MMORPG: Rise of the Strongest Shadow God

Crap!

The instant Markel’s greatsword swept toward Flynn, everyone’s hearts lurched into their throats. Not-A-Bystander couldn’t stop himself from blurting out a curse. "Are you kidding me? He’s opening with a skill already!?"

This was Markel’s new ability: Twin Cleave. It unleashed two rapid, devastating strikes in quick succession. Even someone as sturdy as Not-A-Bystander would lose at least half his health if he took it head-on, and for a Rogue like Flynn the outcome would be far worse. The worst part was the speed. The two hits came so quickly that dodging them was almost impossible.

Let-There-Be-Light’s hand twitched instinctively as he channeled the last of his mana into a Luminous Shield, throwing the golden barrier over Flynn just as the first strike came down.

The impact slammed into the shield with brutal force. The glowing barrier shuddered violently, thin cracks racing across its surface like lightning splitting the sky.

Markel lifted his sword again for the second strike.

At that exact moment, Flynn crossed his daggers above his head in a tight X.

Clang!

The shield shattered like glass beneath the blow, fragments of light scattering into the air. Yet the damage number floating above Flynn’s head read a pitiful –7.

"He parried it!" Let-There-Be-Light shouted, disbelief clear in his voice.

Without a successful parry, the broken shield wouldn’t have absorbed enough of the attack. Flynn should have taken at least a couple hundred points of damage once the barrier collapsed. But he hadn’t. The timing had been perfect.

Twin Cleave struck twice in less than a second. To parry the second hit meant predicting the attack almost before it even happened.

Yet Flynn had done exactly that.

Looking at the way his daggers had already been positioned, it was obvious he had planned the parry from the start.

The moment the blow was deflected, Flynn moved.

He slipped sideways, his boots barely brushing the stone floor before he pivoted sharply and slid behind Markel in a blur of motion.

The sudden repositioning forced Markel to spin around, which startled Not-A-Bystander, who had still been standing behind the boss.

"Whoa! Aggro’s back on me!"

"No, it’s not."

Flynn’s calm voice came from right beside him.

Before the tank could even react, Flynn’s daggers flashed. Two deep, bloody gashes opened across Markel’s spectral body. Then Flynn was gone again, appearing on the opposite side in the next heartbeat.

Markel turned, swinging his massive sword in retaliation.

The blade cut through empty air, but Flynn was already somewhere else.

"Is he serious right now?" Peerless Blood-Sword groaned.

As a fellow melee fighter, he understood better than anyone how terrifying Flynn’s performance actually was. What Flynn was doing wasn’t simple dodging. This was high-level close-quarters kiting.

And it was absurdly difficult.

High Agility could help a Ranger stay out of danger at long range, but staying inside a boss’s melee range without getting hit was something else entirely. That required perfect reflexes, flawless positioning, and an instinctive sense of timing.

Peerless Blood-Sword knew he couldn’t do it.

Most top-tier players couldn’t. If they could, tanks wouldn’t even be necessary.

Flynn’s erratic movements kept him completely safe, but for the rest of the melee players it created a dangerous situation. Markel’s attacks were aimed at Flynn, yet because they kept missing, the boss was essentially flailing around wildly.

And if that enormous sword happened to clip anyone else, the system would still register it as a hit.

The damage wasn’t instantly fatal, but it was far from trivial.

After a few close calls, both Not-A-Bystander and Peerless Blood-Sword were forced to retreat a few steps to avoid getting accidentally cut down.

Flynn, completely focused on the fight, seemed oblivious to the chaos he was causing.

"What are you guys doing?" he called out while dodging another swing. "Why’d you stop attacking?"

Not-A-Bystander let out a helpless laugh.

"How are we supposed to hit him when you’re dancing around like that?"

Since he had a moment to breathe, the tank quickly explained the game’s collision and splash-damage mechanics.

Over the course of their journey, the group had gradually taken on the role of Flynn’s unofficial mentors. Chad might have been the one who dragged him into the game, but it was Amy and the others who had been teaching him how everything actually worked.

When Flynn heard the explanation, he felt a flicker of embarrassment.

"Oh. Should I tighten up my movement a bit?" he asked. "We’ll kill him faster if everyone’s attacking."

Let-There-Be-Light spoke up from the backline.

"Don’t worry about it. My mana’s recovered. Bystander, grab the aggro again and let’s wrap this up."

"You got it!"

Not-A-Bystander roared as his shield began glowing with a brilliant light. With a powerful swing of his arm, he hurled it forward.

Flynn immediately stepped back, ceasing his attacks to give the tank room to re-establish control.

It took only a few seconds.

The shield slammed into Markel with a burst of radiant energy, and the boss’s attention snapped back toward Not-A-Bystander. The tank planted his feet and locked the enemy in place once more.

The battle dragged on for several more exhausting minutes before Markel’s health finally dropped to ten percent.

With a cry of fury, the spectral prince dissolved into a stream of light and rushed back into Duke Ceylan’s body.

As Markel disappeared, Duke Ceylan’s health bar dropped to zero.

But to everyone’s surprise, the Duke didn’t collapse.

Instead, he threw his head back and shrieked.

"No! Impossible! How could you defeat my son? You wretched mortals... I will not allow you to win! I will make you pay!"

A translucent barrier flared into existence around him. At the same time, a progress bar appeared above his head. It currently sat at 0%.

Across the vast hall, the floating orbs of light began drifting slowly toward him.

"Kill him!" Let-There-Be-Light shouted instantly. "Don’t let that bar reach one hundred!"

Even without prior experience, his instincts told him exactly what was happening. The Duke was attempting some kind of resurrection or final transformation. If that bar filled completely, the boss would probably return at full strength.

When their attacks struck the barrier, a separate health bar appeared for the shield itself.

It began draining under their relentless assault.

"Full DPS! Use your potions if you have to. Don’t stop attacking! And watch the orbs!"

Let-There-Be-Light continued barking commands while maintaining a steady stream of healing spells.

He had already noticed something dangerous.

Whenever one of the drifting orbs brushed against a player, it dealt significant damage. Avoiding them would be crucial.

"This has to be the final phase!" Not-A-Bystander shouted excitedly as he slammed his shield into the barrier again and again.

If they pulled this off, they would secure the first clear of the dungeon.

A Glorious Achievement.

Even Let-There-Be-Light’s normally steady voice trembled slightly with emotion.

"It has to be. I can’t imagine what else this boss could throw at us."

The barrier’s health continued to fall.

70%...

55%...

28%...

13%...

Victory seemed only seconds away.

Then a system notification suddenly flashed across their screens.

[Congratulations to Mimi, Beetle, Promise, Frozen-Winter, and Sharp-Edge for achieving the World First Clear of the Ceylan Ruins!]

Everything froze.

Shield hung motionless in mid-air, staff lowered and arrow remained drawn but never released.

For a few stunned seconds, no one moved as the global announcement echoed through the hall.

Mimi’s team had cleared the dungeon first. They had beaten them.

’But how?’

Let-There-Be-Light’s face drained of color. He slammed the base of his staff against the stone floor.

"We lost."

"So close..." Amy whispered quietly, disappointment heavy in her voice. "We were right there..."

Not-A-Bystander and Peerless Blood-Sword said nothing. The expressions on their faces made their feelings obvious enough.

Only Flynn kept attacking.

He glanced at his demoralized teammates and frowned.

"The fight isn’t over," he snapped. "You’re just going to quit now? If you’re giving up, then don’t ever ask me to join your party again."

Of course they weren’t actually going to quit. Even if the first clear was gone, the boss still had loot.

But the announcement had hit them like a hammer.

They had convinced themselves that with Flynn in the party, the first clear was practically guaranteed.

Reality had other plans.

Flynn was incredibly skilled, but he wasn’t a miracle worker. Even though they had claimed the first kill on Prince Markel earlier, the final victory had slipped through their fingers.

Regret, frustration, and disappointment clouded their thoughts. The emotional whiplash between their earlier confidence and this sudden defeat had made them momentarily forget that the battle was still ongoing.

Flynn’s sharp words snapped them back to reality.

Because of Let-There-Be-Light’s brief lapse and the others’ distraction, several drifting orbs had already struck the party.

Peerless Blood-Sword’s health had dropped into the red.

Reacting quickly, he chugged a health potion while Let-There-Be-Light threw a shield spell over him. The priest then immediately topped off Amy’s health before settling back into a steady healing rhythm.

Boom!

Just as Duke Ceylan’s progress bar was about to fill, the barrier finally shattered under a final, roaring strike from Peerless Blood-Sword.

The Duke let out a shriek of despair.

"No! You cannot do this! My empire... my hope... you have destroyed everything!"

With the barrier gone, the orbs he had been absorbing scattered wildly in every direction. The progress bar vanished, replaced by a health bar that still sat stubbornly at 0%.

The Duke could no longer fight. He spent his last moments screaming curses and lamenting his defeat.

But just as it seemed like everything was finally over, the stone floor trembled.

A horde of undead guards erupted from beneath the ground, surrounding the Duke in a tight protective circle.

With one final glare filled with hatred, Duke Ceylan slowly sank back into the depths of the underworld, retreating beyond their reach.

As his figure vanished completely, a flood of system notifications rang through the air.

Boss rewards, dungeon completion, experience gains.

But the message that lifted their spirits the most was the one that echoed throughout the entire Moster region.

[Congratulations to Let-There-Be-Light, Night-Stalker, Amy, Not-A-Bystander, and Peerless Blood-Sword for becoming the second team to clear the Ceylan Ruins!]

The announcement repeated three times.

In Age of Conquest, the first three teams to clear a dungeon received special rewards along with a regional broadcast. From the fourth team onward, there were no more announcements, though the top ten teams would still appear on the leaderboard.

Second place wasn’t as glorious as first.

They would receive one fewer silver-grade item as well.

But compared to the thousands of other teams attempting the dungeon, it was still an extraordinary accomplishment.

With this announcement, Let-There-Be-Light and his studio had officially established their reputation in the Moster region.

Their primary objective had been achieved.