ToraX charged forward with his shield raised and voice roaring, such that he drew the attention of six Dark Stone Golems at once. Their crude heads swiveled toward him in unison, cores pulsing with energy.
"Come get some!" ToraX bellowed, positioning himself carefully. As the golems converged on his position, he began his calculated retreat, each backstep forcing them to funnel into a line.
Lumi was already in position with his wand raised and glowing with concentrated light. "Perfect angle, ToraX. Hold them there."
"Light Shower!"
The spell erupted in a brilliant cascade, piercing through all six golems in sequence. The first three shattered immediately, their cores unable to withstand the focused light magic. The remaining staggered, suffering deep cracks spreading across their cores.
"Cleanup on aisle three!" Lena announced cheerfully, jumping into position. "Energy Bolt! Energy Bolt! Energy Bolt!"
Her spells struck precisely on the damaged cores. The weakened golems crumbled into dark rubble.
[EXP +20] [EXP +19] [EXP +21] [EXP +20] [EXP +19] [EXP +22]
"Like clockwork." ToraX grinned, already spotting the next group. "This grind is broken. I just run at the enemy yelling, raise my shield, and get free XP!? How did you even think of this?"
"Geometry," Lumi replied while calculating the next pull. "And experience."
Twenty minutes into their refined strategy, the experience was flowing faster than ever. ToraX had quickly adapted to his role as the tactical tank, drawing and keeping aggro. His defensive statistics tanked hits which would have been severe on a mage, while his positioning expertise lined up the golems like lemmings about to jump off a cliff and die by themselves. Except they were lining themselves up for Lumi to assert massive quantities of DPS.
[Level Up! 15 → 16]
"Level up!" Lena cheered. "More power for the rock genocide!"
"Same," Lumi confirmed, immediately opening his skill window and blatantly stuffing his three points into Light Shower, bringing it to 19/20.
Lena followed suit, her fingers dancing through the menus. "Okay, okay, I copy Lumi! Except I'm a different class! But whatever, the principle is the same. As long as I retain enough points to max everything that will still be relevant in future classes once I stop getting Rank One skill points, I am free to put as many offensive points as I please!"
[Energy Bolt: 16/20 → 19/20]
"Wow." Lumi was impressed. It wasn't that he thought Lena was stupid, but she wasn't the easiest to read. For her to understand such a principle, he was proud. "Good Lena." He reached over and gently petted her hand.
He felt strange doing it, but knew Lena would like it.
"YAYAAAAA!" Lena overreacted, of course, "Poggy!"
As for ToraX, "Finally!" ToraX exclaimed. "Level eleven now!"
[Level Up! 10 → 11]
"Double digits! Now let me show you what a real warrior can do." He opened his skill panel, revealing the Warrior Basics skill tree. "If I'm just tanking now, then I'll just level my iron body passive! I'll need to max it anyways, better now than later, I suppose."
[Iron Body: 1/20 → 4/20]
They continued their relentless assault on the golem population. ToraX's points in Iron body made him that much tankier, which greatly reduced any exhaustion or health potion needs.
Thirty minutes passed in a blur. The trio had found their groove, each member's role perfectly complementing the others. ToraX would gather and position, Lumi would devastate, Lena would eliminate survivors.
[Level Up! 11 → 12]
"I'm speed-running these levels!" ToraX laughed, his excitement infectious. "At this rate, I'll catch up to you two in no time!"
Another wave of golems fell to their coordinated assault. "Booyah!" Lena exclaimed, "This is trivial! I just blast the weakened enemies and free xp! This is so fun! Hehehe~"
[Level Up! 16 → 17]
"Seventeen!" Lena announced. "We're practically high level now! Fear us, mineral kingdom!"
"We're still in the early game," Lumi corrected, but he was smiling. The progression felt good, felt right. Every level was a step toward being strong enough to make a difference.
"Another one! Guys, that's amazing! Congrats!" ToraX pumped his fist. "This spot is absolutely broken. How is no one else here?"
"Give it time." Lumi answered. "Once word spreads, this place will be packed."
They distributed their new skill points. Lumi put in one more point in Light Shower, maxing it out. With his two last skill points…
[Light Affinity: 1/2]
[Magic Affinity: 1/1]
"Lumi!!!" Lena exclaimed, running up to him and biting his clothes. "Mhmhmhgmhmhfdfdhfhggg"
"What the-" Lumi cast his first Light Shift, backing off, causing Lena to almost fall to the floor. "What are you doing!?"
"Wha-" Lena started. "Wawahha. You left."
Lumi blinked, wand still faintly glowing. "Lena, please, lena, stop."
Lena stood up dramatically, pointing at him as if he'd just betrayed a nation. "You teleported away from me. I bit you. That was a gift!"
ToraX raised a brow. "...Is biting a thing you two do?"
"I don't even know anymore." Lumi replied flatly.
"You two are weird." ToraX noted.
Lena's head swiveled toward Lumi. "The window opens, the brain birds chirp, Lumi!! I maxed Energy Bolt! Lumi, what do I put my points in now?!"
"You can read." Lumi sighed out, "You can read. You can just read the abilities yourself and…" He looked up to see Lena looking for his direction like a puppy. "...just max MP Boost next."
"Okie dokie!" Lena nodded and did so. And so they grinded once more.
As the hour mark approached, their group chat began lighting up with messages.
[HazyNova: "Almost there. Heading to golem temple. Sorry for the wait. Small complications. So much NPC politics. Jeez. That was annoying. How is everyone else doing?"]
[TrueKnightRyan: "Just landed in Macres! Grabbing supplies then heading your way. Save some rocks for me!"]
[VICE: "Level 9 finally. These wasps are driving me insane but I'm close. Maybe 30 more minutes?"]
"Looks like the gang's arriving," Lumi noted between spells. "HazyNova first, then Ryan."
"More people means more exp!" Lena brightened. "Because the slaughter rate goes up! The execution rate! Yippee!"
She paused for a bit, then exclaimed. "Kill!"
Five minutes later, HazyNova's message took a turn.
[HazyNova: "Apologies. There's a Level 24 assassin after me. Oops."]
Lumi immediately stopped mid cast. "ToraX, Lena, hold here. HazyNova's in trouble."
But before he could act, another message appeared:
[Ryan: "Just saw your message. I was just heading to golem temple too! Send location!"]
[HazyNova: "West of the gate, near the tree at the Y turn. Please hurry."]
[Ryan: "I see you! Incoming!"]
"Let's go help!" Lena immediately begged Lumi, "Let's help! Please? Please? Please? Please?" She paused only when Lumi put a hand up.
"We are unlikely to arrive on time. Regardless, we are going." Lumi answered, "Remember to cast your teleport, lena. And your movement abilities, ToraX, as we get closer. Let me take the lead there."
With that, Lumi and his party snuck away from the golems, trying to make their way to the fight.
…
Nova's hand twitched on his daggers. He could taste the sting of fear, but he forced himself steady, recalling every silent step he had ever learned. The enemy advanced, eyes cold, two razor sharp knives held at ready.
"I don't know how you dare go under the Dark Lord when we run the scene," The enemy slowly spoke. "HazyNova… what a ridiculous name. Take it with you to the grave."
"Pocket… you will regret this." With barely a whisper, HazyNova sprang up, daggers flashing in twin arcs. He struck low, aiming to cripple his assailant's legs, only to have his blade deflected with a single, fluid motion.
Pocket countered in a heartbeat, driving a blow across Hazy's shoulder that sent him sprawling across the grass.
Pain burned, but Hazy rolled free and sprang up, his Dark Sight flaring as he vanished, reappearing directly behind his enemy. He drove both daggers into the Pocket's back, only for them to hit nothing but shadow. Pocket snarled, spinning on his heel to slash a horizontal arc that opened a ragged cut across Nova's side.
A growl of agony escaped him. For a second he regretted turning on pain sync to the max, before steeling himself. He wasn't a coward. Blood stained his tunic as he stumbled, but he refused to yield. He vaulted forward, exploiting a momentary opening in Pocket's guard. His left dagger nicked the assassin's forearm, drawing a thin line of crimson, while his right thrust upward beneath Pocket's ribs. The killer staggered, and for a heartbeat, Hazy allowed himself hope.
Then Pocket's eyes flashed savage triumph. With inhuman speed, he tore a dagger free, pivoted, and drove his other blade into Nova's chest.
A thunderous roar suddenly rang, "HAZY!" Ryan's broadsword came down in a shining arc that clipped Pocket's shoulder, sending him reeling sideways. The warrior's armor gleamed under the moon with his shield held high, and his stance unbreakable. "Hold on, brother! I've got you!"
Pocket snarled and whirled, blade flashing to meet Ryan's sword. Steel rang against steel as the two clashed. "Who are you!? Why are you here? How do you know him, he is marked for termination. Don't get in the way!" Pocket sent Ryan back, but as he was about to advance, he had to step back for Nova sent throwing stars his way.
They traded blows after blows. Pocket would quickly go into hiding, attacking at tricky angles or throwing weapons, but he could never get a killing blow in. Pocket's strength and skill far outmatched the duo, but Ryan's sudden appearance meant the assassin could no longer focus on a single target. Ryan caught Pocket's blade in his shield rim and slammed forward, shoving the assassin back with unrelenting force.
Panting, Ryan barked. "Now!" HazyNova, drawing from his last reserves, leapt forward with a deadly flourish, embedding both daggers squarely in Pocket's thighs. The assassin screamed and dropped to one knee, scowling at the pair with furious hatred.
"Fuck you!" He leapt back, ready to leave.
"Going somewhere?" The voice was calm but deadly.
A shaft of moonlight illuminated three figures. Lumi at the front, wand high, already sending a Light Shower towards Pocket. ToraX, shield braced, ran ahead, covering a possible escape angle. Lena giggled like a maniac, already spamming, "Energy Bolt! Die! Ahahahahahah! Aahahahaha! Ahahahaha!" They stood in a tight semicircle, cutting off every path of retreat.
Pocket's eyes flicked from one newcomer to the next, shock in his eyes. "No!"