*Level 10 achieved*
*Gain 5 skill points for the talent tree.*
Apophis collapsed.
Everyone thought the boss had hurt him, or even killed him with the final blow!
Chocolate rushed towards him and cast a healing spell.
Apophis stood up. "Wow, that was close. My HP almost went below 99%!"
His joke defused the tense atmosphere, and everyone cheered.
Finally, it was done! The boss was dead, and they were all alive!
Ceasar reached out his hand to help Apophis up. "Haha, don't pat yourself on the back too much! Looks to me like the boss bugged out and threw himself out the window!"
Once everyone had recovered from the intense fight, the team descended the tower, coming at last to the boss's corpse.
Now it was time to share the loot. In "Horus," most monsters only gave EXP when they died. Only bosses and NPCs could be counted on to drop items.
The loot was excellent, as the game gave huge bonuses to the first clears of Nightmare dungeons.
There were fifteen items in total: eight rare items, five epic items, and two legendary items.
Of the lot, only two interested Apophis.
[Zetark Nobility Uniform (Complete Power Armor)] [Esper] [Epic]
Item Summary: "Uniform worn by the Zetark Nobility during war. Reinforces the user's own energy reserves with cosmic energy." Increases your base energy by 50%. Your energy recharges 30% faster while in combat.
[God Tzeentch's Rings of Power (Ring)] [Esper] [Legendary]
Item Summary: "The power ring of Lord Enel, bestowed by the God Tzeentch himself. After its owner's defeat, its dark control effect was broken… but vestiges of it still remain." Corrupts all your spells and skills with dark energy and gradually shifts your alignment toward Evil. Grants access to the unique [Tzeentch] talent tree. Increases all your skills by 1 level.
It was exceptional loot for their point in the game. Everyone was delighted, especially White, who happily claimed Epic armor and the Legendary weapon called [Bow of the God Tzeentch].
Of course, the party had two Espers: Apophis and Chocolate. Since Apophis didn't think he had enough money simply to give Chocolate what her share of the Esper items were worth, Apophis decided to rely on the loot distribution mechanic.
It was a simple system. When an item dropped in a party, everyone could choose to select either "need," "greed," or "pass." The item would be randomly distributed between everyone who didn't select "pass," with a much higher bias towards those who had selected "need."
Apophis clicked on "need" for these two items…
And Chocolate chose "greed."
"I might miss the opportunity for two extremely powerful items," she said, "but it's without a doubt thanks to you that I could beat a Nightmare dungeon in the first place! Without you, I'd never have succeeded at an X Rank quest, so thank you very much! Only, promise to call me if you want to do another dungeon!"
Apophis smiled as both items were granted to him. "I don't know what to say, except… thank you."
Ceasar spoke up. "Honestly, I didn't think we had a chance! I only followed along because of our contract. But you've shown me that the will always triumphs! The Renovatio Imperii guild is wide open to you, my friend, and if you ever need help, wherever you are, I'll be there!"
This rush of treasure, levels, skills, and new allies made Apophis feel like he had quite a comfortable lead over most other players!
Yet, unfortunately, it would quickly turn against him.
