Within an inconspicuous flat somewhere in the middle district. A handsome middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes. He stretched his athletic body, feeling the console close to his skin.
"Guess I won't need you anymore…"
The man chuckled to himself as he took off the console and placed it on the empty couch next to him. A light blinked on the console and a mechanical voice sounded out.
"Player S3lin disconnected."
At this moment a few steps could be heard. A woman wearing a suit and sunglasses stepped away from the window, approaching S3lin.
"I take it that you were successful?", asked the woman with a cold voice.
"Of course. When I take a job, failure is not an option."
"Mhm. As expected from a famous mercenary. Here, the reward you asked for."
S3lin grinned as he grabbed the heavy briefcase the woman handed over. He opened it carefully, finding five small bottles containing some viscous, silver, sparkling liquid. They were stored carefully in some black foam and a blue light shone on them at all times.
The mercenary didn't consider it strange that his client handed over the reward so readily without confirming the success of the mission. Some factions were powerful enough to know that a small mercenary wouldn't dare to deceive them.
"Hm. It's a pity that this will be a one-time deal now that the famous S3lin has been banned from the game."
S3lin chuckled upon hearing the woman's words:
"What is there to be sad about? With these stimulants you brought me I will be able to form my constellation and become a real starlight master! My future will be endless! All those players have no vision. They will always be limited by the game's maximum level being only 100. While I will continue to climb the ranks. It is obvious which is the corrrect decision to make."
"You're decisive. Not bad."
"Of course. So don't hesitate to call me when you have another job!"
"I will keep it in mind. Goodbye."
"Bye."
S3lin watched as the woman left the flat before his eyes moved towards another man sitting silently in the room, immersed in the game. He whispered with a grin:
"This time we made a killing. Good job, Dot!"
***
Dream Avenue's members were still in disbelief. They couldn't imagine what it would take for someone to give up on the game. In their minds Fate of Crunaboul was the biggest opportunity of their lives where everyone could rise to the top. And those who already had enough money and played the game for fun naturally couldn't be bought easily.
[Cyclone: Get a grip, guys! Now is not the time to be confused!]
Cyclone's reminder woke everyone up. They shook their heads and focused on the enemies outside the wall. Those mist dwarves who had received the comprehensive buff were now a terrible threat as they began to assault the wall. Especially the battering rams dealt way too much damage.
"Where are our fire mages?!"
"They are hiding because of the priests!"
"F*ck! What about the tanks? Why is no one protecting the mages?"
"They are, but it's not enough."
S3lin's single move caused chaos on top of the wall. The situation was not far from deteriorating. Liam and his friends also felt the stressful atmosphere. Bloody Edge was sitting in stealth at the edge of the red dome, gritting his teeth.
[Bloody Edge: That shield is too powerful! Can't we do anything about it?]
The others agreed but no one had a solution. The missionary was surrounded by a layer of black light, which was able to endure 27.500 points of damage. Meanwhile he swung his large halberd in wide arcs, threatening almost half the area within the red dome with each strike.
Eventually Liam gritted his teeth.
[Bleary Mirage: Just attack with all you got! Ignore the damage. Let the potions and Balm heal it!]
[Bloody Edge: Do you think we can survive that?!]
[Bleary Mirage: Some of us can...]
The friends shared some solemn looks before following Liam's order. They couldn't remember ever being in such a desperate situation. Throwing their bodies at the enemy, they soon broke through the missionary's shield.
Balm had drops of sweat run down her neck. She did her best to use her heals efficiently, even keeping the ticks of the revitalizing potions and food in mind. Her brain felt as if it was running hot from all the calculations.
Half a minute later the inevitable happened. Watchful Eye, having used up most of his Qi, activated [Meditation]. Balm overestimated the damage reduction the skill would give. She decided not to heal Watchful Eye until he received one more hit, but it was this hit that unfortunately took all the HP he had left.
[Balm: Oh no. I'm sorry! My bad!]
[Bleary Mirage: Talk about it later. Now it's time to focus!]
Balm didn't say anything more. But after the small blunder she found it difficult to regain her rhythm. Between dodging the enemy's skills and keeping everyone's HP in mind small mistakes began to slip in.
Meanwhile the situation at the wall was increasingly getting worse. The mist dwarves showed a surprisingly strategic mind. They kept focusing all those enemies who dealt fire damage, putting pressure on them and slowing down the destruction of the battering rams.
Finally, the players managed to take out one of the buffed siege weapons after it reduced the HP of one of the wall's segments by almost half. However, to everyone's shock another battering ram left its spot and instead targeted the weakened segment. This was something that never happened before. This was the effect of the missionary's command causing the mist army to behave less brainless.
After this happened an additional two times the segment was dangerously low on HP. But the mist army only had three battering rams left and none of them were buffed.
"What can we do?"
"We need repairs!"
"We can't send the NPCs out now…"
Anxiousness spread among the players. They were afraid of losing the war so close to the finishing line.
"NOO!"
Suddenly a cry brimming with anger rang through the battlefield. Everyone focused on the source, watching as the red dome turned into a red light and disappeared behind the mountains.
A scene giving all the players renewed hope was revealed. The dwarven missionary was lying on the ground surrounded by seven players. To everyone's shock Watchful Eye, Bloody Edge, and even Quickstep had sacrificed their lives to kill the boss as fast as possible.
Instantly an insane amount of EXP was distributed among the players. It was like an invisible wave as without exception everyone levelled up at least once.
But this wasn't all. With Entragur's fall the mist army immediately behaved more headless. The priests stopped focusing on those capable of fire damage and the battering rams chose their targets randomly.
Unfortunately, just as everyone felt like victory was in their grasp, they discovered something terrifying. Although the battering rams behaved more randomly, one of them was already on its way to the heavily damaged segment. And it didn't look like it would change its target.
"Oh no, stop it!"
"Why is it coming here? Mages!"
"Fire! Fire!"
The players tried to stop a catastrophe from happening, but it was too late. The battering ram reached the wall and struck it once… twice!
Two hits were all it took. The segment's HP reached zero. Finally, the segment caved in. Ominous cracking sounds announced the coming of the end.
"No no no!"
"Get off! Get off there!"
"Out of my way!"
The situation on top of the segment immediately got chaotic. Players pushed each other, their faces painted with fear, single-mindedly trying to get to other segments. Some managed to get away but for others it was too late.
Suddenly the segment gave in. It broke apart along the many cracks permeating the fortified structure. A rumble shook the battlefield drowning out the horrified cries. Dust shot towards all directions, even denser than the mist.
While the players watched on in shock, even some despair, the mist army immediately saw their chance. Having lost their commander, they abandoned everything they had been doing and mindlessly plunged into the dust. For the monsters only reaching Greypine Tower mattered as this would assure their victory.
"You… you won't get through here!"
Suddenly a delicate but surprisingly determined shout sounded from the place where the wall had been breached. With it an incredibly powerful storm erupted. It came from the direction of the town, blowing through the breach.
The dust was immediately blown away and the sight got revealed to everyone. Where the wall had once been were now two piles of rubble. The mist army had created a path in between, with lizard riders at the front, eager to leave the wall behind.
But opposite the advancing army stood a single young girl holding a magical scroll which shone in a beautiful green light, giving the girl an ethereal aura. A violent storm blew from behind the girl's back. It had no effect on the girl, but the advancing enemies were clearly struggling not to get thrown away, their advancement coming to a stop.
"Who… is that?"