Kiatha payed the toll for summoning a [Rock Sprite], the small golem like creature manifested in front of her and she sent it to explore the room on the other side of the door, looking through it's eyes gave her the usual nausea from doubled vision but you got used to it fast or you could never play at the highest levels of any VR game.

This raid was insane, low level quests were so rare you could say they didn't exist outside the large guildhouses that provided guides and took extortent rates for protection through the junctions, but here was a virgin raid to the underway with a player owned house on top, if they could secure the house for their guild she was sure her party would rise to be one of the best, and charge their own rates from outsiders.

The other room was empty and she phased through the door not upsetting any trap that may be hidden in it, on her fifth resurgence of the class she picked up some pretty powerful perks that let her cast quasi spells as skills instead of wasting time and mana she would need for the more combustible spells used in combat.

Kiatha was going to use this room to get rid of some competition, she cast a [Mage Bane] circle on the ceiling and unlocked the door at the other side, using her [Rock Sprite] she was going to call in the monsters that Rubold and Asher were mobbing from the deeper caves.

On the signal from the others she opened the door and let the rest of their jumbled 'party' in, telling them to walk close to the walls so as not to trigger any traps set in the middle, moving on to the next corridor they heard the fight rushing in their direction, the two paladin brothers took the front while their priest and ranger backed them up, these people needed to die here if Kiatha ever wanted to claim the entrance for her guild.

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A swarm of insect like creatures was chasing rubold down the hall, his hastily thrown illusions only slowing them down for a few seconds each time, Kiatha prepared a [Web] spell and as soon as Rubold was in range she cast it, knowing he would clear the area of effect before the spell was done.

The insects hit the web and were stuck but those on the back walked over their trapped mates and it seemed to only slow them for a second when a barrage of flaming arrows lit the web on fire, in seconds there was a wall of fire from floor to ceiling and the creatures were burnt husks that turned to ash, but when the fire died down to embers the swarm moved again.

"Retreat", she cried, "back to the room", she pushed Rubold to the side, "use the door as a choke point to stop them".

Moving as a group the mages and ranger moved in first and the two paladins were last to enter, they spread about the room with the mages in the center and Kiatha and Rubold sticking to the corners on either side of the doorway.

The swarm pushed through a hastily cast [Rock Wall] and then it fell on the valiant fighters, holding the line so their spell casters could do their part, but no magic hit the monsters, no healing came through except what they cast on themselves, sword and axe cleaved with mighty strikes at the tough carapaces and the sister's shield was pulled away from her, a leg was severed and then a lucky bite left a mandible stuck in the brother's exposed arm.

Kiatha melted into the wall and watched as the mosters of the underway slaughtered the defenseless Players and when all seemed lost she dispelled the [Mage Bane] circle and cast another web on the tangle of players and monsters, Rubold threw in his [Fire Bomb] and then attacked the insects from behind using his stealth and [Backstabbing] skills to their maximum to dispose of the last few creatures when the door burst open and three other Players charged in with weapons drawn, they dragged the wounded back to where the backup team was camping but the LionKings were done for on this raid.