Player Reached the Top. LitRPG Series. Book II
Page 21
Each new wave was to come five minutes after the previous one, regardless of whether the latter had been destroyed or not. Thus, the players could be fighting several waves at once, until all creatures were killed or until the rite was completed.
That was a real challenge. Although everyone in the team was a pro, they still got exhausted by battle. When the time was already expiring, one sorceress girl pierced her comrade with a metal spike by accident, which distracted and nearly killed him.
Barely avoiding a wipe, the team finally could take a rest, watching the door vanish into the air, shaking convulsively in agony. This obstacle was down. But what awaited them inside?
***
Two hours later, the worn-out but faintly smiling players stood by the entrance to a round room—the last room of this citadel, according to the map. Their goal must have been inside.
In the middle of the room was a coffin decorated with jewels and pentagrams. Standing around it in a circle were a few statues with big shields, as though prepared to drive the Darkness back in should it ever break free.
A soft, measured tapping was coming from inside the coffin.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
In the eerie silence, only interrupted by this tapping, the players couldn’t help recalling all those horror movies they had seen where idiots opened what should have remained sealed forever.
Now their group was going to do exactly the same thing.
One of the girls swallowed nervously.
“I know everyone is dead tired, but please brace up. Our video of this mission will beat any sole player.” The clan leader hinted at Raven, while reminding them of the other, deeper purpose of this challenge. Once they’d complete the chain, their partner channels would obtain the first full epic mission completion video ever. Fortuna are the best. No one will take it away from us.
“So, everyone, remember your steps. Tatillia, come here. You are a pro. Please don’t let the team down. You’ve almost done it already with your vengeance spikes.”
“Please forgive me,” the sorceress begged.
“Sorith. Go check it out.”
“Coming.” Shifting to stealth mode, the thief started towards the coffin.
Five minutes later, after the thief had explored the area and discovered a secret door, the team prepared to fight the boss.
“Sadil. Cast the rite. Everyone else: be ready.”
The holy maiden started another cleansing ritual, creating the sphere. Once it was ready, she glanced at Kate.
“Now,” Kate said.
The Sphere of Purity sank into the coffin. The tapping sound stopped instantly.
Everyone was tense, the silence growing more and more oppressive.
A snap.
This muffled, cracking sound woke the statues. Their eyes blazed up, and their shields started to transform, barely visible threads stretching from each of them to the others, connecting them together.
Another snap.
The sound was growing louder. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the coffin. The pentagrams painted on it started to melt, the red paint trickling down like blood.
The statues completed their transformation. The players saw a barrier appear all around them and over their heads, its radius about 45 feet. A timer flashed on the left: 2:00… 1:59…
…followed by a system message received by every player on the floor:
Mortals, beware! Her chains have been removed, and She is awake!
Attention! An ancient tomb has been unsealed. Now its prisoner can break free. Her actions will affect every creature and every player on this floor.
“We’ll be damned if we fail,” one of the group whispered.
BOOM!
The coffin lid was kicked up with force, hitting the barrier and crumbling to dust with the impact.
A thin, pale arm stretched from inside the coffin, gripping at its edge. The imprisoned creature slowly stood up.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Now they could see the source of this sound. It was the small claw on the undead woman’s index finger. She used it to tap a rhythm as she peered around.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Psst. Anyone to play the part of Raven?” It was Racer with another of his completely out-of-place questions. Who would talk to this creature? She was not seeking to clean her soul as the Lost Time Labyrinth’s boss had been.
“So. So. So,” the woman said as she tapped on the coffin edge she’d sat down on, her slender fangs showing from beneath her upper lip. “The old man’s not here with you? What kept him from coming to renew the seal in person? And who are you?”
The players exchanged quick glances. Everyone hoped that others knew more, but the group chat only had exclamation and question marks.
Have we missed anything out? The only old man we’d spoken to was that wizard studying the vials. He did not seem to know anything about the imprisoned woman. Or… Did we even ask if he knew anything? Crimson Berserker cursed mentally. He should have known better. This game was very different from any other: you had to seek info more thoroughly, getting all sapient creatures on your way talking.
When he was about to give the signal for attack, Floyd stepped ahead. “Greetings, Chasity von Leroux, a nosferatu sealed in by her husband.”
Floyd? You know something? In order not to drive the NPC’s attention, Crimson Berserker sent the message mentally.
Not sure this’ll work. Prepare for battle.
“You know my name? Have you been sent by that desecrator?”
“No. By your sister.”
“Faye is alive?” The nosferatu furrowed her brow. “That can’t be true. You lie.”
“I’m… I’m telling truth. We have met her.”
“Where?” Chasity stared at the guy who was apparently growing nervous.
“In… in your family nest.”
“I ask WHERE?”
“Holy crap,” the buffer hissed.
Chapter 129. Soul Reaper
“F loyd! Back! Ikal, cast Prison and Well! Brace up!” Realizing that the buffer did not have the whole picture, Kate started to give the orders she’d posted to the chat beforehand, so everyone knew what to do.
Prison failed: the woman turned to mist and, coming through the bars, she almost reached Racer, only to get trapped in Tatillia’s Iron Maiden. This skill created a metal torture device locking the enemy inside and delivering more damage through sharp spikes with every second.
Everyone knew that, according to the mission description, the nosferatu could not be killed. Their task was just to weaken her enough to enable Crimson Berserker to apply the seal.
Loaded with buffs, Ronni, Racer, and the third melee player were learning more and more about the raid boss as they fought her. She could teleport, hypnotize, and summon the bats that sucked her enemy’s life, using it to restore her health.
It took them 27 minutes to reduce her health down to 70%.
Name: Chasity von Leroux
Rank: Viscount
Level: 67
Health: 98000/140000
Receiving another blow, the nosferatu stopped abruptly and, spreading her arms, she started to transform. A shield appeared around her, preventing anyone from reaching her during the transformation.
“The second stage!”
Her female body changed, growing a pair of wide, torn wings that reached the floor, a scary elongated skull, and creepy jaws with sharp, long fangs. Her bones crunched, and her flesh rippled, but she looked around calmly as though choosing an appetizer in a casual dining restaurant.
That continued for ten seconds. Then the players were faced by a monster now half again as large.
A loud clap of her wings sent an air wave out, almost knocking the closest people down. She did it thrice, then dashed off, targeting Crimson Berserker who’d been doing the greatest damage, but she got trapped inside the iron maiden before reaching him.
***
Another half an hour passed.
The series of magic blo
ws landed by the holy maiden and the priest slowed down their enemy’s regeneration and increased the damage she suffered. Soon the named boss started to hunt these two specifically, but her attempts were broken by the group’s well-coordinated effort.
50%...
However little health this boss had, it still declined very slowly—even under the constant pressure of ten strong players. Since the battle commenced, everyone had noticed the damage figures flashing over the nosferatu being half the size expected. That implied the boss’s strong physical and magic resistance. Not really surprising. Who would need the seal if this boss could just be killed?
40%...
30%...
The nosferatu’s fighting style was growing more violent, her blows becoming stronger. Her known skills were complemented by new, sudden ones. The summoned bats were now not only drinking the players’ blood, but they were also debuffing them. The mist she turned into to avoid physical damage now inflicted a three-minute DoT on everyone who breathed it in, consuming 45 health points each time.
She became such an unpredictable enemy, and all their strategies failed. They could only rely on their experience and reflexes to deal with this boss now.
Then they started to die.
The first was Racer. Hypnotized, he slashed his own belly open.
The next was the sorceress whose Iron Maiden had been such a pain in the ancient vampire’s neck. Kate and Floyd soon followed.
The enemy’s health was at 20% when Crimson Berserker decided to apply one of his trump skills. But the nosferatu was faster. Growling, she soared in the air and, spreading her wings, she activated another new skill.
Complete darkness fell. Those still alive saw the message:
Attention! The Hunting Time skill has been applied to you. You will stay in complete darkness for the next 2 minutes.
Vision: 0%
Speed: —20%
Physical and mental defense: — 20%
Chance to dodge: —50%
“Fuck! Hold on. When it’s over, I’ll use the Death Masquerade!”
“Two minutes, man! In darkness like that, it’s like an etern—” someone tried to say, but then they choked on their own blood.
“I will drain your blood,” the monster’s suddenly beautiful, melodious voice sang in the dark.
I will drain your blood.
Greetings from the dark.
Will you come to play?
I will come to you…
RRAGH!
“Aaaaah!” Sadil screamed, dying.
Only four of them remained alive. And there were still 90 seconds remaining.
Why didn’t I use it before? Ronnald reproached himself, holding his axes ready, when a sudden blow came to his back.
- 240!
You damn monster! Just a bit more…
He span around in the dark, trying to forestall the next blow, when it came to his neck.
-358!
60 s.
-400!
40 s.
Name: Crimson Berserker
Level: 55.
Health: 570/2140
Now! The Death Masquerade!
Death Masquerade
Rank: Unique secret skill
Active skill: Apprentice
Description: You can create five copies of yourself, having 30% of your stats. Every copy will independently attack the selected target(s).
Duration: 70 s
Spending: 60 influence points
Cooldown: 15 days
Activating the skill he’d received by chance in one of the caves, Berserker shuddered. His body blinked, sending out another identical twin every second. Surrounding him, the copies took up a defensive stance. At the same time, Ronnald drank a potion, restoring 400 points to his health.
Hearing a muffled blow in the dark, he realized one of his copies was already gone.
20 s.
Another twin gone. Then the hunting time expired, and the world was visible again.
Name: Chasity von Leroux
Rank: Viscount
Level: 67
Health: 14409/140000.
Glancing at the monster’s stats, Ronnald gnashed his teeth. He was sure she wouldn’t have used a skill like that without a purpose. Restoring her health almost to 10%, the nosferatu complicated their task again. Their only hope was his clones… and another skill he’d rather not use because of its great influence point consumption.
His clones attacked the monster, driving its life bar into the red once again. Ronni followed them, and those still alive joined him, using all the skills they’d saved for the last—the ones with great cooldown times.
“Weightless Blow!” The melee player’s sword made the air vibrate as it chopped the vampire’s arm off, splashing the clones with its black blood.
Cooldown: 5 days.
“Mirrored Pain!” The arcana wizard created his double from water and placed it under the nosferatu’s blow. Attacking this enemy, she received triple damage back.
Cooldown: 8 days.
“Stronghold of Humanity!” the tank thundered. His allies were clad in weightless stone armor, increasing physical defense by 40% and health by 35% over three minutes.
Cooldown: 8 days.
Blow after blow, they reduced her health until very little remained.
Name: Chasity von Leroux
Rank: Viscount
Level: 67
Health: 6070/140000.
The Death Masquerade was nearing its end. That left Crimson Berserker with only two options: use the seal (the item that had cost his clan two weeks and lots of money and unique resources to craft) or try to kill the monster.
The skill he still had was extremely powerful—with a very long cooldown. He only had a split second to make the choice. No time to take advice from anyone.
“All back!” His shout, instantly obeyed by everyone, had just one meaning: Berserker was putting everything at stake, activating his strongest skill.
He had never used it before, receiving it upon completing a strange tomb discovered by one of Fortuna’s tops. So far, Crimson Berserker was the only one to complete it. Each player entering this tomb encountered a different scenario, so no guide could be created on passing it.
This place was called the Spoiled Tomb of Three Deeds.
“Raging Storm of Fate!”
Raging Storm of Fate
Rank: Epic
You lend five blows with a single strike of your weapon.
Duration: 2 min
Spending: 150 influence points
Cooldown: 30 days
Note: No critical damage done.
Berserker waved his axes, bringing a real storm down on the nosferatu, reducing her health with incredible speed.
The daughter of the night started her last transformation.
Her body changed again, becoming two and a half times as large as it had been initially. Her wings turned misty, her whole body filling with an immense power, dwarfing that which was possessed by Ronnald.
But that no longer mattered. One of his passive skills was a perfect match for this epic one, increasing his Attack by 0.3% with each blow in a series. By the time the nosferatu completed her transformation, his damage was at 450. A tremendous amount that even this monster’s defense could not withstand.
The boss started to turn into mist to fly away, but in a split second he landed a lethal blow. With a deafening scream, the monster crumbled to dust in the air.
Congratulations! You’ve accomplished the impossible, sending a thousand-year-old vampire to dust. She was one of those who plunged this world into countless deaths and suffering.
Awarded the title: Destroyer of Evil
+30% Damage to undead;
+ 20 Endurance;
+ 20 Strength;
+ 30 Energy.
A unique skill learned: Salvation in the Dark.
Passive skill: Apprentice
Dying, you will return to life as a vampire for 4 minutes. If you don’t get healed
within this time, you’ll stay in vampire form for 7 days.
As a vampire, you have bonuses to Strength, Regeneration, Speed, Vision, Hearing and Smell, but you will also have reduced Intelligence and Energy/Mana.
You can be healed by one of these items:
The Holy Amulet;
The Expulsion Amulet;
The Heart-Cleansing Potion;
The Paladin’s Beads.
Or by one of these spells:
Holy Soul;
Cleansing Rite;
Exposing Light.
Note: You will be different from Vampire class players. 100% sunlight exposure penalties apply. You will not be able to control your blood lust. Everything you do as a vampire will affect your reputation. After spending seven days as a vampire, you will die, with standard death restrictions applied.
Congratulations! The epic chain quest: Sleeping Beauty is completed. The reward changed. You now get a bonus for killing the nosferatu.
Rewards:
+ 80 000XP;
+ 300 Gold;
+ 3 Luck;
+ 5 Endurance;
+7 % In-battle regeneration;
Wizard Agrazius von Leroux’s attitude up to Trust.
Item collected: The Nosferatu Claw
Rank: Epic
Description: An extremely powerful and valuable material for weapons.
A rare skill learned: Aggression
Active skill: Apprentice
Description: You can increase your in-battle Strength at the expense of Endurance.
Strength/Endurance: 2:1
Duration: 20 s
Cooldown: 2 min
You have attained a unique specialization: Soul Reaper
Description: All your life is a battle. You balance between life and death coming hand in hand. By taking others’ lives, you now can take their experience too.