"Hey, look, there it is!" Rox suddenly said and pointed at his twelve o clock.
The Hidden Boss, Rakusha, was currently engaged with another group. Ren was baffled by this. Since his information with Illusion Forest was limited, he didn't know what to expect.
Illusion Forest was like a Boss Room, but another player could kite the Hidden Boss. This got Ren thinking that maybe there was another Boss in the Forest. The one that couldn't be KS. Maybe Rakusha wasn't the only Boss around.
However, it was merely Ren's conjecture. He didn't know if it was true. He would research the place if he had the time. But for now, he needed to kill the Boss and get back to mining.
"What should we do? Should we KS the Boss?" Rox was entertaining the idea. Less hassle for them, the better.
Roxy slapped Rox's head. "That's why you don't have a girlfriend. Besides being ugly, your personality is the worst."
Rox only rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue as he rubbed his injured head.
"I think we won't be able to KS it," said Ragnar. "Those groups are going to get wiped out while the Boss's HP didn't even come close to half."
"We should wait until they got wiped out before engaging the Boss. At least they managed to decrease Rakusha's HP to a thousand. We should let them decrease it some more," Ren said without an ounce of guilt or sympathy. His voice was so cold that Rox and Roxy wondered if he was even human.
Come to think of it, they get the feeling that Ren didn't care about anything else but the goal even if he had to sacrifice them in exchange. That type of guy was dangerous the most.
Despite that, however, they noticed that Ren was kinder to Evie and Roxy rolled her tongue against her inner cheeks. Beauties really had it nice.
"You sure are ruthless," muttered Rox under his breath.
"You said that right." For the little time that Roxy knew Ren, she was convinced that the guy was arrogant and cruel. But it was not the arrogance that was all talk. His were proven with capabilities.
Ragnar was used to Ren. After all, he was made cannon fodder by the same guy twice.
Evie also knew Ren was cold even to his companions and ruthless to everyone else, especially the enemy. And this got her thinking about what happened before. Before that she was about to be Toad's food. Ren rescued her and even shouted her name in frantic. He was definitely not like that with Silvia and the others.
But Evie simply brushed it off as merely a gesture of goodwill since they were in the same group before. Maybe they have already reached the level of friends because they added each other to their friends list. Maybe that was the reason why Ren was kinder with her than the others.
At the side, Ren ignored everyone's thoughts, and they went closer to the group and Boss at his lead.
Upon closer inspection, Ren skidded to a stop when he recognized one of the group members currently engaging the Boss.
She was a Red Mage with shoulder-length pink straight hair. White skin, small face, big light ruby eyes, and an adorable dimple smile. Though right now, she wasn't smiling. There was sweat on her face and a frown on her forehead as she kept her group's health together.
"Rayna . . ." Ren muttered in a daze.
"You know them?" Evie asked first before the others. She herself was shocked that her voice sounded weird and high-pitched. There was also something that got stuck in her throat. A big lump that she couldn't swallow.
But Ren didn't hear anything. His thoughts were flying to the past. Once upon a time, when he was busy juggling school and work, Rayna came up to him and asked to copy his assignment.
Ren was known for being strict about those things, and he never once let his classmates copy whatever assignments he had. He didn't know why, but at that time, he did what Rayna asked. Maybe because her dimple smile reminded him of Saya's.
And since then, rumors circulated that he had a crush on Rayna since she was the only one who could copy his prized assignments. And since then, Rayna was buying him lunch and asked him out for movies as payment for letting her copy his homework.
Their relationship felt like they were dating but not officially. It continued until he was employed in a guild, and even in the game, he helped Rayna. He really thought that they were in a relationship because it continued for years.
Unfortunately, one day he was surprised by the news that Rayna was already dating another guy, and when confronted, Rayna only laughed at him -- saying that they were just friends.
He didn't blame her. He didn't have anything against her since what they had wasn't official.
While Rayna was enjoying her life with her wealthy boyfriend, he was left to dust, thinking about what had happened. Overnight he became a stranger in her eyes.
Ren grumbled at the thought, and his eyes burned at Rayna.
Revenge was the only thing in his mind at the sight of her. He was pity, and he knew it. And he knew that the best kind of revenge was no longer thinking about the person while living the best of his life.
But he wanted revenge best serve hot.
"Hey, you! Good timing!" the other group called when they saw Ren and the others.
Ren's group was a reasonable distance from Rakusha, and none of them engaged the Boss, so Rakusha's attention was still on the other party.
"A little help, friend!" another player said.
"We'll compensate you -- half the loot. Just help us with the Boss. Join our group quick!"
Roxy and the others only looked at each other. The other group was about ten or more players. And if they join them, they could be vetted and kicked out once it was time for loot taking.
"Go ahead and get wiped out. Then we'll take over. Thank you in advance for decreasing its HP." Ren grinned, voice mocking. He wouldn't have said anything. But unfortunately for them, they housed a snake in their ranks.
The other group's faces were shocked before they twisted in anger. At the same time, Rox and the others were surprised that Ren was very hostile to the group.
Like they stole his lunch or something.
"What did you say?!"
The other group was about to confront Ren when Rakusha let out another [Multiattack]. It rammed its Horns against the player, who got distracted before opening its wide mouth to release another [Spirit Beam] dealing massive AoE damage to the group. Their little numbers decreased even more until they were only five left.
While Rakusha's skills were on cooldown, some of the other group members looked at Ren's party.
"H-hey! Can we enter your group? I don't care about the loots. I just don't want to die and suffer the EXP penalty!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Traitor!"
While the other group had internal strife in that short window frame, Ren yawned and said with a bored tone.
"You can do us more service if you decrease the Boss's HP."
"I-I think we should help . . ." Rox's conscience was taking a hit. If those players didn't mind the loot, it might be alright to take them in. More members, the better right?
But Rox's lips were shut tight when Ren's attention flickered to him, and he felt an oppressing air behind his hood.
"O-or not . . ." Rox shrunk back.
Roxy smirked. "You'll do better if you shut your mouth."
Still arguing amongst themselves, the other group didn't notice the Rakusha was already opening its mouth for another round of [Spirit Beam].
"Guys, stop fighting!" Rayna's plea went to deaf ears. She then noticed a blinding light that came from Rakusha.
With their group in chaos and disarray, no one noticed how they died after being hit by a cold, piercing light except Rayna, who looked at Ren and gnashed her teeth.
"I'll remember you."
Ren stifled a laugh and tilted his head over. "Oh, you will."
