serena followed up with her own attacks. Luna got away before this set of spells barraged the Rabbit to the point that it was no longer completely unharmed.

“GRRRRRR!!!!”

Blood eyed, the Rabbit stared at them with killing intent.

You have sensed a dangerous presence

The game itself warned him that something bad was going to happen. However if he tried to avoid it, it was not likely he could at all.

“Therefore...attack” a small grin appeared on Sain's face as he fearlessly charged in.

For some reason he did not know even with his 'All Knowing Eyes' as it was not really omniscient, one of the fists of the Purple Giant Rabbit was glowing brightly and turning golden. However he felt it was a bad idea to get hit by it.

Or even let it attack...

“Evil Rule Art: Astral Bind!”

Ropes of mana suddenly appeared and wrapped around that right arm of it trying to stop it from attacking but Sain knew he only had a few seconds at best.

“Luna, distract it!” Sain shouted one last thing. He trusted Luna enough on this task. And in the next moment, Luna delivered.

CHOMP!

Luna took a large chunk of flesh off of one of the legs of the Rabbit, it seems whatever it was doing decreased its defence by a lot. Sain continued to charge in, though it had only been around 3 seconds since he started to charge.

The Rabbit was disbalanced due to the sudden attack and Sain threw his spear into the Rabbit's other arm making sure it couldn't attack him when he did that.

Leap~

Kicking the Rabbit back a bit with a knee attack, Sain landed on the Rabbit with both hands wide open and with spells in both of them.

“The outside might be tough, what about the inside?!”

With a devilish grin, Sain stuffed both his arms into the large mouth of this Rabbit and fired off both spells in his hands.

“Magic Arrows! Magic Arrows!”

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Fourteen Magic Arrows shot at the Rabbit from inside of its mouth. The inside must have been wounded quite badly but Sain wasn't going to stop there at all.

“Now for seconds~! Mana Bolts! Mana Bolts!”

From each hand, another 25 Mana Bolts came out of both of them to a grand total of 50 Mana Bolts in total. It was like fireworks were coming out of the Rabbit's mouth. The insides of its mouth at least would have been shredded by now.

Blood gushed out as Sain removed his arms that were perfectly fine despite being in the Rabbit's mouth and he dropped to the ground.

“Still alive? What powerful vitality” Sain was a bit shocked that the Rabbit was still alive.

However...

“Miriel, Serena” Sain called the two that were probably watching him now without looking at them, “I can take care of this, you two help one of the others. Lyndis might need some help with the poison Serena.”

“Right!” “Understood!”

As such both of them left to help the others.

[Master...this thing has started to...]

Luna called out to Sain worried but Sain himself did not worry, “Yeah, this thing is strange. We barely scratched off 10% of its health.”

Sain could see the health percentage of the enemy in front of him. Most players with an identifying skill could do this. It was only a matter of using it on a monster instead of an item.

And what he saw surprised him but in the end he still had a calm smile on his face.

“If it can live with even that, it doesn't mean its not hurting. If we cut off its limbs, attack its vital constantly, even a Dragon will die no matter how weak the foe is” he said coldly. He was reverting back to that 'him' that did not usually come out.

However Luna was used to this Sain and would rather be shocked with Sain was all smiles and kindness.

[Understood, Master I believe we should make it bleed to death then. It is almost granted that any living being would die without their blood]

Sain nodded and grinned, “As expected from my prized companion.”

To the Purple Giant Rabbit, Sain had become something akin to a demon now.

xXx

“Ora! Take this!” Lyndis shouted throwing flames onto the ground again. She had turned her battlefield into a flaming field through her use of 'Genesis Flames' which allowed her to shape and produce any number of flames as she wished.

Right now, the path for this Green Poison Serpent was cut off now. As such she charged in with her Katana in hand.

“Fire Dance, Fire Blade, Speed Strike!” she used those three skills in a row cutting horizontally at the Serpent.

“Sissss!”

However this Serpent was quite slippery in how it dodged despite having a rather large body that was 10 metres long though coiled up most of the time. Another thing was that it was quite quick...in how it escaped.

“Power Strike!”

Lyndis slammed down on the ground with her sword cutting through the slimy scales of the Serpent. However due to it being slimy, it was quite hard for her to cut through it.

“Burning Touch!”

Therefore she set the Serpent on fire at a certain location before trying to attack. However just as the slimy stuff prevented her from getting a good hit in, it was also poisonous.

You are now poisoned, -100Hp/sec

It was quite a potent poison to remove a 100 health a second. She would die in a little over a minute and a third.

However...

“Serena! Poison heal me!” she shouted to Serena who was primary helping Lyndis on the poison issue.

Soon enough, Serena's 'Poison Removal' skill worked from afar since it was in the Intermediate Level now, and cured Lyndis of poisoning.

Moderate Health Regeneration has been applied, 2500 health will regeneration over 100 seconds

Minor Health Regeneration has been applied, 1000 health will regeneration over 100 seconds

Another thing was that Serena placed two of her regeneration spells on her at once at the same time. Lyndis thanked Serena for being so kind in her heart as she charged head onto to the Serpent once again.

She would need to get more serious now.

“Flame Strike!” Lyndis fired off a large flame attack at the Serpent. Combined with the place filled with fire already and that she increased the size of the flames with 'Genesis Flame', the attack was much more powerful and larger than it was suppose to be.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!

The Serpent was lit on fire and the slimy poison that was covering its body was being dissolved by the flames. Seeing this chance, Lyndis dashed next to the Serpent.

“Dragon Dance Art: Second Slash!”

Slash Slash Slash Slash Slash Slash....!

Several dozen strikes were executed in a mere moment with Lyndis' Katana. With the bonus to not only 'Sword Mastery' but also 'Katana Mastery', her attack and attack speed was much faster than before.

Several cracks appeared on the scales of the Serpent where she attacked. She didn't care much for the sides of the Serpent and instead directly attacked the face.

“Dragon Dance Art: First Slash!”

She did a upper attack using her sword causing her cracks to appear on the side of the face of the Serpent before being hit into flames on the ground.

Seeing the chance, Lyndis leaped in the air and got into the 'Power Stance' and shouted, “Power Strike!” before slamming her sword down onto the Serpent smashing it into the ground.

The attack seemed to have stunned the Serpent as it was not moving anymore.

“One more time! Power Strike!”

Lyndis slammed her sword into the Serpent again. The sheer force of the attack broke the Serpent's scales and reduced its defence in turn.

“Power Strike! Power Strike! Power Strike! Power Strike! Power Strike!”

After the fifth consecutive strike the Serpent finally let out its last scream of life and died.

You have killed a Green Poison Serpent

- You have levelled up

- Due to the effects of 'Party Scan', the rest of the experience will be spread to you and the rest of your party members later on

- Due to soloing this Boss Monster, you have gained Strength +3, Agility +5, Endurance +10, Fighting Spirit +10

Seeing this message, Lyndis smiled greatly though was a bit unsure on this 'Party Scan' detail but was still happy for a level up and stats bonuses.

“Kay...now to see if the others need help” muttered Lyndis looking at the direction of the other three.

Raven was fighting with Miriel supporting, Sain and Luna were butchering the Rabbit and Shadow was having difficulties with that Panther.

“Huh?”

Lyndis rubbed her eyes thinking she saw something strange. She once again looked around to see the circumstances of the others fighting.

Raven was fighting with Miriel supporting, Sain and Luna were butchering the Rabbit and Shadow was having difficulties with that Panther.

“....”

She must have been imagining it. Better check again.

Raven was fighting with Miriel supporting. That was perfectly fine, with her barriers, Raven was able to defend against the attacks and get in some attacks as well. Miriel was also using her spells which helped a lot.

“Okay nothing strange there.”

Now she looked at the next one. Sain and Luna were butcher-

“LYNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDIIIIISSSSSS!!!!” Shadow screamed at her when he realised she was standing there with Serena doing nothing.

“I need support NOW!” he shouted. His body was wounded all over the place to the point that Serena quickly started to heal him.

With a sigh, she ran over to help him out.

“I'm coming so shut it with the screaming” she shouted back at Shadow.

“Screw you! I'm dying here!” Shadow shouted back at her.

With a small chuckle she went to support Shadow in his battle.

“....”

But she could have sworn there was something wrong with Sain's battle. But she had no time to look at it. It might have been her imagination since each of the battles took place so far apart that she could barely tell what was going on in each of them.

xXx

After the battles....

“Let's see....” Sain looked through all of the messages and said to the group, “I got 5 points in Strength, Agility, Endurance and Fighting Spirit for the fight.”

Next was Miriel who said, “I got 6 points in Intelligence, 3 points in Wisdom and 5 points in Fighting Spirit as well.”

“4 points in Strength. 8 points in Agility, 2 points in Endurance and 6 points in Fighting Spirit for my efforts” said Shadow next.

“I've got 4 Points in Intelligence...and Wisdom and another 6 points in Fighting Spirit” said Serena revealing the stats she got from this as well.

“6 points in Strength and Endurance, 2 points in Agility and 8 Fighting Spirit” said Raven as well.

Finally Lyndis said, “A total of 7 Strength, 6 Agility, 10 Endurance and 12 Fighting Spirit!” with a triumphant look on her face. With that kind of smug look, Shadow could not help but say:

“That's only because you managed to kill a boss on your own...and that was only because Serena helped you and because that was far the weakest boss of them all we just faced!” said Shadow making excuses on the stat gain.

Lyndis made a humoured look and asked, “Oh and this one was regretful that he asked for my help?”

“That's because that thing was really killing me! I was literally dying from blood loss with my wounds seeping out blood as I moved quickly!” retorted Shadow.

With a clap of his hands, Sain stopped the two from talking for now.

“Anyway, moving on, we all gained 4 levels thanks to this fight and partly due to 'Party Scan' working” said Sain.

“Yeah I want to ask but why did I only level up once? That Serpent and all the other Boss Monsters were all way above our level” asked Lyndis.

With a single motion of his hand, he showed the group the skill window of 'Party Scan'.

Party Scan Beginner Level 7

A Passive skill to see the Health of Allies and other information of the party as well. There are several other options that have been revealed and are able to be used with the party as well.

- Able to see the health level of the party

- Able to see the status window of the party if permitted

- Able to see the skill window of the party if permitted

- Able to adjust the experience levels of the party

- Able to see any messages the other members of the party gets

“Basically I adjusted the experience so we wouldn't gain too much experience and out level each other too much” said Sain explaining it.

“And the experience? Where did that go? I mean we just killed 4 level 250 Boss Monsters for Christ sake. Only 4 levels is too little for that!” Lyndis seemed anxious that her hard earned experience would be gone.

“Don't worry about it. That experience will turn up later as bonus experience from killing monsters for the next couple of levels at least. Basically I've done this so some people wouldn't be so under-levelled compared to the rest of us” said Sain explaining that as well.

“I wonder who those people were?” asked Lyndis not knowing that she and Raven were the reason Sain used this option of the skill. Normally it would be useless, in fact worthless, a demerit but in the case where they really needed all of them to be similarly strong, it was perfect for the long term.

“Anyway, let's see the loot we got off this battle. Four Boss Monsters, there's sure to be something good in here” said Sain looking at the loot they acquired and started identifying them with Miriel.

Damaged Purple Giant Rabbit Fur x3

Green Poison Serpent Scales x15

Green Poison Serpent Fangs x8

Red Moon Bear Fur x5

Red Moon Bear Claws x2

Blue Stripped Panther Leather x2

Blue Stripped Panther Fangs x5

“Okay it seems normal so far...material items from Bosses are generally good quality” said Sain.

“Why is the Purple Giant Rabbit Fur damage?” wondered Miriel, “It didn't look that bad when we finished it off.”

“Who knows...” said Sain continuing onto counting the coins they got. In total it was a sum of 76 Gold, 22 Silver and 19 Copper Coins in total. Not a bad amount but could have certainly been higher.

But the biggest prize was that they had gained 4 pieces of equipment thanks to this. One from each Boss Monster.

Phantom Blue Stripped Boots Durability: 80/80 Defence: 15

Dropped from a Blue Stripped Panther that is exceedingly rare to find, this is an unique drop item that many would desire. Due to its light weight, there is no burden in wearing it and furthermore it allows the user to decrease the burden of equipment weight.

Restrictions: Level 250

Options:

- Agility +30, Movement Speed +10%, Dodge rate +10

- Able to sprint at full speed in half the distance needed

- Reduces the amount of equipment burden you have by 20kg

Green Poison Ring of Nature

A rare unique item dropped from a near extinct Green Poison Serpent that had the ability to produce a rapid amount of poison all over its body for both protection and to harm other beings. This rings allow poison to be applied onto nature type spells or weapons.

Restrictions: Level 250

Options:

- Intelligence +20, Wisdom +20, Poison Resistance +15

- Gives the ability to add the poison effect onto nature type spells or weapons

- You are less likely to be poisoned when wearing this

Heavy Red Moon Dagger

A drop from a Red Moon Bear that was once thought of extinct until the twin moon incident, tis dagger processes the power of that creature in it! It is a heavy dagger that has extremely high piercing power and can be used to block attacks as well.

Restrictions: Level 250

Options:

- Strength +40, Endurance +10, Fighting Spirit +25

- Chance to block or parry using this dagger +20

- Piercing power +30%, Attack speed -10%

Purple Ring of Moderate Casting

Gives the effects of casting with a moderate quality staff of the same level. It is an unique item that is dropped by a mysterious and yet extremely ferocious Purple Giant Rabbit that did not exist on the continent until a century ago by mysterious means.

Restrictions: Level 250

Options:

- Casting speed +20%, Magic Power +10%, Intelligence +15

- Allows user to cast spells as if holding a moderate quality staff of the same level as this ring's requirement

- Physical Resistance +10%, Defence +10%, Blunt Damage Resistance +5%

Two rings, One Boots and a Dagger. And all of them had really good effects though they were all at level 250 to equip. However they were all unique grade equipment. Once again Sain sighed to think he needed to share all of this.

As such was the greed of a gamer that awakened inside of him due to this game. But Sain still stayed calm and said, “Now how to distribute these...”

“The dagger should be mine then, I was already thinking of getting a new one when I was fighting that panther” said Shadow claiming the first reward.

Next Raven said, “Boots...”

Thinking of why Raven would want it, Sain realised and said, “Oh, this ring would greatly increase your speed in more ways than one right? It makes sense since you have the greatest equipment burden of all of us.”

Sain looked at the remaining two rings and said, “Then I'll take the Purple Ring then” picking it up, “It gives the effect of casting with a staff while equipped which will replace my old one I got from Gen from the beginning.”

No one complained there. Even if the other effects were good, Sain benefited the most out of having that ring.

“Then...” Lyndis tried to pick up the second ring but Serena snatched it away quicker than she expected.

Patting Serena's head, Miriel said, “This ring really only works with Serena who can use nature type spells. Plus out of everyone here, you would benefit the least of having it Lyndis.”

Lyndis silently weeped seeing the unique equipment of the boss monster she slain being taken from her...Sain, Shadow and Raven all got equipment from the bosses so why couldn't she?

But such thoughts were cut off when Sain looking at the carriage said, “By the way...when were you guys going to tell me that Aria was hitch-hiking with us” in a cold tone but with a smiling face that gave shivers to the others.

Immediately Lyndis and Serena looked away. Raven was expressionless as always but Shadow was whistling like it wasn't his business. Sain turned to Miriel who gave him a 'sorry' look to which he could only sigh.

“Shadow” said Sain.

“Why me?! I wasn't part of this plan at all!” retorted Shadow seeing that he was becoming a victim so quickly here.

“I need to talk to you for a bit alone” said Sain who moved on to the next conversation but the others did not realise yet.

“Oh God, are you planning making me dig a hole and bury me in it?!” Shadow started to back away rapidly.

“Evil Rule Art: Astral Bind” chanted Sain. Several mana ropes bound Shadow in place making him unable to escape.

“Why the hell are you trapping me?! Do you wish to torment and kill me that much?! I don't remember doing anything to piss you off!!!” Shadow screamed.

“That's because I feel like you'll run away from me. I just need to talk to you about something alright” said Sain with a sigh seeing that Shadow has 'that' impression of him now. What did he think he would do to him?

“What the hell do you want to talk to me about?! Why don't you go kiss Miriel over there again! Don't think I didn't hear anything back then!” Shadow shouted causing both Sain and Miriel to be stunned in shock while Lyndis and Serena were shocked in a different way.

Lyndis with an amused look on her face turned and patted Miriel on the shoulder and said, “Miriel, what is this talk of a kiss? Was it was on the cheek? Forehead? The Lips?”

Miriel turned red at the last one.

“Oohhhhhh~~~” Lyndis made this extremely strange grin on her face that made Sain want to punch her but Miriel did that first.

Hit!

However even though Miriel hit her, Lyndis did not react since the punch despite everything was quite weak. And in the end Miriel could only say with a glare to Shadow, “I'm going to kill you...no torture then kill you later.”

“....”

With a blank expression Shadow suddenly looked at Sain as if a saviour came and said quickly, “Sain! Quickly take me away already! I don't want to be tortured and killed!” However Sain did nothing for a few seconds thinking of what to do to talk to Shadow without the others listening in.

Looking back to the rest of the group, Sain smiled at them as well and asked, “Aren't you going to tell Aria to get out here? It's quite hard to hide in a sack or box for a few days.”

“....”

Miriel, Serena and Lyndis looked at each other, nodded, got up and left for the carriage that was quite a distance away from the battlefield they were on. Sain had this look that he was going to discuss about something important to Shadow and they acknowledge that though not much on Shadow's part.

“Raven you too” said Sain to which Raven obeyed and left them to head with the other three.

Now only Sain and Shadow trapped remained here standing silent.

“So what is it?” asked Shadow bluntly when the others had gone. He took on this attitude immediately making one think what happened before was an act.

“Oh...” Sain started to say his request to him.

“I have a favour for you. I want you to-”

Shadow could only sigh after hearing the request.

xXx

“I am really sorry for bothering you!” said Aria while bowing down in apology.

Sain simply smiled lightly and said, “Don't worry about it.”

However Aria persisted in her attitude and further said, “I will do anything to help you find my siblings! If that cannot be, I'll walk back to Witchelm to wait my judgement and punishment!” while bowing even lower.

A bit startled now, Sain said, “Like I said, you don't need to worr-”

“I understand! You wish to defy my body then. I heard male freemen were especially interested in virgins and would wish to deflower me, but if it is for my siblings...” there were several tears in Aria's eyes and Sain could not help but tell that Miriel was staring at him.

You have sensed a dangerous presence

Again with this message...ever since he got it, it had been appearing often due to Miriel...perhaps one time when he is truly in danger he would ignore it and die as a result...

However Sain needed to do something first in order to not be killed by Miriel that had seemed to step her game up and prevent from from escaping her.

“Aria I said not to worry about it. I am not mad at you for coming, it just means we need to slow down our travelling speed and adjust some plans when we need to leave for a few hours” said Sain.

2 hours in real life is equal to 8 hours in game. That means when they get off the game and back in, day could become night and night could become day. Plus there was now an issue of how to protect Aria when they were not there...

Sain guessed he could summon Luna and order him to protect Aria then. Not many creatures would dare attack Luna who was reaching the level 200 point and even more so since he levelled up quite a bit due to the boss monsters fight. Sain was interested in what change would occur in Luna when reaching that point.

“Anyway please be careful when we are not here to protect you” said Sain in a kind voice. With that, they continued to travel on the carriage.

xXx

Several weeks later, at most 2 weeks to which the total amount of time they spent in the game reached 3 Years, 8 Months and now 2 Weeks, they had reached Shia city. Still in construction, it gave off an incomplete feel, but it was still a grand sight.

Black smoke reached the skies as they approached. They could see the buildings that already reached the fourth or fifth story on the edge of the city and was getting further higher and higher near the centre where an incomplete grand tower was still being built.

All sorts of construction related tool and materials were being brought in as they came closer as well. There seemed to be a large amount of dwarves working on this as well. Sain noticed that the buildings were in fact made of concrete which was a surprise.

Usually stone or wood were used to make buildings. Concrete was something that was difficult to make in game after all compared to in reality.

Plus it did not have a strong physical and magical resistance compared to other materials but again, Sain noticed that they seem to be using runes to counter that fact. Strengthen, hardening, self repair were some of the runes he noticed being used.

“This isn't like any city I've seen” said Aria in praise liking the city already.

Lyndis let out a small laugh and said, “Well this is actually a familiar sight on the other side.”

“Really?” Aria asked astonished at her words.

“Where do you think the designs came from?” asked Lyndis chuckling now. Out of everyone, it looked like Lyndis got along with Aria the most.

Eventually they continued behind some others and to the gates of the city whose walls were still half complete.

“Identifications please. No one is allowed in the city without it, Kingdom orders” said the guards expecting Sain to give him some papers like the previous people.

Another thing was that he said this in an arrogant tone like he was important here and was irreplaceable.

Sain did not take out any papers which made the guard think they were highly suspicious.

But then Sain took out an emblem. It was a hexagon shape meaning Independent Guild but what surprised the guard was that it was coloured black meaning S Rank. With guard paled a bit and acted more polite and let them in.

“What was that about?” asked Aria not sure on why the guard looked so panicked and surprised.

“Don't worry about it” said Miriel with a slight grin. It was nice to see how others who looked down on them suddenly realised they were above them.

With a few laughs they entered the city at last.

You have sensed a dangerous presence

“Hmm?” Sain was unsure on what this was about. Miriel wasn't angry at him again right.

But the next second...

BOOOM!!!

To the right, something large hit and exploded on the ground tipping the carriage to the side due to the force.

“Damn” he cursed while at the same time Lyndis and Shadow together cursed, “Holy Shit!”

“Lyndis, grab Aria and get ready to run!” Sain shouted. A second impact ensured killing the horses this time in one go. The impact also took some of his health out as he moved to protect Miriel from the blast.

BOOOM!!!

You took 1515 damage

What was going on? Why the hell were they getting attack here all of a sudden? Now that he thought about it, were there no other people here on this road? Damn.

Lyndis grabbed Aria and all seven of them got off the carriage that was half destroyed when another impact hit it.

BOOOM!!!

This impact caused them to be fling away from the carriage but to a wall instead. Sain couldn't tell where they were being attacked, let alone who.

Another few seconds passed as they tried to gather themselves enough to run but then Sain got another message from the game.

You have sensed a dangerous presence

Damn, it looked like the next attack was going to hit them. But just as he was about to give up...

“Damn you brats! Hurry up and take cover already!” All of a sudden, a hook, no several hooks in fact grabbed onto them with extreme skill and dragged them in between buildings, in an alley way before the shot was about to kill them.

BOOOM!!!

The impact seemed so far away with them safe now. Sain looked to see their saviour. It was a dwarf with half grey and half brown hair. He was even shorter than Serena who grew a couple of centimetres since the beginning now.

“Thank you” said Sain immediately seeing this this person saved them.

“Enough bout that damn brat. You part of an Independent Guild?” he asked. Sain showed him the black emblem to which he looked a bit shocked.

“Tis colour...a Dragon wrapped around the sun and with stars falling around them...you are all Eden's lot aren't you?” the dwarf.

“You know Eden?” asked Lyndis. It seemed that a lot of people knew him or were related in some way...all of the strong people they knew were at least whether they were good or evil.

“Bout in my grandfather or great-grandfather's time, my clan was trapped unable to even call for help. Eden helped out then and we were grateful even if he was part of those arrogant Dragon Race. Debt's been paid now but ye need to get out of here. Tis isn't a place for Independent Guilds let alone freemen right now” the dwarf warned.

Sain and the others frowned, the place seemed so peaceful from the outside but then they were shot for no reason.

“What is happening?” asked Sain, “Surely shooting people aren't normal in this place right?”

The dwarf shook his head and said, “Bout few months ago, you freemen and us natives got into a big bout of a fight about how to construct the tower. Long tory short, you freemen took the money and left.”

“....”

“Since then to raise that money, some folks did...horrible things that no dwarf could do. A strange feelin been in this city since then and freemen, especially those from Independent Guilds were being attacked.”

Sain nodded to those words but then asked, “How were we being attacked? I couldn't even see the location of the shooter.”

“Ah those were the camouflaged torrents” answered the dwarf, “Hidden magically with runes and such and coloured the same as walls and been set on targets automatically, thought it was a good idea till it was used on us.”

“I see...” Sain was now thinking on a way to get around that or at least avoid those torrents...

“You aren't thinking of fighting are you?” asked the dwarf startled now.

“I don't see a reason not to” said Lyndis.

Shadow nodded and said, “And they fired on us and destroyed some of us stuff.”

Miriel looked more pale than the rest of them but then angrier than the rest of them saying, “They dare destroy 124 Gold in front of me!”

“If it is the right thing to do...I'll fight!” said Serena all determined for this mission.

Looking at the group and then to the dwarf, Sain said, “Well I can't do anything about it now. We were attacked...therefore we will strike back at them.”

“....”

The dwarf stared at them strangely and said with a small laugh, “Guess I can't stop you damn brats...I've been waiting to give someone this Guild Quest of mine.”

Cleanse Shia City of the evil within!

Shia City, a place where both freemen and natives of the land sought to build that was greater than all other technological advances had been turned into a place of evil. Innocents lay waste as evils are being committed with no support from the Kingdom and the Kingdom ignorant of such events happening due to tight controls.

Even though this kind of thing requires the Kingdom's help, Hale was determined enough to not let the city's reputation to plummet due to this and as such requests for the Kingdom to not know until after the said event of cleaning up the city of all its evil nested inside.

Therefore you are given the task to stop the evil in this city and take down the leaders of such people that turned the city like this.

Guild Quest Rank: C

Restrictions:

- Most of the people involved with the corruption of the city need to be killed or captured

- Shia City must survive at the end of the quest

Onwards?PreviousExitNext

Author's Notes:

- Word Count: 8400~

- And the second chapter to be release in a two day period...this is really strange...well at least I'm making progress to the end of the volume. It's so close now...I've been waiting for this part for months. Speaking of months I've just realised this series has been going on for 6 months now...yeah....with my writing pace, I expect this series to be complete in a year and a half...damn this is really going to take a while to finish. Hope I don't burn out.