An upside-down Castle. A mountain that looks like a wave, on which it was built. An empty space, where the monsters were stationed. Zabik, the monster which Ian had fought in the cave near HavenFall. No way inside the Castle. At least from what we can see. There is always an entrance and exit, no matter how obscure. I just need to figure out where…
"I don't suppose anyone has a flying ability or a flying mount right? Oh, wait! Devel, you can kind of fly right? And, Helioc, you can teleport too! How about one of you try to get up there, and figure a way for the rest of us to get up there." - SanShiGo
"Can't reach. Too far." - Helioc
"I don't think I can reach it either, and even if I try, I won't be able to land properly. Look, there a bunch of flying monsters circling the 'towers' of the Castle." - Devel
"We haven't searched this whole area yet, have we? Maybe there is a way to the Castle somewhere nearby." - Rebecca
"Plausible. The only problem is what might happen if we spread our forces too thin. There might be more monsters waiting for us here and we just haven't found them yet." - Nina
"Better than nothing. Let's split up and search for something that might resemble a method to go to the Castle. However, we move in a way that we can still see each other. 2 groups, Lotus and then the rest of us. Agreed?" - Devel
"I don't mind. We will move toward the right. Luckily for us, there isn't that much to obstruct our view. Someone will give you a shout if we find anything. Come everyone!" - SanShiGo
Taking his squad, SanShiGo moves off, splitting away from us in a wedge formation. While he looks like he is always joking around sarcastically, SanShiGo, definitely, has knowledge of warfare. Formations and tactics are just the start of his arsenal, and if what Devel says is true about him, then deceit and betrayal are just a means to an end for him. If only we could keep an eye on him, but with a limit on how many people could be here, we just have to let him be.
"Travys, David, Sylvia, Ian, and Devel, secure the front as we march toward the left slightly. The ground slightly slopes upward, so just in case, we need to make sure we can always see Lotus and SanShiGo. Spearmen to the back, Song to the left, and Tsugi to the right. Helioc stay close to us, while the Bleed debuff is still in effect. Rest of us, stick close and be on your guard. How much longer on your increased Agility, Rebecca?" - Nina
"Uh… 10 minutes." - Rebecca
"Alright, don't worry too much about it. Once your skill goes off cool down, and use it whenever you need it. Otherwise, just chill near us until we can get you a suitable weapon." - Nina
Edging ourselves to the left, I start observing the surroundings in more detail. Before entering the gate, we were situated on dry brownish-red earth. Cracks could be seen throughout the ground, but every so often patches of yellowish grass could be seen sprouting out. Now that we have passed the gate, I noticed that the ground had changed from an earthy texture to something that resembles a mix between black sand and clay.
With each step, the grains of sand would spread apart but at the same time, melt together sticking to each other like clay. Weird as it was, it also reduced any chance of dirt clouds since the ground would stick together instead of spreading in the wind. Furthermore, the lack of any flora in this location also made me find it strange. Not even a tree, or grass. Just this sandy clay dirt below my feet.
Scanning the distance, there wasn't even a single structure. No houses, pillars, wells, nothing. Just a terrible Castle looming above us, blocking even the clouds in the sky. How can there be such a desolate land? The moment that question pops into my head, I remember something that was on the forums. The Southern territory of this land was plagued by black soil.
Players that entered the location would immediately gain a debuff, dying slowly afterward, and the worse part is that the black soil would grow seamlessly. Stretching its claws deeper into the fertile soil that looks over it, transforming it into this black mess. This means, that this black sand, that we are stepping on and moving across is the same black soil that Players would avoid when they spawned in the South.
"I think-" - Nina
"FOUND SOMETHING!"
Before I could speak my thoughts, a loud shout echoes through the empty space. Snapping our heads in the direction of the voice, we see one of Lotus's Players, waving their hand at us, pointing in a direction to their right. Unfortunately, we were unable to see what they were pointing at, so we start to march toward them quickly. After a bit, we were able to catch up to them, seeing the spectacle before them.
Positioned directly under one of the 'towers' of the Castle, 5 small stone pillars could be seen, arranged in a shape of a star, as a white star could be seen drawn on the ground. Connecting the 5 points of the stars, was a gigantic circle, with another smaller circle that could be seen connecting the intersections of the lines for the star. Situated in the very middle of the star, surrounded by the pillar is a black figure.
Looking closely, it looks like a person wrapped in black bandages covering everything from head to toe, except for their mouth, where purplish red lips lay. On top of its shoulders, resting across the back of its neck, held up by two skinny arms, was a hammer larger than its body. No, it might even be larger than David, who was definitely the largest person here.
"We ambush him all at once, okay? No sudden movements until we are all in position, and we all know our roles." - Devel
"Mini-boss time right?" - Sabrina
"Someone has been playing a lot of games. Just taking a very educated guess, but I think if we kill that thing over there, then we can gain access to the Castle." - SanShiGo
"How do you suggest we go at it?" - Rebecca
"Carefully, of course." - SanShiGo
-n0ve1、com "Nina, what do you want us to do?" - Sylvia
"Hmm… How strongest people are Devel, SanShiGo, Ian, Helioc, and Sylvia in my opinion. We need to play around these 5 if we want to even have a chance of winning. Unfortunately, we can't move from our position, otherwise, I would have suggested that we surround the monster. We have no idea if the monster will move when we try to reposition around it, therefore, it is too dangerous to do that.
Instead, we will initiate the attack from here. SanShiGo, now would be a good time to tell me the capabilities of the Lotus team you have here unless you want to wing it and potentially die." - Nina
"No, no, I would not want to even dare harm this attempt at the final stage. My team is quite simple, a total of 17 people, 6 warriors, 3 spearmen, 1 full fledge tank, 4 archers, 2 assassins, and 1 mage which is me. Any more you need to know, little tyrant?" - SanShiGo
"Should be enough. In that case, we will create 3 frontline groups, taking into account that the monster has a giant hammer as a weapon, it will be better if we are slightly spread out. Song and Tsugi will command one group, David the other and Travys as well as your tank will command the last. We will spread out the spearmen and the warriors evenly as much as possible between the groups as well as archers and mages.
Sabrina will be with Song and Tsugi, Rebecca with David, and I will be with Travys and your tank, whose name is…?" - Nina
"ManTerror." - ManTerror
"ManTerror, alright, I will be with Travys and ManTerror. The 5 of you will start in front of us, ready to attack the moment our range attacks hit the monster. Devel will be the main tank, with Ian supporting him. Sylvia and Helioc will be the main damage dealers while SanShiGo, support them. During this time, we will constantly bombard the monster with range attacks, so there is a very high chance that you will be hit with friendly fire.
The only thing I can say to that is to dodge them, or tank them and figure out a way to heal afterward. There is no point in us losing damage because it might hit an ally, so if we constantly attack the monster, eventually we will wear it out. Arrows and magic attacks will be launched in waves, and we will shout them out, giving you ample time to prepare to dodge the attack or to tank it." - Nina
"Understood~ I'll do my best." - Mikki
"Ian, you are the secondary tank, the moment Devel is unable to fight or is distracted you much come in and engage monster, even if you can't 'fight' it." - Nina
"Got it, got it. Don't worry." - Mikki
"So, I'm support? Why can't I just hang out in the back with everyone else then?" - SanShiGo
"Becasue, you are more than just a support player. Don't think you can fool any of us." - Helioc
"Okay, okay, relax there Helioc. No need to be so angsty." - SanShiGo
"What do you want me to do specifically?" - Sylvia
"Attack at any given moment. Follow up, Helioc's attacks since he will be faster than you." - Nina
"Alright. Devel, make sure you attract the monster's attention properly." - Sylvia
"Don't worry. I'm not a pure tank, but I'm good enough to do the job." - Devel
"Well then, everyone get to your positions. Each group should be a couple of meters apart and ready to react to the monster if it suddenly charges at us. Let's hope this battle goes by smoothly…" - Nina
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