"Help!"
The dark mage managed to shake off the effect of [Boiling Blood] but as a result a backlash hit her, causing her body to feel incredibly weak. She let out a pitiful cry while channelling mana through her body, preparing for a flash step. But right at that moment two seconds passed and the mark of horror floating above her head activated. It shot into her head and the mage's vision changed. She felt herself pulled into a hellscape of blood where bloody monsters chased her. An intense fear engulfed her entire being.
"AHH!"
With a loud shout the mage tried to run away from the monsters only she could see. This was the perfect moment for Bloody Edge to attack. Normal attack, [Deathly Bite], normal attack, [Bloody Flurry], normal attack. Terrifying attacks were performed in quick succession. [Blood of Horror] reduced the mage's resistances even further. Multiple critical strikes were added. The brutal damage instantly overwhelmed the frail mage. Her vision returned to normal only for her eyes to show despair as she noticed her HP drop to zero. The mage fell to the ground and was sent to the graveyard.
While Bloody Edge successfully took out an enemy, sparks of light flashed outside the area covered in darkness. Cyclone appeared with a flash step, looking around with a frown. Suddenly she stared wide-eyed at the entrance to the cave. She saw Kaleido rushing towards the entrance on a black lizard-like mount. And ahead of him she could barely spot the back of another player.
"Cowards! Stop!"
[Cyclone: They are trying to escape!]
Cyclone had never expected their enemies to escape without fighting. Weren't they so confident earlier? Graveyard of Heroes was also a respectable guild. Where was their dignity if they just ran away. Of course, she didn't know that except for that one mage, everyone else had their ultimate skills on cooldown. Fighting under these conditions was simply asking to get beaten up.
Kaleido glanced over his shoulder. He had been waiting for all of his teammates to make it out alive. Now Cyclone had already left the dark area, but Furi0us still had not appeared. Just at that moment he received a notification. Furi0us had died.
"Damn it!"
Kaleido cursed but there was nothing he could do. Ignoring Cyclone, he dashed ahead towards the cave exit. Cyclone angrily gritted her teeth. She started casting [Chain Lightning].
Please, please, please!
The blond mage prayed devotedly to the goddess of luck or anyone else willing to help. Perhaps a miracle might happen, and her armour's effect would trigger, allowing her to instantly cast her spell.
Unfortunately, the goddess of luck seemed to be resting right now. No miracle occurred. Cyclone was still casting while the enemies disappeared from her sight.
At this moment the rest of the friends also came out of the darkness one by one, all wearing strange expressions.
"What now? Should we chase them?"
"They already have a head start now. It might be a waste of time."
Silver Blade turned around and looked at her friends with a grave expression:
"We have no time to lose now. They might come back with reinforcements. Let's get the treasure and leave!"
"You're right."
"Ok, hurry up!"
Thanks to Silver Blade's warning everyone recognized that the situation was actually somewhat dangerous. They had to hurry up. The party turned away from the cave entrance and approached the gate embedded into a snow mound. Right then, the darkness gradually cleared up. The scene inside was revealed. Cyclone glanced over and saw the dark mage lying on the ground with Bloody Edge not far away.
"Hey! Edge, did you manage to kill her?!"
"Yes. Fortunately, she couldn't escape my blade."
"Haha, nice one!"
"Well done!"
"Damn, they even failed when running away. That must sting!"
The friends all cheered and praised Bloody Edge. They never expected him to take out an enemy in that deep darkness. Knowing that Bloody Edge had been under quite some self-inflicted stress due to the class change, everyone was happy for him.
Unfortunately, the celebration had to be cut short as they were still not out of danger. Liam took out the key he received from Oraxc and approached the gate. There were no more surprises. The key was turned and with a click the gate unlocked. Radiant Shield and Liam grabbed the heavy doors and pulled the gate open. Another stairway got revealed. It was brightly lit and there was even some celebratory music playing.
"What's this? Did Old Man Meyhran prepare this? I originally thought this treasure map led to some random treasure but now I can't help but have some doubts."
"Yeah. It's strange. We should have thought about it when the troll chief was clearly instructed by Meyhran."
"Well, whatever it is, the treasure should be real! Let's go! It doesn't look like there is any danger!"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that.", warned Silent Acacia suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. The young man passed the group and knelt down, probing a suspicious gap on one of the steps.
Silent Acacia had never stopped practicing his [Pathfinding] auxiliary skill. It was his job to discover and dismantle traps. He took out a cheap dagger and poked around in the suspicious gap until a hidden compartment opened. There was a small purple bag inside. Silent Acacia carefully picked it up and held it in front of his friends.
"Poison."
"So insidious! I never expected Meyhran to be like that!"
"Perhaps this serves as the last hurdle before we can get our hands on the treasure."
"Let's continue. Follow Silent Acacia."
"Yes."
Thus, the friends carefully went down the stairs. Silent Acacia closely scanned everything. Fortunately, the traps weren't too deeply hidden. He dismantled some pressure plates and cut some trap wires.
Finally, the friends reached the bottom of the stairs. There was a small, circular room ahead. Colourful light shone on a pedestal at the centre. On top of the pedestal was an upside-down crate. A red X was painted at its side. Cyclone's hands itched but she didn't dare to rush up. First, Silent Acacia had to scan the room. The latter did so, twice, until everyone was confident that there were no more traps in the way.
"Can I?"
"Sure."
Everyone chuckled as Cyclone's eyes lit up like those of children during Christmas. She rushed towards the pedestal and put her hands on the crate. After a second, she grinned brightly and finally pulled the crate up. Everyone's eyes fell on the pedestal. Silence fell on the room as the friends froze.
"What the f*ck is this?"
"Is this a joke?"
"That can't be real!"
Cyclone's expressions turned unsightly. She put the crate away and grabbed the object on the pedestal, which was a single note.
"The real treasures are the friends we made along the way…"
No one knew what to say. Eventually Cyclone took a deep breath and unconsciously balled her fists, growling:
"Hey, does someone happen to know where Meyhran is right now? I happen to have a few questions…"
"Cyclone. We know you are angry. But you need to calm down right now, ok?"
"Calm? Calm?? I AM calm!"
Balm shivered as an intense chill spread from Cyclone. Just as the mage was about to erupt, a noise rang through the room. A trapdoor opened in the ceiling above the pedestal and a dirty, old cloth bag fell out, landing perfectly on the pedestal. Everoyne's gazes instantly focused on the bag. There was a big note on its side reading:
"Just a joke!"
"Ha… haha… ha!"
Cyclone almost chocked up as extremely strange laughter came from her mouth. The others didn't know how to feel. Some laughed, some only sighed in relief. Honestly, no one would have felt good to go through all of that without a reward. It took the friends a few seconds to adjust their mood. With her eyes on the old bag, Cyclone was gradually overcome with excitement. This bag looked too much like that one Meyhran was always carrying around. And now it laid in front of her, unprotected.
"This better be the best loot we ever had!"
"Cyclone, you do the honour."
"Ok… I'm going now!"
Cyclone rubbed her hands before closing her eyes and praying to all the deities she knew. Thoroughly preparing herself she reached out for the bag. She pulled it open and stared at the darkness inside. She placed her hand in, rummaged around for a while, and pulled back. Immediately her expression faltered. There were no blinding light or loud fireworks. Only a simple book. However, as she read its description, she instantly felt much better. It was really a rollercoaster of emotions.
"A skillbook for a skill called [Oblivion Point]. Not a bad start. Someone interested?"
Liam's eyes lit up. Even before Cyclone could post the description in the chat, he appeared next to her and stretched out his palm.
"I would take that, please."
The others were surprised. However, they trusted Liam enough. If he was this proactive then the skill was probably extremely suitable for him. Thus, no one questioned him. Cyclone noticed everyone's reactions and didn't hesitate to hand the skillbook to Liam.
With the skillbook in hand Liam couldn't help but grin happily. Cyclone felt a pang of envy and hastily continued to pull items from the bag.