by D Wolfin
Name: Silver Guardian
Level: 260
Health: 9750
Magic: 1100
Stamina: 400
A guardian made from silver to guard the ancient Ruminu Temple. The Silver Guardian has a strong affiliation to magic and are slightly resistant to it at the expense of physical attack resistance.
Having already killed several of them, the description of the monster finally appears. I make a mental note of killing each type of enemy before analyzing them in the future.
Despite the description of the analysis, the ‘Silver Guardians’ are still stubbornly resistant to physical attacks. They also resist ten percent of all magic damage, regardless of the element. As if that wasn’t enough, they have a magic attack that causes various parts of their body to liquify and shoot bullets of quicksilver.
One of Nighthunt’s party members, HumorMe, is killed by this attack. Despite the fallen comrade, we continue pressing forward to climb higher in the temple. Our loot of various ores is enormous, with collections of silver ore now adding to the pile.
The seventh and eighth floors have less enemies, but increasing monster levels slow our progress. Upon reaching the ninth level, everyone, myself included, is exhausted from the continuous online playing. We take turns logging off for food, but none of us have had proper sleep as we keep pressing through the dungeon.
Back in my locker, I ignore the ‘China3’ theme outlay and stare at Fen. Outside of the game, she still wears the embroidered bikini top and short, slitted skirt like in the game. She can change between this and the previous dress at will, but she seems to like wearing the current outfit for some unknown reason. Perhaps it is easier to move in.
Without saying a word, I exit the virtual space and consciousness returns to my body. I wake to find that I am still lying down on the bed.
After moving into my wheelchair, I steadily move around the house to do any necessary cleaning and make some food. I also have a quiet bath, hearing the echoes of the water lapping against the side of the tub, the only thing disturbing the silence of the room.
I have become much more coordinated since losing the ability to walk, and with methodical movements that don’t seem awkward at all I easily climb out of the bath and dry myself.
I return to my bed to go to sleep, but rather than sleeping in reality, I return to my virtual locker. There I find Fen curled up asleep on the bed with her knees poking out of the bed sheets near her chest. At least, she appears to be asleep.
Rather than standing there like an idiot, I silently walk to the other side of the bed and slide in. The lights are dim, but I can still see the impeccable skin of her back. I disturb the sheets getting in, which provides an admirable view of her thin waist.
Reaching out, I gently touch her back with my fingertips. Perhaps it is because she is not in the game and isn’t categorized as an ice wolf right now, but she is quite warm. I feel embarrassed that I have never noticed this before.
Running my fingers up her back, I realize that her top is completely gone. Instinct wars with reason as I want to lift the covers to check her bottom half, but I manage to restrain myself.
Fen twitches beneath my touch, but doesn’t make any other movements or say anything. I come to the conclusion that even if she wasn’t awake before, she definitely is now. I move closer to her and wrap my arm around her from behind.
I am currently not wearing a top either, so bringing myself close to her causes my chest to press against her back. I guess you could call this skinship. While pulling myself closer, I inadvertently grasp her breast. The sensation is soft, yet firm at the same time. My face immediately heats up and I feel reason losing the battle.
My hand remains in that position for a little too long, as Fen moves her arm and places her hand over mine. To my surprise, rather than removing it, she tightly holds onto it. I gently try to remove my hand, but Fen firmly holds it in place, resisting my movements.
I start to relax when she says with a quiet yet clear voice, “Stay like this for a while, okay?”
“You didn’t stammer?” I ask, shocked wide awake by her speech.
“Nn,” she quietly affirms, nodding her head slightly.
She refuses to answer any of my questions after that, so I eventually put my curiosity on hold. Around the time I stop prying with questions, Fen twists her body around and rolls to face me.
With barely an inch or two between us, I stare into her eyes as she stares back. My hand is now free, wrapped around her back, so I pull her against me and press my lips to hers. Her twin peaks presses against me, but the sweetness of her lips is so overpowering that I barely notice.
After a long, deep kiss that leaves me more awake than ever before, I loosen my grip on her slightly and press my forehead against hers. Holding that pose, I just enjoy Fen’s closeness until I calm down and sink into sleep.
***************************************************
“Lost, you’re late!” Mason complains while yawning.
I am still tired from recently waking up and logging on in a rush, as I actually was late, so I don’t have the energy to argue with him.
Everyone else is also waiting. I happen to have some small snacks in my inventory that I distribute to the others, so we silently munch on that while proceeding on the ninth floor.
“This is strange, there aren’t any golems,” Sir Laurence says while looking around suspiciously. Even NightHunt’s group notices something strange is at work here, and is on full guard.
NightHunt himself is no exception, glancing around warily. “Something is indeed wrong. Could it be a trap?”
“I doubt it,” Mason theorizes, “it is more likely that they are concentrated in a large group, or large groups, somewhere.”
With everyone keenly looking for anything out of place, we progress just as slowly as we did on the previous floor. Verde spots several traps that we avoid and we run into a few she didn’t see in time, but none of them release any ‘Silver Guardians’.
We eventually reach the central area of the ninth floor, a massive room overgrown with vines and full of crumbling walls. Part of the ceiling has caved in, exposing the sky. A bright ray of light shines down from the hole, illuminating a golden golem standing on top of the pile of rubble that was once the temple’s roof.
The golem is much slimmer and slightly smaller than the previous golems. It has the shape of a man, albeit one who would be considered obese.
Feeling a considerable danger emanating from the golem, I immediately use ‘Creature Analysis’.
Name: Golden Guardian (Knight Class)
Level: 290
Health: 24500
Magic: 8200
Stamina: 2000
??
“It’s the boss!” I shout in a panic after seeing its stats while cursing to myself, ‘and my ‘Partial Draconic Transformation’ still has a few hours before I can use it again.’
As if my words set off some sort of trap, the floor behind us rises and seals off the only way in or out of here.
Quickly relaying the boss’ stats to the others, we ready our weapons and cautiously advance. I feel like something is different with this boss, as the system recognizes it as a ‘Knight Class’. I have only seen one monster before with the same classification, in the mountains around Grael’s lair, and it was completely overpowered.
“Lost, be careful,” Fen whispers a warning to me quietly enough that nobody else can hear.
I silently nod my head and prepare to use ‘Dire Starburst’.
Mason, still analyzing the situation, says, “It appears to not be reacting to our presence. It could be a broken boss, but it probably won’t remain passive once we attack it.”
After a quick discussion between our two parties, we decide to attack together at once with our strongest magic attacks. Whichever party ends up killing the boss will get the experience and loot, so we are wary of each other right from the beginning. I am also prepared to fight NightHunt’s p
arty if necessary. With Fen, we have seven members, two more than them, so they are probably more wary of us.
Unleashing our full potential, we bombard the boss with every element. A massive storm rages from the attacks, twisting around each other with the boss at the center. I am shocked to see only five or so percent removed from the boss’ health. The boss golem’s magic resistance is clearly higher than any of the previous enemies. It is most likely more susceptible to physical attacks than the previous enemies if that is the case.
Just as Mason predicted, the boss didn’t stay quiescent after being attacked. Doing a quarter turn to face us with eyes like golden flames, the boss raises one hand and its fingers extend, shooting forth like golden spears. Even I am hit from the unexpected attack. I am lucky that it apparently has a low attack power and only takes ten percent of my health.
The ‘Golden Guardian’ moves from its perch atop the rubble and runs toward us. I call it running as it is faster than any of the previous golems, but its movements are still clunky and slow.
Every step shakes the ground and makes keeping our balance difficult, but we manage somehow, splitting up to assault the boss from different directions. I get close to the boss when slashing with my daggers, but it doesn’t seem to fall under my aggravation. I try several more times, but it seems to be immune to it.
This causes the others to be under more pressure as it directly pursues them. Sir Laurence holds it off with his shield and defensive sacred arts, but is eventually knocked aside by the overwhelming weight of the ‘Golden Guardian’. It doesn’t attack anyone in particular, but seems to randomly pick a target from any nearby enemies.
Fen’s attacks are the most helpful out of all of us, piercing with ice spears, flowers erupting from the ground with razor sharp petals, and surrounding the boss with floating ice shards that scratch it every time it moves.
The boss’s health finally falls to seventy percent from our combined attacks. Despite that, its swinging arms and finger spears hurt us more than we hurt it. We can only hold on by rotating an attack group and recovery group. Six people attack while the other six focus on restoring lost health and mana.
Almost as if the boss senses danger, it breaks away from the fight and returns to the ray of light in the center of the room. With an enormous leap, it ascends to the top of the rubble and bathes in the light. Its golden body reflects the light and rapidly recovers from all the damage we did to it.
“Not good! Everyone attack and knock it out of the light!” I worriedly exclaim. If it can simply restore health like this every time, we will never defeat it.
Something surprising happens next. Rather than simply absorbing the light and recovering, it begins to emit light of its own. It also starts to grow, until it’s several feet taller than before.
“It’s transforming!” NightHunt says, shocked by the scene.
I also feel something isn’t right, and use ‘Creature Analysis’ again as if by instinct.
Name: Sun Guardian (Prince Class)
Level: 290
Health: 39700
Magic: 14600
Stamina: 3400
A Silver Guardian who solemnly stood within the only ray of light in a temple whose creators had long since passed away. It absorbed the element of the sun after enough time, and became the ruler of its own existence. The Silver Guardians saw the Golden Guardian as an enemy, but none could stand up to its power and were destroyed.
The Golden Guardian eventually absorbed enough energy of the sun and received its blessing, becoming the Sun Guardian.
‘Something is completely wrong here. Not only has its class changed, but even its name. Its stats have also gone through the roof.’ I worriedly think to myself while completely overlooking the fact that I can suddenly see its description.
Fen also seems to sense something, immediately moving ahead to shield me.
The Sun Guardian looks toward us with a new, smooth coordination, before steely words are emitted from its body, “I… will… des… troy… y… you… all.”
Its movements are twice as fast as before, and golden globules form in the air around it, orbiting it at a speed which will definitely tear us apart.
Everyone quickly backs away, and I grab firmly onto Fen to keep her away from the enemy, but find her to be as immovable as an iron rod stuck in the ground.
“Fen, we need to retreat, now!”
“I’m sorry, Lost. I can’t do that… Not this time.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” I feel torn inside as I can’t leave her to fight an enemy that will kill and erase her from being my companion.
I I think, trying to come up with a solution as I flicker and move in front of her.
Just as I am about to take action, a faint blue screen appears in between the ‘Sun Guardian’ and myself.
“Stay with me tonight, as well,” Fen’s voice behind me is ice cold, sending shivers down my spine.
What happens next takes me and everyone else by surprise. A gust of wind blows around the room and rapidly turns into a maelstrom of ice shards, freezing winds and snow. In the center of this storm are Fen and I, while the others quickly move into the central area with us before they perish as well. The ‘Sun Guardian’, caught by the attack, dramatically slows down from the subzero temperatures, and frost even starts forming on its body.
The storm continues to grow within the room as the winds become more violent. Just when I think it can’t get any more powerful, ice-blue lightning begins to spark between the ice shards and forms an abstract net throughout the storm.
The evolved boss’s health is dropping fast. It loses a single percent every second within the storm, and its movements seem to be getting even slower. The boss has some sentience however, and understands the peril it is in. Its body bursts with a golden flame, melting the frost on its body and freeing most of its movements.
Rather than attacking us, the Sun Guardian turns around and runs toward the pile of rubble, ignoring the damage to its body. The light can’t penetrate the storm so it can’t regenerate itself again. Against all expectation, the boss suddenly jumps from the pile with otherworldly strength, piercing through the storm and into the open sky, onto the temple roof.
I don’t know how I know, but it has escaped. Fen realizes this as well, quelling the storm and returning the chamber to silence.
Everyone stares at her and me stupidly now that everything is over. I want to say that it had nothing to do with me, but I am already labelled an accomplice. I also want to ask what the hell that was, but can’t seem to find the words.
“Well, now that the boss battle is over, I guess we will be leaving,” NightHunt laughs awkwardly, edging away from us with his party. He throws a grappling hook and rope through the hole in the roof and climbs up to the temple roof, quickly followed by the rest of his party, minus the fallen HumorMe.
With them gone, my party looks at us strangely, before Verde raises her voice. “What the hell was that!?”
I am at a loss for words, so can only reply, “I… I really don’t know. Fen?”
“I… don’t know,” she stammers as before, but I know that it’s fake as she has been able to speak normally.
“You can trust them, you know,” I whisper to her, hoping they don’t hear.
“No.” Her glare seems to pierce through me as she speaks, her icy voice as sharp as a knife.
An awkward silence follows as they all stare at Fen and me like we’re aliens, before Sir Laurence saves me by changing the subject.
“How about we all log off for today? Lost, Verde, our first day at university starts tomorrow, so we need to take extra time to prepare.”
“Oh, sure, but let’s get up on the roof first. NightHunt was nice enough to leave the rope after all.” It actually works out well for me, as today I expect my sisters’ regular phone call.
Mason and Matrix seem to be a bit sour about logging off early, but don’t complain about it. CaptainGordon doesn’t particularly mind, and ac
tually states the he will wait on the temple roof with a portable furnace and start refining the enormous amount of ore that are his share, as he is nearly over his carrying capacity.
We plan a time to log back in and meet up tomorrow afternoon, after university finishes for the day.
“Lost,” Sir Laurence asks me, “do you need me to pick you up tomorrow morning?”
“I can’t possibly ask you to go out of your way like that.”
“Nonsense, it is practically along the way.”
“Well, if that’s the case. Then… please.” It isn’t along the way at all, but I don’t point that out and accept his kindness.
Chapter 38 – University
-Lost(Hollis)-
A knocking sound wakes me up. There is no sunlight filtering through the bedroom window, but that is because I spent last night sleeping in my locker with Fen again. The first time was extremely nerve-wracking, but the second time was much more peaceful.
Fen is lying on top of me this morning, her head resting on my chest with her hands over my shoulders, and both of her legs wrapped around one of mine with a vice-like grip. Her face is incredibly peaceful as she sleeps, gently inhaling and exhaling in synch with me. While I can’t see them, I can feel her breasts pressing against my stomach. It is the kind of feeling that makes one happy to be alive.
I made another shocking discovery last night. Resting my hand on her hip, I realized that she was completely bare. I didn’t dare move for a while after that, my heart pounding in my chest as I start debating ‘should I, or should I not?’. This also led me to lie awake much longer than usual and oversleep in the morning.
I hear another knocking sound and realize that it is coming from the real world – someone is clearly knocking on my front door.
Despite Fen being light, I can’t seem to pry her loose as she wriggles around and latches onto me tighter. I log out from directly beneath her, forfeiting the struggle and leaving an extremely displeased wolf girl to have a short fall onto the bed.