182 The Forth Wave
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Leo gazed at the brilliant, golden emblem glimmering in his palm, his deep purple eyes caressing its unyielding surface.
‘I’ve gotten it!’
A sly grin spread across Leo’s face, knowing that he had attained exactly what he had set out to acquire. Leo didn’t seek for items like ‘The Bony Ribbon’, he had his sights set on the emblem – a key of sorts.
With great care, Leo put the emblem away in his inventory, sensing someone glaring at his side. He turned his head slightly, catching sight of Ava’s piercing blue eyes studying his masked face. Her lips were downturned in a pout, indicating that she was still harboring a grudge against him for his teasing.
.....
“...”
Their eyes met briefly, but neither of them spoke. It was an unusual instance for Leo to feel uneasy in the silence. He longed to converse with Ava, yet at the same time, he dreaded it. What if she noticed the change in his demeanor?
Worrying thoughts flooded Leo’s mind, causing him to shake his head in an attempt to dispel them.
He could already see the wall looming in the distance, and a crowd of players surrounding it. Leo observed as Ava drew up her hood, partially concealing her delicate features. He found himself nodding in agreement, inexplicably reassured by her actions.
As Leo came into view, several players turned to point in his direction, alerting others to his return. The news spread like wildfire, and soon everyone was aware that the Unknown player had come back. Some of them shuddered at the thought of his previous unpredictable behavior, while others hastily drew their weapons, ready to defend themselves in case he turned violent once again.
Observing the players’ reactions, Leo frowned in disapproval, but he also shook his head in disappointment. He couldn’t blame them for being wary of him after his uncontrolled outburst. He himself was uncertain about what had transpired and why he had suddenly lost control of his body. The whole ordeal was genuinely concerning to him.
‘This is likely the effect of the mask...’
Leo murmured to himself, recalling that the first time he had encountered his Ego was when he put on the mask.
Leo and Ava pushed their way through the crowd, making their way onto the wall where an Orc girl was perched on the edge, scrutinizing them with a slightly apprehensive expression.
“Is everything alright?”
Eli inquired, her gaze studying Ava’s dirty robe. The Orc girl studied their faces, but when neither of them responded, she scratched her cheek in confusion.
“Did you two get into a brawl in the mud or something? Why are you both muddy?”
Eli guessed, eyeing them curiously, making Ava avert her gaze, trying to conceal her flushed cheeks, but Eli picked up on her embarrassment. She turned to Leo, silently imploring him for an explanation, but he remained unresponsive, his inscrutable eyes revealing nothing.
Eli hissed in annoyance, feeling left in the dark, and vowed to get an explanation from Ava later. She couldn’t stand being kept in suspense, especially when the situation had made Ava blush.
“Any Information about the fourth wave?”
With no hope of prying any information from them, Eli redirected her attention to Leo, mentally preparing herself to pay whatever price he asked for the intel.
“There will be skeleton mages and the boss will be a lich, melee fighters will also be able to participate in the fight, whilst mages will have a hard time penetrating through the Mana Shields the mages will deploy...”
Leo spoke without pause, providing valuable information on the upcoming battle. His sudden display of generosity caught Eli and Ava off guard, as they had expected him to demand a steep price for the information.
“Thank you...”
Eli said, surprised at the unexpected gift.
Ava nodded in agreement, a small smile spreading across her lips. She couldn’t help but feel happy that Leo was slowly becoming closer and closer.
‘Whatever you’ve done with Leo...good job!’
Eli leaned in towards Ava, nudging her shoulder with a grin.
Eli’s comment made Ava blush furiously, but before anyone could notice, the ground shook beneath their feet and a system message flashed across their vision, announcing the start of the fourth wave.
Rattle...
As the ground shook and the sound of bones grinding against the earth grew louder, the undead began to emerge from the ground. Skeletons of all shapes and sizes clawed their way up from beneath the fields, their empty eye sockets fixed on the city in the distance.
Some of the skeletons held strange staffs made of dark wood, adorned with glowing blue runes. Leo recognized them as the staff weapons of skeleton mages, allowing them to control a little bit of Mana.
Leo watched as the battle unfolded before him, the clash of steel against bone and the thud of bodies hitting the ground. Eli and Ava, had each chosen their own approach to the fight. Eli, being an orc, had charged headfirst into the fray, her powerful frame plowing through the first lines of skeletons with ease. Ava, on the other hand, had taken to the sky, her wings beating furiously as she ascended higher and higher, until she was directly above the battlefield.
Leo couldn’t help but feel a twinge of concern for Ava. Though her aerial assault was impressive, it left her vulnerable to attack from the skeleton mages, who were pretty accurate. He wondered if it might be better for her to join Eli on the ground, where she could still use her magic without putting herself in harm’s way.
“Go and kill every skeleton mage...”
Leo’s heart raced as he watched Ava rain down the skeleton army from above. He knew he had to act fast to protect her from the skeleton mages who could shoot her down.
“Go and kill every skeleton mage you find...”
He ordered his shadows, as he summoned them using his Shadow Energy, his voice laced with urgency.
The shadows obeyed his command without hesitation, darting into the fray and targeting the mages with deadly precision. Leo watched as the mages fell one by one, their attacks on Ava thwarted by his soldiers.
Seeing that Ava was not in immediate danger, Leo decided to also involve himself in the fight, jumping down the wall and approaching the skeletons with a steady pace. Even though he was a mage, the mages in this wave were as useful as melee fighters in the last one.
Seeing Leo approaching most of the players threw themselves to the side, trying to avoid him, but some were too involved in the fight not to notice him or simply didn’t care.
Whoosh...
The Demonic Flame flickered and roared in Leo’s palms, its intense heat radiated outwards, causing the air around him to shimmer with waves of heat distortion. The flames seemed to dance and writhe in Leo’s grip, as if they were alive and hungry for destruction.
Leo’s robe quickly caught fire, and soon the flames engulfed him completely, wreathing him in an aura of fire. The bright white flames contrasted sharply against the darkness of the night, casting a warm, eerie glow over the entire area.
As Leo strode forward, his fiery aura left a trail of scorched earth in his wake, and the skeletons hesitated, seemingly unsure of how to proceed. Some of them began to back away, their bones rattling with malice, while others stood their ground, brandishing their weapons and preparing to face Leo head-on.
Swish...
The sound of Leo’s bone blades slicing through the air echoed through the battlefield as he moved with deadly precision. The skeletons tried to surround him, but he moved too quickly, dodging and weaving around their attacks with ease. His Demonic Flame consumed the undead in a fiery inferno, leaving nothing but ash in its wake.
Leo’s face was twisted in a fierce snarl as he fought, his eyes glinting with a fierce determination.
Click...
Suddenly all the mages in the field pointed their staffs in the middle of the sky and shot out a blue blast, which served as some sort of signal.
Leo’s heart raced as he watched the mages gather mana. He knew that the Lich was a powerful boss, one that would require a lot of effort and energy to defeat. As he gulped down the Mana potion, he mentally prepared himself for the upcoming battle.
Looking around, he saw that many of the other players were also retreating, preparing themselves for the arrival of the boss. Some were drinking potions, while others were quickly strategizing with their party members.
As the blue light in the sky began to pulsate, Leo took a deep breath and focused his attention on the task at hand. He had faced many tough opponents in the game before, but the Lich was different. It was a being of pure magic, with the ability to control and manipulate Mana itself.
Suddenly, a dark portal appeared in the center of the field, and out stepped the Lich. It was a towering figure, with skeletal hands and a glowing green aura that surrounded its body. As it raised its staff, Leo could feel a surge of magical energy emanating from it.