After a too-short night of sleep, Apophis reconnected.
System: Welcome to the Galaxy of Horus! Your character evolution has completed.
Apophis was the first to return to the game. He took the opportunity to inspect his character menu.
Name: "Apophis"
Soul: "Enclabossa"
Guilde: Eclipse (leader)
Race: Zetark Pureblood ( evolution lvl: 3 ) ( Next Evolution: lvl 50 )
Sex: Male
Class: Esper
LvL: 22
Rank: C+
Alignment: -188 ( Very Dark )
--------------Stats-------------
STR(Strength): 350 (+10%) x2 = 770
INT(Intelligence): 350 (+10%) x2 = 770
AGI(Agility): 350 (+10%) x2= 770
DEX(Dexterity): 350 (+10%) x2 = 770
Energy: 3000 (+50%) x2 = 9000
Luck: 1 x2 = 2
----------------Global Skill----------------
Book Skills: ~Berserk~, ~Cosmic Materialization~, ~ Dark Cosmic Meditation (lvl 2)~, ~Eternal Flame (lvl 3)~, ~Lord of Flames~, ~Susanoo~, ~Zooanthropy~
Talent Tree Skills: ~Energy Regeneration: 15 pts~, ~Firebending: 50 pts~, ~Telekinesis: 10 pts~, Waterbending: 25 pts~
Passive Skills: [ Archaeologist ][ Ghost ][Genocidal][Esper-Warrior]
-----------------Inventory------------------------
Equipment: Zetark Nobility Uniform (Epic), God Tzeentch's Rings of Power (Legendary), Complete Zetark Battle Armor (Rare), Ring of the God-Emperor Apophis (Common)
Money: 13,000 Galactic Coins
Summary: Your power grows day by day. You'll one day be the perfect fighter, but with every step, your soul darkens further. You're on the perfect path to become an evil god!
.
These were truly exceptional stats for a character at lvl 22!
At this point, Apophis was, without a doubt, the most powerful player in the game.
Nevertheless, he had to continue his momentum if he wanted to keep his lead.
That would be extremely complicated now that the SuperGuilds had access to the infinite resources of outer space. They would focus on cultivating and strengthening their elite players to the detriment of ordinary members, who were just there to be exploited.
It was a terrible arrangement for the regular members of these guilds, but, since they got paid for their efforts, they just accepted the situation while dreaming of becoming elite players themselves one day.
As Apophis was lost in thought, Lotus reconnected.
Apophis rushed towards her and kissed her savagely. To avoid drama, they'd hidden their relationship from the rest of the Eclipse guild, and so it had been almost five days since the two had exchanged a tender moment.
Lotus seemed happy with this moment of tenderness, but after this exchange of kisses and hugs, she said, "Apophis, I have to tell you something that's going to be hard to hear."
She hesitated for a moment. "I… wish to leave the guild after this dungeon. I only joined because you asked me to help you start it, but the playstyle is simply not for me. If anything, I want to start my own guild some day! I promise that I'm not resentful towards you in any way… Only, I don't want to depend on anyone."
Apophis was disappointed, but not surprised. Lotus had been extremely independent in his original life, after all.
"I understand perfectly," he said. "Thank you for telling me. Actually, I have an idea that might satisfy us both! Take over from me as guild leader of Eclipse. I never really wanted to found a guild, and I'm not interested in the day-to-day business management stuff. I only started it because the benefits of a guild are so great. Well, what do you say?"
Lotus was astonished. "I… I'll think about it, I promise."
The two lovers spent a few minutes flirting, but then Hulk returned to the game, abruptly forcing them to separate.
Before long, everyone had returned, and Apophis addressed them all. "Look, I know we've all had very little sleep, but we need to stay focused on completing the dungeon! Remember, death here means you lose your character forever. But also remember that we've been able to outsmart the Dungeon once so far! If we stay alert and use all our resources to their full potential, I know we can succeed."
The group descended the wooden stairs to the ground level and made their way to the gigantic door which the Naga Queen had guarded. The door was too huge to open through ordinary strength, but Apophis summoned his ~Susanoo~ and then could shove it open.
Behind the door was a vast graveyard that stretched as far as the eye could see! Of course, with all the fog, that wasn't exactly a great distance. In fact, once the party moved through the door, everyone noticed at once that the fog seemed even heavier than before. The atmosphere was terribly oppressive.
The group resumed their marching formation with Hulk at the front, then advanced through the graveyard.
As they walked, monumental figures became visible.
They were the famous Specters, which appeared in every dungeon of Nightmare difficulty and higher, the faceless, shadowed, motionless figures who observed those who intruded in these pockets of reality.
These ones stood by the side of the road, and Apophis realized that he'd never seen them so close! Nevertheless, they were not in the least aggressive, and let the party pass in wary peace.
As the group remained vigilant, a woman's voice called out not far down the road.
That cry had haunted them all throughout the dungeon, but never so loud, and never so close! The party readied themselves, preparing for a fight!
.
Yet, as they moved slowly forward, the group came upon not a wailing woman but a deep ravine. A suspension bridge stretched across it…
Guarded by a grim reaper wielding a sinister scythe!
[Guardian of Truth] [Boss] [Level: 200] [Tier: S] [Peaceful]
This was the second boss?! But then why was it marked as "Peaceful?"
Since Hulk was the tank, he cautiously stepped in front of the boss. Getting no immediate reaction, Hulk tried to step onto the suspension bridge.
The Guardian of Truth tilted his scythe in one graceful gesture, laying it across Hulk's neck!
Hulk froze as the boss spoke in a gravelly voice! "Only those who have been chosen by the Prophet of Truth can pass."
Hulk responded hesitantly, "What must I do to be chosen?"
"You must answer a question."
Relieved, Hulk said, "I'm listening!"
The boss's voice grew louder and more thunderous as it asked, "What are the teachings of the Prophet?!"
The Hulk thought for about ten seconds, then said, "You must always tell the truth?"
The boss barely moved, but only tilted its arm, pulling all the weight of its massive scythe across Hulk's throat.
The Boxer toppled to the ground, his head rolling silently into the chasm before him.
System: Party member "Hulk" has died. Player "Hulk" has left your guild "Eclipse." Player "Hulk" has left your friend list.
Everyone stared in shock at the decapitated corpse on the ground!
Hulk had died in a mere moment, and his character had been permanently deleted because they were in an IronMan dungeon!
How could they possibly win now?! Who ever heard of a bunch of ranged players beating a dungeon without a tank?!
Everyone still alive was thinking the same thing: 'there's no way we can beat this boss.'
It was a real dead end.
