Vol. 4: Chapter 10
There’s an old saying among gamers for players facing the last leg of a boss fight: one minute you’re on top of the world, the next you’re a pile of rubble.
Countless teams have wiped on the last 10%, or even the last 1%, of a boss’s health. Sometimes the tank folds. Sometimes the healers run out of mana. And sometimes, like now, it’s because of a complete and utter loss of aggro.
Tidehowler now had less than 8 million HP, and it had entered its final form. Two massive, fin-like appendages had sprouted from its back. Whenever it cast a spell, these fins would undulate wildly, dramatically increasing its spells’ power and range while shortening their cast times.
The mages behind Hazel had already burned through all their defensive cooldowns. But they didn’t retreat. They kept moving, dodging what they could while still desperately trying to pump out damage.
Snapping back to her senses at the mention of Kael's name, Hazel immediately tried to pull the [Dagger of Elunara] from her inventory to deliver the final blow.
She had forgotten a crucial rule. You couldn't just swap weapons in the middle of combat. There was a built-in mechanic—a "weapon swap cooldown," typically three seconds long.
The moment she equipped the dagger, she was hit by the splash damage from a spell, and the timer was extended. She gritted her teeth and tried again, only to be hit by another attack, extending it further.
Behind her, her teammates were falling.
One by one, they were executed. In addition to Lyanna and Eldwyn, five more mages were struck down, including their captain, Lunara.
The party was down to three: Hazel, a priest named Aveline, and a single mage, Olivia.
Just as the boss was about to eliminate the last caster, Hazel’s swap timer finally completed. The [Dagger of Elunara] materialized in her hand.
She lunged forward and plunged it into Tidehowler’s flank.
A wet, tearing sound echoed through the water.
-10,000,000
Tidehowler’s body went rigid. The Aqua Dragon it had been forming in its maw dissipated into nothing. A stream of large bubbles escaped its mouth, floating toward the surface. The [Abyssal Domain], held together by its magic, began to collapse.
With a roar, the water rushed away into nothingness, leaving them standing on the dry cavern floor. Tidehowler, now back to its original fox-like form, lay motionless.
Hazel cautiously approached and prodded its body. A system notification told her what she needed to know.
It was dead.
System: You have slain [Tidehowler]. You have gained 50,000,000 EXP.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
System: You have obtained [Tidehowler Corpse].
Hazel turned to look at Aveline and Olivia, the only two left standing, her eyes filled with regret. The priest, Aveline, was already chanting, casting a resurrection spell. A brilliant light flared, and the other priest, Eldwyn, stood up. Eldwyn then began casting to bring back their captain.
As Lunara's form solidified, Hazel stared at the five remaining corpses on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I shouldn't have thrown a tantrum..."
Lunara walked over and pulled the small girl into a hug. "It's not your fault," she said softly. "We were wrong, too."
"But it's my fault they died!" Hazel clutched Lunara tightly, her body shaking with sobs. Eldwyn, Aveline, and Olivia gathered around, offering words of comfort.
A shimmering portal appeared where Tidehowler had fallen. Lunara patted Hazel's back. "Come on. Dawnbreaker is waiting for us."
"Okay." Hazel wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked with the others into the portal. The five players still on the floor released their souls, respawning back in Stormhold.
***
After listening to Hazel's account in the main hall, Lila didn't scold her. Instead, she shot a glare at Lunara. "Look at the mess you made! What kind of captain are you?"
Lunara stuck her tongue out sheepishly but didn't dare talk back. Lila then wrapped her arms around Hazel, comforting her gently. She’d heard about Hazel's situation from Glytter and felt a deep sympathy for the girl. At her age, she should have been in school, laughing with friends. Instead, she was here.
For others, "Godpath" was a second world. For Hazel, it was everything.
Kael sat off to the side, silent, taking no part in the conversation. He was watching the clock. Less than an hour remained on the timer for the [Marrow-Bite Ferret corpse].
He wondered if something had gone wrong with Orion and Rena's team. Based on his projections, with those two supporting him, Norlun should have been able to clear his path easily. Did I overestimate Orion's skill? Or did they run into a factor I didn't account for?
The minutes ticked by. The timer on the ferret corpse was about to expire. With a sigh, Kael stood and walked out from behind the screen. He looked to the center of the hall, where the Plague-Heart Rat was still sleeping soundly.
He pulled the ferret corpse from his inventory and, with a heave, threw it into the open.
It landed with a soft thud next to the massive rat.
The Plague-Heart Rat shot to its feet, its eyes darting around wildly. As a Mythic-rank creature, it possessed a degree of intelligence. It stared suspiciously at the corpse that had seemingly fallen from the sky, then scanned its surroundings again. After a long moment of hesitation, the temptation of a free meal won out.
With a powerful kick of its hind legs, it leaped onto the [Marrow-Bite Ferret corpse] and began to tear into it ravenously.
Kael looked at the [Tail of the Gluttonous Serpent] and the [Tidehowler Corpse] in his bag, mentally calculating how long the Rat would take to devour them. As he waited, his thoughts returned to Orion's team.
What could I have possibly missed?
It was a question only Orion and Rena could answer. He opened his friends list and sent Orion a message.
Kael: Status? How much longer?
The message went out. Silence. Three minutes passed. Then, he received a reply. It wasn't a word. It was a single digit.
1
Kael sighed. He knew what that meant. The fighting on their end was so intense that Orion didn't even have time to type. He considered messaging Rena for details but decided against it. It wouldn't change the outcome.
...
Inside the fourth cave, Orion's mind was stretched to its absolute limit. He was facing a challenge unlike any he had ever known, micromanaging five, sometimes six, units at once. This wasn't simple auto-attacking; every single unit required ability inputs, and some skills needed to be timed in precise combinations.
Nearby, Rena, though not as frantically occupied, was constantly repositioning, trying to keep her support skills in lockstep with Orion's frenetic pace. Not a word was spoken between them. After so long playing together, they didn't need to.
At that moment, two players and five summoned beasts were locked in a desperate battle, circling a single, enormous rat in the center of the room.