Argus leers at the person before him. “Who are you?” He asked. He obviously can see the person’s name, but that wasn’t the point of the question.
The wild lands are a very anarchic area, and no one would just simply help someone else without any ulterior motive, especially if they can easily kill both the ganker and the victim and reap all the profits themselves. Playing the game for years, Argus has learned that there is no such thing as a ‘good Samaritan’ outside of the protected zones.
The person obscured by the darkness named Mephistoz started spinning the scythe, or rather, the kusarigama with their right hand where the chain is seemingly attached on to.
Argus frowned upon seeing this. Not only because Mephistoz is getting ready for an attack, but also the fact that their weapon is incredibly unorthodox. Weapons like these, much like dual wielding, very heavily relies on stats to function properly. A small scythe attached to a chain is incredibly DEX dependent, and while it can be extremely effective when used by the right hands, not many people even at high levels uses this, as this weapon excels neither in long range, nor close range. It’s a strictly mid-range weapon like yoyos, flails, and whips, which many find it awkward to use.
He hovered the stone shield in front of him, so as to block any attack that this person may throw. The shield’s health is still around 75% so Argus concluded that it’d still last a couple more hits.
Mephistoz whipped the scythe towards Argus, attempting to hit him from his left, but the stone shield quickly and easily blocked the attack. Argus counterattacked by releasing
“Once this stone shield gets destroyed, I’m dead.”
Argus has already figured out how Mephistoz utilizes this weapon. By using the scythe to impale targets at range, and then pulling on the chain to hook them closer, Mephistoz could score an easy critical hit with the off-hand dagger as they’d be lying prone, or entangled to resist. Obviously, an easy counter for this is heavy armor or mobility, which Argus unfortunately has neither of.
Mephistoz threw another shot at him, which the stone shield blocked once again. This time, however, the scythe latched on to the stone shield, and Mephistoz attempted to pull on it. It didn’t budge, as the stone shield cannot be forcefully displaced and can only be moved by the wearer’s will. Realizing that the stone shield won’t go anytime soon, Mephistoz disengage the scythe and pulled it back, spinning it once again.
Before Argus could release
Argus flinched upon seeing this, as he had instantly recognized this move. It was like a moment of eureka, but for memories of the past. Afterall, this was something he’d always scolded Umber for doing, as it’s highly risky and serve no purpose, not to mention flashy. Umber always did it nonetheless, but with a katana, typically in an attempt to last hit a boss.
It’ll just take a split second for him to release the
“U-Umber!?” Argus couldn’t help but mutter in confusion. He wasn’t expecting any response from this person named Mephistoz. It was just an involuntary reaction as a result of his surprise.
All of a sudden, Mephistoz landed while crouched down. The scythe still carried momentum and continued for a brief period before Mephistoz tugged on it to retrieve it.
Argus’ mind was going in all kinds of directions as the scene unfolded before his eyes. “Was it just a co-incidence?” He gulped as he watches Mephistoz slowly stand up. “But then why did he stop?”
Even though the darkness still pretty much obscures both of them, the fact that Mephistoz has now left the cover of the tree’s shadows enabled Argus to take a better look at him.
His crimson red eyes are the only discernable feature shown on his face, as much of it from the nose all the way down to his neck and shoulders is covered by a black cloth that functions as a half-mask. His armor appears to be hardened black leather, with numerous pockets and clips, most of which houses daggers on them. Similarly, his forearms and heels each also have daggers sheathed on them.
The silence was very deafening. Argus wanted to release the
“There’s no way…”
Between the occasional howls, and the cawing of the birds, there was a silent noise between the two that was much louder than anything else in that forest. It was like a soundless fuse that inches ever so closely to the bomb, a man walking on a very, very fine thread, that just a slight nudge from a harmless breeze would cause him to ultimately fall to his demise. The tension in the air feels radioactive, and any small movement from either of them could cause the situation to further descend into chaos in a blink of an eye.
Suddenly, like pinching the spark of a fuse to put out the fire, the tension all of a sudden disappeared into a puff of smoke.
“So, you’ve noticed?” Mephistoz said.
Argus wanted to release
“You fuck.” Argus exhaled heavily, releasing all the air he’s been holding all this time. “You fucker.” He smiled.
“Huh, I wonder what gave me away?” Mephistoz walked closer to Argus, extending a hand.
“Oh, yeah,” Argus said sarcastically as he grabbed onto Mephistoz’ hand, shaking it intensely. “I fucking wonder what…”
“No, really,” Mephistoz asked. “What gave me away?”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Argus couldn’t help but just sigh. He fixed his hair that was starting to get into his face due to the intense action just earlier and proceeded to loot the gankers before walking towards Facilis.
“Why didn’t you tell us though?” Argus skeptically asked Mephistoz as he sells the relatively low-end items that the gankers had. “You could’ve at least said that you weren’t going to play anymore.”
“Uhh, how?” Mephistoz replied as he sat beside the stall that Argus is selling at. “I didn’t have any resurrecting items or passives, so I had to wait a whole year to be able to contact you all again.”
“Huh? I thought you had contact in real life with Fort?” Argus examined the sword that the ganker had, determining that it was, after all, not any use to them. “Oh, by the way, he’s changed his name to Gilver.”
“No, that was Honiden, not me. They know each other in real life, apparently.”
“Really? I see. I guess it never really came up again.”
“Yeah, affairs in the real world should just stay in the real world.” Mephistoz tosses a dagger in the air and then promptly catches it.
“So, what made you play again, after 2 freaking years?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just felt like playing again?” He sheathed the dagger that he was just playing and looked at the stone fountain. “Still, what a co-incidence that I started playing again at the same time both of you died from gankers. I actually saw you a lot earlier when you were talking to those kids, but I didn’t think it was really you. I thought you’ve died somehow and someone else decided to use your name. That’s why I decided to follow you.”
“Yeah, I know right. If I remember correctly, names of dead characters can’t be used for a year and a half? Not sure though.” Argus walked towards Mephistoz after selling the excess items. He took the [Nettle Shiv] from his inventory and handed it over to him. “I gotta say. Your current name is… awfully long.”
“Long?” Mephistoz took the [Nettle Shiv] and examined it. “What’s so long about it?”
“Uh, the fact that it’s 3 syllables?” Argus also sat down and opened up his skill tree. “You know I’d prefer edgy names if they were shorter to pronounce.”
“Honiden had 3 syllables…”
“Yeah, that’s why I called him ‘Hoe Den’ instead.” Argus couldn’t help but smile as he recalled the past. “I’m privileged to call you something worse since you just tried to kill me, but unfortunately I can’t think of anything as of now, so you’re going to have to make do with ‘Mephz’.”
“Whatever, suit yourself.” His eyebrows perked up in interest at the [Nettle Shiv]’s stats. “Oh, this is good for interruptions!”
Argus dove into his own world, as he would always do when focusing intently on one subject. The casual chatter that Mephistoz is saying no longer reaches Argus’ ears, and the world surrounding him seemingly evaporates into oblivion, leaving nothing but the skill tree screen in front of him.
“The Arsonist tree is only good for long, drawn-out fights, which our party cannot afford to engage in as we lack a healer.” He sank in deep thought, reading the skill description in the window while weighing all his options. “The only two options for me right now is the Blazer branch or the Anarchist branch. Going for Anarchist would be the best in the short term, as it significantly boosts my immediate damage, as well as my clearing ability should we encounter a group of monsters or gankers. However, the Blazer tree leads to the Sunborn, and then finally to the Phoenix, which gives me the
He stroked his chin in contemplation. “The problem with that, though, is we’re going to be severely lacking in sustained damage and AoE attacks. Mephz excels at single target bursts, so as of right now, I’m the DPS. I guess the best course of action right now is to go for the Anarchist branch, and then invest on the Blazer later on when I’ve achieved a balance with my build…”
A brief moment of hesitation prevented Argus from immediately investing on the Anarchist branch, however, he instantly cleared his mind and convinced himself that this is the most logical approach given what they currently have. He is just maximizing their overall potential. “Damn. It’s really hard to min-max in games like these. There’s so much to consider.”
The two skill points were used to learn
Upon doing this, the Pyromancer skill tree shifted and turned, revealing 3 branching paths. As expected, these are the Arsonist, Blazer, and Anarchist branches. With the hesitation cleared off him, Argus took the Anarchist branch with a single breath.
You have chosen the Anarchist path.
The flame within you breaks off its shackles and refused to be controlled. A scorched land ripe with death and destruction follow you in your wake.
Your maximum HP has been permanently reduced by 25%. Your maximum MP has been permanently increased by 100.
“W-well…” Argus couldn’t help but flash an awkward smile. Even though he already knew that this is what the Anarchist's passive entails, he’s still a little bit reserved upon receiving an ability that he cannot reliably strategize around. “It’s okay, I took this branch for the spells anyway. I’ll just make sure not to fall below 5% HP.”
“…ey! Hey!” Mephz’ voice gradually start to enter Argus’ consciousness as soon as he closed the skill tree window. “What happened to you? What’s with that thing on your arm?”
“My arm?” Argus looked at his right arm in curiosity, wondering what exactly was Mephz just talking about. Not just his right arm, but both of them now have tiny red-orange cracks on them. It didn’t take up a lot of space in his arm, in fact, only around 5% of the total skin in his arm was affected, but it’s still very noticeable especially in contrast to his otherwise lighter skin tone. “Ah, this? Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt or anything. It’s just an aesthetic effect of me choosing the Anarchist branch.”
“Ooh, you’ve hit a milestone already!?” Mephz exclaimed in surprise. “I didn’t know! I’m already level 4 so I’d be getting mine once I level up.”
“Ah, that reminds me…” Argus looked at the sheathed kusarigama on Mephz’s hip. “What skill tree are you investing on?”
“Chain Weapon Mastery.” Mephz replied in curiosity. “Why?”
“I see, I see. Nothing I was just curious.” He searched the gigantic list of all the available skill trees in the entire game, and found the Chain Weapon Mastery after a second or two. “Aah, so it mostly consists of passive abilities…”
“Yeah, this weapon is very stat and skill dependent. Not much abilities to execute from it. I do have 2 techniques though.”
“Yep, I can see that.” Argus closed the window once again. “So, what do you plan on doing?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. I just want to level up so I can reach the first milestone. What about you?”
“Actually, I was thinking of doing some gathering to earn some gold. You’re can’t survive from doing PvE alone, you know?” Argus laughed. “Participating in the economy is still important.”
“Ah, gathering what?” Mephz asked as he stands up.
“Herbs, probably. Then I’ll refine them to potions and sell them.” Argus stood up after him. “If I raise my proficiency enough, I’d be able to make high value potions. Those can easily sell for 100 gold each!”
“Right…”
Argus went back to the Verdant Plains to pick some herbs and hunt trash mobs for the alchemy materials that they drop. Mephistoz came with him as he’s intending to go to Fermer Forest to kill world bosses.
World bosses are different from dungeon bosses, as they can be seen wandering around the wild lands. They are generally weaker than dungeon bosses of the same level, and are designed to be fought by 1-3 players.
The two waved at each other good luck as Mephistoz continued on while Argus remained at the plains. He held his staff with his two hands and looked around the surroundings, trying to find the first unfortunate trash mob that he’s about to utterly destroy.