"Damn that man," snarled Monty as another blow from the beast slammed into one of his two shields.
The creature was eight feet tall, covered in dull iron that looked like it was molded to the creature's skin, and looked like an ugly cross of a gorilla and a dragon. It repeatedly swung its fists with the iron's extra weight into Monty's shield while roaring in rage. "A little help over here!"
"We are a little busy!" yelled the Rogue, Morenstad. He was working with Volkiere, the hooded and robbed Aeromage, acting as a dodge tank so the mage could attack freely. Together they were taking on three of the monsters known as Dragills and were slowly whittling them down.
Akatarina, the BlackGuard, the fourth and final team member, was fighting two at once. Her black armor was scored from many hits from these monsters, and she did not hesitate in her attacks. Her sword ignited with more unholy red light with every swing, and the swing bit just a little deeper than the last blow. With one more swing, she cleaved into one of the two attacking her and yelled, "in a minute!"
"Damn that man," Monty repeated for probably the fiftieth time in the last four days. This battle was only one room in a long series of rooms that had gotten progressively more challenging or complicated since they entered. Dante had told them that this place was a Challenge Dungeon, which held a unique prize at the end for anyone who completed it all.
But they had been trudging non-stop through the tunnels ever since they entered. The first room was a simple pair of mages, a water and fire mage, respectfully, that were a royal pain to defeat. The next room contained a group of Ratmen alchemists that flung bottles filled with diseases and afflictions. And all 22 of the following rooms had culminated in this room with the Dragills.
Monty braced himself, checking one of his gauges on his screens with a smile. He then crowed as the gauge maxed out, and he readjusted his position to catch another of the beasts in the attack. He then announced, "Shield Retaliation, Frost Burst!"
In an area before the bulky man, a cone of frost blasted out from the shield. Kinetic and cold energy blasted out at the Dragills he was fighting, felling one of them in the blast, his corpse shattering a frozen gore. The second Dragill caught in the area of effect was one of the ones fighting Akatarina, and it died a moment later from a swing of her sword.
Monty then turned to assess when he could do the most good and charged one of the three that Morenstad and Volkiere were fighting. With his retaliation ability out of the question for the moment, Monty shouted, "Shield Charge!" and he flew at one of the Dragon-Gorilla things with both shields first. The double blow sent the impacted Dragill back several steps and its attention on him.
Akatarina shouted, "Blackguard Swing!" She turned around, swinging her blade in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree arc, and vanished. A second later, she was behind that same Dragill, and she completed her swing. Her blade sliced into the iron hide of the creature, sparking as it passed through and bisecting the beast across its gut.
The two Dragills that remained that Monty had not bashed away smashed a fist each into the ground, shouting in a very garbled and guttural form of English, "Blood Iron Shell!"
"Shit!" shouted Morenstad as he tried to back away quickly.
Monty moved to intercept the special ability but was a moment too late; even Morenstad, with all his Rogue speed, could not avoid it.
The Dragills both grew spikes from their iron shells, extending by several feet in a moment. Then with a roar from the Dragills, the spikes launched out, and five impacted the close-ranged Rogue, two hit and staggered Akatarina, one hit Volkiere, and seven impacted Monty's shields.
Blood Iron breaks through your defense to damage you. You lose 271 points of health.
Considering that Monty had taken more of the spikes than anyone else, he was glad he only took this much. Morenstad had taken more damage, and one of the spikes had impaled through his left leg, hobbling him. Luckily, the Rogue had and used a healing item that could repair the leg, but he would need a moment.
It was a moment that Monty would give him; what was more troubling was that Volkiere had also been impaled by one. Mage classes were notoriously weak regarding their health, and he was the same. That hit to his shoulder looked like it took much from his health.
But the Aeromage was grinning, and Monty nodded at the man as he agreed. They had a tactic for it, and Monty shouted, "Get back! Can you back away in time, Moren?!"
"Yeah, just need a moment!" he shouted.
Monty nodded at him and raised both Shields into the air before slamming them down with an impact that the entire room felt. The Dragill Monty had bashed and stunned was getting up and growling as it found him. It snarled and charged at him at the same instant that he announced his next ability. The party leader declared, "Arrested Movement!"
The crowd control ability he had learned a few weeks back had paid off yet again. Phantom chains appeared in a cacophony of rattling metal and immediately wrapped around all three Dragills. The ability conjured six chains that held the creatures in place momentarily, all struggling against their binds.
It would not hold them long; they were too strong for the ability to hold them properly. The chains would snap in a moment.
But when Monty looked, Morenstad was gone and was back with Volkiere.
"Do it!" Monty shouted, crouching down behind his shields. His passives activated with the motion, increasing his knockback resistance, whole body damage reduction, and generating a short-range damaging light aura.
Volkiere raised both hands and began waving them as if spinning an invisible wheel. With a yell, The Aeromage shouted, "Shattering Gale!"
The Aeromage kept the movement going as a cyclone appeared in the middle of the cave. It rapidly sped up, and there were cracks and booms not dissimilar to car crashes as the wind solidified for a moment and broke the sound barrier, dealing damage to the creatures in the vortex.
You have killed 11 Dragills and earned much experience to your next level.
You have defeated room 24 of the Savior's Grave Challenge Dungeon. One room remains. Please continue when you are ready.
"Damn that man," Monty repeated under his breath.
"You know what? For once, I agree," Morenstad said. He spat and said, "Damn that man. Those spikes hurt like hell."
"Are you kidding?" Akatarina said, incredulous at these two men. "That was fun, probably the best room yet. I mean, how often do you fight half-dragon monsters? If I knew where to find more, I would suggest we head there after this. I gained a level from this fight."
Monty sighed, "you know what? That's fair."
"And, come on, Volkiere has gained some new powers, right?" Akatarina said, putting the quiet Aeromage on the spot.
"I did," he said, nodding absently. "Got a new ability. I can add the Corpse Rot Status effect to my Air Magic Spells."
The other three in the room went quiet momentarily, looking between each other before looking at Volkiere. Monty was the one to ask, "What's Corpse Rot?"
"It is a Necrotic Air Poison. My spells can now have this poison embedded in each spell for an increased Mana cost," Volkiere explained, then sighed. "Downside is that the Ailment has friendly fire turned on, unlike the spells themselves. Have to be careful not to hit any of you with my spells."
"Good to know," Monty said with a nod. "But poison may be handy, so good pick. How's everyone doing?"
"Last potion," Morenstad said, drinking the red vial and tossing the now empty vial over his shoulder. The glass broke, and the Rogue felt around his wounds, smiling as they healed up quickly. "The only other thing I have is a lifesteal oil for my weapons. It will only last a minute, but there is no guarantee that it will work. It depends on what I am stabbing."
"I've been out for the last few battles. Luckily I heal with my magic, but still," Akatarina shrugged. "I'm willing to go on a little further."
Monty looked at Volkiere, and the man shrugged, "two potions left."
"Well, I have no potions left, but-" he said, leading on as he reached into a pocket. "I have a few Healing Balms and one burst heal rod."
"Shocker," Akatarina drawled. "The Tank has extra healing items. It's almost as if you have to prepare in case you take all of the damage for the Party, almost as if it's your job."
"Here," Monty said with a bit of a head shake. He handed Akatarina and Morenstad a small container of the healing balm. "Those have three uses each. Though not as good as a healing potion, they are good for more localized healing."
Both nodded, with Volkiere letting out an inaudible sigh.
"So, Dante told us that this Dungeon had twenty-five rooms and then the prize. This was... yep," Monty confirmed, marking another tally on the inside of his left-hand shield with his gauntlet hand. "This was twenty-four. Do we want to take a short break to go to the bathroom or get ready for our jobs IRL or anything?" Monty asked.
In response, all three pulled out the flip phones attached to their belts and connected them to their phones outside the game. Monty didn't bother; he knew he was good for a few more days, at least, away from work. He had taken vacation time away from his construction work for the city to be as uninterrupted as possible. Something he knew they had done as well.
"I'm good for another few hours before I need to go to bed," Morenstad said. "I have to go back to work in a few days, and I should start getting back into my sleeping routine. Unfortunately," he muttered under his breath. "Those creeps had better not have touched my workstation."
"I'm good for the next week," Akatarina stated. "The Sergeant still has no idea that there is nothing wrong with my kidneys. Wishes me well for my recovery from surgery."
"I got til next Monday," Volkiere told them.
Monty said, "Good, bathroom?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Then, can we go in now?" Monty proposed, pointing at a doorway that wasn't there a minute ago. The double door was the same type of stone as the walls and ceiling but smooth and polished. And unlike every other door, they had used. This one had carvings on its face, scenes of a beast smashing homes with its disturbingly human and inhuman form. Monty did not recognize it from his searches through the bestiary parts of the forums, and he was a little nervous about the creature.
But Monty would never let some virtual monster stop him from doing something legendary.
Everyone agreed, so Monty led the way through the doors, his Strength Attribute up for the task. They followed their standard formation, Monty first, Morenstad, Volkiere, and Akaterina in the rear. They had been attacked several times in these tunnels between rooms and refused to be surprised again.
But the only surprise they got was the boredom of the trek and the staircase that led down. Up to this point, every tunnel had been like a natural tunnel. This set of stairs was not rough cut; it was smooth and polished, like the door they used to access the tunnel. As they walked down it, the walls began to look less and less natural and more like practiced hands cut them. Torches were lit along the walls, allowing them to walk without missing a step.
After several minutes, they reached the bottom of the stairs with a new doorway leading forward ahead of them. But this door, following a theme, was unique; a curtain of silver and black smoke met them, making them unable to see ahead.
"Last chance for a break before we go in there and see what this final challenge is," Monty said, giving everyone a final restroom break. Morenstad took that opportunity to use the restroom, popping out of the game for a few minutes before coming back in, ready to go.
"Alright, let's go," Monty said, passing through the curtain to meet their final challenge.
Inside, a single entity is opposite them in the throne room they walked into. Pillars five feet thick held up the ceiling, and old purple tapestries lined those pillars and the walls. Behind the entity, which was humanoid in heavy bronze plate armor, a throne sat with a corpse standing straight in the seat.
Their opponent slowly drew his templar sword and plunged it tip-first into the stone brick of the floor, falling to one knee. He held onto the sword's pommel and muttered what Monty assumed was some prayer.
Seconds had gone by, and Morenstad got impatient, asking Monty loudly, "can we just kill him already? For all you know, he is buffing himself up fo-"
Morestand said, stopping as the armored entity's voice rose and said, "Let this contest be watched over by you, Lord of Might, so that I may win or lose in honor!"
Then the man, as his voice made it apparent that he was male, said, "I thank thee for allowing me my prayers to mine deity. It is not something all would allow, given the circumstances." The man said, a little sadly. "Art thou ready for this contest of blood and strength?"
Monty nodded and said, "Hell yeah, we are."
"Very well, here I come," the man with no name said as he approached, his steps slow and loud but determined.
Monty looked at his teammates for a moment and wondered at them with a look, asking how this was supposed to be a final boss of a unique dungeon. When no answer came, the Party Leader shrugged, raised both shields before him as if they were a single steel slab, and approached.
The unnamed Boss spoke a single word in a language that Monty did not understand, the greatsword glowing an icy blue. Then he swung the sword in a wide arc in front of him, the sword firing an arced swing of cold magic that flew at Monty. The Shield Tank caught the blow, but Monty was sitting there wide-eyed as he got pushed back and the shields pushed apart by the impact.
A feat that none, not even bosses, had achieved. Whatever or whoever this man was, he was scarier than he was at first glance. Morenstad was already moving as soon as that first swing went, springing to the side of the Boss and coming at him with his enchanted Kukris blades drawn.
The Russian Player's sprint was fast, and activating his Sprint Skill made his movements even faster still. He approached the armored man from his off-hand side, attempting to make any swing awkward. But he was immediately hampered by the armored man's hand grabbing for him instead of a swing. Morenstad was caught off guard as the bronze gauntlet grabbed one of the swinging blades mid-stroke and wrenched it away. The movement slid immediately into a punch into Morenstad's shoulder, sending him back a few paces.
Akatarina managed to have good luck. Her blade was already wreathed in the unholy red light of her primary attack skill. The Damned Blade Skill swung into the man's sword, intercepting a blow that would have connected otherwise. But then, she changed her attack stroke into a thrust, and the blade passed through the man's guard and into his Pauldron. The shoulder piece took the blow and shattered, but not before he swung his weapon into Akatarina, damaging her and her armor.
"Shit!" she cursed, returning to her feet and readying her blade. The Unknown Boss immediately greeted her with a thrown Kukri, which he had taken from Morenstad a moment earlier. The edge punched through her Blackguard armor, and she screamed as it met her flesh and damaged it.
Then Volkiere attacked, announcing, "Activate Corpse Rot! Wind Grinder!"
A vortex, similar to the one he had used on the Dragills, twisted into existence around the Boss. Within this vortex, blades made of green mana formed, hardened, and locked into place as they spun, dealing damage as they rotated. A sickly brown mist caught the room's torchlight as the Corpse Rot's poisonous effect began to sink past the armor.
"Wow," Monty said with a heavy breath. "You know, we may be getting a lot of mileage from that effect. It seems broken," the party leader said a second before the rest of the armor shattered off the enemy like shrapnel.
The blast disrupted Volkiere's continuous cast of the Wind Grinder spell, cutting it off prematurely. An effect that sent the Aeromage to the floor, holding his head as the mana backlash hit him.
Monty moved, jumping between the Aeromage and the now much lightly armored enemy. Bereft of the heavy and disposable armor, he now only stood in his bucket helmet, stained red chainmail, and a black surcoat with a maroon cauldron emblazoned on it. The enemy threw his greatsword, the blade spinning and slamming into Akatarina's armor, taking a chunk out of her health. He then conjured his new weapon, a more slender blade that extended four feet out of a basket hilt. In his off-hand, he summoned a small buckler shield with the same maroon cauldron on its face.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Monty wished one of them was a Lore Hunter; that information could have told them more about this guy and his weaknesses.
Not that he gave them any time to think. He raised the blade of the Rapier to his face in a salute, then gestured towards Monty with the sword. Then he moved in at an astounding speed, the edge seeming to gather a silver shine as it thrust forward. It was simple for Monty to catch the weapon on one of his shields; his Shield Defense Skill ensured the reaction would be almost automatic. But there was something more to that silvery light.
That power kept the weapon from snapping under the stress of the thrust and sent a ghostly blade through the shield, piercing Monty's chest.
No defense holds back the Aetheric blade. You have taken 222 points of damage.
Monty groaned as the blade pulled back, and the Warrior readied to thrust again. This time, he announced, "triple thrust," and the sword gathered more silver power. The blade flashed three times and three times in quick succession; the Rapier punched into the shield. And as he feared, that ghostly energy passed through the defense and dealt massive damage, bypassing his armor and some of his damage reduction abilities.
No defense holds back the Aetheric blade. You have taken 309 points of damage.
No defense holds back the Aetheric blade. You have taken 230 points of damage.
No defense holds back the Aetheric blade. You have taken 199 points of damage.
Over a thousand points of damage in the space of a few seconds, Monty groaned. He watched his health slowly rise, point by point, the Active Healing Skill attempting to keep him upright. Against regular foes, he could expect to hunker down and weather the attacks while healing the damage he took. But now…
"Saw-tooth sword," the man said, that silver aura about his blade coalescing into a more wicked-looking weapon.
"Death awaits you," Morenstad said, echoing through the hall menacingly. Monty saw in the cracks between his shields that Morenstad was doing something extraordinarily cool. He had no idea what it was, but it gathered cosmic lights about him like a mantle and forming blades in his hands. The blades were slender, guardless, single-edge swords that held what looked like solar light in their edges, but not the real kind. Monty was sure that that effect would be too powerful for their level. Morenstad held one in each hand, and Monty had no idea what to make of this ability; it was not something he had previously mentioned.
Then the star-draped Russian swung his sword from a distance, and an arc of Solar Flare rose from the weapon and formed a ring in flight. The man turned and managed to catch the Ring on his conjured buckler but was forced to abandon it a moment after the initial block. The item was scorching into his arms, chainmail and hurting him.
"Screw this," Akatarina shouted, pulling the sword free from her armor. Blood oozed from her wound, and she took an armored palm and wiped the blood across the flat of her weapon, saying an ability name, "Bloody Tempering!"
The blood from her wound burst out with the abilities activation, the blood oozing in a rope of magic connected to her weapon. In an instant, what could be seen of Akatarina's face was a little paler than a moment earlier. Then both Morenstad and Akarina attacked simultaneously, the Rogue moving around him in a broader arc while the Blackguard charged.
"Aetheric Steps," the man announced, stepping out of the way of Akatarina's initial attack but moving near Morenstad. The Solar powered Blades weren't avoided but deflected with a Dexterity Attribute rivaling the Rogue's own and the silver-glowing Rapier.
"Lighter than Air!" proclaimed a still recovering Volkiere, casting a buff spell.
The Buff took effect after a slow wind-up, with Akatarina, Volkiere, and Monty building up movement speed over a few seconds. Monty elected to stay away from the battle for a moment longer to regain health before jumping in to assist. But with the duel-wielding Rogue and the Life-Empowered BlackGuard, the battle would hold for a moment. And slowly, the two were dealing damage, especially with their new speed.
Volkiere's Swords pierced the Warrior's back, taking advantage of the moment he attempted to deflect Akatarina's attack. An attack that she quickly turned to push the blade away and push into the front of his chest.
The Warrior screamed, maroon flames erupting from within his armor, forcing Akatarina and Morenstad to withdraw their weapons and leap away. Even with their quick reactions, the maroon flames burned some of their health away. Akatarina, in particular, fell to a knee as she landed, canceling her Bloody Tempering Ability and fumbling as she tried to apply the healing salve that Monty had given her earlier.
In a rush of those destructive flames, the surcoat the Warrior wore burned away, the chainmail and metal plates about his arms and legs fell away, and the helmet fell apart. What was underneath that helmet looked like it was more mottled and patchwork scars than a face. The nose was gone, lips were just waxy flesh, and the eyes were empty sockets. Sockets with that same Aetheric Silver light that his Rapier had moments ago. The scars traveled down his neck to his now bare torso, the scars lessening in intensity but not going away. The only thing he wore was a chainmail loincloth that remained from his armor; even his boots were little but scraps now.
The man breathed out, his exhalation heavy as if the real air was heavy in his chest. "You all should be proud," he said, raspy but dignified. "No one has pushed many Knights of Alexandria, especially me, this far. Not without killing us first. But I am afraid it is time to end this with the honor you deserve. I am Laird, Knight of Alexandr-"
A ring of Solar Fire and light flew into his face, detonating upon impact with the now-named Knight's head. Monty looked at the only culprit and sighed; Morenstad glared daggers at the scarred man. "I am not done with you yet, and don't monologue on me until it is time for the death cutscene."
Laird conjured a pair of single-handed swords, each carrying that silver energy.
Morenstad did not hesitate to swing his weapon twice while he closed the distance, throwing more of those rings as he approached the Knight. He, in turn, used that silver power to block the attacks with an attack of his own. When they clashed, there was a detonation of their powers that left Morenstad the loser. The Rogue was forced back and away as the silver energy snapped Morenstad's weapons into pieces.
Monty was still deciding what to make of this situation. He had heard of bosses having a second phase and a Raid boss that once had a third phase. But that was a Necromantic Dragon that turned undead with the start of its third phase, and this was just a man that refused to die. Morenstad was starting to rise, and Akatarina was finally back on her feet. Her sword burst into that unholy red light as she used her Damned Blade Skill and rushed in.
Her timing was something she took pride in. The charge stopped just as she brought him into her optimum swinging range; the sword arced while she announced, "Power Strike." The swing came down and met the sword Laird raised in defense, snapping the Boss's conjured blade. He did not pay the weapon any mind, dropping the broken handle and turning towards Akatarina with his other sword. The blade moved faster than she could move to dodge or block, slicing into her belly and knocking her away when the attack met the back of her armor. Instantly, he recreated the sword that broke and moved toward Morenstad, the man readying to fight again. The Rogue looked pissed as he drew some more knives to defend himself.
Volkiere was rising to his feet, holding his head as if he had a hangover that would put lesser men on their asses. Monty looked at the quiet Aeromage and nodded, a vicious grin spread across the ShieldBearer's face.
"I hate it when you smile," Volkiere said. "Very disconcerting."
"I have been looking for an excuse to do this," Monty said, freeing his hands from the Shield handle without dropping them. He reached into his belt and withdrew a pair of items, a rough-looking stick grenade and a rippling gemstone, an oddity that was a half-blue sapphire and half-red ruby.
"Reconstruct and Reforge!" Monty announced, smashing the two items together.
There was a cracking of crystal, and a flash of white light as Monty activated a Special Skill that he got in a Dungeon. He held his hands together for a moment as the special magic, as he understood it, broke down the item to its base components, then reforged them into a singular object—usually, a much stronger one.
Your recreated item was a success. You now have an Omnithermic Fracture Grenade.
"Everyone ready for the last ditch?" Monty called out.
"Fuck off, I'm dying!" said Morenstad. Growling as he tried to avoid a swing from the man's swords and taking shallow hits.
"Ready," Volkiere said behind Monty.
"Yeah, can we do it now?!" asked Akatarina.
Monty nodded and said, "Go for it, full burn!" he announced. "Akatarina!"
The BlackGuard charged her sword, glowing red as she activated all her buffs and every spell she could. She swung as hard and fast as she could; the sheer Strength behind her blows knocked the Knight away from Morenstad and off his footing. Enough that even with him skillfully deflecting each of her attacks, he was still staggered. It was enough for her to get in a few hits before she ran dry.
"Out!" she said as she fell back.
"Volkiere!" Monty yelled for the next person.
"Air Tethers!" The Aeromage declared, moving in quickly, stepping up next to Monty as the spell wrapped around Laird's arms. The spell would not hold, only serving to distract him for a moment. And then Volkiere began throwing out spells in quick succession. "Double Cast, Air Crack! Sawblade Gale! Biting Wind! Pressure Wave! Pressure Wave! Air Hammer!"
The attacks kept coming from Volkiere as the sounds of the wind snapping, crashing, and shattering Laird and the stone about him. It was actually hurting Monty's ears the longer this dragged on, but he did not dare to stop him.
"Out of Mana!" Volkiere said, stepping back from Monty to let their leader be the meat wall between him and the Boss.
Morenstad!" Monty yelled. "You're up!"
"Screw you; I hate this tactic. It's like giving up."
"Morenstad!" Monty yelled.
"Fine!" he said, snarling as he rose and drew out a new pair of daggers. These arced with white electrical discharges that cycled up into Morenstad's arms. The man growled and sprinted with enough speed that Monty assumed the blades empowered his speed. But he still needed to be faster to out-move the Knight. The Knight swung his swords in twin arcs to attack the Rogue, and the attacks landed, but not without arcing lightning traveling up and into his body.
The Rogue took the instant to stab into Laird's thighs, the lightning actively running through him, dealing damage and stunning him. But that would not last long. As it was, the Knight moved his hands jerkily towards the daggers electrifying him into place.
And Monty did not hesitate. "My turn, back off!" He yelled, giving the Rogue a moment to back away before pulling the pin on the slightly larger stick grenade. He threw it at the Knight and crouched behind his shields to defend himself. A precaution that seemed necessary after a moment.
The blast was neither heat nor cold but some impossible combination of the two. It condensed into a burst of heat before expanding into a wave of pillaring cold before evaporating in an instant of steam to repeat the process. Again and again, the blasts rocked the area about the Knight for ten seconds until the sounds ceased.
Dust, fog, and steam filled the air around where the Knight was standing during the Grenade's onslaught. And when the air cleared, the man's silhouette became visible, proving that he still stood. At least, what was left of him stood tall. Most of his flesh had been blasted away, melted off, or flash frozen, then shattered. His face was gone; mainly, a damaged skull with tattered flesh remained.
And Monty flinched as the skull moved his head to look at Monty, a nod of acceptance in the action. "Excellent, young man," the man rasped, his voice coming out without enough viscera to create it. "Allow me to tell you one thing, as the Last Hero Rosengard to the new one. Good luck."
The skeleton fractured and broke, the entire thing becoming ashen and falling apart before Monty's eyes. In a few seconds, the being they were fighting so hard was gone.
And much to all of their rage, he left no loot behind to take for their troubles.
Monty recovered from his startled place to look around and find that the air in the Dungeon, especially after his Hail Mary grenade, had cleared. The room smelled fresher, the lighting level increased, and the sense of foreboding ended. The only thing left in the room was the corpse on the throne chair behind where Lairn was when they all entered.
This non-automatic outcome was something Dante had told them about. The Dungeon would likely not just give them their reward, and some external component would be needed to be accessed to get the Dungeon's reward.
Monty walked up to the Throne that remained untouched by the battle and looked at the corpse without saying anything to his Party. The dead man looked almost exactly the man they had just fought, just mummified due to the air down here. He wore no clothes, no armor, and was even unarmed. His arms were splayed over the sides of the Throne's chairs, and disturbingly, his entire chest was burst open. It was when Monty's eyes traveled over the one thing on the corpse's body that remained untouched by time that the Prompts appeared.
Congratulations on your victory over the Final Rest Dungeon Complex. It was here that the Last Hero, Laird Orvin, died from a curse that the Fifth Demon Lord Ari gave him when he finally stopped her. The Hero resisted the curse long enough to come to this place, which used to be the home base of his efforts against the Demon Lord and the Candidates before her ascension. The Mantle of the Hero is a duty, honor, and a burden of great power with a purpose. To oppose the Demon Lord and prevent the ultimate goal of them all, the Destruction of Rosengard itself.
Will you, MonterayRevial, as the party leader, take up the Mantle of Hero and lead the battle against the forces of Evil as the PROTAGONIST in the World's narrative?
Congrations! You have met the requirements to gain the Unique base class; Protagonist! If you wish to take this Class, you will be hunted by all forms of evil for simply taking up this power. And you will choose a path of Virtue that you will grow and flourish in.
You already have a Base Class and a Subclass. As such, the Protagonist Class, should you accept it, will overwrite your Warrior Class. This will not overwrite your ability choices but will alter some of them within the niche of the Protagonist Class. You will also be unable to choose what Virtuous Path you will take due to advancing your character enough to get a Specialized Class. Yours will be chosen based on your choices within the System itself.
Now! Choose, MonterayRevial! Will you become the Protagonist? If you accept this choice of Base Class, take up the Ring before you and bear it proudly.
Monty was in shock. "Screw me. That damned man was telling us the truth," Monty breathed out.
"Well, did we get the fucking prize?" Akatarina asked, using what was left of the healing Ointment to patch up more of her wounds. God knows we won't get much else out of this fucking place."
Monty nodded, "it is as that guy said. Only one of us can get the Class. And it is giving me a chance to take it since I am the Party Leader," Monty said, debating the choice.
"Take it," Volkiere said, his voice unsteady. The usually quiet man got like this whenever he talked about his most recent death. "You need it to keep DevilWalker from killing us. He has enough help that he may be able to beat us now, even if he is lower level than us."
"Just do it, Monty, Jeez," Morenstad said. "Just do me a favor, and don't let the Guild replace us in your Party. They will likely consider you an asset to be nurtured with more talented and seasoned Guildies," Morenstad said. "Don't let them. We helped you get here, and we want to continue. This will be fun, and I want to be there for it."
Monty looked at Akatarina, and the woman shrugged and huffed. Monty knew from their talks getting here that she wanted this power, but apparently, that was outside the cards for her. No guarantee from the System said that if he declined, it would move on to another party member. This chance may vanish instead. And he could not have that.
Monty touched the hand that bore the Ring. The band was made of solid gold, held a twisted wire of the same metal wrapped around a small orb the size of a small marble, and was set partly into the ring itself. The ball seemed to glow with white light, the kind of light that looked like solar light. His attempt to remove the Ring ended up crumbling the dead man's hand.
And now that Monty hand the Ring, he took a moment to look over its beauty before the following prompt came in.
By taking the ring, You have accepted the mantle left by the previous Hero, Laird, and have become the new Protagonist. As a result, your Original Class of Warrior has blended with the Protagonist Class, allowing you to keep your skills and abilities. Check those abilities at your earliest leisure to see the changes.
Because you already had a Base Class, a subclass, and a Specialized Class, the System has unfortunately given you a Virtue Path compatible with your Class and choices thus far.
Virtue Path Gained, Charity - The Virtue of Generosity. As a Warrior with Skills, Abilities, and the equipment to effectively defend your Party, you are seen as a protector. As someone charitable with your actions within the Party. As such, you were given the Virtue Path of Charity.
You have gained the Charitable Disposition Ability. The very framework of your soul is reworked to allow for the spread of your divine Path to the others in your Party. This creates a diminished amount for you, but isn't that an act of charity, the giving of oneself? Any buffs you gain or that are passively active will automatically spread to every Party member within range of this ability. However, that shared Buff will be diminished compared to the Buff granted to you. The range of this ability is determined by your Charisma Attribute. Buff Share Potency increases with your Wisdom Attribute.
For a moment, Monty thought that this whole thing was absolute bullshit. This ability was shit, the lack of choices that he would have gotten before was shit, and wait-
Then it hit Monty. Rereading the Charitable Disposition Ability's description, Monty realized something important. This thing not only spread Buffs cast on him or that he gained through consumables, it specifically said Any Buffs you gain or have that are passively active. That meant-
"Do you guys have any kind of passive healing right now?" Monty asked, a wide grin across his face.
Akatarina, who was the most hurt from the battle, spaced out while checking her screens. Looking back at Monty, she said, "yeah, I do. And the only Status Effect I have going right now says, 'Charitable Disposition.'
The smile turned a little bigger as he looked at his Party, his friends that he met in the Krimson Spire Guild. "Guys, together, we have pulled off some amazing stunts. Because we are fairly awesome, to be fair. But now, I think we are nearly unstop-"
"Hey Monty," Morenstad said, gesturing to a part of the Throne, interrupting the New Protagonists' profound words. "I think I found a hidden switch," the Rogue said, flipping the found thing, resounding in a sharp click across the room.
All four of them were quiet for a long moment as they waited for something to happen. And it was when Monty glared at Morenstad for flipping switches he should have left alone that part of the floor behind the Throne slid away, revealing a set of stairs with a small chamber at the bottom of the short steps.
Morenstad led the way into the room and looked around briefly while Monty waited impatiently and told Voliere and Akatarina about his new ability. With his passive skills that increased his damage reduction, reduced his load weight, and maybe even his knockback resistance, Akatarina acted intrigued by the ability's usefulness, especially since he intended to add more Points into Wisdom to increase his Abilities effectiveness.
"All clear," Morenstad said. "But brace yourself. This is too good to be true."
Monty hurried down into the room and stopped at the doorway, his armor and shields making him a practical wall for those behind him. "No, fucking, way," he said, walking in and looking at the trove of base items in the room. There were metal ingots, bags of exceptional gemstones, Old Potions, books with austere titles, and a few old weapons all about the room on rusted old shelves.
It was clear to Monty what that room was. It must have been the Old Hero's Storage room; now they could claim it in their efforts.
"Good luck now, DevilWalker, You got one of us, but I dare you to do it now," Monty taunted the universe.
And someone out in the world, one of the World's Antagonists, sneezed while drinking some water, sending the liquid everywhere and cursing his luck.