Liam glanced at Major Onrabell, waiting until the fairy left and stopped before a gate leading further into the dungeon.
“That map shows powerful artifacts which are held by the nephilim, most of them in the hands of the broken council.”
“Ahh, so those demons and ghosts want to steal them?”
“Well, in their minds those artifacts should belong to hell in the first place. Most of them have some connection to one or more devils.
The nephilim hold these artifacts since the time they were still close with the inhabitants of hell. But now they are of limited use.”
“Got it. So that’s the purpose of this invasion?”
“Correct.”
***
A thief wearing sharp claws on his hand appeared from stealth. He slashed at a red-skinned demon, causing deep wounds in its skin.
The demon let out an unwilling roar before falling lifelessly to the ground. The next moment a grey ghost left its body, escaping through the wall.
Star Gazer lowered his staff, wearing a satisfied expression on his face.
“Severed Fang, loot quickly. We finally got six idols.”
“Yes, boss!”, replied the thief while reaching out with his hand.
Star Gazer turned his eyes to his trusty assistant:
“Pen, is the map you drew complete?”
“I have drawn multiple layouts according to the changes boss. Although we haven’t been to the red room yet, it can only be in one of two possible locations.”
“Good job.”
“All thanks to the boss. Without your information we wouldn’t have known that this labyrinth changes.”
Star Gazer waved his hand, directing his eyes back to the thief, who held a blue idol with the number six in its hand.
“We have everything we need. Let’s go, we can leave the labyrinth soon. This time we should be far ahead of all others!”
***
At the same time elsewhere, Callida and four of her colleges turned a corner, entering the yellow room. The rest of the party had already been waiting there.
When Earthquake spotted his wife, he immediately asked impatiently:
“Callida, are we done here? I’m sick of these puzzles. No idea why the devs like to include such things.”
Most of the party members echoed the leader’s words, causing Callida to let out an exasperated sigh.
“Yes, good job everyone. Forming two teams should’ve saved us a lot of time. Now with six idols the order is already clear. Let’s start with this yellow button and hurry to solve the labyrinth.”
“Good. Let’s go.”, Earthquake said with a relieved expression.
***
Phoenix Feather was rather anxious. She and her friends had just killed the third demon, receiving a green idol with the number 2.
The guild leader knew in her heart that their progress was too slow. However, looking at her little sister joyfully working with the other guild members to solve the puzzle, Phoenix Feather couldn’t help but show a warm smile.
“Ah, now it makes sense!”, exclaimed Cherry Blossom suddenly.
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“Yes, since the green circle is number two, it makes sense that earlier the yellow and green circles lit up together!”
“Boss, we got it!”
An excited mage specializing in dark magic, called Shadow of Roses, turned to Phoenix Feather for confirmation.
The latter nodded slowly remembering the scene when that little fairy Onrabell scouted the labyrinth earlier.
Phoenix Feather was happy with this small step forward, urging her party to continue. She didn’t know yet that her guild was the only one among the top guilds who was accompanied by the major after their healer impulsively saved Onrabell earlier.
***
Within the same dungeon a small army of undead was advancing like an unstoppable force. They were clearing a graveyard-like area, killing soldiers belonging to Duabalis Army, pushing them back.
In the center stood a stern-faced man with red hair and pale skin. All movements seemed to be under his control, running like a well-oiled machine.
A mage wearing a dark robe and a sinister grin stood next to the man, assisting the army against more stubborn enemies. A few other players were mixed in the crowd, cooperating with the undead.
“Boss, this time we from the chaos faction will definitely be victorious!”
“I hope so. I spent quite some money to gather information. Right now, we are rather slow but once we reach that labyrinth we will speed up!”
“Of course. It is time that people learn to fear your name, Wave of Bones, once again. Graveyard of Heroes will rise today!”
“Yes. Our guild will stand at the top, as it always does!”
Graveyard of Heroes was a well-known guild which rose only a few years ago. Its name had a double meaning.
On one hand Wave of Bones liked to employ veteran players who for some reason couldn’t unfold their potential in their careers. They were given a second life by the well-known necromancer, silencing all their doubters.
On the other hand, Graveyard of Heroes had driven many outstanding pros into despair with their resilience and skill.
For Wave of Bones this guild was his baby, which he painstakingly raised. And just as it had grown up, Fate of Crunaboul appeared offering the perfect opportunity for them to unleash their full potential.
***
Not knowing how others were doing, Liam and his friends gathered in front of a gate leading further into the dungeon. Onrabell waited for their ok before pushing it open.
Immediately an eerie cold washed over the party. The sight before them was a large area of black soil. Broken weapons stuck in the ground, forming orderly lines. A few decorative bones and red cloth hung from the weapons, swaying in the subtle wind.
This was the graveyard area Wave of Bones was in right now. However, in the version experienced by players of the order faction no soldiers could be seen. Only some lonely undead roamed the area.
Looking up from the floor one could see a tall hell portal in the distance, locked by thick red chains. From time to time a ghostly figure rose from one of the graves, floating towards the portal and disappearing.
Onrabell scanned the surroundings with an anxious face.
“Adventurers, this should be the breeding grounds for vicious ghosts. I don’t know what those demons are planning, but we can’t let them succeed! We need to cleanse the lost souls here.
Please, hand the blessed bracelet to me and I will take care of this place.”
Silver Blade was surprised that the major offered to do all the work here. But she didn’t complain, handing over the bracelet.
Onrabell took it and approached the closest grave. With a wave of her hand a small sphere of holy light separated from the bracelet and fell on the grave.
For now, nothing seemed to happen, but Onrabell continued with the next grave unperturbed.
A few of the wandering skeletons on the floor tried to catch the fairy but soon had to give up.
“Is that it? Do we just wait here?”, asked the confused Silver Blade.
But with a glance to the side, she noticed Liam shaking his head.
“No. While the major is doing her job, we need to prepare for the upcoming boss.”
“Would’ve been too easy…”, joked Quickstep.
“What do we need to do, expert?”, Cyclone asked directly.
“Why don’t you take a step forward?”
Cyclone skeptically looked at Liam’s grin, but her curiosity got the better of her. As soon as she took a step forward, the wind sent a shiver down her bones.
[-2!]
[-2!]
[-2!]
“Hey what’s this?!”
Cyclone was startled, quickly retreating to safety. But even Liam looked ahead with furrowed brows. Compared to what he remembered, the damage had directly doubled. It was now at the level of the dungeon at hard difficulty.
However, at this point he was already used to these slight changes in the game. He calmly explained to his friends:
“The wind in this area deals consistent damage. Obviously, it will be difficult to fight a boss like this. Thus, we need to get rid of the wind first.”
“How?”
“Do you see the two crypts at the edges of the graveyard? The wind originates from there. We need to kill the two guardians and then destroy the crypts.”
With Liam pointing it out the others easily spotted the rather inconspicuous crypts. They were small black buildings protected by a tall skeleton in heavy armor.
Being informed by Liam that the skeletons were only lord tier enemies, the party agreed on a strategy. They directly split up, each team of five responsible for one side.
Silver Blade, Bloody Edge, Quickstep, Fortune, and Balm formed one team, heading for the crypta to the left. After a few steps they already felt the horror of the wind, their HP being gradually chipped away.
Their team didn’t dare to be presumptuous, avoiding the smaller skeletons on the way as much as possible. However, they didn’t reach the crypta without a fight. The skeletons posed no danger, their only purpose being to delay the time.
Thus, Silver Blade had already lost about 200HP when her team finally faced the enemy.