"Haha, surprised? We're coming for you next, Beast Den."
"Hmpf. Don't become arrogant, Cyclone. We are not even halfway done."
"Right. There is much room for change."
Cyclone was venting, arguing with Fat Tiger and Sevrance. Meanwhile Mountain Lord remained silent. For him it would be best if the three enemies destroyed each other while Infinito could reap the rewards.
And soon Mountain Lord should get his wish granted as Beast Den and TwinThieves both decided to launch another attack on Dream Avenue. This time they didn't hold back, their spells posing a real threat to the guild.
Archers appeared below the Dream Avenue's hill, surrounding the stronghold, using the zombie hordes as cover. Simultaneously blinding rays of light struck from above like orbital cannons.
When the first strike landed outside the stronghold it caused an explosion which shook the entire hill, terrifying the players. Cyclone had no choice but to buy another barrier spell.
However, to her shock the rays of light seemingly had a barrier-breaking effect. After a few attacks the protective shield was destroyed, and Cyclone had to buy a new one. This situation lasted for a while, costing Dream Avenue more than 1000 points, almost driving them to bankruptcy.
Yet, after the spell ended there was still the threat of the archers surrounding the stronghold together with a vast crowd of zombies which had gathered after being held back by the barriers. Cyclone and Balm quickly came to a decision. They spent their last few points to buy a scroll which conjured a sea of flames rolling down the hill, turning everything it touched into ashes.
The heat was extremely uncomfortable, and the burnt smell nearly caused a few people to vomit but at least the enemy had been thoroughly dealt with. And it was just in time as the eighth challenge started with Infinito going first.
"Guilds. The eight challenge begins. Choose a single candidate to participate in: Race to the top! Hint: Almost half the challenges have been passed and from now on the difficulty will increase. Don't think spending some points on your candidates is a waste!"
As C's voice sounded out Infinito's arena was the first to change. Suddenly a hill with a sharp tip appeared in the arena. It looked like a grey sphere wearing a snow-white cap.
For a moment people were confused by the sight. However, when Infinito's candidate appeared, the situation became clear. The player was only a small black dot in the arena, barely recognizable. Meanwhile on the water screen he could be seen standing on the first step leading up to a towering mountain.
The spectating player finally understood that space within the arena had been altered. What looked like a small hill was in reality a terrifying mountain waiting for the candidates to conquer it.
Infinito's candidate was a hunter in light leather clothes. He jumped on the spot twice before a surging wind formed around him and he began to race up the steps in front of him.
"How can he be so fast?"
"Damn, is it a skill?"
"Impossible, it couldn't last this long!"
The other players were shocked as they watched the man's performance. His movement speed had to be at least above thirty points, which was impossible to achieve without special means.
Cyclone and Balm looked at each other, their faces cloudy. They realized that Mountain Lord had listened to C's hint and spent points to buy some speed potion or perhaps a special spell scroll for his candidate. The two women would love to do the same but thanks to Beast Den and TwinThieves they had absolutely no points left.
"Damn them! Ah!"
Cyclone was so angry she punched the battlement in front of her, hurting her hand.
"Cy, don't lose your calm now! We need to come up with a solution!"
"We can only send Quickstep! She is the fastest out of everyone!"
"But she needs enemies to build up storm! Without it, her movement speed isn't that much higher than other's!"
Hearing this, Cyclone gritted her teeth. She knew Balm was right. At that moment a notification from C appeared, putting even more pressure on the guild leaders.
However, just as they were stuck, they saw something which gave them at least some hope back. An enemy had appeared in front of Infinito's candidate! Seeing this, Cyclone and Balm didn't hesitate any longer and selected Quickstep.
The female warrior suddenly found herself at the foot of a towering mountain. She was confused for a second before realizing what had happened. She knew that Cyclone and Balm placed their hopes on her. Quickstep took a deep breath and began running up the stairs.
When Quickstep started her run, only TwinThieves were left. A few seconds later all four candidates had been decided, and a trend quickly emerged.
"Oh no, they all have speed buffs. Quickstep is falling behind…"
"Don't worry, she will soon face the first enemy. She can increase her speed there!"
All the members of Dream Avenue watched the happenings nervously. Soon, they saw something that made their stomachs sink. After Infinito and Beast Den killed the first monster and continued their run, it was TwinThieves turn to face the obstacle. But the female thief they had sent didn't even think about fighting. She went into stealth and sneaked past the enemy before continuing to sprint up the mountain.
Watching this, everyone got a bad premonition. When it was Quickstep's turn, she was forced to fight a while to build up Windborn stacks, which increased her movement speed. Only after that could she slip past the monster and continue the challenge.
"Last place…"
"And it's not even close…"
Dream Avenue's players showed worried expressions. Even with her speed boost Quickstep wasn't faster than the others who had taken potions or spells. And after wasting time fighting the monster she was far behind the rest. The female thief sent by TwinThieves would have to stand still for twenty seconds in order for Quickstep to catch up.
And yet this wasn't the only bad news. Another issue soon became obvious. Quickstep's boost to movement speed didn't have a long duration without enemies around. After about thirty seconds her speed was back to normal.
"Ahh, I can't watch!"
"This time we are in trouble…"
"No! Quickstep, my hero! I don't want to see her loose!"
While the mood amongst Dream Avenue was worsening by the second, the other guilds were celebrating. Fat Tiger felt his heart palpitate, shouting in disbelief:
"Are we destroying Dream Avenue right now?! After this challenge we might be ahead by two or three minutes! That's almost impossible to catch up on!"
"Haha, we can boast about this for forever!", laughed Glorious Sunrise happily.
At TwinThieves's side the reaction was less enthusiastic, mainly coined by cold smirks. The guild never faced Dream Avenue directly before, so they didn't have the same respect as Fat Tiger.
"Hmpf. That's all there is to it."
"Right. Truly empty fame…"
Only Mountain Lord remained prudent. Despite being in first place he didn't celebrate before the win was truly in his hands. After all, no one knew what the other challenges would bring. However, Mountain Lord still couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his face when he watched how the race developed.
At some point the four candidates all realized that the climb took longer than expected. Beast Den and TwinThieves lost their speed boosts. They still had more potions but with some distance to go they started rationing, using the potions cautiously and saving them for more difficult parts.
Meanwhile Infinito's candidate didn't face this problem. As the guild with the most points Mountain Lord invested generously before the start of the challenge. His candidate had enough speed boosts to reach the top of the mountain. There was no need to save some.
Ironically Quickstep was the only one who wasn't plagued by this issue. Every time an enemy blocked her way she used them to build up movement speed, which gradually faded over the next few seconds.
Thereafter there was a subtle shift in the situation. While Infinito managed to increase their lead on TwinThieves, the other distances roughly stayed the same. At least Quickstep didn't fall further behind.
This challenge was definitely the longest one yet. It went on for more than eight minutes when the candidates just reached the snow-covered part of the mountain. At that point they were greatly slowed and lost HP due to the cold wind. They had to hide in caves along the way from time to time in order to recover.
However, although this was unpleasant for the candidates it couldn't affect the ranking. After more than eleven minutes it was Infinito who first reached the top. Beast Den and TwinThieves arrived between one and two minutes later while Quickstep was three and a half minutes behind Infinito.
When Quickstep returned to Dream Avenue's stronghold and learned of the result her body trembled, and she even had to hold back a tear. Her friends were shocked and quickly went to cheer her up, making it clear that this was already the best result they could have hoped for.