#- Watcher Tower Kedarji -#
Bad luck for Gans, the player beneath the Watcher Tower is a caster with the power to unleash AoE attacks, quickly destroys all debris around the tower and wipes out all his drones.
Gans scrambles to find cover and move away as the player aims his AoE attack towards Gans.
"Hey, Preta, watch out. He's AoE caster," warns Gans, launching another heavy attack towards the enemy caster before running away.
"Can you distract him for a sec?" asks Preta.
"Negative, what are you doing?"
"Making a plan and stalling."
"For wh-"
Boom!
An explosion erupts to Gans' right, nearly hitting him. "Damn. What are you doing?"
"He purposely holds off the drone attacks before launching his skill; it means his AoE skill is still low and requires a lot of SP. If you can make him use his skill repeatedly, it will weaken him. A weak caster can-"
"Got it, I'll try."
Gans stops running and switches to another weapon, an airbow.
This airbow isn't a regular weapon but a mystic-rarity one, meaning it packs a much greater power than regular weapons. However, like other mystic weapons, it demands a sacrifice —in this case, Gans' SP, HP, and Spiritual Attributes.
Gans takes aim with the airbow at the enemy caster who is blindly attacking the hill where Gans is located.
The airbow's strike is powerful, forcing the enemy caster to activate his defensive skill.
Meanwhile, the player atop the Watcher Tower just falls, suffering brutal fall damage —at least a 50% HP loss— and breaking bones, making him unable to move at all. It's dire because he doesn't have any skills that don't require body movement.
"Thanks, Gans. But please give me more time," Preta requests.
"Are you going to use SDB?"
"In works. Can you spot the other player?"
"Lying there, completely immobile. Looks like his armor's gone too."
"Do you want to finish him, or should I?"
"Hehe... if you don't mind, I need one kill."
"Go ahead."
Gans, still wielding the airbow, aims at the incapacitated enemy player. The enemy caster notices this and takes advantage of the moment to attack Gans.
Their attacks happen at the same time.
Gans' strike hits the defenseless enemy player, killing him. Additionally, the impact of Gans' attack throws the enemy caster far back.
Unfortunately, the enemy caster's attack misses. Even though their attacks happen at the same time, Gans' attack is much faster and disrupts the enemy caster's attack, causing it to miss its initial target by a wide margin.
Preta, observing this situation, takes advantage and deploys dozens of his SDBs.
SDBs or Self-Destruction Bots —often misunderstood as Self-Destruction Bombs— are bots programmed to self-destruct once their goal is achieved. However, some SDBs are combined with bombs that cause massive explosions.
Dozens of Preta's SDBs approach the enemy Caster, who's still trying to regain consciousness and control after being thrown. These SDBs then stick onto the enemy Caster's body, and once all of them are stuck, they explode one by one, creating a series of high-powered successive explosions.
Preta calls that technique "Body Bomb," his go-to move for taking out enemies from a distance.
#- South of Kedarji Watcher Tower -#
Hexon's relentless attacks, along with his bots, are overwhelming the enemy player. Moreover, Hexon's attacks have received a buff, while the enemy player has been debuffed by Vector, who's supporting Hexon.
In no time, the enemy player's armor is destroyed, and Hexon, along with his bots, swiftly eliminates the enemy player.
Meanwhile, Zhendra arrives at the hill in the same time that Dens swiftly moves downhill to engage the enemy's reinforcements.
Zhendra assesses the current situation. To the northeast, he sees several AoE attacks happening without obstruction since the Watcher Tower has been destroyed. To the northwest, he spots a group of enemies moving towards Dens, and another group heading to the former Watcher Tower, where Preta and Gans are located.
"The enemy is getting closer. Dens, get ready for the clash," Zhendra informs Dens.
Looking down, Zhendra sees Dens and Natasha gathered while Vector and Hexon start moving toward them.
Zhendra then shifts his gaze far to the northwest, checking on Crocils, who is facing Seamons alone.
He notices flashes of light and darkness several times, indicating an ongoing battle. "Crocils, are you okay?"
After waiting a few seconds, Preta responds, "Crocils, answer."
However, there's no response from Crocils at all.
"Zhendra, do you see anything?" Preta asks.
"Flashes of light, seems like a battle is underway."
"You and Nat, can you go rescue him? Find a safe route."
"I'll look for it. Natasha, how about you?"
"Understood," Natasha responds through their intracom, also looking up toward the hill where Zhendra is positioned.
"Alright. You two save and buy time. We'll head there as soon as we're done."
"Understood," Zhendra and Natasha say simultaneously.
Natasha remains still while Zhendra continues to search for a safe route to rescue Crocils.
Meanwhile, Dens leaves Natasha and heads toward the meeting point with Vector and Hexon, preparing to confront the approaching enemies.
It doesn't take long before the three of them spot the enemies figures they're about to kill.
The three players come armed with terrifying weaponry. However, any experienced player can clearly see they're carrying the weapons rather than using them. The difference seems clear to experienced players like Dens, Vector, and Hexon.
They exchange glances and eventually laugh.
"This... will be very easy," says Vector.
"Not necessarily, who knows, their level might be high enough," Dens replies.
"But not too high to face us," Hexon states.
"At least, stay focused. If we can defeat them quickly, we can help Crocils," Dens responds.
"I actually wanted to play around, but because of Crocils, that'll have to wait."
"Vec, activate speed and attack buffs. Hex, use your skill for a critical attack on the player on the left and a lightning strike on the player in the middle and me. I'll use a counterattack skill to deal damage to him," Dens commands.
"Got it," Vec acknowledges.
"Understood, but wait a few seconds, still recharging SP."
As they wait, they only stay, observing their enemies who seem to tremble under the weight of their weapons. The enemies' movements are sluggish, as if the weaponry is too heavy, slowing them down. It's a characteristic noticed by experienced players when there's a significant level difference between the weapon and its user.
"Recharge complete. Give the signal," Hexon says, swinging his blood-stained golden katana.
"3... 2... now," Dens commands.
Following Dens's orders, Vector immediately activates his skill, significantly boosting speed and attack for Dens and Hexon.
With Dens's teleportation ability, both he and Hexon instantly move close to the enemies, startling them enough to make them drop the weapons they were carrying.
Hexon uses the same skill as before, instantly killing an enemy. Meanwhile, Dens running towards the player on the far right, who's also running in fear.
Hexon follows Dens's previous order, launching a lightning strike at the player in the middle, who's frozen in shock due to these sudden attacks.
The lightning strike pierces the middle player's chest and continues toward Dens, who activates a skill to redirect the attack damage he received elsewhere, aiming it at the enemy who's fleeing.
#- Watcher Tower Kedarji -#
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Preta, the enemy sent by Seamons is a newbie, we easily defeated them. We're heading straight to Crocils," Dens says through the intracom to Preta, who is waiting for the enemy to arrive.
"Got it," replies Preta, scattering items in the Kedarji ruins.
"Zhendra, confirm," Preta asks through the intracom.
"All good, still on the way. Haven't found Crocils yet."
"Spread the bots markers provided by Crocils."
"Understood."
"Are you planning something?" Gans asks via intracom while keeping an eye on his western side, anticipating the enemy's arrival.
"Yeah. Seamons is obsessed with one thing, and we know what it is, so we'll use it to attack him."
"Isn't your obsession the same?"
"No, his is more about leading, while mine is about winning. Two different things but clash when his leadership brings losses to our team."
"Got it. But for me, it seems like you both don't care about us as long as your goals are achieved."
"I have to admit, that's true. But haven't I always saved you? While Seamons just disregards you like his recent lackeys."
"You're not wrong. By the way, the target is in sight."
"Shit! Do you still have a drone to stall them?"
"Three drones left. How long do you need?"
"A minute or two at most."
"Got it."
Gans flies his remaining lightning drone towards the approaching enemy group.
Meanwhile, Preta is still busy connecting all the items he has scattered. Once they're connected, Preta rushes towards the hills to escape the trap he has set.
In the distance, three enemy players face Gans' three drones. However, the drones are immediately destroyed by their final attacks.
"Using high-level skills just to drive away drones, such a waste. Seems like what Dens said is true, they're newbies," says Gans, still calmly observing from a distance.
"It's not a waste attack. Your drone's level is too high, even its small attacks can kill them," replies Preta.
"But why didn't the two players before die when attacked by the drone? Don't tell me Seamons used that strategy again."
"Indeed. A foolish strategy as it requires sacrifice. Sending the weak ones to the front lines while keeping the strong ones at the back as support. That strategy will only kill off the entire vanguard, leaving behind the support. For Seamons, the weak ones can be replaced anytime. It's foolish," says Preta, ready to activate his trap once the enemies enters it.
"Foolish or not, I don't really care. What's clear is I don't like Seamons because he always replaces team members as he pleases. No chemistry, no advantages. Do you agree?"
"Agree, but-"
"-Hello, old friends. It's been a while since we met," someone whose voice sounds familiar but forgotten for a year, someone named Seamons, interrupts.
"Hey, Seamons. I thought you were dead, but here you are still daring to follow us this far," responds Preta.
While Preta responds to Seamons, all other team members remain silent, some quite surprised.
It's surprising because the intracom they use can only connect among themselves and is safe from external networks. If Seamons can contact them, it means Crocils has been captured by Seamons, or even worse, Crocils has been killed by him.
"Don't worry, Preta. I never forgot about you, I've always been watching. How do you like your current position?" Seamons asks.
"Much better than yours. By the way, did you kill him or just capture him?" Preta's tone remains unchanged, showing no emotion whatsoever.
However, unnoticed by anyone, Preta's mind is full of considerations, suppressing his emotions.
Preta knows Seamons' characteristics well, as he has explained to Gans. Seamons is only obsessed with being a leader. So, Preta can already guess Seamons' response.
Seamons replies, "He's safe. How could I hurt an old friend? So, will you all come back?"
"Okay, we'll all come back. We'll entrust this team's trust to one person... you. But one condition, tell your lackeys to stop. We don't want the battle to continue," Preta says.
"Sure, I'll contact them."
Gans sees from the hill that all the enemies have stopped, as agreed by Seamons. He then signals by dropping his damaged remaining drones down to where Preta is waiting for his signal.
Once the signal is received, Preta says through the intracom, "Thank you. Now we're coming towards you—"
Preta activates his trap, causing a huge explosion accompanied by sharp needles flying at high speed, ensuring that no one survives.
#- West Kedarji -#
"Okay, we'll all come back. We'll entrust this team's trust to one person... you. But one condition, tell your lackeys to stop. We don't want the battle to continue," Preta says through the intracom, heard by Zhendra and Natasha, who are hiding and observing Seamons and Crocils lying down and tied up.
"Sure, I'll contact them," Seamons replies through the same intracom.
Upon hearing the signal from Preta, Zhendra and Natasha start moving. Zhendra arranges all the markers provided by Crocils, forming a large circle around Seamons.
Meanwhile, Natasha stealthily moves towards Crocils.
In his helpless state, Crocils sees Natasha, blinking his eyes after Natasha gives him a hand signal in response, indicating that he understands.
Natasha continues approaching Crocils and uses her ability to heal him. Skill activated, Crocils starts recovering.
Crocils is their main Caster, which means his ability to use power isn't hindered by his body's movements. In other words, he can easily activate markers and his skills to teleport his entire team to each marker.
One marker is right next to Crocils, and in an instant, it vanishes, replaced by Dens, ready in a defensive position.
Natasha runs straight towards Dens and Crocils, releasing Crocils from his ties.
Realizing this, Seamons begins attacking the three of them, but Dens, as the Tank, absorbs all the attacks, securing himself and his two friends.
Meanwhile, at each marker previously scattered, Vector, Hexon, Preta, and Gans appear simultaneously.
Vector immediately debuffs Seamons, but unfortunately, it doesn't have much effect. However, it manages to reduce Seamons' SP.
Meanwhile, Hexon runs towards Seamons, using his last lightning strike skill. Simultaneously, Gans launches a thunderbolt skill, focusing all laser attacks on Seamons' heart.
Unfortunately, the combination of those two attacks isn't enough to defeat Seamons. However, the next attack by Preta succeeds in locking Seamons' movements.
Seamons might be tough to kill as his level is much higher than theirs, but it doesn't mean he can't be incapacitated.
"Perfect teamwork, as expected," says Seamons, no longer moving.
In response, Preta silences him by stuffing his mouth with a sizable rock, saying, "Shut up!"
Seamons is a high-level Caster, just like Crocils and Vector. The three of them can activate their abilities or skills without moving their bodies, merely using their mouths to chant mantras.
"What do you want to do with him?" asks Natasha, healing all her friends after the fight.
"There's a group after him, the reward is pretty big. We can level up with that," says Preta, still busy tightening the ties around Seamons' body.
"Dragonnite?" asks Dens.
"Yeah, those kids," says Preta.
"Grinding kids," jokes Vector, greeted by laughter from Hexon and the others.
"They're still young, have plenty of time for grinding. We struggle just to find time to log in, especially tomorrow we even have exams," Crocils comments.
"You're still thinking about exams? No wonder you're careless," retorts Preta, lifting Seamons' body with Dens.
"You're lucky you're smart already, unlike me."
"Just cheat, it's easy," Preta replies, followed by laughter from all of them.
"By the way, are you guys staying long?" Zhendra joins the conversation.
"We'll be done soon, just need to drop him off at Dragonnite."
"If nothing's important, I'm log off. My mom's been yelling at me."
"Okay, who else is log off?"
Zhendra's connection cuts off, and now his character status is idle, meaning it will only return to his safe house.
"Doesn't your mom scold you when you play, Preta?" asks Dens.
"No, my mom's kinda—" Preta's answer gets cut off.
Shortly after, Preta's connection is cut off, and his character status is also idle.
"Yeah... we know what the answer is," continues Dens, followed by laughter from the remaining players.
"Is one of Dragonnite even active right now?" Natasha asks, looking worried, especially with the crease on her forehead.
"What time is it now?"
"Almost midnight."
"Shit!"
They all exchange looks. "We need to sleep; early exams tomorrow," says Hexon.
"You're right, should we just kill?" suggests Dens.
"How about we loot instead?" Vector suggests.
"Just keep him confined in Kedarji, I know a safe secret place," suggests Gans. "I caught sight of it from above earlier."
"Vector, how much SP do you have left?" asked someone, surprising them all in the middle of their discussion.
"You're back online? What happened earlier, internet?" Dens asks Preta, who's returned to the game.
"My mom," Preta's response draws laughter from his friends. "I only have a short time."
"So, we're all in the same boat, hahaha..." says Vector, followed by their laughter. "What do you want to do?"
"Debuff him so he can't attack, then we'll open his mouth seal,"
Vector glares at Hexon. "See... I told you I needed that skill.In this situation, do you have any skill suggestions for me?"
Hexon just turns away his face. He knows he gave bad advice and doesn't try to defend himself, he simply avoids it.
"Just weaken him, I'll slow down his movements. So, if he tries to attack, we can counter immediately," advises Crocils.
"Good advice, Natasha, do you still have enough energy?" Preta responds.
Natasha nods and moves straight toward Vector and Crocils, who are preparing to launch their attack.
"Okay, Vector, you give the command. The rest, cover the surroundings of Seamons and incapacitated him if he shows any signs of wanting to attack," orders Preta.
Their friendship is so deep that they understand each other implicitly. Years of playing on the same team have eliminated ego —teamwork has been established. With just signals or simple commands, they understand their respective tasks and responsibilities, including their positions.
Vector launches his attack, followed by Preta opening the mouth seal.
"You heard it, we don't have time. So, I'll send the CFF, and you'll agree. Understand, boss?" says Preta, pressing Seamons' cheeks tightly, making it a bit hard for him to speak.
"What do you want?" Seamons responds, his voice seemingly unaffected by Preta's actions.
Preta looks at his friends and then back at Seamons. "Just look, I'll send that CFF."
Seamons looks the Condition For Freedom through his Self-UI, appearing like a hologram.
Self-UI, or Self User Interface, is a feature in the game related to a player's private information that others can't see. Players use this to access various aspects related to themselves, including changing characters or contacting developers for bugs or another issues.
"All attributes reduced by 5 to be given to Preta [ID-01-2238], Vector [ID-01-2273], Natasha [ID-01-2376], Hexon [ID-01-2283], Dens [ID-01-2209], Crocils [ID-01-2210], Zhendra [ID-01-2267], Gans [ID-01-2299].
Access to weapons armory and the right to take three weapons given to Preta [ID-01-2238], Vector [ID-01-2273], Natasha [ID-01-2376], Hexon [ID-01-2283], Dens [ID-01-2209], Crocils [ID-01-2210], Zhendra [ID-01-2267], Gans [ID-01-2299].
Access to items and resources library and the right to take ten sets given to Preta [ID-01-2238], Vector [ID-01-2273], Natasha [ID-01-2376], Hexon [ID-01-2283], Dens [ID-01-2209], Crocils [ID-01-2210], Zhendra [ID-01-2267], Gans [ID-01-2299].
Access to bots warehouse and the right to take five bots given to Preta [ID-01-2238], Vector [ID-01-2273], Natasha [ID-01-2376], Hexon [ID-01-2283], Dens [ID-01-2209], Crocils [ID-01-2210], Zhendra [ID-01-2267], Gans [ID-01-2299].
A fine of 1,000,000 Duit to be paid to Preta [ID-01-2238], Vector [ID-01-2273], Natasha [ID-01-2376], Hexon [ID-01-2283], Dens [ID-01-2209], Crocils [ID-01-2210], Zhendra [ID-01-2267], Gans [ID-01-2299]."
Seamons' eyes shift to sharply gaze at Preta, a terrifying look if he could move freely. "ARE YOU CRAZY? That's as good as killing me."
Preta grins at Seamons. "Zhendra found out about you, and we know it's not enough to kill you. So, what now?"
"Say it quickly, or we'll really finish you off," Natasha declares, grabbing everyone's attention.
They don't speak, but they all share the same thought about Natasha. It's unusual for her. She's supposed to be the calmest one, but this time, she's threatening someone.
"You know, a major update is coming, and like other major updates, you'll receive a lot of gifts from the developers. You can use that for grinding later," Natasha says, trying to persuade Seamons.
Seamons looks at Natasha. "Fine... But I suggest you all be careful tomorrow."
Seamon's grin seems ignored by Preta, who quickly pulls back and punches him hard before gagging his mouth again.
"Is in, everyone?" Preta asks his friends.
"I'm off," says Natasha, then her character goes idle immediately.
"Crocils, before you log off, teleport him to the markers on the hill," orders Preta, but it's too late as Seamons has vanished from their sight.
"Done, I'm off," Crocils follows Natasha.
"Alright, I guess you guys are about to log off. So, I'll log off first," Preta immediately exits the game.
Vector and Hexon just exchange looks and laugh, "Last?" they said at the same time.
"Please secure us first before grinding," Gans asks before exiting the game.
"Don't you have a exam tomorrow?" Dens asks while trying out his new weapon he got from Seamons.
"Of course, we're in the same room for the exam," Vector replies.
"You're really a weapon maniac, huh? Why do you always have to try out new weapons?" Hexon retorts.
"What's the point of having a weapon if you don't use it, dumb. By the way, prepare some cheat notes for me tomorrow. Bye," says Dens before logging off.
While their friends have already left the game, Vector and Hexon are still playing. They secure their friends' characters that are not fully safe yet until reaching the safe house. But when they want to start grinding, their actions are halted by their parents, who instruct them to sleep because there's a exam the next day.
Unfortunately for these teens, the most-anticipated major update that was supposed to bring significant changes to the game by implementing the latest technology called Alternate Gaming Advance Reality (AGAR), making the gaming experience more immersive, has been delayed due to school exams interfering with their enjoyment.
They have to endure and survive through those two weeks of school exams to be able to play their favorite game again, along with tens of millions of people worldwide. The game that dominates the world at that time.
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