"Really, what a chaos faction. Everywhere they go the nice scenery will be ruined."
"Yeah. What are they even searching? Bringing an entire army to the temple…"
"I guess we will find out soon enough."
"How should we continue now?"
The party swept their gaze around as they discussed. Swiftly, Watchful Eye was the first to spot a balcony attached to the giant tower high above them. A conspicuous door was wide open, leading inside. It seemed to be the only path back into the temple. Everyone glanced at Liam and seeing him nod they rode their mounts upwards, landing on the balcony.
"This tower is actually so big."
Seeing it from up close the friends gained a deeper appreciation. A massive, patina-covered, green-grey dragon coiled around the tower, lifelike to the extreme. Despite being made from stone it emitted a pressure almost as if it were a real dragon. Its large head rose from the tower's roof, partially obscured by faint, drifting clouds. The friends were in awe, enjoying the view for a bit, before finally entering the tower.
Inside there was a rather small room with a single large gate. The room seemed like a storage. There were some small statues, crates, candleholders, and more scattered around. A notification popped up in front of the friends, informing them that they had reached another checkpoint. However, this one could only be used once.
"And here I thought how generous the game had become."
"Isn't it already good enough? Otherwise, this hell difficulty… would be too disappointing."
Bloody Edge spoke in a low voice. He subtly positioned himself at the centre of the group, lowering his head and pretending to sharpen his dagger with a whetstone. The conspicuous sound attracted everyone's attention.
"What are you doing?", asked Quickstep with a strange expression.
"Sharpening my blade for the enemies to come…"
"We can see that. But why…"
"An assassin is only as sharp as their blade!"
As everyone watched speechlessly, Radiant Shield lightly furrowed his brows. He had a hunch to what Bloody Edge was doing. Recently, the comments under Fortune's videos mentioning Radiant Shield and Bloody Edge were decreasing. People seemed to get used to their particularities. The light roleplay didn't attract that much attention anymore.
A few days ago, Bloody Edge had already talked to Radiant Shield about that. The two friends decided that they had to turn it up a notch. Radiant Shield didn't have a new idea so far, but it seemed Bloody Edge had started testing. Glancing at Fortune, Radiant Shield found her happily recording.
Suddenly there was a low thud. Everyone stared at Radiant Shield, startled, seeing him kneeling on the floor.
"And what…"
Before Silver Blade could finish her question, murmurs came from Radiant Shield's lips:
"Hevriolae, oh benevolent goddess of all life. Thy humble servant bows his head in prayer. Please, bestow thy divine power upon this inquisitor. Bless this humble servant. Grant the power to vanquish thy enemies…"
Everyone else looked at each other. Cyclone's eyes were filled with concern as she whispered:
"Bloody Edge and Radiant Shield have finally gone crazy. Perhaps the pressure was too much for them. How could we miss the signals? We failed as friends…"
The strange scene continued for a few seconds until Fortune turned away to talk to the others.
"Fortune, did you capture me well? Perhaps you should attempt from a different angle."
"O mighty mage, don't listen to the assassin. Grant me some of your attention."
Bloody Edge and Radiant Shield vied for attention and everyone else rolled their eyes. Finally, Silver Blade spoke up:
"Ok guys. Enough fooling around. We are still in a dungeon!"
Bloody Edge and Radiant Shield froze hearing the genuine annoyance in Silver Blade's voice. It was not often that the young woman used such a tone. But if she did, one instinctively wanted to listen. Perhaps this was the natural authority needed to lead a company at her young age. The two friends stopped their antics and joined the rest of the group in discussing the next battle.
Silver Blade suddenly felt a gaze from besides her. She glanced over and noticed Liam looking at her, impressed. As Silver Blade turned towards him the young man chuckled, showed her a thumbs-up and continued the conversation with the others.
The room was without danger, granting the party some space to rest. They were still exhilarated and full of adrenaline from escaping the ocean of infernals earlier. The mood was excited, but it wasn't conductive for a battle. As usual the friends talked or rested with their eyes closed for a few minutes until everyone had adjusted their state. Afterwards they huddled together, listening to Liam:
"You might have already guessed it but behind us waits the last battle of the dungeon. This one won't be easy. The boss is all about speed. She has multiple skills and if you don't recognize the movements beforehand it will be difficult to dodge. Honestly, I don't expect you to clear this on the first try. Observe and learn the patterns util you get confident at dodging."
Liam conveyed his genuine opinion but to the others it sounded almost like a provocation. The expert thought they wouldn't be able to win this battle on the first try?
"Let's prove him wrong!"
"Yes!"
Liam rolled his eyes as he heard Cyclone and Balm whispering to each other. Well, no need to dampen their spirits. If they could really win right away it would be a pleasant surprise, but Liam didn't have much hope.
Afterwards the friends asked a few more questions and Liam answered patiently. Everyone felt ready to go. But there was still something left to do. Liam approached one of the crates carelessly put against the wall. As he opened the wooden lid, a bunch of potions fell into everyone's eyes. The friends were surprised. Potions boosting movement speed were actually hidden here.
Cyclone's eyes moved from the crate, falling on the many others and a fire ignited in her heart. In a flash, before anyone could react, all the crates were opened and the potions taken away.
"Cy…"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. I don't intend to keep it all."
"Wait, now that I think about it. Aren't you still holding the loot from the last fight?"
"Oh really… I don't think so…"
Cyclone laughed awkwardly as everyone stared at her sternly. She realized her mistake. Perhaps if she hadn't taken all the potions, the others might have forgotten about the loot. Beginner's mistake!
Subsequently Cyclone was forced to distribute all the loot. There was nothing particularly outstanding. Watchful Eye received the unique version of his gloves, which was a small upgrade. There was also a unique sword with regal appearance, a perfect blade, and a hilt adorned with colourful gems like a gorgeous sea of little flowers. Unfortunately, it didn't suit any of the party members. Cyclone placed the sword in the guild treasury and after a while Sun's Knight decided to sell it. The sword's stats were somewhat lacklustre for a unique item, but its appearance was outstanding. Surely there would be some vain people who didn't care about money, buying such a sword for a high price.
The rest of the loot was mostly miscellaneous items. Cyclone appeared somewhat disappointed to which Liam could only roll his eyes. They already received two unique items. Really, Cyclone was becoming too spoiled by her own luck.
"Ok. The fun part is over. Now I want you all focused! The boss is waiting for us!"
Liam pulled all his friends back to reality. Gradually their relaxed expressions turned stern, determined, focused. Liam nodded lightly. It was finally time to face the last boss of the dungeon.
The group approached the tall gate and pushed it open, stepping into the next room. They found themselves in a circular room, a cylinder with seemingly no end above and below. A path made from stone was built along the wall like a ring, the open centre allowing one to view the floors below. Along the path there were multiple gates leading to various rooms, all tightly closed. The walls were adorned with engravings of mighty dragons rising towards the impossibly high ceiling.
In the mostly empty space, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the scene on the opposite side of the room.
There were two dragon statues, their figures like slender lizards, their appearance surprisingly benevolent rather than majestic. The two dragons looked at each other, their heads almost touching at their foreheads, forming an arch between their bodies.
In front of the statues stood a tall figure, its back covered by big, folded wings. Her long black hair was in harmony with the lustrous green scales covering her wings. The only other part which was visible of her body were the lower parts of her legs, which similarly bore green scales, her feet clad in white leather shoes.
Seemingly perceiving something the figure stopped what she was doing and turned around. Bloody Edge couldn't help but gulp as his eyes immediately fell on the long legs clad in tight white trousers, which reached towards her knees. The lower parts of her legs were protected by sturdy scales emanating a feeling of violent power. Her upper body was clad in a rather simple white shirt, her exposed arms also bearing scales. Her face was incredibly sharp and beautiful, with pointed ears and little dragon horns on top of her head.