The giant palms conjured by Fortune were shaken by ever increasing vibrations, like the tide of the ocean. Their fingers opened slowly.
“Roaaah!”
Accompanied by a liberating roar the palms suddenly exploded, revealing an exhausted looking demon.
“Welcome back!”
Quickstep mockingly greeted the enemy while swinging her swords. A gigantic whirlwind formed, creating another prison for the demon. Windblades cut into the demon’s skin, dealing a mix of physical and wind damage, striking up to ten times per second.
[-3!]x10
[-2!]x10
The other melee combatants attacked simultaneously with their skills off cooldown.
Rouna’ar suffered constant blows, looking weaker and weaker. With his most powerful skill sealed by Liam, he didn’t have a good answer against the party’s resilience.
His mace struck Radiant Shield again, but the tank was already back to full health.
[-970!]
From this point on the demon couldn’t surprise the party anymore. They exchanged attacks, constantly shaving away at Rouna’ar’s HP.
When he attempted to perform another spinning attack, he was stopped by Cyclone’s freshly created lightning cage paralyzing him.
As soon as he could move again, Radiant Shield tried his luck with [Golden Net]. To everyone surprise Rouna’ar was directly trapped again. However, the skill didn’t last for two seconds under the demon’s mad attacks.
Still, two seconds was a lot of time to deal damage. After tearing apart the golden net Rouna’ar was on his last leg. He swung his mace listlessly at Radiant Shield.
Fortune waved her staff. With her major skills on cooldown, she threw out an [Arcane Strike]. The spear of concentrated magic slammed into the demon’s head.
Suddenly Rouna’ar’s head was jolted around, his neck deformed unnaturally.
Cyclone flinched.
“Ahh, that looks painful.”
But the demon didn’t appear to be in pain. His eyes searched for the body of his master as he let out an unwilling roar:
“Master! This useless servant couldn’t avenge you!”
With those words Rouna’ar breathed his last breath before dropping to the ground.
“Is the fight over? No third boss springing out of nowhere?”
“Those two were qualified opponents. They deserve our respect.”, sighed Radiant Shield.
“Dear viewers. The final dungeon boss has fallen. Our party remains victorious.”
“This should be the first clear, right?”, asked Cyclone hopefully.
Everyone silently held their breaths, waiting for C’s confirmation. And finally, a familiar voice echoed in their ears.
[Congratulations on achieving the first clear of a level 20-25 dungeon. >Achieved in: Kelsnim’s Invasion<]
[Your accomplishment is worthy of being remembered.]
[You can choose to name your team or stay anonymous.]
[Congratulations on achieving the first clear of Kelsnim’s Invasion, normal mode.]
[Your accomplishment is worthy of being remembered.]
Immediately everyone’s emotions erupted. After many difficulties they took the first clear before anyone else.
“Damn, we’re the best!”
“Number one! Number one!”
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“Haha, I want to see the faces of those arrogant guild leaders now!”
“This will definitely kickstart our guild! Soon we will be known thorough the federation as the number one guild!”
“I will show my old team that it was a mistake to kick me out!”
“We both will, babe!”
“Babe…”
Cyclone rolled her eyes watching Silent Acacia and Quickstep hugging closely. She preferred celebrating with Balm, dreaming of their golden future.
When the party calmed down, Silver Blade glanced at everyone with a smile:
“Although we didn’t make a contract this time, I hope everyone is ok with using ‘Colville Constructions’ in the announcement?”
“Of course.”
“Sure, but shouldn’t you be a bit more generous this time?”
“That’s only natural. 250.000 credits for everyone but Mirage.”
Radiant Shield’s words got stuck in his throat. He was only joking around, not expecting Silver Blade to throw out such a generous sum of money.
“Silver, you’re the best!”, exclaimed Cyclone happily. Although she wasn’t poor, 250.000 credits were not a small amount for her.
Silver Blade smiled at her friend while observing everyone’s reactions. Silent Acacia, Quickstep, and Bleary Mirage showed some appreciation but were not overly surprised.
Obviously those three could estimate the value of this new achievement quite accurately. Fortune seemed to care more about the accomplishment, while Radiant Shield and Bloody Edge appeared quite overwhelmed.
“You guys, don’t think this is too much. Do you have any idea how big Fate of Crunaboul is becoming? Even if this clear isn’t first through all servers, like our previous one was, it will still garner attention throughout the entire federation.
For advertisement of this scale, it is normal for a company to invest millions. I even think the company is getting a bargain but that’s as much as I can promise you without consulting the other shareholders.
I will do my best to make it up to you guys when negotiating the sponsorship for the planned guild.”
“Wait, wait. Silver Blade don’t talk like that! We are more than satisfied with so much money. This is more than I ever possessed in my life!”
Radiant Shield waved his hands, looking quite embarrassed. But Silver Blade shook her head.
“No. I’ve said it before, but it is important to differentiate between business and private matters. You all deserve a fair remuneration. Otherwise, it might lead to trouble in the future.”
Seeing Radiant Shield about to open his mouth again, Bleary Mirage interrupted him.
“I agree with Silver Blade. Just accept your pay and be happy.”
“Well, ok…”
“Good. Now let’s share our joy with everyone.”
Silver Blade laughed brightly as she configured the announcement. A moment later C’s voice rang in the ears of every player on Falva Star.
[Server Announcement:]
[Please congratulate team Colville Constructions on being the first to achieve the first clear of a level 20-25 dungeon. >Achieved in: Kelsnim’s Invasion<]
Meanwhile two more pleasant messages were portrayed for the party members:
[Accomplished achievement: Head start.]
[Received title: Advanced Forerunner]
[Effect: Gain two points of luck.]
[The competition is ramping up, but you are taking first place. Don’t let others catch up.]
[Accomplished achievement: Breaking Kelsnim’s plan]
[Received title: Defender of Duabalis]
[Effect: Attacks by ghosts have a 5% chance of failing if you are the target.]
[Kelsnim prepared meticulously but he didn’t calculate your presence...]
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
An exhilarated shout suddenly rang in the room. Everyone was startled, looking at Cyclone who jumped in place with a smile as bright as the sun.
Seeing this scene they didn’t even have to ask. Everyone glanced at the effect of the first title they received, drawing amused smiles. The two points of luck led to a more powerful reaction from Cyclone than the achievement or the money.
Cyclone’s emotions weren’t the only ones erupting right now. The moment the server announcement came, it was as if time stood still on Falva Star, before the entire planet suddenly trembled.
News stations immediately went crazy, gathering all the information they could get to write a report for their next hourly news program. All their plans were disrupted as no one expected the dungeon to be cleared today.
Some stations leaning towards gossip directly interrupted their current program, sending some self-proclaimed expert to talk about the dungeon, producing the wildest speculations.
The web only knew a single topic.
“That familiar name again…”
“It has to be Hotpot, right? I didn’t believe they could make it!”
“Haha, I bet 10k! I’m rich!”
“Wow, look at mister foresight over there.”
“Damn Star Gazer why did he boast so much? I thought he’ll get it this time!”
“In my opinion it’s the media’s fault! Why are they only hyping up the big guilds? Hotpot has been first place since the beginning of the game and never showed signs of weakness.”
“Isn’t it because their members are so difficult to reach? Even Silent Acacia and Quickstep don’t want to give interviews!”
There were big discussions outside but the mood within the dungeon was depressing.
Star Gazer stared at the dark graveyard, hands balled into fists, his nails almost drawing blood. His underlings didn’t know what to say.
They just came from a wipe after the black wind made the fight against the jelly creature impossible.
With a newly discussed strategy they were about to kill the boss when the announcement immediately destroyed all their fervor.
Elsewhere Phoenix Feather let out a forlorn sigh, tilting her head upwards. The announcement came at an even worse timing for them.
With the help of Onrabell they were still celebrating their victory over Enem, about to head to the final fight, when the announcement suppressed their celebratory mood.
“Sis, don’t be disheartened! We can still get second place!”, said Cherry Blossom in an effort to cheer her sister up.
Can we, though?
Phoenix Feather didn’t speak out her negative thoughts, putting on a fake smile:
“You’re right! Let’s not give up, everyone!”
“Yeah! That’s the spirit!”
While the Nest of Flames guild entered the hell portal, Earthquake was locked in battle against Enem.
“AHH!”
With an annoyed roar the orc vented his emotions, bringing his great sword down at the jelly creature. His mood had hit rock bottom since their team composition proved at a disadvantage in the timed fight.
Callida could only sigh, considering how to convince her stubborn husband to get more players who dealt something else than pure physical damage.