Vol. 4: Chapter 15
Inside the cavern, Kael crept toward the Plague-Heart Rat. Once he was beside it, he paused, confirming the massive, long-tailed beast was sound asleep. He crouched down, took hold of the staff in its arms, and began to pull.
System: You are attempting to steal [Staff of Whispering Clouds].
A progress bar appeared in his vision...
59
58
57
56
...
A full minute to steal the item!
...
26
25
24
Just then, the Rat shifted in its sleep, rolling over. The progress bar vanished.
Kael froze, then slowly retreated behind the creature's massive form. The onlookers, Lila and the others, nearly cried out in alarm. After a moment, the Rat's deep snores resumed.
Kael let out a silent breath of relief. He crouched down again and began to pull at the staff.
System: You are attempting to steal [Staff of Whispering Clouds].
59
58
57
...
20
19
18
Suddenly, the Rat lifted a hand and lazily scratched behind its ear. Kael froze, ready to bolt, but then noticed the progress bar hadn't broken this time. He continued to slowly work the staff free.
...
3
2
1
System: You have obtained the Mythic item [Staff of Whispering Clouds (Quest Item)].
Success!
The moment the staff was in his hands, Kael didn't hesitate. He shot to his feet and ran. He sprinted back behind the screen and towards the entrance tunnel, shouting to the others.
"Run! The boss could wake up any second!"
Seeing Kael succeed, the team was ecstatic.
"You go!" Orion yelled. "I'll cover your retreat!"
"I can hold it back for a bit!" Hazel added, moving forward.
Kael didn't have time to explain. He just repeated, his voice urgent, "Run!"
In a flash, he was gone, disappearing down the corridor.
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Lila, Hazel, Orion, and the others looked at each other. None of them moved. They were all determined to buy Kael some time.
Just then, a furious roar echoed through the hall.
They peeked out to see the Plague-Heart Rat rampaging in the center of the room. It sniffed the air, and its head snapped in their direction.
WHOOSH!
In a blur of motion, the Rat was in front of the screen. Hazel leaped forward, using her taunt ability to grab its attention. The next instant, a tail whip sent her flying, slamming her into the far wall.
-45888
Hazel, with over sixty thousand defense, had been swatted like a fly, losing nearly 46k health in a single hit. Worse, the Rat hadn't even been properly taunted. It had attacked her once, but then completely ignored her, its trajectory unchanged.
Orion threw down his Effigy of Substitution. The Plague-Heart Rat turned its head and simply breathed on it. The effigy dissipated into nothing. The ability had done nothing to impede the boss's movement.
The other girls unleashed a volley of spells: Frostbind, Freeze, Flashbangs, Cripple, Weaken...
Every single one was met with the same result:
CASTING FAILED!
Their attempt to stop a level 50 Mythic boss at level 35 was pure delusion.
Well, not entirely. Their interference did have one effect. Before leaving, the Plague-Heart Rat paused for a fraction of a second and gave its tail a gentle flick.
Instantly, a ferocious gale tore through the hall. The entire team was thrown into the air. Only Lila had the presence of mind to raise Dragonbane, but even she couldn't use another defensive skill.
When they crashed to the ground, massive damage numbers popped up.
-121,500
-122,400
-61,200 (Lila)
-121,200
...
Lila staggered to her feet, staring in horror in the direction the boss had gone. She looked around. Everyone else was lying motionless on the floor.
Dead.
A chill ran down her spine. "That thing is... terrifying."
As she stood there, two wisps of green flame ignited on the ground. Orion and Rena stood up, each with just a sliver of health remaining, thanks to Orion's [revival sigil]. Rena immediately began chanting her [Mass Resurrection]. Ten seconds later, a wave of white light washed over the floor, and the entire team was back on its feet. Rena then started healing Lila, Orion, and herself.
Silence fell over the group. The scene replayed in their minds, bitter and humiliating. Their so-called heroism now felt foolish.
It was Orion who finally broke the heavy silence. "That damned rat is nuts. When we hit 50, we are coming back here to kill it!"
"Don't get discouraged," Lila added. "The level gap is huge, and it's a Mythic boss. This outcome was pretty much guaranteed."
"We should have listened to Dawnbreaker," Hazel said softly. "If we had just left when he told us to..."
"Yeah." Orion glanced at the tunnel they'd come from, then looked at the group. "So, how do we get out of here? Back the way we came?"
All eyes turned to Lila. She thought for a moment, then pointed to the far side of the hall. "That's the main gate. I don't know if it'll open for us, but..."
"Well, we're here now," someone muttered, and a consensus was formed. The 24 of them crossed the Plague Hall and exited through the front.
...
Kael, running at full speed, soon received a flood of notifications about his teammates' deaths. The water was just ahead. Without any swimming-related talents, his movement speed was capped, and he was almost certain to be caught.
Just in case, he activated his ultimate ability: [Apollo's Descent].
He dove into the water, a golden comet swimming frantically for the tunnel exit. Not far behind, the Rat was in hot pursuit. Even with his ultimate active, Kael's swimming speed couldn't match the creature's. The distance between them was slowly closing.
Suddenly, Kael saw a glimmer of light ahead. His heart leaped. The exit! Once he was on shore, he'd be safe.
But his relief was short-lived. The water around him began to change, growing thick and viscous, slowing his frantic strokes.
A sense of dread washed over him. It's an [Aqueous Prison]!
It was a domain skill, similar to [Domain of Torment], affecting everyone within its area of effect. Worse, it was empowered when cast in water. Not even his [Apollo's Descent] could break him free.
"We got him!" a voice shouted, followed by a chorus of cheers.
Three familiar figures swam into view just outside the watery cage: MrPerfect, Ashveil, and Dreadfang.
Seeing Kael, glowing like a golden god, they were ecstatic.
"Haha, Dawnbreaker! Today is the day you die!"
"You actually popped Ultimate Skill! What a stupid move."
"In ten minutes, you'll be hit with the weakness debuff, completely helpless!"
They had dreamed of this moment, sworn to personally kill this villain.
This was especially true for Caleb. Not only had Kael killed him repeatedly in the game, but he had also stolen Caleb's fiancée in real life. Now, he would savor the look of pure despair on his face.
Caleb, Cole, and the others watched Kael with sadistic glee, waiting for the moment he would break.
But they were disappointed. Kael's face showed no sign of distress. In fact, a slight smirk was playing on his lips. A smirk of... mockery?
Before they could process it, something else burst out of the tunnel behind him.
Preston's voice was a panicked squeak. "What is that thing?"
Cole turned his head. "Is that... a rat?"