BlueTitan spawned in Crownia, screaming and kicking. He looked left and right, ensuring none of his guildmates had been killed. Seeing the coast was clear, the guild leader of the Titans kicked a nearby tombstone and shouted his curses and frustrations.
“Not this again!” he said between kicks. Everything had seemed so right when they moved their base of operations from Greensburg to Crownia. It had looked like a heaven-sent gift to overturn the guild’s slump. The [Rise of the Hive King] event had helped the guild grow powerful quickly, but after a couple of weeks, the guild’s morale was at an all-time low.
Evil alignment limited most of the guild’s operations to the city slums. However, competition was fiercer than ever. Many guilds had chosen to join the alien side, and there was conflict over every inch of turf in the slums of Green Country. When they discovered they could move the guild’s operations to the Dark Abyss, BlueTitan cut a discounted deal with the Ogres and moved the whole guild over here for a fresh start.
The Dark Abyss was vast; there were more than enough lucrative hunting grounds, dungeons, and plenty of resources to go around. The thorn in their side was the PKers camped around Crownia. It was the second time they got ambushed while hunting fungoxen. The disease-riddled cattle gave incredible XP, and their drops were fantastic. However, if they were going to be ambushed every other day, they would barely break even.
One by one, each of his 100-man team members respawned in the catacombs of Crownia. Seeing his underlings arrive, BlueTitan held a serene expression, folded his arms, and waited stoically for everyone to return. All Titan players shared a disappointed look for losing a level and having to visit physiotherapy to revert stat loss.
Finally, their best player, TitanFist, appeared.
“Gather up, everyone!” BlueTitan announced to the guild, forcing a weak smile. “First things first. How many [Shroomhorns] did we get?”
A few players raised their hands. BlueTitan did a quick count, and his eyes widened. “Wow. 32? Despite our loss, we still made a profit. Well done, everyone!”
Hearing some good news, the downcast players perked up a little.
“Did we at least take some of those PKers down?”
TitanFist stepped forward, “19, sir.”
“Bravo! They paid a steep price for hunting the Titans,” BlueTitan roared, eliciting applause from his 100-man team. In the back of his mind, he cursed for the horrible ratio. Five Titans for one pker was horrible!
“Alright! Let’s drop all our loot at the auction house and get to the clinic to get our stats back up. The guild will happily cover the expense.”
The group of players was dismissed, leaving only TitanFist and BlueTitan behind. BlueTitan waited until everyone had left, and his weak smile morphed into hard lines and a frustrated mood. “Argh. What do we do, TitanFist?! We’re barely breaking even. We need to find a way to deal with those bandits!”
“I don’t know. But they managed to get you first again.”
“It’s like the disguise didn’t work at all. They must have lookouts in the city.”
“At least the other teams seem to be safe.”
“They sure are heartless. They are targeting me as the guild leader on purpose. It’s terrible for morale, but there’s nothing we can do. There are thousands of players in Crownia. How are we supposed to flush the PKers' lookouts?”
TitanFist shrugged. “If we can’t hide you, maybe we just need to make you stronger. If you had lasted a little longer, I think we’d have been able to break their encirclement.”
BlueTitan nodded. “You’re right. Maybe all we need to do is to invest in new gear for me. Let’s go to the auction house and see what’s available.”
TitanFist and BlueTitan marched out of the catacombs, passing the many anthropomorphized crows that filled the dark tower, and entered the lavish auction house of Crownia. BlueTitan first dumped the shroomhorns. Chemists went nuts for the crafting material; each could be sold for 1k. He then opened the trade window and looked for anything to suit a level 40 warrior.
Beside him, TitanFist did the same. “See anything that interests you, boss?”
“There’s always the ashen shield set. Other than that, wait… dwarven vanguard set? What is this?”
BlueTitan’s eyes widened as he went through the details of the set’s 11 pieces of equipment. It included jewelry and a shield. He operated the auction house’s menu so that the bonus from wearing all 11 pieces would be tallied up and compared to his current equipment.
Physical Resistance: 63% > 35%
Strength: 275 > 50
HP: 845 ＜900
HP Regeneration: 54% > 23%
Movement Speed: 19% > 10%
Status Resistance: 6% > 0%
Resilience: 20% > 15%
Block Chance: 13% > 5%
This set was better across the board. The only stat that it barely lost in was health. However, the inherent set skill, [Mountain Endurance], essentially cheated that one deficiency, granting 20% more health in an emergency. This was even better. It offered the chance to surprise a rogue.
BlueTitan imagined the horrified look on the pkers' faces when their rogues executed their combo. Just as they thought they had him, they would see him gain a shield that offered an extra 20% of his health bar. It could make the difference between life and death.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
This wasn’t even the best dwarven vanguard set. Scrolling down, he found sets with better crafting grades that offered even better stats. The best one improved the shield of [Mountain Endurance] by an extra 10%.
“Check this out,” BlueTitan said, sending the information to his aide.
“Woah,” TitanFist gasped. “275 strength? This is nuts! And three skills?!”
BlueTitan’s thoughts raced. The PKers always came after his group. If he wore this set and could lure them out, their team might be able to turn the tides in a battle and send a message to the PKers: the Titans were no pushovers. The price tag, however, gave him pause.
“200K. That’s very expensive.”
“It’s 11 pieces of equipment, boss, plus three skills. If you were to buy each individually, it wouldn’t be much less than that. Besides, you can always sell your current equipment as collateral.”
“I guess you’re right.”
BlueTitan checked the guild’s coffers. It was barely enough. However, if he didn’t do anything about his guild’s predicament, there was no way they could shift the tides. He unequipped all his gear. He couldn’t help but feel a little emotional as he listed his shield and his rings. He’d only obtained these with the combined effort of the best players in his guild.
BlueTitan purchased the dwarven vanguard set and equipped it all simultaneously. The armor's sleek blue and white lines made him look sharp and dangerous. The helm, fashioned from pale, silvery metal and etched with beautiful blue metal patterns, bore a distinctive crest of a sun shining between two mountains. The narrow eye slits and thick, sharp chin guard gave it a menacing look. The chest plate was a mosaic of polished silver and blue metal inlays, forming a beautiful pattern with broad, reinforced shoulder pauldrons that exuded strength.
The gauntlets protected every finger, reinforced with small polished metal spikes on the knuckles. The bottom armor featured metal plates with blue metal scales covering the legging. The sturdy boots had thick, ridged soles and blue metal-capped toes, and the shield felt incredibly light in his grasp.
He admired how the rings bore the same emblem as the armor: a sun shining between two mountains. There was something special about having every piece of equipment match, almost like he was a fancy GM. Despite only being rare in grade, its stylish and meticulously crafted design made it feel like an epic set. As he stood there, he couldn’t help but feel his blood boil with excitement.
As he checked his stats, he smiled. Good luck one-shotting him from now on. There was no way even five rogues could break through so much damage resistance and the hp shield.
BlueTitan looked around and spotted a couple of other players wearing the same set. It looked like he wasn’t the only one biting the bullet and making the investment. That made him feel better about the money he’d just spent.
“Alright. Get everyone here. Let’s go out. Let those PKers try to get us this time. We’ll have a nasty surprise ready for them.”
*
JugularStrike peeked over the ridge. The group of targets was slowly approaching the ambush spot. Their group’s size was just right: 100 players, just like PutridMouse promised. JugularStrike quickly did the math: 100 gold per player plus 2k for the guild leader. This group was worth 12k gold. Even after splitting it up between everyone, it was good money. Lying against the slope, ten other rogues stayed silent and motionless. JugularStrike signaled them to wait.
Business was better than ever. When Pegasus first invited their members to adventure in the Dark Abyss, JugularStrike resisted. His favorite guild activity was collecting assassination bounties. He was a killer, and there were few potential victims in a land controlled only by allies.
JugularStrike journeyed through AstroTerra in search of juicy targets. Recently, his travels took him to Hilsford, where he’d spent several days targeting Union VIP members. Once they got city guard protection, he relocated to the capital and helped the guild during O’Shaughnessy’s election campaign.
He was sent after several high-profile targets until his poster landed on the garrison's most wanted wall. Several famed bounty hunters were looking for him. While waiting for things to cool down, he heard about the new guild missions in the Dark Abyss and had come over here.
Pegasus was trying to put a break on the surge of new players in Crownia. It turned out to be a fun gig. All he had to do was to band with his guildmates and kill as many players as possible. Moreover, the targets were handed to them on a silver platter. The Rats were their eyes and ears in the city. They fed them all the necessary intelligence.
The sounds of battle grew louder. He messaged everyone else in the chat. “Those are the Titans—average level 40. The most dangerous players are BlueTitan and TitanFist. Get BlueTitan first, and the rest will be easy. He’s the guild leader. The bounty will be split as usual. On my mark.”
All players activated [Camouflage].
“Now!”
JugularStrike jumped over the ridge and ran down the slope. The group of 100 enemies was in a standard battle formation. Medics and espers in the back, warriors holding the frontline, and rogues running around the battlefield, looking for opportunities. JugularStrike honed into the cloaked figure and compared it with the report from the Rats.
Eyes of the Hunter!
Under that cloak, he confirmed that it was BlueTitan. The Titans’ hunt was reaching a crucial point. Eight cornered oxen's health bars were in the red, and they fought furiously against them.
They were distracted.
Pommel Strike!
JugularStrike’s figure appeared behind BlueTitan, and he hit his temple with the pommel of his knife, stunning him for 2 seconds. His companions’ camouflage was canceled as they started attacking the warrior.
Backstab!
-86!
Triple Strike!
-71
-13
-59
Bleeding Blow!
-41
-4
-4
-4
Freezing Shout!
A cascade of red damage numbers appeared over the guild leader of the Titans. Uh? I remember that last time he went down much quicker. Just how high is this guy’s defense now? Wasn’t he only level 40? JugularStrike frowned. They targeted weaker guilds on purpose. It was much easier to one-shot a player ten levels lower than them than fighting against a player of the same level. However, this warrior’s defense had suddenly skyrocketed and could almost compare to that of a level 50 warrior. He must have upgraded his gear. It didn’t matter though. His health was dropping fast.
“Second stun. Ready!” reminded JugularStrike. Another rogue stunned BlueTitan as the first stun was about to wear off.
One of the Titan's warriors, quick to react, had managed to stun one of the rogues. But the others kept working on BlueTitan’s health. The first heal landed on BlueTitan. They had to finish him quickly, or the battle would become troublesome.
JugularStrike used one of his best finishing moves.
KO Slash!
-231
This skill dealt extra damage based on how empty the health bar already was. It would be more than enough to kill the guild leader. A reflective, orange sheen appeared over BlueTitan. His health bar gained an orange color over the original health bar. JugularStrike glanced over his shoulder. No medic seemed to have used a shield on him. He attacked the shield a few times, but it didn’t budge. How was this possible? He was only level 40! This was just a small-time 3rd tier guild. How did he have such a powerful life-saving skill?
Finally, the stun wore off, and the guild leader of the Titan's whole body shone in a brilliant yellow light.
“No! Don’t let him! Stun him!”
Golden Charge!
It was too late. BlueTitan had gained unstoppable status for two seconds and had managed to retreat closer to the medics. Healing rays and skills were already showering him, getting his health back in the green. The guild leader of the Titans turned toward the shocked rogues and grinned. JugularStrike bit his lip. He had a bad feeling about this.
“Now it’s our turn! Titans! Attack!”