Chapter 23: Like Sheep to Slaughter
--Chapter 23--
Title>> Like Sheep to Slaughter
Ding!
[Ashbelly Runner Lv.6 Killed!]
[EXP:120 Accumulated to party]
The notifications flashed across Xavier’s face as the first Ashbelly Runner fell to the light of his stainless dagger slashing through its throat.
Like sheep to slaughter.
Pierce!
An arrow flew from Xavier’s left and buried itself into the long goblin-like ear of another one of the pot-bellied Barry Allens, as Xavier liked to call them.
Needless to say, these creatures looked like goblins from the neck up and overfed dwarves from the neck down.
But they moved like freight trains. They were so fast that anything below a level four player would actually be blitzed and rammed into by their pot-bellies.
They were quite the interesting design, but something that was even more interesting to Xavier was Dex.
He had taken an elevated position at the second left column away from the entrance, just as Xavier had ordered, without too many questions.
Even though Xavier had to tell him that he could fire across the whole room from that position to actually convince him.
Either way, the man wasn’t too annoying in battle until the rewards came, that is.
[Player Dexter: Ashbelly Runner Lv.6 Killed!]
[EXP:120 Accumulated to party]
[Bonus: Ash Runner Fur ×2 → Added to party pool]
"That’s mine," Dex said immediately from the corner.
"Party pool," Xavier replied.
"I made the kill..."
"Party pool... Dex," Timothee grunted with authority while holding back two more of the Ash Runners with his bare fists.
Bang! Bang!
Blue smoke curled from the tips of Xavier’s pointed finger.
The Mana Bullet skill left the tips of his fingers without announcement, darting through the air without any resistance.
The compressed mana projectiles crossed the room in a straight line, one after the other, and easily executed the two Ash Runners that Timothee was holding in place with his Titan Bloodline-enhanced strength.
Xavier brought a finger to his lips and blew off the wisp of blue smoke.
"Pfff..."
The rewards rolled out...
[Ashbelly Runner Lv.6 ×2 Killed!]
[EXP:240 Accumulated to party]
[Bonus: Ash Runner Fang ×3, Copper Coins ×45 → Added to party pool]
Meanwhile, the two women in the party were carrying out their own part of the instructions set out by Xavier.
Or at least one of them was...
Priya was handling the flankers amongst the charging swarm of enemies.
Her blade work was decent for a level four, slashing and hacking through them as she kept using the pot-bellied idiots’ pace against them without wasting any time.
Her positioning at the flank was to make sure Dex’s perched position was safe at all times.
Not like those pot-bellied idiots could do anything about Dex. But you know...
...It was better not to take chances.
In Juo’s case, she didn’t even do anything. Her hands just tightened around her staff in anticipation because she was the backline.
And unfortunately... or better yet, fortunately for her.
Both Xavier and Timothee were too efficient to allow any strays to escape them, leaving Juo with nothing to do, hence conserving her mana.
After another five minutes... the mounds of ash that the runners were coming from had depleted severely.
With the rest Ash runners, staying out of sight.
Moving ahead, Xavier, Timothee and Juo moved forward and, at a moment’s notice, Dex and Priya joined them.
The silence that washed over the room became even more ominous as Xavier looked at the walls that were carved with murals.
Figures kneeling before a winged creature. On the Mural, the wings looked like they had been deliberately scratched out by something quite angry.
Ding!
The notification appeared right on cue... watering down the tension immediately and putting smiles on their faces.
[Stage One Completed!]
[Vestibule of Ash has been Cleared]
[Party EXP Bonus: +15% for full party clear]
[Total EXP for Stage 1: 1380, Distributed]
[Party Pool: Ash Runner Fang ×13, Copper Coins ×300, Ash Runner Fur ×6 → Undistributed]
Each member of the party received the Experience rewards in full.
[You have received Experience Points!]
Xavier shrugged, a small smile on his face.
This was why the party system was such a great way to get through Arillion Online.
It rewarded everybody and was fair even when the loot pool, in the end, was to be shared.
And from his calculations, they had killed ten of those Ashbelly runners in total. Fifteen percent of that was definitely 1380.
’Good show... Jolly good show,’ Xavier joked inwardly. Knowing he would level up really soon.
Seeing the rewards, Timothee finally exhaled.
"That was—"
"Sweet..." Dex cut in.
"I just pray this loot gets shared properly. Because I was goddamn awesome," he continued, rubbing his chin stylishly.
Priya and Juo rolled their eyes.
"Hush," Xavier snapped the team back. "Don’t celebrate too early, we are just getting started."
Everyone looked ahead where the altar, half-covered by ash at the center, shuddered.
And right on schedule, a beam of blue light split the stone altar like a blade, opening it down the middle.
The split stretched into the ground and opened up into two sets of black adjacent rails and a hidden staircase beneath.
The stairs descended into darker darkness.
Or was it deeper darkness?
Fuck... whatever!
Xavier turned to the rest of the party, pointing in that direction.
"Down there..." he said and moved.
***
With each step down the stairs, the air got colder.
Xavier took a single misted breath, squinting his eyes.
The room lit up with tiny motes of blue light that hovered in the air like stars, brightening the room while casting despicable shadows.
A massive title displayed on the HUD.
[THE HALL OF BROKEN OATHS]
Xavier nodded in recognition.
His eyes moved around the familiar gallery with stone benches mounted along the walls.
Further down the hall, on a dais, was a throne made from white marble.
The throne was covered in names. These names stretched along the walls around the throne in their thousands.
Some were legible while others were simply impossible to discern.
Xavier didn’t bother reading them.
He had tried that once before on a certain lonely night and it yielded no results.
He sighed at the memory and turned back to the party.
"So--"
"--Huh..." Xavier raised a brow at a rather unsettling sight.
Everybody in the party was staring intently at him.
"What are you all looking at? Is there something in my hair?"
Their eyes suddenly looked away at the same time like cockroaches caught under a light.
"W-What do we do next?" Juo spoke up first.
Xavier’s eyes immediately moved to Timothee.
Timothee was the leader. He should be the one directing the party.
Moreover, Xavier didn’t do well with the whole leadership thing.
He could tell people what to do, for sure...
But actually leading them?
That wasn’t his forte. This was the reason he played Solo a lot in the real world.
But it seemed no one here understood that.
Xavier let out a deep sigh.
’Might as well carry them,’ he thought.
"Priya," he said quietly. "Left rear corner. Something is there."
Priya didn’t ask any questions. She reached for her sword and moved to the area.
When she arrived, she spotted two bodies cast in the shadows.
Half-turned, she spoke to the others.
"I can see two... They lo-"
The woman couldn’t finish the sentence when a long dreadful shadow cast over her body.
Her eyes suddenly widened.
Timothee’s charging figure reflected in them.
"Pr-Priyaaaa!"
--End of Chapter--
A/N: As Always... I need your Support, if this is good, it’s bad or there are places for improvement. Pls let me know in reviews.
T for Thanks.